32: Chapter 32 Urging Green

That night for the Jiang Family, only Jiang Yuhe went out.

Lin Suwen tightened her outer robe, and Jiang Chengning only gave one instruction:

"As long as it benefits our Family, even if it means slaughtering their entire household, you must kill."

Jiang Yuhe nodded, gathered the short blade in her sleeve, and turned into the rain.

She was currently at the Late Stage of Qi refinement, and the innate technique bestowed by the Grain Rain Spirit Register, the Rain Screen of Perception, automatically protected its master. Once Listening to Rain was activated, the Qi within dozens of zhang felt like drizzle falling on leaves; she could clearly hear where footsteps landed and where lights shone.

Her Catalyzing Green was also more proficient.

A wisp of green Qi falling on vegetation could urge forth tender buds, or manifest a very faint green shadow.

That green shadow could not last long and would disperse if too far from the main body, but if connected through vegetation, Jiang Yuhe could use it to swap positions.

Furthermore, the green shadow could be hidden within herself, allowing her to change her body size and appearance to a certain extent.

The first blade fell upon the Shi Family.

The woman from the Shi Family who married into the Ji Family had long since moved in. She often moved around the outer shed of the Yangqing Dock at North Pass, tending to the green-returning silkworms for the Ji Family and relaying messages for the Shi Family.

Jiang Yuhe struck before she returned to the Ji Family.

Rain hit the mulberry leaves, the sound as fine as needles. Shi Yunian carried a lantern, walking back along the path beside the Yangqing Dock.

The Shi Family woman only felt a chill behind her; just as she was about to turn back, a line had already opened across her throat.

Jiang Yuhe supported her to prevent the corpse from hitting the mud, then pressed a Yin Vine Knot, uniquely produced by the Liu Family, into her palm, and left half a mark of a He Family vine rope in the mud.

Throughout the process, Jiang Yuhe used Catalyzing Green, leaving not even half a footprint.

The rain quickly washed away the gushing blood.

The next day, when the Ji Family found Shi Yunian, North Pass exploded.

The Shi Family rushed to the He Family's doorstep, and the Ji Family also arrived for a confrontation. He Qi's face turned livid, insisting that a Yin Vine Knot could be stolen or picked up, and that the He Family could not be accused of murder based on a single knot.

Shi Yuanjian, however, had bloodshot eyes. He was old, and it was hard for the Shi Family to have one more Qi refiner; now that an in-law had suddenly died, the fire in his heart could not be suppressed.

The two families argued until dusk.

No one actually made a move.

All the Cold Households in the mountains knew that once the first move was made, the Main Peak would punish them, and others would come to feast on their flesh.

Jiang Yuhe stood in the distant mulberry shadows, hearing that the Qi of both families was still steady. Although the Shi Family was angry and the He Family was afraid, reason still held them back.

But at one moment, a bit of gray sound suddenly entered the rain.

Shi Yuanjian's Qi was the first to disorder, and He Qi's side also caught fire. After a few words, the young people of the two families nearly lunged at each other.

Jiang Yuhe lowered her eyes.

That hand was indeed there.

Since someone was willing to push, the Jiang Family had the opportunity to borrow this force.

After dusk, the He Family's newly formed Qi refiner, He Zhaoqin, died outside the Little Willow Ravine.

She died very quickly, leaving behind a few strands of Green-Returning Silk and the Green Mulberry Ash commonly used in the Ji Family's outer shed.

Before leaving, Jiang Yuhe deliberately used Catalyzing Green to transform into the figure of a Ji Family member, letting He Zhaoqin climb a few steps with her last breath and draw a crooked "Ji" character with her fingertips.

The next morning, the He Family also went mad.

The Shi Family lost an in-law, and the He Family lost a new Qi refiner.

Neither side would admit it, and both felt the other had struck the first lethal blow.

The Meng Family's Qi refiner at the Yangqing Dock inexplicably had their Qi go awry and died in their room.

Among the five new Cold Households at North Pass, trouble also occurred that same night.

