Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

"Don't panic, of course I won't suspect that you are involved in this!"

Zhou Chun waved his hand to signal for everyone to remain calm and then spoke in a deep voice, "But my parents can't just die like this without any explanation!"

Yes, without any explanation!

Just by looking at his parents' faces in the coffin, Zhou Chun knew there was definitely a problem with their sudden deaths.

Although he hadn't found any signs of injury or poisoning on their bodies, the peaceful expression on their faces was unmistakably eerie.

This peaceful appearance, at first glance, seemed no different from that of elderly who pass away from old age.

But not only did Zhou Chun's parents differ in age by a few years, they also often consumed the panaceas he provided to maintain their health, so it was impossible that they could have both suddenly died of old age at the same time!

Therefore, Zhou Chun immediately began to inquire in detail about the circumstances leading up to his parents' deaths, and he called over some maids and servants who took care of his parents, and even the doctor who usually treated them, to ask them questions.

After a thorough round of questioning, he finally caught a clue and suddenly looked at the doctor, saying, "Are you saying that the old master and lady started feeling unwell two or three days ago, and that even after taking tranquilizing medicine, there was no improvement?"

"Yes, when I was summoned the day before yesterday to treat the old master and lady, they told me that they had several nightmares during the night and felt unwell, so they wanted me to prescribe some tranquilizing soup medicine to replenish their spirits, and I did so using a recipe passed down from our family's medical hall," explained the doctor.

"But when I returned to see them yesterday, the old master and lady said that the Tranquilizing Qi Boosting Soup had no effect, so they asked me to change the prescription, and I gave them the Three Treasures Nourishing Spirit Soup instead, little did I expect that..."

At this point, the doctor looked at Zhou Chun with a pale face and could not bring himself to continue.

He only felt that he was incredibly unlucky!

The two prescriptions he had given, which were completely free of any side effects, could not possibly have led to the sudden deaths of two elderly who were robust enough to carry water and climb mountains in just under three days!

"Is there any leftover medicine?"

Zhou Chun's gaze shifted, and he suddenly turned to one of the servants who regularly took care of the elderly couple and asked.

The servant, upon hearing this, hurriedly replied, "The soup medicine prepared in the last two days is already gone, but the dregs and uncooked medicinal materials are still here."

"Take me to the kitchen to have a look."

Zhou Chun said this and promptly strode towards the mansion's kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, he checked all the medicinal materials and dregs, but still could not find anything amiss.

However, he did not give up there.

After thinking it over carefully, he personally returned to the mountain gate and invited Zhou Jiawei, the family's most skilled poison user and the fourteenth uncle, to his parents' house to examine his parents' bodies and belongings.

Once Zhou Jiawei had completed another round of examinations and inquiries, Zhou Chun looked at him and asked, "Fourteenth Uncle, did you notice anything?"

"I have some conjectures, but without physical evidence to support them, I can only call them conjectures," replied Zhou Jiawei, choosing his words carefully as he looked up at him.

"It doesn't matter, Fourteenth Uncle, just speak your mind. As for the actual truth, I will discern it myself," Zhou Chun said, gesturing for him to speak freely.

Seeing this, Zhou Jiawei no longer hesitated and immediately said, "According to the Vice Clan Leader, your parents have been regularly taking the spirit pills you provided to maintain their health, and they have always been very health conscious, so even if they had occasional nightmares, it should not have led to such a swift threat to their lives!"

"Therefore, from this, we can basically determine that an external force caused both your parents to perish suddenly due to frightful dreams leading to soul-loss!"

"Looking at the behavior before and after your parents' deaths, it very much resembles the effects of three kinds of rare poisons: Nightmare Spider Poison, Funeral Flower Poison, and Soul-Loss Grass Poison," he continued.

He hesitated for a moment before adding, "I lean more towards the possibility that your parents were affected by Nightmare Spider Poison because this toxin can be mixed with another hallucinogenic toxin, Blissful Flower Pollen, to create a method of death that leaves people unknowingly passing away blissfully in their sleep!"

