33 Know Your Place

"You guys have never wronged me. It is I who had wronged the Xiao family."

Zhou Yan chuckled and he felt a strong pull at his heartstrings when he was being addressed as 'Sir Zhou.'

Zhou Yan was known to value nostalgia and the position Gu Xi, Xiao Chaner, and Xiao Liner shared in his heart was a special one.

However, after being addressed as 'Sir Zhou,' it made his heart grow colder.

He smiled pridefully, then proceeded to take out a jug of ale and tilt his head back to take a drink.

This action was uncanny to how Zhou Wangchen used to behave, coughing after drinking some ale.

When he coughed, his inhumanly pale face would turn red as if he was plagued by some ailment. It was as if his very soul was being burnt by the merciless ocean of ale.

At this moment, Zhou Yan instinctively unleashed the Nine Folds Yin-Yang Manuscripts to hide away the waves of Blade's Essence within his body. He presumed this lady had some ties with the Zhou family, and before he gained notoriety and recognition from the main branch of the Zhou family, he never wished to reveal his true potential.

Thus, due to him hiding his training and progress and not having any suppressing strength, the potency of the ale caused him to act the way his father did.

Thus, it seemed as if Zhou Wangchen was actually present at that moment from where he stood at that moment.

All those years ago, even when Zhou Wangchen was at his peak confidence, everytime he felt troubled, he would present himself in the same manner.

The only people who witnessed this scene back then were the people closest to Zhou Wangchen, and they were Xiao Zhan, Xiao Lan, Gu Xi's father, Gu Yan, and several more.

However, the current Xiao Lan had seemingly forgotten the past events and it was as if he was lying through the teeth and had mercilessly insulted Zhou Yan.

Everyone fell silent after they saw Zhou Yan's act. 

"Zhou... Zhou Wangchen…" the middle-aged Lord of the Xie family, Xie Xikun exclaimed while rubbing his eyes in confusion.

His exclamation attracted the attention of others. He chuckled awkwardly to hide his embarrassment. 

"I'm so sorry, Sir Zhou."

Xiao Chaner continued to apologize.

However, Zhou Yan no longer paid any attention to her.

At the same moment, the merchant guide said in a very hesitant tone, "Sir Zhou, would you still want the Armors of Absolute Invincibility which you just ordered?"

"I do. Of course, I do. Do me a favor and help these two fine maidens in picking out something that suits their spiritual affinity. The other one, though, get her something that is white and has an affinity to frost, okay?"

Zhou Yan proceeded to cough a couple of times to show his 'weakness.' He had done it on purpose.

Based on the nature of the ancient sage, he knew that was exactly what he had to do in that moment.

"No... There's no longer such a need. When we enter the sect of the Sword's Master of Smelting, we'll have plenty of opportunities to get that in future," Xiao Chaner said guiltily.

Xiao Liner on the other hand, had seemingly banished her greedy thoughts after she came to a conclusion.

"Sir Zhou, this item is way too expensive. Since you are no longer my brother, Zhou Yan, I too do not wish to receive anything from you," Xiao Liner said calmly. Her voice was void of emotions.

Hints of painful regrets reflected through Xiao Chaner's eyes. However, after hearing everything Xiao Liner had said, she stopped explaining anything.

Gu Xi's expression turned pale while she watched this exchange. She was still hugging Zhou Yan's shoulders tightly without saying a word.

Zhou Yan could feel her disappointment and her boiling rage. He knew that it was all because she could sense his sufferings. As a result, Gu Xi's face looked inhumanly cold.

"It does not matter if you both aren't willing to accept it, but my words are as good as gold. If you both do not want it, then you both may either toss it away or sell it. Whatever you do no longer concerns me," Zhou Yan replied in a calm voice.

Initially, he assumed this shopping trip would brighten up the mood of both of them and to forget about all their troubles hence, bridging the gap of their relationship. However, never did he expect this event to end up like this.

If he was able to ignore all the goodwill his Uncle Xiao Zhan had graced him as a child, that raised and cared for him for a couple of years, he would have undoubtedly left the scene without hesitation.

"Since this Sir Zhou wants to demonstrate his pretentious pride, there is no need to reject his offer of generosity."

The man who stood next to Xiao Chaner and Xiao Liner, Xiao Lan, had a judgmental look on his face. At the same time, the arrogant young master of the Xie family, Xie Feng, heard the intentional provoking tone from Xiao Lan's statement, which attempted to provoke Zhou Yan.

He was secretly gloating in his heart since he was furious when he saw both Xiao Chaner and Xiao Liner by the side of a wanted man by the Zhou family! His sole purpose was to assassinate this useless trash since he was aware that an elder of his family had been brutally murdered by the accidental and unintentional provocation of a legendary and powerful foe. This entire debacle was evident to him.

Thus, the instant his gaze landed on Zhou Yan earlier, his eyes were boiling with insatiable fury, and was tempted to unleash his Blade's Essence of The Forge to violently slaughter this useless trash!

His fury was already raging at that point. It worsened after witnessing the maidens of his dreams, interacting so friendly and casually with that trash.

At this moment, he felt significantly better when he watched the horrible treatment by the Xiao family toward Zhou Yan.

"Aunty, how is that okay?"

Xiao Chaner struggled internally while her eyes were filled with guilt.

On the other hand, Xiao Liner had recovered to a calmer, more composed state.