The Liang Family's spirit rice seeds were soaked by water, and when the bag was opened the next day, it emitted a sour smell.

The Tao Family's seeds were short half a bag, but were found behind the Meng Family's house. The Meng Family claimed ignorance, the Tao Family did not believe them, and they started shoving each other on the spot.

The Han Family received more seeds than the ledger stated, while the Jiang Family had thirty percent less. The Han Family was at a loss, and the Jiang Family felt they were feigning innocence. The two new households that had just entered the mountains, who were repairing houses together yesterday, were now cursing each other across the field ridge, faces flushed red.

When Jiang Yuhe did these things, she barely thought about it; for the sake of the Family, she could disregard everything.

On the third day, the Shi and He families finally made a move.

The cause was trivial.

A young man from the He Family cursed that Shi Yunian deserved to die, and the Shi Family's new Qi refiner, Shi Lin, drew his blade. The He Family swarmed up. He Qi originally wanted to stop them, but for some reason, he finally lost his temper too, his eyes suddenly turning red, and he backhanded Shi Lin, sending him flying.

Shi Lin crashed into the white stone at Shimen Gap, his chest collapsed, his breath hanging by a thread.

This time it truly became a deadly feud.

The Shi Family went to the Chen Family overnight to beg for medicine, but Old Crow Chen had no intention of dealing with them. Once caught in this muddy water, it wouldn't wash off.

That night, someone broke into the Chen Family's pharmacy.

The person was broad-shouldered and sturdy, face masked, but their movements had the shadow of the Shi Family's old Qi refiner, Shi Yuanjian. Chen Baisheng stepped forward to block, was struck in the chest with a palm, retreated three steps, and half the medicine shelf collapsed.

The person snatched two packs of Meridian-Continuing Medicine, and before leaving, deliberately dropped a He Family Yin Vine Buckle, whispering harshly: "The He Family must pay back double."

The voice was suppressed and hoarse.

Chen Baisheng heard it but didn't see the face clearly.

Jiang Yuhe used the green shadow to support that large man's figure, Catalyzing Green into her bones, and in just a few breaths, she made herself tall and large. She used the green Qi of vegetation to change her appearance, which couldn't last long, but her Late Stage Qi refinement cultivation allowed her to do all this cleanly and efficiently.

When she left the Chen Family, she bypassed the North Ravine path.

Sun Jingxiu was indeed there.

He was now at the second level of Qi refinement, watching the water intake for Sun Changshui at night, and chased over as soon as he heard movement. Jiang Yuhe deliberately let him see half her figure—the back of Shi Yuanjian—and deliberately exposed the He Family's Yin Vine Buckle.

Sun Jingxiu was stunned.

"Stop!"

Jiang Yuhe struck back, knocking him into the ditch. The force was not heavy, but enough to cause him injury.

When Sun Changshui arrived at the sound, Jiang Yuhe had already retreated into the tree shadows. She revealed the shoulders and back of Shi Yuanjian for a moment in the rain, then used the green shadow to swap positions and disappeared by the ditch.

Sun Changshui helped Sun Jingxiu up, looking at the Yin Vine Buckle in the mud, then saw a small handful of green gravel by the water.

He said in a deep voice: "The Shi Family."

Sun Jingxiu coughed twice.

"But that buckle..."

Sun Changshui looked towards Shimen Gap.

"Pretending to be the He Family, they are likely trying to frame them. Hah, this Shi Family is truly audacious!"

This sentence quickly spread.

That night, something also happened to the Jiang Family.

A fire was lit by the edge of Gudong Field.

The fire didn't burn large and was suppressed by the rain as soon as it started, but it destroyed half a ridge of new seedlings. Jiang Yuhe cut her own shoulder, used Catalyzing Green to change the shape of the wound, and faked traces of being ambushed.

When Jiang Xingchuan and Lin Suwen slowly "rushed over," her clothes were half soaked, her face pale, as if she had just escaped a killing trap.

She only said: "I saw people from the Ji Family, it also looked like the Shi Family."

One sentence was enough.

