At those words, every eye turned to Lin Fan.
Each of them had something different on their mind.
Only Blue Silver had never heard of it, and she looked puzzled.
"Yes. I just want to know what Qian Xunji did to drive both mother and daughter to become gods," Qian Daoliu said slowly.
"Forget it. I'd better not talk about this. Didn't the Village Chief say there was a rule against discussing immoral acts?" Lin Fan waved a hand.
Qian Xunji had no choice but to speak up. "Lin Fan, it's fine. We can keep our voices down. Besides, my father—the old Village Chief—is here too. If we don't tell anyone, the villagers won't know."
"Go ahead, young man," Qian Daoliu said. "None of us will blame you."
"All right." Lin Fan sighed helplessly. "Here goes."
"Um, old Village Chief." Yue Guan raised a hand. "How about the cook and I leave first?"
With the Pope and the Saintess involved, who knew what secrets they might hear that they shouldn't?
Besides, the last time they had heard such a secret, it had nearly scared them to death.
Gui Mei nodded in agreement beside him.
Qian Xunji waved a hand. "No need. It's just a novel. Listen if you like."
Yue Guan and Gui Mei could only stand where they were. They had to listen whether they wanted to or not.
Bibi Dong thought, I know how it ends, but last time Lin Fan only gave the broad strokes. For Bibi Dong to hate Qian Xunji so much, it couldn't have been just the assault. There must have been more to it.
With both the Village Chief and the old Village Chief saying it was fine, Lin Fan had no more reservations. He slapped his thigh and burst out indignantly.
"Every time Qian Xunji comes up, I get angry! That bastard's worse than a beast—a rapist! Under the laws we have now, he'd get life in prison or the death penalty!"
Lin Fan's outburst made Yue Guan and Gui Mei jump.
Bibi Dong turned an unreadable look on Qian Xunji.
Blue Silver scratched her head. Is the Pope really that awful in Lin Fan's novel?
Qian Xunji's face darkened. There Lin Fan goes again. Was I really that despicable in the novel?
Qian Daoliu, however, asked calmly, "You hate this Qian Xunji so much, young man. Did he truly do something so monstrous?"
"Of course." Lin Fan calmed down a little. "Old Village Chief, Village Chief, do you know what Qian Xunji did?"
"What did he do?" Qian Xunji pressed.
Lin Fan explained at once. "Qian Xunji knocked his disciple Bibi Dong unconscious and took her into a sealed room where daylight never reached. He drugged her and used his Titled Douluo strength to seal her Soul Power, leaving her unable to resist as he tormented her without end."
"Before long, Qian Xunji discovered Bibi Dong was pregnant. He threatened to send someone to kill Yu Xiaogang if she dared take her own life."
"So Bibi Dong spent nearly an entire year—a whole year!—shut in that lightless room, until she gave birth to her only child, Qian Renxue."
The more Lin Fan spoke, the angrier he grew, and his voice rose with it.
"Think about it. A girl of eighteen or nineteen, locked away by the teacher she trusted most, with no one to hear her cries and not even death as an escape. Qian Xunji threatened her with Yu Xiaogang's life, so all she could do was endure it. An entire year. What kind of life was that?"
Bibi Dong stood in the corner, her face pale.
Lin Fan had not mentioned these details before.
She had known only that Bibi Dong was forced. She had not known about being knocked unconscious, drugged, having her Soul Power sealed, being threatened, or spending a year in captivity.
Blue Silver stared wide-eyed at Qian Xunji and thought with a shudder, If I'd refused their invitation, would Qian Xunji have captured me and thrown me into the room Lin Fan described?
That's terrifying.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei huddled in the corner, cold sweat pouring off them. Good heavens, should we even be hearing this?
Qian Xunji was no better off. The look in Qian Daoliu's eyes filled him with dread.
I'm done for. Father's going to beat me to death.
Just as Qian Xunji feared, in the next instant Qian Daoliu slapped him and sent a message through Mental Power: You wretched son! Is this how I taught you to conduct yourself?
Qian Xunji spun twice on the spot.
I'll chop you to pieces!
Yue Guan and Gui Mei rushed forward and grabbed Qian Daoliu's arms. "Please calm down, Grand Worshipper! There's no need—this is only a future event from Lin Fan's story!"
Qian Xunji dropped to his knees. "Father, calm down! It hasn't happened yet!"
Inside, Qian Xunji wanted to weep. Why did I have to keep asking?
It all happened in an instant. The Titled Douluo had communicated through Mental Power, so all Lin Fan heard was a loud smack.
"Huh? What was that noise?" Lin Fan asked.
At Lin Fan's words, Qian Daoliu stopped and replied, "Nothing. I was swatting a mosquito."
"Oh," Lin Fan said. "Must have been a big mosquito."
Qian Daoliu then sent a message to Bibi Dong through Mental Power: Bibi Dong, rest assured. The Qian Xunji in the novel is worse than a beast. But in reality, my son must never become that sort of man. If he ever wrongs you, come straight to me. I'll set things right.
Bibi Dong bowed slightly. "Thank you, Grand Worshipper."
Yue Guan leaned toward Qian Xunji and whispered, "Your Holiness, your face is swollen."
Qian Xunji shot him a glare but said nothing.
If those two had not just held Qian Daoliu back, Qian Xunji would have beaten them both.
Watching their reactions, Blue Silver suddenly felt as though she had walked into a wolves' den. She stood behind Bibi Dong, afraid to speak.
Qian Daoliu turned to Lin Fan. "Young man, what about Qian Daoliu? Didn't you say he was a Peerless Douluo, one of the continent's three strongest? With his power, surely he would have stopped Qian Xunji if he had known."
Qian Daoliu's question caught everyone else's attention too. They all looked at Lin Fan.
"Qian Daoliu?" Lin Fan's answer stunned them. "He's the biggest fool of all."
"He's one of the Four Fools of Spirit Hall!"
Everyone froze. Yue Guan slapped a hand to his forehead. Brother, is there anything you won't say?
Gui Mei thought, Brother, you may have given me a Soul Bone, but even I can't save you now.
Only then did they truly understand what it meant to be fearless through ignorance.
Qian Xunji wanted to laugh but did not dare. One of the Four Fools of Spirit Hall!
Bibi Dong was surprised too. Did the Grand Worshipper find out and still do nothing to stop Qian Xunji?
Qian Daoliu's face darkened. "What do you mean, one of the Four Fools of Spirit Hall? How is Qian Daoliu a fool?"
"How isn't he?" Lin Fan launched into his explanation. "Old Village Chief, you have no idea how absurd his decisions were."
"First, he did learn what Qian Xunji had done afterward, but he had his own plans. Qian Xunji was over forty and still had no heir. Bibi Dong was exceptionally talented, and Qian Daoliu had waited too long for an heir to the Angel God. So he let it happen."
"Second, after Bibi Dong gave birth to Qian Renxue, Qian Daoliu should have killed Bibi Dong immediately, just as Qian Xunji should have. But he didn't. In the end, he knew Bibi Dong had killed Qian Xunji and still helped her rise to power, leaving behind the seeds of Spirit Hall's destruction."
"Third—and this was his stupidest, most absurd decision—Qian Daoliu actually agreed to one of Bibi Dong's assignments."
"She sent Qian Renxue, who wasn't even ten, to the Heaven Dou Empire. Think how much time Qian Renxue lost on her path to godhood."
"Qian Renxue was the heir to the Angel God that Qian Daoliu had dreamed of finding, yet he agreed to Bibi Dong's ridiculous demand."
"If Qian Daoliu isn't a fool, who is?"
Before you continue