Among the younger generation of the Su family, Su Fan was the third in line. Like the other Su n, he wasn’t much of a talent. Already in his thirties, he was still only at the seventh layer of Qi Refinent.
For a rogue cultivator, that level at his age would count as a decent accomplishnt. But here on Shenwu Mountain, it only ant he had no hope of ever becoming head of the clan.
He sat in the main hall, glancing sideways at Liu Xiaolou without even offering him a seat, and said bluntly, “What are you doing here instead of staying in Hibiscus Garden?”
Liu Xiaolou said, “Third Young Master, I have a good friend who’s been detained by people from Moon Mountain. I don’t know what trouble he caused. I was hoping you might lend a hand; perhaps say a word to them so they’ll let him go.” New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt
Su Fan burst out laughing. “Let him go? Do you even know what kind of ss he made?”
Liu Xiaolou could guess. Most likely it was over that junior sister from Moon Mountain. So he said, “A fair lady is what a gentleman yearns for. Young n are bound to feel longing. There’s nothing wrong with liking soone.”
Su Fan looked at him in surprise. “Oh? You actually know a couple of lines of poetry? Did you sneak off and study them after feeling ashad of yourself in my Su family? There’s nothing wrong with liking soone, but does he have the right to ask for her hand? He should take a look at himself. A thief cultivator from Wulong Mountain, does he really think he’s worthy of marrying into a noble household?”
Then he squinted at Liu Xiaolou and sneered. “Or do all you people from Wulong Mountain think you’ll be as lucky as you? That you can just latch onto my family and soar to the heavens? Don’t kid yourself. That friend of yours isn’t half as fortunate as you. And even if he were, at best he’d still just be marrying in as a dependent son-in-law. To the Su family, he’d be soone who has to kneel, grovel, and lick boots.”
Holding back his anger, Liu Xiaolou asked, “What do they want for keeping my brother?”
Su Fan couldn’t hold back a loud laugh. “What do they want? What could a bunch of broke, penny-less thieves like you possibly offer? They’re just teaching him a lesson. Lock him up for three to five years, and once he figures things out, they’ll let him go. That’s already for your sake, because you married into the Su family. Otherwise, they’d have killed him outright and tossed his body in a ditch. You should be grateful!”
“Su Fan, I don’t believe I’ve ever wronged you. Why do you keep hurling insults at ? Even if you’ve got so prejudice against , at worst we could just keep to our own paths and not cross each other. The well water doesn’t mix with the river water…”
Su Fan cut him off with a bark of laughter. “Well water? Who do you think you are, daring to call yourself well water? At best, you’re just mud water, foul ditch water! And you really think you’re the honored son-in-law now? Living off my family’s food and wealth, and instead of knowing your place, you’ve gotten arrogant enough to throw your weight around? Wang the cook has served my Su family for decades, yet you dared to beat her without a thought! And that ruined little temple at the mountain pass; how could you ever think it was yours to claim? Who do you think you are, to provoke Eighth Brother? Do you even know what your own cultivation is? If not for the family’s desire to avoid internal strife, I could cut you down with a single sword stroke. What would it matter? You really think I’m afraid of you? Talking about life-and-death duels? What a joke!”
“Su Fan,” Liu Xiaolou said, “after the way you’ve insulted today, are you prepared for the consequences?”
Su Fan sneered. “My father told that if I ever fight you, I should wait two more years. I don’t know why it has to be two years, but his word is law. If you want to die, then co find after two years, and I’ll make sure you die in agony! And don’t think Fifth Sister will speak up for you. Do you even know how the two of you beca man and wife? Hmph. Don’t fool yourself.”
Liu Xiaolou thought for a mont, then said, “Then two years from now.”
Su Fan gave a cold laugh. “Agreed.”
After leaving, Liu Xiaolou went to see Steward Su and asked, “What’s the relationship between the Second Branch and Moon Mountain? And what’s going on between Su Fan and that Moon Mountain disciple, Guan Xiaoi?”
Steward Su chuckled. “Master Liu really has sharp eyes. This isn’t sothing we usually speak about, but since you’ve noticed… Well, Third Young Master and Guan Xiaoi grew up together as childhood sweethearts.”
