Disdain

"Brother Shan, shall we head to Dawan Village? A mere third-stage Qi Refiner, I doubt he would dare defy our will. It would be quite convenient to drag a few mortals along to scout the area when the time comes."

Seeing that Shen Chongshan had remained silent for a long while, Shen Rongguang spoke up to ask.

However, Shen Chongshan offered no response.

He stared at the map, his brows slightly furrowed, lost in his own thoughts.

"No."

Unexpectedly, Shen Chongshan rejected Shen Rongguang's proposal.

His gaze became particularly profound at this moment.

He extended a finger and pointed toward a location near Dawan Village on the map.

"We are going here."

There, The region of Wu Family Market was displayed.

"Wu Family Market?"

"Brother Shan, this doesn't seem to be under the influence of our Shen Family, does it? Why not go to Dawan Village?"

Shen Rongguang looked at the map, Then raised his head, his expression somewhat bewildered.

"Brother Rongguang, if I recall correctly, the name Shen Changchuan should belong to the thirty-ninth son of the Clan Head."

Just then, Shen Cunrui, the smallest and weakest of the five who had been huddled in the corner without speaking, suddenly spoke up in a faint voice.

"The Clan Head's offspring?"

"But I've never heard of this person. And considering he's ended up in a godforsaken place like this, he's surely nothing more than an ordinary illegitimate son, right?"

"Brother Rongguang is right. Shen Changchuan's mother was merely a mortal maidservant; he was born from an accident, and his status within the Shen Family Estate is extremely low."

"However, he has always been very cautious in his conduct, never making enemies with others. He rarely even goes out, basically staying at home and supposedly indulging in travelogues and other miscellaneous books written by predecessors. His strength isn't high either—only at the third stage of Qi Refining. He is so inconspicuous within the Shen Family Estate that many people don't even know the Clan Head has such a son."

Shen Cunrui thought for a moment before speaking, his voice sounding somewhat delicate.

He seemed to have some understanding of Shen Changchuan.

However, clearly, Shen Rongguang did not care about any of this.

"Ha, so he's just a maid's son. No wonder he ended up in such a dump."

Upon hearing this, A look of disdain appeared on Shen Rongguang's face.

He naturally had the right to be disdainful.

Although Shen Rongguang was born from a branch of the Shen Family, and a relatively distant bloodline at that, He was, nonetheless, a legitimate descendant of that specific remote branch.

In terms of status, He naturally possessed a sense of superiority.

Because a maid's son, in a large clan, was of the lowest status and rank, the kind that could never be brought out into the light.

Just like in his own household, His mother was a cultivator from another small cultivation family, and she was his father's legally wedded wife.

Therefore, the children his mother bore were the legitimate sons and daughters of their branch, and they were the ones with the highest status in their home.

But at the same time, His father had more than one woman. Some mortal women from royal families, great mortal clans, or cultivation families would become his father's concubines for one reason or another.

The children born to those concubines were illegitimate sons and daughters.

Shen Rongguang was naturally a head above those illegitimate children; regardless of age, they all had to bow to him upon seeing him.

The hierarchy of status was clear.

But below these illegitimate sons and daughters, there were those of even lower status, And those were the children born to maidservants.

As the name implies, they were the bloodline born from maids and servants.

They were basically the "base-born" offspring of mortal maids with no power or background who had luckily gained the master's favor.

Their own status

Was no different from that of servants and slaves.

For instance, If the master's legal wife were to be overly harsh toward the illegitimate sons and daughters, beating or scolding them, outsiders might gossip, saying that the woman of the house was jealous and lacked the grace and dignity expected of her position.

But if the target was a child born of a maidservant, one could scold, beat, or even break their limbs over the slightest mistake, and no one would think anything of it.

This was the status of a child born of a maidservant.

If Shen Rongguang were in a foul mood at home and casually beat one to death, his father would at most reprimand him with a few words; there would be no punishment at all.

In the eyes of most heads of the household, children born of maidservants were not even considered their own flesh and blood.

Therefore, upon learning of Shen Changchuan's identity, it was only natural for Shen Rongguang to hold himself in such arrogant regard.

"Heh, so what if he had the good fortune to be born into the main branch? In the end, he is nothing more than a child born of a maidservant."

"Moreover, even if he is a child of a maidservant, he is still the patriarch's son. If he had even a shred of wit to leverage his status and make proper use of his bloodline, he wouldn't be stuck at the third level of Qi Refining, banished to such a remote place."

Shen Rongguang left the rest of his thoughts unspoken.

However, the look of haughty disdain was plain to see on his face.

"Brother Shan, that is the patriarch's son, after all. Why don't we head over to Dawan Village to pay our respects and see for ourselves the demeanor of such a young master of the clan?"

Shen Rongguang looked toward Shen Chongshan in the center, speaking with keen interest.

His tone was laced with malice, especially when he uttered the word "young master"; if one listened closely, the mockery within was unmistakable.

As Shen Rongguang's words fell, the young man known as Shen Zhifei and the other Shen clansman both grew interested, turning their gazes toward Shen Chongshan.

Only Shen Cunrui seemed somewhat timid, keeping his head lowered as if lost in thought.

"If we can find that thing on this trip, it will be a great merit. Do not create unnecessary complications."

Shen Chongshan gave Shen Rongguang a deep look, shook his head, and said in a low voice.

"The mission is our priority, and we do not have the time for such games."

"Do not go looking for trouble."

Knowing Shen Rongguang's character well, Shen Chongshan added another sentence, emphasizing the word "trouble" in his tone.

"Alright then, Brother Shan, I'll listen to you."

Catching the implication in Shen Chongshan's words, Shen Rongguang could only agree with a sigh of resignation.

He suppressed the little schemes in his heart for the time being.

Shen Changchuan, currently in Dawan Village, was naturally oblivious to the events unfolding in the nameless cave.

Furthermore, he had no mind to concern himself with other matters at this moment.

Because, he was currently facing a massive problem.

That was—

The Crocodile Demon from the river had come ashore to attack the village!

The sky was a murky gray, and the torrential rain poured down without any sign of stopping.

The rainwater gathered into streams, scouring the earth, and occasionally one could see mountain leeches swimming through the runoff.

Shen Changchuan wore a heavy straw raincoat and a conical hat, his long boots splashing through the water to kick up muddy waves as he hurried to the scene in a few quick strides.

At a corner on the edge of the village, half of a low-lying house had already collapsed.

Han Qinhu was leading men inside to search, carrying out the mangled corpses.

From the surrounding houses, many people poked their heads out, pointing at the half-collapsed structure and whispering to one another, their faces etched with worry.

I'm truly defeated; the stockpile I prepared a week in advance is already gone today.

Moreover, because I had a stockpile, I couldn't see the feedback on my follower count while writing, which led to me being unaware that the chapter content was too watered down.

What a headache. It seems stockpiling doesn't suit me; I'll just write and post one chapter at a time from now on.