章 93: Helpless Old Man
"Li Xin, correct? It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard great things about the leader of Yu Village," Chen Wei says casually, without bothering to greet Li Xin as is customary when visiting someone's village or clan.
Li Xin remains silent, observing Chen Wei's casual and carefree tone. Though he feels somewhat offended by the lack of consideration, there's no need to bring it up and risk an unnecessary conflict.
"Correct, I am Li Xin..." Li Xin also responds calmly, without making a formal greeting.
"Daoist friend, would you--!" But in an instant, all his calm vanishes as absolute shock grips his heart, evident in his eyes.
The reason is the dense oppressive aura emanating from Chen Wei, who still has a simple expression on his face as he looks at Li Xin calmly as if nothing had happened.
'Is this Rank 3 peak? No, it's something even stronger, it must be Rank 4!' Li Xin thinks, feeling his heart pounding so hard it seems like it will burst from his chest.
There's no way not to be shocked, by this young man, who is no much older than his own daughters, presents an aura stronger than even a Rank 3 Gu Master.
In fact, even though he is seeing this before him, it seems hard to believe, as if his own eyes were deceiving him or playing tricks on him.
And he knows it's not just him who would imagine this, but any Gu Master who saw it, because it's unbelievable that a young man no older than twenty has reached the legendary Rank 4 when even the current leader of the Huo Clan, the most talented in their history, is at Rank 3 peak stage.
"Forgive my insolence, young master! I was not recognizing Mt. Tai!" At this moment, Li Xin cares little for his reputation, as his life is far more important.
The mortals who witnessed the scene were all equally shocked, seeing their wise and respected leader, who never kneels even before Gu Masters sent by the Huo Clan, now doing so before this young man.
"My name is Yi Zhan..." Chen Wei says simply, without paying attention to the shocked mortals around him, "...I am a demonic Gu Master."
As soon as they hear the last part, the entire crowd freezes in fear, and all the low murmurs from before cease instantly, with the silence becoming so profound that one could even hear the grass growing.
"Honorable Gu Master! I will do everything to atone for my insolence! You have my word!" Li Xin kneels, pressing his face into the muddy ground, caring not for the shred of reputation he still had left.
"There is no need for you to humble yourself before me," Chen Wei says, his expression becoming more serious as part of his act, "...I am a demonic Gu Master, but I understand the values of respect and reciprocity."
"So as long as you welcome me into your home and harmoniously drink tea with me as you said..." Chen Wei watches closely as the old man, covered in mud, tears, and despair, becomes radiant with relief at his words, "...and treat me and my wives with all due respect, I will return the kindness and promise to be morally indebted to you."
"Thank you, young master, for being so merciful. You are truly just!" Li Xin, with tears of happiness on his face, says as he looks at Chen Wei as if he had just been granted a new life.
And he is not wrong to consider it so, for any Rank 3 Gu Master could kill him with a simple wave of the hand as if he were an insect, and even more so for the young man before him, who is probably a Rank 4 Gu Master.
He believes this not only because of the young man's aura but also because of the tranquility with which the young man have, as he sees not the slightest fear in the young man in declaring himself as a demonic Gu Master, even though he is in the Huo Clan's mountain, demonstrating that he does not fear the Huo Clan leader, a peak Rank 3 Gu Master, at all.
"Well, that said, I will also return resentment with even greater fervor!" Chen Wei speaks emphatically, looking at the crowd of young men, "...and all these youths offended me by looking at my beloved wives with lust in their eyes."
"Forgive me, sir. It was my fault as a failed leader for not teaching respect to these insolent youths!!" Li Xin says, cursing all these foolish youths for their careless actions that could bring suffering to the entire village.
"There is no need to blame and humiliate yourself for others' sins, my friend. I only want one thing as compensation..." Chen Wei adopts a gentle and friendly tone before uttering cruel words.
"I want all their heads on spikes, and if they are married or engaged, I want their women stripped naked and humiliated in front of the entire village!" Chen Wei speaks with an imposing and merciless tone, looking at the crowd of young men with infinite hatred in his eyes.
"Yes, young master Yi Zhan! I will ensure they pay with their heads!" Li Xin speaks with pain in his chest, since he knows most of these young men and their wives since they were children. But now, he finds himself compelled to do this, whether he wants to or not, for the sake of the entire village.
Only the heavens could understand the pain in his chest at this moment. He believes, but he is still ignorant of how much greater this pain would be if he realized that Chen Wei's hatred and demand for compensation are just an act.
"For now, I and my wives are tired, so I would like accommodation for the night..." Chen Wei continues to walk while gesturing for Li Xin to rise from his knees and follow him.
"Of course, young master, I will personally take responsibility for providing the best accommodations!" Li Xin says, following Chen Wei closely, not daring to raise his gaze to look directly at him.
