Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

If it were an ordinary time, these more than ten thousand Mansion Army soldiers daring to threaten him would have seen him catching a few ringleaders and killing them with a slap, but now it wasn't possible.

To perform well in front of Zhan Taiqing, he had to not only save people, but save as many as possible, it was impossible to do it alone, he had to rely on the more than ten thousand Mansion Army soldiers in front of him.

But these more than ten thousand Mansion Army soldiers were also human and they too had their selfish interests!

Under the rule of the Rakshasa Holy Sect, which governs three roads and eight prefectures, the majority of these Mansion Army soldiers were recruited from the local population. Thus, the thirty thousand Mansion Army soldiers from Tongling were all locals of Tongling County.

The biggest reason they fought so fervently at the eastern gate against the demons was because there were over two million civilians in the city, among them their own family members.

They were all local military personnel under the rule of the Rakshasa Holy Sect and were considered as staff outside the official registration of the Holy Sect. Their residences were naturally located near the core urban area close to the Prefectural Magistrate's Office, and correspondingly, their family members and relatives also lived in the inner city.

Thus, when they learned that Ding Dian planned to lead them into the city to save people, they all put forward one request—that they rescue the people in the inner city first.

This request, even Ding Dian dared not refuse. These people were originally under Fan Longhe's command; by covertly defying him, if he dared not to agree, it would be inciting the wrath of the masses. If these people did not cooperate with him in saving others, Zhan Taiqing would surely blame him in the end.

Moreover, if they could successfully rescue the people in the inner city, the credit would still be his, and he could also win over the hearts of the Mansion Army soldiers, which would be beneficial for him.

Once he resolved his decision, Ding Dian didn't waste any more time on random thoughts but led his men with single-minded determination towards the inner city, skillfully avoiding the vines along the way, and quickly reached the inner city.

Upon reaching the inner city and seeing the scene in front of him, Ding Dian was immediately dumbfounded. Not just him, Peng Ling and the multitude of Mansion Army soldiers behind him were all dumbfounded as well.

The inner city spanned approximately twenty li. They had just reached the outermost area of the inner city. The ruins here were much less severe than the areas they had passed through earlier. Not only that, there were few corpses on the ground, and even the number of people running towards them was only a few thousand, with significantly fewer pursuing vines than in the outer areas.

The blood-colored towering ancient tree, which was the location where the Blood Demon appeared, was right at the center of the city, in the area where the Prefectural Magistrate's Office was located, the most core area of the inner city. Logically speaking, the closer to the Blood Demon, the more severe the devastation should be, and the casualties were expected to be the most severe.

Many had psychologically prepared themselves for this when they set out.

Yet upon arrival, they found that the extent of destruction in the inner city was far less than that in the outer city!

"What's going on here?"

"Could it be, the closer to the Blood Demon, the safer it is?"

"My home is undamaged; it seems like there's no one inside!"

"My home too, son, are you there?"

"Dad, Mom, if you hear me, answer me."

...

In their confusion, quite a few Mansion Army soldiers whose families were nearby had already left the ranks to check on their homes. But after about a hundred people consecutively returned, the expressions on their faces were all one of puzzlement.

"There's nobody at my home."

"My children aren't there either, and I didn't see any corpses."

"Haha, my dad isn't there either, he must have found a place to hide!"

...

Many soldiers, upon hearing others mention that they hadn't seen any corpses at home, showed a hint of envy on their faces. After witnessing the hellish scenes in the outer city, they too sincerely hoped that not finding their relatives' corpses meant they might still be alive.

Ding Dian, like everyone else, was puzzled, but his reaction was relatively quick. Seeing about a dozen people trying to flee from the inner city, he leaped forward, reaching right behind them, and with a forceful slap, he blew away the blood-red vines that were pursuing them, breaking their encirclement.

These dozen people had clearly experienced the ferocity of the vines before. Having been rescued, they all showed exhilarating emotions of having survived a great ordeal, looking at Ding Dian as if they were about to kneel down and thank him.

One of the middle-aged Ten Layers of Body Openings martial artists seemed to recognize Ding Dian, hastily bowed in a saluting manner, gratefully saying, "Thank you, Deputy Magistrate Ding, for saving my life!"

"It's Magistrate Ding, thank you, Magistrate Ding, for saving our lives."

"It's the Mansion Army, the Mansion Army has come to save us, we are saved!"

...

Ding Dian had no time to deal with these people and directly asked, "Why are there so few people in the inner city? Where have the others gone?"