"You dare disobey your aunt's words? How do you expect to succeed in anything? Do you not want the mid-tier spiritual Sword Art? Oh, so you don't want an opportunity to awaken your Blade's Menace then. Hmph! If you don't know how to choose, then you are destined to be a lowly material for someone else's Spiritual Cauldron then!

"As for him, he's merely a b*stard child, one with no natural gifts. What kind of results would he expect to achieve? Not to mention the progress of his training was completely wasted. No matter how hard he pretends, he could never hide the fact that he's a useless piece of trash!"

Xiao Lan's words were insulting while grinning at Gu Xi. She was seemingly scoffing at her inability to speak.

It was apparent that the first half of the statement was meant to insult her, and the second half was to provoke Zhou Yan. It would be impossible for Gu Xi to be oblivious of this fact. However, at that moment, her attention was not focused on her statement, Instead, it was solely focused on Zhou Yan alone.

She was worried about Zhou Yan's fury. If Zhou Yan was to unleash his rage, the entire situation would spiral out of control, and things would never be as simple anymore. This was especially when there was a test of might that would be held in the Zhou family academy in twenty days. Hence, if that were to happen, Zhou Yan would lose the opportunity to enter.

Upon recalling what her father said before about Xiao Chaner and Xiao Liner's odd behavior, she made some changes. She did not say anything about Zhou Yan's matters and only stated that Zhou Yan had visited and was dwelling in the hidden chambers.

Gu Xi now knew that she made the right decision.

…

Xiao Chaner was unable to speak after hearing what Xiao Lan had said.

For the sake of her future, there were some things that she would have to sacrifice at the moment.

Xiao Liner, on the other hand, had made up her mind way before this when she thought about learning under the Sword's Master of Smelting.

Upon noticing the hesitation and fear from both of them, Zhou Yan finally made a statement in an attempt to win them back. He said, "You both can still choose to follow me. If I am able to give you both the Armor of Absolute Invincibility now, I would be able to give you both even more things beyond your imagination in the future. If that was your reason in the first place."

"I…"

Chaner seemed anguished. She let out a bitter laugh and said, "Sir Zhou... The Sword Master of Smelting had already promised to train both of us with all his might."

"So be it. This is no longer important," Zhou Yan casually replied while tilting his head back to guzzle more ale.

His heart no longer wrenched in regret for both of them. Instead, he felt regretful for Xiao Zhan's sake.

For someone with a reputation of a heroic figure of praise like Xiao Zhan to give birth to such daughters in comparison to Gu Xi, these young women lacked the basic emotion of compassion.

However, Zhou Yan knew that this world he lived in was ruthless. It was only with the lack of compassion one would be able to walk further.

The balance between compassion and the lack of it was a vast and significant distinction in the world of the Sword's Way, no matter which they chose to follow. Here at this moment, two distinct ways were obvious. This was a lesson many scholars had difficulty learning.

It was also painfully obvious. In terms of choices, both young girls had made their choices and were no longer the once naive and foolish girls who blindly followed others. Instead, they had grown to be very capable women.

"I'm really sorry…"

Xiao Chaner continued to apologize. Her voice was shaky while her eyes dimmed.

Xiao Liner had a cold and emotionless expression.

"There is no need for an apology. You both never owed me anything. All you did was merely to chase a goal and I am only a pretentious piece of trash with the little wealth my father had left me. With my personality, I presume that I would be left with nothing in a couple of days. I can never compare nor compete with a major sect and it would be impossible for me to provide you both with any better resources," Zhou Yan replied calmly.

At this moment, that young lady in purple was walking towards them with three Infinite Spatial Rings.

Those Infinite Spatial Rings were intricately designed. However, there was limited space, and it was only able to hold one Armor of Absolute Invincibility. The space was equal to a gift box.

"Ladies, these are for the twins... a lighter green tone would match their spiritual affinity better, so I've picked one with an affinity to nature. As for this one... I've followed Sir Zhou's request and picked one that has a better affinity to frost."

As she explained, with her quick wit, she gave Gu Xi the frost affinity armor first before handing the others to Xiao Chaner and Xiao Liner.

Gu Xi accepted without any hesitation. However, Xiao Liner hesitated for a brief moment before taking the ring. Xiao Liner, on the other hand, hesitated for a long while before accepting the ring.

"Alright, now we are done for good. This armor would be my way of repaying Uncle Xiao Zhan for raising me as a child. Thus, this is where we cut our ties."

Zhou Yan's tone was cold, but at this moment, his emotions were not as composed. This was because if he remained a ''low profile' by using a monotonous and emotionless voice, it would undoubtedly draw more attention to him.

"You…"

Xiao Liner frowned slightly. However, after a while, she calmed herself and said, "Forget it. It doesn't matter what you think, Sir Zhou, since... things had ended this way. We have our own choices to make, and you can never understand a scholar's burden since there is no need for you to resume training. Let's just pretend we've never met, so this would preserve the amazing childhood of brother Zhou Yan's memories."

After hearing her statement, Zhou Yan chuckled coldly and there was a slight hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes. However, he did not say a thing.

"As a person that doesn't know his place, you think you're worthy of being Zhou Wangchen's son? You're merely an abandoned child adopted by the Zhou family, and you dare to act as if everything belongs to you!" Xiao Lan scoffed.