Chapter 58: Rubbing Salt in the Wound

Naturally, he was unwilling.

Similarly, when Chen Xuan arrived at Barbarian City as a direct descendant of the capital's main branch, the collateral members of the Chen family in Barbarian City were expected to take orders from him.

Would the collateral family members be willing?

Of course not! They would never be truly willing!

Refusing him entry to the city was intended as a preliminary show of force.

However, no one could have anticipated that Chen Xuan was an absolute lunatic who would simply execute the centurion and chiliarch blocking his path.

Would any normal person ever do such a thing?

It was precisely because of Chen Xuan's ruthlessness that Chen Kun and the others were now being so polite.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard at the back of the Chen residence:

*Crack—*

Chen Kun struck Chen Qing directly across the face with a heavy slap.

The blow was delivered with immense force, leaving a bright red imprint instantly visible on Chen Qing's cheek.

"You scoundrel, who told you to instigate Zhang Tianci and order men to block him from entering the city?"

Chen Kun radiated a dark and menacing aura from head to toe. He glared fiercely at Chen Qing, so furious with this son that he felt like whipping him to death on the spot!

At this moment, he was overflowing with authority; gone was even a trace of the amiable demeanor he had worn in front of Chen Xuan.

"Father, I only wanted to teach him a lesson so that he would behave himself in Barbarian City from now on."

Chen Qing kept his head bowed, not daring to meet Chen Kun's eyes. He knew all too well how vicious this seemingly gentle father could be when provoked!

"Fool! Now the entire Barbarian City knows that Young Master Zhang was humiliated, and you just happened to be there. Anyone with half a brain knows who the mastermind behind this is!"

Chen Kun let out a cold snort.

Chen Qing lowered his head, completely speechless.

"Over at the Prefect's Mansion, Young Master Zhang has suffered humiliation, and you cannot wash your hands of this matter. Tonight, you will take ten thousand taels of silver as a gift to Young Master Zhang to appease his anger. You must not let your relationship with him deteriorate."

"As for this Chen Xuan, the fact that he was able to make Commander Ling Mo back down proves that his capabilities are unfathomable."

"It seems the clan elders in the capital lied to us. Saying Chen Xuan could not cultivate was utter nonsense—he is a martial master-level expert!"

"For now, we must exercise forbearance and refrain from moving against Chen Xuan."

Chen Kun's eyes rolled as he weighed various plans.

***

"Forbearance?" Chen Qing asked, instantly displeased. "Father, Barbarian City is our territory. What does Chen Xuan think he is? So what if he is a martial master? It's not like our family lacks martial masters."

Chen Xuan had humiliated him terribly, and he was dying for immediate vengeance. Asking him to endure this was a constant, agonizing torment.

"Stupid!"

Seeing that hatred had blinded his son's eyes, Chen Kun pointed directly at his nose and cursed angrily, "Is your brain stuck in your backside? Why did the capital clan send a martial master here? It's blatantly obvious they want to keep our branch under their thumb!"

"In the past, although they sent people, those were merely martial warriors. We quietly eliminated them, and since they were just low-value martial warriors, their deaths meant nothing."

"But if a martial master were to die here—especially a young martial master—do you think the capital would just ignore it? If they sent an elder to investigate, it would spell disaster for us!"

At the mention of the word "elder," a flash of apprehension crossed Chen Kun's eyes.

It was as if a basin of cold water had been dumped over him, and Chen Qing immediately became much more docile.

Because anyone qualified to be an elder was, at the very least, a martial king-level expert!

A single martial king could rival an entire army!

"Father, are we just going to let this Chen Xuan flaunt his power in our home?"

Resentment was clearly written across Chen Qing's face.

The mere thought of Chen Xuan gorging himself with food in their front courtyard made his chest ache with frustration.

"What's the rush? That brat has deeply offended Zhang Tianci, which is equivalent to offending the entire Prefect's Mansion. Our Prefect of Barbarian City is notoriously protective of his family. Just wait and see; the Prefect will take action, and this brat won't live much longer!"

A cold smirk played at the corner of Chen Kun's mouth.

With that, he patted Chen Qing on the shoulder and said indifferently, "Now, come with me and treat him properly. Remember, you must greet him with a smile!"

Chen Qing harbored ten thousand objections in his heart, but in the end, he braced himself and nodded.

***

"Haha, please, everyone, eat and drink your fill!"

The moment he walked from the back courtyard to the front, Chen Kun's expression completely transformed. He welcomed Chen Xuan and the others with boundless enthusiasm, even carrying over a flagon of wine.

"Young Master Xuan, come, come, I must propose a toast to you."

With that, he poured himself a cup of wine and raised it toward Chen Xuan.

"You're too kind."

Chen Xuan didn't wish to refuse him outright, so he poured himself a cup and clinked glasses with him.

"Oh? Young Master Qing, why is there a red mark on your face? Did someone strike you?"

Suddenly, Liu Jinyu asked with an expression of astonishment.

***

Chen Qing's heart instantly sank.

The slap his old man had delivered earlier was so heavy that his face was still burning, and the imprint had yet to fade.

On the walk from the back courtyard to the front, the servants had seen it but didn't dare utter a word, pretending completely not to notice.

Yet Liu Jinyu had managed to hit precisely where it hurt most.

"I didn't rest well last night and felt a bit drowsy just now, so I slapped myself to wake up."

Chen Qing forced out a smile.

In truth, he was already burning with rage inside.

Normally, who would ever dare speak to him in such a manner?

He felt deeply provoked.

However, at this moment, he dared not show it, recalling the warning Chen Kun had just given him.

"Oh, is that so? Even if you're sleepy, you shouldn't hit yourself. Isn't that self-torture?"

Liu Jinyu wore a half-smiling expression, one full of subtle implication, practically shouting: *Do you expect me to believe such nonsense?*

Still, some things were better understood without being spoken aloud. They were still guests dining in the other's home, so a certain amount of surface politeness had to be maintained.

Liu Jinyu sat back down to eat, smiling broadly and saying no more.

Yet it was precisely this attitude that made Chen Qing feel he was being mocked, instantly shifting a portion of his bitter hatred from Chen Xuan to Liu Jinyu.

"Young Master Xuan, after we finish eating, you will likely need to accompany me out for a bit," Chen Kun said abruptly.

"Where to?" Chen Xuan asked casually.

"The Prefect's Mansion!"

Chen Kun spoke, his expression suddenly turning serious. "Qing'er has already told me what happened at the city gates. Young Master Xuan, you had some friction with Zhang Tianci of the Prefect's Mansion. It's a pity I didn't know about it at the time; otherwise, I would have rushed over immediately to stop the dispute."

As he spoke, Chen Kun clutched his chest with an expression of profound regret.

Naturally, Chen Xuan did not believe a single word of this nonsense. He replied, "I nearly finished off the Prefect's son, and now you want me to go to the Prefect's Mansion? That hardly seems appropriate."

Chen Kun hastily adopted a grave expression. "Right now is precisely the most appropriate time!"