The middle-aged warrior's face immediately showed a hint of regret, and he said, "About half an hour ago, before this blood-colored ancient tree appeared, a large group of people rushed towards the west gate from the inner city. While running, they were shouting that demons would soon create chaos in the city, urging us to escape with them through the west gate where there was a slim chance of survival. Many believed him and left the city with him. I'm afraid they have all reached a safe place outside the city by now."

The person leading them, I recognize, was Fourth Master Hou Yujie of the Hou Clan of Zhaoyang; those people must also have been warriors from the Hou Clan of Zhaoyang. Had I known the city would turn out this way, I should have left with him too...

The Hou Clan of Zhaoyang, Hou Yujie?

Took their families inside the city to a safe place?

Ding Dian and Peng Ling both looked astonished, slightly puzzled. How did the Hou Clan know in advance that the Blood Demon would enter the city and even evacuate everyone beforehand?

Meanwhile, the mansion soldiers behind them exchanged glances for a while, suddenly all showing extremely relieved smiles. Since the Hou Clan had known beforehand that demons would create chaos in the city and had all left, they must certainly be in a safe place now. If their own families had followed them, wouldn't they also be safe now?

Observing the change in expressions on the faces of the mansion soldiers behind them, Ding Dian and Peng Ling's brows furrowed immediately, followed by a sudden unease in their hearts.

"Deputy Magistrate, something is not right here. How did the Hou Clan know that the Blood Demon would appear in the city, and even led people out of the west gate so early..."

"And they specifically took away the families of these mansion soldiers... the Hou Clan... their hearts deserve condemnation!"

Peng Ling hadn't finished speaking when Ding Dian interrupted him. Hearing the words "their hearts deserve condemnation" from Ding Dian, Peng Ling's expression froze, then he quickly understood, his face instantly filled with a horrified look.

......

Outside the west gate, ten miles away on a flat piece of wooded land, a densely packed camp stretching for fifteen or sixteen miles held over two hundred thousand people, including men, women, children, and the elderly, mostly vulnerable groups.

Most people there, at this moment, were glancing sideways at the blood-colored giant ancient tree in the middle of Tongling City as well as the blood-red vines spreading out beneath it. Although there was a hint of relief on their faces, it was mostly fear.

"Everyone, rest here; we are now far enough from the demons to not worry!"

"The Family Head has ordered that it's still not safe inside the city; we are not to return and will rest here tonight!"

"Everyone, rest here; we are now far enough from the demons to not worry!"

"The Family Head has ordered that it's still not safe inside the city; we are not to return and will rest here tonight!"

......

Hou Family warriors in black clothing constantly moved among the crowd, maintaining order while repeatedly reassuring everyone with the same phrases.

On the eastern side of the crowd hovered an army of about three thousand warriors, each of them above five levels of body refinement, among whom a thousand were mounted on horses, standing densely packed together with overwhelming blood energy and a formidable presence.

And on a small hill on the far east side of the crowd stood Hou Yuxiao in the very front, with fifty people behind him. The closest were Hou Yucheng, Hou Yujie, and Hou Yuling, followed by leaders from three families—Li Sanyun, Nie Xinchuan, Bai Yunfan—and their immediate relatives like Li Shiji, Bai Dongyu, and Nie Xinliu.

Besides these ten people, the other forty or so were all warriors of the Gang Qi Realm from the Hou Clan, Bai Clan, Hongdao Gang, and Medicine Dust Sect.

At that moment, everyone's gaze was on the demon army that had completely surrounded Tongling County and the blood-colored giant ancient tree, still clearly visible from such a distance, their eyes filled with fear.

"That blood-colored giant ancient tree is presumably the Blood Demon itself!"

"Within the city by now, there must be bodies everywhere."

"That was close, that was close..."

"If we had been a moment later, we wouldn't have made it out."

"Thank goodness for the Master of Hou Family; without him, we would probably have all perished in the city."

...

As they discussed, their faces showing relief, they then turned their eyes back to Hou Yuxiao standing in front, showing admiration and strong conviction without exception.

At this moment, Hou Yuxiao also turned around, first glanced at the army of three thousand, then looked at the more than two hundred thousand people behind them, his eyes revealing a deep, quiet brilliance.

Then, he turned his gaze back to the people in front of him, his face showing a faint smile as he spoke softly, "Gentlemen, have you decided whether to join or not join my Qinglong Association? You can give me your answer now!"