The An family was the second largest clan in Tongxian City. The patriarch, An Yonglu, was also the father of An Xiaopang. However, major and minor affairs within the clan were still overseen by An Lao, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage.
When they met Old Master An, everyone respectfully bowed. Old Master An exchanged pleasantries with them.
Old Master An didn't dismiss Mo Hua due to his young age; instead, he was quite polite.
His politeness made Mo Hua feel uneasy.
"Why is he being so nice to me when we've never met before?" Mo Hua wondered suspiciously.
After chatting for a while, Mo Hua learned the truth of the matter.
Indeed, the demonic cultivator had abducted a legitimate daughter of the An family. This young woman had been captivated by the cultivator's handsome appearance and sweet words, leading to a secret marriage. Later, when she realized the deception, it was too late; she had already been reduced to a withered state from the cultivation process, her mind lost in confusion.
Bitter and full of regret, the young woman had attempted suicide. Although rescued, she remained in a tormented state, living in constant fear.
Upon learning this, Old Master An was furious. He privately dispatched An family disciples to search everywhere, but they found no trace of the cultivator.
The demonic cultivator was skilled in techniques and adept at evasion.
Old Master An also sought help through connections, beseeching acquaintances like the Situ family and the court official Zhang Lan to aid in the investigation.
It was only after Mo Hua guided Zhang Lan on Mount Dahei that they finally captured the demonic cultivator.
Old Master An was deeply grateful to Mo Hua.
However, Mo Hua still felt something wasn't right. Old Master An seemed overly thankful.
At the very least, he should be more grateful to Zhang Lan and Situ Fang; after all, they were the ones who caught the cultivator. Mo Hua had merely assisted.
As expected, after some initial tact, Old Master An began subtly inquiring about Mo Hua's personal life.
He asked about Mo Hua's parents' occupations, his future aspirations, and whether he had studied formation arrays.
Old Master An couldn't afford to offend Mo Hua.
Mo Hua answered politely and earnestly, picking out trivial and irrelevant matters to reply to.
Old Master An persisted in his questioning.
Mo Hua maintained a serious expression, weaving a roundabout tale from east to west, speaking earnestly but mostly nonsensically.
When he couldn't come up with anything more, he chuckled and claimed he couldn't remember.
After all, he was still a child; it wasn't a problem to say such things.
Old Master An sighed inwardly, unable to extract any useful information despite his efforts:
"If the younger generation of the An family disciples had this level of insight, I'd be able to save myself a lot of trouble."
After a while, Old Master An also summoned some of the An family's disciples.
There were both males and females, mostly around Mo Hua's age, with decent appearances and formal attire.
Glancing around, Mo Hua immediately spotted An Xiaopang among them.
Among the group, he was unmistakably the fattest.
Standing out from the crowd, it was hard not to notice...
However, An Xiaopang didn't seem happy. He stood among the disciples, looking sullen and keeping his head low.
It seemed that despite being the son of the An family patriarch, he wasn't valued. Among these An family disciples, he likely had the lowest talent, the lowest cultivation, and the least remarkable appearance—a mere placeholder in the group.
Old Master An said, "Officer Zhang and I still have some matters to discuss. Mo Hua, if you don't mind, you can stroll through our An family's gardens at the back. The flowers there are splendid, and the scenery is excellent."
"All these disciples of the clan can accompany you." Old Master An gestured towards the group of disciples, especially pointing out the several beautiful female disciples at the front.
Mo Hua felt a bit awkward; even a discerning person could see what Old Master An was thinking.
Situ Xiu also felt awkward, unsure of what to say.
Zhang Lan, on the other hand, enjoyed watching the drama unfold without showing any concern, calmly sipping tea. However, he raised an eyebrow in amusement at Mo Hua behind the scenes.
Old Master An had put in so much effort; he probably intended to propose a marriage alliance with Mo Hua.
To avoid being too obvious, he had mixed in some other An family disciples.
Mo Hua sighed inwardly, no longer interested in playing along with Old Master An.
Just now, he had already wasted enough time with pleasantries, which was already courteous enough.
Mo Hua stood up and took his leave, saying, "It's getting late, and I have other matters to attend to. I won't disturb you and Uncle Zhang's discussion of important matters."
Old Master An looked slightly disappointed but didn't insist on keeping him. He simply said, "Young man, feel free. No need to be so formal."
As Mo Hua turned to leave, he noticed the dejected look on An Xiaopang's face. After hesitating briefly, he sighed inwardly.
"An Young Master?"
Old Master An's eyes lit up. "Young man, you know Xiao Fu?"
Mo Hua nodded. "An Young Master and I are fellow disciples. We have some acquaintance. An Young Master has also helped me before."
An Xiaopang was stunned.
Didn't Mo Hua help him with his homework? When did he help Mo Hua?
He couldn't remember...
Old Master An's eyes shone even brighter. He looked at An Xiaopang with a more approving gaze.
"Since you have some camaraderie, Xiao Fu, why don't you take Mo Hua around?"
The eyes of everyone in the room turned towards An Xiaopang.
For the first time, An Xiaopang felt uncomfortable under so many gazes. Still, he straightened his back a bit and said, "Yes, Grandfather."
An Xiaopang led Mo Hua out of the living room.
Afterwards, he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like a deflated balloon, looking rather dejected.
Mo Hua couldn't help but ask, "Are you very afraid of your grandfather?"
An Xiaopang nodded. "Yes. Not only my grandfather, but also my father, and the other uncles."
"Do they hit you?"
An Xiaopang shook his head.
"Do they scold you?"
"My father does, but my grandfather doesn't, and the other uncles generally don't either. Oh, my father also beats me..."
"Why are you afraid of them then?"
An Xiaopang didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked crestfallen and said, "Mo Hua, am I useless?"
Mo Hua wanted to say he wasn't, but he couldn't think of any strengths An Xiaopang had. He could only tactfully reply, "No, You have a little use."
An Xiaopang felt even more disheartened. "My father is the clan leader. According to reason, I should also become the clan leader in the future. But I have no ability. I can't become the clan leader..."
"Is that why you're unhappy?"
"Yeah." An Xiaopang nodded. "So when my uncles look at me, they are both regretful and disappointed. When I was young, my grandfather loved me dearly. But as I grew older, he wouldn't even look at me with respect..."
An Xiaopang's voice grew quieter, almost inaudible.
"I didn't know this before."
Mo Hua remembered An Xiaopang as a big-hearted, somewhat temperamental but good-natured chubby boy.
Now, he seemed burdened with worries.
"I didn't notice until one day, I suddenly realized that my grandfather's gaze towards me was no longer one of care, but one of indifference and disappointment. The same goes for my father and those uncles of mine—they all look at me with nothing but disappointment..."
"Maybe they've been disappointed in me for a long time, and I just never noticed."
An Xiaopang's eyes were filled with deep disappointment.
"Why don't you try harder to cultivate and learn more things?" Mo Hua suggested.
An Xiaopang wiped away his tears discreetly. "Mo Hua, I'm dumb. No matter how hard I try, I just can't learn. Things that others can learn, I just can't..."
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(End of the Chapter)