69. An Insidious Woman
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Before Huang Chun married Zhang Guo, the Huang family were a wealthy merchant family which moved from place to place, with shops in the Huofeng and Yunchi regions, and connections in both sects.
Simply put, the Zhang family had always been prominent, but they were practically an empty shell at that point, and only rose to greatness after bringing in Huang Chun and her family's wealth and connections.
But there was a dark side to the Huang family...
They were highly superstitious, and rightfully so, as their wealth and fortune came from a 'Fortune Demon' who swapped any approaching ill-fate with the good fortune of any chosen family.
Naturally, they kept this well hidden, and no one was the wiser.
Back then, Huang Chun had been extremely popular for her rare and delicate beauty which awoke the protective instincts of men, and as the sole heir to the Huang family, there was no end to the suitors who followed her around as her 'Brothers'.
But she herself only loved one person...
It was a prominent young cultivator from the Huofeng Sect, and after a spring dalliance, she had wound up pregnant with his child.
However, she had the misfortune of discovering he already had a wife and son, and with a shaky position in his family, he refused to accept her, even as a concubine.
Desperate, Huang Chun had settled on Zhang Guo, a 'an entitled fool she could control', and after a well-planned night of fine wines, Zhang Guo awoke beside her the next day, and believed he was indeed the father of her child!
Unfortunately, Zhang Guo's mother had been trying to break the family's history of lackluster cultivators, and she had already set her sights on Duan Xiu from Yunchi Sect, which of course led to Zhang Guo's marriage to Duan Xiu, and Huang Chun coming in as his concubine.
At the time, Huang Chun had no real power in Yueyan, but what she had was an outstanding level of patience...
She knew true power came from dependence, so she dug her claws in gently, using her money to 'help' a few impoverished disciples or Sect Warriors, slowly growing their debt to her, and building her own reputation.
But her funds were not enough for the level of hold she needed...
So she summoned the Fortune Demon for his most ambitious move yet, instructing him to bring the entire Yueyan's good fortune into the Zhang family.
This had led to the awful drought back then, while the Zhang family flourished, becoming even richer than the entire Sect, and this brought her all the 'dependence' she needed, as almost anyone in need turned to the Zhang family for help, including the Yueyan Sect itself.
Duan Xiu offered help out of sheer generosity, while Zhang Guo offered help so the Xu Clan will be grateful and owe him favours.
But none could be compared to Huang Chun, and behind their backs, she extended her claws boldly by pouring mass amounts of wealth into the Xu Elders, Sect Warriors, and disciples, ensuring she always had powerful backers.
She took it further by making sure she had loyal followers in almost every city or settlement in the Yueyan region, making her hold near-impossible to shake.
And when she wanted her way she went as far as threatening family members or bringing up debts, which was evident in her control of the disciples and sect warriors who followed Zhang Cheng about.
But then the Fortune Demon's spell had coincidentally broken after Sect Leader Xu found Xu Weiyan.
In actuality, the spell broke the instant Weiyan arrived at Yueyan mountain, but no one knew that...
The Fortune Demon merely suspected that the orphan child had somehow destroyed his powers and broken his spell, but he wasn't sure how or why.
Still Huang Chun blamed Xu Weiyan for the loss of her fortune demon, and that, on top of Xu Weiyan being an orphan, led to Huang Chun's instant dislike of Weiyan.
Fortunately, the Zhang family still had more than enough wealth and connections, and it was around that time that Huang Chun brought in her mother, Huang Su, to slowly poison Duan Xiu to death, and then mute her spirit.
Then they slowly drove Zhang Guo's mother to madness, and had used a puppet talisman to make her hang herself after she tried warning Luoyin.
Through the years, Zhang Furen had caused multiple deaths, including the dead servants in the household, all as a sacrifice to the Fortune Demon, until Weiyan somehow destroyed his powers.
As for the eye-eater, he had instantly recognised the demon aura surrounding Huang Chun's bloodline and he approached, offering his services and using her ambitions against her, leading to the incident in the forest.
And as for Zhang Cheng's speed in cultivation, the Xu elders had been stealing Sect resources, siphoning valuables out after every mission, before they could even be recorded in the Sect's inventory.
