As if it was a coincidence, I was called back to the Zhao family the very next day. Distracted with what I had just been saddled upon, my mind was occupied with how I had to break the news to my parents. Telling them that I just got myself a fiancée – not just any fiancée, but a girl from the infamous Mu Rong family, the top assassin clan in Hua Xia.
However, all those thoughts died in my mind when I saw that grandma was there. She was sitting on a grand throne, a stern expression on her face. My parents and brother were resting on the couch, the latter smirking to himself.
"Grandma." I bowed respectfully. I didn't know she would be here. I wondered if I should break the news of my impending marriage to her as well. Being the matriarch of the Zhao family, she would learn of it sooner rather than later.
"You've finally arrived, Huan Shi." Grandma regarded me with a look of scorn.
"Sorry, I was busy."
"You should stop wasting your time with training," grandma said bluntly. "You don't have the talent, so you shouldn't bother."
And who was she to decide that? I wanted to shout that, but I didn't dare to.
"Even without talent, Huan Shi has still progressed further than anyone else in the Zhao family," dad said. He coughed and then wiped his mouth. "Right now, he's the only one who succeeded in making a contract with the divine dragon and nurturing it."
At least somebody recognized my efforts.
"It's a waste to leave the divine dragon with him," grandma sneered. She turned to me. "That's why we've called you here today. You are to hand the divine dragon and your contract with it over to your brother. Immediately."
"What? You can't…" I protested.
"Yes, I can, and I will." Grandma glared at me. The tremendous amount of qi she emanated floored me. I crashed onto the ground, kneeling. Despite gritting my teeth and doing my best to resist, I was unable to stand. Cracks appeared on the concrete underneath my knees. I felt as if a gigantic hand was pushing me down to smash my forehead against the ground. "The only reason why you're still alive is because…if I kill you, the divine dragon disappears with you. And we'll have to spend an inordinately long time searching for its divine tool again."
Right. The bitch had hired assassins from both the Mu Rong family and the Du clan to kill me, only to find out that I had the divine dragon.
"Honestly, I'm furious. How did you hide the fact from us that you've cultivated the divine dragon? Why did you not tell us? When did you make a contract with it?"
Venom was leaking out of each and every word. I gritted my teeth again, placing my hands against the crumbling ground to stop myself from prostrating myself before the mad matriarch.
"Ten years ago," I replied through clenched teeth.
"You…!" Grandma was furious. Blood spilled from my mouth, nose and eyes, and I coughed from the shockwave she inadvertently unleashed in her anger. "You've been keeping this secret for so long?!"
"If I told you, you would have punished me and forbade me from cultivating my divine dragon," I said bitterly.
"And rightly so. An untalented trash like you have no right to cultivate the divine dragon! That is the holy spirit beast of our Zhao clan! Only the heir is allowed to make a contract with it! You dare to usurp the position of heir and future family head from your brother?!"
"That has never occurred to me," I admitted honestly. "I simply wish to be recognized for my efforts, so that you'll stop calling me trash, untalented and useless."
"Useless trash should just recognize their place and not exceed their station!" Grandma yelled at me. Without even raising her hand, she conjured up a blast of qi that slapped me so hard that I was sent crashing a few meters away.
My parents and brother watched dispassionately, but none of them did anything to stop grandma. In fact, my brother was enjoying it.
"Grandma," he said with malicious glee. "Don't be so impulsive. If you accidentally kill Huan Shi, we'll have to look for the divine dragon all over again. And it's not good for your heart."
"Yes. You are right, of course." Grandma forced herself to calm down, patting her chest. She then glared at me. "Hand over the divine tool and contract to your brother now."
I had half a mind to dare her to kill me, to tell her that I would rather die than give away my spirit that I had been cultivating for ten years. However, I knew it was futile. Grandma wouldn't hesitate to kill me. All I would achieve was inconvenience her with my death. The divine dragon would disappear when I died, but his divine tool would just appear elsewhere. With the resources at their disposal, the Zhao family would be able to find it. It might take them a few years, but they will, even if I died.
Best not to push my luck.
"I'm sorry, buddy," I whispered. Inside my soul, I could hear my divine dragon murmur his understanding. He knew what was going on, having witnessed everything from within my soul sea. He promised me telepathically that he will return to me. I nodded mentally, also vowing to take him back once I grew stronger.
Then I crystalized him in the form of a star map – the divine tool that represented him – and handed it over to my gloating brother. He snatched it from me before shoving me away.
"This isn't over," I hissed, balling my fists vengefully.
"Oh, but it is." Grandma turned to regard me coldly, the corners of her mouth rising. "From now on, you are no longer part of the Zhao family. I'm exiling you from the family. From this day onward, all ties between us are severed. You will have nothing to do with us, and we will have nothing to do with you."
"Is that really necessary, mom?" Dad asked, horrified. "You already took away Huan Shi's summoned spirit. What more do you want?"
