Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 527 - 247, depart and head north

In the year 1324 of the New Yu Era, on the twentieth of October

Hou Yuxiao, leading the Upper Hou Gate’s Kui Sector, the Lower Hou Sect’s Chenlong, and the Zi Shu stalls, including Hou Fei, Hou Ying, and Hou Cun, a total of four hundred fifty-three people and horses, left Tongling before dawn, hurrying towards the location previously agreed upon with Zhan Taiqing.

At first glance, taking so many people and horses for a trip might seem excessive, but considering that this journey would last at least half a year, it appeared more reasonable.

Not to mention the various situations that might be encountered on the road, being away from home for a long time, Hou Yuxiao obviously couldn’t do everything himself. Furthermore, he needed to maintain constant contact with his family, so having more people around was naturally for the best.

Although there were nearly five hundred people, since even the lowest among them had reached Ten Layers of Body Openings and each was equipped with a war horse, their speed was naturally extremely fast. They passed through Wanyang and Longxiang without any stops and arrived at the destination on the east bank of the Tongtian River, which had been arranged with Zhan Taiqing, in just a half day.

Tongtian River, a huge ship about ten-plus Zhang wide and more than fifty Zhang long, was moored at the shore. On the deck of the ship, a golden flag fluttered in the wind. The upper half of the flag bore the character "Lu", and the lower half showed an insignia of three water droplets.

"A ship from the Lu Family?"

Hou Yuxiao frowned at the sight of the flag. He first gestured to Hou Fei and others to stop and then slowly approached the warship on horseback.

In the Gujiang Basin, there are three major powers, each a resounding heaven-level force.

The first is the Cao Gang, belonging to the Demon Path, controlling the upstream.

The second is the Lu Family, part of The Righteous Path, controlling the midstream.

The third is the East Sea Alliance, also of The Righteous Path, controlling the downstream region.

Both the Yong and Xu States belong to the midstream segment of Gujiang, and the waterways are managed by the Lu Family. Hou Yuxiao was well aware of this, but the problem was that the Lu Family belonged to The Righteous Path, and he also knew that in the recent Battle of Hedong, the Lu Family had assisted the Wanjian Holy Sect. Now, with a ship belonging to the Lu Family moored on the east bank—a territory of the Rakshasa Holy Sect—what did it imply?

Could it be...

"Master of Hou Family, please board the ship quickly. After it gets dark at You Hour, we will set off!"

Indeed, it was the ship meant to carry them across the river!

Upon seeing Peng Yuhu, who had come to remind him, Hou Yuxiao was momentarily stunned. After looking closely at the deck, he spotted many Rakshasa Holy Sect soldiers clad in black armor. Only then did he truly believe that the ship from the Lu Family was there to take them across the river.

"Rest assured, Master of Hou Family. Although the Lu Family is of The Righteous Path, they are also in business. As long as the price is right, business is business, no matter who the client is."

"But aren’t they friendly with the Wanjian Holy Sect...?"

"Friendship is one thing, but it doesn’t stop them from conducting their own business. Besides, we are only heading north, not going to war. Renting a ship to us is no big deal. Moreover, the Wanjian Holy Sect still relies on them for matters concerning the riverway. Even if they find out, they wouldn’t dare to say anything!"

Upon hearing Peng Yuhu’s words, Hou Yuxiao understood thoroughly.

He had preconceived notions, assuming that since the Lu Family was of The Righteous Path and friendly with Xuzhou, they would certainly join forces with the Wanjian Holy Sect against the Rakshasa Holy Sect. He almost forgot that in the current world, the distinction between the Righteous and Demon Paths was obviously not as stark as before.

The Wuwei King of Great Jin was colluding with the Ziqing Holy Sect; Ji State and Great Jin were jointly squeezing the Great Yu Holy Dynasty from east and west. Even he himself was constantly flip-flopping between the Ziqing Holy Sect and the Rakshasa Holy Sect. How could the Lu Family possibly be fools...

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The Lu Family had survived by relying on the middle stretch of Gujiang. If they refused to do business with the Demon Sect, the Rakshasa Holy Sect might either forgo the water route or reach out to control the waters—perhaps even join forces with the Cao Gang against them. This would mean not only lost business but also great trouble for their own family. The Lu Family naturally wouldn’t make such a foolish move.

"Thank you, Official Peng, for the insight. I will go and report back to Master."

"No need for courtesy. I have other matters to attend to, so please do as you wish, Master of Hou Family."

Hou Yuxiao nodded slightly, watching as Peng Yuhu moved to the other side to arrange for boarding. A faint trace of wariness flickered in his eyes.

He did not like Peng Yuhu. Based on their previous dealings, there was no reason not to, considering that when Ding Dian wanted to kill him, Peng Yuhu had helped him, and even later during the attack on Wanyang County, Peng Yuhu had provided assistance once more. Moreover, Peng Yuhu’s attitude towards him had always seemed acceptable. So thinking it over, there shouldn’t be any reason to dislike the man.

Yet, Hou Yuxiao still did not like him and was even very wary of him.

Separating from Tongling to join with the three jurisdictions of Hexi to form Hexi Prefecture, Hou Yuxiao was very clear that doing so impacted the interests of Xingnan Prefecture. The one who suffered direct losses would definitely be Peng Yuhu, the Prefectural Governor of Xingnan. However, it was strange that from start to finish, Peng Yuhu’s attitude towards him had never changed—a curious matter indeed.

There was no particular relationship between the Hou Family and Peng Yuhu. Even if Peng Yuhu had helped because Sikong Yue had asked for it, and because he himself had issues with Ding Dian, it was odd that, despite such substantial losses, Peng Yuhu remained cordial towards him. His behavior made it hard for Hou Yuxiao not to be cautious of him.

At first, Hou Yuxiao had thought about personally apologizing to Peng Yuhu for the Hexi Prefecture affair and had even prepared a substantial amount of money for a gift. Both morally and rationally, Peng Yuhu had helped him, and he did not want to offend the man.

But Peng Yuhu had acted as if the Hexi Prefecture incident had never happened, maintaining a consistent attitude towards him, prompting Hou Yuxiao to start being wary of him.