Zhang Kun cried out, his face contorted with pain as he clutched his waist, blood streaming out.
He was crippled!
He turned to look, his head full of question marks. "Steward, what did you stab me for?!"
He had actually stabbed him in the back! Zhang Kun instinctively tried to strike Zhang Daye away, but Zhang Daye was stronger. After stabbing him, he immediately pulled out the knife and retreated well out of reach.
Heh, you can't hit me.
The sudden turn of events made Bai Fengyao's eyes light up. How interesting.
"You're courting death!" The fifth elder instantly flew into a rage. Zhang Daye actually dared to ambush the young master at a time like this! Even a fool would know something was amiss, and he attacked at once.
"Pin him down!" Although Bai Fengyao did not understand the situation, she immediately gave the order.
This move seemed rather familiar.
The fifth elder was promptly pinned to the ground by a Tribulation Transcendence Realm puppet.
"Young master!" He did not forget to express his concern. He had been responsible for protecting Zhang Kun and wiping out the Chen Lineage. He had never expected to be captured before even getting through the door.
And the young master had even been stabbed by one of their own.
Zhang Kun's face twisted in pain. He staggered back three steps, unable to steady himself, and roared, "Zhang Daye, do you want to die?!"
But now that this girl Bai Fengyao was meddling, neither of them could move, let alone hack Zhang Daye to death and deal with this sudden betrayal within their ranks!
Zhang Daye ignored the two of them. I'm laying my cards on the table. What are you going to do about it?
There were hundreds of Tribulation Transcendence Realm puppets. What did it matter if the Zhang Lineage had a Saint Realm ancestor? Even if they relied on sheer numbers, a lone tiger still feared a pack of wolves!
He then looked at Bai Fengyao. "Miss, I am Chen Daye, an elder of the Chen Lineage. Please inform the lineage."
Although he did not know who Bai Fengyao was, she was guarding this place, so he could not go wrong by telling her.
Besides, if he did not act to make his stance clear, he feared he would be beaten to death just like Zhang Kun and the fifth elder. So he had decisively stabbed first and left the rest for later.
It can't be helped. The weak have their own ways of surviving. Don't blame me.
Pfft.
"You're an elder of the Chen Lineage?" Bai Fengyao blinked her large eyes. No wonder this feeling seemed so familiar!
It was not that she had met him before, but that this scene felt inexplicably familiar.
"Indeed." Chen Daye beamed. What an unexpected delight. Now that he was back, he would not be going back there.
Chen Daye? An elder of the Chen Lineage? Zhang Kun wanted to curse up a storm. "You betrayed our Zhang Lineage! Do you want to die?!"
No wonder he had launched a sneak attack.
The fifth elder was furious too. A mere ant actually dared to act as a mole! Yet he could do absolutely nothing about this mole now.
"Gag him!" Bai Fengyao had no interest in entertaining him.
Zhang Kun was immediately rendered unable to speak.
Chen Daye glanced at Zhang Kun and the fifth elder, then turned back with a smile.
"Miss, look at these nine carts of top-grade spirit stones, along with pills, medicinal herbs, and spirit artifacts. They're just the thing to strengthen our Chen Lineage!" He pointed at the spoils.
Not bad. All free loot. They even delivered it to our doorstep. Why turn down a freebie?
Zhang Kun spat blood. Those were my decorations! I didn't come here to deliver gifts!
"Not bad. They certainly count as resources." Bai Fengyao nodded, her little face solemn. She did not dare joke around at all. Master isn't here, so I'm in charge!
Then her tone changed.
"I don't believe you! Who knows whether you're deliberately staging a self-sacrifice ruse? Trying to fool me because I'm young?"
I'm not stupid.
Zhang Kun froze when he heard that. A self-sacrifice ruse? Could it really be a self-sacrifice ruse? He just didn't discuss it with me beforehand? As long as we can leave, perhaps I can accept getting stabbed. And the steward would have rendered a great service!
Chen Daye's expression immediately turned bitter. "That's why, miss, you'll know once you call someone from the Chen Lineage over, won't you?"
Oh, right.
Bai Fengyao thought about it and found that reasonable.
"All right, then. I'll go get someone..."
Just then, she heard Chen Fan's voice.
"Girl, who are you going to get?"
"Master." Bai Fengyao turned and found her master already beside her.
"Master, you're back just in time. Take a look at him. Is he an elder of the Chen Lineage?" She still could not handle this. It had to be her master.
At the sight of Chen Fan suddenly appearing, Zhang Kun and the fifth elder both grew tense. He had arrived without a soul noticing...
He had to be a member of the Chen Lineage! The Great Emperor master this girl had mentioned? What a joke. How could there possibly be such a young Great Emperor? If he is one, I'll squat over a latrine upside down!