"We're talking about a child who managed to keep the fact that he was cultivating the divine dragon a secret for ten years. He's too dangerous. If I let him stay, who knows, in future he will usurp Huan Wang's position as heir. To think he has been scheming for so long! No, he must leave!"
Then she smirked, raising a hand and conjuring qi into it. Above her, a flood dragon appeared, whirlpools of water surrounding it.
"No, actually…why should I stop at banishing him from the Zhao family? It's better to kill him now, to tie up all loose ends. If I let him live, he'll only return to take revenge…and challenge Huan Wang for position of heir. Best to deal with the problem by nipping it in the bud before it can bloom a second time!"
The flood dragon unleashed its razor-sharp whirlpools at me. I could only watch helplessly as they smashed a devastating trail through the interior of the house. I tried to dive to the side, but they were too huge and the confined space of the house was too narrow for me to evade.
Before the lethal whirlpools could engulf me, however, someone cleaved them apart, transforming them into harmless drops of water that splattered the ground.
"Don't you think you're being hasty, old lady Zhao?"
Mu Rong Lao was standing in front of me, holding an Eight Trigrams sword. I could see the eight trigrams form behind him, the eight different elements glowing brightly. Even the flood dragon recoiled at the sight of him. The water it conjured began to boil, turning into steam – a result of Mu Rong Lao's Li technique that called forth intense flames.
The flood dragon charged at the old man, but he slashed it with his Eight Trigrams sword. A couple of the trigrams glowed, Qian and Zhen. The two elements combined to form heavenly thunder that smashed into the flood dragon and sent it hurtling back, demolishing a wall in its fall. Lethal electricity continued to crackle along its long, serpentine form, sending it into spasms. A few seconds later, the flood dragon vanished, unable to maintain its physical form under the devastating onslaught of divine lightning.
Mu Rong Lao then lowered his sword, wisps of potent qi still drifting from the length of his gleaming blade, and inclined his head at the stunned members of the Zhao family.
"You…!" Grandma gaped at him in shock. "Why are you protecting him?! Didn't you accept the request to kill him a week ago?"
"As I recall, you were the one who cancelled the request."
"I'll put it back out. If you kill this useless trash, I'll pay you another ten million, on top of the previously promised amount."
"Alas…" Mu Rong Lao shook his head. "He's your own flesh-and-blood grandson, and you want to kill him? You're worse than a beast."
"Who are you to judge me, master of assassins?" Grandma snarled. "Now either kill him, or get out of my way!"
"I'm afraid I've to refuse both options." Mu Rong Lao helped me up with his free hand. Thanks to his presence, the weight that had been exerted upon me was lifted. I felt a lot better than before, able to breathe more easily. "I can't allow you to kill my grandson-in-law."
"Grandson-in-law?" Grandma repeated incredulously. Then she burst out laughing. "Preposterous! Are you for real?"
"I assure you, it's not a joke. He came to my house just yesterday and proposed to my granddaughter. They will be getting married soon. And I don't want my darling Xiao Shu to be a widow so soon. So I'll be taking my grandson-in-law back."
"Of all the people to marry your granddaughter to, you choose a useless trash?" Grandma was laughing. "Are you blind? Have you gone senile?"
"I think the blind and senile fool is you," Mu Rong Lao replied evenly. "You're downright delusional. This young man succeeded in cultivating such a powerful spirit – a spirit that you outright stole from him – by himself. He was strong enough to defeat my granddaughter and the elders of the Du family. He was skillful enough to explore a tomb and get its treasures on his own. And you think he's useless trash? What are you, if not delusional?"
"He only succeeded in those because he could rely on the divine dragon. But now he no longer possesses the divine dragon. Without a summoned spirit, he is useless trash now. A summoner without a spirit is as good as having his cultivation crippled." Grandma was scoffing in disbelief. "Without talent, he can only go so far. You'll regret allowing your granddaughter to marry him."
"What does it matter to you?" Mu Rong Lao shrugged and gently pulled me back. "I heard everything. Since you've disowned him, since you don't want him, then my Mu Rong family will take him. Zhao Huan Shi will marry into my Mu Rong family and become the Mu Rong family's son-in-law. And if any of you people from the Zhao family try to hurt him, then we'll take that as a declaration of war. We might not be as rich and influential as the Zhao family, but you know how strong we are. Even if you succeed in eradicating us, we'll exact a high toll on you."
"Fine. Your Mu Rong family can have him." Grandma snorted derisively. "We won't bother you or him then."
She then grinned maliciously and leaned over.
"In fact, I would like to see how much of a joke your Mu Rong family will become in the future, for allowing such a useless trash to marry into your family. I wonder how long before your granddaughter gets sick of this trash and divorces him."
"We'll see who gets the last laugh," Mu Rong Lao replied simply. He nodded at me and gently guided me out of the house. "Let's go. It sickens me just to stand here."
"Sorry…and thank you."
"We're family now," Mu Rong Lao assured me with a bright grin. "No need to be so formal. I'll be counting on you again in the future."