So that was it. No wonder Su Fan kept lashing out at him. Liu Xiaolou asked again, “If they’re childhood sweethearts, why didn’t they ever marry?”
“Because iling absolutely refused.”
Liu Xiaolou was left speechless. “What kind of nonsense is this? Just because the three sects don’t get along, they have to sabotage each other? Isn’t that just self-destructive infighting? And my father-in-law doesn’t step in?”
The steward lowered his voice. “I’ve heard this was all arranged by the previous clan head.”
“How so?”
“Sixty years ago, iling wasn’t called iling. It was Liangling, and it was thriving. They produced several outstanding disciples and were growing more and more defiant toward our Su family. So our clan spent ten years supporting one of their defectors, who then founded the Plum-Breaking Sect under Moon Mountain. On top of that, the Su family forced Liangling to change its na to iling.”
“This… is a bit too obvious…”
“It is, sowhat. Heh. Moon Mountain is well aware of it too, which is why they’ve wanted to ease tensions with iling. But of course, our Su family wouldn’t allow that. So we split off yet another branch from iling and set it up on Tiger Mountain, calling it the Moon-Plucking Sect. That way, the three sects keep each other in check, and there’s no longer the glory days when iling alone dominated, producing three Golden Core cultivators in the sa generation.”
iling’s Tiger-Taming Sect, Moon Mountain’s Plum-Breaking Sect, and Tiger Mountain’s Moon-Plucking Sect—these three have kept each other balanced for decades. And indeed, none of them pose any threat to the Su family. Had iling been allowed to keep growing unchecked, with the Su family today down to only two Golden Core cultivators, the roles of master and vassal might very well have been reversed.
“Steward Su, you seem quite familiar with the affairs of the past. To recount events from sixty years ago with such clarity…”
“It was my own grandfather who handled the details back then.”
“My respects, my respects.”
It had to be admitted: the forr clan head of the Su family had truly found a once-and-for-all solution. But every plan has its pros and cons. The Su family had secured its stability, yet when the ti ca for a new generation to rise, there were no longer any vassal sects strong enough to support them. With the three branches wasting themselves on infighting, after their previous leaders passed away, not one more Golden Core erged. As a result, the Su family, over the past twenty years, had grown noticeably weaker among the four great families of the Danxia Sect.
Having pieced together the whole story, Liu Xiaolou thought aloud, “Tis have changed. We can’t just let these three sects keep wasting their strength on infighting. If sothing happens in the future, with the foundation so unstable inside, it’ll be all too easy for outsiders to divide and break them apart.”
Steward Su sighed. “You’re right, but it’s not easy for the Su family either. We’re not what we once were. If we really push those three sects to set aside their grudges, we might lose the ability to keep them in check. That’s what you call sitting on pins and needles.”
For now, none of this had much to do with Liu Xiaolou. What he wanted from Steward Su was advice on how to get Tan Bajhang released. But the steward had no good ideas.
So Liu Xiaolou had no choice but to head for Moon Mountain himself. He planned to bow his head, swallow his pride, and no matter how much he had to abase himself, focus on one thing first: getting his friend out.
Moon Mountain was only seventy li from Shenwu Mountain. Its sect was small, just a few dozen houses clinging to the cliffside. The Plum-Breaking Sect was a minor sect. Thirty years earlier, its founding master had failed in closed-door cultivation and passed away, leaving only ten core mbers: the second-generation sect leader and two elders, plus seven disciples of the third generation. Of them, only the sect leader Guan Xingzhou and Elder Wu Chiqing had reached Foundation Establishnt. The other elder, the sect leader’s wife, was at the tenth layer of Qi Refinent. Among the seven third-generation disciples, the weakest was the fourth disciple, Wu Jiangyue, at the fifth layer of Qi Refinent. The youngest, junior sister Guan Xiaoi, was the sect leader’s daughter, at the sixth layer of Qi Refinent.
Even such a small sect was not one Liu Xiaolou could afford to provoke. When he ca to their gates, he carried himself with utmost humility. The longer he lived among the Su family, the clearer it beca what his status truly was in their eyes, and the more he had to lower himself to survive.
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