An Argument, Divorce?

Inside the Shen Household estate.

"Mother... are you really going to do this?"

"Yuniang, how many times must I say it?" Old Madam Shen sat upright in her chair, her face hard as iron.

"Divorce Zhang Yao within three days and bring Zhi'er back to the Shen Household."

"This is not a discussion. It is an order. If you refuse, you will no longer be a member of the Shen Household, and do not expect to receive even the slightest aid from us."

Those words were like icy blades, stabbing viciously into Shen Yuniang's heart and severing the last thread of hope within her.

She had returned to her family home this time in hopes of finding a way out.

Zhang Yao's silence these past days, coupled with Thunder Martial Hall pressing them step by step, had made her see one thing clearly—Zhang Yao could not protect her and her daughter.

That was precisely why she had to make plans for herself and Zhi'er early.

But she had never imagined that her mother's decision would be so absolute.

Not only would she receive no aid, she was being told to divorce Zhang Yao. If she refused, she would be cast out of the Shen Household.

She knew perfectly well that her mother always meant what she said.

"Three days... of all times, it had to be now."

As she walked out through the Shen Household's gates, Shen Yuniang ground her teeth. Her mature, beautiful face was filled with exhaustion and unwillingness. "Those bastards have been harassing us enough already, and now..."

She did not finish, because nothing she said would change anything.

This incident was far too serious. Even Zhang Yao, who was in the Late Dark Force stage, could barely save himself, let alone her, an ordinary woman too weak to truss a chicken, and her daughter, who had only just entered the Late Bright Force stage.

But even if the Shen Household truly were willing to shelter them, what then?

If Li Xiao truly demanded them, she had no doubt her mother would offer the two of them up with both hands.

What could she do to preserve herself and her daughter amid this swirling vortex?

Before she could find an answer, Shen Yuniang had already entered Blackstone Martial Hall.

As she passed through the corridor, she inadvertently glanced toward the back kitchen and suddenly stopped in her tracks.

On the bench outside the back kitchen sat an old man, leisurely holding a steaming bowl of meat broth and drinking it at an unhurried pace.

Shen Yuniang felt a blaze rush straight to her head.

Her hair was nearly turning white from worry outside, while this old bastard who ate and waited to die was enjoying himself here?

And—meat broth? Had she not already ordered that this old man was not worthy of eating meat? How dared he sneak food here?

"You old bastard!"

Shen Yuniang strode forward in a fury, pointing at Lu Fan as she roared, "Didn't I say all your meat rations were to go to Zhi'er? Where did that meat broth come from? Who gave you permission to steal food?"

Facing those eyes that seemed ready to spit fire, Lu Fan set down his bowl and slowly rose to his feet, his tone calm without the slightest ripple.

"Madam, this was made from scraps left over after stewing meat for the trainees. I merely simmered them into a broth base. It is not part of the proper meat ration."

"Scraps?" Shen Yuniang sneered, raising her voice even further. "Are scraps no longer property of Blackstone Martial Hall? Who allowed you to touch them? You are a useless waste who has muddled around in the back kitchen for thirty years. What right do you have to touch anything belonging to the martial hall?"

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became. The anxiety, grievance, and fear that had built up over days all transformed into fury at this moment, crashing down upon this lowly freeloader like a storm.

"Zhang Yao treats you like some benefactor, but I do not care! Look at what you have accomplished all these years! Other than squatting in the back kitchen every day, eating and drinking for free, what else have you ever done? Even stray dogs by the roadside know to guard the house and yard. What about you? You are worse than a dog!"

She could not keep her voice down. People from both the inner and outer courtyards heard her.

The trainees who had remained at the hall were drawn over by the commotion. They stood at a distance beneath the corridor, peering over and whispering among themselves.

"At a time like this, Madam is still taking it out on Old Lu..."

"Shh, do you have a death wish? At a time like this, she is even more likely to vent on him."

"Old Lu is pitiful too. I heard the meat ration the Hall Master assigned him was all taken by Madam and given to Zhang Zhi."

"They are clearly husband and wife, so how could their temperaments be so different? If the hall—"

One of the trainees' expressions suddenly changed drastically, and he forcibly swallowed the rest of his words.

At some point, someone had appeared behind him.

A middle-aged man stood there with a dark face, the aura around him so heavy that it made it hard to breathe.

"...Hall, Hall Master."

Zhang Yao's gaze swept across the trainees one by one. He did not flare up, merely saying in a deep voice, "Go back first."

"Yes, yes!" How could the trainees dare linger? In an instant, they scattered completely.

Zhang Yao strode into the rear courtyard.

With her back to him, Shen Yuniang was still hurling abuse. "...I truly do not know what spell that bastard Zhang Yao has fallen under, treating a parasite like you as some treasure when clearly—"

Halfway through her words, she finally noticed the footsteps behind her. She spun around sharply and met Zhang Yao's iron-blue face.

Shen Yuniang's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively changed her tone. "Zhang Yao, why are you here?"

Zhang Yao did not look at her.

He walked straight up to Lu Fan, bent at the waist, and spoke in a hoarse, suppressed voice. "Old Lu, I am sorry. You had to witness such an ugly scene. Go back and rest today. I will handle things here."

Lu Fan nodded, his expression as calm as ever.

"Hall Master, Madam, then I will take my leave."

With that, he rose and headed for the courtyard gate.

The instant he stepped out through the gate, a crisp slap suddenly rang out behind him.

Immediately afterward came Shen Yuniang's scream, laced with searing pain and disbelief.

"Zhang Yao! You—you dared to hit me?!"

"If I had not married you back then, do you think Blackstone Martial Hall would be what it is today?"

"You actually dared to lay hands on me for the sake of an old thing from the back kitchen?"

Furious curses and venomous resentment erupted from deep within the inner courtyard, echoing across the martial hall.

Compared to Shen Yuniang's hysterics, Zhang Yao's voice was calm, yet it carried a suffocating rage.

"Shen Yuniang, you have gone too far."

"Old Lu saved my life. Without him, I would have died on the streets thirty years ago. You withheld his meat rations and humiliated him in public—you touched him, and you touched my life!"

"Tomorrow, we are getting divorced."

"Fine, divorce it is!" Shen Yuniang's voice was shrill enough to pierce ears. "I have had enough of this long ago! Spend the rest of your life hugging that life-saving benefactor of yours!"

"As for whether my daughter and I live or die, do not concern yourself with us! Do not concern yourself!!"

The sounds of their quarrel carried farther and farther away.

Lu Fan had already left the martial hall gates, yet he could still faintly hear the intermittent shouting and curses behind him. He shook his head slightly.

Outside the courtyard gate stood a slender figure in silence. It was Zhang Zhi.

Her head was lowered, her hands clasped before her, her knuckles squeezed white.

That face, usually so cold and detached, was now filled with sorrow and worry with nowhere to hide.

She said nothing.

Lu Fan said nothing either. He simply passed silently by her.

Just as he was about to walk away, a voice tinged with apology came from behind him.

"Sorry."