NOVPUBWan Hong hardly had time to react before he felt a piercing pain in his abdomen, and with a miserable scream, he went flying backward.
His figure heavily crashed in front of a roadside stall.
The stallholder had long since gone home, leaving only the empty stone tables and stands in place.
With that collision, the entire stone table shattered into several pieces.
Several particularly sharp corners of the stone table even pierced into Wan Hong’s back.
He vomited several mouthfuls of fresh blood and looked at Xu Zimei with an enraged expression.
"You’re asking for death," he said.
"Cousin, should we kill him or cripple him?" Xu Zimei turned his head to look at Wenren Su and asked.
"As a direct lineage member of the Wan Family, killing him would cause much trouble," Wenren Su slightly shook his head.
Then, with a light chuckle, he approached Wan Hong, his gaze shifting toward the other’s lower body. 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
He laughed with a sly, "Let me do the crippling then."
"What are you going to do?" Wan Hong followed Wenren Su’s gaze and began to back away in panic.
But his movements were severely slowed due to his serious injuries.
...…
The night in Phoenix Feather City had a charm of its own.
According to Wenren Su, even in the deep of night, this city was still lit up and bustling as bright as day.
This was probably what one would expect from the prosperity of a big city.
Apart from Heavenly Feather Street, the other main streets were teeming with people.
Vendors selling various items took their turns, with carts hawking candied hawthorns moving from one corner of the street to the other.
Most pedestrians were out enjoying their time, their laughter and chatter filling the air.
"Cousin, let me tell you.
Whatever happened today, if grandpa ever asks, you must say it was Wan Hong who made the first move," Wenren Su instructed Xu Zimei as they walked.
"You absolutely must not rat me out.
After all, you’ll be leaving after a while, and you have nothing to fear.
But if grandpa finds out it was my doing, being grounded would be the least of my problems.
I bet you wouldn’t see your cousin again.
Believe it or not, it won’t be long before that old geezer from the Wan Family comes knocking on our door seeking justice."
Xu Zimei looked at Wenren Su speechlessly. How could the other not seek justice?
It wasn’t a place where you could just attack indiscriminately.
"Once this storm blows over in a few days, I’m going to spread the word throughout the entire city," Wenren Su said with a gratified smile.
"Let’s see if he dares to compete with me for Miss Xian’er in the future."
"It sounds like without Wan Hong, you could easily win her over," Xu Zimei replied indifferently.
"What, you don’t believe me?" Wenren Su retorted, huffing.
"Your cousin here, what great waves haven’t I seen before?
Through a sea of blossoms, I’ve emerged without a stain; you, my boy, are still too young."
"So, what’s Miss Xian’er’s background?" Xu Zimei inquired.
"Not quite sure," Wenren Su shook his head and replied.
"Seems to have some connection to the Spirit Cat Clan, but I don’t know much more than that."
"You don’t understand anything, yet you’re head over heels for her," Xu Zimei said incredulously.
"I’m only in love with her body; as for her past, I don’t want to know.
I’m not marrying her, so why bother finding out so much?" Wenren Su responded nonchalantly.
Xu Zimei looked at Wenren Su in amazement and said, "I never saw it, but you have the makings of a scumbag, huh!"
"Don’t talk nonsense; I’m just a bit of a philanderer," Wenren Su waved his hand dismissively and replied modestly.
The two chatted and laughed all the way back to the Wenren Residence.
...…
At this moment in the Wan Family, within the family’s Council Hall, the atmosphere was somewhat stifling.
"Grandfather, the situation is roughly like this," the girl stood in the center of the hall, speaking with a mix of grievance and fear.
"If it hadn’t been for Wenren Su’s arrival, I’m afraid he would have killed me as well."
If Xu Zimei were here, he would definitely have recognized that this girl was the one he had encountered in the market before.
The atmosphere in the hall was eerily quiet, with a man dressed in green robes sitting at the head of the room.
On either side of the elder, five people were seated, making a total of ten.
Among these ten, there were several sons of the Wan Family Head and some well-respected elders of the clan.
The elder in green sitting at the head, having heard the girl’s words, was deep in thought with his eyes closed.
His right hand tapped lightly on the edge of the table beside his chair.
In the silence of the grand hall, the tapping on the table was especially loud, as if it could penetrate straight into one’s heart.
"Family Head, if you ask me, we must demand an explanation from the Wenren Family for this incident," an elder beside him stood up and spoke with indignation.
"Otherwise, people will really think that our Wan Family is afraid of them."
"Do you really believe what Qing’er said?" the Wan Family patriarch coldly glanced at the elder seated down the line.
Then, his gaze softened as he looked at the girl below and said, "Qing’er, tell your grandfather honestly, did this incident start because you made the first move?"
The girl hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke hesitantly, "It was just that the Green Wolf Steed lost control.
He killed my steed, and I was just a bit resentful."
"All right, let’s leave this matter at that," the Wan Family patriarch said, dismissing the matter with a wave of his hand without bothering about the people below who looked like they had more to say.
He then closed his eyes again in thought, as if waiting quietly for everyone to leave.
"Master, it’s bad, very bad," just at this moment, a servant came running in flustered.
"What’s with all the fuss, have you no decency," the second elder on the left stood up, his mood still sour from the earlier squabble.
He spoke with displeasure.
The servant shrank his neck and quickly replied, "Young Master Hong has had an accident."
"What?"
...…
That night, the stars were brilliant, the moon like a large disc.
From the direction of West City in the bustling Phoenix Feather City, a furious shout suddenly erupted.
"Wenren scoundrel, this is intolerable!"
Everyone looked in the direction of West City, puzzled, the area where the Wan Family was located.
The Wan Family patriarch looked at the unconscious Wan Hong before him, ignoring the anger of the majority of the high-ranking officials present.
He waved his hand slightly and said, "Take Honger away to feed him a Body Molding Pill, and tomorrow accompany me to Wenren Residence to seek an explanation.
Otherwise, I will turn his birthday celebration into a funeral."
After speaking, the Wan Family patriarch gestured for everyone to leave.
Once the grand hall was left with only him, surges of Spiritual Energy emanated from his body.
A Spatial Gate appeared before him, and as he stepped into it, his figure gradually vanished.
...
The patriarch of the Wan Family was named Wan Shounian, a figure who was once prominent in the whole of Phoenix Feather City.
People praised him for his family heritage and enviable talents.
But only he himself knew clearly that Imperial Rule Immortal Sect was ultimately in decline.
He was not one of those monstrous talents that come once in a millennium, unable to save the family.
After his figure entered the Space Gate, he appeared in a vast expanse of darkness.
This space was boundless and obscured, with nothing clearly visible.
Yet strangely, there was a coffin hanging in the air above that was very conspicuous.
Although the coffin was also black and should have blended into this equally dark space,
it stood out with its unique shade of darkness.
