"Useless, completely useless!"
"You can't even handle this little task, and you've completely shamed the Qin Family."
In the Qingzhou Qin Family residence, Qin Changfeng's expression was dark and terrifying. His eyes looked as though he wanted to kill someone, frightening the servants and maids into kneeling on the ground with lowered heads, not even daring to take a deep breath.
Just moments ago, the news that Qin Yan had been captured in Luoyan City reached Qingzhou, and in the blink of an eye, it became common knowledge, turning the Qin Family into a laughingstock.
"Sir, Young Master Yan is still trapped in Luoyan City. What do you think—"
"Let him die!"
"Qin Changfeng, what nonsense are you spewing? Who dares let our Chen'er die?"
At that moment, a beautiful woman dressed in palace attire walked in. She cast a resentful glare at Qin Changfeng and threw a tantrum.
"Qin Changfeng, do you have any conscience left? Chen'er went to Luoyan City specifically for the sake of the family. Now that he's been captured, you, as his father, actually want him to die? Why don't you just kill me along with him!"
Hearing this outburst, Qin Changfeng's anger instantly dissipated by more than half.
Looking at the beautiful woman sitting on the floor, crying and making a scene, the dignified head of the Qin Family could only let out a helpless sigh and hurriedly coaxed her.
"Yuer, I was just talking nonsense in the heat of the moment. Stop making a fuss."
"Making a fuss?"
Wang Linyu stood up with a start.
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking, you heartless wretch! You just think I'm getting old and losing my looks, and you want to chase me and my son out so you can bring back that vixen you keep on the side, right?"
"I'm telling you, unless I'm dead, that bitch and the bastard you have outside will never set foot in our Qin Family."
"I—"
Qin Changfeng was left flush-faced and speechless, and hastily tried to appease her.
"Yuer, don't listen to those groundless rumors. How could I ever be that kind of person? Rest assured, I will have Brother Liu personally take men to Luoyan City and guarantee that Yan'er is brought back safe and sound."
"That's not enough! Besides bringing Yan'er back, there's also that muddy-legged bastard surnamed Ling. He dared to bully my son, and I want all of them to die!"
Wang Linyu shrieked with malicious bitterness, casting a sidelong glance at Liu Zhou.
"Liu Zhou, if you can't even handle this small matter, pack your things and get out of the Qin Family."
"Yes, Madam."
Liu Zhou acknowledged the order, but as he lowered his head, a cold glint flashed through his eyes.
If not for the fact that this bitch was the Qin Family's matriarch, would she ever be worthy of ordering him around and pointing fingers at him? She truly had a death wish.
Just wait until—
Liu Zhou raised his head, completely concealing the coldness in his eyes as he assumed a loyal and devoted expression, cupping his fists.
"Patriarch, your subordinate will set out for Luoyan City immediately and will certainly rescue Young Master Yan."
"No rush."
Qin Changfeng suddenly called out to stop Liu Zhou and gave a subtle gesture. Although Wang Linyu was displeased, she still obediently walked away.
Compared to Wang Linyu, Qin Changfeng's attitude was much better. Not to mention that Liu Zhou was an external grand elder of the Qin Family with a Mid Nascent Soul cultivation base, he had always been diligent and knew his boundaries during his years in the Qin Family.
"It's all the fault of that good-for-nothing, putting Brother Liu through the trouble of making another trip."
"You are too kind, Patriarch. This is simply my duty."
"There's no need to be so formal between us, Brother Liu. However, I do have one matter to entrust to you."
"Oh?"
A flash of suspicion crossed Liu Zhou's eyes as he heard Qin Changfeng continue.
"I heard that the Ling Family possesses a hidden spiritual mine of their own, kept strictly secret. When Brother Liu goes there, I must ask you to investigate this matter thoroughly. If you truly manage to find the spiritual mine, Qin will certainly not treat Brother Liu poorly."
A spiritual mine?
No wonder!
Liu Zhou's eyes lit up. He had found it strange earlier that Qin Changfeng would send the Seventh Elder of the Qin Family along with a piece of trash like Qin Yan; it turned out they were aiming for the spiritual mine.
