People of Ill Repute

Cui Qianqian seemed to have long since grown used to this situation.

Beckoning to Xue Ning, Wen Xiancheng, and Xue Ruigao, Cui Qianqian said, "Come over here!"

The four of them stepped into the space beneath the staircase leading from the first floor to the second.

As Cui Qianqian rapidly formed hand seals, a wall identical to all the other walls actually appeared in front of them!

Wen Xiancheng was startled.

He reached out to touch the "wall," and his fingers passed straight through it!

Wen Xiancheng did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Illusion Arts!"

He had to admit that Cui Qianqian's Illusion Arts were far superior to his own.

Had he not known about Cui Qianqian's abilities beforehand and witnessed this himself, he would have taken this "wall" for a real one and never even approached it!

Cui Shang gazed at the wall beneath the staircase, a complicated smile appearing on his face.

There was pride.

And guilt, too.

Before long, four women appeared at the entrance to the living room.

Huang Li was supporting a white-haired old woman in her early seventies.

On the old woman's other side was a beautiful middle-aged woman who still retained her charms.

Behind the three women, a rather pretty girl of seventeen or eighteen idly swung the little purse in her hand.

This girl was none other than the one who had mocked Cui Qianqian when the Mouse Clone first encountered her-the one Cui Qianqian had nevertheless called her older sister!

Cui Shang hurried forward and gave the old woman an ingratiating smile. "Mom, what brings you here? Didn't we agree that Shushu would take Meiyan to visit you in Dai City?"

The old woman snorted and launched into a stream of complaints. "What, do you think I'm in your way? Don't forget, I'm not dead yet! It's not your turn to call the shots here! Once I'm dead, Shushu will still be in charge, and when Shushu grows old, there'll still be Meiyan!"

Cui Shang forced a smile. "Mom, what are you saying? I couldn't be happier to have you here! I was only worried that such a long journey would be too much for your health!"

Meiyan plopped down on the sofa and looked at Cui Shang expressionlessly. "Dad, why are there no servants at home again? Did you send them all away again? Did you let that fatty Cui Qianqian come here again?"

Cui Shang shook his head. "No. I just noticed we were short of a few things and sent them out to buy them."

Meiyan gave a derisive laugh.

Huang Li helped the old woman sit down on the sofa, then withdrew.

The beautiful middle-aged woman poured the old woman a cup of tea.

Seeing that the tea gave off only the faintest wisp of steam, the middle-aged woman frowned and demanded of Cui Shang, "What have you been doing at home? Sending the servants out was bad enough, but you couldn't even make some hot tea? Or is your mind not on this household at all? Tell me, did that little bitch come here? Cui Shang, I hope you remember this clearly: your wife is me, Chen Jingshu, and your daughter is Chen Meiyan!"

Standing by the sofa, Cui Shang looked at a loss. "Shushu, I was wrong. I did ask her to come home so I could check on her. You know more than half the summer vacation has passed, and she hadn't come back even once. I was a little worried, so I sent someone to bring her over and ask what she'd been doing."

Chen Meiyan folded her arms and held her legs together, her voice dripping with mockery. "What could that fat pig possibly be doing? Dating someone? She looks like a pig. Who would like her? She's probably holed up at school, too scared to show her face outside."

"Meiyan!" Cui Shang's expression darkened. "She's your younger sister. You can't talk about her like that!"

"Cui Shang!" It was Chen Jingshu who answered him, her face almost contorted with rage.

Pointing at a bouquet of Beauty's Face on the table, Chen Jingshu snapped, "Are you fucking sitting around at home waiting to die? This was a perfectly good bouquet of Beauty's Face! Before I left, I told the servants to change its Spirit Stone-infused water every two hours! Look at it now! It's all wilted!"

Springing to her feet, Chen Jingshu twisted Cui Shang's ear hard and said viciously, "Just look at yourself! You were so busy meeting that little bitch of yours that you couldn't even spare the time to look after a bouquet!"

