“What's wrong with them, always using you as a messenger?" Qin Yun asked Qin Meihui rhetorically as he shook his head. "Although I enjoy seeing you, don't they know you have things to do besides yielding to their every whim?"

Qin Meihui could only smile wryly.

“Who else but me can tolerate your lazy bum?” she said half-jokingly.

Qin Yun smiled slightly. While her statement was mostly true, the proper reason should be that she would be the only one he would listen to. So many times, they tried to make him do something, and he just ignored them.

Still, once again, Qin Yun heeded her advice. It wasn’t that he felt pressured, but even if he didn’t care about himself getting into trouble, the same couldn’t be said for Meihui. Qin Yun held no doubt they would use her to pressure him into doing their bidding, even if she was the Patriarch’s granddaughter.

With some time before the sun completely set, Qin Yun doubled back to the mansion he had passed before, accompanied by Qin Meihui. Qin Yun's eyebrow rose slightly, and he was surprised to see her accompany him.

"Your father wants me there, too," she said, shrugging, not knowing why.

Qin Yun had his guesses. This was probably related to his mother’s inheritance. Qin Yun’s smile grew slightly larger; this would prove to be an interesting show.

The mansion was simply next door, so the duo arrived there quickly. Yet, as they passed the front door's threshold, the two men guarding the gate greeted Qin Meihui and shot Qin Yun looks of disgust. Qin Yun could only sigh internally, seeing the brazenness of mere guards. While he might be shunned by his family, it didn't mean unrelated guards had free reins to disrespect him.

Qin Yun looked straight ahead, not bothering to entertain them. Yet, as his foot touched the ground, it sunk slightly into the stone surface, causing a localized tremor that unbalanced the two men. They swayed, then fell flat on their asses. While it might be petty, Qin Yun only considered their embarrassment his slight revenge for this affront.

A man saw the whole scene from the steps before the mansion's main hall, yet he didn't notice Qin Yun's actions. He only saw the ground tremble slightly as the guards fell over. While he suspected something, he had no proof. He could only narrow his eyes, trying to understand how this situation happened.

Qin Meihui knew exactly what Qin Yun did as she witnessed his actions from a close distance. She had always had suspicions concerning Qin Yun, yet she held them in her heart, as revealing them would bring no good ending. Obviously, Qin Yun had no intentions of making this matter public; she knew he had his own considerations and respected his opinion. Still, she couldn’t help but chuckle slightly as she saw the two men sprawled on their asses.

Embarrassment crept up the men's faces at the sight of this fairy's laughter, yet they were entranced by the beauty of her voice. They stood seated on the ground as the duo walked past. It wasn't until they heard the man on the step cough slightly that they rose as if springs were being unleashed before clumsily dusting their garments, trying to look as if nothing was wrong.

The man on the steps looked at the two guards as if they were fools, trying to decide their punishment for the shame they brought to the family he served. Without turning around, the two guards shivered slightly as if some predator had chosen them for his next meal.

As Qin Meihui stopped before the steps, the man bowed slightly to her, ignoring Qin Yun. Qin Yun merely shrugged at the sight, which was far from unexpected.

“Steward Li, we have come following uncle’s request. Where might we find him?” she asked the man on the steps.

“The master is in his office. He has been waiting for you. Please follow me," he said as he turned and walked away. Although his words were meant for Qin Meihui, Qin Yun could hear the reproaches laced within, as if Qin Yun had made them waste their time. Still, Qin Yun retained his slight smile, completely unconcerned.

Whatever plans they had for him, he would go along for the time being. He was quite interested in how they would wrest his mother's inheritance from his hands, considering that he didn't even have such a thing in the first place. Of course, he never bothered to point out that fact, as their faces would be priceless when they would find out.

It had been years since Qin Yun had last set foot in this mansion. Ever since he had remained stagnant in the Body Strengthening Realm, he had been granted that secluded shack behind the mansion. As if physically distancing themselves from him would make people forget they were related. Talk about contrived reasoning.

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At least the family wouldn’t have to be reminded each time they saw his face. Still, Qin Yun wondered how his brothers and sister had fared since he last saw them. As far as he knew, his older brother was now the disciple of a sect somewhere—Qin Yun forgot the name and wasn't interested enough to find out—while his younger brother studied under one of the clan's elders as he had talent in alchemy.

As for his younger sister, she was now the family's jewel and was considered their future Branch Family Head after their father stepped down from his position to focus on cultivation. Still, such a situation would only occur when she had grown up and acquired the necessary strength and backing.

As for his stepmother—the biological mother of two of them—she was doing fine. One might even say that she was doing great, at least according to the men she had sent to harass Qin Yun. Strangely enough, once he beat those hired thugs to an inch of their lives, they suddenly disappeared, and he hadn't heard from them ever again. As for Qin Yun despising violence, sometimes a good kick in the groin was the only way to get one's message across.

The trio walked among the mansion's halls in silence. Somehow, Qin Yun thought the mansion had become gaudier. All along the halls, works of art, golden statues, or even vases were displayed upon ornate jade pillars, obviously a result of his stepmother's peculiar tastes. Qin Yun very much doubted his father held an interest in the objects of the mortal world.

Qin Yun could only smile slightly, but it was short-lived as they finally reached their destination. His father's office was much too grand for Qin Yun's taste as if the man was overcompensating for something. The vaulted ceiling was over ten meters tall, supported by massive carved stone columns that pulsated with a slight trace of energy. Obviously, the materials they were made out of were far from ordinary.

Toward the back of the room was a massive window that spanned the height of the wall. Before it, a large luxurious desk was placed on a slightly elevated structure, with some stairs leading to the door. It was as if the man wished to assert his dominance over anyone foolish enough to enter this room.

The man in question stood straight before the window, his back to the door. Even as they pushed the doors open, the man didn't deign to turn around and simply waved his hand, prompting the steward to leave, closing the door silently behind him.

Qin Yun couldn't help but chuckle internally; his father had always liked posturing. The man was tall, sporting long light blue robes that shone slightly—obviously some sort of precious fabric possessing innate Qi. His long black hair held some strands of light grey coiffed backwards and held in place with a small golden crown that emitted a slight immortal aura.

Qin Yun had no doubt that his father's attire was worth more than all the objects displayed in the halls combined many times over. Yet, those clothes held no defensive attribute; they couldn't be considered artifacts, as their only function was to look good. Qin Yun couldn't help but shake his head as he thought vanity was universal.

The man spoke first, addressing his cousin Meihui. Qin Yun ignored their conversation, opting to observe the carvings on the columns. Surprisingly enough, underneath their gaudy exteriors, Qin Yun noticed hints of formation markings within the structure.

Qin Yun pondered whether his father was aware of such a thing or simply acquired those pillars for their looks alone. Looking at how they were placed haphazardly around the room, Qin Yun opted for the second option. Those formations couldn't hope to reach more than five percent of their proper strength with how they were set up. Still, Qin Yun wouldn't point it out to him as he knew his father would only be offended if he were to do so.

"Are you even listening?" his father bellowed in a low voice, bringing Qin Yun back to reality.

To Qin Yun's side, Qin Meihui did her best to make it look like this had nothing to do with her. Although she liked Qin Yun, she wouldn't participate in his folly.

“I wasn’t,” Qin Yun said, much too calmly for his father’s taste. His rage only mounted as he had hoped to see him squirm as he put him in his place, but before he could vent, Qin Yun added, “Can we get to the point? I was planning to get some sleep before you called me here.”

Qin Meihui could only barely muffle a chuckle as she knew that Qin Yun already spent most of his days asleep, trying to slack off on the tasks assigned to him.

On the other hand, his father’s expression was grim as he wished nothing more than to strangle this unfilial son where he stood. He snorted slightly as a mild wind emanated from his body, prompting Meihui to perspire slightly despite not being the target of his ire.

Simply being next to Qin Yun brought her pressure she could barely resist. As expected, her uncle wasn't a Nascent Soul expert for nothing. His youthful appearance was nothing but a facade, as he was much older than he appeared, which was mostly true for any cultivator.

Faced with his father’s pressure, Qin Yun stood unyielding as he wondered why the people here were so fond of making others bend the knee before them. How shallow was their self-confidence that they could only get validation by humiliating others? Still, Qin Yun saw a slight appeal in it. He was human, not a robot devoid of emotions. Plotting revenge was always something exciting.

He shook his head and gave up on his plans, as doing so would only lead to something he couldn't be bothered to deal with.

Seeing that Qin Yun could resist his pressure, the man raised an eyebrow and increased it even more, hoping to find the limit of his endurance. The room’s pillars trembled slightly as the man’s might permeated the atmosphere. An ethereal and blurry lotus manifested itself above the man’s head as it slowly rotated. Unlike the elders' lotuses Qin Yun had seen prior on this day, his father's was a deep red, and an intense heat emanated from it as if it were the sun itself.

Qin Meihui couldn't help but step back as a small, weak lotus platform appeared above her head, frantically rotating as it tried to fight the incoming heat storm. Meihui was only at the 3rd level of the Foundation Building Realm, a far cry from the Nascent Soul. She had no hope of resisting, even if the man pulled his punches. Noticing that Qin Yun seemed unconcerned, she took refuge behind his back, where the pressure lessened slightly.

Noticing his cousin's exhaustion, Qin Yun sighed before lightly punching forward, creating a light wind that pushed back the incoming pressure. The man frowned at this sight and decided to recede his pressure just as Qin Yun had already clenched his fist, intending for a second strike.

"As usual, you only have brute strength. There's not a single trace of Qi in you," the man said with a slight hint of ridicule.

Even if Qin Yun was unrivalled in strength, it was nothing in front of a cultivator's Qi Mastery; at least, that was their fallacy. Qin Yun didn't bother to argue that fact as he didn't see the point.

“How long do you plan to persist in your crooked ways?” his father asked in a voice reeking of frost.

“Is an immortal that important to the clan?" Qin Yun replied, uninterested. "There are other ways to seek strength."

“And renounce the legacy our ancestors built?" his father replied in an even colder tone. "Do you have no respect for the path they opened for us? Do you think yourself their equals?” he scoffed, reeking with disdain. “Know your place.”

It’s the same thing every time, he sighed internally. Doesn’t he get tired of it?