Chapter 2249, Ning Yuan Shu Translator: Silavin & Danny Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys “Old Ancestor naturally understands this,” Qin Zhao Yang forced a smile, “It’s just that the Qin Family has rooted in Maplewood City and we can’t stay out entirely... the Masters from the second and third class Sects were not willing to settle down in the various inns in the city and instead chose to stay in the residences of the few large families here. The Zhou Family, Du Family, Liang Family, and Xin Family have shown hospitality to a number of such forces each, and even the City Lord’s Mansion was wrested away by Flying Saint Palace!” “Even the City Lord’s Mansion...” Qin Yu covered her mouth. Qin Zhao Yang continued, “Flying Saint Palace is helmed by an Emperor Realm Master, while Sir City Lord is just a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator. How could he raise any objections? We, the Qin Family, are already considered to be lucky by comparison as we only need to deal with one great force, but the City Lord’s Mansion... Haa... they are in dire straits.” “What happened?” Qin Yu questioned. Qin Zhao Yang’s face darkened, he said, “Zhuang Pan returned!” “What?” Qin Yu’s face turned black after hearing this and she couldn’t help gritting her teeth, “That shameless coward still dares to return?” Back when the city was besieged by the Demon Qi wave, the few Masters available had united and used the Black Tortoise Seven Points Array to forge their way towards the sealing place of the Demon Qi in order to stem its tide. However, before they could complete their task, Zhuang Pan had lost his nerve and, caring for nothing but saving his own skin, deserted the others and ran off at the crucial moment, leading to the destruction of the Black Tortoise Seven Points Array. Although Duan Yuan Shan managed to escape at the last moment and bring Qin Zhao Yang and Qin Yu back to Maplewood City, they had failed to reinforce the Demon Qi seal. No one knew what happened next, only that three Emperor Realm Masters showed up right after and then the Demon Qi disappeared. Zhuang Pan had not been seen since then. He used to be a Vice City Lord of Maplewood City, similar to Drunkard. He assisted Duan Yuan Shan in managing Maplewood City and the surrounding ten-thousand-kilometre region. After he disappeared, the position of Vice City Lord was naturally left unfilled. Duan Yuan Shan had tried to persuade Yang Kai to fill that position, but he kindly refused. After that incident, everyone, including the Qin Family and Duan Yuan Shan, hated Zhuang Pan deeply. Duan Yuan Shan even announced in public that he would execute this cowardly traitor if he ever saw him again. Who could have expected that this same snake would return just a few months later? How could Qin Yu not be surprised? Qin Zhao Yang coldly snorted, “He didn’t just shamelessly return, he actually came back even more arrogant than before!” “What happened?” Qin Yu frowned, vaguely feeling that there must be more to the story. “What else could have happened? He sought refuge in the Flying Saint Palace!” Qin Zhao Yang sneered, “He was also the one who led the delegation from Flying Saint Palace into the City Lord’s Mansion. I bet City Lord Duan... must be suffering.” Qin Yu was silent for a while after listening to him, seemingly imagining the helplessness Duan Yuan Shan must be experiencing. With the backing of Flying Saint Palace, Zhuang Pan could parade around wantonly while Duan Yuan Shan could do nothing against him. Their situation had totally reversed from before, so Duan Yuan Shan must be incomparably frustrated. ‘City Lord’s Mansion’ today was only an empty title. “Every family is not having a good time now. The Zhou Family, Du Family, Liang Family, and Xin Family are all quite irritated by this foul atmosphere. Xin Gao Jie has come to me and complained about the bitterness his family is suffering several times already...” Qin Zhao Yang sighed with his head shaking slowly. “Then our Qin Family...” Qin Yu stopped, swallowing back the words on the tip of her tongue. “It’s still fine so far,” Qin Zhao Yang said in a heavy tone, “The Sect that came to stay in our Qin Residence is called ‘Eight Paths Sect’, a second-class Sect, and the young man who leads them prefers solitude so he can focus entirely on his cultivation, so our Qin Family has not been given any serious trouble from him. The same goes for this young man’s subordinates, so we have been able to co-exist peacefully until now.” “That’s good then,” Qin Yu felt relieved after hearing this. “Our Qin Family has it comparatively good,” Qin Zhao Yang smiled faintly. While they were still speaking, a sudden rush of footsteps was heard from the outside. It seemed that someone was running in their direction. Qin Zhao Yang couldn’t help but frown. After a while, the voice of the maidservant rang out, “Old Ancestor...” The voice quivered with uncontrolled emotions. “Have a good rest, Yu’er. Old Ancestor will be back soon,” Qin Zhao Yang did not want to disturb Qin Yu’s mood with some trivial matters, so he turned to leave after comforting her. “Old Ancestor...” Qin Yu called out from behind, “Be careful.” Qin Zhao Yang gently nodded and walked out. After closing the door, he flashed his eyes like lightning and glared at the maidservant. The eyes of the maidservant were filled with tears as she began to speak but then hesitated when she noticed Qin Zhao Yang’s stare. Qin Zhao Yang walked out of the boudoir and the maidservant followed closely behind him. After taking some distance from Qin Yu’s room, Qin Zhao Yang asked, “What’s the matter? Speak.” “Old Ancestor...” The maidservant hurriedly explained what happened just now. Qin Zhao Yang’s face darkened after hearing her explanation and rushed out to the rear courtyard. Inside her room, Qin Yu spoke to Hui’er, “Help me up.” Hui’er asked in shock, “Young Lady, what do you want to do?” “To see what is happening, I have a bad feeling,” Qin Yu answered with worry. “We have Old Ancestor with us, what could happen? In fact, Young Lady is the one who is not feeling well now, so it’s better