Chapter 1031 Impending Fear
Hu Peiliang and Hu Shui were unaware of the chaos that was about to descend upon the empire they were expecting to inherit.
They didn't know that the cause of it was also related to their actions. Though the end result of them losing the empire was always going to happen, regardless of their interference.
The thing that had changed was the amount of suffering they will have to bear during this.
And right now, the two were residing in their manors while the news of the chaos was about to reach. Though it wouldn't be long till they got it.
A member of the Hu clan was currently flying through the sacred land of the Hu clan. After a few minutes, he landed near a large manor that was surrounded by cherry trees that were in full bloom.
The man looked haggard, but didn't dare to rest even for a moment.
"Halt! This is the personal residence of Second Miss Hu Shui!" The guards standing outside the residence shouted. "State your purpose!"
"Please let me in quick! I bring grave news for the young miss!" the servant said while taking out a sealed scroll.
The guards looked at the scroll and saw the insignia on the scroll. And when they did, their expression changed to that of anxiety,
"Go in!" The guards permitted. "Inform the young miss as well." He said to another servant that was standing nearby.
~Creak~
The doors of the residence were opened, allowing the servant in. He was guided by the other servant and brought to the second miss.
"What is it?" She questioned upon seeing the haggard looking servant.
His Qi seemed to be in a disarray, and his vitality was fluctuating as well. One could tell that he had expended a lot of energy and perhaps even used some self damaging skills to rush here.
"S-second miss… I bring grave news!" The servant stuttered before taking out the sealed scroll.
Hearing this Hu Shui narrowed her eyes and took the scroll.
'That seal?' Hu Shui was a bit surprised.
She quickly cracked the seal and opened up the scroll. Her eyes scanned the content, while her expression changed from calm, to anxious to a bit fearful.
"How's this possible?" She muttered in disbelief.
"I was personally sent by the Duke, second miss. Everything in the scrolls is true." The servant spoke nervously.
'The Eldest brother needs to know about this quick… if this has happened, then this is no longer something we can handle…' Hu Shui thought to herself as a foreboding feeling rose in her heart.
Then, without waiting a moment, she flew up and rushed to Hu Peiliang's residence.
Since they were the direct heirs of the Hu clan, they were given independent residences in the sacred land of the Hu clan. Though independent residences were just an understatement of how much land they were given.
For example, the building that Hu Shui lived in was just one of the courtyards among many she had. And all of these courtyards were encased in a singular boundary wall. If one compared the land that this 'courtyard' occupied, it could easily compare to a small city.
And each of the thirteen direct heirs had one such courtyard.
Though those that were stronger such as Hu Peiliang, Hu Shui and Hu Dagao all had more land than just this. Just like how Hu Dagao had the Third Yun city and its surrounding region under his control.
And since these 'courtyards' were this big, they were located at a sufficiently large distance as well.
It took Hu Shui nearly fifteen minutes flying at her maximum speed to reach Hu Peiliang's residence. The distance she had crossed in that time was no less than a few hundred kilometers!
Unlike the servant though, she was not stopped and directly flew into the core of the residence.
Hu Peiliang had also sensed her presence and was already waiting in the open. He saw her expression and knew that something was wrong.
"Elder brother… Things have gone awfully wrong." Hu Shui said, her hoarse voice trembling slightly.
"Show me." Hu Peiliang took the scroll from her hands and directly read it.
"A monster that proclaims to be the Calamity Fiend has appeared in Danching city. The city has fallen and nearly all its inhabitants have been massacred." Hu Peiliang read it before using his spirit sense to check the image that was imprinted in the scroll.
~shua~
As soon as he did that, the scene of the devastation appeared in front of them.
One could see the crumbling city with the tens of Bone Pillars crushing it. Countless spurs extended from it, impaling the inhabitants of the city while a massive monster rose from its center.
The monster was dark and had an appearance that suited its name.
Just by looking at this image, Hu Peiliang could tell that the being was not normal.
"The Calamity Fiend?" Hu Peiliang no longer has his expressionless plain face.
Now it was showing a hint of trouble.
"How can this happen now, elder brother?" Hu Shui asked in confusion.
"I don't know…" Hu Peiliang replied. "But it is unlikely to be unrelated to the fake Wandering Head Bandit. It simply cannot be a coincidence…" he added.
"Y-yes… The one who sent the news was the duke and the image in the scroll was also a memory from the Dao Treading realm expert we sent." Hu Shui said while her fists tightened.
Hu Peiliang couldn't begin to fathom how it had ended up like this. It seemed simply too absurd for the events to lead to this.
"Hu Dagao… he must know more…" Hu Peiliang spoke in a low voice.
"Do you think this is actually related to him?" Hu Shui asked.
"Most likely… his sudden investments and growth in strength cannot be explained otherwise. The appearance of the Calamity Fiend could also be a show of power… perhaps by the person backing him." Hu Peiliang was no stupid person and could quickly analyze the situation.
He had been finding Hu Dagao's activities strange from the start and new that they were not normal. There was no way for him to accomplish all that without some support.
"Do you wish to question him?" Hu Shui asked.
"We have to. There is no other choice." Hu Peiliang replied.
"But going into the minor plane will be difficult. If you enter the seal will weaken considerably." Hu Shui stated.
"We have to take that risk." Hu Peiliang said with slight unwillingness. "If we don't get to the bottom of this, the losses we'll have to suffer will be far too great."
Hu Shui's lips trembled, but she knew that what her elder brother had said was correct.
There was far too less they knew about the Calamity fiend and with the massacre of the Daching city, this matter was no longer limited to them. Their plot and schemes couldn't compare to the fall of an entire city.
Now the situation had reached a point where the patriarch will be getting involved. And once that happened, both of them knew that the subsequent investigation will lead to them.
"Should we speak to father?" Hu Shui asked with fear on her face.
"Not now…" Hu Peiliang answered. "First, we need to see what we are up against. The matter about Danching city can certainly not be suppressed. Father should know about it soon enough. But it will still take him some time to get all the facts." He explained.
"That's true… But then we'll have to rush. We won't have that long." Hu Shui replied.
"Yes… I'll leave right now. You should get the rest of the things in order." Hu Peiliang instructed.
"Yes, elder brother." Hu Shui said before watching Hu Peiliang fly away.
For the first time since Hu Shui had met her elder brother, she was seeing his composure break.
He had always been stone faced, and she had thought that nothing would ever phase him. But now there was finally something that could make him move.
"The Calamity fiend… just what are you?" Hu Shui muttered to herself.
She stayed in the residence for another minute, contemplating on something before leaving.
Hu Peiliang was also in a similar state and a thousand thoughts were going through his mind. Unfortunately for him, he could not resolve them at all.
'Hu Dagao is the only source of clues right now.' Hu Peiliang concluded.
He only wished that he could reach him quick enough and regretted that he had sealed him so far away.
With that in mind, Hu Peiliang took out a talisman that emitted strong spirit Qi fluctuations and stuck it to his back.
~HONG~
In the next moment, the talisman flowed and hundred of runes spread out from it. The runes assembled into two wings on his back before flapping with great force.
~BOOM~
Hu Peiliang shot forth at a breakneck speed in the next moment, covering tens of kilometer in a single flap.