"Jun Ting suddenly changed the subject. 'It stands to reason that in your generation, the daughters should have the character "Ruo" in their names, and the sons the character "Ze." You two need to change your names.'"
Changing their names meant acknowledging Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun as true blood of the Jun Family, or else endless trouble would surely arise in the future.
There might also be those who would use their names to gossip about their origins and bloodline, a situation Jun Ting would never allow to happen. Therefore, precautions had to be taken now.
Jun Jiuqi understood this logic, but she simply spat out two words:
"No."
Her childish little voice carried a composure that belied her age.
Jun Ting frowned. "How can you not change it? What kind of talk is that? Do you want to be the subject of gossip in the future?"
Jun Jiuqi said it lightly, "I don't care what outsiders say."
"Naive! Sometimes rumors and gossip can cost people their lives!" Jun Ting felt his temper flaring up, but looking at his little granddaughter before him, he involuntarily softened his tone. "You're still young and don't understand these things yet. When you're older, you'll understand the old man's good intentions."
Jun Jiuqi let out a cold snort. "Anyone who dares wag their tongue carelessly, I'll beat them down until they don't dare do it anymore!"
This sentence startled both Jun Ting and Xu Hai.
Who would have thought that such an adorable little girl could utter such an overbearing and imposing remark?
Moreover, Jun Jiuqi's matter-of-fact posture made Jun Ting's blood boil.
He had thought she was an obedient and cute granddaughter, but who would have thought he had misjudged her!
This one was the most troublesome thorn of all!
Just as Jun Ting was about to discipline her with a couple of words, he suddenly heard a loud crash coming from the direction of the back courtyard!
Mingled with it was a familiar and shrill bird cry.
"What's going on?"
"This... it sounds like the Peacock Brocade's voice?"
Just as the words fell, a red figure was seen flying in from not far away. Who else could it be if not the very Peacock Brocade they had been talking about?
Only, at this moment, it was fleeing in panic, as if something terrifying was chasing after it from behind.
"Don't run! Stop right there!"
"Run again and this young master will eat you!"
"Still running?"
Accompanied by a fierce children's voice, a figure the size of a calf rushed out from behind. Moving with great speed, it lunged onto the Peacock Brocade in a single bound, grabbing its feathers in a death grip.
The Peacock Brocade was panic-stricken, screaming as it fled for its life. Multicolored feathers scattered everywhere along its path, creating a scene of utter chaos.
Watching this scene, Jun Ting felt his heart twitch violently. Especially when he saw that his precious Peacock Brocade's feathers were almost plucked clean, not to mention that its tail feathers had been nearly plucked bald by this little brat, his blood pressure skyrocketed in fury!
"What are you doing?!"
As if his anger could no longer be contained, Jun Ting barked a stern reprimand.
Chiyun looked in the direction where Jun Jiuqi was, his eyes shining brightly. "Jiujiu, Jiujiu! I caught a bird for us to roast and eat! We're having lotus leaf bird tonight!"
With that, he clamped his hands tightly around the Peacock Brocade's neck. The Peacock Brocade rolled its eyes in distress, and under the formidable strength of this calf-like boy, it could no longer run and crashed to the ground.
Chiyun's sandbag-like fists came down with loud thuds, hammering the Peacock Brocade until it shrieked in agonizing cries.
The shrill cries resounded through the courtyard, leaving Jun Ting utterly speechless with rage over here.
Xu Hai also urged and persuaded frantically, but Chiyun was in high spirits; how could he possibly listen to him?
For a moment, the courtyard was in complete chaos.
Jun Jiuqi pressed a hand to her forehead, knowing it would turn out like this.
Chiyun's absolute favorite food was all kinds of birds and beasts, the kind of person who couldn't move his feet once he saw one. Jun Jiuqi had previously warned him to restrain himself a bit in the Jun Family, but who would have thought...
"Chiyun, stop making a fuss."
In the end, it was Jun Jiuqi's appearance that finally stopped Chiyun.
