Yu Family.
The Yu family's ancestral hall was opulent, its area comparable to a football field.
Within this vast ancestral hall, however, were placed numerous coffins, resembling a chessboard from above, spread out like stars!
At this moment, the first ancestor of the Yu family, Yu Jinbo, was seated on a high platform, on a dragon throne, his posture akin to an emperor holding court!
"Come out, all of you!" Yu Jinbo said coldly.
The coffins below trembled simultaneously, and soon, souls floated out. Their attire varied, spanning hundreds of years.
These were the descendants of Yu Jinbo and Yu Jinhong. Upon death, as long as they were qualified, Yu family members did not reincarnate. Instead, they remained in the ancestral hall, under Yu Jinbo's protection.
As these descendants first appeared, they couldn't help but start discussing, making the ancestral hall extremely noisy for a moment.
Their topic of discussion, naturally, was the Zhou family's betrayal.
"Silence!"
Yu Jinbo, annoyed by their clamor, roared, and an immediate silence fell.
No one dared to anger the first ancestor.
"I had long expected the Zhou family's betrayal, but I didn't expect it to be so soon," Yu Jinbo sighed. "Originally, I intended to spare Zhou Yuhu out of past camaraderie, but Zhou Yuhu's actions have crossed my bottom line."
Someone spoke from below, "Old Ancestor, Zhou Yuhu brought it upon himself; you need not be soft-hearted."
"I understand," Yu Jinbo said coldly. "However, this matter is not as simple as it appears."
The descendants were puzzled. Zhou Yuhu's rebellion was already irrefutable evidence, so why was it not simple?
Yu Jinbo didn't elaborate: "When Jinhong returns shortly, he will explain."
Soon, Yu Jinhong returned.
He transformed into a mass of ghostly energy, arriving on an eerie wind and landing beside Yu Jinbo, resuming human form.
His expression was extremely grim, darker than the bottom of a pot. As soon as he appeared, he couldn't help but snort coldly and say furiously:
"Big Brother, you were right! Someone was indeed stirring up trouble behind the scenes!"
Yu Jinbo asked, "When you took people to Zhou Yuhu's Yin residence in Xiaoshan, what did you discover?"
"A major discovery!"
Yu Jinhong raged, "Zhou Yuhu's Yin residence was a complete mess. All the subordinates he left there were dealt with. The Zhou family ghost kings that Zhou Yuhu had summoned earlier were likely beaten to near death in Xiaoshan, which is why they were annihilated the moment they appeared in Languang Pavilion!"
"So, someone ambushed his Yin residence while Zhou Yuhu was away?" Yu Jinbo asked.
"That's right!"
Yu Jinbo appeared to be thinking, tapping the armrest of the dragon throne with his massive finger.
Seeing this, Yu Jinhong couldn't help but say, "Big Brother, what are you still thinking about? It must have been that Taoist priest Han San from Mount Mao!"
"You are correct, the Taoist priest from Mount Mao did intervene, but there are still underlying issues behind this."
"What other issues are there?"
Yu Jinbo said calmly, "Why would the Taoist priest from Mount Mao intervene? Was it merely to kill the hidden ghost kings of the Zhou family? Or to annihilate the Zhou family? What I am contemplating is the true objective of this Mount Mao. Judging from Zhou Yuhu's final reaction, he was likely just a pawn being manipulated. If the other party is playing a game of chess, then Qiantang is the chessboard, and we..."
Yu Jinhong looked shocked. "We, the five great ghost king families, are pawns?"
The descendants were also greatly astonished:
"That Taoist priest from Mount Mao has such audacity to use us?!"
"What is his objective? Could it be that he's targeting us!"
"Qiantang is our Yu family's Qiantang; it's impossible to let an outsider easily disrupt it!"
Suddenly, Yu Jinbo seemed to recall something, his gaze fixing on one of the descendants who had been shouting just moments ago!
He directly reached out, grabbed that descendant, and asked coldly, "What did you just say?"
The descendant trembled with fear and stammered, "I said, Qiantang is our Yu family's territory; it's impossible to let an outsider easily disrupt it..."
"Correct... you've reminded me!"
Yu Jinbo released his grip, leaned back against the dragon throne, tilting his head and letting out a sigh of relief, as if he had solved a long-standing puzzle.
Yu Jinhong, being slow-witted, couldn't help but ask, "Big Brother, have you figured something out?"
Yu Jinbo let out a long sigh and said, "That Taoist priest from Mount Mao couldn't have acted against us alone; he must have had helpers, and likely more than one!"
"What?! Who has such audacity?!" Yu Jinhong was furious.
"You and I are well aware of the forces in Qiantang. Aside from the five great ghost king families, who else has the ability to infiltrate the Xiaoshan Yin residence?"
"Big Brother, are you implying... Shen Shuzhen and her group?"
"Mm."
Yu Jinhong couldn't help but clench his fist. "This woman truly knows no bounds! When we went to see her last time, she behaved very strangely. Thinking back, that Taoist priest from Mount Mao might have been at the crematorium then, and they were already planning to deal with Zhou Yuhu!"
"Think carefully again, who else has led us to this point?" Yu Jinbo asked.
Yu Jinhong frowned and pondered for a long time, then his pupils suddenly contracted:
"Yuelu Academy... the storyteller!"
"What about the storyteller? Yin Tang has always stayed out of disputes. Even he intervened?"
"No, it was Yin Tang's disciple, named Liu Ying, if I recall correctly! It was Liu Ying who said that Zhou Yuhu colluded with Mount Mao disciples and led us into Languang Pavilion!"
Yu Jinbo's gaze also turned cold. "I didn't expect Yin Tang to be such a shrewd person; he doesn't act himself but has his female disciple do it. Well done, storyteller! Well done, folk sect!"
By now, Yu Jinbo had a clear idea of who was responsible for the current situation.
Shen Shuzhen's group from the crematorium, Yin Tang's female disciple from Yuelu Academy, and that Mount Mao Taoist priest Han San who had never revealed himself...
Yu Jinbo silently noted these individuals in his heart.
He believed he had uncovered everything, but in reality, Yu Jinhong had overlooked something.
The head of the Yao family!
Furthermore, they consistently believed Shen Shuzhen, Liu Ying, and Han San were the masterminds behind everything.
But even now, they had never heard of or seen Yan Shouyi.
The most terrifying thing was that after all this struggle, they still hadn't figured out who they were fighting.
Yu Jinbo deliberated, his gaze turning icy.
He issued an order: "Summon the old relics of the Wei family and the Shen family. Since Shen Shuzhen has already made her move, we cannot sit idly by. Qiantang has been peaceful for many years; it's time to rectify things and let them understand who the true overlord of Qiantang is!!"
Yu Jinhong thought for a moment and asked, "Big Brother, do we need to call the Yao family as well?"
"The Yao family is merely an immigrant family; they won't participate in these matters. However, you must send someone to give them a heads-up, so they don't get involved foolishly!"
"Alright, I understand!"