The great hall and corridors of the Jiang Family residence were empty, with only the occasional servant sweeping the floor. The training ground, once a place for contests of strength and courage, was also deserted, though the extent of its wear and tear showed it had been used many times.
Jiang Li wandered through the Jiang Family residence like a ghost. He followed his memories through many places, but five hundred years had passed, and the Jiang Family of today was vastly different from the one in Jiang Li's memory.
The place that most resembled his memories was the small house he had lived in at the very beginning of his transmigration; it was about eighty percent similar.
He guessed that perhaps someone had moved in after he left, and then after he became the Human Emperor, the Jiang Family had hastily tidied up the small house, trying their best to restore its original appearance. Jiang Li shook his head with some regret and walked towards the ancestral hall.
For the Jiang Family's Ancestor Worship, the eldest elder would kneel in the ancestral hall to pray for the ancestors' blessings. The rest of the family would stay in their rooms, fasting for nine days and not speaking a single word to show their piety.
In the ancestral hall, a decrepit old man knelt, the layers of wrinkles on his face nearly covering his eyes. Jiang Li walked up to him and used a minor magical art to see the old man's appearance in his youth.
His features bore a thirty to forty percent resemblance to Jiang Yixing; he was either Jiang Yixing's son, grandson, or an even younger junior. And Jiang Yixing's spirit tablet was conspicuously displayed at the very bottom of a row of tablets. Jiang Li sighed softly and turned to leave the Jiang Family residence.
Jiang Yixing was dead after all. Although it was expected, he still felt a little dispirited. Jiang Li ambled out of the Jiang Family residence, his melancholy thoughts interrupted by a shrill voice.
“Sir, it's been a full ten days! Why do you refuse to send people to find our children!”
“We demand to see the City Lord!”
Opposite the Jiang Family residence was the City Lord's Mansion. Several couples were bitterly pleading with the guards of the City Lord's Mansion, wanting to see the City Lord, but the guards remained unmoved, as if they had not heard the people's pleas.
“Without the City Lord's permission, no one is allowed to see the City Lord. Please leave at once.”
Another guard could not bear to watch and patiently explained, “Good people, the City Lord's Mansion has always been short-staffed. You only said your children were stolen, and after you found a trail, you followed it all the way to Green City before losing it.
So many people come and go from Green City every day, perhaps the traffickers were just passing through. Even if we wanted to search, we would not know where to begin.”
“Children have gone missing from several nearby cities, and all the trails disappear in Green City. Our children must be here!” another person said indignantly.
He had tied a talisman with a locating magical art to his child's wrist. After the child went missing, he followed the magical trail to Green City, where it vanished. He then met several other parents who had similar experiences; some had even lost their children right here in Green City.
If someone said there was nothing wrong with Green City, he definitely would not believe it!
“My child went missing right here in Green City! How could the traffickers just be passing through!”
The other expressionless guard said, “Please, try to understand our lack of manpower. If you can prove the traffickers are in Green City, we will definitely send people to search. How about that?”
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
“We want to see the City Lord!”
“Our children went missing here, yet the officials do nothing! Is this how things are done in the Homeland of the Human Emperor!”
“My child went missing in Green City, and you still want proof? How can something so absurd happen!”
The voices of the guards and the parents grew louder and louder, eventually turning into a quarrel, which attracted the attention of several Protectors from the Jiang Family.
“On the day of the Jiang Family's Ancestor Worship, what is the meaning of all this ruckus!”
A Protector walked out from the Jiang Family residence and sternly reprimanded the group.
“As guards of the City Lord's Mansion, you actually allow a group of troublemakers to cause a scene in front of the mansion. Are you not afraid of being blamed by the City Lord!”
Hearing this, the guards immediately moved to drive the people away. Jiang Li could not watch any longer, so he dispelled the magical art concealing his form and sneered from the side.
“What great prestige the Jiang Family has. You can even manage matters at the gate of the City Lord's Mansion. If you like meddling so much, how about you take care of cleaning the area in front of the City Lord's Mansion as well?”
The Protector was enraged upon hearing this.
“How dare you speak so disrespectfully to the Jiang Family! Such audacity!”
The parents who had lost their children and the guards of the City Lord's Mansion were also astonished. The current Human Emperor was from the Jiang Family. Never mind in Green City, even in the entire Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty, no one would dare to speak to the Jiang Family like that.
This person must be some reckless fool. Suddenly, a middle-aged man shot out from the side, quickly grabbing Jiang Li. While forcing a smile at the Jiang Family Protector, he secretly sent a voice transmission to Jiang Li.
Kid, you just started wandering the world and you're already offending the Jiang Family? Are you tired of living?
Leave quickly!
This matter involves Human Emperor Jiang, do not get involved in these muddy waters! The middle-aged man hastily pulled Jiang Li away. Before the others could react, the two of them had vanished without a trace.
“Where did they go?”
“Which family's brat are you? Did not anyone tell you not to provoke the Aristocratic Families before you left home!”
The middle-aged man pulled Jiang Li to a secluded corner and scolded him. He saw Jiang Li's youthful and inexperienced face, his reckless actions, and the fact that his clothes were made of extremely fine material. He was surely the child of some great family who had run away from home to gain experience.
“If it were any other Imperial Dynasty, I naturally would not dare to provoke an unreasonable Aristocratic Family. But this is the Great Zhou, a nation ruled by law. Even the Aristocratic Families dare not ignore the law.”
When the middle-aged man heard this, he became even more certain of his guess. This kid had to be from some great sect or large family; otherwise, his perspective would not be so broad as to immediately compare with other Imperial Dynasties. One must know that the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was vast.
A Nascent Soul Stage cultivator might not even leave the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty in their entire lifetime, let alone compare the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty to other Imperial Dynasties.
“A nation ruled by law, you can apply that saying to any place in the Great Zhou, except for the Jiang Family.”
The middle-aged man paused, then continued, “The Jiang Family is backed by Human Emperor Jiang. Who in the Great Zhou would dare to punish them? Everyone says Human Emperor Jiang is selfless and impartial, but who can guarantee that he will not be biased towards his own family?”
Jiang Li frowned slightly upon hearing this.
“As far as I know, Human Emperor Jiang left the Jiang Family five hundred years ago and has not returned even once during that time. Does that not prove his relationship with the Jiang Family has faded?”
The middle-aged man sneered, “That's just propaganda that Human Emperor Jiang created to project an image of selflessness and impartiality. Blood is thicker than water. You think he has not returned to the Jiang Family in secret even once?”
“When you are out in the world, do not believe everything you hear. This world is not as bright as you think.”
The middle-aged man put on an air of someone who had seen through the dark side of the world. Jiang Li thought to himself, When did I ever come back here? How come I myself do not know about it?
“Do you have any proof for what you are saying?”
There was a hint of questioning in Jiang Li's tone, but the middle-aged man was feeling smug and did not notice the hostility in Jiang Li's voice.
“Of course, I do,” the middle-aged man said confidently.
“I once overheard a conversation between the Jiang Family Head and the Green City Lord. The Jiang Family Head's words implied that Human Emperor Jiang often returns home secretly to visit his descendants.”
(End of Chapter)