"Is the Nightmare Spider a Demon Beast?"

Zhou Chun narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiawei immediately replied, "The Nightmare Spider could be a Demon Beast or a common beast. They vary in toxicity, but the effects are all quite similar. Moreover, this kind of peculiar insect is quite rare; I too have never seen one!"

"Junior understands. Thank you for your explanation, Fourteenth Uncle," he said.

Zhou Chun nodded, thanked Zhou Jiawei, and then asked him to return to the Zhou Family's sect first.

Afterward, Zhou Chun alone took care of his parents' affairs at their old home, and then said goodbye to his siblings before returning to the sect.

As soon as he arrived back at Pagoda Peak, Zhou Mingde came down from the mountain to ask him, "Zhengchun, how did your investigation go? Who do you think is behind the sudden death of your parents?"

"Fourteenth Uncle surmised that my parents were likely killed by the mixed poison of Nightmare Spider and Blissful Flower Pollen. I believe his judgment is basically without fault!"

Zhou Chun said this, his tone chilled slightly as he continued sternly, "As for who did this, I think the Jiang Family is the most likely culprit. Didn't that Master Jiang once severely wound the Fire Divine Jackal with the Purple Crow Snake poison?"

Hearing his words, Zhou Mingde's face also darkened, and he couldn't help but say icily, "If it is really the Jiang Family, then they are truly shameless, to even lay hands on mere mortals!"
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In the Cultivation World, there is no such notion as 'misfortunes do not descend upon the family' of foes, but there is an unspoken agreement among cultivators not to act against a rival's mortal kin over personal vendettas.

Especially between two families, it's rare for cultivators to take out their hatred on a mortal relative simply because they despise someone from the rival family.

Typically, if there's really a settling of scores with those mortal relatives related by blood, it would be after the family's cultivators have been eliminated.

Because of this, although Zhou Chun had a grudge against the Jiang Family, he never considered that they might retaliate against his parents.

But now, it seems that there are shameless rule-breakers everywhere!

"So, what do you plan to do now, Zhengchun?"

Zhou Mingde suddenly changed the topic and inquired about Zhou Chun's plans.

His parents had been assassinated, and this vendetta could not be left unavenged, but he also worried that Zhou Chun, in a moment of impulsiveness, might do something detrimental to himself and the family.

However, Zhou Chun's response was much calmer than he had anticipated.

Zhou Chun spoke in a somber tone, "I intend to first request Elder Three to secretly monitor my parents' old home, to see if the murderer will make another move against my siblings!"

"If we can catch the murderer outright, that would be ideal. If the murderer stops at this point, then I will remember this debt and settle with the Jiang Family later!"

This reply undoubtedly relieved Zhou Mingde.

He nodded immediately, "That's a good approach. I will speak with Daoquan about this, and he will certainly agree."

After saying this, he also stated coldly, "As for the Jiang Family, whether or not this matter is their doing, we'll definitely settle with them in the future!"

Once a hatred takes root, it becomes difficult to resolve it peacefully.

Putting aside the previous hostility of the Jiang Family towards the Zhou Family, the secret killing of the Jiang Family's mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator by the Zhou Family guaranteed that only one of the two families would survive in the future.

In the eyes of the Jiang Family, it didn't matter whether the death of their Supreme Elder was the Zhou Family's scheme. The Zhou Family bore an undeniable responsibility for it!

They have even yet to receive a single word of condolence or apology from the Zhou Family!

The earlier promise to cede the rights to develop the Frontier Base in the Wasteland Territory seemed to have been forgotten as well, with no further news on the matter.

Given all this, how could they possibly let the Zhou Family off the hook!

Thus, in Zhou Mingde's view, once the Zhou Family grew stronger and was not hindered by other matters, the first family they needed to eradicate would be the Jiang Family, ensuring they have no more opportunities to grow and become a threat.