Chapter 228

228 "Is it that as long as I win this time, you'll agree to let me apply to Nan Cheng?"

After arriving, Wang Dongqing gave the driver a talisman and told him that carrying it on his person would prevent him from getting lost.

They did not choose to go directly to the Xiang Family's residence; instead, they found a guesthouse near the Xiang Family in the town and booked a room to stay.

Along the way, Tushan Jiu and the others didn't encounter a ghost wall, but upon reaching the town they could clearly feel the lingering qi flow.

The Xiang Family is a well-known household in the town, but because of their special profession, they live at the innermost part of the town, close to Lingling Mountain.

Living in the same area as them are two other corpse-driving families, the Luo Family and the Cao Family.

The rumor Wang Dongqing heard this time came from the Cao Family.

He heard that the patriarch of the Luo Family had passed away, and the young master Luo An inherited the Luo Family; he was unwilling to accept the Xiang Family's dominance.

Moreover, over the past few years the Xiang Family's average strength hasn't actually been that high, because most of the resources have been devoted solely to cultivating Xiang Yichu.

So Luo An seized this opportunity and prepared to issue a challenge to the Xiang Family.

Actually, the main issue is that a few days ago, after Xiang Yichu returned home, he had an argument with his father.

No one knows exactly what the argument was about; all we know is that his father invoked family law and beat him severely, to the point that he lay in bed for several days before he could get up and move.

The Luo Family has always been notorious in the metaphysical world for being underhanded; upon hearing about this, they immediately took action.

Moreover, he announced it to all quarters, saying that after delivering a challenge letter to the Xiang Family, he would see whether they dared to accept the fight.

Last year the Xiang Family was already mocked once for losing a corpse; the head of the Xiang Family, Xiang Hao—who is also Xiang Yichu's father—directly accepted the Luo Family's challenge for the sake of the family's reputation.

"That's all the information I've heard; I don't know if it's true or false, but many people say this version, so I guess it's about right. After hearing it, I contacted Xiang Yichu, but that guy is stubborn and just said it's fine, he can handle it himself." Wang Dongqing said.

Tushan Jiu raised her eyebrows, "Not surprising at all."

She took out three fifty-year-old lollipops, gave one to Maomao, another to Wang Dongqing, and unwrapped one for herself to hold in her mouth.

During this time Xiang Yichu has changed a bit, but as soon as he returns to the Xiang Family, he will revert to his original state, because that is the cage that binds him.

Maomao held the lollipop in his mouth and clicked his tongue impatiently, "What a good kid."

Tushan Jiu and Wang Dongqing chuckled, saying that person is a child, but Xiang Yichu seems to be a few months older than them.

The three of them lay on the rooftop of the guesthouse, gazing in the direction of the Xiang Family.

Little did they know, the Xiang Family is now in utter chaos.

Because Xiang Yichu lost the magical duel.

Yes, he lost.

In the Xiang Family Ancestral Hall, Xiang Yichu knelt on the ground, old wounds on his back not yet healed and new ones added; his white shirt was soaked bright red with blood, and his face was devoid of color.

Xiang Hao held a whip in his hand, but Xiang Baihu and Xiang Qinglong grabbed his waist to stop him from striking Xiang Yichu again.

Xiang Baihu: "We can't hit him anymore, we can't hit him anymore; if we keep going, the young sect master will be beaten to death."

Xiang Qinglong also said: "Exactly, the young sect master merely lost one round; there are two more rounds, best of three. The match the day after tomorrow is crucial—if you keep hitting him like this, he won't be able to endure it!"

Xiang Hao glared with fury: "You two, let go! Watch me beat this good-for-nothing to death—if it weren't for him indulging himself, eating junk food, drinking alcohol, and not thinking about how to restore his cultivation in Nan Cheng, instead fantasizing about pleasure, how could he have lost? He's unambitious, wasting all the painstaking effort we've put into the Xiang Family."

He swung the whip at Xiang Yichu's body, but Xiang Qinglong pressed it down, striking the ground.

With a loud "crack!", it was very loud.

But Xiang Yichu heard none of it; he hung his head, his eyes somewhat vacant as he stared at his own hands, the cursing in his ears fading away, leaving only endless guilt and self-reproach.

Xiang Hao angrily threw the whip to the ground, "I tell you, Xiang Yichu, you had better not even think about applying to Nan Cheng!"

As soon as those words were spoken, Xiang Yichu's body trembled, and his hands instantly clenched into fists.

"Why, how?" he said, his voice sounding like a broken bellows.

"Why? You still have the nerve to ask me why? Look at who you've been hanging out with all day, see if you've made any progress these days—you lost to a mere Luo An, what else could you possibly do?"

Xiang Yichu slowly lifted his head to look at Xiang Hao, his eyes filled with red blood vessels, "I said I would apply to Nan Cheng; I have my own choice."

Xiang Hao: "Your own choice? Hah, you do have talent, but you should know that if it weren't for us painstakingly cultivating you over the years, forging and tempering you, you wouldn't have achieved what you have today. Leave the Xiang Family, and you're nothing!"

Xiang Yichu struggled not to let his tears fall, but his physiological reaction made him start to choke up, "Is it that as long as I win this time, you'll agree to let me apply to Nan Cheng?"

"Look at you, are you even useful anymore? At twenty you cry like a girl! If you lose to the Luo Family, the Xiang Family will never be able to hold its head up again—win first, then talk terms!" Xiang Hao said, then strode out of the ancestral hall.

Xiang Baihu and Xiang Qinglong looked at Xiang Yichu, preparing to help him up and treat his wounds.

But as soon as they moved, Xiang Hao's voice came from outside, "Don't tend to him; that little injury won't kill him—let him feel the pain so he remembers, no dinner for him, make him kneel for two more hours to atone before the ancestors! Anyone who dares to sneak him food will be punished by family law just like him!"

Captain Xiang and Xiang Qinglong hurriedly chased after him, going to plead for Xiang Yichu.

"Clan chief, today it's simply that little bastard from the Luo family playing dirty tricks......"

"Don't tell me that; I only recognize the result—he was simply outmatched."

"Clan chief......"

Their voices gradually faded away, and Xiang Yichu knelt motionless in the ancestral hall.

He lifted his head to look at the spirit tablets on the ancestral hall, arranged one by one in neat order by generation.

He had long lost feeling in his wounds; now he only felt as if his head were about to explode.

He muttered unconsciously: "Why did I lose? Why am I so useless? Do I really lack any talent for the mystic arts? Hmm, I must just be too stupid—I can still get stronger, I can do it, I'll win the day after tomorrow, I must win, I must, win!"

Xiang Yichu was full of resentment, his eyes completely red, his already bloodless face looking extremely frightening.