"Ouch, Dad, don't! Stop hitting him!"
When Shen Xin saw it was Shen Qiushi, he imdiately wilted.
Shen Qiushi, still fuming, turned to slap Dong Mingfeng.
But Dong Mingfeng dodged and shrieked, "Hey, hey, hey, you old fool! We've already split from the family. What right do you have to hit anyone?"
Shen Youling quickly steadied Shen Qiushi, preventing him from falling over from his forceful movents. Hearing her mother, she said hurriedly, "Mom, don't yell at Grandpa!"
"I..." Dong Mingfeng was about to make a scene, but she rembered that things were different now. She had no choice but to begrudgingly apologize. "It was a slip of the tongue. Mom knows she was wrong."
Shen Qiushi pulled Shen Youling closer. "What exactly happened? Why are they saying Lin Tang won't co out alive? Why do they want you to remarry?"
Shen Youling sighed bitterly and recounted Lin Tang's foolishly reckless actions. "I did everything I could to salvage the situation for him, but he was still so arrogant. There's just no helping him!"
"Youling, don't bla yourself. This isn't your fault; he brought this upon himself..." Hua Fengchen continued to try and curry favor.
In the past, Shen Qiushi wouldn't have dared to offend the Hua Family. But now, hearing that his granddaughter had beco Xiao Xuanye's adopted daughter, why the hell would he be scared?
"Get lost!" he roared, pointing at Hua Fengchen's nose. "It's not even certain that Lin Tang will die! But even if he did, Youling would remain a widow for him for the rest of her life. It's not your turn to take advantage, you pretty boy!"
"You—" Hua Fengchen's face flushed crimson, and he wished he could kick the old man to death. But he didn't dare. Forcing a smile, he said, "Grandpa Shen, don't let your anger harm your health. I'll take my leave now!"
Though Dong Mingfeng didn't want to argue with Shen Qiushi anymore, she couldn't help but say, "Aren't you being incredibly selfish? Have you considered Youling's own happiness at all? Who does Lin Tang think he is, that she should remain a widow for him her whole life?"
She scoffed and continued, "Youling is Mr. Xiao's daughter now. Never mind you, even I, her own mother, no longer have the right to arrange her marriage. Only Mr. Xiao can make that decision! Surely you wouldn't dare disregard Mr. Xiao, would you?"
"Hmph!" Shen Qiushi's stubbornness flared. "It's Youling's good fortune that Mr. Xiao is willing to take her as his daughter! But her marriage is my decision to make! I refuse to believe a man of his stature would be so unreasonable! But if he insists on being unreasonable and arranging Youling's marriage behind my back, then he'll have to kill this old man first!"
"You old... You're the one being unreasonable!" Dong Mingfeng gritted her teeth.
The others began to murmur among themselves, shocked that Shen Qiushi would dare to speak against Mr. Xiao.
Shen Qiushi, deeply concerned for Lin Tang's safety, had thrown all caution to the wind. He continued to shout, "Youling, hurry inside and beg your adoptive father to be lenient with Lin Tang! If Lin Tang dies today, I'll smash my head against this gate and die right here!"
"Grandpa!" Shen Youling cried out in panic. "Don't be rash! I'll go ask Father right now!"
Just as she was about to rush into the post station, the aide erged with a constipated look on his face. "Young Miss, please calm yourself. Mr. Xiao, out of consideration for you, will not pursue the matter of Lin Tang's insubordination this ti. He said this is a one-ti exception!"
"Really? That's wonderful! Thank you, Father!" Shen Youling was overjoyed, bowing repeatedly toward the building's interior.
Shen Qiushi also heaved a long sigh of relief.
Standing far off to the side, Hua Fengchen and Wang Shouzhen were deeply disappointed. "That bastard Lin Tang, he's still alive after all that?"
"What is Mr. Xiao thinking...?"
The aide glanced at Shen Qiushi before continuing, "Mr. Xiao has also issued another order. Young Miss, your marriage to Lin Tang is hereby canceled! From this mont on, he is no longer your husband!"
"Ah, this—" Shen Youling was stunned.
"I object!" Shen Qiushi raised his hand.
"Heh—" The aide scoffed contemptuously. "Old Mr. Shen, I advise you not to think you can pull rank with your age.
"Do you think your years give you the right to sway Mr. Xiao's will? If you want to die here, by all ans, go ahead. Do you truly believe your death could tarnish Mr. Xiao's reputation?
"Don't be naive! From the mont the Young Miss beca Mr. Xiao's adopted daughter, her fate could only be decided by Mr. Xiao. No one else has any right!
"Now, Young Miss, please enter the post station to rest. I will assign n to protect you. If your forr family wishes to visit, they must make an appointnt in advance. Only after I have reviewed and approved their request will they be permitted to see you again."
Shen Qiushi and Shen Youling were speechless.
If this wasn't tyranny, what was? By becoming Mr. Xiao's adopted daughter, her status had been elevated imasurably, but she had also lost her freedom. Even seeing her own family now required an official review.
Shen Youling's eyes dimd. She had never wanted to acknowledge this adoptive father in the first place, but if she hadn't, Mr. Xiao would have taken his anger out on the entire Shen Family and had Shen Xin and the others killed. Now, she still didn't dare to defy him.
All she could do was tell Shen Qiushi to take care of himself and urge him to go ho to live with Shen Xin. Then, she obediently walked into the post station, which now felt like a cage.
Shen Qiushi opened his mouth, but there was nothing he could do. Since Lin Tang was safe, he couldn't actually bring himself to commit suicide. Mr. Xiao's status was simply too high for a minor family like theirs to challenge. Besides, when they could clearly rely on Mr. Xiao, why deliberately go against him?
