Chapter 110: Brewing Storm in Oakwood City
After leaving Dragonspire Forest, Su Tianhao made his way straight back to Oakwood City. By the time he arrived at the city gates, the morning sun had already climbed high, casting long shadows across the cobblestones. Warm light filtered through clear skies, glinting off tiled rooftops and merchant banners fluttering in the breeze.
He passed through the gates without trouble, walking with calm, deliberate steps. Though Silent Pulse concealed his cultivation base, something about his bearing remained—deep, reserved, quietly imposing. The kind of presence that drew second glances without anyone understanding why.
The city was already wide awake.
Vendors lined the streets with practiced enthusiasm—baskets of ripe fruit, steaming meat buns, medicinal herbs bundled in twine. The scent of cooked oil, dust, and incense drifted through the air. Carriages rumbled over cobblestones while cultivators moved between rooftops, cloaked in urgency.
But beyond the familiar noise and bustle, something felt different.
The tempo was quickened. More watchful eyes. More hushed conversations. Subtle changes—easy to miss for most, but not for Su Tianhao.
He narrowed his gaze slightly. "Looks like something significant happened while I was away."
There was tension in the air—quiet, coiled tension. Like a string pulled tight and waiting to snap.
"Well, it's not my business," he muttered, shrugging it off. "I should head home and get a proper bath first."
Two weeks in Dragonspire Forest without finding a single clean water source had left him with a grievance he was more than ready to resolve.
He strode forward in long, unhurried steps, gaze distant and unbothered. But as he reached the heart of Oakwood City, the atmosphere shifted again—more noticeably this time. Streets that should have been lively carried an undercurrent of unease. Conversations were quieter, more guarded.
Then he passed by, and the voices changed entirely.
"Hey—isn't that Young Master Tianhao?"
The moment the words were spoken, countless eyes turned in his direction like moths drawn to a flame. Whispers followed swiftly:
"Su Tianhao, the genius who's been making waves in the city... now that he's back, I wonder if he can help change the Su family's situation."
"I heard he helped them with many economic challenges in the past. But ever since they dismissed him, I don't think he'd want to be involved in their business anymore."
"The He family have been silent for a long time—now that they've started making moves against the Su family, it won't be simple to resolve."
"Su Tianhao is a genius favored by the heavens. If I were him, I definitely wouldn't want to be entangled in this mess..."
Though the voices were kept low, Su Tianhao caught every word. He had been prepared to ignore the commotion entirely—but those words stopped him.
'The Su family's situation... and it's even related to the He family...'
His brows furrowed slightly.
He knew the He family well. The third of the three great clans of Oakwood City, ranked second in overall strength—though most citizens wouldn't have guessed it. The He family had always kept to themselves, indifferent to hierarchy and uninterested in the spotlight that had kept the Su family and Ye family locked in rivalry for centuries. Because of their deliberate obscurity, little was known about them.
There was a famous saying in Oakwood City: if the Su family is the dragon that roars, and the Ye family the tiger that bites, then the He family is the phoenix that watches in silence—aloof, but never to be underestimated.
'If I remember correctly, the Su family focuses on alchemy, the Ye family on entertainment, the He family on luxury trades,' Su Tianhao thought, his mind working steadily. 'There shouldn't be any natural conflict between the Su family and the He family—no overlapping interests, no territorial rivalry...'
According to Xie Ling, the Su family dominated pill production and medical supplies under First Elder Su Qingfeng's exceptional alchemical direction, while the Ye family had built their wealth around entertainment and hospitality—inns, brothels, taverns, the Crimson Vine Tavern being one among them. The He family, meanwhile, controlled anything luxury. Their auction houses handled the most valuable items passing through the city. And most importantly, they typically remained neutral in conflicts—rumored to be a branch clan of some greater power, with no need to compete for local dominance.
Su Tianhao remembered all of it clearly, even after seven years.
'For the Su family and the He family to suddenly be in conflict, something significant must have happened,' he murmured inwardly.
He didn't linger to gather more from the crowd. He would return to the estate and find out the truth directly.
---
Su Tianhao was approaching the marketplace district—a few more yards from the Su family estate—when he encountered an unexpected figure.
Ye Wenjie.
He was dressed in his signature green and gold robes, features smooth and striking, slanted eyes relaxed, lips curved into that natural smile which seemed permanently fixed on his face. From his entire bearing, it was plain he was in good spirits. Two weeks had passed without a single word about Su Tianhao—long enough for Ye Wenjie to assume what he had hoped for. Blood Grin never failed. The Blood Shadow Assassins never left a target breathing.
As far as Ye Wenjie was concerned, Su Tianhao was dead.
That peace of mind had done him good. His cultivation, which had been stagnant at the 4th level Martial Disciple Realm, had quietly advanced to the 5th level.
Flanking him were his two personal maids, their beauty striking under the morning sun. Behind them trailed a young man in plain but respectfully-kept robes—one hand wrapped in neat white bandages, expression carefully unreadable. His subdued posture made his position clear.
Gao Min.
Ye Jianping's companion. The same Gao Min whose dominant hand Su Tianhao had destroyed in a single casual punch a month prior. The injury had yet to heal, and it was uncertain when—or whether—he would practice martial arts again.
The moment Gao Min's eyes landed on Su Tianhao, he froze mid-step. His jaw went slack. His eyes bulged. For a moment he looked ready to either faint or flee in the opposite direction.
His fear ran that deep.
Ye Wenjie noticed the sudden halt and glanced over to find the cause—and his expression cracked instantly.
"You—how are you still alive?!"
The words burst out before his mind could stop them. Loud. Unguarded. Filled with raw disbelief.
He knew exactly who had gone after Su Tianhao. The Blood Shadow Assassins were infamous for their efficiency and ruthlessness. They never failed. They never left a target breathing. Seeing Su Tianhao now—alive, unscathed, standing boldly in the middle of Oakwood City—dealt Ye Wenjie a psychological blow so severe his composure shattered before he even registered it.
The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had made a terrible mistake.
Su Tianhao's expression cooled the instant he heard Ye Wenjie's voice. His golden eyes narrowed—sharp enough to cut through pretense.
"What do you mean, how am I still alive?" he asked. His voice was low. Quiet. Like a blade drawn in silence.
Ye Wenjie's heart seized. He had said too much.
Su Tianhao's gaze sharpened, bone-deep coldness radiating from his eyes and spreading across the road like the first breath of winter. With all the wisdom and experience carried in his inherited memories, piecing together the truth from that single unguarded slip required no effort at all.
As the saying goes: when the snake coils too close, even the blind feel its chill.
It was all but confirmed. Ye Wenjie had been behind the assassination attempt on his life.
The realization didn't ignite rage. It ignited something colder—a dormant killing intent stirring silently from the depths of his soul, like a dragon uncurling in the dark.
"So it was you," he said. Not a question. Quiet. Certain.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ye Wenjie replied at once, composure snapping back into place with practiced ease. His voice was smooth, his expression perfectly sculpted into confusion. To any onlooker, he appeared every bit the misunderstood gentleman.
Su Tianhao saw straight through it.
"You don't know anything?" He let out a quiet, short laugh—more exhale than sound. His lips curved.
"I really don't know anything," Ye Wenjie insisted, louder this time, his charming face scrunching into a convincing frown.
"Interesting," Su Tianhao murmured, the word falling like a stone into still water.
His smile remained. But to Ye Wenjie, standing there with the memory of Blood Grin fresh in his mind and a cold sweat beginning to form beneath his robes—those weren't smiles at all.
They were the grins of a devil.