There was the sound of a whistle, and a group of guards from the Business Alliance rushed over.
Upon seeing the guards, Mu Yueshan had a frightened look on his face and he left with the other people.
"Young Master Qi, are we late?" The captain of the guards walked over and asked.
Qi Shaorong waved his hand and said, "No, you got here just in time."
The captain of the guards looked at Zhuang Hao and said, "Actually, Young Master Zhuang is so strong, even if we didn't come, I believe you'd all be able to escape unscathed."
Zhuang Hao looked at him and said, "Captain, you flatter me!"
"Young Master Qi, it'd better for you to just stay inside these days. If you do go out, you shouldn't go out into the wilderness." The captain of the guards said, looking at Qi Shaorong. .
Qi Shaorong nodded and said, "I understand."
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "The person who stole your purse just now seems to have run away. How much money was in it?
"One hundred silver coins." Qi Shaorong said.
"Only a hundred silver coins?" Zhuang Hao frowned. If he'd known earlier that it was such a small amount of money, he wouldn't wasted so much effort trying to get it back.
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said angrily, "Zhuang Hao, what kind of expression is that! One hundred silver coins can buy you a lot of buns, you know."
Zhuang Hao: "…"
"Young Master Qi, let's go back now," said the captain of the guards.
Qi Shaorong nodded, and replied, "Okay."
Mu Family.
A doctor looked at the scar on Mu Yueshan's back, frowned, and said, "The wound is a little deep. The thunder magic that injured you seems to also have contained several other types of magic, but it's hard to tell. You can only wait for the wound to slowly heal. Family Head, you should try to avoid getting into conflicts with other people in the following days."
Mu Yueshan's face was gloomy, "From what I've heard, Zhuang Hao is only a level seven mage, but that guy's clearly at the eighth level."
"Perhaps he hid his true strength. Yuan Country's royal family used to be a prominent and influential family, but they're much weaker now. Meanwhile the Zhuang Family is thriving, so it's natural for Emperor Tang to have some fears about them. Zhuang Hao really is a little too eye-catching." An elder on the side said.
Mu Yueshan clenched his fists and said, "Zhuang Hao, that guy, is indeed really strong."
Mu Yueshan had always felt that Mu Huai's talent was really good, but after a fierce battle with Zhuang Hao, Mu Yueshan finally realized that for every mountain out there, there's always another that's taller.
[T/n: I swear there's a better saying that can be used here, but I can't remember what it is.]
Zhuang Hao's current strength was already scary enough. He's afraid that after another two years, there wouldn't be many people left in the older generation who could still be Zhuang Hao's match. Mu Huai was considered good among the younger generation, but compared to Zhuang Hao, the difference was too big. Qi Shaorong's luck was amazing, having such a capable fiance.
"Father, you're hurt?" Mu Huai walked in worriedly.
Mu Yueshan looked at Mu Huai and said, "It's just a small injury, it's not anything too serious."
Mu Huai looked at Mu Yueshan and said, "Father, I heard that you got in a fight with Qi Shaorong?"
Mu Yueshan glanced at Mu Huai and said, "Father didn't go to fight him, I just wanted to discuss some things with him."
Mu Huai looked at Mu Yueshan and said, "Father, how about I go and apologize to my cousin, Mu Tingxuan. Maybe we can try to bury the hatchet [1]?"
Mu Yueshan's face sank, "You're not allowed to go."
"Why?" Mu Huai asked, puzzled.
"There's no reason why, you're just not allowed to." Mu Yueshan said fiercely.
Mu Huai said gloomily, "Father, the Mu Family is almost ruined anyway, you still can't drop your pretentious airs?"
"Shut up, you can leave now!" Mu Yueshan said.
Mu Huai gritted his teeth and left.
Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao returned to their courtyard. Mu Tingxuan and Yi Fan weren't there, but Feng Yuan was.
