Hua Meiying closed her eyes, reminiscing about all the hardships she had experienced. The wind gently blew, causing her hair to flutter. Hua Meiying felt the refreshing and relaxing breeze caressing her skin, as if it carried away all her worries and pain to a distant place. When she reopened her eyes, a sense of serenity washed over her. She felt relaxed and refreshed, her heart now tranquil.
"Thank you very much for your guidance, Senior. I, Hua Meiying, will never forget your kindness. I will definitely repay it," Hua Meiying said, bowing deeply and cupping both arms.
What? It's just a simple piece of advice; why is she making such a big deal out of it? And who are you calling senior? Orion thought internally.
"Then I will excuse myself. By the way, Mr. Orion, if fate allows and we can meet again in the future, and you wish for a private performance from me, I'm always ready for it," Hua Meiying said, smiling. "Oh yeah, young Master Liu, if you still don't know what gift to give your junior sister, why not choose something that you think will look good if she wears it?" she suggested with a wink. She then walked away, casting a final glance and a smile before disappearing among the crowd.
The news about Chen Rongwei became a hot topic in the city. Little did anyone know, the next day would bring another surprising piece of information: Hua Meiying, the famous zither performer from the Midnight Orchid Manor, had left the city and returned to the Melodic Harmony Sect, leaving her fans saddened. However, at this moment, they were still happily gossiping about Chen Rongwei, unaware of the impending news about Hua Meiying's departure.
Orion and Liu Jian watched as Hua Meiying disappeared.
"Mr. Orion, should we return?" Liu Jian asked.
"Yeah, let's go," Orion replied.
"Is it true, Mr. Orion, that mortals can reach the void?" Liu Jian asked.
"Of course they can," Orion responded. They left the scene, continuing to walk and talk, making their way to the Liu family estate.
Only Fly No. 1 to Fly No. 6 remained unconscious on the ground, and some onlookers lingered nearby, gossiping about the events.
In the Chen family estate, a body crashed into a wooden wall, slamming loudly, then penetrated the wall and ended up crashing on the ground outside the building. The body lay motionless, blood oozing from the mouth and nose, bearing the signs of a severe beating—swollen eyes, a broken nose. Despite the battered appearance, the body still breathed. The identity of the body was none other than Chen Rongwei. Horrified servants who witnessed the scene scurried away, refusing to get involved.
Previously, after Chen Liang brought Chen Rongwei back to the Chen family estate, long after regaining consciousness, Chen Rongwei was brought to the main hall. Consumed by anger and stress, he screamed, cursed, and wreaked havoc, smashing objects in the hall. Chen Liang tried to reason with him but ended up being attacked and beaten.
"You trash! How dare you disobey my orders! Why did you bring me back instead of attacking Orion? And how dare you hit me you bastard!" Chen Rongwei yelled, delivering kicks to the bloodied body of Chen Liang on the floor.
Regardless of Chen Rongwei's behavior, he was still the second young master of the Chen family. Chen Liang swallowed his anger and endured the beating. Despite saving Chen Rongwei, he received blame and beating.
Not long after, Chen Rongxin, the elder brother of Chen Rongwei, entered the main hall. He was 33 years old and at the 6th stage of the Foundation Establishment realm. Following behind was Chen Weinmin, the first elder of the Chen family, a cultivator at the 7th stage of the Golden Core realm.
Observing the chaotic scene, Chen Rongxin maintained a blank expression. Chen Rongwei, noticing his older brother's arrival, delivered one last kick to Chen Liang before approaching Chen Rongxin.
"Brother, you must avenge me! Someone has offended me in the city, and he dared to insult me. Please teach that bastard a lesson," pleaded Chen Rongwei.
Chen Rongxin, with an empty expression, listened to Chen Rongwei's version of the incident. After Chen Rongwei finished, he said, "Chen Liang, get up and meet the physician to get yourself treated," Chen Rongxin instructed.
"Tchh..." Chen Rongwei, who watched from the side, expressed his displeasure with a disapproving sound.
