Twilight Boundary-Chapter 620 - 611 Noble Zhang Family

Tongyin Meng and Noble Zhang were collaborating to create a Demon Detection Mirror? 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The unexpected news sent a shiver down Hu Ma's spine. If they succeeded in this endeavor, wouldn't it mean that the second Reincarnator cleansing was about to commence?

Instinctively, he found himself resisting this news, feeling it was unbelievable, but after a moment's thought, he could only accept it.

The uniqueness of the Reincarnators would naturally manifest as their prowess increased.

Like this time, when confronting Old Master Yan of the Yan Family, the entire Prefecture Mansion of Guazhou felt lighter, yet only the Reincarnators reacted very little to it.

Back then, when faced with the pressure from the Meng Family's Ancestor, clearly, it was only the support of the Lifebound Spirit Temple.

The Lifebound Spirit Temple was the most unique existence for every Reincarnator, allowing them to avoid detours, connect with each other, and offering various wonderful uses. But as their abilities magnified, this very uniqueness could also transform into a vulnerability, a flaw that others might discover...

At this moment, he found himself unable to digest the impact this news brought him and hurriedly returned to Old Master Zhao's mansion in the west of Guazhou City.

The mansion was also in chaos. Old Master Zhao was absent, having reportedly left in a rush with the young Master who hadn't yet fully recovered, leaving only the steward to manage things. The steward explained to Hu Ma, "Please sit comfortably, sir. The Old Master knows today is chaotic in the city. Assuming you might not have eaten after your trip out, he instructed me early on to have meals prepared in the kitchen, waiting for you."

Shaking his head, the steward sighed, "Who would have expected such an incident with the Iron Gate Yan Family?"

"The Yan Family used to be known as benevolent masters in Guazhou for many years. When the Iron Threshold King invaded Guazhou, it was the Old Master of their family who blocked them and prevented those soldiers and bandits from causing chaos. The entire city's civilians remained unharmed, only contributing tens of thousands of loads of grain and forage to the soldiers. But you never really know someone. Such good people turned out to be the culprits of the toad disease..."

"Alas, now that this has happened, all the local gentry and masters must meet and discuss how to arrange matters moving forward!"

The iron threshold that had been passed down in the Yan Family for so many years was broken overnight. Now that the Yan Family had collapsed, Guazhou was in turmoil.

Old Master Zhao might have already guessed that the matter of the Yan Family was related to these guests at his mansion.

Hu Ma took a seat in the hall, seeing that Calculation and Wuya were already there. Zhou Datong was still busy at Old Master Zhao's other mansion, so it was only the three of them having a meal together.

Hu Ma was deep in thought, and his expression seemed somewhat somber.

Calculation, too, felt a pang of guilt, several times wanting to speak but holding back. Only Wuya looked at Hu Ma with admiration, her chin propped on her hand, occasionally refilling his wine cup.

"Um..."

After a few bites and a few cups of wine, Hu Ma and Calculation suddenly spoke simultaneously, then both fell silent.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward. Hu Ma took a deep breath, put down his chopsticks, and said to Calculation, "You go first."

"I say..."

Calculation looked even more awkward, giving a wry smile. "What can I say?"

"I, this old man, came along to offer you some guidance, afraid that you, being young, wouldn't understand the complexities of the jianghu and might suffer a great loss. But as it turns out, where was I even needed?"

"People used to say the Hu Family had few members. Looking at it now, how can one say they are few? There's no family with more members than the Hu Family!"

"Don't say that."

Hu Ma chuckled, reassuring him, "If you hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have been able to create such a stir."

"No, no..."

Calculation waved his hands hurriedly. "I wouldn't dare claim credit for that. Not even for the two hundred pounds of Blood Food you promised me earlier... you don't need to give it to me."

He paused, then added, "...You don't need to give it *all* to me. Just give me a hundred..."

His words caught in his throat again. He hesitated, then steeled himself. "...Give me one hundred ninety pounds, that'll be fine."

Hu Ma felt both amused and exasperated, casting him a half-smiling glance.

Calculation blushed and quickly said, "What were you about to ask? Go on, tell me. Maybe this old man knows something!"

Hu Ma exhaled lightly, furrowing his brows. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly spoke, "The Noble Zhang Family, have you heard of them?"

"That..."

Calculation was taken aback for a moment. "The ancestors of the Haishou Sect, you mean? Of course, how could I not know?"

"Life Nourishing Zhou, Zhensui Hu, Tongyin Meng, Divine Hand Zhao, Undying King, Black Magic Chen—also known as Ghost Chen—plus Impermanence Li, Mountain-viewing Zhu, Benefit Sun, and Noble Zhang..."

"These are the top ten great surnames in the Path."

"The Noble Zhang Family has always been honored as the ancestors of the Haishou Sect. However, the Haishou Path is different from your Shousui, walking ghost, or Trick Door traditions; those three are the most active in the jianghu. The Haishou, on the other hand, don't often engage directly in various affairs. Members of the Haishou Sect tend to keep to themselves, rarely interacting with outsiders."

"Haishou?"

Hu Ma was slightly taken aback. So, the Noble Zhang Family also originated from craftsmen and machinists...

But he only voiced half his thought before stopping, realizing the subtle implications.