That same night, the Wang Family was wiped out.

Wang Laosi's Family originally wanted to hide, helping no one and offending no one. But neutrality at this time was a variable.

When Jiang Yuhe did things, she did them thoroughly; she didn't claim to be righteous, she just wanted to stir this muddy water until it was unrecognizable.

After the killing, she deliberately left traces in the house.

All three families had traces; the more traces there were, the more it looked like someone was deliberately stirring things up. But the Cold Households were already pushed by anger, and no one was willing to sit down and think carefully.

Even if someone was willing to think, the opponent had already brought the blade to them, so no one was going to reason with a blade.

At dawn, Duansang Ridge was in chaos.

The Wang Family was wiped out overnight.

The Chen Family pharmacy was robbed, and Chen Baisheng was seriously injured.

Sun Jingxiu was injured, and Sun Changshui saw "Shi Family members" escape with his own eyes.

Jiang Yuhe was attacked, and Gudong Field was set on fire.

The He Family lost a new Qi refiner.

The Shi Family's Shi Lin was dying.

The Ji Family, the Shi Family, and the He Family were all dragged in.

Jiang Chengning stood in front of the ancestral house, listening to news coming from all directions.

These events were too fast, too chaotic. So chaotic that the Main Peak couldn't figure it out at first.

At the same time, he was still waiting. Under the current situation where the Cold Households were killing each other, the Zhao Family, which was already restless, should rise.

Jiang Chengning went to the Sun Family first.

Sun Changshui leaned on a cane, Sun Jingxiu lay on the couch with medicine cloth wrapped around his chest. Jiang Chengning opened his mouth and said:

"The Shi Family and the Ji Family are joining forces to swallow the Cold Households."

Sun Changshui did not answer immediately.

Jiang Chengning continued: "The Ji Family forged the deaths of the Shi Family members from the beginning to frame the He Family, all for the sake of swallowing the He Family."

"Now, the Shi Family is pretending to be the He Family to rob the Chen Family's medicine. The Sun Family caught them, and Jingxiu was injured. The Wang Family was wiped out last night, and Gudong Field was also set on fire. If we don't move first today, we will be the ones dead tomorrow."

Sun Changshui looked at him.

"You want to fight the Ji Family?"

"Fight the Shi Family first." Jiang Chengning said, "The Shi Family is exposed, and Shi Lin is seriously injured; it is a gap."

Not long after, Old Crow Chen also came.

Chen Baisheng was not lightly injured, and the pharmacy was robbed. He didn't speak, but he had already formed murderous intent in his heart. Jiang Chengning repeated what he said.

Old Crow Chen sneered.

"The Shi Family robbed because they couldn't get medicine, and after robbing, they dared to hurt my Chen Family people."

He Qi came subsequently.

The He Family's new Qi refiner was dead, and his eyes were full of bloodshot veins. Jiang Chengning didn't waste too many words, just laid out the Wang Family's corpse case, the injuries of the Chen and Sun families, and the Jiang Family's field.

He Qi gritted his teeth and said: "What about the Ji Family?"

Jiang Chengning said: "The Sun, Chen, and He families will go to ambush the Ji Family, and the Jiang Family will go to Shimen Gap."

He Qi nodded immediately.

"Go."

Before noon, the families finally decided.

The Jiang Family volunteered to attack the Shi Family.

Jiang Xingchuan, Jiang Shoushan who had returned not long ago, Lin Suwen, and Jiang Chengning all went out.

Jiang Yuhe was "injured" and stayed at home to watch the well, unable to move again.

Sun Changshui, Old Crow Chen, and He Qi led people to North Pass to ambush the Ji Family's reinforcements.

People followed the Jiang Family to attack Shimen Gap.

This route looked like the Cold Households had lost their minds due to misunderstandings.

If the Ji Family saved them, they would run into the ambush. If the Ji Family didn't save them, the Shi Family would be disheartened, and this muddy water would only become even more impossible to clear.

On this day, the first bloody battle among the Cold Households of Duansang Ridge finally truly began.