Chu Zhongtian sighed bitterly. "Wanru, you know our daughter's personality. Once she has chosen a person, no matter how incapable he is, she won't change her mind anymore. Do you want her to remarry?"
Qin Wanru shared her husband's feelings of helplessness. "Even if Chuyan never mentioned why she chose that useless piece of trash, how could we as parents not know her reasoning? She's afraid that if we bring in someone who's too strong-willed and capable, he might covet the businesses of our Chu clan. That would put her in a spot between her husband and us. She's doing it for our sake. As her mother, part of my duty is to think on her behalf. At the very least, I should groom Zu An to be a decent human being."
Chu Zhongtian nodded as he grasped her intentions. "Ah, so that's the reason why you're so strict on him."
"Of course!" Qin Wanru rolled her eyes. "Why else would I order him to copy our family rules? Do you think that just anyone is worthy of copying our Chu clan's family rules? I am doing this to let him know that I already think of him as a member of our Chu clan, and I'm encouraging him to turn over a new leaf and work harder in the future."
"But I heard that you ordered Cheng Shouping to do it together with him. Do you view him to be a member of the Chu clan too?" Chu Zhongtian asked.
"Pui! I just can't stand that skunk!" Rage boiled up inside her as she thought of Cheng Shouping and his fawning smile. How dare he bring those wretches before her and urge her to pick out concubines for her husband! "Besides, a hundred copies is too much. If I don't get someone to help Zu An, he won't be able to finish it even if he worked through the night."
"I didn't think that my wife would be so considerate!" Chu Zhongtian burst into laughter. After he regained his composure, he continued, "However, Zu An doesn't seem to be a bright child. Given his wits, I doubt that he'll be able to appreciate the deeper intentions behind your actions."
Qin Wanru was silent.
This possibility seemed plausible… No, it was definitely the case. How else could that fellow have become such a renowned wastrel in the city, if not for an otherworldly level of stupidity?
"Should I play the good man here? I'll head over there and tip him off," Chu Zhongtian offered.
Qin Wanru thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Bring some snacks over too so that it doesn't appear too abrupt."
"Alright." Chu Zhongtian smiled. The entire world said that he had married a shrew. They laughed at him for being just a slave to his wife. However, he knew very well that his wife possessed a sharp mouth but a soft heart. She was much better than those who put on a tender front but schemed in the shadows.
He ordered his servant to prepare several boxes of desserts, then made his way over to the Reflection Room. Through a window, he saw a silhouette diligently copying down the family rules. He nodded in approval as he muttered to himself, "At least he's hardworking."
Chu Zhongtian pushed the door open and entered the room. "You must be exhausted by now. Take a short break. Your mother-in-law told me to bring some…" He trailed off, his smile freezing on his face. There was only one person in the room—Cheng Shouping. Zu An was nowhere to be seen.
Cheng Shouping rushed over immediately, and hugged Chu Zhongtian's thighs in agitation. With tears streaming down his face, he cried out, "Master, I knew that you wouldn't have forgotten about me! The years I spent diligently serving you have not gone to waste. To think that you would deliver food to me personally in the middle of the night. I am moved to tears!"
Chu Zhongtian resisted the urge to kick Cheng Shouping away. With forced composure, he inquired, "Where's your young master?"
As if reminded of a tragic event, Cheng Shouping's wailing intensified. "Young master came by earlier, but when he saw how many words there were in the family rules, he ordered me to copy it by myself. Old master, my hands are already on the verge of falling off!"
Since Zu An wasn't here anyway, Cheng Shouping found no reason to hold back.
"That scoundrel! How dare he!" Even the usually kind and patient Chu Zhongtian was infuriated by Zu An's audacity, especially considering how much thought his wife had put into this. How could that brat snub his wife's goodwill? The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't stand it.
He stormed out to settle the score with Zu An. He'd barely taken a few steps when he sensed Cheng Shouping following him. He turned on the boy with a frown. "Why are you following me?"
"I… I'll bring you to young master's side!" Cheng Shouping was impressed by his own wits. To think that he managed to find such a perfect excuse on the spot. Not only would he be able to avoid his current punishment, he could also earn some brownie points with Master Chu. What magnificent intelligence he possessed!
Chu Zhongtian snorted dismissively. "There's no need for that, I'll make my own way. You can continue copying the family rules." This was the bastard who spread the news that he'd been grabbed by the ear by his wife, turning him into the laughingstock of the whole city. He couldn't help but feel a surge of rage every time he saw Cheng Shouping.
Cheng Shouping widened his eyes in disbelief.
Master, do you not dote on me anymore? Master, what did I do so wrong? Master…
He returned to the room and saw that Chu Zhongtian had left the box of snacks behind. He almost cried in relief. It looks like Master still cares about me.
Zu An's injuries were still only half-healed. As he lay in bed recuperating, a notification popped up.
You have successfully trolled Chu Zhongtian for 283 Rage points!
Huh? It's my father-in-law this time around? What in the world could have happened to cause even a kind man like him to lose his temper?
As Zu An turned the question over in his mind, a figure barged into his room, clearly incensed. "You brat! You're indeed here!"
"Father-in-law." Zu An struggled to rise from his bed and failed. "Pardon me. I'm injured at the moment, so I can't get up to greet you properly…"
The way Zu An addressed him made Chu Zhongtian's eyelid twitch uncontrollably. For some reason, he felt incredibly uncomfortable hearing Zu An call him 'father-in-law'. His attention was pulled away by the rest of Zu An's words. He exclaimed in astonishment, "You're injured?"
