Chapter 321: The Nephew and Uncles Meet as Strangers
"Eldest Brother, how about we go to Tian Xiang after this matter with Tian Fa is over?" the short and stout man cautiously and solemnly asked the man he was speeding besides.
"What would we do there? Wouldn’t we just look for trouble, and kill people? Won’t it be an arduous and thankless job? Don’t you remember the lessons from last time?" the black bearded middle-aged man rolled his eyes and lashed out.
"No. How could I ever forget what happened all those years ago? I was just wondering if I could take Jun Mo Xie and bring him to stay with our sister for a couple of days. I hear that that child is different from before. People say that he’s acting tyrannically these days; he’s oppressing people all the time. He has made a lot of progress as well. Little sister... she has been unconscious for ten years now," the short and stout man spoke with a trace of regret on his face.
"This matter... needs time to be considered. Don’t I love my sister too? But, that brat’s conduct is very shameful. He had started to behave badly from the start. Besides, mother was waiting for some good news in high hopes the last time I had gone home to report of our nephew’s conduct. She was very expectant of him. But, she got so angry after she heard about his behavior that she almost shut herself in... or have you forgotten about that? I would’ve abandoned him if he weren’t my nephew! Rumor has it that... he has improved. But, that is just a rumor. What if the rumor turns out to be false and the brat’s conduct turns out to be nastier than the rumors put it? Wouldn’t mother feel infuriated? So, let’s check-it-out in secret first..." The black bearded man sighed as a sad look covered his eyes.
"Hmm, you’re right. That little brat has been extremely disappointing. Little Sister’s innate talent was outstanding, and Younger Brother-in-law Wu Hui was a dragon in human form. How could someone derived from them be so unbearable? We’ll need to take a proper look for further consideration. But, what if the prodigal son has made his return? Wouldn’t it be a very happy event? However, it will be very difficult for us to come out this time. There’s a chance that something may happen if we go back. Eldest Brother... the Silver Blizzard City will most-likely send people to Tian Fa. Shouldn’t we trifle with their people a bit? And speaking of anger... that little brat from the Silver City is basically a torrent of flames." The short stout man bared his teeth. There was a hint of a secretive yet fierce smile on his face.
"Very well, there’s no harm in killing or playing with a few of them." However, the black bearded middle-aged man warned, "But, no one is to know that we were involved."
"Of course! The Silver Blizzard City’s younger generation will die without knowing the immensity of the issue. This will be heartwarming. We can consider this as ‘revenge’ for Younger Brother-in-law, and a case of ‘venting our anger for our sister’s condition’." The other two men smiled in an evil manner as they prepared themselves for a fight.
~ Outside the jungle. At the fork of the three roads ~
Jun Mo Xie was standing with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he started to look a bit startled. His expression changed a bit, but it soon became normal again. The Young Master Jun was focused on a particular direction. This was because he had sensed three very powerful and imposing figures, and these figures were moving quite fast. Their direction was unchanging, and he judged that his current location was their intended destination.
Jun Mo Xie narrowed his eyes and focused. He thought that... [I never knew that the world outside Tian Xiang City is so huge. These rivers and mountains are so picturesque.] He was right to say this.
It seemed from their aura that all three of them had Spirit Xuan cultivation. In fact, their cultivation was more-or-less the same as that of the Silver Blizzard City’s elders. However, the Hit-man Jun didn’t lose his color because of this. ...mainly because the three men’s murderous aura was quite faint at this moment. And, Jun Mo Xie couldn’t be mistaken in this regard since he was a top-notch assassin. In fact, he had also determined that the third, sixth and ninth elders of the Silver Blizzard City would die an ugly death if they were to face-off against these three.
It was near-impossible to find even one such expert in the Capital’s region. However, he had found three of them out here.
[How could I have known about the existence of so many outstanding characters if I had remained in my nest in the Tian Xiang City? I’ve barely come out, and so many exceptional fellows have appeared. It seems that I should come out more often.]
Jun Mo Xie’s train of thought was in motion when the shadows of the three men flashed and arrived in front of him.
They were led by a black bearded and black-robed man. He had a mild expression on his face. One of the other two had a moderate stature. He was quite slim. The third one was very short. He had a big head and small eyes. He looked like the spitting image of a monkey; it was very funny.
The three descended to the ground in a flash. And then, they stared blankly.
They had sensed that overbearing murderous aura in the sky a short while ago. They had thought that it belonged to some extraordinary person. Therefore, they had rushed over to increase their knowledge; and, maybe even make friends with this personality... They didn’t have anything particular in their mind. However, someone with such a frightening murderous aura was surely worth associating with. However, they realized that things were entirely different from their expectation once they had arrived there.
They saw three youths — one young man, and two young girls. There were four other individuals besides them. The cultivation of these seven people was quite clear to the newcomers’ eyes. The two beautiful young ladies were at the middle level of the Gold Xuan realm. However, these two girls could be considered as ‘talented’ since they had achieved this feat at such a young age...
As for the young man — he had reached the Jade Xuan realm at such a young age. He would surely surpass their generation in no time!
Such cultivation was somewhat rare for such young individuals. And, they had never anticipated that they would come across three such youths. They were quite astonished to say the least — [what kind of a force is capable of cultivating these three youngsters to this level?] Though, they didn’t feel threatened at all.
The four men who stood behind them had an extremely baleful look on their faces. However, their cultivation could at-best be considered ‘average’. The one with the highest cultivation amongst them was at the Jade Xuan realm. The other three were at the Gold Xuan realm. They couldn’t exactly be considered as ‘weak’ if one were to take their age into account. However, they weren’t worth mentioning.
