She quickly recovered and turned her head to look at Xu Zhichun.
Xu Zhichun was on the floor and seemed as though he was paralyzed. An expression of disbelief was frozen on his face. One could tell that he was dead without even checking for his pulse.
Chen Siyu was shocked. She looked over at Chu Li.
Chu Li nodded his head. "I killed him."
"This….. this…" Chen Siyu's expression changed dramatically.
After killing Xu Zhichun, Chu Li would definitely be targeted by the entire Startling Cloud Faction! Even if he was a Scribe of the Public House, he would still not be able to handle all the masters of the Startling Cloud Faction!
"You'd best leave here, quickly!" Chen Siyu pushed Chu Li away in a rush.
"What about you?" asked Chu Li.
"I…. I…" muttered Chen Siyu as she furrowed her brows.
"Do you want to stay here?" he asked.
Chen Siyu appeared to be deep in thought but ultimately, she shook her head and said, "Let's just leave this place together!"
"Are you sure? You don't really have to leave," replied Chu Li with a smile. "You must have some confidants in the faction, I presume?"
Chen Siyu looked at him suspiciously and nodded her head.
"Don't you think that this is a good opportunity to take over leadership of the faction?" suggested Chu Li.
"What—?!" exclaimed Chen Siyu with widened eyes.
Chu Li smiled. "Don't you think it's possible?"
"He died here, how would they…" muttered Chen Siyu as she shook her head. "Besides, I'm a woman. He still has two sons that are alive. My chance to take over the faction will never come!"
She had never anticipated this scenario because she had always thought that it was simply out of her league.
"Both of his sons are still young, right?" asked Chu Li.
"Yes. They were sent to other places to study," replied Chen Siyu with a nod.
"A dragon cannot work without its head and a group of dragons without a leader will result in disaster. They can't inherit the position of Master of the faction. You, as the wife of the Young Master, should inherit the position instead. That is without a doubt!"
"There's no way that's happening. I'm a woman," she replied.
"Nothing is impossible in this world. Why don't you give it a try?"
Chen Siyu looked at Chu Li, confused.
"If you want to survive in this world safely and without worries, the best way to do it as a woman is to be in a position of power. Supposing that, you have the Startling Cloud Association under your control, I'll be more relieved to return and Aunt Xiao will feel the same," explained Chu Li.
"Are you sure it'll work?" asked Chen Siyu with a hint of hesitance in her voice.
She did not want to be the Master of the faction. The Lady only wanted a peaceful and safe place to continue her life yet, when she thought about the world, there were no places that were both peaceful and safe. One would be bullied if they were weak, especially with her looks. Those who have good looks are often preyed upon.
"Rather than passing this on to others, why don't you just take the faction for yourself?" said Chu Li. "If you really can't do this, you can follow me back to the Public House!"
"Very well then!" nodded Chen Siyu, slowly.
"What we need to prioritize now is how to deal with this hurdle. We'll need to gather every senior member of the Startling Cloud Association," said Chu Li.
"Okay," replied Chen Siyu with a nod as she called for Yue Er.
Yue Er was waiting right outside the door listening to what was going on inside.
She rushed in upon hearing the noises. Upon glimpsing Xu Zhichun's dead body laying on the floor, she was stunned. Yue Er turned to look at Chen Siyu and Chu Li.
"Yue Er, hurry! Go and inform Master Hu. Tell him to come immediately!" said Chen Siyu.
"Yes," replied Yue Er as she rushed out immediately.
Chen Siyu looked at Chu Li. "Do you want to blame this on Zhao Lun?"
Chu Li looked at her. Chen Siyu was definitely special. She was able to calm herself down so quickly and consequently think of a solution.
"Or should I tell them that his sickness relapsed?" continued Chen Siyu.
"Send him back to his room. We'll act as if we know nothing," said Chu Li.
In order to protect Lady Chen Siyu's reputation, Chu Li could not let the body of Xu Zhichun remain here. He needed to send Xu Zhichun back quietly. Luckily, Xu Zhichun knew he was going to do something shameful so he had sent his guards away.
Chen Siyu looked worried but nodded her head.
