Chapter 369 - 366: Venting
Qin Wenxuan softly called for a maid. Seeing the joyful look on her face, he asked in confusion, "What’s going on outside? You seem quite happy yourself."
The pretty maid had a few small freckles on her face that made her look even more adorable. Hearing Qin Wenxuan’s words, she said excitedly, "Congratulations, Master! The Young Master led some men out and caught the scoundrels who dared to injure you! I heard he even severely injured a Venerable master from the Wang Family!"
"What? The Wang Family... Which Wang Family?"
"The Fire Sword Wang Family, one of the major powers on Profound Island! I heard that Venerable master from the Wang Family—what was his name, Fire Dragon Wang Sheng?—is a very famous person. He came to speak up for the Feng Family, but Miss Xiaoxue, who was with the Young Master, beat him so badly he was severely injured! Wow, I never knew Miss Xiaoxue was so powerful..." The maid was so excited she was practically dancing.
Qin Wenxuan was stunned. He suddenly felt a lump form in his throat, and his eyes reddened and grew moist.
Qin Wenxuan blinked hard, forcing back the tears. The maid asked worriedly, "Master, what’s wrong? Are you unwell? Should I call for a doctor?"
Qin Wenxuan smiled gently. "That won’t be necessary. You’re dismissed. I’m going to take a walk by myself in a little while."
Qin Wenxuan had always been kind to the servants, so the maid didn’t feel the need to be overly formal around him. She let out a cheer and ran off. At that moment, most of the Qin family was gathered in the front hall. Even some of the servants were finding excuses to pass by, eager to see how their young master had unleashed his might and brought back the captives who had dared to humiliate the Qin Family.
The faces of the bound Feng Family members were masks of shame and indignation. ’Since when,’ they thought, ’did a family like the Qin Family dare to stand before us and pass judgment?’
But now, the Qin family wasn’t just passing judgment—they had captured them and brought them here. The ropes binding them were pitifully thin; a child in their teens could have snapped them with a single tug. And these were not weak members of the Feng Family. But... who among them dared to try and break free?
They knew that Qin Li and the host of menacing Qin family members were likely just itching for them to break free, giving them an excuse to cut them down on the spot.
Therefore, this was not just a great humiliation, but also a trap!
How could the proud members of the Feng Family fall for such a simple ploy? Not one of them tried to struggle free. Still, the feeling of being gawked at by all these members of the Qin family was unbearable.
’What’s worse,’ he fumed, ’this damned, third-rate little family has no breeding or rules! They’re so undisciplined that even their servants can come and gawk at us, one wave after another...’ Finally, one of the Feng Family members could take it no more and shouted in protest, "Qin Li, I thought you were a renowned figure on Profound Island! How can you humiliate us like this? Being shamed by the members of your Qin Family is one thing—might makes right, we have nothing to say about that. But to allow a bunch of servants with no status to come here and point fingers at us... Does your Qin Family have no sense of propriety at all?"
As the Feng Family member’s words faded, Qin Li, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in thought, slowly opened them. His gaze fell upon the speaker, noting how the man wanted to lower his head but was too proud. Qin Li sneered internally. He swept his gaze over the indignant Qin family servants, then pointed to a young man in his twenties. "You... yes, you. Step forward!"
This servant’s family had served the Qin Family for generations, and they were all unfailingly loyal. Furthermore, Qin Li was known for being fiercely protective of his people. Thus, the young man stepped forward without hesitation.
"Go on, slap him," Qin Li ordered coolly. "Hit him however you want. Just don’t kill him."
"Qin Li, you... you’ve gone too far!" The Feng Family member’s face turned crimson. He hadn’t imagined his protest would provoke even greater humiliation. Seeing the pity in his companions’ eyes, he wished he were dead. As the Qin family servant approached, his resolve hardened. ’If he really dares to lay a hand on me,’ he vowed, ’I’ll kill him, even if it’s the last thing I do!’
Qin Li’s voice rang out once more. "Don’t even think about resisting. You people from the Feng family have faces just begging to be slapped! If you dare to fight back, if you harm even one of my Qin family, I will kill one hundred of yours! If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try!"
"You..." The Feng Family member’s hands, which had been tensing with power, went limp in defeat. But his eyes bored into the young Qin family servant as he said coldly, "You better be sure about this. You dare to strike me? Don’t you da—"
SLAP!
The young Qin family servant’s face was devoid of expression. He raised his hand and, with a heavy, resounding slap, choked the rest of the Feng Family member’s words in his throat.
In an instant, the vast front hall fell utterly silent. Even many of the Qin family’s own members couldn’t help but admire the young man’s bravery.
After all, to dare to raise a hand against an elite scion of a major family—one who was clearly powerful—required extraordinary courage.