"Yes, father-in-law." Zu An looked at Chu Zhongtian indignantly.
Chu Zhongtian rushed forward to examine him. "You're severely injured! How did this happen?"
You're lucky that Ji Dengtu's medicine has already healed half of my injuries. My earlier state would have surely scared you to death! Zu An kept these thoughts to himself. Instead, he replied, "I'm not sure either. I was taking a stroll in the estate when a black-clothed man suddenly leaped out and attacked me. Thankfully the commotion alerted some nearby guards. If not, I would have already lost my life."
Zu An's words were only partially true. It just so happened that there was someone in the estate who was out for his life, and it would be good to have Chu Zhongtian investigate the matter. Rooting out those who were targeting him would be a tremendous weight off his shoulders.
His initial thought was to pin the blame on Plum Blossom Thirteen, and use the Chu clan to eliminate the Plum Blossom Sect. It would have been a good idea, if not for Cheng Shouping's warning that the Chu clan was extremely opposed to any of its clan members gambling.
A distant relative of the Chu clan had once lost money, and the lender had knocked on the gates of the Chu clan to demand repayment. In a moment of rage, Chu Zhongtian had the legs of that distant relative crushed as a stern warning to the rest of the clan members.
Since Plum Blossom Thirteen still possessed his promissory note, Zu An had no choice but to put away that idea.
"Something like that actually happened?" A tight frown formed on Chu Zhongtian's face as possibilities quickly flashed across his mind. "Don't worry, I'll tighten the security around the estate to prevent further such incidents."
"Thank you, father-in-law!" Zu An said in gratitude.
Chu Zhongtian nodded in response. He ordered his attendant to summon the estate's physician, and assured Zu An once more, "Don't worry, your injuries aren't fatal. You'll recover soon. I'll investigate this matter. For now, don't trouble yourself, and get some rest."
"But I haven't finished copying the family rules yet. I need to get back to the Reflection Room to work…" Zu An struggled to rise to his feet, putting on the act of a diligent student.
The guards flanking Chu Zhongtian scoffed silently in disdain. Who do you think you are putting on an act for? Do you think that we don't know what kind of person you are?
However, Chu Zhongtian had no doubts about Zu An's intentions. "Don't worry, you can leave it all to Cheng Shouping." With that, he quickly left the room. In truth, he harbored his own suspicions that someone was after Zu An's life, and this incident was further proof. He would have to discuss this matter thoroughly with his wife to come up with a countermeasure.
Zu An could only offer his almost-earnest sympathy to Cheng Shouping. Friend, I'll be counting on you.
Shortly after Chu Zhongtian left, someone brought a physician to him. The physician prepared a prescription for him then proceeded to bandage his body.
In truth, there was no need for all this hassle. Ji Dengtu's medicine was extremely effective, and it only needed time to work in order to get him back to full health. However, it would be difficult for Zu An to explain all this, so he left the physician to his work.
It was some time before everyone finally left his room, giving Zu An the privacy to inspect his own physical condition.
He had been too severely injured earlier to properly examine himself. Now that he could take a look, he realized that all nine formations on his skin had been fully filled. As they glowed, a new set of nine formations appeared in his muscles all over his body.
What's going on? Weren't there only six formations filled up before?
Zu An could hardly believe it. He rubbed his eyes forcefully before taking another look. He truly wasn't hallucinating.
Could it be due to the battle I had with Pei Mianman?
After all, I did suffer quite a bit of damage from her. Her strikes had shattered most of my ribs. If not for the Heiress Ball of Delights, my injuries would have been enough to kill me ten times over.
Even though he knew that the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra allowed him to raise his cultivation faster the more injuries he sustained, he never expected such drastic results.
Based on his previous calculations, filling the seventh formation would have taken thirteen Ki Fruits. He would have needed twenty-one for the eighth formation, and thirty-four for the ninth formation. That added up to a total of sixty-eight Ki Fruits!
Converted into Rage points, even if he obtained one Ki Fruit for every ten tries at the lottery, he would still require 68,000 Rage points.
Comparing these two methods, it was indeed far more efficient for him to raise his cultivation by getting beaten up than to rely on his Rage points.
Maybe I should try harder to get myself beaten up in the future?
He was definitely not a masochist, but the rewards were really tempting.
This excitement was short-lived, and he dismissed the idea. He'd only managed to make such huge gains because of the effects of the Heiress Ball of Delights. If not for that magical item, he would have died many times over.
He could only use the Heiress Ball of Delights once more, and he couldn't afford to squander it. Without this trump card, not only would future encounters be extremely painful, but there was also a risk that a moment of carelessness would lead to his death. He doubted that he would be lucky enough to survive such beatings each and every time.
All things considered, it was best for him to rely primarily on Ki Fruits. Despite being a slower method, it was at least safer and steadier.
Zu An took a closer look, and he realized that some additional lines had formed among the nine formations on his skin, connecting them with one another. Together, they formed an imprint of a strange, massive bird.
The bird looked as if it was about to flap its wings and soar into the sky. It had a snowy body and a crimson tail. Yellow spots that resembled small eyes dotted its body.
What was more eye-catching, though, was its head. It seemed to be a cross between a tiger and a demon, but did not closely resemble either. It had a ferocious and terrifying appearance that induced goosebumps.
"What is this?" Zu An was perplexed. He noticed something that could be a seal at the bottom right corner of the bird imprint. There was a word on the seal: Grandgale.
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