Ningbing

Wei Rong turned pale with shock after hearing this.

Lianshan Xin was inwardly exclaiming, Well, damn.

This family's relationships were far more complicated than Lianshan Xin had imagined.

Fortunately, it seemed Wei Rong had been kept in the dark before this, just like him.

No sooner had Lianshan Xin thought this than he heard Wei Rong demand angrily, "You've been seeing other men behind my back?"

Lianshan Xin: "..."

Luo Panlan: "What are you so angry about? You're not my husband."

Wei Rong: "..."

That brought the little drama to an end.

Lianshan Xin covered his face with his hand and composed himself.

He had to admit that Luo Panlan's retort made perfect sense.

Wei Rong really had no right to be angry.

But Huang Jingji certainly did.

Wait, Huang Jingji had been fooling around too.

There wasn't a decent soul in the Thorn Gang.

Lianshan Xin felt that someone as upright and openhearted as himself was utterly out of place in the Thorn Gang, a cesspit harboring filth and corruption.

"My dear, my dear, say something."

Seeing Luo Panlan remain silent, Huang Jingji began to panic.

Helmsman Luo was his immediate superior and practically half a master to him.

He really didn't dare fall out with Luo Panlan lightly.

Of course, that hadn't stopped him from letting his little brother take charge and straying off the rails.

"My dear, I promise you'll always come first in my heart. I only want that child. If you truly can't swallow your anger, I..."

Luo Panlan raised a hand. "Don't say anything yet."

Lianshan Xin could tell that Luo Panlan hadn't figured out how to solve this problem.

That was perfectly normal.

Lianshan Xin put himself in her shoes and couldn't figure out what to do either.

Of course, from his own perspective, this situation was simple.

In fact, after discovering Luo Panlan's secret, then learning Huang Jingji's secret through her, dealing with the Thorn Gang had become even simpler.

Seeing that Luo Panlan was still hesitating, Lianshan Xin decided not to waste any more time on them.

He would slice through the tangled knot with a sharp blade and get on with his own business.

"Madam Huang, let me say a fair word."

Anyone who opened with "let me say a fair word" was preparing to be anything but fair.

"If you're angry about Gang Leader Huang fooling around, you have every right to punish him however you please in private. We outsiders shouldn't interfere. But if you're worried about who will inherit the Thorn Gang, I can promise you this: the Thorn Gang will never pass to that bastard child outside your household."

"Young Master Xin, that..."

Hearing Lianshan Xin say this, Huang Jingji immediately grew anxious.

He truly wanted to pass the Thorn Gang on to his son.

Lianshan Xin glared at Huang Jingji and said coldly, "Shut up."

Huang Jingji instantly shut his mouth.

Loving his son was one thing; sacrificing himself was another.

Luo Panlan's expression softened too. She rose and curtsied to Lianshan Xin. "With your assurance, Young Master Xin, I can rest easy. I really was afraid that my daughters and I would have no place left in the Thorn Gang."

Lianshan Xin smiled faintly. "Rest assured, Madam Huang. Gang Leader Huang wouldn't be so heartless toward his own flesh and blood."

Huang Jingji nodded repeatedly. "My dear, you're my lawful wife, and our two daughters are my children too. How could I possibly leave you with nowhere to belong?"

Luo Panlan gave Huang Jingji a look that was three parts resentment, three parts hatred, and ninety-four parts helplessness.

"Since things have already come to this, I'll let it go for Young Master Xin's sake. But I have one condition."

Huang Jingji perked up. "Tell me, my dear."

"I want you to cut all ties with that woman."

She had originally wanted to demand that the woman simply be killed.

But with Lianshan Xin present, she didn't dare act so brazenly.

If the Nine Heavens launched a crackdown on gangs and evildoers, even the Jiangzhou Governor couldn't stop it.

Huang Jingji quickly nodded. "No problem. But that will thoroughly offend the Kong Family's third son."