"Young Master Qi, I heard that you were attacked by Mu Yueshan when you went out. This Mu Yueshan has been acting more and more insolent lately, he's at this age already but still out there bullying the young!" Feng Yuan said.
Qi Shaorong held his chin, "I heard that many of his concubines ran away. He's so old, he just has a bad temper because his desires aren't satisfied. I can forgive him a little for that."
The corner of Feng Yuan's mouth twitched, and he said, "Young Master Qi sure is magnanimous!"
Qi Shaorong waved his hand and said, "You flatter me!"
Feng Yuan: "…"
Feng Yuan looked at Zhuang Hao, who was standing beside Qi Shaorong, and said, "There are many heroes among the youths of this generation, Young Master Zhuang Hao, you're very strong!"
Zhuang Hao nodded at Feng Yuan, and said, "Senior is overpraising me [2]."
"I heard that Young Master Zhuang Hao isn't only a master beast tamer, but can also draw magic scrolls. These two skills, just on their own, would be enough for you to not have to worry about money problems for a lifetime. Young Master Qi, you're very blessed!" Feng Yuan said.
Qi Shaorong, "Senior is really overpraising him, Zhuang Hao's ability is only so-so. He and Mu Yueshan fought for such a long time, but he couldn't even beat the old man…"
Zhuang Hao: "…"
Feng Yuan laughed and said, "Young Master Qi shouldn't have such high demands. After all, Mu Yueshan has been alive for many years longer than Zhuang Hao has!"
"By the way, Young Master Qi, where did your subordinates go?" Feng Yuan asked.
"They went out." Qi Shaorong said.
Feng Wu nodded and said, "Really! It hasn't been very peaceful in these parts recently, you all should be a little more careful!"
"Senior is right, thank you for the reminder!" Qi Shaorong said respectfully.
After talking some more about the cosmetics business with Qi Shaorong, Feng Yuan left.
"Master, this Qi Shaorong is really too daring. He clearly knows that he's made an enemy out of the Mu Family, but still he ran out to play. Isn't this just looking for death?" The servant beside Feng Yuan said.
Feng Yuan frowned and said, "Young people these days! They're all risk-takers, you really can't underestimate them! Speaking of which, Zhuang Hao is really powerful. I had thought that the rumors were a little exaggerated, but I didn't expect for this guy to be even better than the rumors!"
"Master thinks highly of Zhuang Hao!"
Feng Yuan smiled and said, "As long as this guy can live safely to the age of thirty, he'll definitely be able to reach the Saint-level."
Zhuang Hao looked around at the empty courtyard and turned to face Qi Shaorong, saying, ���Yi Fan and Mu Tingxuan both went out, who knows where they are now. When are they coming back?"
Qi Shaorong sighed and said, "If I've guessed correctly, Tingxuan probably went to look for that lying swindler, Kuang Yi. I heard that Kuang Yi, that fraud, is just barely scraping by, he couldn't afford a house in the city so he lives in the wilderness now."
Zhuang Hao: "…"
Outside the forest.
Yi Fan was walking beside Mu Tingxuan and said, "Who are you going to find?"
"Someone who had decided my fate!"
"The fortune-teller from back then?" Yi Fan asked.
Mu Tingxuan nodded and said, "A-Fan, you figured it out pretty quickly. I just want to know if my fate really is that bad!"
Yi Fan looked at Mu Tingxuan and said, "Fate is fickle, no one can really know for certain what'll happen in the future. You shouldn't care so much about that fortune-teller's words!"
Mu Tingxuan clenched his fists tightly and said, "I know, but I just can't let it go."
Mu Tingxuan and Yi Fan arrived in front of the door to a courtyard. A young man greeted them.
"Who are the two of you looking for?"
"I'm looking for the iron mouth, Mr. Kuang Yi!" Mu Tingxuan said coldly.
The young man frowned and said, "Master has been living in seclusion for many years, and he already stopped practising divination eight years ago. Please leave!"
