Chapter 23: This Venerable One Couldn’t Stop Him

The youngest son quivered uncontrollably, both legs shaking as he looked up at his father.

Landlord Chen's eyes darted left and right. After a while, he insisted, "I d…don't know it. I-I don't recognize it!"

Chu Wanning's face was as cold as frost. His voice was low as he said, "Liar."

Chu Wanning had a severe appearance to begin with. Now, with his eyebrows lowered and his furious aura, he looked even more murderous—even more frightening than a malicious ghost.

Landlord Chen unconsciously took two steps back. Chu Wanning abruptly struck the ground with Tianwen, and sparks danced from the vine as leaves flew into the air. Landlord Chen promptly fell on his ass.

"Was Hundred Butterfly Fragrance really devised by your family? Was your eldest son's marriage his first? Does 'Luo Xianxian' ring a bell? Just how shameless are you, at this ripe old age?!"

Landlord Chen's mouth opened, closed, then opened again, but he couldn't ultimately manage a single word as his face turned from ashen to scarlet.

The young daughter of the Chen family, who had been cowering off to the side this whole time, heard the name "Luo Xianxian" and immediately started crying. She stumbled over to kneel before her mother, shaking that unconscious body. "Luo-jiejie! Luo-jiejie, was it all you? I know you were wronged, and that you can't accept it, but please, I beg you, if only for me, please spare my family… Luo-jiejie…"

Chu Wanning leaned over, Tianwen glowing golden in his hand, and used its hilt to lift Landlord Chen's face. He was a germaphobe and had no inclination whatsoever to touch those whom he already found disgusting. A single graze would give him goosebumps.

"Do you really think I can't tell when someone's lying to me?" Chu Wanning asked pitilessly. He stared into Landlord Chen's face as his own was reflected in those frightened eyes.

It was indeed an unlikable face, cold and harsh, like a blade covered in frost.

And what of it? Yuheng of the Night Sky had no need of affection from other people.

"Daozhang, Daozhang, Sisheng Peak sent you, and I'm the client! How could you pry into my private business like this? I—"

"Fine, I'll get out of your business, then," said Chu Wanning. "You can wait to die."

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait! You can't—"

"I can't?" Danger flickered in Chu Wanning's narrowed eyes. "I can't what?"

"I'm… You're… You…"

"If someone like you were a disciple of my sect," Chu Wanning said as he stroked Tianwen, "I'd whip you bloody and snap your bones right here."

At this, Landlord Chen finally gave up on trying to play dumb. The sight of Chu Wanning's vicious demeanor, without a hint of the compassion one would expect from a cultivator, made his legs begin to shake involuntarily. He knelt down, throwing all self-respect out the window as he wailed. "Daozhang, w-we had no other choice. We couldn't afford to offend the governor's daughter! We—we were so worried that we could hardly eat, Daozhang—"

While caterwauling, he reached out to cling to Chu Wanning's thighs.

Chu Wanning's germaphobia flared. As Landlord Chen was about to touch him, he brought the willow vine down without a second thought, exclaiming in disgust. "Don't touch me!"

"Aah!" The back of Landlord Chen's hand was lashed by Tianwen, and even though there was no spiritual energy behind the strike, he howled in pain. "Unbelievable!" the man shouted. "A Sisheng Peak cultivator would strike the commonfolk?!"

"You—!"

When Mo Ran, supporting the two invalids, stepped into the Chen Manor, the sight that greeted him was that of Landlord Chen crying snottily where he knelt on the ground, pointing at Chu Wanning with a shaky finger as he yelled. "Which other sect does that? Your Sisheng Peak took the fee, and—and not only did you not protect the client, y-you attacked him instead! It's so, it's so—it's beyond shameless! I-I'm gonna tell everyone! I'll announce it to the world! I-I'll make sure everyone knows about your sect's…your sect's attitude! I'll destroy your sect's reputation and make sure you never get paid another copper!"

"So what if you have money?" Chu Wanning snarled. "Does money allow you to flip right and wrong, to repay kindness with cruelty? Does money let you do whatever you want and break all your promises?"

"It's not like we killed that Luo Xianxian," the Chen family's youngest son spoke up timidly from the side. "We just knocked her around a bit and chased her out. She's the one who didn't want to live. It's not our fault she didn't look for shelter from the snow—can you blame us for that? We didn't kill anyone! You can't just point fingers as you please just because you're some mighty cultivator."

His words were extremely crafty. Technically, the Chens hadn't broken any laws; even if Chu Wanning were to drag them to court, at most the official might rebuke them for being heartless and dishonest, but none of them would be convicted of anything.

"Are you trying to claim that just because you didn't kill someone with your own hands, you're not responsible for their death? How convenient for you." Chu Wanning's hand, clenched around the willow vine, shook with anger.

Landlord Chen, that old weasel, had already picked up his wits from where they had been scattered by the initial scare. He had been afraid that Chu Wanning would ditch them without taking care of the ghost, but when he thought about it again, this barbarous daozhang had still been sent by Sisheng Peak. As the foremost sect of the lower cultivation realm, since they'd collected the fee, they would definitely finish the job; that was common knowledge. Once he came to this realization, he stopped being quite so afraid.

