Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 434: 214, it's still the Holy Land after all!

"Shen Gufan is truly able to endure; he's no ordinary man!"

On the eastern official road of Jinling County, Hou Clan's large army, extending almost two miles, was slowly returning towards Wanyang Tongling, with Hou Yujie and Hou Yuduan riding at the front.

Hearing Hou Yujie's remarks about Shen Gufan, Hou Yuduan nodded and whispered, "Given the Shen Clan's status in Jinling County and his own cultivation as a Great Grandmaster of the Fourth Realm, he was still able to remain calm despite such humiliation. He must have suspected that we were provoking him on purpose!"

Hou Yujie nodded. Naturally, he would not offend Shen Gufan for no reason and bring such a formidable enemy upon their family. The provocation was deliberate, planned in consultation with Old Fifth.

If Shen Gufan had not endured and had struck at them, regardless of whether they could defeat him, at least the Hou Clan's army could legitimately remain in Jinling County. Accordingly, the dispatch of troops to Hedong by their Clan could be delayed further.

This was their true objective!

The cooperation of the Xiong Yun Gang in the prefectural city seemed prearranged, clearly someone had tipped them off. At this critical moment, none could have been more cooperative than the Rakshasa Holy Sect's expert, and it was most likely Zhan Taiqing, who was, after all, commanding the Holy Sect's forces in this great battle.

Although Zhan Taiqing's apparent consideration of the Hou Clan indicated how much she valued them, such attention was not exactly a good thing at the moment. Once the Hou Clan deployed their troops, they would officially be embroiled in the conflict between the two provinces. Currently only considered a second-rate force, it was best for the Hou Clan to avoid involvement if possible.

Thus, the two men had unleashed a flood of insults on Shen Gufan at Golden House Mountain, hoping to provoke the Shen Clan into attacking them to create a pretext not to participate in the war. Whether Hou Yujie had overacted, Shen Gufan had seen through it.

"It seems, I still need to refine my acting skills!"

Hearing Hou Yujie's self-reproach, Hou Yuduan shook his head and said, "We have so few people, and we are in their territory. Given Shen Gufan's status and strength, even if he realized that our insults were deliberate, there was no need for him to restrain himself.

His forbearance can only mean he not only knew our intent was deliberate, but also discerned our true intent. If he had acted against us, he would have fulfilled Hou Clan's wish to avoid deploying troops. Should the Holy Sect give blame, it's highly likely that the Shen Clan would have to deploy troops instead. That is why he forcefully restrained himself from acting against us."

Saying this, Hou Yuduan paused for a moment, then looked back towards Jinling County with a serious tone, "The Shen Clan, and this Shen Gufan, are both extraordinary; Tongling borders them, so we must be more vigilant in the future!"

Hou Yujie nodded, also glanced towards the direction of Golden House Mountain with a pained expression, and said, "It's a pity, though; the Zhu Clan have been running that assassination business for so many years, the wealth within Golden House Mountain must be considerable. Now that we are leaving, all that will benefit Zhou Hong."

"It was necessary; without Zhou Hong taking action, Shen Gufan would not have overlooked our destruction of the Zhu Family. But... possessing those items from the Zhu Family means one must also have the life to spend it!"

As Hou Yuduan more darkly hinted at the last statement, a sinister gleam flashed in his eyes.

Just as he said, Shen Gufan was not a straightforward character. Aware that the Hou Clan currently had orders from the Holy Sect and fearing getting burnt himself, he dared not offend them. However, Zhou Hong didn't have such concerns. The role Zhou Hong had played in eliminating the Zhu Clan wasn't minor, and in the end, the two men had even decided to leave the treasures of Golden House Mountain to Zhou Hong. Delighted, Zhou Hong had led his men to loot it, all under Shen Gufan's watchful eyes.

This was also a trap they laid for Zhou Hong. Of course, with the Holy Sect backing Zhou Hong, it wasn't easy for Shen Gufan to attack him straightforwardly, but it was foreseeable that the two would engage in fiercer conflicts in Jinling County in the future.

Tongling, Wanyang, Longxiang, Yangping; these would be the four counties comprising the soon-to-be-established Hexi Prefecture. If a stable Hexi Prefecture was the core interest of the Hou Clan, then instability in peripheral areas like Jinling County was also welcomed.

Instability means chaos, and chaos often signifies weakness. Only when others are weak can the Hou Clan find profitable opportunities...

Recalling the earlier words of his elder brother, Hou Yuxiao, Hou Yuduan took a deep breath, his eyes gradually firming up.

"Fourth Master, Fifth Master, what should we do with these two women?"

As Hou Yujie and Hou Yuduan were about to resume their conversation, Hou Fei suddenly came over, leading a horse. On the horse were two women tightly bound, the very assassins from the Zhu Family who had earlier mistakenly entered the Hou Mansion in Wanyang County, Zhu Qing and Zhu Lan.

As the sisters looked at the two Hou brothers, their eyes were filled with fear; after all, they had witnessed firsthand what had happened on Golden House Mountain.

Originally, on the way from Wanyang County, the sisters had thought the Hou brothers too arrogant and certain to suffer setbacks in Jinling County. Knowing how powerful their own Zhu Clan was, the slaughter executed by the Hou brothers on Golden House Mountain greatly shocked them.

Zhu Qing, surveying her surroundings and seeing the Hou personnel, recalled that the Zhu Clan had been powerless against them. The terror in her eyes remained dense.

They had been escorted by Hou Fei himself all the way here, unaware that the Hou Clan had three thousand troops and five hundred warriors of the Hou Clan. Feeling the overwhelming vitality of the surrounding thousands of Body-Opening Warriors and dozens of Warriors of the Gang Qi Realm, Zhu Qing, despite her cultivation in the Gathering Evil Phase, couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart.