Chapter 7

Hong Yu nodded and asked with a gentle expression, "Has Eldest Brother encountered something recently?"

Hong Xi was actually quite uneasy. They, a group of servants, had thought Hong Yu was dead for sure, which was why they dared to be so negligent. Now that this young demon, who always used lethal force on servants, was alive again, he would definitely settle accounts. Hong Xi had already prepared himself for punishment and was about to mourn his "brother in buttocks," but he didn't expect Hong Yu to call him just to ask this question.

Hong Xi, who had a much wider network in the Hong family than a mere servant girl, thought for a moment and asked, "Young Master, what aspect of Eldest Brother's affairs are you asking about?"

"I just met Eldest Brother, and he seemed to have a lot on his mind."

Hong Xi thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Young Master Lie is not doing well at the academy. There are a few students who are very favored by the teachers, and they often gang up to pressure Young Master Lie."

Hong Yu's face turned cold. "Go and investigate what exactly has happened these past few days!"

"Yes."

Hong Xi accepted the order and left. This was the advantage of being a house-born servant. They were born and raised in the Hong family, and deep down, they considered themselves part of the Hong family. Even if they were dissatisfied with Hong Yu, they would still loyally execute his orders.

After Hong Xi left, Hong Yu sat cross-legged in the room, closed his eyes, and meditated, digesting the results of his time in the library.

Hong Shen was still sitting in the bamboo grove. He had already seen that Hong Yu intended to get involved with Hong Lie's affairs. Although he thought Hong Yu was more mature than before, he also felt that he was overestimating himself.

The academy Hong Lie attended was the famous Liling Academy, the holy land of scholars in the entire Daxia Dynasty and the place where the Confucian sect was located.

The scholars at Liling Academy were not only talented in literature but also not the kind of scholars who were traditionally weak and helpless. On the contrary, the Confucian sect could be mentioned alongside the Daoist sect because the scholars from Liling Academy all possessed extraordinary skills. In terms of martial arts and cultivation techniques, the foundation of Liling Academy was no less than that of Yuxing Temple.

Hong Lie's performance at Liling Academy was not outstanding, but it was average. He was already at the initial stage of the Eighth Rank Body Aura, had thoroughly studied two of the six Confucian classics, and had read through the other four. Even Hong Lie was feeling depressed and unhappy, so what could Hong Yu, a second-generation waste, do?

Because of his previous negligence towards Hong Yu, Hong Xi was uneasy and thus completed this task particularly quickly. In just over half an hour, Hong Xi returned and immediately reported, "Young Master, I have investigated the matter clearly."

"Speak!"

"Yes. Three days ago, Young Master Lie received an invitation to a poetry gathering. However, when he arrived, he was stopped at the door by Zong Xin Yue and a few classmates, who said that only those at the middle stage of the Eighth Rank Body Aura were allowed to attend. Since Young Master Lie did not meet this standard, they refused to let him in.

Young Master Lie argued with them, asking why they invited him if that was the case. Zong Xin Yue and the others smiled insincerely and said that the servant responsible for the notification was ignorant and did not realize that a descendant of the prestigious Hong family was already eighteen years old but had not yet reached the middle stage of the Eighth Rank Body Aura.

Miss Song was also present at the time, and Young Master Lie was extremely embarrassed and angry. He wanted to force his way in but was easily pushed out by them. They were all at the middle stage of the Eighth Rank Body Aura, and Young Master Lie was no match for even one of them, let alone all of them together.

Then the new teacher, Mr. Du, came out and severely scolded Young Master Lie. Young Master Lie did not dare to argue with the teacher and returned in humiliation and anger. I heard that he locked himself in his room and drank all night."

Hong Yu's face was extremely ugly. These people were clearly setting a trap to embarrass Eldest Brother! And that Mr. Du, he was no good, aiding and abetting, where was the dignity of a teacher?

The Miss Song mentioned by Hong Xi was the eldest daughter of the Song family, one of the Four Pillars, Song You Ran, who was seventeen years old and in the same class as Hong Lie. She was Eldest Brother Hong Lie's dream girl, but the Song family looked down on the Hong family, which had no future, and refused to marry their daughter to Hong Lie.

Hong Lie did not dare to resist Grandfather's arrangement and thus married his current wife. However, everyone in the Hong family could see that Eldest Brother was not happy after marriage.

To be humiliated in front of the one he loved, Hong Yu could empathize, and he was almost bursting with anger!

But he also keenly realized a problem: "This happened three days ago, what does it have to do with today?"

Hong Xi continued, "Originally, Young Master Lie was proficient in the 'Classic of Filial Piety,' so he was always responsible for collecting and delivering the homework for that subject to the teacher. However, after Mr. Du came, he always criticized Young Master Lie, saying he was not worthy of being a noble's descendant and that his cultivation was too low. Today, he even canceled Young Master Lie's responsibility and gave it to Zong Xin Yue!"

Hong Yu understood. When he met Eldest Brother earlier, he was indeed troubled by this matter.

