The male supporting character was actually myself.

She couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if the sacred artifacts of the demon race were taken over by humans.

"I don't know exactly where it is either. I'll ask around after we finish dealing with the Gu family's affairs." Jiang Chen wasn't really sure either, since the new plot involved a virus that had arbitrarily changed the world's background setting.

If the School Affairs Department doesn't know anything about the mysterious sect, then it will be really difficult to find them.

Especially after the art style was modified to be more like the cultivation world, it's entirely possible that the mysterious sect of the female protagonist who is about to appear is protected by some kind of great formation and has hidden its tracks. At that time, we might have to work on Gu Xingzhou.

"Then I'll go to the Gu family in Junxi Town first to check on the situation!" Hong Luo thought about her current situation and realized she couldn't worry about too much. It would be better to deal with the immediate problem first and make further plans after leaving Gu Xingzhou.

Gu Xingzhou was only at the peak of the first level, and his walking speed was slightly faster than that of an ordinary person. He could go ahead and see what was going on with the Gu family before deciding whether to lend a hand.

The fluffy little thing was even faster than her. Seeing this, it turned into a blur and disappeared without a trace. A while later, it floated back on the wind and said, "Host, I'll be going first!"

Jiang Chen stretched and followed nimbly from a distance.

Junxi Town, Gu Family.

With only six months left before the selection of participants for the clan's martial arts tournament was finalized, Gu Yong, the clan patriarch who had been demoted and exiled from the capital for committing a grave mistake years ago, looked deeply troubled.

"Truly, each generation is worse than the last!" After touring the vast family and examining the so-called promising talents, he returned to the council hall and sighed deeply. "At least my son produced a talent who soared to great heights in the capital. Even though he was disgraced and crippled, he still brought so much wealth and spiritual medicine to our family."

But what about the sons you had?

Back then, we brought back crates and crates of the finest medicinal herbs from Kyoto to feed them, but not a single one of them even looked at them properly! They all ate like pigs; how could they possibly represent the Junxi Town lineage to bring glory to their ancestors in Kyoto!

Sitting in the first row below was his eldest son, dressed like a nouveau riche, his fat, greasy face showing a hint of impatience. "Dad, you don't need to be so stubborn."

Why do we have to go back to Kyoto?

What good was my third brother's prowess back then? He was still refused to be taken back. If you ask me, why should we let our children fight and kill each other when we have so much gold and silver treasures and can live a peaceful and carefree life in Junxi Town?

"Are you only happy if everyone in our lineage gets beaten to a pulp like our third brother in the ring, with some of us dead and others crippled?"

"Big brother is right!"

“That’s not how it works. Since the clan has given us an invitation, we should go.” Another man with a mustache and cunning eyes chuckled. “Anyway, I know my sons’ abilities. They definitely can’t beat others, so they won’t compete for this spot.”

I've heard that my third brother's son, that shifty-eyed thief Gu Xingzhou, is actually quite skilled in cultivation. Let him go!

"Yes, yes, the third brother would definitely want his son to try again and prove himself."

A hint of disgust flashed across Gu Yongnian's aged face. "Hmph! Don't think I don't know what you're up to! Back then, although our family was large and powerful, we didn't have this much money."

He received a huge compensation for nearly losing his life while flying, and he voluntarily contributed it to his family as a token of his goodwill.

My rule is that whoever cultivates diligently will receive more resources.

And what happened? After making millions, the entire Gu family went astray, indulging in drinking, gambling, and whoring—none of them were doing any proper work!

Now that they've amassed enough wealth, are they planning to pick some unlucky fool to provoke into risking their life for riches, then make a few million more to feed a bunch of parasites like you who live off others?

He was heartbroken as he spoke, but unfortunately, he was getting old, and his sons all had sons of their own, each more domineering than him. He couldn't beat them, he couldn't scold them, and he simply couldn't control them anymore…

With their little scheme exposed, everyone smiled knowingly.

"Father, that kid is always so resentful and unwilling to even call us Grandpa. He'd be very willing to represent our lineage and go to Kyoto to broaden his horizons."

"That makes sense. Our children aren't very talented, and they're in this poor, remote area without enough spiritual herbs to nourish them, so their cultivation speed is naturally slow. If we could bring back more spiritual herbs, hehehe... wouldn't reaching level five be a piece of cake? Then we could practically dominate not only Junxi Town but also Yiqin City!"

“My third brother has a broad perspective and is willing to hand over the huge compensation to the family. The only problem is that his desperate son is unwilling to do so.”

"With so many elders accompanying him, how can a mere child like him have the final say if he doesn't want to?"

The group exchanged glances, and their malicious intentions became clear instantly.

He tricked that arrogant fellow from his third brother's family into representing the Junxi Town lineage to challenge the capital. If he was seriously injured, he could use the compensation example from back then to demand a huge sum of money. Once he got the money and the elixir, Gu Xingzhou would be in charge.

