Chapter 316 Exposed!

Yan Wushuang dawdled aimlessly on the street, with the mixed feelings of being glum and morose hanging over him like dark clouds. What the hell is Father thinking?! How could he ask this own son to follow Liu Tianhe without having met him before?!

But what now?! Am I really to pander to him from now on?! Me, the proud future leader of the Yan Family?! How could I ever fall to such undignified behavior?! And what if he snubs me?!

A deeply-troubled Yan Wushuang walked around and around in circles, mumbling quietly to himself.

“No, I still need to speak to him. It is because of him that I can’t even go back home now,” he muttered at last. No one escapes Yan Wushuang in Yanxue City.

…

Meanwhile, a frantic Chu Xun walked all the way back to his lodging.

“I’m rather interested to see that even you will feel guilty too,” teased the purple-haired woman.

“Can’t help it,” smiled Chu Xun weakly, “I’m too kind a person to do anything bad or evil.”

Strangely, instead of rebuking or saying anything satirical, the woman nodded as if in agreement.

Chu Xun was so surprised that his eyes nearly popped out. What in the world is behind this sudden change of heart?! As far as he was concerned, the woman had had abysmally little to commend him about.

“To most good people, you seem like a nice person. But to bad people, you could be even worse,” that was how she defined him.

He shrugged and grinned, “It can’t be helped. With the turmoils going on everywhere because of the anomalies, I do what I can to survive and to make sure the people around me do too.”

“I gather seeing her coming back the greatest thing you ever want, right?”

Chu Xun nodded, knowing she was referring to Hua Qingwu. “I owe her too much.”

Their awkward banter went on.

“We go back to the capital tomorrow morning,” said Chu Xun at one point.

The purple-haired woman nodded quietly; Chu Xun had told her before that Hua Qingwu was in the capital.

Knock! Knock!

The rapping of his door cut short their conversation.

Chu Xun smiled with a sigh. With just as much as a cursory scan using his divine sense, he knew who it was. Gods in Heaven! What a persistent git. He came all the way here, for crying out loud.

“Open up, Liu!” Yan Wushuang cried from outside.

Exasperated, Chu Xun went over and opened the door to let him in.

“I told you before, Yan. I did not steal the Soul-nourishing Lotus.”

Yan Wushuang gave him a narrowed glare as soon as he stepped inside and muttered, “I’m not here because of the Lotus. I’m here because my father kicked me out of the house.”

“Huh?!”

Chu Xun and the woman exchanged dubious looks.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know what’s going on in his mind. He wants me to go on a pilgrimage with you,” seethed a frustrated Yan Wushuang.

“Huh?!”

What in the world is happening, Chu Xun thought blankly.

“I guess that means you have to take me in,” muttered Yan Wushuang.

“You’re joking, aren’t you, Yan?” Chu Xun gasped. He could not bring Yan Wushuang with him; once out of Yanxue City, people would know who he really was, Chu Xun the Devil!

“I’m not! I have no home to go back to now! Bloody hell, I don’t even know why Father has taken a liking to you that he insisted I follow with you!” grumbled Yan Wushuang grumpily.

Equally bemused himself, Chu Xun asked, “But I’ve never seen your father before! What is this fellow thinking about?! Is he not afraid of me selling you off as a slave?!”

“What do you mean by calling my father ‘fellow’?” glared Yan Wushuang.

“My bad, my bad,” corrected Chu Xun hastily, “I meant no disrespect. Honestly, I wander around aimlessly, and I won’t be staying put in one place. No pampered son of the Yan Family can keep up with such a life of being a vagabond.”

“Don’t tell me. Tell that to my father,” scowled Yan Wushuang, beginning to pester his way.

“You’re a gentleman, Yan,” griped an irritated Chu Xun, “This doesn’t suit you.”

“I learned that from you.”

“…” That left Chu Xun speechless.

“I’m going to the capital, Yan. That’s a journey too far for you. How about next time?”

“Go tell that to my father.”

“But I don’t even know him! What makes you think he’d take my word for it. The bottom line is: you can’t come with me, and that’s flat.”

“Go tell that to my father then. You’re the reason he kicked me out of the house, and now I’ve got nowhere I can go to, and you have to take responsibility.”

Chu Xun’s jaw dropped. Yan Wushuang had just been fully converted into a pestering bully, with nothing resembling his usual aloof, proud, and reticent demeanor of a pampered scion.

