Poplar Town.
In a room on the second floor of the Emerald Jade House, a pair of coquettish girls sat on Yang Chen’s lap. Yang Chen whipped out a few silver bills slapped them on the table and laughed delightfully.
Once the two girls saw the bills, their eyes immediately shone with light, and hurriedly rubbed their breasts on his arm, slyly laughing. “Master Yang, you sure are very generous…”
Just at this moment, the door suddenly slammed open. A servant rushed to the young man’s side, and in spite of the sweat, stooped low to the youth’s ear and said, “Young Master Chen, Third Aunt’s husband has passed away!”
The servant’s name was Xiao Huang, Yang Chen’s most trusted aide, accompanying his side for many years.
Yang Chen’s face suddenly went expressionless, only recovering after a while, brushed his sleeves, stood up, and left the area. The servant’s expression was sorrowful, but could not keep up with Yang Chen’s footsteps.
Walking on the street, Yang Chen thought: “Although this devil of a father died in an intoxicated manner, surpassing even me when drinking, but he is barely forty years old, he could still live another ten years, so how did he suddenly kick the bucket today?”
Increasing his pace, he very quickly arrived in the Yang residence.
Poplar Town had two families in power, the Bai family and the Yang family. The Yang family was in control of close to half of all of Poplar Town’s resources, hence achieving the name of the second power.
Usually a person born to such a family is one’s fortune. However, in Yang Chen’s case it was not so.
During his younger days, the Yang family founder was known for having a great innate talent, his martial skills were immeasurable, and in Poplar Town he had built up his foundation. The Yang family quickly expanded and achieved success, giving birth to countless children.
Yang Chen’s mother is of the older generation and is the third daughter, with a genius talent, which everybody in Poplar Town knew. However, Yang Chen’s father became a son-in-law living with his wife’s family. Yang Chen did not know how flirtatious his father was during his younger days, but as far back as he could recall, his father was drinking wine all day long, in a muddy daze, abandoned in a crude cottage, wasting his life away.
As the father was useless, the unlucky son was also implicated. Hence Yang Chen’s position was not essential in the great Yang family. Not only did other people give him the cold shoulder, but even his own mother pretended not to have given birth to him. As such, he led a carefree life and had an unrestrained disposition. With the reputation of the Yang family, he got by with wasting his life away drinking and eating merrily, by dominating men and conquering women, leading a pretty good life.
Ignoring the cold gazes from the gate guards, Yang Chen entered the Yang residence.
The Yang family courtyard was filled with pavilions, beautiful flora, displaying the elegance and history of the great family.
Not even a few steps away there were two people who were walking over. The first was a white robed, tall and largely built, stern young man. It was Yang Chen’s second uncle’s eldest son, his cousin Yang Zhan.
Behind Yang Zhan, stood a distant cousin called Chen Liu. He had an ugly disposition, hunchbacked, and looked towards Yang Zhan with flattery.
When he arrived in front of Yang Chen, Yang Zhan suddenly blocked Yang Chen’s path.
“I hear that your useless father finally kicked the bucket.”
Yang Zhan mocked Yang Chen, his face full of ridicule.
Yang Zhan had a decent reputation in Poplar Town, at the age of only 17, he had already broken through and entered the realm of the fourth dragon pulse, his achievement was considered as splendid.
Yang Chen in comparison to the rest of the outstanding youths in the Yang family, was never considered to be even in the same league.
Ever since they were small, they have had access to innumerous amounts of resources, and secret intermediate martial techniques, as for Yang Chen he never had any of these.
His mother did not bother with him, and other people were even less likely to give him anything. When he was younger, he participated in an intra-family competition and showed off his incredible cultivation speed, stunning the crowd and earning himself a period of fame. However, without access to martial techniques, coupled with his lack of aptitude to improve, and even not practicing cultivation, he never managed to break through the first Dragon Pulse Vein, not being able even to enter the first level of Dragon Pulse Realm.
Yang Chen had practiced in secret before, but without martial techniques and guidance, even improving a little was extremely difficult.
“Why are you keeping quiet? I said that your dad is someone useless, you refuse to accept that fact?”
Standing in front of Yang Chen, Yang Zhan looked down upon him with ridicule in his eyes.
This kind of bullying, it’s not as if Yang Chen has never encountered it before. Although Yang Chen has quite a reputation outside, but when he returns back to the Yang family he is considered to be equal to a dog. He knows his own place in the family, so he constantly endures and lets things slide by. But today, perhaps it was because of his father’s death, even though he looked calm on the surface, his heart was extremely vexed.
“Move out of my way!”
Inhaling deeply, Yang Chen coldly said as he raised his head to look at him.
“My dear younger brother, how can you speak to your elder brother so rudely, could it be that you are resentful towards me? You did not learn martial cultivation, while tarnishing the Yang family name. As your elder brother, isn’t it a natural thing for me to discipline you a little bit?
Yang Zhan laughed as he said that. Not waiting for Yang Chen to dispute, he threw a punch hitting Yang Chen’s stomach and left, sneering.
Yang Chen cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.
