Chapter Sixteen: What is Fate?

  After leaving his father, Xu Hua went out of the Xu Mansion and headed to the Zhou Mansion. Since the Zhou Mansion was not adjacent to the Xu Mansion, Xu Hua led a horse from the stable and sped towards the Zhou's residence.

  Qingshan Town, in front of the Zhou Mansion, two young servants were sweeping the floor when suddenly a horseshoe sound came...

  "Hmm, hmm"

  "Xu San Shao Ye" Two young servants and the guards at the gate immediately came to pay their respects. Since the master of the house returned yesterday, not only did he arrest a group of people, but also explicitly ordered that from now on, Xu Hua must be treated with extreme respect, otherwise, they would be dealt with according to the family rules.

  "Is Xiaoying here?" Although he was a little surprised why these young men were so enthusiastic, Xu Hua didn't think much about it and directly handed the horse over to the young man to arrange.

  "The young lady is here, she hasn't gone out in these few days."

  Xu Hua nodded and stepped into the Zhou Mansion. Only after Xu Hua entered did a guard hastily rush in to report.

  Xu Hua wasn't visiting the Zhou residence for the first time, but previously he had always been led by Xiao Ying and there were often some unpleasant roadblocks. This made Xu Hua somewhat dissatisfied in his heart. But today, everyone was surprisingly polite, so Xu Hua arrived at the inner courtyard of the Zhou residence without any obstacles, in front of Xiao Ying's door. However, he was informed that Xiao Ying was practicing martial arts in the rear garden, so Xu Hua headed towards the rear garden once again.

  The backyard of the Zhou Mansion, although not as connected to a small hill outside like the Xu Mansion's backyard, was also quite large. Some madams and young ladies from the Zhou Mansion often stayed here for a long time.

  "Hmm, ha, hoo..."

  Under the leadership of Zhou Fu's maid, Xu Hua soon saw Xiaoying, who was practicing flower boxing in the backyard at this time. Although it is not as masculine as a man's martial arts, it has another kind of soft beauty. However, if you underestimate her because of this, then you are greatly mistaken.

  Xiaoying's current set of flower fists is called "Mianquan", a mid-level martial art of the Huang level, its power should not be underestimated, it looks soft and weak, but when actually fighting, it can take lives, Xiaoying is only thirteen years old, but she has already reached the middle stage of martial arts and has practiced this set of "Mianquan" to a small success, she is indeed a natural-born genius.

  "Good..."

  The sudden applause caused Xiaoying's movements to pause for a moment, and then Xiaoying still finished the entire set of movements before stopping and happily running to Xu Hua's side, pulling on Xu Hua's arm and saying: "Brother Hua, how did you come? Weren't you supposed to be at home preparing for the Luocheng public exam?"

  Looking at Xiaoying's appearance, Xu Hua had a smile on his face and said: "I came this time to bid farewell to you. I plan to go to Luocheng ahead of schedule. In the past few years, I have been staying in Qingshan Town. This time, I will take the opportunity of the Luocheng public examination to broaden my horizons and gain more experience."

  "It's great! Xiaoying also wants to go with Huage, but Xiaoying needs to prepare well for next year's Sanzu Bihu, I want to give Dad a surprise!"

  Xu Hua affectionately pinched Xiaoying's nose and said, "Xiaoying is a genius, you will surely make a stunning debut in the big competition next year."

  ……

  ……

  The two of them talked for a long time, and it wasn't until after two hours had passed that they finally parted ways. After Xu Hua drove his horse away from the Zhou residence, a figure appeared in front of the gate of the Zhou residence. The guards and servants saw him and immediately shouted: "Young Master!"

  This man is Zhou Xiong, Xiaoying's older brother. As soon as Xu Hua entered the Zhou residence, he received the news. Although he didn't want Xu Hua to meet his younger sister, last night his father, Master Zhou, explicitly told him that from now on he must not make things difficult for Xu Hua again. The tone was very severe and did not allow him to retort, which made him feel resentful in his heart.

  "I really don't know why Father is so biased towards you, but if you continue to be like this in the future, I will never allow you to see Xiaoying again..." Watching Xu Hua walk away, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in Zhou Xiong's eyes.

  Xu Hua returned from Zhou Fu and began to prepare the things he needed to bring with him. In fact, there were not many things to bring, as long as he had enough silver, everything could be bought. However, on the way to Luo City, there was a section of mountain road, so he still needed to prepare some dry rations and clean clothes.

  While Xu Hua and his gang were busy, in the East Garden of the Xu Mansion, a hidden room once again erupted with thunderous angry voices.

  "How is it possible that this little bastard is still alive? Didn't the Tianzu Gang succeed? Those useless people..."

  "Master, maybe that little bastard didn't go to the back mountain yesterday!" It was still the middle-aged man, whose face didn't look good at this time. Facing the furious master always made him nervous.

  "If that's really the case, then that little bastard's luck is just too good." This 'master' was none other than Xu Chong, the son of the Great Elder and also the father of Xu Zhenting.