Hong Xi was also very angry. "The most hateful thing is that Mr. Du's excuse was that Young Master Lie was not working hard enough! But everyone knows that Young Master Lie is the most diligent in the class, arriving the earliest and leaving the latest, and frequently seeking guidance from the teacher! Yet this Mr. Du dared to defame Young Master Lie!"

Hong Yu sneered. "Zong Xin Yue? The Zong family, ranked first among the Six Treasures, right?"

"That's her. Including the previous poetry gathering, the group that specifically opposes Young Master Lie is led by her."

"Who is this Mr. Du?"

"Du Jin Cheng."

Hong Yu said calmly, "What a cold world! A Confucian teacher, qualified to teach at Liling Academy, is so opportunistic! He sees that our Hong family is declining and assumes that the Zong family, ranked first among the Six Treasures, will naturally replace us and become one of the new Four Pillars!"

Hong Xi was also furious. "Daydreaming! Our Hong family will never fall!"

Hong Yu truly did not expect a teacher to be so despicable. He thought for a moment and nodded to Hong Xi. "You did a good job this time. Go and collect ten taels of silver as a reward."

Hong Xi was delighted. "Thank you, Young Master."

After he left, Hong Yu also went out, familiar with the route, and quickly arrived outside Eldest Brother's courtyard.

The servants in the courtyard bowed to him, and no one stopped him. Hong Yu entered the room, and Hong Lie was drinking alone, with no dishes, taking sips of wine in silence.

"It's the second brother," Hong Lie smiled bitterly. Hong Yu sat down and said angrily, "Eldest Brother, I know what happened. We can't just let this go."

Hong Lie waved his hand slightly. "Forget it. In the end, it's all our fault. If we brothers had one with good potential, the power and wealth of the Hong family wouldn't be cut off in our hands. Who would dare to look down on us? Sigh..."

Hong Yu had words on the tip of his tongue, but seeing Eldest Brother's dejected and lost appearance, he swallowed them back and silently took the wine bottle to drink with him.

Hong Lie smiled, and the two brothers took turns drinking, no longer needing to say more.

...

In the evening, Hong Yu returned to his room. He had drunk a lot, but his mind was particularly clear.

This world was highly developed, with very mature brewing techniques. The wine they drank today, Hong Yu estimated, would be around 50 degrees by the standards of his previous life.

When he first arrived, he subconsciously treated this world as the ancient times of his previous life. However, as time passed, he realized that while this world might not have the material prosperity of a highly industrialized society, its various technologies were very advanced, not much worse than his previous life.

Hong Yu's alcohol tolerance was not good, and young people mainly relied on their physical strength to drink. His body was still quite weak. However, when Hong Yu took his third sip, the ancient magic elephant totem in his body suddenly woke up!

Then this fierce elephant unceremoniously absorbed all the alcohol in Hong Yu's body!

With the alcohol absorbed, Hong Yu was essentially just drinking water. Apart from needing to urinate a few times, he felt nothing.

He didn't expect that an ancient divine beast would actually like to drink!

So he was now very clear-headed, while the ancient magic elephant totem in the Heavenly Spring Point was snoring, reeking of alcohol.

He rested in the room for a while and then stealthily climbed out of the window.

Hong Shen laughed in the dark.

Downstairs, there were Xiao Ling, Hong Xi, and two other servant girls, none of whom knew that Hong Yu had sneaked out. This escape route had been used countless times by the original owner and was well-tested, never having been discovered.

However, now he had to face a Third Rank Manifest Saint.

Following the familiar route, avoiding people, he finally reached the back garden of the Hong family, at a secluded wall. Hong Yu found a rope and grappling hook under a stone and was about to hook it onto the wall and climb over when Hong Shen suddenly appeared in front of him, smiling. "Young Master Yu, you should go back."

Hong Yu was taken aback and dejectedly buried the rope and grappling hook again. "Is it Grandfather who sent you to watch over me? He really went all out this time, even mobilizing a Third Rank Manifest Saint."

Hong Shen smiled bitterly. "No one else could watch over Young Master Yu." As he spoke, he looked at the stone on the ground. Hong Yu looked matter-of-factly. "Uncle Shen, don't take these things away. When you're not watching over me anymore, I'll still need them to sneak out."

Hong Shen was at a loss.

Hong Shen "escorted" Hong Yu back, and Hong Yu was puzzled. No wonder he had felt like someone was watching him recently.

Having such a high-level expert following him, Hong Yu was very troubled. He didn't know if his novice monk manifestation could hide from Hong Shen's spiritual senses, so he thought it was impossible to escape under the surveillance of a Third Rank Manifest Saint super expert.

But Hong Yu had already made up his mind. His personality clearly wasn't suitable for being the head of the Hong family, and it would be best for Eldest Brother to inherit the family.

Perhaps in Grandfather's mind, Hong Lie wasn't a suitable successor. But Hong Yu came from a world of information explosion and knew very well how the environment could influence a person.