The Jing family's official shop occupied nearly six mu of land, laid out as a large residence with four successive courtyards.
Among the twenty-four official shops of the Hunzhou Market, its size alone ranked within the top ten.
Jing Qian walked straight through, heading deeper inside. Just as he stepped into the first courtyard, he came face to face with a middle-aged man.
Without even looking at him, Jing Qian brushed past and continued.
But the man, upon seeing that familiar masked figure, froze in shock. Then, he suddenly cried out:
"Young Master Qian! You've returned!"
Without delay, the man spun around and ran toward the back courtyard, shouting as he went:
"Young Master Qian has come back from the sea!"
Soon, more people came rushing out, men and women, young and old alike.
Although Jing Qian had gone over the layout of the Jing family's shop in detail with A'Bao and knew exactly where he was headed, none of these people matched any of the faces in his memory.
So, he remained indifferent, ignoring the gathering crowd, and simply kept walking inside.
It wasn't until he reached the fourth courtyard, the quarters once shared by Jing Ran, Jing Qian, and their nursemaid, that he finally stopped.
According to A'Bao, this area should have been off-limits to outsiders, a private space where only the siblings of the Jing family were permitted.
But what he saw before him was a group of people bustling around inside.
They were carrying out every last belonging from the rooms, clothing, furniture, and household items, piling them up in the courtyard as if to clear the place out completely.
The moment they noticed Jing Qian stepping in, they too froze in place, hands still clutching the items they were moving.
Before anyone could speak, a shrill female voice rang out from inside the room:
"Why have you stopped? Keep moving!"
"The new furnishings I ordered from the Luo family's official shop will be delivered any moment now. How will we fit them in if these old things aren't cleared away?"
As she spoke, a glamorous woman strode out from the room. She, too, halted in surprise upon seeing the masked figure.
Her expression stiffened, her tone uncertain as she said:
"Young Master Qian? You… how could you possibly be back?"
"Where are the others? Where is Brother Wu Yan?"
But Jing Qian didn't answer her questions. Instead, he countered with one of his own:
"Where is Granny Qin?"
The woman blinked, then replied:
"Granny Qin… Granny Qin is dead."
As she spoke, another large group of people poured into the fourth courtyard.
This place, once forbidden to outsiders, now resembled a crowded marketplace, with anyone and everyone daring to intrude.
Yet Jing Qian remained expressionless. He asked again, his tone hard and emotionless, pressing for the truth:
"How did Granny Qin die?"
To the woman, his blunt questioning sounded like insolence.
Her face turned cold as she snapped back:
"How did she die? She starved to death!"
"With you and your niece both gone, that blind old woman couldn't even step out the door. If she didn't starve, how else could she have died?"
Jing Qian didn't bother responding further. Instead, he swept his gaze around, his eyes moving over everyone present.
A few of them looked away, avoiding his stare, but most returned it boldly like wolves sizing up prey with not the slightest trace of respect for the young master of the Zheng Store.
He spoke again, his tone sharp:
"Have any of you something to say?"
An old man stepped forward on behalf of the others and replied:
"Young Master, don't listen to Xi girl's nonsense! Old Sister Qin was already frail. Her health had been poor for years, and after you and your aunt sailed away, she worried herself sick over your safety. That worry hastened her end. She passed peacefully of old age."
Jing Qian glanced at the kindly-faced old man, and one phrase immediately surfaced in his mind: "a treacherous old dog."
Without another word, he turned on his heel to leave.
The old man quickly called after him:
"Young Master, where are you going? Did your aunt return with you? And what of the others who went to sea with you?"
Jing Qian ignored him entirely, acting as though he hadn't heard a thing.
"Quick, stop him!" the old man barked.
"The Young Master has just come back from the sea, weary and in need of rest. He should stay home for a time!"
At his command, two burly men stepped forward to seize Jing Qian. Both were powerful figures, nearly at the peak of Essence-Nurturing, the sort who could have easily subdued the real Jing Qian.
But inside Jing Qian's seemingly frail body now dwelled a beast of slaughter.
Smack! Smack!
His figure blurred, and before either man could react, Jing Qian was in front of them, striking out with both hands. Each received a thunderous slap across the face.
The two men collapsed instantly, dazed and unable to rise again.
He hadn't even drawn on any extraordinary power, just the strength of his tempered body, honed by endless hours standing in the Subduing Dragon Stance and nourished by luxurious Qi. His physical strength had already transformed.
With a single long stride, he strode out swiftly.
The onlookers froze, cowed by the sheer ferocity of his strike. None dared block his path. A few who understood cultivation couldn't help but cry out in alarm:
"The Young Master had a great encounter at sea. His Essence-Nurturing is complete!"
"He's at least condensed two Life Essences! We cannot let him set his Fate!"
The old man's face darkened. He quickly issued orders again:
"Go! Notify the other families, tell them the Jing brat is about to set his Fate! They must act at once!"
"And you, Xi girl, hurry back to the Qian family and ask for instructions on what to do next."
The woman called Qian Xi understood the gravity of the situation. Without a word, she gathered two attendants and left at once.
Meanwhile, Jing Qian wasted no time. He left the Jing Family Store behind and strode rapidly toward the edge of Hunzhou Sea Market. His body moved at full force, swift as a galloping horse.
The state of the Jing family was even worse than he had imagined. These traitorous jackals didn't even bother to pretend loyalty anymore.
He recalled what A'bao had confessed under duress:
"The Jing family is utterly finished! The Qian family has schemed for this Store for years; they won't let go now. The Hunling's compensation drew in the Zhou and Xu families, too. The Navy's three administrators are all set against us. Who could resist?
Once the Jing family falls, all of us itinerants and commoners who followed them will be ruined as well! If we're expelled from the Sea Market, we'll be left to feed dragons in the forest, with no hope left in this life. We had no choice!
Without a Dragon-Elephant to suppress them, without the core inheritance, the Jing family holding this Store is like a child parading through the market with gold. Of course it ends like this!
Every time a Store changes hands, isn't it always like this?"
Now that he'd seen Hunzhou Sea Market with his own eyes, Jing Qian understood A'bao's words more deeply.
Everywhere he looked were wolves and tigers. Not a single decent soul in sight.
The Jing family had been driven into a death trap. Any ordinary man would flee this disaster without hesitation.
But Jing Qian was not one to bow to fate.
He sneered inwardly.
Let's see who dares to swallow me whole.
Let's see who thinks they can strip me bare and live.
He was determined to show them: whoever tried to "feast on his orphaned inheritance" would choke on the attempt.
-support me in Patreon for more chapter, 55+ chapters in there
patreon.com/LordoftheReader