If he behaves well, we'll spare his life.

If he doesn't follow instructions, it would be reasonable for him, a seriously injured guy, to catch a cold and die, right?

As a member of the Gu family, isn't it normal for his property to be confiscated after his death?

Let others do the hard work while you sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Who wouldn't like such an arrangement if they were a beneficiary?

“You…” Gu Yong’s fingers trembled as he thought back to when they were young, they were not like this now. Where did their spirit of wanting to bring glory to the clan go?

After squandering all of his brother's money, he set his sights on his only son, his own nephew. How could he be so vicious!

"Dad, stop pretending." The eldest son chuckled, rubbing the priceless jade thumb ring on his hand. "The biggest beneficiary of that compensation is you, old man."

They've really squandered all their money these past two years, otherwise you wouldn't have just let everyone drive that family of freeloaders out, right? Besides, the fact that we've planned to drive them out will put some pressure on them, and then their son will be forced to participate in the martial arts tournament out of spite, which will just be a convenient move.

Don't be so hypocritical. You were the most enthusiastic when it came to squandering money, but now you're tacitly allowing us to scheme against you while cursing us as scoundrels. This is just too outrageous.

If you really want to stand up for them, then be frank, we can simply not participate in this lousy martial arts tournament! Why bother offering your services when you know it's just asking for humiliation?

Gu Yong opened his mouth but didn't speak, his face turning even uglier. He snorted coldly, threw down a sentence, and got up to leave, "Pass up the quota and let Gu Xingzhou go to Kyoto."

I recently lost a lot of money lending at high interest rates and ran into a tough customer. If I could make a few million more, at least I wouldn't have to worry about my retirement.

The Gu family, a large household, needs money for everything, but all of their sons are unreliable.

He had thought that he might be able to pick out one or two suitable grandchildren from among his grandchildren, and if he was lucky, they might be chosen by the major government offices in the capital, wouldn't it be only natural to keep them?

As one gets older, it becomes especially important whether one can gain favor with the Gu clan and be included in the clan genealogy.

As long as one doesn't have unrealistic ambitions like in the past, and has a grandson who can stay in the government office and obtain a residency permit, then by the time one buys a house, one can naturally stay in the capital as the grandfather.

In the future, if we try to build a good relationship with the clan, it shouldn't be too difficult for our lineage to be included in the family genealogy.

But to my surprise, I couldn't find a single decent one!

The clan has the advantage of favorable timing, location, and popular support. Things are definitely different now than they were back then. It's absolutely impossible for them to compete for this glory with those few pig-like guys.

Then let's take a step back. We've finally encountered such a fortunate coincidence, so there's no harm in sending Gu Xingzhou.

If he shines brightly, he will gain prestige and reap considerable benefits, so he will stay in Kyoto as originally planned.

If he were to become as incompetent as his father and get beaten half to death, losing face would be good, but he could also make a fortune. Moreover, he could negotiate a place to stay in Kyoto under the guise of recuperating...

"If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too!" After hearing the whispers in the council hall, the fluffy little dumpling hopped around to check the situation in each courtyard.

The eldest son's family runs a casino. They pretend to be poor, but in reality, they are making a fortune through their slush fund.

The second and fourth brothers secretly funded an underground auction house, where human trafficking incidents frequently occurred.

The old man was a big player in the black market, lending money at exorbitant interest rates. It's likely he used that compensation as principal to make a fortune over the years.

The fluffy little creature, an expert at uncovering secret stashes of wealth, quickly investigated them thoroughly. By the time Gu Xingzhou stormed into Junxi Town in a rage, it had already communicated with its host about the next steps and their plan to go with the flow.

Hongluo was even later.

She clearly lacked search experience, but was adept at using mind-reading to eavesdrop on thoughts. The use of mind-reading had significant limitations; it wasn't as intuitive and clear as the little white cat's method, but after going through a lot of trouble, Hongluo still managed to obtain some useful information.

The money that Gu Feiyue earned with her life back then spawned a large number of spoiled brats, but after reading Gu Feiyue and his family's minds, she found that no one had forced Gu Feiyue.

He secretly donated that huge sum of compensation to his family without his wife's knowledge.

Well, you can't blame anyone else for that!

Moreover, after several attempts to eavesdrop on his thoughts, Hong Luo discovered that the Gu family actually treated Gu Xingzhou fairly well. After all, everyone agreed to give him such an important spot to go to the martial arts tournament in the capital, probably because they wanted him to prove his father's worth.

If that's the case, it would be really wrong of me to help him beat someone up!

"Xingzhou, I sense something is off about the atmosphere of the Gu family." Honglu thought for a moment, unwilling to take sides, so she secretly made up a lie, "It seems there are several powerful hidden auras, and I cannot easily take action. Since this is my first visit, why don't we reason things out first?"

