Chapter 56: A Clean Break Once and for All

"Did Deacon Yang really say that?"

Young Master Zhang asked with a trembling voice, his face extremely pale. Xiaotan nodded forcefully.

Master Zhang had been detained by Yang Can under the pretext that many of his subordinate managers were involved in embezzlement and other illegal activities.

It was ostensibly called assisting with an investigation, but everyone knew this was merely a euphemistic phrasing before his formal charges were announced.

The towering influence of the Yunyi Tower, already shaken to its core by Yang Can's methodical dismantling of its foundation, finally collapsed entirely in the hearts of the common folk of Feng'an Manor.

Young Master Zhang had brought a lavish gift to seek an audience with Yang Can, but Yang Can, who had always been courteous to him before, now refused to see him altogether.

However, the Zhang family suffered no direct intervention or control despite Zhang Yunyi's detention.

Taking advantage of the situation, members of the Zhang family began quietly transferring their liquid assets outside the fortress.

Completely at a loss, Young Master Zhang received a message from Xiaotan precisely at this moment—a message of utter despair.

Young Master Zhang slumped heavily back into his chair, his face the color of ash.

*Since Yang Can dared to do this, he must have already secured damning evidence against our family, right?*

*If that is the case, what is the use of smuggling our liquid assets out of the fortress?*

*As long as we members of the Zhang family cannot escape the territory of the Yu family, won't we still end up at the mercy of others?*

*Yet for now, we can only play petty tricks within Feng'an Manor. If we choose to flee right now, is there still any chance?*

"I... understand, Xiaotan. You have done well. The Zhang family will not forget your contribution, and this young master will surely reward you handsomely."

Offering Xiaotan an empty promise off the cuff, Young Master Zhang waved his hand to dismiss her.

As soon as Xiaotan left, Young Master Zhang began pacing back and forth in the room like an ant on a hot pan for a long while before finally stomping his foot in determination and striding out quickly.

***

Zhang Xiaomi was Zhang Yunyi’s paternal uncle and the most senior living member of the Zhang family.

Usually, Young Master Zhang had little interaction with this granduncle.

But now that disaster was imminent, the only senior clansman he could consult was this very granduncle.

After all, they were grasshoppers tied to the same rope.

"This Yang Can is a ruthless man!"

Coughing twice, Zhang Xiaomi muttered, "Now, this old man finally sees it clearly! This Deacon Yang intends to use the blood of the Zhang family to dye his own reputation, thereby striking terror into the hearts of the six major manors."

Young Master Zhang said irritably, "Granduncle, is there any use in saying these things now? What should we do? What should we do right now, and what should our Zhang family do? That is the most pressing matter."

Zhang Xiaomi remained silent for a long time before saying slowly, "You just mentioned that Deacon Yang is staying in the east wing, adjacent to the granary?"

"Yes, what about it?"

A fierce glint suddenly flashed in Zhang Xiaomi's eyes, and he said grimly, "We shall burn down the east wing and blame it on a natural disaster!"

Young Master Zhang’s eyes widened abruptly, and he said in shock, "What... what the hell use is that? Won't we still die?"

Zhang Xiaomi shook his head and said viciously, "Burning the east wing will inevitably spread to the granary, burning all the managers locked inside to death in a single fire!"

Horrified, Young Master Zhang stammered, "Granduncle, I... my father is also locked in the granary."

Zhang Xiaomi slowly lowered his eyelids, wearing an senile expression as if he hadn't heard what was said at all.

Young Master Zhang suddenly understood. His granduncle meant to...

Young Master Zhang shrank back into his chair and nervously began biting his fingernails.

This was a habit he had developed since childhood.

Zhang Xiaomi said slowly, "If only Yang Can dies, we will find it hard to escape responsibility. But if so many managers in the manor all die as well, then it will simply be chalked up to dry weather and an accidental natural disaster."

In the Hetao region, the spring winds blew from the southwest and the northwest.

As a result, once a fire broke out in the east wing, the granary area outside it would naturally and easily be engulfed by the wind-driven flames.

Zhang Xiaomi continued, "If so many people die all at once, just think how many widows and orphans will be created. Will they make no noise or cause no trouble? With our Feng'an Manor thrown into such chaos by this fellow surnamed Yang, a good harvest this autumn is completely out of the question. What do you think the other five major manors will do, feeling the sorrow of the dying rabbit?"

There was one more thing Zhang Xiaomi did not state explicitly.

If Zhang Yunyi also perished in this fire, in the absence of evidence, who would dare accuse the Zhang family of setting it?

Once Zhang Yunyi was burned to death, the Zhang family members would transform into the aggrieved party, allowing them to rally numerous other victims and escalate the situation.

Furthermore, they could use this fire to incinerate much of the evidence detrimental to the Zhang family.

With no witnesses, no physical evidence, and no investigator left, what more could anyone do?

To hush the matter up, the clan leader would most likely choose to minimize the incident and let it pass.

After all, to the clan leader, the death of a single deacon mattered little; solidifying his rule was paramount.

Emotions flickered across Young Master Zhang's face as he sat there in a daze, saying nothing.

This was not only challenging the clan leader's bottom line; it also violated his own.

At the very least, he had never considered patricide.

Zhang Xiaomi tapped the head of his walking stick and asked in a deep voice, "The fire is already burning your eyebrows, have you made up your mind?"

Young Master Zhang stammered, "Should I... should I discuss this with my mother and my brothers?"

Zhang Xiaomi sneered, "Can you command the guards in Feng'an Fortress?"

Young Master Zhang puffed out his chest slightly. "With my father absent, I am the head of the household. Of course I can command them."

Zhang Xiaomi said, "Isn't that enough? If you must make it known to everyone, how could you hope to deceive the public?"