And what about that father of his?! Is he mad?! Is he not concerned at all about Yan Wushuang’s wellbeing?!

“Now what?” Chu Xun asked the woman using telepathy.

“It’s none of my business,” responded the woman curtly.

“Okay, what’s your father’s name?” Chu Xun decided at last that he would need to pay him a visit and see what he was thinking about.

After getting Yan Guilai’s name from Yan Wushuang, Chu Xun got up and began moving towards the Yan Family residence.

“Don’t you think of running off without me, Liu!” yelled Yan Wushuang from over his shoulders, “This is Yanxue City, and no one leaves without my say-so.”

Chu Xun groaned helplessly. He had thought of asking the woman to rejoin him once he reached outside so that they could give Yan Wushuang the slip. But it would appear that the latter had read his mine.

On that bemused and frustrated note, he set off for the Yan Family residence.

“Master Liu, our master is expecting you at the main hall,” said an acolyte of the residence when he reached.

That surprised Chu Xun. Apparently, Yan Guilai knew that he would be coming.

Yan Guilai beamed when he saw Chu Xun being led into the main hall of the residence.

“Please, have a seat, Master Liu.”

Like father, like son, Chu Xun thought quietly when he set eyes upon Yan Guilai’s dashing appearance that greatly resembled his son.

“I was hoping that you could enlighten me on one matter, Master Yan,” said Chu Xun immediately.

“I daresay it has everything to do with my boy,” responded Yan Guilai with equal candor.

My boy?! Chu Xun almost felt a rush of goosebumps. Boy?! For a man more than a hundred years old, you still call him ‘boy’?!

“It is true. I did ask my boy to join you on a trip of pilgrimage.”

“Why?” asked an incredulous Chu Xun, “We haven’t even met yet.”

“Because you’re shameless enough,” chuckled Yan Guilai.

The corners of Chu Xun’s mouth twitched irritably. It was all he could do to prevent himself from splashing the tea at his host for insulting him.

“Please, Master Liu, pray listen. There are times when ‘shameless’ is to be taken contrary to its usual derogatory sense,” said Yan Guilai firmly.

“And you’re not afraid that Yan Wushuang might pick up a bad habit or two from me,” hissed Chu Xun through gritted teeth.

“One’s fortitude can be measured from one’s disposition and behavior. I’ve heard much about your deeds of derring-do in the exploration of Kunlun Mountain, and if I may say so, I reckon I do have a slight talent in judging people after enduring two hundred winters.”

“And merely based on these hearsays, you deem it wise to allow Yan Wushuang to come with me. Is this true?”

Yan Guilai shook his head, “Of course not. It’s because you remind me of someone.”

“And who might that be?” Chu Xun asked curiously.

“Chu Xun. The one whom they call the Devil,” uttered Yan Guilai, his piercing eyes flaring up.

Chu Xun shuddered convulsively. Then he noticed Yan Guilai’s calm and cool countenance and heaved a breath. Gods, it’s a bluff and I almost fell for it!

But that transitory reaction had betrayed him.

“Chu Xun… The Devil, eh? Pretty sure I’ve heard of him,” mumbled Chu Xun, trying to keep up the facade.

“If I had been uncertain before,” Yan Guilai broke into a broad smile, “Then I am sure now. You are the Devil – Chu Xun himself.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?”

“You’ll understand that as a father, it is my duty to look into anyone who gets close to my son,” said Yan Guilai openly.

Exposed, Chu Xun saw no reason in keeping up the pretense. “Master Yan, if I may be direct?” he said coolly.

“Please do.”

“You’re a shameless one, aren’t you?”

“…” It was Yan Guilai’s turn this time for the corner of his mouth to twitch with annoyance.

“You said it best, Master Yan. There are times when ‘shameless’ is not derogatory.”

Looking as if he was wrestling with himself, Yan Guilai finally broke into roars of laughter, “The Devil indeed.”

“All right then. Let’s put the cards on the table and be frank. Why? Why let Yan Wushuang follow me?” Chu Xun’s glare turned frosty suddenly, and he hissed, “You do know that killing him is as simple as flicking a finger for me.”

Boom!

The last sentence seemed to have struck a nerve.

Yan Guilai’s aura burgeoned to incredible heights with waves of air slamming into Chu Xun like a tidal wave.

