Inside William's house, a group of people had gathered. William and Emily were present; William lay unconscious on the bed, his entire body covered in bandages. Emily had just woken up after an exhausting night. William's mother sat on a chair beside his bed, her face etched with worry.
Henry and the City Lord stood next to William, examining his condition. Henry wore a troubled expression, while the City Lord appeared emotionless.
The atmosphere was tense, and the worry and concern on the faces of those present were palpable. The room was quiet except for the soft sound of William's breathing, which was labored and uneven. Emily looked at William with tears in her eyes, while William's mother held his hand tightly, praying for his recovery.
The City Lord, calling William's mother "ma'am" despite being much older, chimed in, "Don't fret too much, ma'am! I've given him the legendary Phoenix Rebirth Pill, the crème de la crème of recovery pills even in a top 4th graded sect!"
His words triggered a fiery response from William's mother, who retorted with anger in her eyes, "Hmph! Why are you acting like you're doing him a massive favor? Weren't you already there? Why didn't you save him before this happened and spare your precious pill and his pain?"
Unfazed, the shameless City Lord began his explanation, his face donning the appearance of a wise old man bestowing his wisdom. "It was for his own good, you see. Cultivators need to constantly experience life-and-death situations to-"
His wisdom-filled speech was brutally interrupted by William's mother's sharp retort. "Don't feed me that nonsense! My son isn't even a cultivator yet, and besides, I know your dark motives. You want him to participate in the Martial Tournament held by the Phoenix Feather Sect to obtain resources and extend your already overly long lifespan!"
The City Lord, despite having his plans openly exposed, shamelessly continued, maintaining his wise expression. "What are you talking about, madam? It was genuinely to strengthen his dao heart and-"
Once again, William's mother cut him off with her piercing remarks. "Yeah, yeah, spare me your attempts at persuasion. I know you well enough to recognize your bullshit!"
"Anyway, you saw how great my son looked, right? You were even there for the entire fight. But let me tell you, when I arrived, he stood tall like a silent guardian..." William's mother continued, her voice brimming with pride.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," the City Lord grumbled, clearly tired of hearing the same story for the fourth time since morning. "And didn't you just say that I was there? You've already told me that he stood tall like a silent guardian a thousand times!"
"You should at least acknowledge my son's greatness after what you've done to him!" William's mother fired back, her anger unabated.
"Why are you making it sound like I scammed him or something?" the City Lord replied, feigning innocence with the most angelic face he could muster.
Frustrated by their endless bickering, Henry had reached his limit. He stormed out of the room, his footsteps resonating with anger as he slammed the door shut behind him, creating a loud bang.
Witnessing Henry's departure, the bickering finally ceased, prompting the City Lord to mutter, "Don't tell me he's also mad at me for letting William get hurt." Without wasting a moment, he hastily followed after Henry, hoping to appease his fury.
As the City Lord departed, Emily finally summoned the courage to ask the question that had tormented her since she awoke from her ordeal. With a quivering voice, she turned to William's mother and whispered, "Aunty, what happened to Uncle Martin?"
The air grew heavy with sorrow as William's mother rose from her seat and approached Emily. Gently, she enveloped the young girl in a tender embrace, drawing her close to her heart. Silent tears streamed down her face as she struggled to find the right words. Finally, with a trembling voice, she whispered, "He's gone, my dear. Uncle Martin... he's no longer with us."
Emily's heart nearly stopped at those words. Though she had witnessed the gruesome sight with her own eyes—Uncle Martin torn apart before her—she had clung to a fragile hope that it was all a terrible mistake. She longed for someone to tell her it was a cruel illusion, that Uncle Martin still walked among the living. But reality shattered her desperate yearning.
Barely able to comprehend the weight of her loss, Emily managed to utter a single, agonized question, her voice laced with guilt, "Did he die because of me?"
William's mother, her own heart aching with grief, immediately sought to console the shattered girl. She tenderly wiped away Emily's tears and spoke with gentle reassurance, "No, my dear, it was not your fault. Uncle Martin was merely fulfilling his duty. He made the ultimate sacrifice to protect you, to save your life."