Chen Liang struggled to stand, then cupped both arms and bowed. "Thank you... young master," Chen Liang limped out of the main hall.
"Brother, just ignore that trash Chen Liang. More importantly, that bastard Orion is looking down on our Chen family. We must punish him," said Chen Rongwei.
Smack!
Suddenly, a resounding slap echoed through the main hall as Chen Rongxin silenced his younger brother's narration with a slap to the cheek.
"Brother, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly slap me?" questioned Chen Rongwei, disbelief on his face as he touched his cheek, which was burning with pain.
Chen Rongxin remained silent and instead replied with a punch to Chen Rongwei's gut. The punch was so strong that Chen Rongwei bent backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He crouched on the ground, holding his abdomen in intense pain.
"Bro...brother, why?" Chen Rongwei asked.
Chen Rongxin grabbed Chen Rongwei's neck with his left hand and lifted him. "My brother, oh my brother, my stupid little brother... I let you do what you want and have fun, and when you were fooling around and causing troubles, I kept quiet about it. But do you know what kind of trouble you've created this time? Do you know about the person called Orion that you want me to punish?" Chen Rongxin sneered.
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Chen Rongwei gritted his teeth after being called stupid. "Orion? Cough, cough..." he coughed due to being choked, also enduring the pain in his abdomen. "That bastard is just trash," Chen Rongwei managed to say.
"If he is a trash, then what are you? Worse than trash?" Chen Rongxin asked as he delivered a series of non-stop punches to Chen Rongwei's face.
"Guah... Argh... Please stop... Gaahh... Brother, please... Stop... What did I do wrong... Arghhh... Elder Weinmin... Guagh... Please help... Arh... My brother has become mad... Guaghh," Chen Rongwei pleaded, his face battered, blood dripping to the ground.
Chen Weinmin watched calmly with cold eyes.
Chen Rongxin released his grip on Chen Rongwei's neck, and his body fell to the ground, grunting in pain. "Ugh... Brother... W... Why..." Chen Rongwei muttered.
"Orion is not someone that you should offend; he is not just a mere guest of the Liu family. He also has a close relationship with Mr. Luo Fengwei, and it seems that Mr. Luo greatly respects Orion. Moreover, don't you realize it yourself? Such an individual wearing a full-body armor that is a defense artifact shows that he is not a nobody; he has some background. Can't you feel his tremendous Qi pressure? Do you think such a thing can be achieved by a trash? Now, do you understand it, you stupid? You have invited trouble to our family. What if he decided to eliminate our Chen family because of you offending him?" Chen Rongxin demanded.
Chen Rongxin had already obtained some information about Orion and understood that Orion was not just a simple individual. Although he still didn't know about Orion's cultivation level, from the information, he concluded that Orion was at least at the late stage of the Golden Core realm. It was challenging to determine Orion's cultivation because he didn't emit a unique Qi fluctuation that could be used to detect cultivation realm. However, based on the Qi pressure emitted by Orion, such tremendous pressure usually could only be emitted by a late-stage Golden Core realm cultivator. There were only a few Golden Core realm cultivators in the Chen family. If Orion was a late-stage Golden Core realm cultivator or higher and decided to seek trouble with the Chen family, they would suffer. All of this was caused by his stupid little brother. Chen Rongxin was really angered this time.
"But...but... I thought... that he was just a mortal trash... cough," Chen Rongwei struggled to stand.
"Hmphh, you are the trash!" Chen Rongxin sneered.
"Cough... do you think you can beat me up like this? Father will punish you!" Chen Rongwei exclaimed.
"Do you think Father will care about a trash like you?" Chen Rongxin delivered a kick that sent Chen Rongwei's body flying and crashing into the wall and outside.
Chen Rongxin stood watching coldly through the damaged wall where his brother's body had been thrown.
"So, what should we do with this?" Chen Weinmin asked.
"Sigh... We should try to mend our relationship with that armored person called Orion and should not antagonize him further," replied Chen Rongxin.
"Well, it's good that you know. It's better to inform the patriarch about this," Chen Weinmin suggested.
"Yes, there is no other choice," agreed Chen Rongxin.
