"So, it’s indeed him!" Zhou Fei, who had been holding her anger all this while finally exploded.
SMASH!
Her fists smashed the table into smithereens.
"I told you we shouldn’t have given that bastard a second chance! A scoundrel like him never deserved a second chance in the first place! If only you had listened to me that time, then Mei’er wouldn’t have to go through all that!"
Zhou Fei roared at Zhou Tian with a blaming tone evident in her voice.
’Scary...!’
Seeing the strong wooden table in front of him turning to fine powder sent a shiver down Yi Chen’s spine.
’Did I do something I shouldn’t have...’ he gulped while observing the situation unfolding in front of him.
As for Zhou Tian, a grim countenance was apparent on his face as he listened to his wife’s piercing scoldings without a response.
He knew that he was to blame for all this. If he hadn’t forgiven his younger brother that time just for the sake of their blood ties, then something like this wouldn’t have happened.
However, despite knowing this. His wife’s piercing words were starting to take a toll on him.
At that moment, Zhou Mei rushed inside the room because of the chaos.
"Mother! Father! What’s going on?!" she exclaimed in disbelief when she saw the status of the table.
"Enough!" A frightening pressure exuded from Zhou Tian the very next moment, and everyone, including Zhou Fei, became quiet.
However, it was evident that she still had a lot to say and was controlling her urge to do so.
The next moment, Zhou Tian’s eyes fell on Yi Chen.
Being the target of his gaze, Yi Chen couldn’t help but tense up. However, he soon realised that he was worrying for nothing.
"Yi Chen, thank you for this crucial information. It will definitely help us in getting hold of the perpetrators.
I would like to reward you for it, but as you have just witnessed the situation here, it has to wait for now. For now, I’ll have to request you to take your leave so that we can begin our investigation in earnest."
Hearing his words, Yi Chen immediately stood up from his seat and clasped his hands towards Zhou Tian.
"I understand, Master Zhou. I’ll be going then." Yi Chen bowed. He wanted to bow towards Zhou Fei as well, but remembering her earlier actions, he felt a bit fearful to meet her eye and decided to just turn towards the door to leave.
"Mei’er, send Yi Chen out," Zhou Fei said the next moment in a stern voice.
She still had a lot to say to her husband and didn’t want her daughter to be a witness to it.
"Yes...mother," Zhou Mei answered hesitantly, seeing her mother’s state, and soon walked out along with Yi Chen.
It was only when they had walked a considerable distance from the dining hall that she opened her mouth.
"Brother Chen, what happened inside? Why were both mother and father angry? Did you do something to provoke them? Just what did you tell them?"
She asked all the questions that had been stirring in her mind all at once.
"I informed them about the likely suspects behind your attacks," Yi Chen answered.
"You did? Who is it?!" she asked in surprise. Even she didn’t know who the perpetrators were, so she found it shocking that Yi Chen did.
"You’ll know in a while. Your parents have yet to investigate the matter fully," Yi Chen answered.
"I see..." She responded, lost in her own worries. She wanted to inquire more about the contents which Yi Chen had told her parents, but whenever she tried to ask them, he only responded with a smile.
"Hmph! You are not even sharing things with me. I thought we were friends," she crossed her hands in anger.
By now, they had reached the residence’s outer gates and were waiting for the carriage to arrive.
"You’re still weaker than me, so how can I consider you my friend?" Yi Chen teased in an attempt to shift the topic.
"But I’m still at the Third Level of Meridian Refinement Stage while you’ve just entered First!" Zhou Mei snorted and used the only advantage over him she could think of.
"What about it? I can still easily defeat you. Moreover, if you continue to slack in your training like you’ve been doing until now, then the next time we’ll meet, I will have already surpassed you both in strength and cultivation level," Yi Chen smirked and gently flicked his finger on her forehead.
"Ah! That hurts!" She glared at Yi Chen while rubbing her forehead.
Yi Chen chuckled when he saw that and glanced towards the carriage that had just stopped in front of him.
"If you continue to slack in your training, then next time, maybe just this little flick of my finger would be enough to defeat you, ahaha," he ruffled her head playfully while laughing and entered the carriage.
"You! My hair’s all mes-"
Zhou Mei wanted to throw a tantrum about getting her hair all messed up by Yi Chen’s actions, but before she could say anything, she was interrupted by Yi Chen’s next words.
Sitting inside the carriage, he said the next moment.
"Don’t dwell on what I told your parents too much. You’re still a child, so your parents will take care of everything you understand?" His voice no longer contained the previous playful tone and became similar to that of an elder brother.
So Zhou Mei felt obliged to respond even though she didn’t want to.
"...yes," she said while staring at the ground, her lips pursed.
"Little Mei," Yi Chen called, seeing that she wasn’t looking at him and waited.
"...what?" Zhou Mei finally lifted her head in irritation and met his gaze.
"Don’t trust people easily from now on. With your new status, it’s something you’ll have to get used to. However, do remember that there will always be people you can trust. Like your parents," Yi Chen said with a smile.
’This...’
Zhou Mei couldn’t understand why Yi Chen was telling her all of this so suddenly and was filled with confusion.
"See you later then, Little Mei," Yi Chen said when he saw her expression, and the next moment the carriage started moving.
"Wait..." She wanted to ask for clarification, but her voice got submerged by the neighing of the horses, which soon started moving with great intensity leaving a small trail of dust behind.