Young Master Zhang lowered his head and weighed the options repeatedly.

He truly had no emotional bond with his father, but an act like patricide, even just to contemplate, made his heart pound with terror.

Zhang Xiaomi said, "I will have your three cousins go and assist you."

Zhang Xiaomi had three sons in total. This meant tying themselves completely together with him.

The mounting pressure of the dismantling tactics, the urge to escape already sparked by the transfer of liquid assets, combined with Zhang Xiaomi's instigation at this moment, finally drove Young Master Zhang to a decision.

He slapped his thigh fiercely and said through gritted teeth, "Yang Can, you brought this on me!"

***

On the eighteenth of April, night.

There was wind tonight.

A northwest wind.

Young Master Zhang mobilized more than a dozen Zhang family guards whom he believed he could completely trust.

Carrying jars of lamp oil, the group quietly approached the east wing guest quarters where Yang Can and his retinue resided.

This was the territory of the Zhang family; every blade of grass, every tree, every brick and tile was intimately familiar to them.

Thus, their stealthy approach did not arouse the suspicion of the guards in the courtyard.

The Zhang family originally kept fierce guard dogs, but since it was members of the Zhang family themselves who had arrived, the hounds naturally made no sound.

In this era, even in the Longshang region, the buildings of wealthy households were largely constructed of wood.

With the wind blowing tonight and lamp oil in hand, setting fire to a predominantly wooden pavilion was, naturally, very easy.

***

Yang Can stood on the tall granite foundation platform of the granary area, gazing out at the small building where he was supposed to be sleeping.

This was the granary farthest from the east wing, and it still contained half a granary of aged grain.

Yang Can had just come up hurriedly, and was still wearing his sleeping robe.

The wind whipped at his robe, causing the hem to flutter continuously.

Just as Young Master Zhang was gathering his guards to take action, Yang Can had received a warning and quietly slipped away.

He knew the Zhang family would inevitably make a move; under relentless pressure, human resolve would eventually break.

He simply hadn't been certain of the method they would choose.

Now, he knew.

"Whoosh!"

The wind aided the fire, and oil added to the flames—the outcome was self-evident.

A colossal torch rapidly materialized in the night sky.

The evening breeze in Longshang was fierce.

From here, one could clearly see the tongues of fire hungrily licking towards the sky.

Affected by the high-altitude strong currents, the flames forcibly bent over, sweeping toward the storage area.

The power of the fire was immense, and since Yang Can was standing downwind, even from a great distance he could feel the scorching intensity of the inferno.

Zhang Yunyi, his two thumbs bound tightly together with cured ox-tendon, stood right beside Yang Can.

His complexion was grim to the absolute extreme.

The fire was so fierce that it seemed as though even iron would melt.

The tongues of fire had already licked the first granary.

Everything above the foundation of that granary was flammable, and it immediately ignited.

If anyone was inside, once the blaze burned itself out, not even ashes would likely remain.

Zhang Yunyi was a man with a strong sense of family loyalty. In the first half of his life, he had fought his way to a brilliant future with his own life and blade.

In the latter half, he had devoted himself entirely to strengthening the Zhang family, aiming to help the clan branch out and firmly plant its roots in the soil of Longshang.

Therefore, as long as it could protect the Zhang family he had built up with his own hands, he would not hesitate to die if necessary.

However, dying of his own accord to protect them was vastly different from being murdered by the very family members he sought to safeguard.

This was the ultimate betrayal; all his efforts and sacrifices had been reduced to a grand joke by this single fire.

As soon as the fire broke out, the people of the Zhang family raised a clamor.

Unaware of the truth, various family members frantically shouted for servants and guards to rush and put out the fire in the east wing.

Yet the blaze was too ferocious to approach at all.

Deep within the granary area, upon the granite foundation, Yang Can sat down, his legs dangling naturally in the air.

The distant firelight flickered across his face with the shifting wind.

Watching the flames, Yang Can said to the ash-faced Zhang Yunyi, "Master Zhang, do you see? This... is the Zhang family you single-mindedly protected!"

Yang Can shook his head and sighed, "Over all these years, you probably only succeeded in cultivating their appetite for the effortless enjoyment of wealth and glory! Every single one of their hearts has grown crooked."

"Whoosh..." The small building had yet to collapse, but the upper section of the granary that had ignited first was already beginning to cave in.

The collapsing burning debris scattered countless sparks into the air, swept up by the gale until they looked like a constellation of stars—extraordinarily brilliant.

"Master Zhang, I have a very good suggestion. Would you like to hear it?"

Yang Can suddenly turned his head, smiling at Zhang Yunyi amidst the fluttering "starlight."

His smile in the starlight was dazzlingly bright.

More than a height of ten feet below the granite foundation were the various managers of Feng'an Manor, watched over by two managers, two matrons, and a squad of guards.

The managers were struck dumb with shock.

The granary that had previously been used to hold them captive had just collapsed, turning into a sky full of stars.

Qingmei looked at the collapsed granary with lingering fear, then suddenly turned her head to look up at the high stone foundation.

Yang Can sat on the edge of that stone foundation, the firelight illuminating his features as if he were carved from granite.

"Thud!"

Bound by the hands, Zhang Yunyi suddenly dropped to his knees before Yang Can.

Because his hands were tied, he could not break his fall, and his kneecaps slammed hard against the solid granite.

His knees hurt terribly, but his heart hurt far more.

Yang Can looked down at the deeply bowed, graying head before him.

Zhang Yunyi's shoulders were trembling violently; he was weeping silently.

Yang Can said leisurely, "Master Zhang, I guarantee you will not regret the choice you made today!"

Little Qingmei tilted her small face upward, gazing fixedly at this scene with eyes full of adoration.