As expected, Calculation sighed. "That's not quite right. Although the Haishou Path has many craftsmen, nightmare witches, and Magicians, mostly from poor backgrounds, if the Zhang Family were like that, how could they deserve the title 'Noble'? They are indeed the ancestors of the Haishou Sect, but they don't deal with those things. Astrology, numerology, and the Qimen Skill are their true areas of expertise..."

"Why are you suddenly asking about their family?"

Hu Ma pondered for a moment, then looked at him and said frankly, "I just encountered two people who gave me a warning."

"The Zhensui Hu Family must be wary of Noble Zhang and Tongyin Meng!"

"What?"

Calculation seemed puzzled. After a pause, he said, "How did those two families end up together?"

"Noble Zhang holds their noses high in the air, while Tongyin Meng clawed their way up from the bottom. Those two families are completely unrelated..."

"...Who warned you?"

Seeing his curious expression, Hu Ma chuckled and explained, "It wasn't exactly a warning for me. It was more of a message they asked me to pass on to that friend of mine—you know, the one in Mingzhou..."

"...Are you sure you want to hear about such things?"

Calculation suddenly understood. His expression changed dramatically, and he immediately shook his head. "No! This old man doesn't want to know at all."

But meeting Hu Ma's gaze, he hesitated slightly and lowered his voice. "However, regarding your question, I'll tell you the most crucial point: Noble Zhang is not to be trifled with."

"In terms of terrifying and harmful methods, the Haishou Sect doesn't actually have that many. You don't see many people from the Haishou Path in the jianghu, and their reputation isn't widespread."

"But you must understand, a lesser reputation and fewer known methods don't mean they lack great capabilities."

"The best warriors achieve victory without celebrated deeds, and the most skilled fighters remain unknown. The Shousui people have a resounding reputation in the jianghu because they often need to roll up their sleeves and fight things out. Negative Spirits are well-known because there are always evil spirits looking for living people to run errands for them in the daylight. People from the Haishou Path are seldom seen wandering the jianghu because their lives are stable and secure; they have no need to do so."

"The Noble Zhang Family isn't known for any notorious harmful tricks because their skills are far more sophisticated. They don't need to spend their days devising such base methods."

"Of course, their status is also unique. They are the last of the royal Descendants..."

"Descendants?"

Hu Ma was rather surprised by all this. "Weren't the Imperial Bloodline all... Where did these Descendants come from?"

"Heh, it's said the Dou Clan royal family was cursed to extinction."

Calculation gave a grim smile. "But the Descendants of the previous dynasty are still alive!"

"Two hundred years ago, when the Dou Family seized power and took the Zhang family's empire, they nonetheless granted the Zhang family the title of an idle Prince. For the next two hundred years, countless Jianghu Strange People who couldn't stand the Yi Dynasty's Dou Family secretly revered the Zhang family as true royalty. Even twenty years ago, after the Emperor was flayed, there were still many who believed that the world should be returned to the Zhang family's hands."

"It even involves matters of dynastic change?"

Hearing this, Hu Ma found it quite unexpected. As he was pondering, Calculation also seemed to be thinking deeply, as if he had recalled something important.

He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and slowly said, "There's another critical matter."

"Years ago, the first to discover those Evil Ghosts from hell hiding among ordinary people was also this Noble Zhang Family..."

"The first to confirm Reincarnator evil spirits within their own kin and, upholding righteousness above family ties, grind them to pulp with millstones was also this Noble Zhang Family!"

"What?"

These words struck Hu Ma's heart like a sudden chill.

If the Noble Zhang Family had indeed resorted to such measures in the past, then the possibility of them collaborating with Tongyin Meng to create a Demon Detection Mirror that could expose Reincarnators seemed all the more plausible, and his heart sank further.

But as he asked a few more questions, his own doubts only grew.

The Noble Zhang Family was the first to discover Reincarnators, even having a history of upholding righteousness above family ties. So why was the Zhensui Hu Family later responsible for suppressing them?

And the most crucial point:

The Zhensui Hu Family had conducted the first major cleansing of Reincarnators. But how was it carried out? As the Master of the Zhensui Mansion, Hu Ma inexplicably knew nothing about it. Probing Calculation revealed equal ignorance. Furthermore, due to the break in information passed down from the previous generation, the current Reincarnators also knew nothing about such a significant event...

These discussions didn't lead to any clear conclusions, but learning about the relationship between the Noble Zhang Family and the Reincarnators was still a gain.

After finishing the meal, he returned to his room. He had just opened the three mansion gates and should have been carefully sorting through his affairs, but now he had little time for that. Slowly practicing his cultivation to adjust his state of mind, he gradually sank into his Lifebound Spirit Temple. He had expected another uproar among the Reincarnators after the events at the Yan Family estate, but surprisingly, the spiritual temple was unusually quiet.

"You've come?"

Just as he was wondering, Miss Red Wine's voice sounded, as if she had been waiting for him there.

Hu Ma hurriedly said, "Those people..."

"They're taking it seriously now."

Miss Red Wine said, "Right now, they're all busy forming small private chat groups. Some are hawking Zombie Horns and Dragon Zombie Scales, while others are voting for regional small team leaders!"