Then the Xu elders gave all these to Zhang Furen, which ensured Zhang Cheng got a steady supply of the best pills and resources, several of which money couldn't even buy...!
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By the time all the former servants, guards disciples, sect warriors, elders, and even three fortune-tellers who had once had the misfortune of crossing Zhang Furen were done, everyone in the Serene Moonlight hall was in a stunned silence.
A silence broken only by Zhang Furen's quiet sobs.
It was evening by now, and wall lanterns had been lit to fill the hall with a warming glow, but this warmth did nothing to stop the chilling feeling in their hearts, as they marveled at how one could possibly be so wicked!
At the front of the hall were stacks upon stacks of dated receipts, threatening letters, promissory notes, plots, and the likes, most of which had Zhang Furen's handwriting, signature, or seal...
Most interesting of all was a particularly letter from Zhang Furen to a certain Elder in the Huofeng Sect, informing him that 'their son' was doing well.
That particular letter had sent Lord Zhang into a faint, as he realized Zhang Cheng wasn't even his son, and Zhang Furen now had red eyes from shedding tears no one believed anymore.
Even the Xu elders under her control were now realizing how deliberate her 'help' had been from the start, or just how deep her actions were, and more than a few of them wore grim looks, including 1st elder Xu, the eldest who shook his head in the grave silence.
"Such a poisonous and insidious woman!" Sect Elder Zhou loudly exclaimed, breaking the silence and leading to a near unending flow of outraged comments.
"So evil!"
"Unbelievable!"
"No wonder the late Zhang Furen's ghost is restless!"
"And they even went as far as muting a restless ghost!"
"Shadow Realm is surely empty because the demons are here posing as mortals!"
"To think I invited such a demon to my child's 100-day celebration! I'll go and purify all my children at the temple!"
"Peh!" One almost literally spat. "I'm returning every gift I ever received from the Zhang family!"
Finally, as if to add insult to injury, Sect Leader Xu gestured to the guards at the door, and they let in a few men who carried a plain coffin covered in ordinary white cloth.
"In the Fall of last year, a gruesome attack occurred in TianYue temple, close to Yue City..." Xu Fengyan spoke as the men brought the coffin forward and dropped it before everyone.
"This was a unique case... First, evil spirits managed to enter the temple, which is unheard of. Secondly, we haven't been able to identify who the victim was. And so, a few of our ice cultivators have cast seals to preserve the body in the original state it was found in.
"But now..." Xu Fengyan waved a hand and the coffin lid slid away to shocked gasps.
The corpse in the coffin was broken and torn apart, with loose flesh hanging off the bones in places, and it was so bloody that a few of the younger house heads retched on the spot.
The corpse's face was nearly ripped apart, yet it was evident that it - or rather 'she' had been screaming in terror at the moment of her demise.
"Thanks to a few clues and some anonymous messages, we have finally identified who the unfortunate victim was." Xu Fengyan sighed. "This is the woman named Huang Su, mother of Zhang Furen..."
There was an instant uproar, and Zhang Furen shot to her feet.
"No!" She staggered forward. "No! It's not possible! My mother is travelling!"
Also, she knew her mother wore numerous protective talismans which should shield her from all evil spirits, so this wasn't making any sense!
"It's not possible!" She repeated, yet her eyes fell on the torn pieces of a familiar set of robes, the bloodstained Jade bracelets, and even the scattered prayer beads.
She fell to her knees as she heard her mother's last words: "We have blood on our hands, but I'll bear it all! I'll visit and donate to as many temples as possible in your name, to accumulate good karma for you...!"
"Ma!" Zhang Furen cried, showing real tears for the first time in decades. "Ma! Why are you lying here like this?! Didn't you say you would travel and raise good karma?! Why are you in such a state?! Who harmed you?!"
She sobbed and sobbed, but not a soul stepped forward to aid or console.
Xu Fengyan merely shook his head. "In the end, Huang Su was found and killed by Duan Xiu's spirit, so it was her bad karma that caught up with her...
"We've all heard the accusations and testimonies today, and seen the evidence for ourselves. The elders and I will strictly follow all these trails, and not one person involved will be spared!
"In addition, all this will be sent to the Wulin for further investigation and punishments!"
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