not to get up.” “Are you going to help me or not?” Qin Yu stared at her Hui’er with her sharp but beautiful eyes. Hui’er panicked seeing this and desperately tried to dissuade, “Young Lady, this servant dares not without Old Ancestor’s consent...” “Then I will get up by myself...” Qin Yu grit her teeth and slowly straightened her body. It was just a simple movement but it already caused her to groan in pain and cold sweat to bead on her forehead. Hui’er, watching from the side, was anxious like a cat on a hot brick and kept trying to persuade Qin Yu to stop, but her Young Lady turned a deaf ear to her pleas. In the end, Hui’er had no choice but to choke down her tears and assist Qin Yu. ... City Lord’s Mansion. Inside the main hall of the City Lord’s Mansion, a man who appeared to be in his twenties sat at the head seat. Although this man had an impressive appearance, there was a sinister feeling about him, as if he was always plotting some wicked scheme. His cultivation was not high, just First-Order Dao Source Realm, but the air about him made it apparent he had a strong background. This man was the current Young Palace Master of Flying Saint Palace, Ning Yuan Shu. Ever since the last Young Palace Master of Flying Saint Palace, Ning Yuan Cheng, suffered from a sudden death, his younger brother, Ning Yuan Shu, had assumed the role of Young Palace Master. Two Third-Order Dao Source Realm Masters were standing separately on either side of Ning Yuan Shu. One of them was expressionless and seemed to be resting his mind with his eyes closed, while the other one appeared like an old man but radiated a strong vitality. They were the Left and Right Protectors of Flying Saint Palace, Gao Shan and Liu Shui. Gao Shan was Left Protector while Liu Shui was Right Protector. Both of them were proficient in sound-based techniques and had mysterious combination skills that were incredibly powerful. At this moment, Ning Yuan Shu was savouring the spirit fruits on the table with a smile on his face. Below him, the former Maplewood City Vice City Lord, Zhuang Pan was staring coldly at a man, his facial expression filled with contempt and arrogance. The person that he was staring at was Duan Yuan Shan. Beside Duan Yuan Shan was Drunkard, who developed a red flush in his face and was most likely drunk. His eyes seemed glossy and drifted around the hall as his gaze floated about his surroundings. “Is there some reason Young Palace Master has summoned both of us here?” Duan Yuan Shan cupped his fists and asked unhappily. Anyone would be pissed if their home was suddenly intruded on by outsiders and taken over. However, considering that both Protector Gao Shan and Protector Liu Shui were present, and represented Flying Saint Palace, Duan Yuan Shan did not dare to resist and could only allow them to occupy the City Lord’s Mansion, which was supposed to symbolize the pride of a City Lord. These days, he and Drunkard had tried their best to live in simplicity and stay out of worldly affairs. But Ning Yuan Shu had asked for them today. “Obviously there is a reason for you to be summoned! However, don’t you see that Young Palace Master is currently enjoying his spirit fruit? Just stand there and wait quietly!” Zhuang Pan rebuked sharply. Just a few months ago, he had a conflict with Yang Kai during which the spirituality of his precious artifact was all but destroyed and he had personally been injured. At the time though, Duan Yuan Shan did not help him and instead took Yang Kai’s side to reprimand him. Zhuang Pan loathed Duan Yuan Shan, so now that he had the chance to repay the humiliation from back then, he took full advantage of it. “Ge...” Drunkard gave out a loud burp without any warning, filling the air with a strong smell of alcohol. Ning Yuan Shu, who was seated at the head of the hall, frowned as he lost the mood to savour his food and unpleasantly dropped them. “Sir City Lord... ge, why does this old man... wu... hear a dog barking... uhh...” He could only finish his one sentence in a few divided sections, looking so sloppy that it was embarrassing just looking at him. “You...” His words and actions enraged Zhuang Pan. It was impossible for him to not understand that Drunkard was insulting him. But Ning Yuan Shu waved his hand to stop his clamour. Seeing this, Zhuang Pan did not dare to continue his sentence and instead just glared at Drunkard with hatred. “City Lord Duan!” Ning Yuan Shu greeted Duan Yuan Shan with a slight smile. Duan Yuan Shan frowned. Although Ning Yuan Shu was smiling, Duan Yuan Shan could not help feeling a chill down his back, like some kind of venomous snake was eying him. “What is your command, Young Palace Master?” Duan Yuan Shan asked solemnly. “Father specially arranged the two Protectors, Gao Shan and Liu Shui, to keep this Young Master company for this trip out of the palace. Given that they are the strongest masters aside from my Lord Father in our palace, they actually shouldn’t be dispatched for such a simple errand. So, City Lord Duan, do you know why they are here?” He grinned lightly. Duan Yuan Shan thought to himself, [What does that have to do with me? It was your old man who sent some men to protect you. Also, don’t Young Masters like you always have some bodyguards with them when they are out for a trip?] Even though he thought so, he simply replied, “I don’t know.” “Heh heh...” Ning Yuan Shu laughed softly, “Of course they are here to keep me safe...” Duan Yuan Shan’s face darkened and he showed an expression that seemed to scream ‘Are you messing with me’. [If this question was that simple, why did you even ask in the first place?] As expected, Ning Yuan Shu suddenly continued, “Lord Father said that the public order in Maplewood City... is quite bad!” Duan Yuan Shan frowned and asked, “Where did such a rumour spawn from? This Duan has governed Maplewood City for many years now and although the cultivators in the city might not be the kindest or easiest to get along with, killing and robbing rarely happen here. Regarding the statement about the public order here being bad, please forgive this Duan for not being able to agree.”