A hidden, powerful aura?

Gu Xingzhou was a little unsure after hearing his beautiful master say that. There were still six months left to compete for a spot in the capital. Could it be that... the Gu family had hired some powerful helper to teach the younger generation?

Even the beautiful master is afraid, so this time things can't get too tense, otherwise it will be troublesome if we can't back down.

"Yes, Master, I will act according to the circumstances," he replied in a low voice, deciding to abandon his original plan to secretly help Junxi Town become famous overnight.

First, make a big fuss about the compensation, then use your master's power to beat the Gu family's peers to a pulp!

Having secured a spot to go to Kyoto, I figured that the powerful figure with the hidden aura wouldn't stay at the Gu family forever, and I'd have a chance to vent my anger sooner or later!

Thinking of this, Gu Xingzhou flexibly modified his plan. Instead of heading straight to the Gu family, he went to the government office to file a complaint with the county magistrate.

Besides deliberately making a big fuss so that the Gu family couldn't deny the irrefutable evidence, there was also a hint of showing off—didn't the county magistrate's illegitimate daughter forcibly break off the engagement? Now I'll show you that the Gu family's vast wealth should have belonged to me!

"Who in the court wants to file a complaint?" When the magistrate entered the court and saw that it was the arrogant young man who had been driven out of the Gu family, he naturally did not have a good impression of him.

Moreover, he only managed to get this minor seventh-rank official position by spending connections and a large sum of money. He was only able to live a comfortable life because the powerful and influential families in the town didn't make things difficult for him.

Are we really going to offend the Gu family for the sake of some mediocre young punk like him?

"Ha, Gu Xingzhou, you think too highly of yourself." The county magistrate clicked his tongue and grinned, "Even if what the newspapers say is true—that your father was beaten into a cripple and received a large sum of compensation back then."

But no matter what, it's not your place to complain and demand payment.

"Your father is still alive. This is what he got. If he wants it back, shouldn't he come in person? Instead of the person involved showing up, you, a mere child, are coming to sue your own grandfather. What kind of logic is that?"

Although Gu Xingzhou was kneeling, he tried his best to keep his back straight. Hearing what the other party said, he retorted, "Sir, the purpose of the compensation amount is clearly written so that my father will be able to support his wife and children. So many spiritual herbs are also for my cultivation!"

The Gu family bullied my father, making him a cripple, and my mother, who was just an ordinary person who didn't know how to cultivate, and that's how they swallowed up the huge fortune that belonged to our family of three!

As the local official, shouldn't you, the county magistrate, stand up for the common people and seek justice for them?

The magistrate frowned and scolded, "How dare you! I have been a magistrate for many years. Do I need a mere child like you to teach me how to be an official? This matter is your overstepping your bounds. If you want to demand compensation, go and have your father come and sue me personally!"

He is the one who should receive the compensation, and he has the final say on how to dispose of the assets.

How can you, as a son, not even understand the principle of "the father is the head of the family"? Besides, don't be unreasonable. Back then, your father was so badly injured that he had to be carried back. Every step of his treatment and care required money and the use of precious medicines.

He himself refused to come, so he must be in the wrong, right?

Born into the Gu family and receiving the best resources from a young age, you ended up failing miserably and bringing back compensation. Besides using it for yourself, there's nothing wrong with giving it back to the family. Blame it on your father's bad luck and your own bad birth!

The incident involving the Gu family in Junxi Town back then caused quite a stir; everyone had heard the rumors and gossip.

As a highly anticipated investment, Gu Feiyue's embarrassing failure to bring glory was originally an internal family matter. The so-called compensation was not received openly, so it was a mess. Eighteen years have passed, and who would acknowledge the old story now?

"No wonder you had to spend money to buy your way into office!" Gu Xingzhou was furious upon hearing this. His aura suddenly flared up, and he stood up, pointing at the county magistrate and cursing, "You're just a muddle-headed official who can't distinguish right from wrong. You're secretly scheming with all the powerful families. Do you think I don't know about your dirty dealings? Just you wait and see, I, Gu Xingzhou, will make sure your entire family is executed within three years!"

Fluffy dumpling: (?oωo?)

Hongluo: Σ(°△°|||)

No wonder he's so stubborn, only caring about his own pleasure without considering the consequences.

"Meow~" Upon seeing this, the little white cat jumped up and immediately blocked the halo that was trying to spread. "You want to attract hatred, show off, and get slapped in the face? Come on, if you're so capable, take it on yourself!"

The wild, fake master, with a sudden burst of energy, made a bold promise to fulfill his three-year vow. The passersby, now shrouded in the aura of reduced intelligence, were either shocked, terrified, or eager to be humiliated. In short, he had to put on a show in front of everyone.

However, the fluffy dumpling did the opposite, and its dazzling aura failed to erupt and envelop everyone.