Chapter 142: Chapter 142 Old Master An (First Update)_1 The An Family was the second-largest family in Tongxian City, with An Yonglu serving as the family head, and An Xiaopang’s father. However, when it came to major and minor affairs within the clan, it was Old Master An, who was at the Foundation Establishment Stage, that had the final say. Upon meeting Old Master An, everyone paid their respects. Old Master An also exchanged a few courteous words with them. Old Master An didn’t take Mo Hua lightly because of his young age; on the contrary, he was quite polite. So polite that it made Mo Hua feel something was amiss. Never having met before, why was he so nice to him? A suspicion grew in Mo Hua’s heart. After chatting for a while, Mo Hua learned the ins and outs of the situation. The woman who had been exploited by the evil cultivator was indeed a daughter born out of wedlock from the An Family. This woman, charmed by the evil cultivator’s handsome appearance and sweet words, fell in love and privately pledged herself to him. By the time she realized something was wrong, it was too late; she had been used as a woman for replenishing, her vitality drained, and she spent her days in a dazed state. In her bitter hatred and desire to die, although she was later rescued, she had become a shadow of her former self, living in constant panic and misery… Upon learning of this, Old Master An was furious and secretly ordered the An Family disciples to investigate, but there was no word. The evil cultivator had sophisticated methods and excelled in movement techniques, making him difficult to trace and even harder to pursue. Old Master An then called on the connections of the Situ Family, with whom he had some rapport, and also asked Supervisor Zhang Lan of the Taoist Court to assist in the chase. Later, with Mo Hua’s guidance on Big Black Mountain, Zhang Lan finally captured the evil cultivator. Old Master An was very grateful to Mo Hua. But Mo Hua still felt something was off; Old Master An’s gratitude seemed a bit excessive. At the very least, he should be more thankful to Zhang Lan and Situ Fang. After all, they were the ones who caught the man; Mo Hua merely helped. As expected, after beating around the bush for a while, Old Master An began to inquire about Mo Hua’s private matters. Questions like what his parents did, what he wanted to do in the future, and whether he had learned anything about formations and such. Old Master An was not someone you wanted to offend. Mo Hua replied politely and earnestly, picking out trivial matters to discuss. Old Master An continued to ask. Mo Hua then innocently rambled from one topic to another, round and round in circles, speaking earnestly but uttering nothing but fluff, evasively answering as much as possible. When he really couldn’t dodge the questions anymore, he chuckled and said he just couldn’t remember. After all, he was still a child, so it wasn’t a problem to say so. After Old Master An tried to coax out the information indirectly for a while without success, he couldn’t help but sigh internally: If the younger disciples of the An Family had such wits, he could save himself a lot of worry. After a while, Old Master An also had some of the An Family disciples come over. There were both men and women, mostly women, all about the same age as Mo Hua, good-looking, and dressed quite formally. Mo Hua glanced over and spotted An Xiaopang among them. It wasn’t hard to do; among the group, he was the fattest by far. Standing out like a sore thumb, it would be hard not to notice him… But An Xiaopang didn’t seem to be happy, standing among the group of disciples, somewhat sullen and always with his head down. It seemed that although he was the son of the An Family head, he wasn’t valued much, and among these An Family disciples, he was likely the one with the lowest aptitude, the lowest cultivation, and the least impressive presence, probably thrown in just to make up the numbers. Old Master An said, “I have some matters to discuss with Court Leader Zhang, and if Little Brother Mo doesn’t mind, you can take a stroll in our An Family’s garden in the back. The flowers there are a sight to behold, and the scenery is superb.” “These clan disciples can accompany you.” Old Master An gestured toward the group of disciples, particularly pointing out a few of the beautiful girls in the front. Mo