Translator: Silavin & Danny
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“Old Ancestor naturally understands this,” Qin Zhao Yang forced a smile, “It’s just that the Qin Family has rooted in Maplewood City and we can’t stay out entirely… the Masters from the second and third class Sects were not willing to settle down in the various inns in the city and instead chose to stay in the residences of the few large families here. The Zhou Family, Du Family, Liang Family, and Xin Family have shown hospitality to a number of such forces each, and even the City Lord’s Mansion was wrested away by Flying Saint Palace!”
“Even the City Lord’s Mansion…” Qin Yu covered her mouth.
Qin Zhao Yang continued, “Flying Saint Palace is helmed by an Emperor Realm Master, while Sir City Lord is just a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. How could he raise any objections? We, the Qin Family, are already considered to be lucky by comparison as we only need to deal with one great force, but the City Lord’s Mansion… Haa… they are in dire straits.”
“What happened?” Qin Yu questioned.
Qin Zhao Yang’s face darkened, he said, “Zhuang Pan returned!”
“What?” Qin Yu’s face turned black after hearing this and she couldn’t help gritting her teeth, “That shameless coward still dares to return?”
Back when the city was besieged by the Demon Qi wave, the few Masters available had united and used the Black Tortoise Seven Points Array to forge their way towards the sealing place of the Demon Qi in order to stem its tide. However, before they could complete their task, Zhuang Pan had lost his nerve and, caring for nothing but saving his own skin, deserted the others and ran off at the crucial moment, leading to the destruction of the Black Tortoise Seven Points Array.
Although Duan Yuan Shan managed to escape at the last moment and bring Qin Zhao Yang and Qin Yu back to Maplewood City, they had failed to reinforce the Demon Qi seal. No one knew what happened next, only that three Emperor Realm Masters showed up right after and then the Demon Qi disappeared.
Zhuang Pan had not been seen since then.
He used to be a Vice City Lord of Maplewood City, similar to Drunkard. He assisted Duan Yuan Shan in managing Maplewood City and the surrounding ten-thousand-kilometre region. After he disappeared, the position of Vice City Lord was naturally left unfilled.
Duan Yuan Shan had tried to persuade Yang Kai to fill that position, but he kindly refused.
After that incident, everyone, including the Qin Family and Duan Yuan Shan, hated Zhuang Pan deeply. Duan Yuan Shan even announced in public that he would execute this cowardly traitor if he ever saw him again.
Who could have expected that this same snake would return just a few months later? How could Qin Yu not be surprised?
Qin Zhao Yang coldly snorted, “He didn’t just shamelessly return, he actually came back even more arrogant than before!”
“What happened?” Qin Yu frowned, vaguely feeling that there must be more to the story.
“What else could have happened? He sought refuge in the Flying Saint Palace!” Qin Zhao Yang sneered, “He was also the one who led the delegation from Flying Saint Palace into the City Lord’s Mansion. I bet City Lord Duan… must be suffering.”
Qin Yu was silent for a while after listening to him, seemingly imagining the helplessness Duan Yuan Shan must be experiencing.
With the backing of Flying Saint Palace, Zhuang Pan could parade around wantonly while Duan Yuan Shan could do nothing against him. Their situation had totally reversed from before, so Duan Yuan Shan must be incomparably frustrated.
‘City Lord’s Mansion’ today was only an empty title.
“Every family is not having a good time now. The Zhou Family, Du Family, Liang Family, and Xin Family are all quite irritated by this foul atmosphere. Xin Gao Jie has come to me and complained about the bitterness his family is suffering several times already…” Qin Zhao Yang sighed with his head shaking slowly.
“Then our Qin Family…” Qin Yu stopped, swallowing back the words on the tip of her tongue.
“It’s still fine so far,” Qin Zhao Yang said in a heavy tone, “The Sect that came to stay in our Qin Residence is called ‘Eight Paths Sect’, a second-class Sect, and the young man who leads them prefers solitude so he can focus entirely on his cultivation, so our Qin Family has not been given any serious trouble from him. The same goes for this young man’s subordinates, so we have been able to co-exist peacefully until now.”
“That’s good then,” Qin Yu felt relieved after hearing this.
“Our Qin Family has it comparatively good,” Qin Zhao Yang smiled faintly.
While they were still speaking, a sudden rush of footsteps was heard from the outside. It seemed that someone was running in their direction.
Qin Zhao Yang couldn’t help but frown.
After a while, the voice of the maidservant rang out, “Old Ancestor…”
The voice quivered with uncontrolled emotions.
“Have a good rest, Yu’er. Old Ancestor will be back soon,” Qin Zhao Yang did not want to disturb Qin Yu’s mood with some trivial matters, so he turned to leave after comforting her.
“Old Ancestor…” Qin Yu called out from behind, “Be careful.”
Qin Zhao Yang gently nodded and walked out. After closing the door, he flashed his eyes like lightning and glared at the maidservant.
The eyes of the maidservant were filled with tears as she began to speak but then hesitated when she noticed Qin Zhao Yang’s stare.
Qin Zhao Yang walked out of the boudoir and the maidservant followed closely behind him.
After taking some distance from Qin Yu’s room, Qin Zhao Yang asked, “What’s the matter? Speak.”
“Old Ancestor…” The maidservant hurriedly explained what happened just now.
Qin Zhao Yang’s face darkened after hearing her explanation and rushed out to the rear courtyard.
Inside her room, Qin Yu spoke to Hui’er, “Help me up.”
Hui’er asked in shock, “Young Lady, what do you want to do?”
“To see what is happening, I have a bad feeling,” Qin Yu answered with worry.
“We have Old Ancestor with us, what could happen? In fact, Young Lady is the one who is not feeling well now, so it’s better not to get up.”
“Are you going to help me or not?” Qin Yu stared at her Hui’er with her sharp but beautiful eyes.
Hui’er panicked seeing this and desperately tried to dissuade, “Young Lady, this servant dares not without Old Ancestor’s consent…”
“Then I will get up by myself…” Qin Yu grit her teeth and slowly straightened her body. It was just a simple movement but it already caused her to groan in pain and cold sweat to bead on her forehead.
Hui’er, watching from the side, was anxious like a cat on a hot brick and kept trying to persuade Qin Yu to stop, but her Young Lady turned a deaf ear to her pleas. In the end, Hui’er had no choice but to choke down her tears and assist Qin Yu.
…
City Lord’s Mansion.
Inside the main hall of the City Lord’s Mansion, a man who appeared to be in his twenties sat at the head seat. Although this man had an impressive appearance, there was a sinister feeling about him, as if he was always plotting some wicked scheme.