"I know, Elder Zhu. We can't continue like this. However, I have no authority to decide. It's up to the Clan's Council. As I said earlier, my judgment is clouded because I just lost 3 children in a day. If I made a decision now, what would you say?
I believe no one will accept it."
No one said anything. They were aware that he was right. In a sense, they could understand his anger and desperation. And the Elders didn't want the Patriarch to make a decision. Everyone sought the opportunity to get the highest position.
"Patriarch, how about we vote? Let us decide through democracy." Tang Heng proposed, "This is a serious matter, and we can't just sit here and do nothing. We need to take action."
The others nodded their heads, agreeing with his idea.
"I will support the voting system."
Having no other choice, Tang Jiaofu nodded his head.
"Alright, then we will start the voting."
He waved his hand, and a servant came in with a piece of paper and a brush.
"Everyone, write your answer. What should we do in this situation? Find the traitors and execute them or keep searching for more evidence?"
The hall was filled with the sound of scribbling. After a few minutes, the servants collected the paper and handed it to the Patriarch.
"Let's tally the result."
"Yes, Patriarch."
Tang Jiaofu's expression worsened after looking at it one by one.
To find the traitors, something had to be sacrificed. And this time, the sacrifice was his reputation. He had a bad feeling about the future.
A few minutes later, he cleared his throat and said, "Then, I will announce the result of this meeting."
Everyone looked at him, waiting for the result.
"As of today, we will not focus on the traitor. We will investigate more thoroughly and find out the source of the problem. But our priority is the clan's reputation and stability. That's all."
Majority of Elders voted to focus on the clan's reputation. Tang Jiaofu's face became paler and paler, but he said nothing.
"That's it. Meeting adjourned."
After the meeting was over, the Elders dispersed. Some went back to their own room, while the rest decided to meet somewhere else and discuss the issue in detail.
As for Tang Jiaofu himself, he stood up and left the hall. It had been 7 days since he last slept, but he couldn't rest yet. There were still documents he had to check and the problem that he needed to solve.
Spreading his Qi thinly, he wanted to ensure that no one was following him. As a 8 Stars Martial Artist that specialized in a poison and medicine that delved into the life and death realm, detecting life energy was easy. And he found something interesting.
In one part of this mansion, near his room, he found a part that he couldn't detect. This hadn't happened before, and he knew this wasn't ordinary.
'An assassin?' He narrowed his eyes.
At that moment, a voice rang in the room.
Yet, there were some remnants who had survived and were hiding within the Clan.
This information alone was worth thousands of Golds.
'I should've guessed it!'
Tang Yao was replaced by no one but Supreme Evil's followers. He had acted as the patriarch's second son for too long.
When Tang Jiaofu saw his fake son's transformation, with scales growing on his body, he understood that his son was dead and replaced by an evil entity.
Scales and murky Qi. He should've noticed it earlier.
"I see... So that's the case." He nodded his head.
Anya had no idea what was going through his mind. But, from the look on his face, he seemed to be in deep thought. Not that it was that important to her.
"Hello~? Is your offer still valid, mister?" She asked again, waving her hand in front of his eyes.
"Yes, yes, of course. You will get paid as much as you want. So, can we make a deal? Just tell me the identity of the traitor. I will pay 500 Golds for each name. If you are able to bring evidence, I will pay an extra 500."
That meant a thousand Golds each traitor if she could bring evidence too. Tang Clan was willing to spend a fortune just to find the traitor.
Anya was happy with the deal. Her private job from her Leader was to collect information. If she could bring money back while doing the same job, she was willing to do it.
"Deal!" She exclaimed energetically, "Shall we write the contract?"
"No need. I trust you."
Tang Jiaofu was a cautious man. He wouldn't put his signature on the contract. At least not in a secretive work like this.
"This will be kept between us. Or maybe also your Leader if you have to report it."
"Don't worry, mister. My Leader knows about the mission. He's the one who assigned me."
Anya didn't say anything else. She didn't know how to explain her Leader's genius plan. He surely knew that the Tang Clan's patriarch needed to hire them. That was why he sent her to this place to investigate.
'There is no coincidence in this world.' She remembered her Leader's words before he assigned her a mission, 'That's right. It's all within his plan.'
"Good, then I'll leave it to you."
Tang Jiaofu smiled and sighed deeply. Having finished her business, Anya disappeared once again.
Finally, he could rest. The weight on his shoulders felt lighter. He tried to sense her, but this time he was unable to. She had learned her mistake and learned how to hide herself from him almost instantly.
'What a terrifying talent. I wonder if she's willing to work under me.'
Maybe it was a mistake not to fight her. But he thought it was a better option to make them his allies.
'Well, it's not like I can defeat her anyway. At least, not alone.'
With a bitter smile, Tang Jiaofu sat behind his desk. He had a lot of work to do and no time to waste.
As for Anya, she secretly communicated with Leo to report about her new job. She sounded pretty excited to secure a personal job from Tang Clan's patriarch by herself.