Chapter 62: Brotherly Strife

Chapter 62: Brothers at War

"Second Master."

Inside the brightly lit Yang Clan ancestral mansion, a man in tight-fitting attire strode quickly into the main hall.

An elder, wearing a high crown and broad sash, stood with hands clasped behind his back, staring blankly at the black lacquered plaque with gilded characters reading "Poetry and Books Continue the Lineage" on the main beam.

"Second Master!"

Seeing the old man fail to react, the man in tight-fitting attire couldn't help but raise his voice anxiously.

The old man finally seemed to return to his senses. After a long sigh, he turned and asked, "Still haven't found it?"

"No. We've turned the entire mansion inside out, front to back, and haven't found a single hair!"

Worry clouded the man's face. "Could the intelligence be wrong? Perhaps the item was never in the ancestral mansion to begin with? All of this might just be a ruse by Yang Shuo to deceive our Second Branch?"

"The intelligence cannot be false. The ancestral bequest is definitely inside the old mansion."

The elder shook his head slowly, his tone utterly resolute.

The man froze, baffled. "Why?"

"If the intelligence were false, what would Yang Shuo use to keep us tethered to the old mansion?"

The elder let out a cold snort. "Our Yang Clan's eldest branch heir doesn't just want to use the ancestral bequest to secure a life of worry-free wealth and nobility for himself; he wants to borrow an outsider's hand to exterminate our Second Branch!"

A chill ran down the man's spine. He instinctively glanced toward the mansion's main gate, then turned back urgently. "You mean Yang Shuo deliberately left the ancestral bequest in the old mansion waiting for us?"

"We've fought the Eldest Branch over the ancestral bequest for so many years. Just as the elders of the Eldest Branch have finally all died out, the bequest was about to fall into our Second Branch's hands. At this critical moment, the news that our Yang Clan possesses a treasure suddenly spreads far and wide."

"Add to that the fact that the entire Eldest Branch has now moved out of Mianzhou, leaving behind only Yang Shuo, who has the protection of a clerk's status."

The elder rebuked him. "With all these signs, can you still not see this is a scheme to drive the wolf to devour the tiger?"

The man finally came to a sudden realization, shock mingling with gritted teeth.

"That bastard Yang Shuo! He'd rather hand the ancestors' things over to an outsider than give them to us? We are family!"

"Family?"

The elder sneered. "The ones Yang Shuo wants to kill today are his own kin."

"We should never have given the Eldest Branch time to consider back then. We should have wiped them out clean in one fell swoop."

Rage contorted the tight-clad man's face, his fists clenched until his knuckles cracked.

"The lives of the Eldest Branch don't matter. What matters is the ancestral bequest. Even if we had killed them all, the situation would be the same as today. We know the item is in the old mansion, yet we simply cannot find it."

Shame colored the man's face. After a long hesitation, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Then, Second Master, should we withdraw first?"

"Withdraw? This is my Yang family's ancestral home. When would we ever use the word 'withdraw'? It would be the laughingstock of the world!"

The elder's eyebrows shot up, his eyes wide. "The Eldest Branch has occupied the ancestral bequest for so many years. Now, cowed by the Gate Valve's might, they are about to hand it over. Such an act of forgetting one's roots—Yang Shuo can do it, but I, Yang Huchou, cannot!"

"This is the sole opportunity to revive our Yang Clan. Since the Eldest Branch lacks the courage to fight, let our Second Branch fight!"

Thud... Thud... Thud...

At that moment, a dull drumbeat suddenly rang out from within Mianzhou County.

The drumbeat accelerated from slow to fast, instantly becoming as rapid as a violent storm, carrying an undeniable majesty.

Both grandfather and grandson in the main hall understood what this drumbeat signified: the curfew in Mianzhou County had officially begun!

A red-eyed owl circling in the night sky let out a piercing shriek.

The main gate of the Yang ancestral mansion collapsed with a thunderous crash. Simultaneously, every single light within the compound was extinguished, and the previously clamorous voices instantly fell mute.

Two employees clad in Shu Road Logistics Security uniforms burst through the main gate, wielding Doan Guard submachine guns, spraying a round of fire into the pitch-black darkness where they couldn't see their own hands, then quickly fanning out to the left and right, clearing the gateway.

Immediately after, four teammates holding riot shields rushed out, taking their positions, fanning out in a wedge formation.

Behind them, over a dozen security personnel swarmed in, advancing under the cover of the riot shields.

Bang!

A cold shot rang out from the darkness. Several muzzles instantly locked onto the direction of the muzzle flash, and a torrent of metal instantly raked the area. The Yang Second Branch disciple hiding in the dark was instantly riddled into a mangled corpse.

His dying scream seemed to act as a signal. The previously silent darkness suddenly surged to life. Large shadows lunged out from behind the screen wall!

Gunfire erupted throughout the Yang ancestral mansion's front hall.

Countless bullets converged from all sides, striking the riot shields with crisp, ringing clangs.

The four shield-bearers gritted their teeth, arm muscles bulging, bracing their shoulders against the violently shuddering shields.

The entire squad's formation rapidly contracted, returning fire under the cover of the shields.

For a moment, the air was thick with the dull thuds of metal tearing into flesh and the dying screams of men, a cacophony weaving a bloody symphony.

But just then, fierce gunfire also erupted at the rear gate of the Yang ancestral mansion.

The men of Tianfu Heavy Industry chose this moment to launch their assault!

The pincer attack by the two great Gate Valves shook the hearts of these resisting Yang clansmen. The previously dense gunfire instantly faltered.

The security personnel, who had been suppressed, seized the opportunity to counterattack. Scorching streams of lead swept toward the positions where gunfire had just flared.

The Yang clansmen, already at a disadvantage in firepower, suffered catastrophic casualties in an instant. Unable to salvage the situation, they could only flee in disarray deeper into the compound.

Having seized the screen wall position, this fierce squad of security members immediately began reloading magazines. The four shield-bearers, their arm veins burst from strain, were also swapped out.

After a brief reorganization, the team leader shouted a command. Everyone split into four groups, advancing slowly toward the front hall under the cover of the shield-bearers.

The orders they received from Jia were to completely purge the personnel inside the Yang ancestral mansion, so they showed absolutely no mercy.

Anyone who dared show their head and fire in the darkness would be instantly crushed by the savage firepower.

Soon the entire front courtyard fell quiet. In the darkness, only the crisp sound of boots stepping through blood remained.

Without losing a single man, the security department had secured the area from the main gate to the front hall.

The gap between Gate Valves and Scholar Clans was laid bare on these lowest-ranking members.

A trace of contempt flickered in the eyes of the security squad leader. He took the lead, striding into the front hall.

Clink!

The sudden blinding light pierced his vision into a white haze. He instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Countless bullets poured down, instantly engulfing the entire security squad.

..............

Inside the black carriage, Jia watched the surveillance feed relayed by the Night Owl scouts. As the front hall plunged back into darkness, he not only showed no anger, but nodded slightly.

As if quite satisfied with using one squad to probe the ambush in the front hall.

"Squad One is gone. Squads Two and Three, move up."

Jia coldly continued the order to attack, simultaneously turning to look at Li Jun, who was resting with eyes closed inside the carriage. "Get ready. Once the front hall is breached, it will be your turn."