Yet, despite the logic and reason behind her words, Emily's heart struggled to accept them. The ache within her intensified, and tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks, as she grappled with the weight of her emotions.
.....
"Son, are you angry at me for not saving your friend?" the city lord asked, his tone serious and starkly contrasting his previous demeanor.
"I'm not angry at you, Dad. I'm just frustrated with myself for not being strong enough to support Brother William," Henry replied with an irate tone.
"But what does your strength have to do with it? You weren't even there," the city lord corrected him.
"Don't try to provoke me, Dad. I know now why you gave me that strange task yesterday. You must have known something like this was going to happen," Henry retorted.
"Hohohoho, you're becoming quite smart, aren't you?" the City Lord chuckled.
"Anyway, you did the right thing by taking me away. I would have been a burden there and might have even caused Brother William more harm," Henry said.
"They were at the Bone Tempering Stage, right? How could Big Brother William have possibly defeated them, even if they were total idiots relying solely on brute force? It should be impossible for martial artists to defeat others two stages higher than them," Henry added.
"Oh, my foolish boy, how many times do I have to tell you that the cultivation level of a martial artist isn't everything that determines their fighting prowess?" the City Lord sighed in exasperation.
"Didn't you learn that the hard way when you were first defeated by William? What a bad idea that was on my part. I thought you would learn something from experiencing defeat, but instead, you started following William like his little lover," the City Lord continued, observing Henry's reaction from the corner of his eyes.
Henry acted as if he didn't hear the old man's remark and said with a determined look on his face, "Dad, I want to enter our clan's ancestral ground."
"But didn't you already tell me that you would never set foot in that place ever again?" the City Lord asked, feigning shock.
"That was then, and this is now. I have already made my decision. Make the preparations; I will enter it tonight," Henry said quickly before promptly leaving.
As Henry left, the city lord couldn't help but sigh, "What times I'm living in. I have to manipulate my own son just to make him strong."
"Oh, so now you've even resorted to manipulating your own son," William's mother remarked as she walked into the hall, her tone tinged with disapproval.
"I'm just doing what's best for him," the city lord replied.
"Again with that bullshit, and shouldn't you say you're doing what's best for your clan?" William's mother said angrily
"I'm warning you old man, don't bring your manipulative nature to the people close to you or you'll soon start to lose their trust," she continued with a warning.
"Yeah, yeah, it's just because of the current circumstances, otherwise, I wouldn't have done such things," the city lord said with a sigh, feeling old again.
"Anyways, who were the ones that attacked William, and what does such powerful people have anything to do with Thomas?" William's mother asked, her tone softening slightly.
"One was from the Blue Lotus and the other from the Red Lotus clan, both from their hidden reserve army," the city lord answered.
"Them again! They had already taken my husband from me, now they want to take my son too," she said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, they've become more audacious in their recent activities. I've discovered some of their dealings with outsiders, though the details remain unclear. With this incident, I can rightfully investigate them and expose their true intentions," the city lord shared, attempting to redirect the conversation.
"You and your supposed righteousness! When my husband died, you failed to take action against them using the same excuse," she retorted, her frustration growing.
"By the way, they've been using people from the outer city to relay messages to outsiders. I'll look into whether Thomas was involved and if he's still alive," the city lord changed the topic.
"Now, all that remains is to make the red-clothed fool admit his affiliation with the Red Lotus clan, allowing me to apprehend their leader for further investigation. I'll go and extract the necessary information," the he stated with determination.
"Let me handle the interrogation. It might be a bit difficult for your old bones to make him talk," she said, a sudden smile creeping across her face.
Upon seeing that smile, the city lord, despite his superior strength, felt an eerie chill run down his spine.
"By the way, how did you recognize them as members of those two clans?" she inquired, the question that had been puzzling her for some time.
"Would you believe it? Those idiots were wearing red and blue clothes, practically announcing their allegiance. It wasn't challenging to deduce," the city lord chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. However, as he noticed her deadpan expression, he quickly added, "And, of course, I recognized their unique Qi signatures."