"Lord Zhou, my master requests your presence!"
After finishing his inspection along the city wall, Harold Zhou was about to head to the government office when a group blocked his path.
Harold recognized the man leading them—Justin Wu, chief steward of the Wu Family, a late Soul-Split cultivator.
During the demon army's siege, the Wu Family and the other six major clans shamelessly defected to Gaius the Serpent King, even slaughtering civilians in the city. The court would never tolerate it, so now these seven families are just grasshoppers after autumn—about to be wiped out for good.
Harold had no desire to get involved with them and replied coolly, "My apologies, Steward Wu, but I have official matters to attend to and cannot accept your invitation. Please understand."
Justin Wu chuckled, flashing a strange smile and lowering his voice: "Lord Zhou, your daughter's floral dress today was pretty unique. I really liked it."
Harold's face instantly changed, his eyes cold as he stared at Justin Wu: "What have you done to Renee?"
A look of smugness appeared on Justin Wu's face. "No need to worry, Lord Zhou. Miss Renee is perfectly fine—she's just visiting the Wu Family as a guest. Of course, she misses you very much. Don't you want to see her?"
Hearing Justin Wu threaten him with his own daughter, Harold's expression grew even uglier. He agonized over whether to go to the Wu estate.
Seeing this, Justin Wu pressed him: "Lord Zhou, my master's time is very valuable. Don't keep him waiting too long!"
"You two return to the office. I'll go with Steward Wu."
As he spoke, Harold quietly sent a voice transmission to the two yamen runners, telling them to go to the inn and seek out Ian Song.
"Yes, sir!"
The two runners turned to leave, but Justin Wu's lips curled into a cold smile.
Swish! Swish!
In a flash of sword light, both runners were beheaded. Justin Wu casually waved his hand and stored their corpses in his storage bag.
"Lord Zhou, don't try anything clever, or I can't guarantee your safety!" Justin Wu warned, shooting Harold a cold look that made his heart sink in despair.
Soon, Justin Wu escorted Harold Zhou to the Wu Family estate.
"Lord Zhou, your arrival truly brings honor to our humble Wu Family!" Tyson Wu greeted him with a broad smile.
"Greetings, Patriarch Wu. Where is my Renee?" Harold bowed and asked anxiously.
"Lord Zhou, please rest assured. The Wu Family would never mistreat Miss Renee!" Tyson Wu narrowed his eyes, smiling as he spoke.
"Alright, Tyson, time is short—let's not waste words!" another voice interrupted; it was the patriarch of one of the other seven families.
The other six family heads soon appeared as well.
The Kane Family patriarch said, "Harold Zhou, let's not beat around the bush. If you arrange for our seven families to leave the city, not only will we spare you and your daughter, we'll also give you five hundred top-grade spirit crystals. How about it?"
"This...?" Harold hesitated, uncertainty showing on his face.
"Harold Zhou, don't fail to appreciate our kindness. If you refuse, don't blame us for sending you and your daughter to reunite underground!" threatened the Yale Family patriarch.
After a moment's hesitation, Harold finally nodded. "Fine, I agree—but you must guarantee our safety, and pay me part of those five hundred spirit crystals up front!"
Tyson Wu laughed heartily. "Good! Since you know what's best for you, we won't treat you unfairly. Here, this bag has two hundred top-grade spirit crystals—the other three hundred after it's done!"
As the saying goes, 'the longer you wait, the more things can go wrong.'
As soon as Harold agreed, the seven families began making arrangements, splitting their members into small groups and quietly converging on the city gate.
Fifteen minutes later, nearly twenty thousand people had gathered at one of Immortal Maple City's most remote gates—all members of the seven families.
"Harold Zhou, open the formation!" Tyson Wu urged.
"Alright!"
Harold took out the Pass Token, sent a few incantations into it, and the city-protecting array opened up, revealing a man-sized portal.
"The exit's too small—make it bigger!" Tyson Wu barked.
"Please understand, Patriarch Wu. The Pass Token in my hand can only open a portal this size," Harold replied solemnly.
"Enough, Tyson, let's hurry!" As he spoke, the Kane Family patriarch charged toward the portal.
The timeline briefly rewinds to when Harold first activated the city-protecting array.
Inside the inn, Ian Song suddenly looked up toward the city gate. Since the grand formation had been shattered by Gaius the Serpent King, Ian had personally rebuilt it, creating a special spiritual connection. The moment Harold activated the array, Ian sensed it.
"Whoosh!"