Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 545 - 489: The Bad Guy

Chapter 545: Chapter 489: The Bad Guy
The roof of the grand hall at the center of Wang’s Mansion was fiercely engulfed in flames. The cracked glaze tiles were popping and falling down the slope of the roof, crashing to the ground.
Members of the Wang Family, dressed in their nightclothes, and the Wang Mansion Servants stood in the courtyard and on the street in front of the mansion. They stared at the flames that shot up to the sky, their faces marked by sorrow, many embracing and weeping bitterly.
In stark contrast to the members of the Wang Family were numerous figures wearing black veils and cone hats.
They were members of the Academic Palace Supervision Department. They had just launched a surprise attack on Wang’s Mansion. With swift and overwhelming force, they had broken through the protective barriers around the house, subdued the key members of the Wang Family, and forced the remaining Wang Cultivators to surrender and put on manacles that blocked their Spirit Veins.
CREAK—
The beams and pillars of the grand hall, scorched by the fire, emitted a grating sound of cracking wood as they slowly collapsed, crashing to the ground.
The rising sparks and dust, carried by the wind, flew towards the people of the Wang Family, covering these nobles in dirt and soot.
Wang Anlian stood amidst the crowd, her face pale as she clutched her husband Chu Haoman’s arm, murmuring, "Father and the clan elders went to Li Ang. Why, why has this happened?"
Chu Haoman did not know how to console her.
Everyone knew the Academic Palace was powerful. After all, it had joined with the Ancestors of Li Yu during chaotic times to conquer various Former Sui warlords and Sects, establishing Yu Country. Furthermore, it had managed to withstand the pressure from Taihao Mountain, making Yu Country the strongest nation in the world.
But still, they shouldn’t have been able to bring down the Prince Manor so easily.
Unless this attack had been planned in advance. The Supervision Department must have already understood the characteristics and positioning of the Prince Manor’s Prohibitions.
They had even ascertained where the Wang Family members lived, knowing exactly what to do to make the Wang Cultivators surrender.
"Father will be alright; he listened to you and stayed out of Wang Bo Fan’s affairs. Even if the Academic Palace pursues the matter to the end, they won’t place the main responsibility on him," Chu Haoman said softly, but he himself couldn’t be sure of his words.
This was the Wang Family, part of the Five Families and Seven Hopes—the Taiyuan Wang Family, with the most members and the widest influence. They had supplied over a dozen Prime Ministers to Yu Country and held significant influence over the scholars and the direction of the court.
The fact that the Academic Palace Supervision Department dared to raid the Prince Manor so brazenly showed they were prepared for the consequences.
"WAAH WAAH WAAH—"
The sound of a baby crying came from beside the couple. Chu Haoman turned and saw a Wang Family woman holding an infant, possibly awakened by the crackling fire and waves of heat, crying loudly in her arms.
Chu Haoman felt a surge of pity and walked up to a Supervision Department Cultivator wearing a cone hat, bowing and saying, "Esteemed sir, I am Chu Haoman, a student from Lu Li Academy, having studied there for three years. The fire here is too intense. Could we perhaps move some of the women, children, and elders to the street to keep them safe?"
The Supervision Department Cultivator, his face hidden under the cone hat, just quietly watched Chu Haoman, neither nodding nor shaking his head.
Seeing this, Chu Haoman clenched his teeth. He returned to the crowd and, without using his Spiritual Power, struggled to carry a stone bench from nearby, letting the woman sit down.
He and his wife then called for the Wang Family members to form a circle, with the elderly, women, and children standing on the side away from the heat of the flames, and the younger men at the front.
The members of the Supervision Department standing in the courtyard and on other unburnt rooftops simply watched quietly, waiting for something.
Footsteps gradually approached. Li Ang, walking along the street, appeared in front of the Prince Manor.
All eyes converged on him.
He entered with a calm demeanor, stepped over the threshold, and made his way into the courtyard.
Behind him followed Yan Yundang, Wang Bojian, Wang Bo Fan, and the White-haired Clan Elder.
Seeing Wang Bojian appear, Wang Anlian subconsciously tightened her grasp on her husband’s hand. Chu Haoman patted the back of her hand in reassurance.
Li Ang recognized Chu Haoman among the crowd, but that was of no importance. He stood still, expressionlessly scanning the Wang Family members.
The Wang clansmen watched him in return, their gazes blank, fearful, timid, or filled with hatred.
"You evil man! Why did you burn down our house!" A childish, angry voice cried out as a small stone flew across and struck Li Ang on the chest.
The stone had been thrown by a Wang child, six or seven years of age. His mother, her face a mask of terror, pulled him back into the crowd and hid him behind her. His father, meanwhile, knelt fearfully before Li Ang, uttering apologies.
Li Ang looked at the stone fragments remaining on his chest, casually brushed them off, and lifting his head, addressed the Wang Family members, "Do you think I am a villain?"
No one answered his question. The fire roared on. Another beam in the grand hall violently collapsed, bricks and tiles shattered, and countless sparks drifted and scattered.
"From your perspective, I indeed am," Li Ang spoke calmly. "I sent men to break into your ancestral home. I captured your relatives. I burned down your house.
"The dignity of your thousand-year-old family, I trampled underfoot like mere mud.
"Your fathers, husbands, and brothers were once high-ranking scholars. Now, they have become shackled prisoners.
"All of this, you blame on me."
The crowd remained silent. An elderly man with white hair, shaking off the support of his descendants, tremulously approached Li Ang and knelt. Struggling to speak, he said, "Mr. Li, you have won. Whatever you want, the Wang Family will provide. Just please, for the sake of my brother Wang Wenlun, spare our family enough to continue our lineage. Do not leave us without descendants."
Li Ang looked emotionlessly at the elderly man and suddenly laughed. "Old sir, even now, do you still think that I am seeking revenge?
"Revenge for the slander against my name? For the suppression I faced? For inciting the common people to surround the Governor Mansion yesterday, nearly forcing me to flee in disarray?"
The white-haired elder raised his head, squinting, his gaze profound. "Is it not so?"
"HAHAHAHAHA." Li Ang laughed dryly. "If this were about revenge, I should have accepted the apology list Wang Bojian offered me.
"I would have published an article in the newspaper, let the public know of Wang Bo Fan’s crimes, and nailed him forever to the pillar of historical shame.
"He is the main culprit. By killing him, someone would bear all the blame. I could peacefully return to Chang’an and continue being the Little Medicine King God, continue being Mr. Li, without making any enemies.
"No. What I want is not revenge.
"What I demand is justice.
"A life for a life."
He turned to a Cultivator from the Supervision Department and said calmly, "Bring Wang Jie here."