  Xu Chong can be said to be Xu Lin's old opponent, after all, it was he who competed with Xu Lin for the position of family head back then, but in the end he failed. However, over the years, he has never given up. After all, ten years ago, Xu Lin stopped managing the clan's affairs, and as the son of the Grand Elder and also the Deputy Commander of the Xu Mansion's Law Enforcement Team, it was not difficult for him to secretly strengthen his own power. Although he still had a lingering attachment to the position of family head, he himself no longer had the opportunity, after all, to become the family head, one must have the strength of a Martial King. Perhaps there has been a knot in his heart all these years, and he couldn't break through the Tian Di Xuan Guan in his body to become a strong Martial King. However, his accumulation was incredibly deep, and it's likely that even an ordinary Martial King wouldn't be able to defeat him. Although he himself no longer had hope of becoming the family head, his son Xu Zheng did have this hope. For this matter, he laid down countless hidden hands, just waiting for the day when Xu Zheng would become a Martial King.

  In this young generation, Xu Zhēn can be said to be the strongest. In Xu Chóng's view, among the younger generation of the Xú family, no one can surpass his son. As for the other branches, it's not necessary to mention them. Xu Lín has two sons and a daughter, but the daughter doesn't count. According to the Xú family's ancestral teachings, only males can take on the position of head of the household. The second son is Xu Lǎng and the third son is Xu Huá. As for Xu Huá, it's not necessary to mention him. Although he suddenly became enlightened, after all, the gap between him and his cousins is too big, and wanting to catch up with Xu Zhēn is basically impossible in Xu Chóng's view. However, this danger cannot be ruled out, which is why Xu Chóng would find someone to assassinate Xu Huá, unfortunately without success. As for Xu Lǎng, he can be said to be the biggest competitor of his son Xu Zhēn. Although he is two years younger than Zhēn, his talent is quite good, and it's said that he has already reached the early stages of a martial arts master. Moreover, he is currently studying in Tiān Nán Fǔ, making it difficult to take action against him.

  Fortunately, Xu Chong knew that Xu Zhong had already reached the middle of Wu Shi a few days ago, so he was very confident in his heart. The next master's position would probably fall into Zhong's hands, but Xu Zhong and he were different. Without his ruthless tactics, many things were not told to Xu Zhong in secret.

  Xu Chong's mind was left with only one obsession, that is to make Zhēng become the master of the Xu family, for this he can pay all, even collude with Tiān Zú Bang.

  The Tiān Zú gang is the largest bandit group in the surrounding towns, and many of its members are ruthless killers. Under the leadership of Gě Tiān Hóng, they formed the Tiān Zú gang, becoming the most powerful bandit force in the area. The mere mention of the Tiān Zú gang makes people's teeth ache with hatred, as they have committed every evil act imaginable - arson, murder, humiliation, and plunder. If it weren't for the deterrent effect of the three major families in Qīng Shān town, the Tiān Zú gang would have attacked long ago.

  "Last night, Xu Lin made a big move. It seems that the people from Tianzu Gang who were arranged by him to be around that little bastard have been taken care of. Now it's not easy to assassinate that kid again." Xu Chongsheng muttered in a low voice after his anger subsided.

  "It's not like there won't be an opportunity, isn't the Los City public exam coming up soon? With his temperament, he will definitely not miss it. At that time, as long as Tianzu's people make a move, I'm afraid no one can help him." A hint of gloom flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes.

  "Do you think Xu Lin won't think of what you're thinking? Don't underestimate him, otherwise I wouldn't have lost so badly back then. However... this is indeed an opportunity that can't be wasted. Although we can't handle him here, there are still many people in Luocheng who can handle him." A hint of sinister intent flashed across Xu Chong's face.

  The middle-aged man in front of him looked somewhat perplexed and asked doubtfully, "Master, it's true that there are many people in Luocheng who can deal with that little scoundrel, but will they listen to me?"

  Xu Chong looked at the middle-aged man with disdain and said: "This is why I am the master and you are a slave..."

  ……

  Xu Fu, Dongyuan, in Xu Lin's study, Xu Lin was looking at the intelligence on his desk, when suddenly a man in black appeared in the room.

  "Master, the matter has been investigated clearly. The one who wants to harm Young Master is Xu Chong. He colluded with Ge Tianhong of the Tiexu Gang and had him send someone to wait in the backyard where Young Master usually practices his martial arts, planning to quietly take care of Young Master. His goal was to create internal chaos within the Xu Manor, so that he could reap the benefits."

  Xu Lin raised his head, and in an instant, his eyes were filled with endless killing intent. He said coldly, "It seems that my indulgence over the past decade has made some people restless. Of course, I let him off because of his status as a member of the Xu family, but I didn't expect him to still be the same."

  "Master, let Zhengyi take care of him."

  "Don't move, I've been hiding you for many years. Back then, even when Rong'er was forced to death, I didn't let you appear. How could I expose you at this time? You are the ultimate trump card for me to seek justice for Hua'er." Xu Lin waved his hand and said, actually he was also helpless. If it were useful, he would have exposed this force ten years ago, but obviously, there was no way to contend with it, so this force has developed until now.

  "...about Young Master Hua..."

  "Hua'er has grown up, these things will be handled by himself, I believe him. And you don't have to come over recently, it's inevitable that the old guys in the clan will come back, and if they find out, it won't be good. Except for leaving two brothers with Hui'er and Lang'er, everyone else will withdraw from the Southern Domain. As for me, I won't go there often lately, there are some things in the clan that need to be planned carefully." Xu Lin finished speaking, and suddenly a hidden door appeared in the study, the black-clothed person quickly disappeared into the hidden door, as for what happened next, it was not known to outsiders.

  He closed the dark door and muttered to himself, "The wind has risen, a chaotic era is coming, but what's the difference? I just want to seek justice for Rong'er..."

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