Chapter 67

Zheng Biao entered the house and saw, in the hall, his father with a smiling face and the Chang brothers, along with four young men dressed in the same style of white samurai clothing.

Zheng Biao merely glanced at them, and his face instantly turned unusually grim. He quickly lowered his head to hide the anger in his eyes.

The disciples of the Chang Kong Zhao Jian Sect were unexpectedly arrogant. Some lounged on the chairs, hanging one leg over the armrest, swinging it back and forth; some had found small knives from somewhere and were constantly filing their fingernails; two others were talking to themselves, occasionally emitting annoying laughter, completely ignoring everyone else. Their attitude was extremely arrogant and rude, which instantly ruined Zheng Biao's mood. His eyes turned dark, but he forced himself to smile, thinking to himself: A bunch of arrogant bastards, coming to my house and still being so disrespectful. Just wait, Third Master will crush you sooner or later...

Zheng Da, the master of the house, sat in the host's seat, chatting with Chang Jingfan with a beaming face. Although Chang Jingfan smiled and appeared polite, his words were extremely perfunctory, showing a dismissive attitude. He answered questions briefly and coldly, never asking any in return, making it impossible for the conversation to continue. After a few sentences, the conversation came to a halt.

Zheng Da, of course, noticed Chang Jingfan's contempt and felt indignant. As an elder, he was being disrespected, which made him particularly upset. However, since the Chang family was his in-laws, he had to maintain his dignity and reluctantly continued the conversation, not wanting to argue with the younger generation. Seeing that the conversation was at an end, he smiled awkwardly, picked up his teacup, and drank tea, making the atmosphere extremely awkward.

Just as Zheng Da was feeling uneasy, he happened to see his son Zheng Biao enter the room. His expression brightened, and he immediately became animated: "Why did Little Three take so long to arrive? Your cousin has been traveling by boat and horse, and has been reluctant to rest just to see you... How could you be so inconsiderate, making your cousin and the other masters wait so long?"

Zheng Biao hurriedly greeted everyone and apologized repeatedly. Only two of the Chang Kong Zhao Jian Sect disciples smiled in acknowledgment, while the others did not even lift their eyes, completely ignoring Zheng Biao.

Zheng Da felt even more awkward, and Zheng Biao's anger burned even more intensely.

Perhaps Zheng Da had had enough of the cold treatment. Seeing his third son arrive, he immediately stood up and left, instructing: "Since you're here, you should entertain your cousin and the distinguished guests in my place. I'm not feeling well, so I'll take my leave for now..."

Before he finished speaking, he was already at the door, not waiting for any reaction from the guests, and hurriedly left, out of sight and out of mind.

Zheng Biao was taken aback, and as he was about to apologize again to the guests, he heard Chang Jingfan clear his throat and attract everyone's attention. He then said in a tone devoid of emotion: "Cousin Zheng Biao, we're all family here, and the senior brothers who came with me are not outsiders, so there's no need to be so formal—"

"Of course, of course, we're all family, Cousin Jingfan, this time—"

"Let's skip the formalities—" Chang Jingfan waved his hand impatiently, interrupting Zheng Biao, and continued: "This time, we came down the mountain with a mission from our sect, but we encountered some difficulties—"

Difficulties? That's good... I've always been afraid that you guys have no desires. If you need something from me, I can use this opportunity to get closer to you.

Zheng Biao's heart stirred, and he was about to respond.

However, just as Zheng Biao was about to speak, Chang Jingfan continued: "Although we encountered difficulties, fortunately, your family has taken care of it— I mentioned this to your uncle, and he has already prepared the 30,000 taels of silver, which has helped us overcome this obstacle—"

Damn, this Chang guy is not here for my sake, but to get silver from us. What a damn scoundrel... And these people, who are clearly in need of our help, act as if they are doing us a huge favor by taking our silver. Even if they take our money, they could at least show some respect, but they don't even say a word of thanks. Do they really think we owe them something?