Mu Tingxuan smiled coldly and said, "He's not practising divination anymore? Wasn't everything going great for him, why did he stop?"
"Master said that too many of heaven's secrets were leaked, which has a negative effect on his good fortunes." The young man said.
"Was your Master worried about revealing too many of heaven's mysteries, or did he tell too many fortunes and was worried that he'd be exposed for being a liar? Or maybe he decided that he'd swindled enough idiots and had made enough money already, so he stopped!" Mu Tingxuan said.
"Presumptuous!" The young man looked at them indignantly.
Mu Tingxuan glanced at the young man and said, "Scram."
The young man glared angrily at Mu Tingxuan, and Yi Fan stepped forward and kicked the door open.
"Let's go in!" Yi Fan turned around and said to Mu Tingxuan.
Mu Tingxuan nodded and said, "Alright!"
The young man said anxiously, "Master is resting right now, you can't go in."
In the courtyard, a middle-aged man was sitting in a wheelchair, looking at a chessboard. When he saw Mu Tingxuan enter, the middle-aged man raised his head and looked at him.
"Who are you?" Kuang Yi asked.
Mu Tingxuan looked at Kuang Yi and said, "Senior is really forgetful. You divined my fate when I was born and I've hated you for more than ten years, but you don't even recognize who I am."
Kuang Yi looked at Mu Tingxuan and said, "You are… Mu Tingxuan?"
"Senior still remembers me! Then do you remember, back when I was born, what comments you made about me?" Mu Tingxuan asked with arms crossed.
Kuang Yi's face sank and he said nothing.
"Are you here to pick a quarrel with me?" Kuang Yi asked.
Mu Tingxuan looked at Kuang Yi and said, "Senior is good at predicting the future. All those years ago you predicted that I would bring disaster to the Mu Family, and now that prophecy has come true. Senior, you have such miraculous foresight, can't you predict the reason why I came here today?"
"Us fortune-tellers can't divine our own destinies!" Kuang Yi sighed.
Mu Tingxuan looked at Kuang Yi and said, "Although I'm not a fortune-teller, I can tell you that you're going on a trip to meet the king of Hell today!"
"I've revealed too many of heaven's secrets, and now I'm finally going to receive my retribution. I expected this day to come, but I didn't think it would happen so soon." Kuang Yi said.
Mu Tingxuan looked at Kuang Yi and said, "I came here today to ask Senior, were those so-called prophecies something a scheming person told you to say, or was that really my true fate!"
Kuang Yi looked at Mu Tingxuan and said, "If I tell you, Young Master Mu, then are you still going to kill me today?"
Mu Tingxuan looked at Kuang Yi and said, "I can consider letting you die a happier death!"
"I heard that Senior has a lovely daughter. Senior has revealed so many secrets, you must be very worried that your actions might end up hurting the future generations!" Yi Fan said, tilting his head.
Kuang Yi abruptly turned to look at Yi Fan and said, "What do you mean?"
"I heard that fortune-tellers can't divine their own fates, and the fates of the people related to them. Before coming here, I asked someone to divine your daughter's future, and I found out that she's fated to become a villain someday, and many people will die in her hands. I was thinking, in order to prevent the deaths of all those innocent people, wouldn't it be better to just get rid of her now?" Yi Fan said.
"That's ridiculous!" Kuang Yi said angrily.
Yi Fan looked at Kuang Yi and said, "Ridiculous? Senior is a fortune-teller, do you not believe in fate? The person I found is a renowned expert, it's said that his predictions have a 90% accuracy rate!"
"Then what about the other 10%?" Kuang Yi said.
Yi Fan smiled and said, "The other 10%, well that's hard to say. The future is constantly changing, nothing can be 100% certain in this world."
Kuang Yi: "…"
Footnotes:
Bury the hatchet: "To exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk"― To turn hostility into friendship.
Senior: "Qianbei". I've decided that when there's a name that goes along with it, I'll use "qianbei", but when it's on its own, I'm using "Senior".