The Endless Promise

69. An Insidious Woman

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Before Huang Chun married Zhang Guo, the Huang family were a wealthy merchant family which moved from place to place, with shops in the Huofeng and Yunchi regions, and connections in both sects.

Simply put, the Zhang family had always been prominent, but they had only become so great after bringing in Huang Chun and her family's connections.

But there was a dark side to the Huang family...

They were highly superstitious, and rightfully so, as their wealth and fortune came from a 'Fortune Demon' who swapped any approaching ill-fate with the good fortune of a chosen family.

But they kept this well hidden, and no one was the wiser.

At this time, Huang Chun had been extremely popular for her rare and delicate beauty which awoke the protective instincts of men, and as the sole heir to the Huang family, there was no end to the suitors who followed her around as her 'Brothers'.

But she herself had only loved one person...

It was a prominent young cultivator from the Huofeng Sect, and after a spring dalliance, she had wound up pregnant, but with the misfortune of discovering he already had a wife and son, and with a shaky position in his family, he refused to accept her, even as a concubine.

Desperate, she had settled on Zhang Guo, a 'rich and entitled fool she could control', and after a well-planned night of fine wines, Zhang Guo awoke beside her the next day, and believed he was indeed the father of her child!

Unfortunately, Zhang Guo's mother had been trying to break the family's history of lackluster cultivators, and she had already set her sights on Duan Xiu from Yunchi Sect, which of course led to Zhang Guo's marriage to Duan Xiu, and Huang Chun coming in as his concubine.

At the time, Huang Chun had no real power in Yueyan, but what she had was an outstanding level of patience...

She knew true power came from dependence, so she dug her claws in gently, using her money to 'help' a few impoverished disciples or Sect Warriors, slowly growing their debt to her, and building her own reputation.

But her funds were not enough for the level of hold she needed...

So she summoned the Fortune Demon for his most ambitious move yet, instructing him to bring the entire Yueyan's good fortune into the Zhang family.

This had led to the awful drought back then, while the Zhang family flourished, becoming even richer than the entire Sect, and this brought her all the 'dependence' she needed, as almost anyone in need looked to the Zhang family for help, including the Yueyan Sect itself.

Duan Xiu offered help out of sheer generosity, while Zhang Guo offered help so the Xu Clan will be grateful and owe him favours.

But none could be compared to Huang Chun, and behind their backs, she extended her claws boldly by pouring mass amounts of wealth into the Xu Elders, Sect Warriors, and disciples, ensuring she always had powerful backers.

She took it further by making sure she had loyal followers in almost every city or settlement in the Yueyan region, making her hold near-impossible to shake, and when she wanted her way she went as far as threatening family members or bringing up debts, which was evident in her control of the disciples and sect warriors who followed Zhang Cheng about.

But then the Fortune Demon's spell had coincidentally broken after Sect Leader Xu found Xu Weiyan.

In actuality, the spell broke the instant Weiyan arrived on the mountain, but no one knew that...

The Fortune Demon merely suspected that the orphan child had somehow destroyed his powers and broken his spell, but he wasn't sure how or why.

Still Huang Chun blamed Xu Weiyan for the loss of her fortune demon, and that, on top of Xu Weiyan being an orphan, led to Huang Chun's dislike for her.