“Then what do we do?” Wenren Suo, now convinced, asked anxiously.
“The only way is to strike first,” Xu Zimo said with a light smile.
“What do you mean?” Wenren Suo suddenly had a bad feeling.
At that moment, in the Wenren Clan’s discussion hall, nearly all of the Clan’s upper ranks were present.
With the Patriarch’s birthday just two days away, they couldn’t allow any accidents to occur.
On the right side stood members of the Wan Clan.
The most eye-catching figures in the hall were Wenren Jingshi and Wan Shounian.
The two elderly men were chatting and laughing, seemingly unaffected by the tense atmosphere between the rest of the two families.
“Brother Shounian, even though we live in the same city, we haven’t seen each other in years despite only being a thousand meters apart,” Wenren Jingshi said with a smile.
“Yes, sometimes I feel like I don’t belong to myself, but to this clan,” Wan Shounian replied after sipping his tea, also smiling.
“I’m not entirely clear on what happened this time,” Wenren Jingshi added. “Once Suo’er arrives, we’ll ask. If it’s truly as you say, I won’t let it slide.”
“Grandpa, what if that guy tries to lie?” Wan Hong asked from the crowd.
Though he had suffered serious injuries the day before, they were mostly external. With a Rebuild Body Pill and the Wan Clan’s full care, he had already recovered almost completely.
“Silence, it’s not your place to speak,” Wan Shounian snapped.
Then he turned to Wenren Jingshi with a smile and said, “I trust Brother Jingshi’s fairness. Our Wan Clan may not be as glorious as before, but we’re not so low that we’ll be stepped on.”
“Of course,” Wenren Jingshi nodded with a smile.
While everyone in the hall whispered among themselves, a servant outside announced the arrival of the two.
Wenren Jingshi narrowed his eyes and said, “Let them in.”
Soon, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Xu Zimo helped a heavily bandaged Wenren Suo into the hall.
Seeing Wenren Suo , Wenren Jingshi frowned slightly and asked, “What happened here?”
“It’s nothing, Grandpa,” Wenren Suo shook his head. “Just a small conflict among the younger generation. Nothing serious.”
Wenren Jingshi looked at his bandaged grandson, then at the now lively and energetic Wan Hong.
His expression darkened slightly as he turned calmly to Wan Shounian and said, “Brother Shounian, I think you owe me an explanation this time.”
Wan Shounian frowned slightly and looked at Wenren Suo.
The bandages weren’t fake, he could see the injuries were real.
“Wenren Suo, explain everything in full. Leave nothing out.”
“Didn’t Brother Wan Hong tell you already?” Wenren Suo looked a bit surprised.
He then explained, “Last night at Feather Porch Pavilion, we had a dispute over Lady Xian’er, and Brother Wan Hong and I fought. We exchanged over thirty moves. I seriously injured him, and he beat me into this state too. That’s the truth.”
“You’re lying!” Wan Hong nearly jumped up in anger. His face turned red as he shouted, “You two ambushed me and left me seriously wounded. When did I fight thirty rounds with you?”
“Brother Wan Hong, you need evidence to support your words,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “You’re saying you didn’t fight, then how did my cousin get so badly hurt? Are you saying I beat him myself?”
Hearing that, Wenren Suo raised an eyebrow and glanced at Xu Zimo with slight resentment.
“You’re spouting nonsense. I didn’t even get a chance to fight back. They just beat me!” Wan Hong yelled.
Wan Shounian frowned slightly and looked at Wenren Suo. “If you were seriously injured, why didn’t anyone in the Wenren household know about it last night?”
“That’s the difference between the Wenren Clan and your Wan Clan,” Wenren Suo said with a shake of his head. “Your disciples get hurt and immediately run to the elders. But to us, it’s just a minor scuffle among the younger generation. Getting a little injured is inevitable. After all, when we venture out into the world, we’ll face life and death situations. We can’t always rely on the clan’s protection, right?”
He said this with a dismissive tone, looking down on Wan Hong.
“Can’t handle it, can you?”
Hearing that, Wan Hong felt a tightness in his chest, and his old injury seemed to flare up again.
“Minor injuries? I was almost killed. If it wasn’t for that Rebuild Body Pill, I’d have been crippled forever. And you’re calling it a minor injury?”
The more he thought about it, the more suffocated he felt, until finally his face turned bright red and he couldn’t help but vomit blood and collapse unconscious.
When Wan Hong hit the ground, the Wan Clan members didn’t react in time.
Wenren Suo quickly tore off his arm bandages and threw himself beside Wan Hong.
He cried out dramatically, “Brother Wan, what’s wrong? Please don’t die! Even though we often argued and didn’t get along, we’ve known each other a long time. Don’t make me send a black-haired friend to the grave!”
One of the Wan Clan members couldn’t take it anymore and stepped forward, face full of black lines.
“Say what you want, but could you please not laugh while doing it?”
Wenren Suo stood up and scratched his head with a guilty smile, quickly stepping back.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Go on.”
A Wan Clan member knelt beside Wan Hong and began treating him.
Meanwhile, the Wan Clan’s old master sitting at the head of the hall looked awkward.
He had come here full of fury, intending to demand justice.
But before anything even happened, this was the result. He sighed internally.
“Our younger generation’s mental toughness is really lacking.”
“Brother Shounian, how about we let this matter rest?” Wenren Jingshi said calmly. “Both sides were injured. Let’s call it even.”
Wan Shounian was silent for a moment, then nodded.
He looked around the room and said, “I don’t want any rumors about this incident spreading in the city.”
Then he led the Wan Clan members out. Compared to their grand entrance, their departure was a bit humiliating.
Wenren Jingshi watched them leave, then said sternly, “Everyone else leave. You two stay.”
Xu Zimo and Wenren Suo exchanged a glance, then obediently remained in the hall.
After everyone left, Wenren Jingshi finally said in a harsh tone:
“I originally planned to punish you both harshly. But you responded quickly and handled the situation fairly well. However, starting today, you’re not allowed to leave the estate.”