Just an hour ago, Gu Fan had woken up to Madam Li's deep, lingering kiss in her massive canopy bed.
There she had whispered the news to him with a wicked smile:
"They found Chen Long's body at the main gates. The whole estate is in an absolute uproar."
After that, they had engaged in a very energetic morning session before she finally told him, "Get dressed, my sweet stepson. It's time to play our parts."
Now, the sun was high, and the Gu Clan was a turning the gears to counter the situation they found themselves in.
And for the same in the Council Hall, the clan elders had gathered.
The atmosphere inside the massive hall was suffocating.
Patriarch Gu Yangtian sat on the high throne, radiating the oppressive aura of the 8th Stage of the Origin Realm.
Despite his immense power, his physical appearance was deceiving.
The Patriarch was a very lean, almost skinny man draped in heavy green robes.
He had grown a rough stubble coated his sharp jawline, and his eyes had gone weary heavy with decades of stagnant cultivation and stressful clan politics.
Below him, the visiting Chen Clan envoys were weeping and screaming for blood.
"The Bai Clan has gone too far!" Gu Chen's voice rang out, clear and full of righteous fury.
He stood in the centre of the hall, his spotless white robes, and looked around the hall, "They assassinated Cousin Long in the dead of night, castrated him, and branded him like cattle!"
"We cannot stay silent after this!"
"If we do not march on the Bai Clan estate before noon, the Gu Clan will lose all face in Poison Valley Town! We must avenge him!"
"Yes! Avenge the Young Master!" the Chen Clan envoys roared in agreement.
Immediately, the hall erupted into chaos as the Clan Elders took sides.
"Gu Chen speaks the truth!" Third Elder slammed his fist on a wooden table, "The Bai Clan has spat on our ancestors! If we swallow this insult, we are no better than dogs!"
"Are you mad?!" Second Elder shot back as his face turned red with anger, "Marching blindly into their estate is exactly what they want! We don't even have concrete proof it was their assassins. This reeks of a trap!"
"A trap? They literally carved their name into his flesh!" a younger deacon yelled, "Are you a coward, Second Elder?"
"I am being pragmatic, you hot-blooded fool! Who is idiot enough to write their names after caring out an assassination?" The second Elder replied, "If we exhaust our forces in a sudden war, the Song Clan will sweep us both up before sunset!"
"Coward!"
"Blood for blood!"
The Council Hall soon descended into a vicious shouting match, with elders spitting curses and flaring their Qi at one another.
"ENOUGH!"
Finally the Patriarch Gu Yangtian's had enough of them all and his voice boomed like thunder, accompanied by the oppressive weight of his 8th Stage Origin Realm aura. The hall instantly fell into a terrified, suffocating silence.
He glared at the bickering elders, his hands gripping the armrests of his throne tight enough to crack the solid jade.
"Shut your mouths, all of you. You squabble like market wives."
The Patriarch took a deep breath, his expression turning cold and decisive. He nodded slowly, "Gu Chen is right. We have been slapped on the face. By now the news of Chen Long's murder should have reached every ear in the town."
Gather everyone above the 5th stage of Spirit Realm. We march..."
"You will do no such thing."
The heavy wooden doors of the Grand Council Hall swung open.
Madam Li walked in. She wore a deep purple robe that clung perfectly to her mature curves, radiating the icy, oppressive pressure.
Behind her, keeping his head perfectly bowed and his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, walked Gu Fan, playing the role flawlessly of a completely invisible piece of background character.
"Matriarch," Gu Chen frowned, stepping forward, "This is a matter of martial honour. We cannot let the Bai Clan..."
"Silence," Madam Li snapped, her tone dripping with disdain. She waved her hand dismissively, releasing a wave of Qi that forced Gu Chen to take a step back.
She looked directly at the Patriarch.
"Are you a fool, Husband? If we march on the Bai Clan right now and start a bloodbath, what happens when the main Chen Clan elders arrive from the capital?"
"They will find their young master dead, the evidence trampled in a hasty war, and our clan exhausted. They will blame us for failing to protect him and covering it up with a rushed battle."
"And then as the third elder mentioned, there is the Song Clan"
The Patriarch frowned, , "Then what do you suggest, Wife?"
"We wait," Madam Li declared with absolute authority.
"We will take Chen Long's body to the Ice Chamber beneath the Ancestral Hall. We preserve his remains flawlessly. When the Chen Clan elders arrive, we present them with the body and the Bai Clan's carving. Let the Chen Clan lead the war. We will simply support them."
The hall fell dead silent. It was a cold, calculating, and perfect political move.
Gu Chen gritted his teeth, his fists clenching in his sleeves. He needed this war now to hide the fact that he had lost Chen Long's Storage Ring and failed to protect him, "But Matriarch, the righteousness of our clan..."
"I said silence," Madam Li glared at Gu Chen, her eyes flashing with lethal intent. "I will not risk my clan's survival on your hot-blooded ego. The war can wait."
The Patriarch sighed heavily, leaning back in his throne. "My wife speaks reason. Prepare the Ice Chamber."
Madam Li turned her head slightly. "Where is the body currently?"
"It is waiting on a transport cart just outside the hall doors, Matriarch," Steward Wang quickly stepped forward, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Good. I will inspect the remains before they are sealed away," Madam Li said coldly. She spun on her heel and marched back out the heavy wooden doors into the sunlit courtyard.