Decision (Part 2)

Sun Qinghong knew very well that Great Ling imposed extremely severe punishments on criminals who colluded with Secret Teaching.

Moreover, it will affect several generations of descendants.

The daughter, Sun Chaoyue, was still young and did not understand how severe the punishment was for her descendants to be implicated.

That means that not only will you be punished, but your children will also be reduced to livestock from birth.

Men became slaves, and women became prostitutes.

That was the key to his desperate attempt to escape.

Once caught, there is no chance of ever getting out of trouble!

Therefore, although he suspected that the Tong Family had plotted to embezzle his property, he did not dare to turn against them on the surface.

After all, Tong Haocun himself was a top-tier Ninth Grade expert, and the Tong Family also had several Eighth Grade.

Given his current sickly health, coupled with his daughter who is only Fourth Grade and his old servant who is Fifth Grade official, he's quite capable.

In this Ci Tong Port, one cannot escape more than a few miles before meeting a violent death.

So he endured and waited for an opportunity. "Father, you should rest early. I'm going back to my room too." Sun Chaoyue's voice came from outside the door.

Even in her current state of destitution, she still maintains the habits she had when she was with Tanyang.

She has always believed that.

These habits and customs are the biggest difference between the Sun Family and other peasant families.

She always believed that one day they would go back.

But all of this was just a dream, an unimaginable nightmare.

"Yes, go ahead. Don't worry, Chaoyue, trust your father, everything will be alright." Sun Qinghong said in a deep voice.

"Yes, I'm not worried, Father," Sun Chaoyue replied softly, and then her footsteps gradually faded away.

Squeak.

The door closed, and then there was no more sound.

"Master, is this arrangement really alright?" A voice suddenly rang out from the corner of the room.

There was actually a person standing there.

He was a thin old man with white hair, wearing a dark blue long robe.

This person is Sun Yunyao, the old housekeeper who has served Sun Qinghong for decades.

"There's nothing wrong with it," Sun Qinghong replied calmly. "This is the only chance for my Sun Family to turn things around. Life has already driven us to the brink."

"But," the old butler hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Let's not talk about that. How's the matter I asked you to investigate?" Sun Qinghong said in a deep voice.

"Yes, we've located the spot. The Snow Rainbow Pavilion's pursuers did indeed receive a tip from an outsider, which is why they rushed here. At first, they had no idea we were here," the old steward sighed.

"Is that so?" Sun Qinghong sighed softly. She recalled Tong Haocun's two previous visits to persuade him.

He finally realized, "It seems they've finally lost patience. They're determined to squeeze every last drop of value out of the Sun Family."

The old steward, "Master," wanted to say something, but Sun Qinghong raised his hand, stopping him from speaking.

"If we still have value, then with the Snow Rainbow Pavilion pursuers closing in, we will definitely have to do everything we can to extract it."

If we're no longer of any value, then the arrival of the pursuers will be a perfect excuse to remove us from their burden and avoid being implicated. No.

Sun Qinghong suddenly paused.

"If even the people who actively reported it were them, then they're atoneing for their crimes through meritorious service. Tsk tsk, really?"

Ruthless.

That's ruthless!

Only after combining the information from the pursuers did Sun Qinghong clearly see through Tong Haocun's scheme.

It wasn't enough that they ate all his property; they wanted to squeeze him dry as well.

But what good would knowing do? A jumble of thoughts swirled in Sun Qinghong's mind as he pondered a way out of the predicament.

"What exactly is the relationship between Chaoyue and that Guardian Priest? Has it been found out?" he suddenly asked.

"I've inquired around, and there doesn't seem to be much connection; we just know each other," the old butler replied.

"Back in Tanyang, when that Guardian Priest was hiding his identity, Miss Chaoyue only spoke to him. She doesn't know anything else."

Sun Qinghong nodded.

He knew his daughter back then; Tanyang was aloof, elegant, and the object of countless young men's fantasies and admiration.

That's perfect.

"Alright, proceed as previously arranged," he said in a deep voice.

"Yes."

"Tomorrow, I will ask Chaoyue to go with me to see Guardian Priest. Success or failure depends on this!" Sun Qinghong said fiercely.

"But as this old servant sees it, Miss Chaoyue doesn't seem to know that Guardian Priest is the Zhang Ying he knows," the old steward said with a wry smile.

"No need to tell her, we'll talk about it later," Sun Qinghong said calmly. "I believe she'll understand; after all, the Sun Family has no other options left."

The victor is king, the loser is villain; as long as you win and turn the tide, everything else can be made up for after the comeback.

He was a man, so he knew very well that if he wanted to turn things around, he might only be able to do so by focusing on his daughter and Guardian.

But this line itself is weak, so how can we convince the Guardian to take action for the Sun Family after several days?

Chen Xiang Temple.

Zhang Rongfang gripped the knife in one hand and forcefully slashed down at his other arm.

The sharp blade fell onto the skin with a dull thud.

Only a white mark remained.

In the past two days, Zhang Rongfang has accumulated two more attribute points. Now, he closes his eyes and opens the Attribute Panel.

He decisively applied it to the Iron Shirt.

Iron Shirt also jumped directly from the third level of perfection to the Breaking Limits.

In an instant, a feeling of tightness spread throughout Zhang Rongfang's entire body.

He could clearly feel that his skin was as if it had been covered with a thick, tough layer of leather.

"Good."

He opened his eyes with satisfaction.

He carefully examined the state of his internal organs.

