Chapter 6: That Wretched Bastard!

"Cut this little bastard into a thousand pieces!"

The moment Qin Guan's words landed, Chen Shaojie's face twisted into something terrifying. A lowly nobody had dared to insult his family!

Before his voice had even faded, two bodyguards behind him instantly appeared in front of Qin Guan.

Bang! Bang!

The two bodyguards moved fast — but they flew back even faster. Before they could even throw a punch, they were sent hurtling through the air, spitting blood.

"Gah—!"

Chen Shaojie hadn't even registered what was happening when the scene around him blurred into a smear of shadows. Qin Guan grabbed him by the head with one hand and slammed him face-first into the floor. Blood poured from his mouth, and a mouthful of teeth shattered across the ground.

Thud!

Qin Guan planted his foot on Chen Shaojie's head.

"Young man, stop — he's the Young Master of our Tianbao Pavilion, you can't—"

The spiritual materials shop owner hadn't even finished his sentence when Nan Rou suddenly grabbed Qin Guan and bolted for the door. In the blink of an eye, the two of them had vanished into the crowd.

"You idiots — go after them, use your brains!"

Chen Shaojie roared with his blood-filled mouth, but with barely any teeth left, his words came out slurred and whistling.

Meanwhile, Nan Rou dragged Qin Guan through the streets at a sprint, deliberately weaving through the most secluded back alleys she could find.

Qin Guan was genuinely surprised. This girl looked so delicate — where was she hiding all that strength?

"Huff… huff…"

Before long, Nan Rou pulled Qin Guan into a hidden corner. She bent over, gasping for breath.

"Guan — Brother Guan, we need to get home and hide! That man is the Young Master of Tianbao Pavilion!"

Nan Rou looked around nervously, her face drained of all color.

The Tianbao Pavilion was absolutely not someone the Nan Family could afford to offend. Even if you gave the Nan Family ten times the courage, they still wouldn't dare cross Tianbao Pavilion.

The moment she'd heard that man was the Young Master of Tianbao Pavilion, she hadn't hesitated for even a heartbeat — she'd grabbed Qin Guan and run.

Qin Guan raised his left hand and shook the handful of spiritual materials he was still holding, grinning. "We haven't paid yet."

"Oh, for goodness' sake!"

Nan Rou was speechless. Without another word, she grabbed him and kept running toward the Nan Family estate.

They didn't stop until they were through the gates, inside her private courtyard, and the courtyard door was locked behind them.

"Brother Guan, they shouldn't know you're the Nan Family's live-in son-in-law, right?" Nan Rou asked anxiously from the courtyard.

Qin Guan shook his head. "Probably not."

"Good. They probably don't recognize me either — I haven't left the house in years." Nan Rou nodded, letting out a small breath of relief.

"We were wandering around the main street for a while though," Qin Guan said with a sudden smile. "I'd say tracing us back to the Nan Family wouldn't be too difficult."

"Then what do we do?!"

Nan Rou's anxiety surged right back.

Just thinking about how Qin Guan had knocked out nearly every tooth in that Young Master's mouth made her chest tighten with dread. The Nan Family simply didn't have the power to protect Qin Guan — and worse, if her father and stepmother found out, they would absolutely lose their minds.

The more she thought about how serious this was, the more Nan Rou felt like she was about to cry. They'd gone out in such good spirits to buy things, and now this had happened.

Knock knock knock!

Just then, a knock came from outside the courtyard gate.

Nan Rou flinched so hard her whole body trembled.

"Don't be scared." Qin Guan walked over and opened the gate.

An old maidservant walked in with a cheerful smile:

"Young Master and Young Miss, your wedding day is just two days away! The master has sent me to take your measurements for the wedding garments."

Nan Rou let out a long breath of relief. She'd nearly been frightened to death just now.

"Please follow me, Auntie." Nan Rou led the old maidservant inside.

The maidservant produced a collection of embroidered samples for Nan Rou and Qin Guan to choose from.