He held on to his own hoof, which had sustained a tiny cut, all tears and snot as he cried. "Cleaned up? Us Chens, we've never done anything heinous, not murder and not arson. If Luo Xianxian didn't want to live, how was that any of our fault? I-If you don't properly exorcise this ghost today, I'll go to Sisheng Peak right away and file a complaint about you! Who does things like this? If you take someone's money, you have to take care of their problems. How do you not understand something that basic? And you—"

Before he'd even finished, Chu Wanning took out his own money pouch and threw it on the ground before him, never once blinking. "Your payment to the sect, returned in full. As for complaining, feel free!"

Tianwen glowed brightly, willow leaves sharp as knives.

Caught off guard, Landlord Chen yelped and squealed, covering his head and scurrying about like a rat. In his frenzy, he even dragged his own daughter in front of him to block the lashes.

Luckily, Chu Wanning was a practiced hand at whipping people, and Tianwen was one with his mind. The willow vine snapped back to avoid hitting the Chen daughter before circling around and heading directly for Landlord Chen's face. In a flash, there was a loud shriek and a spray of blood.

Landlord Chen hadn't expected Chu Wanning to be so completely unfazed by his posturing, and his air of arrogance instantly melted into a puddle of mud, leaving him scared shitless as he fled and shrieked. "Wait, wait, wait, hold the whip! Hold the whip! Daozhang! Daozhang, I was just talking nonsense! Just nonsense! Ah! Daozhang, spare me! Aiyo, please, I'm begging you! I'm getting on in years—I can't take this! Daozhang, have mercy, it was our fault! It was our fault!"

Chu Wanning wasn't even listening to him. His chest was brimming with anger, and his phoenix eyes grimly narrowed as Tianwen danced in the air. Landlord Chen rolled around on the ground in pain, crying messily.

Mo Ran stood at the gate, stunned. He had never seen Chu Wanning whip a commoner with Tianwen before, and so ruthlessly too. It was as if he was whipping a beast—the willow vine moved so fast, it was barely visible.

This kind of behavior was unheard of. Beating up the client, whether in the upper or lower cultivation realm, would without a doubt destroy a cultivator's reputation for good. No matter how bad Chu Wanning's temper was, or how much he let his heart rule his head, how could he have gone so far as to commit such a huge blunder? This was way more serious than Mo Ran's "thieving and debauchery."

Shi Mei's face was pale from shock. He pulled at Mo Ran in a panic. "H-hurry and stop Shizun!"

Mo Ran handed the still unconscious Madam Chen-Yao—that was, Young Mistress Yao—over to Shi Mei and stepped forward to grab Chu Wanning's wrist. "Shizun—you—what are you doing?" he asked, alarmed and apprehensive.

Chu Wanning was in a terrible mood, and his brow furrowed. "Let go," he bellowed.

"Shizun, this is against the rules—"

"As if I need you to tell me. Which of Sisheng Peak's seven hundred and fifty rules do I not know better than you? Let go!"

Mo Ran raised his voice. "Then why aren't you stopping?"

Chu Wanning didn't feel like wasting his breath. He abruptly ripped his hand away instead, and another lash landed ruthlessly on Landlord Chen.

"Shizun!"

Chu Wanning growled, eyes frosty. "Get lost!"

Landlord Chen saw that Mo Ran looked handsome and amiable—he definitely had to be a good person. He hurriedly crawled over to cower behind Mo Ran and tug at the hem of his clothing. "Daozhang, please talk to your shizun. I—my old bones—even if I was wrong! Even if I was wrong, my old bones can't take this kind of beating…"

But contrary to his expectations, when Mo Ran turned around and saw his snot- and tear-covered face, he felt not pity but disgust. He moved quickly away with an, "ah," and muttered in disdain, "Don't touch me."

Landlord Chen saw that this man could not be relied upon. His gaze moved on to Shi Mei, who was helping Madam Chen-Yao into a chair not too far away. Holding on to his last bit of hope, he crawled toward Shi Mei, crying and yowling.

"Daozhang, Daozhang, please show some kindness, show some mercy. I know I was wrong—it was my bad, all my bad. Please, I beg you, please talk to your shizun. I was wrong, and I admit my guilt… I… I… I'll do whatever you say, just please don't hit me anymore. I'm so old. My body can't bear it…can't bear it…"

He cried pitifully, genuinely begging for his life as he crawled to Shi Mei's side and tugged at his clothes.

Shi Mei was filled with pity and turned to implore Chu Wanning. "Shizun, since the old man already knows he's in the wrong, please show some mercy and spare—"

"Out of the way," Chu Wanning cut in.

Shi Mei fell silent.

"Did you not hear me?!" Chu Wanning said severely.

Shi Mei shuddered in fear and moved out of the way.

Tianwen ripped through the air with a whoosh and headed directly for Landlord Chen, who covered his head with both arms and let out a frightened cry. The sound was simply too pitiful. Shi Mei couldn't help but step back in front of him to block the hit.

The lash landed with a resounding crack.

Shi Mei had moved too fast. Chu Wanning tried to pull back, but it was too late.

Droplets of blood flew. In his weakened state, the strike sent Shi Mei straight to his knees. He covered his delicate cheek, but he couldn't stop the blood that trickled out from between his fingers.