The fat and stout leader of the Thunder Faction, Hu Hai, quickly arrived. Upon entering, he saw the body of Xu Zhichun laying in the courtyard. His complexion instantly changed and he rushed towards the corpse. "Leader? Leader!?"
Hu Hai tried to check for a breath and a pulse. His face soured and he raised his head to look at Chen Siyu.
Chen Siyu greeted him, "Elder Hu!"
"What happened?" Hu Hai let out a breath and looked at Chu Li.
Chen Siyu eyes turned red. She cried and said, "Father-in-law… he… he…"
Hu Hai suspiciously looked at Chu Li.
Chu Li fist saluted. "I'm Chu Li. It's an honor to meet you, Master Hu."
Chen Siyu sighed. "If my cousin brother were not here, I would no longer have my honor to continue living!"
Hu Hai looked at Xu Zhichun's body that was lying on the floor.
He was one of the founding members of the faction. Naturally, he knew of Xu Zhichun's personality.
No matter how well Xu Zhichun tried to cover up, Hu Hai could still tell the truth through the unnatural look in Chen Siyu's eyes. Hu Hai, who knew Xu Zhichun very well, already knew about this. However, he was unable to do anything. This was a family matter and an outsider like himself could not get involved.
Hu Hai sighed. He felt speechless as he stood up. "How did the faction leader come to be like this?"
"Clan Leader Hu, I'm the one who did this," replied Chu Li calmly.
Chu Li moved ten meters away in just one step and returned to the same spot again at lightning speed. It was as magical as a puff of smoke. It was so fast in fact, that no one could really tell that he had moved.
Hu Hai was shocked at his display of the body movement technique!
Hu Hai evaluated Chu Li from head to toe. 'He was definitely an innate master,' he thought to himself. 'Trained masters are not capable of demonstrating such body movement techniques like his. But even so, he was still young. The Lady's young cousin brother was no normal person.'
He asked Chu Li, "May I know which sect you've come from?"
Chu Li shook his head and replied apologetically, "This…"
"I understand." Hu Hai nodded his head. 'It must be a hidden sect. Normally, followers of such sects had astonishing abilities and techniques. They kept themselves hidden with low profiles and would never reveal where they came from.'
Hu Hai felt ambivalent. 'Even though the faction leader's way of doing things would cause an outrage from time to time, Xu Zhichun's death was so abrupt and it had happened without a trace. He had died at the hands of such a young person, it was an utter mockery.'
"Actually, Master Li is not my younger cousin brother," Chen Siyu confessed.
"What—?" Hu Hai widened his eyes.
Chen Siyu sighed. "Back in the days when I was still in the world of martial arts, I had met a good friend of mine. She's one of the Deer of the Cliff. She had assigned Master Li to come over."
"Could Master Li be a Deer of the Cliff disciple?" Hu Hai opened his eyes even wider.
The Deer of the Cliff only had females as their followers. Males could only become followers when the title was passed down, but that did not mean that all outsider followers were bad at martial arts. They were still quite skilled in the martial arts world since they were still part of a well-known sect.
Nevertheless, Green Deer Cliff were not allowed to roam freely in the martial arts world. Only their female followers could leave the cliff.
Hu Hai immediately understood why Chu Li could not reveal to him which sect he had come from. If the Deer of the Cliff had found out, he would most definitely be punished!
Chu Li smiled without denying a thing.
"No wonder…" muttered Hu Hai as he nodded his head at the realization.
'The faction leader's martial arts skill was strong. Even if Xu Zhichun had lost his rationality to lust, he would not easily give in during a fight. However, since it was a follower of the Deer of the Cliff, it made perfect sense.'
"Lady Chen Siyu, you both will need to leave right now," said Hu Hai with a sigh. "Leave while they still don't know about this. The Cloud State Town is no longer safe for you!"
Chen Siyu shook her head. "I don't want to leave! The Startling Cloud Association is Xu Yunpeng's foundations! I can't just pick up and leave!"
"Lady Chen Siyu, you want to…?" replied Hu Hai with widened eyes.