Chen Rongxin is currently being groomed to become the next patriarch. Given his age and a sufficiently advanced cultivation base, he has started to manage family affairs, oversee smaller matters, and receive assistance from the elders. At present, the patriarch is in seclusion, immersed in closed-door cultivation, and prefers not to be disturbed unless it's a matter of urgency. However, with Chen Rongwei having offended someone powerful and potentially caused significant trouble, Chen Rongxin decides to inform his father about it. Alone, Chen Rongxin walks towards the inner Chen family estate. Meanwhile, Chen Weinmin remains occupied with other matters. Chen Rongxin navigates through a secret underground passage to meet his father, Chen Xianlong, the patriarch of the Chen family, currently at the 6th stage of the Golden Core realm.
Drip... drip... drip...
In the underground passage, the sound of dripping water echoed. Chen Rongxin arrived in front of a room closed with a simple wooden door. He cupped both arms and bowed.
"Father," Chen Rongxin greeted.
A voice replied from behind the door, "Mmm... What is it? Did something happen?" Chen Xianlong inquired.
"Father, it's like this," Chen Rongxin explained the incident between Orion and Chen Rongwei.
"I see," Chen Xianlong said, "What do you think about this?"
"Father, I believe we should meet with this person called Orion and bring gifts—an apology gift and a meeting gift. Establishing a connection with such an individual could be beneficial. However, if he refuses, we should, at the very least, work to mend our relationship and avoid making him an enemy," Chen Rongxin suggested.
"Hmm... Stay away from him for now. Observe from a distance and gather more information before making further decisions," Chen Xianlong advised.
"I'll do as Father says," Chen Rongxin affirmed.
"Even if all of this was caused by Rongwei, that person has tarnished our Chen family's reputation. It would be good if we could befriend him, but if not...." Chen Xianlong's voice carried a slight Qi pressure as it emanated from behind the door. "If it's possible to eliminate him, then do so. If not, we will endure it for now. You may go," Chen Xianlong concluded.
"Yes, Father," Chen Rongxin bowed and then left.
In one of the guesthouses in the Liu family estate, Orion sat at a table with Wang Lingxin, who had finished her dinner and was now enjoying tea.
"We will be leaving this city the day after tomorrow. Is there something you still want to do in this city?" Orion inquired.
"Oh, we will be leaving the city? Are we heading to Fengxian?" Wang Lingxin asked while sipping her tea.
"That's right. We will be joining the Liu family caravan. If there's something you still want to do or a place you want to visit in this city, you can do it tomorrow," Orion explained.
"Hmm... Master, will we be returning to this city in the future?" Wang Lingxin queried.
"The distance between Yanjing and Fengxian is rather far. Maybe we can return here once in a while."
"Will you accompany me tomorrow?" Wang Lingxin asked.
"Of course," Orion assured.
Wang Lingxin then shared her plans for the next day: visiting Granny Mei, who had helped her when she ran away from her uncle's house; taking a look at her former house; visiting her parents' graveyard and exploring several places that held nostalgic and important childhood memories.
"Sure, let's do it tomorrow," Orion said.
"Yay, thank you, Master. By the way, Master, can you make another animation movie for me?" Wang Lingxin requested.
"Of course, but as I've told you before, you must get a good score on the test first. You need to study harder. If you achieve a good score during the test next month, then I will make another animation movie for you," Orion stated. The test is aligned with the curriculum and teaching plan formulated for Wang Lingxin.
"Eehhh..." Wang Lingxin protested.
"It's getting late. Brush your teeth and go to bed," Orion instructed.
Reluctantly, Wang Lingxin brushed her teeth and settled into bed, covering herself with a blanket.
"Do you want to watch Cinderella or should I continue the Snow White story?" Orion asked.
"Master, continue the Snow White story," Wang Lingxin replied.
"Very well," Orion said.
Thus, Orion continued the Snow White story from where they had left off the previous night, unaware that the Chen family had set their eyes on Orion. Still, it all remained within Orion's calculations, and Orion previous show of deterrence had restrained the Chen family.