However, it was already too late.
The Peacock Brocade on the ground was breathing more than it was taking in, lingering at death's door.
Jun Ting hurried forward. Seeing his beloved treasure reduced to this state, he clutched his chest and swayed on his feet.
Xu Hai rushed to steady him. He knew very well how much the old master cherished this Peacock Brocade. Usually, it was kept in the back garden and carefully tended to, and no one was allowed to see it. Even when the eldest master and second master came, they were rarely allowed to touch it.
As a result, this little ancestor had directly hammered the old master's precious Peacock Brocade half to death. It was a miracle the old man hadn't suffered a myocardial infarction.
"Little brat!"
With a roar that startled countless birds resting in the Old Pine Hall.
In the end, Chiyun was driven out without any mercy, and Jun Jiuqi was implicated along with him.
The two children, one big and one small, were hoisted up and tossed out the door, leaving them staring at each other in dismay.
Chiyun stood up briskly, patted his bruised bottom, and panted in grievance, "Old thing, so damn petty! What's the big deal about beating his bird? Does he have to get that angry? Jiujiu, let's go, ignore him!"
And so, Jun Ting's plan to bond with his grandchildren ended in total bankruptcy, derailed by being nearly angered to death!
Before half a day had passed, the news that Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun had been driven out of the Old Pine Hall by the Old Master quickly spread throughout the entire Jun Family.
Soon, everyone learned that it was because they had killed the Old Master's most beloved Peacock Brocade.
At this, the members of the Jun Family eagerly waited to watch a good show.
Hearing the news, Jun Zelin and Jun Zechuan felt even more gloating.
They knew better than anyone how much their grandfather valued that bird. Previously, when they wanted to stroke it, they had been scolded by their grandfather for a long time. Now, these two ungrateful wretches had actually killed the bird! It seemed their good days in the Jun Family had also come to an end.
Thus, after class that day, the two brothers finally found an opportunity to intercept Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun.
Looking for trouble required a pretext.
Jun Zechuan looked at Curly in Jun Jiuqi's arms, smiling with malicious intent.
"What kind of filthy creature do you dare bring back into the Jun Family? This isn't some past place where you can run wild as you please. The Jun Family has Jun Family rules, so hand this filth over to me right now! This young master will deal with it personally!"
Jun Zechuan's arrogance was blazing.
The ringleaders looking for trouble this time were the two brothers Jun Zelin and Jun Zechuan, along with a group of their lackeys.
A massive crowd blocked the path Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun had to take to return, and then they repeated their old trick, launching a sneak attack with slingshots.
This was already the second time. Jun Jiuqi looked at Jun Zechuan, who was speaking so haughtily before her, especially when she heard him spit out the three words "filthy thing," and suddenly smiled.
Jun Jiuqi's smile actually made Jun Zechuan and his group think that she was scared.
Consequently, they became even more smug.
"Knowing to be afraid is good, hurry up and hand that ugly thing over!"
With that, Jun Zelin reached out directly to snatch it...
Faster than it takes to tell, a direct fist smashed right into his eye!
Jun Zelin let out an "ao" and fell to the ground, clutching his eye.
A direct black eye bloomed around his eye socket. The others froze, and by the time they reacted, they saw Jun Jiuqi approaching with the small beast in her arms.
Jun Jiuqi raised her foot again. Her whip kick was completely unexpected and so fast that only an afterimage remained!
Jun Zelin instinctively raised his arm to block, but unexpectedly, a terrifying force struck. He heard a crisp cracking sound from his arm, followed by a wave of intense pain!
His whole body was sent flying!
Bang!
At this, the others finally came to their senses. Jun Zechuan was shocked. "Eldest Brother!"
"You actually dare to raise a hand! Brothers, get them! With so many of us, why should we be afraid of country bumpkins from the sticks!"
With that, the crowd swarmed forward, but before they could even get close, Chiyun charged straight out!