With Yang Zhan gone, Chen Liu immediately trotted after him. As he passed Yang Chen, he turned around and spat at him. Yang Chen, who was lying on the floor in agony, hurriedly dodged the spittle.
“Aiyo, so you managed to dodge? Cousin, your family’s dog is rather nimble…”
After ridiculing Yang Chen a while more, Chen Liu then sped up to keep pace with Yang Zhan.
The maids around who saw the scene, deemed it as an everyday activity, and did not look surprised.
No one turned a sympathetic eye upon Yang Zhan, but instead they became amused.
Yang Chen crawled up from the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. Watching the departing backs of Yang Zhan and Chen Liu, his intelligent eyes smoldered with anger.
“I must get revenge! If only I was a Martial cultivator, if only I were to enter the Dragon Pulse Realm!”
Yang Zhan, and that lackey Chen Liu, I will remember today’s humiliation. If I ever get the opportunity, I will make sure you will die horribly!”
Clenching his fist, Yang Chen walked towards his father’s living quarters.
Over these past several years, he etched in his heart anyone who had humiliated him. If there ever comes a day that he gets to improve, he will make sure those people who looked down on him will never live in peace again.
This is him, in Yang Chen’s circle of friends, the ones that were familiar with him all labeled him as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Yang Chen’s father was named Long Qinglan, a considerably refined name. Word has it that he was unparalleled in his flirtatious ways in his younger days, even the Yang family’s third madam was also enthralled.
Walking into the crude doorway, Long Qinglan was surrounded by a swarm of maidservants, lying on the floor with a pitch-black complexion. The room stank with a putrid odor, the result of a combination of alcohol and urine.
“He’s here…”
Seeing the arrival of Yang Chen, the maidservants hurriedly left, seemingly having completed their task.
Yang Chen’s gaze lingered on Long Qinglan. Since a long time, this man had no future. Him having this ending today, Yang Chen had long foreseen it.
Squatting down, he looked at that pitch-black face.
“In the end, what kind of person are you? These sixteen years, I felt like I have never understood you, and you didn’t let me understand you either. The sad thing is, standing here today, I actually feel like we are total strangers. Father, father… it seems I am that unfilial son of the myths, even when you pass away, I cannot even shed a drop of tear.”
Originally he considered himself to be heartless, and yet currently, his heart unexpectedly held a trace of bitterness.
Lingering for a while longer, upon the sound of footsteps outside, Yang Chen regained his composure. A woman wearing a faded pink robe with her hair tied up walked over, surrounded by a cluster of people. She glanced sideways at Long Qinglan’s corpse, and let out a sigh and blandly said: “This ill-fated relationship has now passed. Yang Chen, he is your father, and because of this connection, you should find a place to bury him.”
When she finished speaking, she left straight away without giving Yang Chen a second glance.
Yang Chen smiled, already accustomed to this, and looked at Long Qinglan and mockingly said, “Father, your looks can be considered as suave, and during your youth, your flirtatious reputation was spread far and wide, countless beauties fell before the seams in your big pants. Unexpectedly when you died, even your woman has barely glanced at your dead body.
In his heart, he was disheartened, yet he did not display it in his expression.
Yang Chen, disregarding everything else carried Long Qinglan’s corpse on his back, ignoring the weird glances coming his way, and walked all the way out of the Yang residence. Calling a horse drawn carriage and personally acting as the coachman, he brought Long Qinglan’s body out of town, after finding a scenic location in the forest, Yang Chen unmounted and observed the surroundings.
“The verdant hills and limpid water, with the birdsong and fragrant flowers, is a fitting location for your eternal rest. Also the yin in the air is quite dense; I would imagine there would be many female spirits around. If you ever feel flirtatious in the afterlife, and wish to get me a step-mother or two, then this exquisite location, should be unrivaled for your XXX time.
“No matter what, I Yang Chen am still your son, and half of my blood and body was spurted out by you. However, since you died so early, and I am not accomplished, the best I can do is have you buried here. If you turn into a ghost and gain any magic power, please give me your blessing so that I can continue to live cheerfully.”
Whilst looking at Long Qinglan’s dim and lifeless face, he was startled to find a teardrop flow down his face.
Yang Chen hastily wiped away the tear, and without another word, used his fingers, and dug a grave in the fertile soil with his bare hands.
Although he no longer practiced martial cultivation, he still had a degree of talent. After all those years, his tempered body up till now has not deteriorated one bit. Digging a big pit was not a problem to him at all.
Just as he was preparing to bury Long Qinglan, Long Qinglan suddenly opened his eyes.
Yang Chen gave a cry as he realized the body wasn’t dead, even if it was his own father; he still pushed him into the muddy pit.
Looking at the person in the pit, Yang Chen’s mind was in a panicked state, stammering he said: “Fa … Father, I did not speak ill of you, and today I merely dug this grave for you to let you rest in peace…”
Long Qinglan flipped his body around, cursing: “I swear to our ancestors, I have not completely died, and you already want to bury me, you little bastard. The reason why I came back to life was to tell you one thing. In my dantian, there’s a dragon shaped emblem. When I die, dig out that dragon shaped jade pendant from my dantian, and that way it will allow me to be freed from all the suffering…”