"Good... and lastly, I want you to gather the most beautiful girls in the village and send them to my room tonight," Chen Wei says with a smile, observing the old man's reaction, "...no matter their age or marital status, if they are the most beautiful in the village, they had better be in my room tonight, understood?"
"Y-yes, young master... I will do that," Li Xin says with his heart bleeding, knowing what will happen to the poor girls.
But there is nothing he can do, for when a powerful demonic Gu Master wants something, he will get it, one way or another. It's better to act cowardly and obey now that he is asking politely because futile resistance will only lead to more unnecessary suffering.
"Great! Besides that, I will need the best midwife in this village," Chen Wei says, pointing to Wang Mei, who walks quietly beside him. "As you can see, my beautiful wife is pregnant and needs one urgently."
"Yes, young master, my wife is the best midwife in the village, and she will be at your service along with all the midwives I can find," Li Xin says, glancing at Wang Mei, who walks elegantly with a composed expression, looking around the village with a bit of curiosity.
"Thank you very much, leader Xin. As I said, I always return kindness and will not let this pass..." Chen Wei maintains a serious expression on his face while continuing his act.
"No need, young master. It is my honor to assist you!" Li Xin does not risk asking for anything in return, continuing to act with forced subservience.
"Very well then..." Chen Wei says before changing the subject, "You know, I am a curious man, and I am really interested in the leader of the Huo Clan."
"I heard she is a rarely seen genius and is almost breaking through to Rank 4..."
"...could you tell me what you know about this admirable woman?" Chen Wei asks with an innocent smile, as if asking nothing out of the ordinary.
Hearing these words, Li Xin knows exactly the hidden meanings that someone inexperienced in the intrigues of this world might not notice. But for him, an old man who has dealt with various small intrigues for longer than he can remember, the meanings are obvious.
Chen Wei wants him to reveal all the information he knows about the Huo Clan and its leader. Even if he doesn't know much, he knows a little, and revealing even that little to an outsider who openly declares himself a demonic Gu Master would be a clear act of betrayal.
Of course, this is only if the Huo Clan discovers this act, as Li Xin has dealt with various demonic Gu Masters before, but these dealings were usually done in the shadows without the Gu Master announcing to everyone that he is demonic and causing a commotion in the village by demanding young men be impaled and women brought to him.
But even so, Li Xin now feels great helplessness because, with Chen Wei's strength, he can only do what he wants. Even if this poses a great future risk to his life, as Chen Wei is an immediate mortal threat.
"Huo Mei Yan is the acclaimed leader of the Huo Clan. She is the most talented daughter of the deceased leader..." Li Xin speaks while swallowing his sorrows deep in his heart, "...she has proven her talent, for at just thirty years old, she has already reached the peak of Rank 3, an unprecedented achievement in the clan."
"It is common knowledge that she is about to break through to Rank 4..." Chen Wei nods as he listens to Li Xin's low words, who seems to be alert for anyone other than Chen Wei overhearing him, "...she, like most of the Huo Clan, is a fire path cultivator."
"Her vital Gu is the only one I know of, the Beautiful Flame Gu...." Li Xin has a concerned expression while Chen Wei looks at him without saying anything, "...young master... I swear I don't know much as they almost always ignore and snub an old man like me."
"Well, we can talk more when we have tea together, right?" Chen Wei maintains a gentle expression, but his tone carries a hidden threat, "I heard you have two beautiful daughters. They don't need to be in my room tonight..."
"But have them join us for tea so my wives will have someone to talk with..."
"Y-yes, thank you, young master!" Li Xin feels a weight that seemed to be crushing his heart lifted. "I am sure they will love the presence of your wives."
Of course, along with this relief comes great helplessness, for he still hoped Chen Wei would not know about his daughters. But with each passing minute, it becomes increasingly clear that he is not as uninformed as he seems to be.
This makes Li Xin even more paranoid about the possibility of him knowing about his greatest sin of lust and mistake that brings him shame and disgust, hidden in his basement. But he abandons this thought as only he, his wife, and a few trusted men know about it.
"No need to thank me much. I just hope this kindness refreshes your memory," Chen Wei says, making the meaning behind his words clear.
"Yes, young master!" Li Xin responds immediately, for it does not take a genius to realize that Chen Wei is not sparing his daughters from suffering out of altruism.
But rather to keep an unsheathed sword hanging over Li Xin's neck, ready to strike at any moment, leaving him constantly having to obey Chen Wei's orders without question.
"Well, I bid you farewell for now. My wives really need to rest after the exhausting journey," Chen Wei knows that the most important thing now is to leave Li Xin to think alone, becoming increasingly paranoid and fearful.
"You, Ci Liu, take the young master to the best guest room," Li Xin points to one of the young maids in his house, who quickly bows and obeys his orders.
'I better prepare for the worst just in case...' Li Xin thinks while watching Chen Wei and his three wives follow Ci Liu into his house towards a guest room.
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