Chapter 048: Hatred (Please click and add to your favorites)

Huh? That’s odd—why did those two back off again?

Cheng and Wei stood up. Wei Tie-long pressed his hand down, signaling, “Calm down. Are you afraid that boy is going to run away?”

Cheng Zhi flushed, thinking to himself, “Ahem, what am I getting nervous for? He’s just a menial disciple. Old Wei is much more composed.”

Outside, however, it wasn’t that Lin Zhan and Yun Yin had retreated. The two had almost reached the intersection when Yun Yin suddenly grabbed Lin Zhan’s hand. “Hey, I have something to tell you.”

Puzzled, Lin Zhan let himself be pulled into a corner. “Miss Yun, what’s going on? Why is your face so red? If you have something to say, just say it.”

“You’re impossible!” Yun Yin stamped her foot, feigning annoyance. “I only pretended to be a menial disciple to find you. Now that things are like this, I don’t need to go back with you to do menial work. Honestly, it’s more comfortable being myself. I’ll come look for you when I have time.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I’ll go in myself then. We can meet anytime anyway.” Lin Zhan nodded, his manner unhurried. “In that case, shouldn’t you let go of my hand?”

Yun Yin glanced down and realized they were still holding hands. As if scalded, she snatched her hand away and, with a huff, ran off. From far away, her voice drifted back, “Lin Zhan, just wait—I’ll come find you!”

Lin Zhan watched her light blue figure disappear into the distance and clapped his hands in delight. “Hahaha! I’ll be waiting.”

After his laughter faded, he felt a hollow emptiness in his heart.

Steadying himself, Lin Zhan turned back toward the building. “If my senior brothers think I’ve let romance come before friendship, that would be terrible.”

Besides, missing the message was his fault. If he found his senior brothers, he’d accept whatever punishment awaited—no question.

A strange sound came from beside the spirit grass: “Pssst, pssst—”

“Who’s there?” Lin Zhan stopped suspiciously. Looking closely, he recognized a menial from Youzhu Hall named Bing Gen, whom he’d seen before when collecting supplies. Bing Gen was sneakily hiding behind a stalk of spirit grass, gesturing with his lips.

“Brother, get out of here! Something’s happened to your Daisy Hall!”

“What?” Lin Zhan’s heart skipped a beat.

“All nine of your senior brothers were thrown into the Ice Prison by Deacon Cao Jin. They’re as good as dead. You should run while you can—save yourself.” The menial from Youzhu Hall looked at him with boundless sympathy and sorrow, likely thinking of his own lowly status and how such a fate might befall him at any moment.

At that moment, Lin Zhan’s eyes reddened and his whole body trembled. “How could this happen? Senior brothers! It’s my fault, I brought this upon you!”

His face contorted in agony, his meridians in chaos. The golden dragon-shaped energy in his dantian surged wildly, the spiritual sea within him raging as if to burst its banks. There was a faint sign of losing control, edging toward madness.

Lin Zhan clenched his fists, his black hair bristling. At last, he shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, enduring the storm within.

Just then, a cool, soothing force from the nine-star diagram in his palm gently circulated through his body, calming the rampaging energy bit by bit.

When Lin Zhan opened his eyes again, restored to normal, the menial from Youzhu Hall had already vanished.

“Heh, Cao Jin! If anything happens to my senior brothers, you’ll be the first to pay for it! Menial disciples are people too—how can you bully us as you please?”

Composing himself, Lin Zhan strode step by step toward the gathering courtyard, where he’d been told two of Cao Jin’s lackeys awaited him.

Each step was slow, as if he were gathering every ounce of strength in his body.

“Is that Daisy Hall’s Menial Eleven approaching?”

“Yes!”

Lin Zhan stopped. Standing in the doorway were two unfamiliar faces—surely Cao Jin’s lapdogs.

He fixed them with a murderous gaze.

Although he couldn’t determine their cultivation level, neither could they see through his. This was to his advantage.

Thanks to the nine-star diagram, Lin Zhan’s true strength was well concealed—even Yun Yin, standing close, had been unable to discern it and had wondered if something was wrong with her own senses.

Ordinarily, a higher-level cultivator could see through those below them with spiritual perception, an advantage of their status.

“These two must be at the Yellow Stage. But so what? Do they think that will scare me?” Lin Zhan saw an opportunity here.

Just because he couldn’t fight them head-on didn’t mean surrender—there was always the path of cunning.

He quickly suppressed his hatred and bowed respectfully. “Yes, I am Menial Eleven of the Daisy Hall.”

“You’ve absconded without leave. Do you realize you’ve committed a grave crime?”

Absconded? Grave crime? The words sent a chill through Lin Zhan’s heart, but he replied, “I acknowledge my mistake. May I ask where my fellow Daisy Hall menials of Team C are currently assigned?”

Cheng Zhi and Wei Tie-long exchanged glances. Wei Tie-long spoke: “That’s easily arranged. We’ll take you to your senior brothers.”

The two had resolved that if things could be settled without violence, so much the better—no need to carry someone back by force. Since Lin Zhan was unaware of what had transpired and willing to follow, it would save them both trouble and energy.

“Follow us, boy. Don’t try any tricks.”

Cheng Zhi threatened, and the two led the way toward the Hall of Discipline.

Lin Zhan followed closely, his attention fixed on the two ahead as well as the pitch-black heavy sword in his spatial ring.

His senior brothers were locked in the Ice Prison. With his current strength, rescuing them was a fantasy—the Hall of Discipline was a formal institution, teeming with experts and heavily guarded.

All he could hope was that his brothers, from Menial One to Ten, might be lucky enough to survive by any means possible.

As for Lin Zhan himself, vengeance now consumed him. If his brothers couldn’t be saved, he would kill as many as he could before falling; since he was no longer fit to remain a menial, he might as well abandon it all, find a quiet place to train, and one day return for revenge. Only then might the surviving brothers have hope.

The walk was silent. Cheng Zhi and Wei Tie-long kept glancing back and gradually began chatting.

“Old Wei, have you heard about that masked stranger lately?”

“Heh, the Ding family’s really paid for it this time. But that masked guy is alone—he won’t last. It’s a dead end.”

“The Ding family patriarch has put out a reward—one hundred thousand Ice Soul Stones for any clue.”

“One hundred thousand! We can only daydream about it. That masked man is dangerous—best steer clear, or we might not even know how we died…”