This 30,000 taels of silver is no small amount. Even if the Chang Kong Zhao Jian Sect is powerful, they should at least show some gratitude when they see so much silver. But you, Chang Jingfan, rely on a bit of family connection to demand so much, and then act so arrogantly. No wonder Father's face was so grim.

Zheng Biao was extremely angry, but with the situation as it was, there was no point in regretting it... It seems that the plan must be carried out as scheduled, and there must be no mistakes, or it will be a double loss.

Zheng Biao suppressed his anger and was about to say a few polite words, but Chang Jingfan waved his hand to stop him, looking quite impatient, and said coldly: "Although we're just passing through, I'll take care of your matter, Cousin—"

Zheng Biao tried to speak several times but was repeatedly stopped by Chang Jingfan, which made him very uncomfortable. However, he did not dare to offend his cousin from a prestigious family, so he could only smile awkwardly and nod frequently, looking like a lapdog. In his heart, he was furious at Chang Jingfan's arrogance and silently cursed: This Chang guy is really arrogant, not even letting me speak... What arrogance, once this matter is over, I won't put up with your attitude anymore.

Chang Jingfan, who had been cold and distant, naturally did not know what his obedient little cousin was thinking. He was only focused on displaying his arrogance. This time, Chang Jingfan had brought a few close senior brothers from his sect on a mission, and he had boasted to them about how easy the task was and how capable he was. In his mouth, the Zheng family was like a subordinate to the Chang family, to be used at will. When Zheng Da was present, Chang Jingfan was somewhat respectful, but once the uncle left, he immediately took on the air of a master, giving orders to his cousin Zheng Biao. His purpose was to appear strong in front of his fellow disciples to prove his own strength and to gain more influence within the sect through their mouths.

To Chang Jingfan, the Zheng family was just a stepping stone.

Chang Jingfan had his own calculations and spoke coldly to his cousin, constantly scolding him: "Your matter is truly embarrassing. A Second Stage Body Tempering martial artist, you were beaten so badly by an outsider who hasn't even developed qi, which is truly shameful— Although you are not a member of the Chang family or a disciple of the Chang Kong Zhao Jian Sect, I had to step in for the sake of your aunt— After this matter is resolved, I hope you will practice hard and not embarrass yourself again—"

Zheng Biao stood to one side, not daring to sit down, and was made to feel extremely embarrassed by Chang Jingfan's sarcasm and ridicule, especially in front of others, which made him feel extremely humiliated.

"What? Senior Brother Chang, your little cousin was beaten so badly by an outsider? Are you joking?" A square-faced elite expert asked Chang Jingfan with a puzzled tone, turning to question him.

Chang Jingfan did not even look up, holding his teacup and carefully skimming the tea leaves with the lid. Hearing his fellow disciple's question, he simply nodded his head, "Ask him, I'm too embarrassed to answer—"

Zheng Biao's face turned red, and he awkwardly replied: "Reporting to this senior, it is indeed as you say—"

"How old is your opponent, and is he very strong?"

"Only seven or eight years old, but—"

"Only seven or eight years old?" The person asking was extremely surprised, with a look of disbelief, "A child around seven or eight years old? You were beaten so badly by a child who doesn't know martial arts? My goodness, no wonder your cousin was unwilling to mention this. This is truly unprecedented and extremely embarrassing—"

Zheng Biao's face turned bright red, and he lowered his head, not speaking.

Chang Jingwang, who had always looked down on Zheng Biao, felt a sense of camaraderie when he heard his fellow disciple ridicule Zheng Biao. He immediately stepped forward and continued: "Not only embarrassing— hum, this Mr. Zheng didn't even dare to mention it to anyone afterward. If I hadn't happened to be a guest at his house and mentioned this matter, I'm sure he wouldn't have dared to mention it even now, let alone try to regain his dignity—"

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