"Kong Sanlang... is probably targeting the Golden Scale Alliance," Luo Panlan said.

"I suspect so too. The Kong Family is an old, established clan in Jiangzhou City, after all. My dear, you should write to your father and lay out what's at stake. The Kong Family may well have taken a stand against our Golden Scale Alliance," Huang Jingji reminded her.

Luo Panlan's expression grew grave. "We must indeed guard against that."

"Since the two of you have reached an agreement, I can retire with my work accomplished."

Lianshan Xin clapped his hands and looked at Huang Jingji. "Gang Leader Huang, when I help someone, I see it through; when I escort the Buddha, I take him all the way to the western paradise. As you suggested, I'll accompany you to that other residence. Rest assured, madam. With me watching, Gang Leader Huang will definitely cut all ties with that woman."

Huang Jingji froze for a moment.

He hadn't asked Lianshan Xin to accompany him to the other residence.

He didn't have nearly enough standing to ask Lianshan Xin to personally handle such a trifling matter.

But since Lianshan Xin had said so, Huang Jingji quickly caught on and said at once, "Sorry for the trouble, Young Master Xin."

"No trouble at all. Just give my father's business a little more support in the future, Gang Leader Huang."

"Of course. From now on, the Spring Revival Hall will be the designated clinic for the Thorn Gang's disciples. Every three months, I'll send the disciples to the Spring Revival Hall for a checkup. I'll pay a year's fees to the Spring Revival Hall in advance."

Huang Jingji didn't dare show any negligence and even eagerly offered up money.

Luo Panlan and Wei Rong didn't begrudge the expense either. They only regarded it as an unexpected windfall.

Although he was spending money to cultivate a connection, other people couldn't find an opening like this even if they wanted to pay.

They hadn't expected Huang Jingji to have built such a good relationship with Lianshan Xin.

Luo Panlan immediately raised her estimation of Huang Jingji.

"Young Master Xin, please wait."

Luo Panlan approached him of her own accord, making even those few steps look alluring. Lianshan Xin didn't dare look too closely, though. This woman was not someone he could afford to get involved with.

Besides, his innate gift had entered its refractory period again.

I have to figure out the pattern behind my gift's activation someday. It would be great if I could evolve it into an active skill. I wonder whether the Nine Heavens has any records about my gift.

Lianshan Xin reckoned that his gift would have shone much more brilliantly in the great age of immortal cultivation a thousand years ago. It might even have been a gift on the level of double pupils or a supreme bone.

Unfortunately, after the tremendous changes to heaven and earth over the past thousand years, it had been reduced to a passive skill for prying into people's secrets. But this shouldn't have been the way his gift manifested, because he was a noble person who had no interest in other people's private affairs.

As Lianshan Xin pondered the pattern behind his gift's activation and ways to evolve it, he waited for Luo Panlan to speak.

"Is there something you need, madam?"

"Nothing important. I only wanted to mention that the daughter of Elder Zeng, my father's immediate superior, also passed the entrance examination for the White Deer Grotto Academy this year. She'll soon be your fellow student. If she shows you any disrespect at the academy, Young Master Xin, please be magnanimous and don't stoop to her level."

"Zeng Ningbing entered the White Deer Grotto Academy this year?" Huang Jingji exclaimed in surprise.

Lianshan Xin raised his eyebrows slightly too.

He had heard that name before.

The Jiangzhou Martial World was neither particularly large nor particularly small, and naturally had a few famous figures.

Grandmaster-level experts were too far removed from ordinary people. The younger generation, by contrast, more easily attracted the common folk's attention.

And Fairy Ningbing was one of the most renowned figures among the younger generation of the Jiangzhou Martial World, as well as a leading figure among the Golden Scale Alliance's younger generation.

Of course, there was only one more important reason she was so famous-she had plenty of lapdogs!

But the first time Lianshan Xin had heard that name, it had been from Kong Ningyuan.