Chen Siyu slowly said, "Yes, I want to take over the Startling Cloud Association. I hope that you, Elder Hu can assist me!"
"Lady Chen Siyu, that's daring of you to even think of this!" replied Hu Hai with a bitter smile. "You should know that this is almost certainly impossible!" he added.
"It all boils down to the effort!" Chen Siyu said. "My father-in-law is dead. Don't tell me that you want me to hand away control of the faction to someone else?"
"This…" muttered Hu Hai.
Chen Siyu said, "As soon as the faction loses their leader, no one will be willing to compromise! The Startling Cloud Association would break into pieces. Are you willing to see the foundations you've laid go to waste like this?"
"Sigh…" Hu Hai let out a long breath.
The faction leader was too powerful. Xu Zhichun had even kept all the elders that helped him set up the faction under control, leading to no one being able to convince the masses. Although Hu Hai was an elder and also one of the four main clan leaders, if he wanted to become the Faction leader, there would be many who would oppose the idea.
There was no one who could convince the masses. If it was accepted, there would always be people who were not convinced or satisfied no matter who became the faction leader. Those people could form a group and withdraw from the faction!
It was such a large faction in the Cloud State Town. If the faction were to split up, it would be like slices of fat meat. The Startling Cloud Faction would be split apart by different forces. It would surely vanish like a puff of smoke.
Hu Hai's expression was restless.
If the Lady of Young Master became the Faction leader, it might not be that much of a controversy. The Young Master had a lot of people who thought very highly of him. There were also many supporters like Hu Hai in the faction and it was likely that they would transfer their support for the Young Master to Lady Chen Siyu. The idea was certainly worth a try.
The Young Master was also very close to Hu Hai and moreover, had also treated him well. If he secretly backed up the Lady's claim and she became faction leader, his position would surely rise as well. If he became Chen Siyu's confidant, he would not have to be oppressed again, which would prove to be a much better scenario for him than the present!
Chu Li did not say a word. He did not want to leave the impression that he was involved with the faction's personal matters.
"Elder Hu, if the faction splits up, it won't end well for anyone, not even if you're of a higher rank!" said Chen Siyu with furrowed brows. "The Equal of Heaven Faction would not let go of this opportunity!"
Hu Hai slowly nodded his head. "Lady whatever you have said certainly has a point!"
If the Startling Cloud Faction split up, everything would end badly for the elders. Even if they worked for the Equal of Heaven Association, the faction would not be assured of their allegiance and would probably attempt to assassinate them to gain complete control of the Startling Cloud Faction.
"I'm just a weak woman. Even if I became the leader of the faction, it would only be in title. I still need the help of Elder Hu and the other senior members. If the Startling Cloud Association fades away because of me, I don't have the face to meet Yunpeng!" said Chen Siyu.
"Hah…" Hu Hai sighed and with clenched teeth, he said, "Okay Lady, I'll do my best to deal with this!"
"I'll leave it to Elder Hu!" replied Chen Siyu with a bow as a salute.
Hu Hai hurriedly waved his hand. "Let us deal with the Faction leader's body. Otherwise, it'll be really chaotic."
"I'll send my father-in-law's body back to his place. Tomorrow, I'll act as if I had just stumbled upon him," said Chen Siyu.
"... That'll be fine," Elder Hu nodded his head. Lady Chen Siyu had always worked in a careful and cautious manner. Perhaps the Startling Cloud Faction would even gain advancements under Lady Chen Siyu's rule.
"I'm just a woman so I don't really know much. I only know of a few things here and there. I would still need to rely on Elder Hu and the others to tackle the major issues."
Hu Hai fist saluted. "In order to protect Lady's reputation, I'll make my move tomorrow!"
Chen Siyu nodded her head slightly.
Both of them were now on the same team.
The moment Hu Hai made his leave, Chu Li held on to Xu Zhichun's corpse and disappeared in a flash. He reappeared a moment later.
Chen Siyu released a long breath and softly asked, "How did I do?"
Chu Li replied with a smile, "Cousin sister does indeed have the talent to become a faction leader!"
Chen Siyu rolled her eyes. Their relationship had seemingly improved after what they had gone through tonight.
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