Cui Shang's face twisted in pain. "No, Shushu! If the flowers have wilted, let them wilt. I'll buy you another bouquet tomorrow!"

Beneath the staircase, Wen Xiancheng, Xue Ruigao, and Xue Ning exchanged looks.

They had never expected Cui Shang to be treated like this in his own home.

Cui Qianqian was trembling even more.

Listening to Cui Shang's incessant pleas for mercy, Cui Qianqian abruptly dispelled her Illusion Arts.

The "wall" instantly vanished.

Cui Qianqian stepped out, biting her lip. "Stop bullying him!"

Chen Jingshu kicked Cui Shang in the stomach, sending him collapsing onto the sofa, his face pale as he clutched his belly.

She gave Cui Qianqian a cold glance, then turned back to glare savagely at Cui Shang. "And you dared lie to me? Now that I've caught you red-handed, what excuses do you have left? Let me make this clear: if you don't fix my Beauty's Face today, don't even think about sleeping for the next few days!"

Cui Shang sat up with a bitter smile, rubbing his stomach. "Shushu, these flowers have already wilted. How am I supposed to fix them? Aren't you asking the impossible?"

Chen Jingshu sneered. "So, in your eyes, I'm less important than that little bitch?"

Cui Shang forced another smile. "All right, I'll fix them. I'll fix them, okay?"

Walking over to the Beauty's Face with a miserable expression, Cui Shang enveloped the flowers in a layer of white mist that rose from his hands.

But ten seconds passed, then thirty seconds, then a full minute.

The Beauty's Face showed no change at all.

The old woman shook her head, looking at Cui Shang as though he were rotten wood beyond carving. "Cui Shang, just look at you. You eat our Chen Family's food, drink our Chen Family's water, and use our Chen Family's things. Without our Chen Family, where would you be? And now, instead of thinking about repaying us, you bring people of ill repute into our home. Your wings have grown strong enough to fly the nest, have they?"

Cui Shang hastily said, "Mom, how would I dare? I've never forgotten the Chen Family's kindness to me. When I was twenty-six, my cultivation hit a bottleneck, I lost my job, and I couldn't even afford a bowl of beef noodles. Shushu gave me everything I have. I've always remembered that."

The old woman scoffed. "I think it's all just lip service. If you really remembered, you wouldn't keep bringing people of ill repute into this house."

As the old woman kept insisting that he and his companions were "people of ill repute," anger lodged in Wen Xiancheng's chest.

In a few swift strides, Wen Xiancheng moved in front of Cui Shang. Bending slightly at the waist, he brought his hands together and loosely cupped them around the Beauty's Face.

A moment later, a ball of green light gradually welled up between his hands.

The green light enveloped the Beauty's Face, and the drooping blossoms actually began lifting their heads one after another.

Not only that, they bloomed even more beautifully than before.

The old woman, Chen Jingshu, Chen Meiyan, and Cui Shang all stared at Wen Xiancheng in astonishment.

Cui Shang exclaimed in delight, "Young man, you know Healing Arts, too?"

Wen Xiancheng quietly let out a breath.

He felt fortunate that he had met Zhang Lu, the head of the Iceheart Hall, and that for nearly a month and a half, he had diligently cultivated according to her notes without slacking off at all.

Otherwise, he would have had no graceful way out today!

Nodding to Cui Shang, Wen Xiancheng glanced at the old woman nearby. "Yes, I know Healing Arts. I study under Zhang Lu, the head of the Iceheart Hall. Unfortunately, I've disgraced my esteemed master today by being mistaken for a person of ill repute."

He deliberately stressed the words "Zhang Lu, the head of the Iceheart Hall."

He did feel that invoking her name like this was going a little too far.

Besides, he had yet to pass her six-month assessment and was not yet her disciple.

But faced with the expressions of the old woman and her family, he simply could not hold himself back.

(End of chapter)