Is it fatherly love?

Chapter 18: Is This Father's Love?

The next day.

Cui Residence.

Qin Zhan knelt on one knee and said in a low voice, "Great General, all the fault lies with me. I beg you to spare Qin Yu, considering his youth and ignorance."

"Qin Zhan, in the past, didn't you fight alongside me for over ten years? Even after you retired, how did I treat you?" Cui Hong stared at Qin Zhan with a stern and ashen face, speaking sharply.

"I will never forget the Great General's kindness!" Qin Zhan replied.

Cui Hong suddenly grabbed a teacup from the table and smashed it towards Qin Zhan, shouting, "I treated you like my own son, and you broke my son's hand in return? You let that beast break the hands and feet of Xiao Yong and Xiao Feng? Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs, how dare you come here? Moreover, do you know that Xiao Shuo is the hope of my Cui family, how important he is to us? Don't tell me you didn't know?"

Qin Zhan remained silent and still, letting the tea water flow down his forehead.

"Hand over your third son, Qin Yu, or don't blame me for uprooting your Qin family without mercy," Cui Hong said coldly.

Qin Zhan's steady face twitched. "Great General, I was the one who broke Xiao Shuo's hand. It has nothing to do with Qin Yu. If you want to punish someone, punish me!"

"You? Weren't you very arrogant yesterday? Hmph, you won't escape either. I don't just want Qin Yu's life, I want the lives of everyone in your Qin family!" At this moment, Cui Shuo's venomous voice came from the side door. He was still dressed in purple, and his injuries had miraculously healed overnight. There were no signs of yesterday's battle on him. However, unlike before, Cui Shuo's face was pale, and his eyes no longer held arrogance, but resentment.

Cui Shuo was only born to a concubine and had been bullied by other brothers in the Cui family since childhood, which didn't give him a strong sense of belonging to the Cui family. Fortunately, his talent was outstanding, and under Cui Hong's encouragement, he entered the Heavenly Fire Sect.

Since entering the Heavenly Fire Sect, Cui Shuo's exceptional talent had earned him the favor of a peak master, who took him as a disciple. Because he was good friends with the grandson of the third elder, Cui Shuo's status in the Heavenly Fire Sect grew daily.

Upon returning to the Cui family this time, Cui Shuo came back arrogantly, like a petty person who had achieved success. He thoroughly crushed those who had bullied him in the past, and the respect and awe in their eyes made Cui Shuo particularly enjoy it. Over time, he became a bit too conceited.

Being scared away by Zi Xun'er was one thing, but then being severely injured by Qin Yu and having his arm broken by Qin Zhan filled Cui Shuo with extreme resentment. Especially after secretly overhearing the Cui family servants discussing his fight with Qin Yu, Cui Shuo felt his face burn, wishing he could tear Qin Yu into a thousand pieces to wash away the shame.

Qin Zhan lowered his head, a cold light flashing in the depths of his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. He said, "Great General, for the sake of Qin'er in the past, spare Qin Yu! I promise that Qin Yu will never provoke Cui Shuo again in the future."

Cui Hong's old face stiffened, as if he remembered something. He stared at Qin Zhan with his cloudy eyes, a hint of sharp light flickering within them. After a long pause, he said word by word, "This is the last time!"

"Thank you, Great General!" A heavy stone was lifted from Qin Zhan's heart. Cui Shuo, however, shrieked, "Grandfather, I absolutely refuse to let Qin Yu and the Qin family go!"

"Nonsense! Get down and stay there!" Cui Hong slammed the table violently and shouted, startling Cui Shuo. He glanced at the grim-faced Cui Shuo, a struggle evident on his face, and then flicked his sleeve and left!

"For the sake of our past relationship, I can spare him, but you will kneel here in front of the Cui residence for three days and three nights, as a warning to others!" Cui Hong said coldly.

"Yes, Great General!" Qin Zhan's facial muscles twitched. As the words fell, he slowly stood up and left the living room. Cui Hong stared at Qin Zhan's retreating back, lost in thought.

After a while, Cui Hong suddenly said, "Come in."