Undeterred, Chu Xun calmly summoned his Hong Meng Immortal Qi and churned up another wave of air that met Yan Guilai’s.

Both auras burgeoned and collided like a pair of battling leviathans, the mere pressure of their auras ripping to shreds the furniture and utensils in the room, and the ground cracked under their feet.

Yan Guilai hardly moved an inch.

But Chu Xun had retreated just a half-meter from that blast.

Chu Xun had lost by a mere hair’s breadth.

Reeling with shock, Chu Xun was certain Yan Guilai was a dangerous person.

“What is the meaning of this?” Chu Xun glowered coldly. Anyone who strikes first is always an enemy to him.

“Pray simmer down, Master Chu. I was only anxious to test myself,” Yan Guilai said hastily.

Only Chu Xun was nowhere near eager to end on that note. With a stare as cold as ice, his aura burgeoned like a monstrous behemoth, long dormant in centuries of slumber, now stirring awake.

“It seems that I, too, wish to test my powers against yours, Master Yan.”

He barely finished when his hand came up and drew a “Sha” rune in midair and the surrounding instantly wafted an incredibly-palpable aura of malice and despair as the rune grew in size and bore down on Yan Guilai like a gigantic mallet.

Startled, Yan Guilai flung on an arm and conjured a fierce tiger made of his Internal Breath. The ferocious feline silhouette threw its head back in an imperious roar before charging to face the falling “Sha” rune.

Boom!

The tiger and the rune collided into one another, resulting in a sudden explosion that threw up winds in yet another miniature storm that reduced every remaining piece of furniture still standing inside the main hall into splinters or dust as dust and sand lingered in the air.

Every able-bodied acolyte and retainer of the Yan Family rushed to the main hall at once, worried.

“Calm yourself, Master Liu. Let’s talk,” growled Yan Guilai, peeved and irate. Even though it was common practice for an elder to test the strength of a junior, it would appear that the Devil was hardly a fan of such customs.

With his anger hardly subsiding, Chu Xun formed another hand seal with a hand while tapping into the air with another.

Screech!

A shrill and piercing cry of a phoenix broke the sky and a huge flaming phoenix descended from the sky sharply, its wings flapping and spreading inferno.

The sight of the bird filled Yan Guilai with rage and disbelief. This phoenix could easily level more than half of the Yan Family residence.

He fired a bolt of energy at the flaming bird and the gigantic silhouette – conjured too using Internal Breath – in the image of his palm shot up the sky, its size growing rapidly and smashing into the flaming phoenix.

Boom!

A deafening explosion violently rocked the earth and a horrifying mushroom cloud surged up into the sky, accompanied by rushes of flames that threatened to engulf the clouds overhead before everything subsided and the flames died down.

Chu Xun gasped, bracing with astonishment. Yan Guilai’s powers were simply unfathomable indeed.

“You are indeed remarkable, Liu. Allow me to express my admirations,” Yan Guilai managed sardonically as his lips twitched again with irritation.

As if he’d hardly heard a word, Chu Xun formed another hand seal and was about to launch another attack.

“Do you know what Flame-Amber Bamboos are?” asked Yan Guilai suddenly.

Chu Xun paused. Fire-Amber Bamboo was a name he was all too familiar with – the most crucial material for forging relics and magical instruments. It was resistant to both fire and water while being a cure for various poisons too and that made these Bamboos extremely rare commodities.

“We found one not long ago, during the exploration of other ancient ruins. I’m willing to surrender it to you, as a gift. Consider it a gift from a senior,” Yan Guilai hissed, gritting his teeth at his loss.

“Understood, Senior. I shall thank you so much for your gift of TWO Fire-Amber Bamboos,” said Chu Xun cheekily.

TWO?! Yan Guilai almost suffered an aneurysm. What a shameless brute! I said nothing about two pieces?!

Chu Xun began hurling strings of flattery, saying, “I thank you so much, Master Yan! Your powers are so amazing that all of Heaven, Earth, Purgatory, and even the Underworld would regard you as a true marvel.”

“…” Yan Guilai felt a knot in his stomach at the loss.

But with so many witnesses, he needed to say something polite that befitted his dignity as leader of the Yan Family. “To have such powers at your age is a rarity upon itself, Master Liu. I entrust my son into your good hands.”

Chu Xun nodded with a grin, while on the inside, he was quietly scowling, you old sly fox.