This old gentleman was no simple man

Before long, another set of footsteps sounded outside the teahouse.

Zhou Lian hurried inside with a smile on her face.

"Little brother!"

"Big Sister!"

Zhou Yun rose to his feet and stepped forward to support Zhou Lian, looking her over from head to toe before frowning.

"Big Sister, why have you gotten thinner? Did the Mei family wrong you?"

"No... no..."

Zhou Lian's eyes reddened, and her voice caught in her throat.

"And you still say no?"

Zhou Yun's face darkened. "Your eyes are red! Did that cripple bully you? Or was it Mei Lan?"

"Little brother, stop..."

Zhou Lian wiped the corners of her eyes and pulled Zhou Yun down to sit.

The two of them played off each other, exchanging pleasantries for ages as if the teahouse were their own home, utterly ignoring Mei Lan beside them and the sour-faced attendants around them.

Anyone unaware of the truth might really have thought Zhou Lian had suffered some monstrous injustice here and that her brother-in-law had returned to back her up.

After their round of concerned inquiries, Zhou Yun finally took Zhou Lian's hand and began the introductions with a smile. "Big Sister, these are my senior brothers and junior sister from the Azure Profound Sect."

"This is Senior Brother Zhao. He trained under the same master as me and is an expert at the Meridian Opening Realm!"

"Greetings, miss."

A refined-looking young man nodded slightly. Yet his gaze upon Zhou Lian drifted somewhat, as though he were staring at somewhere he did not dare look.

Pah, what a filthy old lecher!

What righteous sect? In my eyes, they're no different from street thugs!

Zhou Lian sneered inwardly, though her face remained wreathed in smiles. "Greetings, Senior Brother Zhao. My little brother has relied on your care these past years."

"This is Senior Brother Zhang, also an expert at the Meridian Opening Realm."

Zhou Yun gestured toward another broad, burly young man, who flashed a grin.

"And this is Junior Sister Guan Ling."

When he introduced Guan Ling, Zhou Yun's smile grew even brighter.

Guan Ling gave a slight curtsy in greeting.

Zhou Lian's eyes lit up. This girl called Guan Ling was exceptionally beautiful. Dressed in blue, she stood graceful and poised, open and dignified at a glance. She was clearly the daughter of a wealthy household. If the Zhou family could marry such a daughter-in-law...

However, judging by Guan Ling's attitude toward Zhou Yun, it seemed the falling flowers yearned for the flowing water, but the flowing water had no heart for them.

Her little brother was still too honest.

His elder sister had to give him a hand!

She remembered that some of the aphrodisiac powder Ma Shan had secretly prepared for Mei Lan last time was still left.

Before long, Mei Lan prepared wine and dishes for the reunited siblings. As they ate and chatted, it served as a welcome feast for Zhou Yun.

As they spoke, Zhou Yun deliberately raised his voice. "Big Sister, if you have suffered any grievance, just tell me. I am now an official disciple of the Azure Profound Sect. No one can bully anyone from our Zhou family again!"

At those words, tears immediately streamed down Zhou Lian's face.

"Little brother, you have no idea what kind of life your sister has lived these years..."

The siblings poured out their hearts to each other again, making Mei Lan's brows draw tighter and tighter.

What exactly are these two siblings trying to do?

At the height of his indignation, Zhou Yun slammed the table and rose to his feet, roaring, "This is too much!"

"Big Sister, with your status, how could you suffer such grievances?"

"That cripple Mei Jing is not worthy of making you remain a living widow for the rest of your life. Your brother will take you back to the Zhou family right now!"

"Little brother, don't get angry."

Zhou Lian hurriedly pretended to restrain Zhou Yun, saying mournfully, "Little brother, your brother-in-law and I truly love each other. Now that he is half a cripple, how could I leave him at a time like this?"

"Besides, this little foundation of the Mei family was built through the hard work of your brother-in-law and me."

"Alas..."

What kind of words are those?

Every attendant in the teahouse was stunned by her words. Even Jiang Yuan, who had been as steady as an old dog, glanced at Zhou Lian.

Truly, when a person had no shame, they became invincible under heaven.

What did the Mei family's estate have to do with Zhou Lian in the slightest?

Not only those who knew the inside story, but even the Azure Profound Sect disciples who did not know it looked strangely at the Zhou siblings.

These two actually managed to make coveting someone else's property sound so righteous and dignified.

Yet Zhou Yun was filled with righteous indignation. He snorted coldly. "Hmph, Big Sister, since half of the Mei family's estate is yours, then we'll take all of it back!"

As he spoke, he shot a glance at Mei Lan, who was lightly biting her pearly teeth.

Mei Lan had not uttered a word from beginning to end. The Zhou siblings might be shameless, but she was only a weak woman. Without her father and elder brother to support her now, what could she do to them?

Zhou Yun was a martial artist and a sect disciple. His status was no longer what it had once been.

If Zhou Lian truly had the nerve to demand a share of the property and leave, Mei Lan feared there would be nothing she could do.

"Hehe..."

At that moment, an aged laugh rang out in the teahouse.

Jiang Yuan stroked his beard and smiled. "Shopkeeper, since Madam Zhou is unwilling to continue serving your elder brother, have Young Master Mei write her a letter of divorce another day and cast this woman aside."

"As for the matter of the family property, the authorities will naturally decide in due course. It is not for outsiders to point fingers and meddle."

The entire teahouse fell silent at once. Everyone turned to look at Jiang Yuan.

Good heavens, Old Jiang was that bold?

Had all that storytelling given him a scholar's unyielding backbone?

"Where did this old thing come from? Is there any place for you to interrupt here?"

Zhou Yun's face sank. He rose to his feet at once, his gaze toward Jiang Yuan filled with hostility, looking ready to strike at any moment.

Jiang Yuan remained unruffled in the face of danger, his expression as calm as ever. He held his fan in hand as true qi faintly stirred within him.

This was Jiangning City. The City Lord's Manor was the local overlord.

And he was a registered retainer of the City Lord's Manor.

So long as the other side dared strike first, he was confident he could make these young people, ignorant of the height of heaven and depth of earth, pay dearly!

"Wait."

At that moment, a clear voice rang out.

Guan Ling, the young girl who had remained seated in silence, spoke up and immediately halted the situation.

"Junior Sister?" Zhou Yun looked at Guan Ling in confusion.

Guan Ling said calmly, "Senior Brother Zhou, the elder instructed us before we departed that the mission came first. We should not stir up needless complications over personal matters."

"This..."

Zhou Yun was instantly choked up. The sect elder had indeed said that, but did teaching an old man a lesson count as stirring up needless complications?

At this moment, Senior Brother Zhao, the eldest among them, also stepped forward with a smile to smooth things over.

"All right, Junior Brother. Listen to Junior Sister. We have an important mission on this descent from the mountain, so it is indeed not suitable to create further trouble."

"Your personal affairs can wait until after the mission is complete."

Zhou Yun nodded reluctantly and gritted his teeth. "Since that is the case, I'll listen to Senior Brother and Junior Sister. This old fellow is lucky!"

Lucky?

A flicker passed through Guan Ling's eyes as she turned to glance at Jiang Yuan, who sat not far away with the composure of an old god.

Who was lucky was not certain yet.

Others might not have seen it, but she knew this old storyteller was no ordinary man. He was an elderly martial artist with deep and abundant true qi!

A tiny teahouse actually had a martial artist of such age?

Her master had once told her that when traveling the martial world, there were two kinds of people one had to be most wary of.

The elderly and women.

Those who appeared weak on the surface were often the most terrifying existences, hidden the deepest.

This old gentleman was no simple man.