But this is so hard on that boy, Lin Tang... he sighed to himself.
anwhile, Hua Fengchen and Wang Shouzhen's smiles returned as they watched Lin Tang and Lu Zizheng get thrown out.
"Lin Tang, oh Lin Tang, you really played a good hand terribly!"
"If you had just taken the initiative to greet him and followed Shen Youling's lead by calling him 'Adoptive Father,' you would be soaring right now! How did you end up in this state?"
"Serves you right. Now your wife is gone, just like that."
"Hahaha, look at him! He looks like a stray dog!"
The other wealthy and powerful figures also shook their heads, thinking Lin Tang was an absolute fool. He had beco the biggest joke in all of Jiangbei.
Lin Tang couldn't care less what anyone thought of him. Hearing that Shen Qiushi planned to return to the Shen Family estate, and seeing Dong Mingfeng watching him warily as if guarding against a thief, telling him not to shalessly tag along, he simply shrugged. "Alright, Grandpa Shen, you take good care of yourself. As for my business with Shen Youling, we'll handle it ourselves. Don't you worry about it."
So what if Xiao Xuanye declared their marriage null and void? Lin Tang didn't let it bother him. If he wanted to, he could reveal his true power and take Shen Youling away by force right now. But if Xiao Xuanye was willing to act as his wife's "bodyguard," then why not let him?
Still, it's a bit annoying. I'll have to change my appearance later and co back to teach you a proper lesson! I'll teach you, old boy, not to act so high and mighty in front of !
Lin Tang glanced in Xiao Xuanye's direction inside the post station, then took Lee Encai's arm and left.
Soon, news of Shen Youling becoming Xiao Xuanye's adopted daughter had spread throughout Jiangbei and was continuing to disseminate across the country. Lin Tang beca the subject of endless gossip and criticism. Most people mocked him for being stupid and ridiculous, but a small minority thought he had integrity.
There's no rule saying you have to make Mr. Xiao your godfather just because of who he is, right? In the end, everyone has their own ambitions.
「Kuntong Mountain Range. A Mysterious Canyon.」
Mu Jiuzhou awoke once more. He learned that the nurous ghost slaves he had dispatched had been completely annihilated. Even the precious spores they carried had been lost, and not a single pheromone had been brought back. As a result, Mu Jiuzhou was unable to sync with any of their mories.
He was astounded.
Did Lin Tang kill those ghost slaves himself? How is that possible?
A group of nearly immortal ghost slaves, each comparable to a Master Realm Martial Artist, could overwhelm even a Grandmaster when they attacked together. Even if Lin Tang were completely unhard, he shouldn't have been a match for them. Not to ntion he was already exhausted from fighting Mu Jiuzhou's clone and had then been savaged by the Hui Snake. He was lucky to even be alive; he must have been severely injured! In that condition, how could he have possibly turned the tables?
Of course, Mu Jiuzhou had no way of knowing that Lin Tang could use Dual Cultivation to rapidly heal his injuries, break through to a higher level, and beco even stronger.
Just as he was puzzling over this, new intelligence arrived: Xiao Xuanye had taken Lin Tang's wife as his adopted daughter!
So that's how it is!
Mu Jiuzhou had a sudden realization. He was certain that the destruction of his ghost slaves was Xiao Xuanye's doing.
Damn governnt lapdogs, ruining my grand plans!
He was furious but helpless. The death of so many ghost slaves was a trendous loss for his Mu clan. And with Xiao Xuanye's vast number of subordinates and modern weaponry, he was not soone Mu Jiuzhou could confront head-on. As unwilling as he was, Mu Jiuzhou could only order his forces to lie low and hide. He temporarily suspended the hunt for Lin Tang, lest Xiao Xuanye follow the trail back and blow their entire nest to pieces.
「At the Post Station.」
"Father, please have so tea."
"Mm, good girl. Have a seat."
"Yes!"
After sitting down, Shen Youling looked at Xiao Xuanye, still feeling very awkward. She knew nothing about him aside from a few rumors, yet sohow she had beco his daughter. She had no idea how to properly act around him.
Seeing her hesitate, Xiao Xuanye offered a gentle smile. "Now that we're father and daughter, there's no need to be so formal. If you have any questions, just ask."
"...I just wanted to ask, why did you decide to adopt ?" Shen Youling asked cautiously.
Xiao Xuanye was silent for a mont before taking out a yellowed, old photograph. "This is the Xi nghan I ntioned to you before."
Shen Youling took one look and gasped in shock. The woman in the photo looked astonishingly like her.
"Was she your wife?"
"No, no, no. How could I ever be worthy of her... She was my savior when I was young and fell on hard tis. If it weren't for her, I would have died long ago, and I certainly wouldn't have the power I hold today," Xiao Xuanye sighed. "Unfortunately, her Xi Family vanished mysteriously overnight many years ago. Even with all my intelligence resources, I can't find a single clue about her. I haven't even had the chance to repay her kindness."
"This..." Shen Youling touched the face in the photograph, feeling more and more strange.
"Youling, give a few strands of your hair."
"Uh, Father, you want to...?"
"That's right. I'm going to have a paternity test done. It's possible you aren't from the Shen Family at all, but are of Xi nghan's bloodline."
"Impossible!" Shen Youling denied it imdiately, but in her heart, she was already wavering. Her features didn't resemble Shen Xin or Dong Mingfeng at all. And she was far more beautiful than Shen Jiayue.
With Xiao Xuanye's resources, secretly obtaining hair samples from Shen Xin and Dong Mingfeng was child's play. After several rounds of testing and comparison, the report was ready.
He opened it. "Hm?!"
Shen Youling eagerly leaned over to look, and her eyes went wide.
"This..."
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