Hua felt a bit awkward, Old Master An’s intentions were clear for all to see. Situ Xiu also felt embarrassed and wasn’t sure what to say. Zhang Lan, on the other hand, watched the drama unfold without raising any fuss, quietly sipping his tea, but inwardly gloating as he winked at Mo Hua. Old Master An had gone to great lengths, presumably wanting to have Mo Hua marry into the family. But to not make it too obvious, he had included some other An Family disciples in the mix. Mo Hua sighed internally and couldn’t be bothered to play along with Old Master An anymore. Just now, he could afford to waste time on those pleasantries, and that was already giving enough courtesy. Mo Hua stood up to take his leave, “It’s getting late, and I still have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now and not disturb you and Uncle Zhang in discussing important matters.” Old Master An’s expression showed a slight disappointment, but he did not insist on keeping him, only saying: “Little brother, please feel at ease to go, no need to stand on ceremony.” Mo Hua stood up to leave. As he turned around, he caught sight of the dejected An Xiaopang and hesitated for a moment before sighing inwardly. “Young Master An?” Old Master An’s eyes brightened, “Little brother, you know Xiaofu?” Mo Hua nodded, “Young Master An and I are fellow disciples; we have some friendship, and he has helped me before.” An Xiaopang was stunned. Wasn’t it Mo Hua who helped him with his homework? When did he help Mo Hua? He couldn’t remember… Old Master An’s eyes shone even brighter, and the look he gave An Xiaopang also contained a bit more appreciation. “Since there is some comradeship between fellow disciples, then Xiaofu, you should take Little brother Mo and show him around.” All eyes in the room turned towards An Xiaopang. For the first time, An Xiaopang found himself being watched by so many people and felt a bit uneasy. Nevertheless, he straightened his back a little and said, “Yes, Grandfather.” An Xiaopang led Mo Hua out of the living room. Afterward, he let out a sigh of relief, his entire demeanor deflating like a punctured ball, wilting down. He looked a bit pitiable, yet somewhat amusing. Mo Hua couldn’t help but ask, “Are you very afraid of your grandfather?” An Xiaopang nodded, “Yes. Not just my grandfather, I’m also afraid of my dad, and the other uncles and elders.” “Do they hit you?” An Xiaopang shook his head. “Do they scold you?” “My dad does, but my grandfather doesn’t, and usually, the other uncles and elders don’t either. Oh right, my dad also hits me…” Mo Hua asked in confusion, “Then what are you afraid of them for?” An Xiaopang did not answer but instead began to look despondent, saying: “Mo Hua, am I completely useless?” Mo Hua wanted to say no, but he couldn’t find any strengths to point out, so he responded in a more tactful way: “A little bit.” An Xiaopang became even more dejected, “My dad is the family head, and logically, I should become the family head in the future, but I’m not capable, I can’t be the family head…” “Is that why you’re unhappy?” “Yes.” An Xiaopang nodded, “That’s why those uncles and elders, the way they look at me, it’s with both regret and disappointment. When I was young, my grandfather cared for me a lot, but as I started to grow up, he didn’t even want to look at me straight anymore…” An Xiaopang’s voice grew fainter and fainter, until it was barely audible. “Did you not know about this before?” The An Xiaopang Mo Hua remembered was the outspoken, somewhat temperamental, yet kind-hearted chubby boy. Now, he seemed burdened with heavy thoughts. “I didn’t know before because I hadn’t noticed. But then one day, I suddenly realized that the way my grandfather looked at me had changed. It wasn’t concern anymore; it was indifference and disappointment. And when I looked at my dad and those uncles and elders, actually, their eyes were all the same, filled only with disappointment…” “Perhaps they had been disappointed in me for a long time, and it was just that I hadn’t noticed.” A deep sense of loss lingered in An Xiaopang’s eyes. “What if you work hard in your cultivation and learn more things?” suggested Mo Hua. An Xiaopang wiped away a tear secretly, “Mo Hua, I’m just not smart, no matter how hard I try, I can never seem to learn. The things others can master, no matter how I study, I just can’t grasp…”