Chapter 64 | Once I Ruled the Jianghu, Now I Just Want to Nap

“Who are you?! How dare you run wild in my Zhao Residence!”

The newcomer was none other than Master Zhao, the head of the Zhao Family. He had been walking near the gardens just now when he heard the shrill, miserable wailing.

He never expected something like this to happen.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the brother and sister standing nearby. His expression instantly darkened, especially when he saw them standing right beside Jiang Moran.

“Did you bring him here?” Master Zhao questioned coldly, his tone chilling to the bone.

Both Lin Wan and Lin Ming froze, keeping their heads lowered and not daring to speak.

Jiang Moran narrowed his eyes as he looked at him. This so-called Master Zhao exuded arrogance and self-conceit from his very bones, always self-righteously thinking he was somebody.

This was a common affliction among the powerful; he had seen it all too often.

“Bullying my niece and nephew like this isn't very nice, is it?” Jiang Moran said softly, his entire aura shifting.

If he had looked like a somewhat refined and handsome young noble before, at this moment, he was the Ghost-Masked God of Slaughter who had pressed down so hard on the world's martial artists that they couldn't even raise their heads.

Master Zhao's face froze, what little arrogance he possessed instantly scattered by this powerful aura.

Although the man just stood there, and nothing about his appearance had changed, he gave off a suffocating sense of pressure—like a tiny kitten suddenly revealing the fangs of a tiger.

“Who—who on earth are you!” Master Zhao bellowed, trying to mask his rapidly growing terror.

“This is the Zhao Residence, and even those two belong to the Zhao Family! It is not your place as an outsider to order us around!”

At those words, both siblings shuddered. This was the reality they feared most; they were, after all, members of the Zhao Family, an inescapable truth.

“My niece and nephew—and I'm not allowed to look after them?” Jiang Moran asked back with a smile, though the warmth didn't reach his eyes.

“Don't waste too much of my time. I only need one answer. In the future, can Master Zhao ensure they are fed, clothed, and allowed to grow up in peace?”

Master Zhao was already ashamed and annoyed by his sudden palpitation. Now, facing Jiang Moran's almost commanding tone, his authority as the family head was being challenged yet again.

“This is the Zhao Residence! I make the decisions here!”

“No matter how those two bastards live, they are still members of my Zhao Family! Since when is it your turn to interrogate me?!”

Master Zhao roared in uncontrollable rage. Hearing the commotion, the other members of the Zhao Family rushed over.

The moment the rest of the Zhao Family arrived, they gasped at the tragic, horrific scene before them. Some of the women even began to vomit on the spot, unable to stomach the sheer gruesomeness.

“What is going on? What happened here?” Second Brother Zhao asked in shock, seeing the tragic state of the servants' corpses.

A few had even died of pure fright, their faces frozen in the terror they felt right before death.

“Hmph, isn't it all because of the trouble those two bastards brought upon us?” Master Zhao snorted coldly. If he had known this would happen, he should have drowned those two children back then!

Facing the clamoring members of the Zhao Family, Jiang Moran's patience finally wore thin. He didn't have that much time to waste here.

“It seems you have made your choice.”

Hearing this, Master Zhao couldn't help but sneer. “Do you really think you can shake my entire Zhao Family all by yourself?”

“What do you think allowed me to establish a foothold here? This is a place where wealth flows, a transit hub for all kinds of goods. And the reason the Zhao Family sits so securely here is because of our iron-fisted methods!”

As Master Zhao's voice fell, a tall and obese figure slowly walked in from outside the courtyard.

—Cling, clang.

The man carried a nine-ring great saber on his shoulder. With every movement of his body, the iron rings on the blade clanked against each other. The members of the Zhao Family quickly parted to make way for him.

“Looking at you, you must be someone from the jianghu. Then surely you've heard of the Butcher, haven't you?” Master Zhao sneered.

The Butcher took a heavy step forward, coming to a halt right in front of Jiang Moran. The nine rings on his great saber rattled in unison. He stood more than half a head taller than Jiang Moran, his obese frame blocking the view like a small mountain.

Jiang Moran spared him a single glance. The Butcher? Never heard of him. And besides, he was extremely ugly.

“Remember this: this is the Zhao Residence. Don't be so impudent in your next life!”

As soon as Master Zhao finished speaking, the Butcher suddenly raised his right hand, hoisting his great saber high into the air.

Jiang Moran ignored him completely and simply uttered two words.

“One minute.”

...

One minute? No, thirty seconds.

