"Young Master Luo..."
Many young masters from noble families who were acquainted with Luo Changqing looked at him in terror, bowing and scraping as they ingratiated themselves with him.
"What are you all doing? This is the Sun Family residence!"
"Have you forgotten that the Luo Family is already a pack of stray dogs, a fallen family?"
"What is Luo Changqing anyway? Is he even worth you all sucking up to him like this?"
Fang Zilong looked at the crowd with a sullen face, speaking without a shred of mercy.
Only then did these young noble scions snap out of it, looking as though they had suddenly seen the light.
"We really were out of our minds! For a second there, I actually thought we were back in the old days!"
"Luo Changqing! Why aren't you getting the hell out of here? Is this any place for someone like you anymore?" The speaker was a sharp-faced, monkey-cheeked man who looked thoroughly wretched.
Luo Changqing raised his eyes. "Zeng Sheng? What, has the Zeng Family finally decided to acknowledge you? Could it be that because you begged me back then to act as a guarantor for your family so you could escape a mortal crisis, your family head finally found you slightly useful and agreed to take you back?"
"What? I helped a dog back then, and now it's actually barking frantically at its master?"
Zeng Sheng's body stiffened. A flash of craftiness crossed his mung-bean-sized eyes, and with utter shamelessness, he pointed right at Luo Changqing's nose and let out a torrent of abuse.
"Luo Changqing! Do you still think you're the young master of the Luo Family from back then? Aren't you just here for money? I'll give it to you! Consider it charity to a beggar on the street! From now on, my Zeng Family doesn't owe you a thing!"
"Luo Changqing! Wake up to reality! The current you is no longer in the same social class as us!"
"You're nothing more than a stray dog, yet you dare to come here! Beggars have a place for begging! If I'm in a good mood, I might toss you a few copper coins!"
Tidal waves of mocking laughter washed over them. Luo Changqing looked at the familiar faces before him, uttering ungrateful words and kicking a man while he was down.
Most of these people had received his help back in the day! Many of them even owed him their lives!
One had to remember that back then, the Luo Family was a top-tier powerhouse in Cangyang City!
His father and older brothers were true powerhouses! He could be said to have grown up thoroughly pampered; even if he had poked a hole in the sky, the Luo Family would have been able to hold it up for him.
Until three years ago, when Chu Tingting, whom he had infatuatedly adored, tricked him into entering Wanxuan Mountain.
Three years later, when he returned, everything had changed. The Luo Family had fallen overnight, without the slightest warning!
"Get out! Hurry up and get out! If you don't get lost right now, we're calling the guards!" Fang Zilong clamored, looking at Luo Changqing with utter disdain.
"You're courting death!"
Qingyan's expression turned icy as her long sword left its scabbard. In the blink of an eye, one of Fang Zilong's arms dropped to the ground.
Everyone was dumbfounded. Most of them were pampered young masters raised in the lap of luxury by their aristocratic families; where had they ever seen such a sight? They were practically scared out of their wits!
"Where are the guards? Where did the guards go? Are they all dead?" Zeng Sheng shouted toward the outside while watching Luo Chuan, preparing to bolt at any moment.
Luo Changqing threw a punch, smashing the side of Zeng Sheng's head so that it caved inward. It was painfully obvious he was breathing out more than he was breathing in!
"Too much chatter! Which of you is going to tell me where Sun Shaowei is?"
Luo Chuan's gaze swept over the crowd, yet not a single person dared to meet his eyes, everyone shrinking back like ostriches.
"Who's looking for me?" A familiar voice rang out. Luo Chuan looked up and saw a handsome, tall man walking out from behind a screen, clearly just returning from the back courtyard and completely unaware of what had happened here.
The man was straightening his trousers as he walked, followed by a young woman with a flushed face.
It went without saying what he had just been doing in the back.
Lifting his gaze, he saw everyone staring in terror behind him. He turned around in confusion, only to lock eyes with Luo Changqing's cold and indifferent expression.
His gaze inadvertently caught sight of Zeng Yi's corpse beside him, as well as Fang Zilong not far away missing an arm!
His expression tightened, and he managed to force a smile, finally chuckling at Luo Changqing. "Brother Changqing, when did you get back? You didn't even give your brother a heads-up so we could properly welcome you!"
As he spoke, he even hurried forward a few steps, extending both hands in a gesture welcoming Luo Changqing, his attitude as respectful as it could possibly be!
"Sun Shaowei, why did you get involved in this? What on earth are you people searching for?"
Hearing Luo Changqing's words, Sun Shaowei's gaze turned cold, and he dropped the act entirely.
"Luo Changqing! You're as stupid as ever! You actually delivered yourself right to our door!"
"You're the only seedling left in the Luo Family now. I wonder if Chen Fang could handle it if something happened to you too?"
"Once every last member of the Luo Family is dead, what won't we be able to get?"
Sun Shaowei sneered as he looked at Luo Changqing. "Don't think you're still the young master of the Luo Family from back then, someone everyone has to pander to! The tides turn, and I'm the one calling the shots now!"
"Good! Very good! Sun Shaowei! And this is the man who used to call me brother!" Luo Changqing let out a long roar toward the sky, an overwhelming aura erupting from his entire body.
Everyone present felt as though they had been struck by a massive boulder, their hearts nearly bursting! Sun Shaowei turned pale as paper, staring at Luo Changqing in disbelief.
It had only been three years since they last met; how on earth had this good brother of his become so terrifyingly powerful?
Sun Shaowei retreated violently, shouting at the top of his lungs as he backed away, "Elder Qin! Elder Xu! Are you two still not going to make a move?"
Two figures flashed swiftly from the direction of the back courtyard, reaching them in the blink of an eye.
"Hmph! A Spirit Master Grade 1 cultivator, of all things?"
Qingyan let out a cold cry and charged straight at them.
Barely a single exchange took place before the two figures were heavily kicked to the ground.
The two men looked at Qingyan in utter terror, screaming at Sun Shaowei, "Young Master! Run!"
With a face as pale as death, Sun Shaowei looked at Luo Changqing, dropped to his knees, kowtowed, and begged for mercy. "Changqing! We're good brothers, I know I was wrong! Please spare me! All these years, I'll return everything I took from the Luo Family to you twofold! Will you please spare me?"
The noble scions present were utterly shocked to see the usually lofty Young Master of the Sun Family kneeling and begging for mercy like a stray dog.
However, Luo Changqing clenched his fist, red light surging. As if pulled by a powerful force, Sun Shaowei was dragged right in front of Luo Changqing.
"Now, it's time to tell me what on earth you people are looking for."
A flicker of struggle crossed Sun Shaowei's eyes, but when he met Luo Changqing's icy gaze, his pupils constricted. He had never seen Luo Changqing look like this before.
"I don't know! I only heard my father mention that the Lingyang Sect has always been looking for that object! But there hasn't been a single clue to this day. After your Luo Family met its disaster, the Lingyang Sect also sent quite a few people, but in the end, they all came away empty-handed!"
Hearing this, Luo Changqing was stunned. Could the disasters that befell his father and brothers all be connected to this object?
The Lingyang Sect was probably just a front; there was likely a behemoth lurking in the shadows behind them!