"If your martial arts skill improves by First Grade, your life force must also improve, otherwise your internal organs will not be able to support it."

Next, we need to carefully calculate how many points of life are needed to sustain First Grade martial arts skill.

He plans to remain in the Citong for a long time.

This place was simply the perfect natural retreat for him.

There are more kinds of medicinal herbs than in the Great Capital, and the friends at the Sensing Gate are also quite helpful. There is no master above them to suppress them.

There aren't many experts here, so there's no need to worry about any threats or dangers at any time.

He planned to lie low for a year, and then, with the help of Attribute Points, he would be able to train all parts of his body to the limits of human capability through Hard Skill.

I'm imagining a bright tomorrow.

Suddenly a Daoist priest entered from outside and bowed in greeting.

"My lord, there is someone outside claiming to be Sun Chaoyue's father who has come to visit."

"Sun Chaoyue's father?" Zhang Rongfang closed the Attribute Panel, slightly surprised.

He remembered that he had visited once before.

Recalling Sun Chaoyue's predicament last time, he nodded.

"Let him in."

Before long, a Daoist priest led an old man slowly in.

The old man was pale, with gray hair and a beard that looked freshly trimmed.

He was wearing a long robe with a dark blue background and ingot patterns.

Upon seeing Zhang Rongfang, the old man sighed deeply and bowed down from a distance of seven or eight meters.

"The sinner Sun Qinghong greets Your Guardian Priest!"

Without hesitation, he knelt down, kowtowed, and his forehead repeatedly thumped against the ground.

"For Chaoyue's sake, I beg you, sir, to do justice for this sinner! My Sun Family was truly implicated, and we did not collude with the Secret Teaching!"

He burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably, and repeatedly kowtowed.

This action immediately made Zhang Rongfang frown slightly.

"Since you are Sun Chaoyue's father, stand up and speak first," he said in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Sun Qinghong stood up obediently, his forehead already bearing bloody marks from being kowtowed.

"You're saying you colluded with Secret Teaching? What exactly happened back then? Who convicted you? Who carried out the charges?" Zhang Rongfang asked solemnly.

He remembered that the Sun Family had the background of the Prefect Tanyang Prefecture, and was supported by the Great Clans Sun Family.

How did we end up like this? "It's a long story. Actually, my Sun Family was implicated by the Black Ten Sect back then, and it was the Eastern Sect that was convicted," Sun Qinghong said with a bitter smile.

He originally looked like a middle-aged man, but in just over a year, he has aged to the point of looking like a seventy or eighty-year-old.

"Eastern Sect." Zhang Rongfang was taken aback, then suddenly realized something.

"Could it be Heavenly Maiden?" Sun Qinghong said cautiously. "My lord, this matter is extremely complicated. My daughter will wait outside. Why don't we let her explain it to you?"

"Alright." Zhang Rongfang gave him a deep look.

Soon, a Daoist priest led Sun Chaoyue, who was waiting outside, slowly closer.

Sun Chaoyue only knew that her father had asked her to come along to visit a very important person.

A powerful figure who could potentially free the Sun Family from being unregistered residents.

She kept her head down, her mind tense, constantly thinking about how to speak.

"Chaoyue has arrived! Quickly come and pay your respects to Zhang Shoujiao Lord Zhang! Lord Zhang Manifest God and powerful, with exceptional talent. He is the Daoist Daozi the Heavenly Treasure Palace Great Dao Sect in this era. Even the entire Magistrate of Citong Prefecture is only on par with him! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Sun Qinghong smiled and stepped forward to pull her daughter aside, wanting her to kowtow.

"No need," Zhang Rongfang said, turning his gaze to Sun Chaoyue.

Upon hearing the sound, Sun Chaoyue was startled and quickly looked up in the direction of the sound.

When she first saw Zhang Rongfang, her almond-shaped eyes widened suddenly.

"You!! Who are you?!"

Countless doubts and countless thoughts exploded in her mind like fireworks at this moment.

All her worries, cautions, and simulations before coming vanished at this moment.

All that remained was surprise and shock.

Two emotions surged through her body like a flood, leaving her feeling numb.

Sun Chaoyue never expected that the important person she was going to visit would actually be Zhang Ying, whom she knew! Wasn't he the one who had fawned over Wan Yanlu back then?

Wasn't he just a poor, peasant Martial Cultivator?

How could this be!?

What's going on?! "My lord, this is my daughter, Chaoyue."

If you, sir, can help my Sun Family escape this quagmire, I, Sun Qinghong, am willing to serve you from this day forward, serving you like a horse and a stool! I will do anything to repay your great kindness!

As he spoke, Sun Qinghong knelt down again and kowtowed repeatedly.

"My daughter has long admired you, sir. If you can be exonerated, she would be willing to serve you and even be your servant!"

As soon as those words were spoken...

Sun Chaoyue's pretty face flushed red as she looked at her father, who was kowtowing repeatedly to the side.

There was also Zhang Ying, who had no expression on her face.

A tremendous sense of shame surged from the depths of her heart.

Just a few days ago, she was still maintaining her last shred of self-respect in front of Zhang Ying.

Now, making a horse-mounting stool means kneeling down and using it as a stool for mounting a horse.

Night-blooming saliva was something only the Great Ling Palace possessed; it was reserved for lowly people who stayed by the bedside at night to clean up their master's excrement after urination.

Father... How could he...!? Sun Chaoyue's mind went blank.

She was struck dumb, frozen in place, her pretty face as white as snow.