"You bastard!" the young Qin family servant yelled. One of his hands was trembling slightly—whether from excitement, nerves, or sheer emotion, it was hard to tell. But he raised his calloused hand again and dealt the Feng Family member another vicious slap!
SLAP!
The sound seemed to strike a blow to the heart of every Feng family member present.
"You self-righteous, high-and-mighty bastards! When you were bullying my Qin Family, did you ever stop to think this day would come? You ask me if I dare to hit you? I’ll prove it to you!"
SLAP!
"My own brother... he was in Feng City... beaten and crippled by you Feng Family animals! The day before yesterday... the day before yesterday, he died!" The servant’s voice broke into a sob. "I’ll kill you, you animal! I’ll kill you!"
SLAP!
SLAP!
SLAP!
Each slap echoed in the hearts of everyone present. At that moment, the Feng Family members could no longer keep their heads held high. They lowered them, their hearts a maelstrom of complex, indescribable emotions.
Qin Suo moved as if to have someone stop the overwrought servant, but Qin Li stopped him with a look. He sent a voice transmission to Qin Suo, saying, ’Let it be. Let him vent. If the man dies, he dies. It’s high time our Qin family released some of this pent-up rage.’
Having spoken, Qin Li settled back into his chair and closed his eyes, but a fierce killing intent surged within him. Though he had already known the Qin Family had suffered casualties, hearing about it and witnessing the raw grief firsthand were two entirely different things.
’So what if they’re servants of the Qin Family? Are they not people? Do they deserve to die? Do they not have their own joys and sorrows, their own passions and desires?’
’No. Even a dog belonging to the Qin Family is more noble than the so-called legitimate sons of your great clans and factions!’
’So, for the debt you owe my Qin Family... you’d all better think long and hard about how you’re going to appease the rage in my heart!’
"Master, your killing intent is so strong and fierce right now!" She She’s voice rang in Qin Li’s mind. He looked up to see an excited expression on the battle-hungry girl’s face. He then glanced around and noticed that everyone else had been intimidated by the killing intent he was unintentionally radiating—even the emotional Qin family servant had stopped.
He looked back at the Feng Family member. The man’s face was a bloody mess, and he was lying on the ground, moaning. It had to be said, the man had incredible self-control. Terrified by Qin Li’s chilling threat, he had endured the beating without daring to fight back or even circulate his energy for defense. In truth, however, his injuries weren’t severe, merely superficial. The Qin family servant was only at the Profound Level. Against a Martial Artist with a toughened physique, he could only inflict flesh wounds.
The wounds to the Feng Family member’s pride, however, would likely never heal.
"Alright, that’s enough venting for now. Everyone, disperse," Qin Li said, waving his hand to dismiss the crowd of onlookers. He then ordered the Feng Family members to be locked away. Finally, he summoned the upper echelon of the Qin Family to the council hall to discuss their next move.
Qin Li did not take the seat at the head of the table. Despite his transcendent status within the Qin Family, he had no wish to upstage the host. ’Since I have no intention of becoming the Qin Family’s Patriarch,’ he thought, ’why do anything to make others uncomfortable?’
Qin Suo demurred for a moment, but when he saw that Qin Li truly had no intention of taking the seat, he sat down himself with a mixture of apprehension and delight.
By now, everyone in the Qin Family had developed a strong sense of reliance on Qin Li. It felt as if so long as Qin Li was present, any crisis could be resolved, any problem could be handled. As long as Qin Li was present, they felt no panic. Even when facing a behemoth like the Fire Sword Wang Family, they remained completely unafraid.
’After all,’ they thought, ’didn’t even a family as tyrannical as the Cui Family... fall at the Young Master’s hands?’
"My good brother, what should our next move be?" Qin Suo asked, looking at Qin Li with a fawning grin.
However, the other high-ranking members in the council hall pretended not to notice. Not one of them stepped forward to say that Qin Suo lacked the dignity of a Patriarch. In fact, if they were in his shoes, they too would have to respectfully address Qin Li as "Young Master Li," not daring to put on any airs whatsoever.
This was a far cry from when Qin Li had first joined the Qin Family, back when people still dared to question or disrespect him to his face, forcing the family ancestors like Qinling Mountain and Qin Haiyang to use their authority to suppress the dissent.
Now, their awe of Qin Li was completely heartfelt. It was no exaggeration to say that without Qin Li, the Qin Family would not exist today. And while they were surrounded by peril, they also faced an opportunity that might only come once in ten thousand years. If they played their cards right, who was to say the Qin Family wouldn’t become the next major power on Profound Island?
Qin Li smiled. "You’re the Patriarch. You should be better at handling these things than I am."
"The moment I see you, my mind goes blank..."