Knowing that Qin Guan disliked overly elaborate patterns, Nan Rou selected a pure red wedding garment with minimal embellishment. Qin Guan looked it over and said he liked it very much.

Once the samples were chosen, the maidservant began taking their measurements.

At the same time, Chen Shaojie was raging like a madman, sending people to scour the city for Qin Guan and Nan Rou.

And when Pavilion Master Chen Guangling saw his son's face beaten to look like a swollen pig's head, he immediately dropped everything he was doing and dispatched his personal guards to investigate the matter thoroughly — swearing to tear the perpetrator apart limb from limb.

* * *

That evening, inside a lavish inn.

"Young Miss, we've tracked down the young man you encountered on the river a few days ago." A Shadow Guard reported to a white-robed young lady standing by the window.

"Speak."

"The young man's name is Qin Guan. His background and power are unknown. All we know is that he came to Luyun City to become a live-in son-in-law for the Nan Family." The Shadow Guard continued.

"The Nan Family? A live-in son-in-law?" The White-Robed Young Lady turned around, her elegant brows furrowing slightly. "What kind of power does the Nan Family have?"

"The Nan Family is merely a third-rate family in Luyun City. Very weak." The Shadow Guard replied.

"Understood." The White-Robed Young Lady waved her hand in dismissal, and the Shadow Guard quickly withdrew.

"Interesting." After the Shadow Guard left, a Blue-robed Elder stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Elder Xu, it seems he didn't come for Ten Thousand Demon Valley." The White-Robed Young Lady remarked.

"He's in Luyun City right now. When the Ancient Relic in Ten Thousand Demon Valley opens, he'll certainly hear about it." Elder Xu said.

The White-Robed Young Lady gave a slight nod.

"Such a powerful person going to live-in with a third-rate family as a son-in-law — that really is quite amusing. Elder Xu, after we finish our business at Tianbao Pavilion later, let's pay that young man a visit."

Elder Xu nodded.

"That young man will definitely be interested in the Ancient Relic. The powers currently aware of it include Wei Kingdom, Spirit Sword Academy, and Yunlan Sect. If we can bring him to our side, it would be a tremendous advantage."

* * *

"Husband, have you heard? Tianbao Pavilion's Young Master Chen Shaojie was beaten today — right inside Tianbao Pavilion — and he's got barely a tooth left in his head!"

At the Nan Family dinner table, Yang Hongmei's eyes gleamed with a hint of schadenfreude as she relayed the news to Nan Yunqi.

Nan Yunqi nodded.

"I've heard something of it. Apparently it was done by a young man. Truly outrageous — who dares strike the Young Master of Tianbao Pavilion? Whatever family raised such a troublemaker must have the worst luck in the world!"

"Master, something — something terrible has happened!" A servant outside came tumbling through the door, half-crawling, half-running.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Yang Hongmei clutched her chest, startled out of her wits by the sudden intrusion.

"What is all this panic about?!" Nan Yunqi rose to his feet.

"Outside — outside, Tianbao Pavilion's Pavilion Master… Chen Guangling has brought dozens of men and says he's going to wipe out the Nan Family!"

"WHAT?!"

The news hit Nan Yunqi like a club to the skull. His head rang and buzzed.

Yang Hongmei's face went pale. "Are you sure you haven't made a mistake? Why on earth would Tianbao Pavilion want to destroy our Nan Family out of nowhere?"

"They say it was… it was the live-in son-in-law, Qin Guan, who beat Chen Shaojie!"

"WHAT?!"

"So it was that wretched bastard who did this! That jinx — he's trying to drag our Nan Family down with him!" Yang Hongmei erupted in a torrent of curses, nearly fainting from rage.

Nan Yunqi was equally furious. How could Qin Guan dare lay hands on the Young Master of Tianbao Pavilion? That was a scion of a powerful house! The Nan Family was in serious trouble now!

"Nan Yunqi, get your worthless self out here this instant!"

At that moment, a furious roar thundered in from the courtyard outside.