One punch per person, beating them while cursing, "Let you bully Jiujiu!"
"This young master is going to teach you a proper lesson today!"
"Take that for your sneak attacks!"
"Take that for your running mouths!"
...
Ever since they returned to the Jun Family, Jun Zechuan and Jun Zelin had been constantly provoking them. At the very least, Jun Jiuqi had vented her anger at the banquet.
Chiyun, however, hadn't even gotten the chance to make a move.
His Grandpa Niu's fists had been itching for a long time anyway.
It was just as well to settle everything at once!
Chiyun took them down one punch at a time, beating those people until they howled and wailed to the heavens.
With Chiyun's strength, how could these habitually dissolute Jun Family disciples possibly be his match?
Jiujiu said, if you don't make a move, fine; once you make a move, it must draw blood! You have to make the enemy fearful so they wouldn't dare provoke you casually in the future!
"As long as you don't kill them, beat them to death."
Jiujiu had once said this, and Chiyun naturally followed it unconditionally!
Thus, the scene was filled only with their miserable screams. Jun Jiuqi held Curly, the snow-white fox fur around her neck setting off her delicate and pretty little face even more, making her look like an innocent elf.
Standing there, she looked just like a doll.
So beautiful that people couldn't tear their eyes away.
That is, if one ignored the person she was stepping on with her snow-white shoes.
"Wuwu, you dare hurt me, I will never let you go... Ah!"
Before Jun Zelin under her could finish speaking, Jun Jiuqi pressed down with a cold expression, stepping heavily on the back of his hand!
Then she applied force, grinding ruthlessly over that hand.
In Jun Jiuqi's hand, she played with the "hidden weapon" they had used for the sneak attack. Unlike the previous stones, it was an iron ball with a round hole in it. Upon collision, the iron ball would shoot out countless silver needles. If someone were close, the needles would silently sink into their body.
The tiny silver needles, fine as ox hair, were completely inconspicuous. Yet, such tiny objects could easily destroy the meridians and tissues inside a human body.
If there were only one such silver needle entering the body, one could still find a way to treat it, but with Jun Zelin and the others' hidden weapons, once struck, it was followed by dozens of silver needles.
One could imagine how much damage entering a child's body with so many silver needles would cause.
Even more viciously, the silver needles would work their way deeper into the body with movement, eventually entering the blood vessels and internal organs, causing the victim to die in agony. Even if they were lucky enough to save their small lives, they would ultimately end up reduced to cripples.
Especially since the silver needles wouldn't cause too intense a sensation the moment they entered the body, but once pain manifested, it would be too late for anything.
A cold glint flashed in the depths of Jun Jiuqi's eyes. To have such a ruthless wrist at such a young age—if she hadn't discovered the existence of the silver needles beforehand and waited until she was hit before going to settle accounts with them, they would have had countless excuses to shirk responsibility.
She felt that Jun Zechuan and Jun Zelin acted rashly; such silver needles didn't look like methods people of their age could employ.
There was something strange about this matter.
"Speak, where did this thing come from?" Jun Jiuqi sternly demanded.
"This is... mine..."
Jun Zelin's face was pale with pain at this moment, his mouth twitching as he gasped for air.
"Oh? So that means I was right to settle accounts with you?"
Jun Jiuqi squatted down with a smile, patting Jun Zelin's face with her tender, white little hand, slap, slap.
That action was both graceful and tinged with a bit of swagger.
Only, her eyes were filled with a bone-chilling deadliness that made Jun Zelin tremble.
"Pick one."
"Pick... what..." Jun Zelin was stunned.
"Hand, or foot."
Jun Zelin was dumbfounded.
"Hard to choose? Shall I pick for you?"
Just as the words fell, Jun Jiuqi pressed down with her foot, and with a crisp snap, she directly crushed his wrist!
This time, the pain was so severe that Jun Zelin couldn't even scream out.
She couldn't be bothered to fuss over ordinary minor scraps, but today these two brothers' actions had crossed her bottom line.