Cui Shuo, who had left earlier, entered with a cold smile. "Grandfather, why did you do that? Couldn't you have just warned them?"

"My Cui family owes Qin Zhan a favor, and this favor must be repaid! This matter need not be mentioned again," Cui Hong said gently, looking at Cui Shuo.

"Grandfather, if Qin Yu doesn't die... then one day..." Cui Shuo said unwillingly.

"I repaid a favor and only said it was the last time. I spared him, but I didn't say I would keep Qin Yu alive. How dare he threaten my Cui family... If I let him live, how could I sleep peacefully?" Cui Hong sneered, then said kindly to Cui Shuo, "Xiao Shuo, in the future, at the Heavenly Fire Sect, always remember that the only person you can trust in this world is yourself!"

"Yes, Grandfather!" Cui Shuo replied respectfully, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

For the past few days, people in Tianwu Main City had been discussing the former general, now the Patriarch of the Qin family, kneeling outside the Cui residence. This sparked much speculation.

Some said Qin Zhan had offended General Cui, while others claimed Qin Zhan had beaten his primary wife, who was General Cui's daughter, and that Qin Zhan was there to beg for forgiveness.

When news spread that Qin Zhan's third son, Qin Yu, had injured Cui Shuo, a genius of the Cui family at the early Gang Qi realm, the entire Tianwu Main City was thrown into an uproar.

Who didn't know that Qin Zhan's third son, Qin Yu, was a good-for-nothing with mediocre talent who loved to stir up trouble? And now, it was rumored that this good-for-nothing had actually managed to injure a genius of the Cui family at the Gangqi realm? How could this not shock everyone?

Suddenly, rumors about Qin Yu exploded like a flood, with all sorts of variations. Most of them claimed that Qin Yu had been enduring humiliation all along, playing the pig to eat the tiger, and so on...

But then, another piece of news emerged: Qin Yu had provoked the Cui family genius, and after being defeated, he tried to launch a sneak attack, which incited Cui Shuo's killing intent. In his rage, he wanted to kill Qin Yu, which angered Qin Zhan, who then ruthlessly broke the Cui family genius's hand. Therefore, this time, he was here to beg for forgiveness.

More and more people gathered outside the Cui residence, scrutinizing Qin Zhan. Many of them hurled vicious insults and curses at him, and some even threw eggs and vegetables at him.

Qin Zhan knelt on one knee in front of the Cui residence, his back straight and unwavering, like a stone statue, enduring all the scolding and attacks.

When Qin Yu woke up, he felt a pervasive soreness all over his body, as if he had been beaten by several people. He opened his eyes and looked around. Hearing the soft voices of Xiao Tao and Xiao Hua nearby, Qin Yu narrowed his eyes.

Am I not dead?

Recalling his fight with Cui Shuo, Qin Yu felt lingering fear, but he was also shocked by the Six Transformations of the Mad Demon.

To face Cui Shuo, who was at the early Gang Qi realm, with a cultivation at the mere sixth level of the Martial Realm, and without using external forces, was something Qin Yu had never dared to imagine. After all, each realm represented a world of difference. If he were facing someone at the ninth level of the Martial Realm, it would be one thing, but the Gang Qi realm—the Gang Qi alone was something he couldn't withstand. This showed the power of the Six Transformations of the Mad Demon.

Of course, the reason he could crush Cui Shuo this time was also because Cui Shuo lacked extensive combat experience. Otherwise, if he had encountered someone with rich combat experience, Qin Yu's outcome would not have been much better, as his own combat experience was almost nonexistent. Although he had a library in his mind, the current Qin Yu was at best a scholar who had read ten thousand books, not yet at the stage of strategizing and commanding. He was merely fighting on paper.

Recalling how the more severely he was injured, the more vigorously his Blood Essence burned, and the stronger the power surging through his body became, Qin Yu felt a surge of anticipation for the Six Transformations of the Mad Demon. This was only the first stage; how powerful would it be in the end?

Perhaps, at a certain stage, it would be invincible.