Chen Fan looked at Chen Daye. "You are?"
An elder? Another one has returned! That wasn't easy. But he was a figure from several generations back and had left the lineage early. Chen Fan really could not recognize him.
Old tears streamed down Chen Daye's face. "Young master, I am the Chen Lineage's first elder, Chen Daye!"
"I've been away for so long. You've suffered, young master." In what felt like the blink of an eye, he had grown so much.
Chen Fan's features clearly resembled the lineage head's, so there could be no mistake. He had to be the young master who had guarded the home alone!
At those words, Bai Fengyao smiled. This felt settled. The elder did not show the slightest hint of a guilty conscience.
Zhang Kun was dumbstruck! I nearly believed your self-sacrifice ruse. Self-sacrifice, my ass! It was all fake. Only the knife in my kidney was real.
Chen Fan smiled. "First elder, welcome back to the lineage."
He had recognized him at a glance, and his name matched. There could be no mistake.
Elders and ancestors were different, too. A lineage's ancestors provided deterrence behind the scenes and formed the foundation of its standing. The elders naturally assisted the lineage head openly and constituted its core strength, so they were naturally close to the lineage head's branch.
Thus, the first elder was somewhat kindly by nature. Of course he would never do something like stab someone in the back.
Hearing this, Chen Daye knew he was saved. Zhang Kun and the fifth elder had nearly dragged him down and gotten him killed by mistake.
"Young master, this old man requests permission to return to the lineage!"
Although he did not understand what had happened, he had to return whether he wanted to or not, lest he be killed by mistake again. Then he truly would die with his eyes open.
And since the young master was responsible for guarding their home, he naturally had to make his return somewhat formal.
"First elder, haven't you already returned?" Chen Fan was in a good mood.
[Ding! Sect cleanup mission complete. Congratulations to the host on receiving the reward: seven Saint Realm puppets.]
What? That's it?
Chen Fan immediately recalled the details of the mission the system had issued earlier and understood what "basic forces" meant.
An ancestor, Chen Xuandao; an elder, Chen Daye; an aunt related to him by direct blood; a steward, Uncle Fu; a collateral-branch disciple, Chen Tianya; and he himself reluctantly taking his father's place as lineage head. Now one of each had returned-a complete package...
The mission was a little slapdash, but it still counted as an unexpected delight.
He casually gestured for the puppets to withdraw, then looked at the Zhang Lineage's fifth elder.
"What have you come to our Chen Lineage for?"
Bai Fengyao immediately tattled. "Master, they were making outrageous boasts."
Yes, your disciple heard every word loud and clear.
Zhang Kun laughed, clutching his kidney as he did. The Chen Lineage's young master? Heh. They were both young masters, and he considered himself no worse than Chen Fan!
"I am the Zhang Lineage's young master! If you offend our Zhang Lineage, there won't be a place for your Chen Lineage anywhere in the Heavenly Abyss Domain! Hurry up and let me-"
Smack.
Chen Fan slapped Zhang Kun straight through the air. I wasn't asking you. Why butt in? Talking to Zhang Kun was a pointless waste of time. If he was going to ask someone, he would naturally ask the stronger one.
He looked at the Zhang Lineage's fifth elder. "What have you come to our Chen Lineage for?"
The Zhang Lineage? As expected, the Zhang Lineage would not simply allow the Chen Lineage to develop, because a lineage's interests touched every aspect of its affairs.
Bai Fengyao watched Zhang Kun trace a parabola through the air.
"Young master..." The fifth elder watched helplessly as the young master was struck flying, his heart tightening. Then he heard Chen Fan's question.
"We came on the lineage head's orders..."
He did not know how to continue. He was unsure how strong Chen Fan was, but the hundreds of Tribulation Transcendence Realm puppets nearby were no joke!
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes. "Zhang Yuanba is dead. Since you've come, you can stay too!"
"Impossible! How could my father be dead?!" Hearing that, Zhang Kun no longer cared that Chen Fan had sent him flying.
"I'm a disciple of the Falling Cloud Sect! You wouldn't dare!"
How could his father possibly be dead? His father had gone to the Falling Cloud Sect! Just wait. This brat is finished!
Hmm? Still defiant? I specialize in curing every kind of defiance! Chen Fan immediately summoned Yun Lan out of the Primordial Gods and Devils Field.
He had taken someone along with him. Of course, he had not done it deliberately.
And the Falling Cloud Sect was a subordinate sect of his Chen Lineage. It would not bear such a stain, not even a verbal one! Otherwise, rumors would breed more rumors. The terror of rumors still deserved respect, especially between major powers.
He asked, "Sect Master of the Falling Cloud Sect, is he a disciple of your Falling Cloud Sect?"
At the same time, a woman of mature charm stood beside Chen Fan...