She had wanted to keep a low profile, but some people were simply courting death!
The murderous intent in Jun Jiuqi's eyes surfaced completely, that instantaneous sharpness unnoticed by anyone.
"Still not talking?"
"I'll talk, I'll talk! It's, it's..."
"Audacious! Let go of the Young Master!"
Suddenly, an explosive roar came from behind, followed by a figure rushing forward!
Seeing the newcomer, Jun Zelin's expression instantly brightened. "Save me!"
The newcomer was none other than Jun Zelin's bodyguard, Liufeng, a Rank Four Warrior.
Seeing his young master injured, Liufeng disregarded everything else and threw a punch straight at Jun Jiuqi without a second word!
Jun Jiuqi didn't move, watching as the fist was about to land on her...
Suddenly, a flash appeared before her eyes, and a faster figure emerged, blocking in front of her to meet that fist!
Bang!
The two fists collided, sending the guard stumbling back repeatedly, while Chiyun stood his ground steadily.
"What's going on? Who is fighting here?"
At the same time, the patrolling disciples quickly arrived.
Seeing the chaos at the scene, they instantly developed a massive headache.
Jun Zechuan and the others, who had been beaten down by Chiyun and were lying on the ground wailing, felt like they had seen saviors when they finally saw people arrive, and hurriedly cried out for help!
"They beat us and injured us!"
"That's right! We were just walking properly on the road when they suddenly jumped out and started beating people without a word! Quickly arrest them!"
"Even the Young Master and Second Young Master were injured by them; they definitely did it on purpose!"
...
Everyone talked at once, exaggerating and distorting the truth, instantly making Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun look like criminals committing violence in broad daylight.
"Young Master, are you alright?"
Seeing this, the guard immediately went to help Jun Zelin up. Jun Zelin was wincing in pain, and upon seeing the guard, his anger instantly flared up!
Slap—
Using his uninjured hand, Jun Zelin struck a blow across the guard's face!
"Useless trash! How dare you leave your post without authorization? Where did you go? Someone came and bullied your young master to his face, yet you arrive this late? Do you want to see me dead to be happy?!"
He shifted his anger, not forgetting to splash dirty water on Jun Jiuqi.
A palm print immediately appeared on the guard's face, looking quite aggrieved. "Wasn't it you, Young Master, who told me to go to the Martial Hall to look for your lost textbooks? That's why this subordinate..."
"Shut up! You still dare talk back?!"
Jun Zelin had indeed asked the guard to return to the study hall, but that was just an excuse to deliberately dispatch him so he could make trouble for Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun. Yet he never imagined that they would be the ones getting beaten up instead!
"Liufeng, capture her for me! For daring to injure this young master, this young master will make her pay!"
Jun Zelin pointed at Jun Jiuqi ahead, arrogantly issuing commands to Liufeng nearby.
"Young Master, it's better to wait for the Law Enforcement Hall people to arrive."
"You dare question my decision? Don't forget why Father sent you to my side! She broke one of my arms, and I want her to pay with both hands!"
Resigned, Liufeng thought of his duty, then looked at Jun Jiuqi in front of him and said, "Third Miss, offense taken!"
Liufeng struck directly, but this time Qingyin and Qingshin appeared and blocked him.
The two had been held up by the guards sent by Jun Zechuan and spent some effort to get over here. Another three of Jun Zelin and Jun Zechuan's men quickly joined the melee.
Seeing things spiral out of control, the patrolling disciples immediately went to fetch people from the Law Enforcement Hall.
"Quickly go notify the Fourth Elder, something's happened!"
Soon, Fourth Elder arrived in a rush upon hearing the news. Taking in the chaotic scene before him, he flew into a rage.
"What system is this?"
"All of you, stop fighting!"
And so, a quarter of an hour later.
All the troublemakers were invited to the Law Enforcement Hall.
The matter quickly reached Jun Qingya's ears.
