For this goal, he diligently studied martial arts and worked hard, never slacking off.
Gradually, a group of brothers who respected him gathered around him.
But engaging in the business of murder and robbery inevitably led to conflicts.
Most of these old brothers ended up dead.
By the time he truly became Zhu Qigao, only one old friend remained by his side.
Zhu Sixiu.
Zhu Sixiu and his wife, after years of love, finally tied the knot, and Zhu Qigao was genuinely happy for them.
He took a day off specifically to attend Zhu Sixiu's wedding.
And then he watched Zhu Sixiu get hacked to death with his own eyes.
After all, he was Zhu Qigao!
But in front of cultivators, no matter how high he stood, it was useless.
This sense of powerlessness was exactly the same as when he was Zhu Yixiu.
He thought he had risen smoothly in the world, that he was no longer his old self.
But in truth, he was still in the same place.
Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp, shrimp eat mud.
He once thought he had transformed from a small shrimp into a big fish.
Zhu Sixiu used his life to tell him that he had only become a slightly bigger shrimp.
After becoming the Chief Steward, Zhu Qigao increasingly realized that the power of mortals was limited.
Only by becoming a cultivator could one control the clouds and rain.
But did he still have a chance?
He wept bitterly for Zhu Sixiu, and in doing so, he also cried for himself.
Zhu Qigao's tears flowed freely, and Zhu Liude, standing beside him, felt a deep sense of sorrow.
He wasn't familiar with Zhu Sixiu, having only known him for three months.
Their deepest connection was in killing Zhu Liucai, which made them fairly good friends.
But he and Zhu Sixiu had one thing in common.
He was also about to get married.
They had talked a few times about their lives after marriage, and they got along well.
Zhu Liude decided to marry because of Zhu Xiaosuo's advice.
Zhu Xiaosuo told him to always look forward.
He couldn't live forever in the hatred of having his wife, children, and parents wiped out.
Moreover, Zhu Xiaosuo promised to keep his family safe, which gave him the idea of getting married and having children.
Although Zhu Liude was a rough man and had had a wife and children before, he valued his new wife greatly.
His new wife was the daughter of a small family, well-educated and sensible.
Zhu Liude didn't use his power to pressure her; instead, he arranged the three letters and six ceremonies with the Zhu Clan's literate accountant, ensuring all the formalities were in place.
They had even agreed to have the wedding next month.
He had jokingly said he would visit the family head with Zhu Sixiu and their new wives to ask for some wedding money.
Now, Zhu Sixiu was dead.
Zhu Liude realized that Zhu Xiaosuo didn't have the ability to protect them completely.
Just like before, the family was not safe.
In that case, why get married and have children?
At his age, he didn't want to experience the pain of a few years ago again.
He decided to call off the engagement.
Seeing his right-hand men so dispirited, Zhu Xiaosuo felt deeply guilty.
He thought cultivators were generally dignified.
He hadn't guessed that Zhuang Yun would go to such extremes before leaving.
When cultivators fought, mortals were wiped out.
The first to be affected was Zhu Sixiu.
Back when they fought Zhu Liucai, Zhu Sixiu was still Zhu Yixiu, taking on the main attack.
Later, he followed him into the Zhu Clan, handling the brothers' remains.
Afterward, Zhu Yixiu became Zhu Sixiu and became his guard.
That day at Hundred Beast Ridge, Zhu Sixiu stayed behind to face death with him.
He remembered the purple handkerchief Zhu Sixiu used to wipe his blood and his anticipation of getting married:
"Hey, I thought that after helping you secure your position this time, with the merit of following the dragon, there wouldn't be any more trouble, and I could finally marry her. But now, with today's mess..."
Today was supposed to be his day of great joy.
Zhu Xiaosuo closed his eyes.
"I dragged Sixiu into this."
Zhu Sixiu and his wife had no family, relying on each other since childhood.
Zhu Xiaosuo personally handled his funeral.
They were buried behind the Empty Form Temple.
Alongside the Old Monk and the Shop Assistant.
That night.
In the Empty Form Temple, presided over by Jieqi, they chanted sutras to send off the souls of the deceased.
Unexpectedly, just three months later, Zhu Xiaosuo heard the chanting again.
He asked Jieku, who was sobbing uncontrollably beside him:
"I haven't asked before, what sutra do you chant for the departed?"
"The Reincarnation Sutra."
"A good sutra."
He rubbed Jieku's small bald head.
"Did Jieqi shave your head again?"
"It was always Zhu Sixiu who shaved it for me. He said... Brother Jieqi wasn't careful, and it would prick your hand."
Zhu Xiaosuo fell silent.
The business had nothing to do with Zhu Sixiu.
The Niu Clan targeted him because he was suitable.
His status in the Zhu Clan was neither high nor low, his relationship with Zhu Xiaosuo was neither close nor distant, he had no living relatives to support him, and no descendants to avenge him if he died.
He was the scapegoat chosen by the Niu Clan to intimidate the Zhu Clan.
"You were there when Sixiu died, weren't you?"
Jieku nodded while wiping his tears:
"Yes, I was there holding the embroidered ball for him."
"Did he say anything before he left?"
He had asked the same question to Zhu Liude and Zhu Qigao.
Both said no.
But he believed there was something.
They just wouldn't say.
Jieku was a monk, he wouldn't lie.
Jieku said:
"He didn't pass away immediately. Before he died, he said, 'This day has finally come.'"
Hearing Jieku's words, Zhu Xiaosuo felt even more guilty.
He had struggled his whole life, never enjoying a day of happiness.
But his guilt towards Zhu Sixiu and his anger towards the Niu Clan couldn't start a war.
He was too weak.
The nearby Niu, Ma, and Yang, and the distant Zhuang Yun, were all watching him.
With no cards to play, he couldn't make any waves.
He knew today was just the beginning of the counterattack.
The real show was yet to come.
He patted Zhu Qigao's hunched shoulder:
"Work hard, you and Zhu Liude arrange to close all our cross-border businesses overnight. As for Sixiu, I'll keep vigil for him tonight."
A cultivator family head keeping vigil for a house servant was unheard of.
Zhu Qigao didn't dare to arrange it that way.
"Family head..."
"Go, my mind is made up. This is the least I can do for him."
"…Alright."
Zhu Xiaosuo borrowed a copy of the Reincarnation Sutra and quietly began to chant.
The next day, eighty percent of the Zhu Clan's businesses were shut down.
All the industries they had newly entered three months ago, such as cloth, grain, and pawnshops, were closed overnight.
The brothels and teahouses, under Zhu Xiaosuo's direction, retained only the Red Pavilion.
The business at the Red Pavilion plummeted.
The incident of Zhuang Yun killing his lover and smashing the plaque before leaving spread like wildfire.
No man in Mountain Chicken County was unaware of it, so no one dared to visit anymore.
Zhu Xiaosuo often went to the Red Pavilion to take a look.
Then he would leave without doing anything.
The existence of the Red Pavilion was merely a reminder to himself of the revenge he had yet to exact.
But even though he had contracted the scope of his business and dismissed a large number of newly hired servants, trouble still found its way to him.
The three great families and the County Magistrate were like a spring he had suppressed for a long time.
With the pressure of Zhuang Yun removed, they naturally rebounded strongly.
And the rebound was always fierce.
They not only wanted their previous businesses back but also aimed to destroy the Zhu Clan's current ventures.