Wait, since the first stage is Blood Essence, does that mean the stronger my Blood Essence, the stronger the power I gain from the first stage? And there are two ways to enhance Blood Essence: one is that the stronger the body, the stronger the Blood Essence. Hence, the saying that body cultivators have Blood Essence that can weigh ten thousand jun.

The other is bloodline power, but judging by the quality of this body, it's unlikely to have bloodline power.

"What a pity... Although the Six Transformations of the Mad Demon is incredibly powerful, the backlash is also severe. My Blood Essence is depleted, and once that power disappears, I will fall unconscious due to the loss of Blood Essence. If it's not a last resort, I shouldn't use it lightly," Qin Yu muttered to himself.

The Six Transformations of the Mad Demon was not perfect. This was only the first stage; after using it once, he would fall unconscious, and his Blood Essence would be greatly depleted. He didn't know what the later stages of the Mad Demon transformations would be like.

Looking at the scabs on his body, Qin Yu took out a pill, put it in his mouth, and lay on the bed to circulate the Heavenly Dao Immortal Art, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to recover.

He could only heal his injuries now; his Blood Essence could not be replenished. There were two ways to replenish Blood Essence: one was meditation, and the other was to consume the flesh and blood of spirit beasts.

About half an hour later.

As Qin Yu meditated, he vaguely heard faint sobbing sounds. The sounds made Qin Yu sit up abruptly. He saw Qin Xue sitting beside him, quietly weeping.

"Xue'er, what's wrong?" Qin Yu asked.

Qin Xue, who had been crying sadly, quickly turned her head. When she saw Qin Yu sitting up, she immediately lunged at him, crying, "Brother..."

"Brother's fine, isn't he?" Qin Yu gently stroked Qin Xue's green hair and said with a faint smile.

"Xue'er, don't cry, but Father... Brother, go see Father. He... he's been kneeling at the Cui family's gates for three days. No matter how I try to persuade him, he won't get up, sob sob..." Qin Xue started crying loudly again as she spoke.

She was only thirteen, just a child. First, Qin Yu's three-day coma had felt like an eternity, and now Qin Zhan kneeling at the Cui family's gates, refusing to rise, filled her with heartache and despair.

"The Cui family's gates?" Qin Yu narrowed his eyes. He patted Qin Xue and comforted her, "Xue'er, brother will go take a look."

"Okay!" Qin Xue wiped away her tears, but no matter how much she wiped, the tears kept flowing.

Half an hour later.

When Qin Yu arrived at the Cui family's gates, thousands of people had already gathered around. They came from all directions of the Wu Kingdom, and there were many cultivators among them, all surrounding the Cui family's gates and chattering.

"A father's fault is his son's fault. It's one thing to raise such a son, but to spoil him too? He's finally kicked a steel plate, hasn't he?"

"He brought this upon himself, serves him right! If you ask me, they should drag that Qin Yu out here to kneel too."

"Haha, Patriarch Qin has his day too. If I were the Cui family, I wouldn't let this go. Killing that Qin Yu wouldn't be too much."

Amidst the curses and discussions, Qin Yu's face darkened as he pushed through the crowd. When he saw the figure kneeling before the Cui family's main gate, his pupils contracted sharply, and his heart felt like it had been struck by a heavy hammer.

Qin Zhan was there, his hair disheveled, covered in egg yolk, vegetable scraps, and leftover food, emitting a foul stench. Yet, his back was as straight as a divine sword, and he knelt there motionless.

Seeing Qin Zhan in such a state, Qin Yu felt an inexplicable pain in his heart.

He could hardly imagine that the disheveled Qin Zhan before him was the same Qin Zhan he had seen for the first time after his rebirth.

Back then, he was stern and imposing, exuding an aura of authority and composure.

Back then, he was like a general commanding countless lives.

And now...

Qin Yu felt a surge of emotion he had never experienced before. Regardless of how Qin Zhan had been in the past, this time, he was kneeling here for him. This time, he had been kneeling here for three days and three nights to protect him.

And this... was fatherly love?

Qin Yu took a deep breath, his heart aching immensely!

Just as Qin Yu's heart was throbbing with pain, a gentle voice spoke, "Uncle Qin, why must you go through this?"