"What? Lin'er was beaten and injured? How are his injuries? What are the people underneath doing? Trash!"
"Calm your anger, Patriarch, a medical officer has already been sent to treat him..."
"Those two jinxes bring nothing but trouble the moment they return! They must have looked at Zechuan and Zelin with disfavor and deliberately picked a fight. The Three Families Tournament is just around the corner, and beating Zelin and Zelin at this time clearly shows ill intent. Could this be the idea of my good Third Brother..."
The more Jun Qingya thought about it, the more probable it seemed. What could two country-bumpkin children know? If someone wasn't pulling strings behind the scenes, how could it be such a coincidence that they injured his son right before the Three Families Tournament?
Thinking of this, Jun Qingya felt his teeth itch with rage. "You go immediately and check on Zelin and Zechuan's injuries, have the doctor treat them well, and make sure there are no complications so it won't delay the tournament half a month from now!"
"Yes!"
The steward hurried away.
"Detestable!"
Jun Qingya was furious; this time, he would never let them off easily!
***
Law Enforcement Hall.
At this moment, several elders on duty at the Law Enforcement Hall were interrogating the troublemakers. However, because the place where Jun Jiuqi and the others had fought was quite far from the main path, aside from the parties involved, no third party had witnessed it.
A doctor was treating Jun Zelin's injuries. Jun Zelin wailed loudly from the pain, yet he still didn't forget to splash dirty water on Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun, slandering them by claiming they had started the fight first, and that he and the others had only counterattacked in self-defense.
Jun Zelin's lackeys naturally chimed in one after another in agreement.
Upon hearing this, Fourth Elder flew into a rage, slamming his palm on the table. "This is lawless! You two, showing no respect for your elders, fighting in private, and injuring so many disciples—what crime do you plead?!"
This was convicting Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun right out of the gate.
"Clearly they were the ones who provoked us first and deliberately set an ambush to block us there. When their plot failed, they got beaten by us instead, and then they play the victim and frame us the moment someone arrives. How did it end up being our fault?"
Chiyun was also furious.
"You stinky old fogey, unable to tell right from wrong! With a brain like yours, you still get to be an elder of the Law Enforcement Hall?"
As soon as these words came out, Fourth Elder was hopping mad, pointing at him and cursing, "Audacious! You have no respect for superiors, speaking improperly! Someone, hold him down and beat him!"
"Fourth Elder, things aren't sorted out yet. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to resort to corporal punishment arbitrarily?"
"What else isn't sorted out? In my view, it couldn't be clearer! Are the injuries on the Young Master and Second Young Master fake? Are the injuries on the other disciples fake too? So many disciples saw that they were the ones who beat people, what else is there to try?"
"But..."
The slightly younger elder still felt it was improper.
He glanced at Jun Jiuqi and Chiyun standing below the hall. After all, these were children just welcomed back into the Jun Family with boundless futures ahead of them, and they were so young—how could they endure the punishments of the Law Enforcement Hall?
"Shouldn't we ask for the Patriarch's opinion first?"
Just then, Steward Lin walked in from outside and immediately inquired about the injuries of Jun Zelin and Jun Zechuan.
The doctor replied that the hand bones were broken and would require recuperation for a period of time, meaning they probably wouldn't make the upcoming Three Families Tournament.
At these words, Jun Zelin burst into tears with a wail.
"It's all her fault! She's the one who stepped and broke my hand! She did it on purpose!"
How could Jun Zelin have expected it to be this severe?
He had originally wanted to ambush them and teach these two unappreciative wretches a lesson, never imagining that he would be the one ending up injured!
And even implicating himself to the point where he couldn't participate in the Three Families Tournament!
At this moment, Jun Zelin regretted it so deeply his intestines turned green! He glared viciously at Jun Jiuqi, wishing he could tear her to shreds.
Jun Jiuqi didn't even spare him the corner of her eye, while Chiyun stepped directly in front of Jun Jiuqi and flashed a "coward" hand gesture at Jun Zelin.