Chapter 239 – Before the Ceremony One (2/2)

If the patriarch of the Hua family, or Hua Chengzan, had come in person, there would be no issue in resolving this matter. However, if the Green Vine mountain released a person obediently from a single word that a little girl had said after scampering over, they would seem like they were afraid of the Hua family. The Green Vine Elder could not afford to stoop so low just yet.

Hua Chenglu obviously would not give up, so she insisted on staying on the mountain with Yu Zijian. After all this time, she had grown restless. She no longer cared about acting mature anymore. She released all of her unruly and capricious nature as the young miss of a large clan now.

“Miss Hua, do you really think you can talk nonsense just because you’re from the Hua family? Don’t assume that I’m afraid to teach you a lesson.” Mu Zhicong’s face reddened and he raised his hand.

Hua Chenlu offered her face to him. “Come! If you think you’re so capable, then teach me a lesson. You’re a coward if you’re afraid to!”

Mu Zhicong was utterly enraged, but his hand just hovered in the air. He was actually afraid to lay his hands on her. If he touched her, it would lead to a dispute between the Green Vine mountain and the Hua family. That was not a burden he could bear.

Yu Zijian made her way between them in a hurry and tried to persuade them. “Stop arguing!”

Mu Zhicong made use of this to get out of the predicament that he faced. He lowered his hand furiously. “If it weren’t for Zijian shielding you, I’d definitely teach a lesson to an ignorant little girl like you!”

“Who do you want to teach a lesson to?” A voice rang out at the entrance.

“Brother!” Hua Chenglu sprang up from the chair.

Mu Zhicong turned around in a hurry. He saw an extremely handsome man sitting on a verdant, slender branch that swayed in the wind. His ebony hair hung loose as his lips that were like peach blossoms formed a smile. If it were not for the prominent adam’s apple on his throat, he might have been mistaken for a great beauty.

Hearing how Hua Chenglu referred to him, a name leapt out in Mu Zhicong’s heart—Hua Chengzan.

Across the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture, there were countless geniuses. However, this person was the best of the best among these geniuses, a true prodigy. Not only did he come from a renowned clan and possess a handsome appearance, but he was also the only non-Foundation Establishment Scarlet Wolf commander throughout all of the Ruyi commandery.

This was not due to his background from the Hua family, or the special enlistment of the White Hawk commander. Instead, it was because he had reached the tenth layer of Qi Practitioner before the age of twenty. Everyone believed he would soon become the youngest Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Clear River prefecture.

Although he had been stuck at the tenth layer for many years, which caused the halo of a genius over his head to dim slightly, he was still a dazzlingly bright presence in the eyes of regular Qi Practitioners. He was known in the Clear River prefecture as the greatest below Foundation Establishment.

Mu Zhicong bowed in a hurry. “I was not aware of commander Hua’s arrival. I’ve failed to welcome you from afar.” Even with the Hua family set aside, just Hua Chengzan’s identity as a Scarlet Wolf commander was enough to make any Qi Practitioner revere him.

In the eyes of these cultivators from sects, the Hawkwolf Guard was not some fair emissary of justice that upheld the laws. Instead, they were the hawks and hounds of the government that framed people with their draconian laws.

Hua Chenglu arrived underneath the tree and leapt up and down. “Why have you only just come? Zijian and I have been harassed to death by the people here.”

Mu Zhicong laughed dryly. “I was only joking around with your dear sister.”

“Then let me joke around too!” Hua Chengzan’s face sank as he raised his hand. He possessed authority over the laws of the Clear River prefecture, and who knew how many Qi Practitioners he had killed and interrogated in the past. Although he rarely ever displayed his power, once he grew hostile, the bleakness seemed to summon late autumn in this prosperous springtime garden all of a sudden.

Mu Zhicong staggered a few steps back and tripped over the chair, falling on his bottom. He raised his hand to shield his face like a woman as he cried out, “Don’t!”

But nothing happened. Mu Zhicong lowered his hand, and all he saw was Hua Chengzan seated there, still smiling, as if his bearing earlier was all just an illusion.

Hua Chenglu mocked, “What a coward. My brother had already said that he’s joking around!”

Mu Zhicong turned bright red. He felt both ashamed and fearful. He had completely collapsed before Hua Chengzan’s aura earlier. Not only was he unable to fight back, but he even lost the courage to run away. He could only kneel on the ground and beg for his life, leaving everything completely up to Hua Chengzan’s whim. If Hua Chengzan had lashed out at that moment, killing him would be no different from killing an ordinary person. Before he had even struck, Mu Zhicong had already suffered an absolute defeat.

“Senior brother Mu!” Yu Zijian wanted to help him up, but Mu Zhicong had already leapt to his feet. “I’ll report this to my master.” before scampering off.

Hua Chenglu called out, “Why don’t you get down here!?”

Hua Chengzan seemed powerless to that request. He gently drifted down from the branch and smiled at Yu Zijian. “Miss Yu, long time no see!”

Yu Zijian lowered her head in a hurry. “Brother Hua, what brings you here?”

Hua Chenglu said complacently, “I got him to come, obviously.”

Hua Chengzan said instead, “I have some formal business to attend to here.”

The two of them looked at each other. Hua Chenglu stroked her brother’s nose furiously. “So you didn’t come for me!”

Hua Chengzan sighed. “I obviously came for you. I told you a long time ago that there was no need for you to hurry here, and that you just needed to wait for me to handle it. Now, it’s much more troublesome instead.” The minds of people were extremely tricky to handle. Now that he had come here, he had to worry that the Green Vine Elder felt like the Hua family was trying to pressure him.

“If it weren’t for me, Zijian would have been forced to join the Green Vine mountain already!”

“Fair enough!”

“Since commander Hua has arrived, why don’t you come up the mountain for a chat with me so that I can fulfill my role as the host?”