Moreover, hundreds of people were at work in the nearby forest. They all seemed to be in Gold Xuan realm. It was quite a difficult and valuable thing for such a small force. However, they weren’t that ‘great’ in the eyes of the three newcomers.
In fact, to accomplish training this small force of over two hundred men to Gold Xuan realm was very rare; especially when one considers the age of those soldiers. It was a luxury even several Empires in this world couldn’t afford. This extraordinary feat was extremely shocking. So much so, that it wouldn’t necessarily be easy for a major Empire to organize a small team of Gold Xuan experts even if the said-Empire was to put in the entirety of its efforts.
Therefore, it could be said that Jun Mo Xie’s troops could change the direction of any worldly war!
However, the strength of these troops weren’t of much importance to those three experts. These soldiers weren’t very different from ordinary ones in their eyes. They were at-best a little stronger than ants in their eyes. Every individual holds different levels of importance towards different people. This small army could make any Emperor emotionally charged, but it wouldn’t have the same effect on these three individuals.
How could these troops’ strength baffle these three experts like that mysterious murderous aura had?
"Young man, this old man has something to ask you. Who was the person that stopped here for a moment, and then disappeared in a wink of an eye? I ask that you to answer truthfully; it will be to your benefit. So, do you know?" the short and stout person asked. His name was Dongfang Wen Dao. He was third in order of age amongst the three experts. The middle-aged black bearded man was Dongfang Wen Qing, and the slim man was Dongfang Wen Jian. The three of them were real brothers.
Dongfang Wen Dao had realized that his Elder Brothers weren’t willing to open their mouths. So, he decided to ask since his status was the lowest amongst the three.
There was nothing wrong with his question. However, the same couldn’t be said for the manner in which he asked it. He hadn’t looked at them when he asked the question. Moreover, he had also spoken in a very arrogant manner. It seemed as if this had turned into an interrogation.
It wasn’t surprising that Dongfang Wen Dao had spoken like that. His strength may have been the least amongst the three brothers, but he was still a Spirit Xuan expert. His ego awakened since he was faced with so many Jade and Gold Xuan experts. So, he spoke for the face of his reputation. Moreover, it sounded as if his words had come as a great benefit for their sake.
It is considered a great favor to receive instructions from a Spirit Xuan expert. One would reap the benefits of such an advice for the entirety of their lives... even if it was only half-a-sentence... or even a single word.
Even the eldest and the second Dongfang brothers thought that this was only a natural course of action. They didn’t think that there was anything wrong with their younger brother’s method of questioning.
He asked the question, and expected that the opposite party would instantly recognize their strength. He expected that the other party would be delighted, and might even try their best to fawn over them in order to curry favor with them.
However, it was a pity that he had met Jun Mo Xie.
This person couldn’t be moved by force, persuasion or material benefits. Moreover, he would never bow down to any threat.
Even if that threat came from three Spirit Xuan experts...
The original Jun Mo Xie had met his three uncles very briefly. But, this had happened over ten years ago. He was no more than six or seven years of age at the time. And, he had forgotten about them owing to his careless nature. The current Jun Mo Xie didn’t even have the slightest idea of their identity as a result. He would’ve been able to recall them if the previous occupant of his body hadn’t possessed such a useless memory.
As for those three grownups — his uncles — how would they know? They had last seen Jun Mo Xie over ten years ago. He used to be a snot-nosed stubborn brat back then. However, they were facing a youngster with a promising face and outstanding bearing at the moment. [Where have we seen this extraordinarily talented and handsome youngster? I just can’t recall. This young man is very handsome. And, there’s some vague familiarity about him.] However, it didn’t occur to them who it was...
Their minds had been tuned by the rumors. So, their nephew was supposed to be a thorough debauchee and a wastrel. How could he resemble this handsome and prod youngster? Moreover, this young man was at the middle level of the Jade Xuan realm; maybe even a bit higher. However, the rumors stated that their nephew had wasted his meridians in his debaucheries. Therefore, it was very hard to make that connection.
"Ha ha... Sister Xiao Yi, do you finally see? That tree doesn’t seem like one in late autumn. Its leaves have turned silver, but they haven’t fallen down. They will turn green once again when the spring returns. Isn’t it wonderful? Shouldn’t we take a few specimens back with us when we return home?" Jun Mo Xie seemingly hadn’t heard the question that Dongfang Wen Dao had asked. He smiled unenthusiastically as he pointed towards a tree and showed it to Dugu Xiao Yi.
Dongfang Wen Dao immediately got angry.
[Aren’t we even worthy of acknowledgement in his eyes?] That was huge blow to the third Dongfang brother’s pride. He asked fiercely, "Oi, brat! I asked you something; are you deaf? Didn’t you hear this old man’s question? Do you need a spanking?"
Dongfang Wen Qing stood beside him. He frowned and spoke, "Don’t be frightened by the Third’s question, child." However, he felt uneasy inside. [This brat would’ve easily sensed our imposing cultivation. Yet, not only is he not astonished... he’s calm... and he’s not paying any heed to our presence! Does he have some powerful backing? Or maybe he’s from a renowned family?]
[However, shouldn’t he be refraining from acting this arrogant in the face of three Spirit Xuan experts even if he has a strong backing? I can’t sense anything astonishing here... but, can that person with the overwhelmingly astonishing murderous aura be somehow related to this brat? Or... is that person hiding somewhere nearby?]
Then, Dongfang Wend Dao turned his head and grinned. He then laughed, "Elder brother, I always knew that it’s important to discipline a child every now-and-then."
Jun Mo Xie snorted and narrowed his eyes as he looked at him and asked, "Are you... asking me?"