Thirty seconds later, the only people left standing in the entire area, other than the siblings, was Second Brother Zhao.

A violent sweep of thirty seconds. It was a sweep in the truest sense of the word. He spent five seconds dealing with Master Zhao and the rest of the family. The remaining twenty-five seconds were entirely wasted on mincing the Butcher into meat paste.

Second Brother Zhao stood rooted to the spot, completely frozen in fear. His face was a numb, blank slate. At his feet lay Master Zhao and the other members of the Zhao Family, their necks snapped one hundred and eighty degrees.

In front of him was the "Butcher," who could no longer be recognized as human.

Warned by Jiang Moran beforehand, the two siblings had already turned their backs to the scene. Otherwise, they would have been left with a lifelong psychological shadow at such a young age.

“Do you know why you're not dead?” Jiang Moran casually tossed aside the nine-ring great saber.

The blade was covered in jagged chips and was completely ruined. After all, the Butcher's bones had been rather hard.

“N-No... no, no, no...” Second Brother Zhao stammered incoherently, unable to form a complete sentence as he shook his head in sheer panic.

Jiang Moran slowly walked toward him. With every step he took, Second Brother Zhao's face turned a shade paler.

Finally, only a few paces separated the two.

Jiang Moran wiped the blood on his hands onto Second Brother Zhao's clothes before speaking in a calm voice.

“I saw the ambition in your eyes, Second Brother Zhao.”

Hearing this, Second Brother Zhao shuddered. It was true that he had always coveted the position of family head, but he had never found the opportunity to seize it.

“The Zhao Family cannot fall. Otherwise, my niece and nephew will go hungry, and that would give me quite a headache.”

Second Brother Zhao suddenly snapped out of his daze. Bowing low, he repeatedly lowered his posture and promised, “Rest assured! Please rest assured! From this day forth, I will definitely take good care of them!!”

Jiang Moran nodded in satisfaction. A man who could harbor such ambition and lay low for so many years would know exactly what was most important.

He wouldn't put his own authority first like Master Zhao did.

Most importantly, Second Brother Zhao was clear-headed.

“I have high hopes for you,” Jiang Moran said, patting his shoulder. Overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, Second Brother Zhao nodded in terrified gratitude.

With everything done, Jiang Moran did not linger any longer.

He declined Second Brother Zhao's invitations to stay, returned to his original room, and emptied the remaining wine into the wine gourd at his waist.

The remaining half of the jar he carried to the backyard.

There stood a withered plum blossom tree, beneath which lay two small tombstones side by side.

Jiang Moran poured the remaining wine before the tombstones and said softly, “Old Lin, you waited so long, yet you didn't think to call me over.”

“Now you make me carry it all the way out here. How troublesome.”

The red horizon gradually faded, and a full moon hung high in the night sky, casting its light alongside the scattered stars onto the land.

Jiang Moran leaned quietly against the tombstone as he drank. He had been sitting there for a long time. Of course, he never measured time by the sky, but by the Osmanthus Wine in his gourd.

Down to the last drop, Jiang Moran stood up somewhat unsteadily.

“I'm leaving. Don't miss me too much. After all, you only brewed this much wine back then.”

Jiang Moran slowly walked toward the main gate. Just as he reached it, he saw two small figures.

Lin Wan and Lin Ming stood at the entrance, each holding a jar of Osmanthus Wine. However, these were not aged for five years, but only one.

“Uncle Jiang! Take these jars of wine with you. You can drink them on your journey.”

Lin Wan stepped forward with the jar in her arms. Her face was flushed red from the effort, making her look quite adorable.

Helpless, Jiang Moran stepped forward, took the jars, and placed them on the ground.

“No need. If I drink this wine anywhere else, I'm afraid it won't taste quite the same,” Jiang Moran said.

With that, he patted both of their heads. Stepping through the gates, he vanished into the night in a flash under their dazed gazes.

From the moment Jiang Moran arrived from Jinling City to his departure, it had only taken a single day.

Yet, within this single day, many things had happened back in Jinling City.

...

Bang! The table was slammed to pieces. None of the people below dared to look up at Wu Changfeng, who was seething with rage at the head of the room.

“A power that was only established a single day ago has managed to poach over three hundred people from our Martial Alliance?”

Wu Changfeng's expression was incredibly dark. This was undoubtedly a slap in the face—a slap to the face of the Martial Alliance!

“What is the name of that organization?”

An elderly man stood up tremulously from his seat. He had been with the Martial Alliance since its inception and was considered one of its oldest and most veteran members.