Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 208 - 194 Yu Family’s Reaction

Yu Mugao sat at the high seat in the hall, with two Qi Cultivating Peak Guest Elders standing respectfully by his side. No one dared to speak in the spacious hall. Yu Mugao looked slightly weary, clearly having suffered much recently, and said in a deep voice,

"Muyuan, is there still no news of Mujian?"

The person sitting below was tall and thin, with eyebrows resembling seven parts of Yu Mugao's features, but not as brooding and vicious as him. It was one of the two who used to follow him, who upon hearing the words nodded and responded respectfully,

"Fourth brother said he was going to a place to refine the sharpness of his sword, heading north. It's been several months since he left, and there seems to be no sign of his return."

"Damned fool."

Yu Mugao cursed under his breath, yet he had no way to deal with this brother who was wholeheartedly pursuing the Sword Dao. He sighed softly,

"Muyuan, it's fortunate to have you overseeing things, otherwise the plethora of troubles at home would surely wear me to death."

"I dare not, I am just sharing my brother's concerns,"

Yu Muxuan replied, when suddenly, someone hurriedly walked up from below, holding a letter in his hand, and passed it to Yu Mugao, saying in a low voice,

"Family Head, a secret message from Ma Haiji of Huaqian Mountain!"

Yu Mugao raised an eyebrow, his expression turning grimmer as he took the letter, effortlessly breaking the wax seal, and read the letter twice, his face instantly darkened, he gritted his teeth and exclaimed,

"What a move, An Jingming! I haven't paid attention to him these days, allowing him to reach this stage…"

After closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, he handed the letter to Yu Muxuan seated below. Yu Muxuan took the letter with both hands, glanced at it, and was momentarily unable to compose himself, exclaiming,

"This! How is this possible! How could An Jingming have attained such a cultivation level in just a few years?!"

"The Eighth Layer of Qi Cultivation, how can this be possible? Could his cultivation speed be that of some kind of demon? Is the information from the Li Family reliable? Currently, our family has good relations with the An Family, could this be some kind of scheme to drive a wedge between us and target the An Family?"

Yu Mugao closed his eyes and thought for a while, then shook his head and said solemnly,

"It's unlikely. The Li Family has always been restrained, and Li Tongya is not one to cause trouble. According to the spy, acquiring this information was a matter of life and death, so it's probably not a ploy by the Li Family."

Neither Li Yuanxiu nor Yu Mugao had anticipated that Ma Haiji, in order to highlight his own contributions, exaggerated the details in his letter, describing the process of acquiring the information as extremely perilous, which influenced Yu Mugao's judgment and made him even more assured of its authenticity.

Yu Muxuan clasped his hands together and said through gritted teeth,

"If that's the case, this person must not be allowed to live!"

Yu Mugao's expression turned terribly somber, as An Jing's progress in cultivation far exceeded his expectations. He took a deep breath and said softly,

"Of course he can't be left alive. Our family must kill this man. With his rate of cultivation, it won't take many years for him to break through to Foundation Establishment. That could lead to unforeseen variables. It would be best to simultaneously suppress both the Li Family and the An Family, giving both a setback."

Yu Muxuan looked at his brother, still deep in contemplation, knowing that Yu Mugao was probably considering some ruthless strategy. His brother had always been unpredictable and insidious, with no failures against the various targeted individuals of the families to date. Therefore, he remained silent, just quietly waiting below.

It only took Yu Mugao a few moments of contemplation to have a plan in mind. He spoke softly,

"The An Family has revealed the locations of the Li Family's various towns and has made arrangements for our people to infiltrate them, which couldn't be better."

"Now, I already have a plan. First, I'll strike at the Li Family's prestige, then catch the An Family off guard. We have let these two families grow unrestrained for too long, and the time has come to put both in check."

Yu Mugao gave a slight smile, clearly confident in his grasp of the situation, and softly ordered,

"Summon Guest Elder Jiang." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The servants below hurried to make arrangements, and before long, they brought up an old man with a head full of white hair, his face densely wrinkled, looking to be at least one hundred and fifty years old. His cultivation level was merely at the Third Layer of Qi Cultivation, his breath weak, yet he let out a hearty laugh and, clasping his hands, said:

"Family Head Yu, it's been such a long time! How many people are we removing today?"

"Guest Elder Jiang!"

Yu Mugao was very polite, clearly holding this Guest Elder Jiang in high regard, and with a beaming smile, he said:

"Indeed, there is one person that needs removing, and it would be a bother for the gentleman."

Guest Elder Jiang took a seat on a rosewood chair to one side, casually propping up his legs. Yu Mugao showed no sign of annoyance, instead, he turned to Yu Muxuan with a smile and said:

"I'm troubled to ask my fifth brother to accompany him on this trip!"

————

Ma Haiji lit the fire, carefully wrapped the letter, and placed it on the flames. Only when the letter had completely vanished did he let out a sigh of relief. He looked around, packed his things, and prepared to go home.

Having walked a few steps, Ma Haiji turned back, stomped out the fire, and covered it with soil. Only then did he nod with satisfaction and walk dozens of steps before he suddenly felt something was amiss. Crouching on the ground, he muttered to himself:

"Since the Li Family takes this message so seriously, they most certainly have their own plans. If this message from my family were intercepted, Yu Mugao would surely act to disrupt it, and eventually, the Li Family would detect the leak of the message..."

"If Tian Zhongqing returned to the courtyard and saw the letter on the ground, he would ask the servants and surely know I had been here—wouldn't that blow my cover?!"

Ma Haiji was profoundly disturbed, feeling a sense of despair and thought to himself:

"There's no turning back now! It's absolutely impossible to return to the Li Family. I fear that a trap has already been laid out at home; going back would only lead to a dead end."

With his baggage on his back, Ma Haiji was filled with dread and murmurued:

"I can't wait for a reply from home anymore; I must leave now and flee to my family's place!"

Ma Haiji still had some wits about him; he quickly packed his baggage and darted into the forest, heading north. After walking the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he was scratched all over by branches and thorns but unexpectedly, someone suddenly landed in front of him.

This person was dressed in a simple, understated grey robe, with a sword hanging at his waist, bearing a dignified air, and staring intently at him with a smile, he said:

"Where might you be headed, sir?"

Ma Haiji was terrified, trembling violently, knowing he had been exposed, and in a tearful voice, he said:

"Who are you?"

"I am Chen Donghe!"

Chen Donghe gave a slight smile, glanced at Ma Haiji, and said in a low voice:

"Sir is quite astute. If it weren't for us having been waiting here for a while, I'm afraid we might have let you slip away."

"Chen Donghe... Qi Cultivator!"

Having been at the Li Family for many years, Ma Haiji, although an ordinary official, knew of Chen Donghe's reputation all too well. He drew a dagger from his waist and slashed towards his own throat.

But Ma Haiji was just a common man, and Chen Donghe simply flicked a finger, causing the dagger in Ma Haiji's hand to be hit by a Qi Strike, flying out of his grasp, and landing by the river bank. With another wave of his hand, Ma Haiji collapsed limply to the ground.

Chen Donghe looked at Ma Haiji with pity, picked him up, and riding the wind, headed toward Lijing Mountain in the west.