And it was no wonder Qin Changfeng had been so furious just now—Qin Yan had botched the job and made it public knowledge across the entire city. If the other two families caught wind of anything, Qin Changfeng's carefully laid plans would truly come to nothing.
"Rest assured, Patriarch, your subordinate will handle this with the utmost care."
"Good."
Qin Changfeng nodded slightly.
"I naturally trust Brother Liu's efficiency. However, Luoyan City is not Qingzhou after all, and the Ling Family are local tyrants there. Why not have Chengfeng and Zhang Ke accompany Brother Liu? Feel free to order them about as you see fit."
"I leave everything to the Patriarch's arrangement."
How could Liu Zhou fail to see through Qin Changfeng's intentions?
If Qin Changfeng didn't mistrust the other members of the Qin Family, this task would never have fallen to him. But since he was an outsider after all, arranging for Qin Chengfeng and Zhang Ke to tag along served as a form of surveillance.
What a pity.
Qin Changfeng had miscalculated in one regard.
Once the spiritual mine was truly found, regardless of who tagged along, it would merely add a few more corpses to the count.
***
"Chen'er, that son of a bitch Qin Yan is at death's door, and he's clamoring to see you."
As soon as Ling Chen came out of seclusion, Ling Zhongheng sought him out.
"Oh?"
Ling Chen let out a soft exclamation with a smile.
"Third Uncle, tell me in detail—what did that bastard say?"
"What else could it be?"
Ling Zhongheng said with a peculiar expression.
"At first, that bastard still had a stiff spine, shouting that he was the Young Master of the Qin Family. Seeing that no one dared to deal with him, I simply found a drunkard and shoved them both onto the same bed. Who would have thought that bastard was so fragile, crying and howling that he wanted to see you."
"What?!"
Ling Chen spat out a mouthful of tea in a sudden spray.
Originally, he had kept Qin Yan locked up in Zuifeng Pavilion purely to toy with him a little; he hadn't expected his Third Uncle to actually go through with it. At the thought of Qin Yan's tear-stained face and miserable howling, Ling Chen couldn't help breaking out in a wave of goosebumps.
"Third Uncle, you didn't actually break the guy, did you?"
"How would I know about that?"
Ling Zhongheng had always been the type to leave the aftermath unmanaged, and he chuckled.
"When the drunkard woke up the next day, he went around saying how smooth and tender the guy was, rivaling the top courtesans, which ended up attracting a bunch of men with those tastes to camp outside Zuifeng Pavilion. At this rate, I reckon that bastard won't even need to strain himself when he goes to take a dump in a few days."
Third Uncle truly lived life to the fullest.
Ling Chen could already picture the scene and hastily waved his hand.
"Stop right there. Let's leave Qin Yan's matter to Third Uncle for now, as long as you don't actually kill him."
"Chen'er, you're simply too soft-hearted. If you ask me, that bastard should just be carved to pieces. However, I heard he has an important piece of news to tell you. If you don't want to hear it, I'll go have someone gag his mouth."
Important news?
Ling Chen frowned. Qin Yan was, after all, the Young Master of the Qingzhou Qin Family; perhaps he really did know some secret. He nodded.
"Then let's go meet him first."
"You got it."
Ling Zhongheng immediately stepped forward, not forgetting to chatter along the way.
"The Qin Family is nothing to scoff at, and once they get word of this, they'll definitely take action. So for the next few days, your father has assigned me to stick close to you."
Perhaps fearing that Ling Chen would feel awkward, Ling Zhongheng chuckled knowingly.
"Don't you worry, Chen'er. Third Uncle knows boundaries. If you go off to tryst with some little maiden, Third Uncle guarantees I won't peek so much as once, and my lips are sealed tight."
"Third Uncle, I—"
Forget it, better not say anything.
With his Third Uncle's temperament, the more he explained, the more carried away the man would get.
Let him tag along, then. It wasn't as if he had anything shameful to hide anyway.
The two of them hurried over to Zuifeng Pavilion. The moment they stepped inside, Qin Yan lunged forward like a madman, shouting unceasingly:
"Ling Chen, you're done for! Your Ling Family is finished!"