Don't let Yan Qingsang's sometimes carefree demeanor fool you — in certain matters, he was exceptionally obstinate, and nowhere more so than when it came to the Xiahou family. On that subject he was a one-track mind, utterly incapable of compromise. That much had been displayed in full at the Nongyu Tower, where he'd left absolutely no room for doubt.
So when he heard about the Xiahou family affair, Yan Qingsang's first reaction was outright resistance. He loathed the Xiahou family to the bone — and now he was supposed to attend some young lady's birthday celebration? And hand over a premium piece of ancient jade as a gift?
He simply couldn't stomach it.
"Grandfather, that Xiahou family pushes people too far! Hasn't our branch been bullied enough by them already? And now we're supposed to grovel and curry favor with them?"
Yan Qingsang's temper flared, his tone sharp.
"Sigh, you boy — when will you ever drop this bad habit?" Yan Wanjun's sigh was laced with deep exasperation.
This grandson of his was this inflexible in general, and even more so when it came to the Xiahou family. It gave Yan Wanjun no end of headaches.
"Qingsang, if you can't muster even this much composure, if you can't endure even this degree of humiliation, how are you ever going to carry on the legacy of our branch? How will you shoulder the great task of restoring our line? And what right would you have to serve as the leader of the Yan family's younger generation?"
Yan Wanjun's voice carried a note of frustrated disappointment.
Jiang Chen considered for a moment, then spoke up: "Brother Yan, I'll cover those two pieces of ancient jade for you."
Yan Qingsang glared at Jiang Chen. "This isn't about two pieces of jade! The Xiahou family tramples all over our Yan family, and now we're supposed to shamelessly fawn over them? On what basis?"
"What basis? The basis that they're stronger than us. The basis that at any moment they can make life even more miserable for our Yan family. What other basis do you need?" Yan Wanjun snapped back, his own temper flaring.
"Qingsang, I've always been lenient with you in other matters. I believe that a young man having some backbone is no bad thing, so I've never been particularly harsh with you. But if you keep this up with the Xiahou family — if you absolutely cannot endure this humiliation — you're going to bring disaster down on us someday. Let me ask you this: if Xiahou Zong came tomorrow to take Huang'er away, what could you do?"
"I—" Yan Qingsang's face twisted with rage, his mouth hanging open, but no words came out. What could he do?
Nothing at all!
Other than watch helplessly as Xiahou Zong carried Huang'er off, there was truly nothing he could do.
With his strength, even if Xiahou Zong gave him the chance of a fair duel, what could he possibly do to the man? Five Yan Qingsangs combined probably still couldn't beat Xiahou Zong!
Xiahou Zong was known as the most powerful young genius in the entire Eternal Divine Kingdom.
No matter how unhappy Yan Qingsang was, no matter how many objections he had — could he so much as make the man lose a single hair?
"Qingsang, a man has to look at the bigger picture. You insist on fighting over pride, but you lack the ability and the foundation to back it up — so what are you fighting for? You can't even win. A contest of temper requires real strength behind it; without that strength, you're only humiliating yourself. Maybe you're thinking — 'I can't beat you, but I can just avoid you!' Isn't that what you're thinking?"
"What's wrong with thinking that?" Yan Qingsang said defiantly.
Yan Wanjun sighed and turned to Jiang Chen. "Young Shao Yuan, you're both young men, and you're brothers — why don't you weigh in? From a neutral perspective, what do you think should be done?"
Jiang Chen smiled ruefully. "Elder, I can't say I'm particularly fond of the Xiahou family either, so my perspective isn't exactly neutral. That said, from Brother Yan's point of view, I don't think there's anything wrong with enduring this. The way great families interact with each other — sometimes it's dreadfully hypocritical, but there's simply no way around it. If you avoid them, you might feel rather free and unrestrained, but in reality, it's just another form of showing weakness. If you can manage to hate them in your heart while still wearing a smile and playing the game, that mental fortitude is genuinely a kind of training."
Jiang Chen was, of course, in a position where it was easy for him to say. If it were him, he honestly wasn't sure he could manage it either.
Yan Wanjun started. "You don't have good feelings toward the Xiahou family? Could it be that you have some grudge against them as well?"
Jiang Chen chuckled. "Well... how should I put it."
Yan Qingsang glanced around, then suddenly broke into a grin. "There's no one else here. If you're too polite to say it, I'll say it for you. Grandfather, there's about a ninety percent chance that Xiahou Xi was taken out by Brother Shao Yuan here. You should have seen how furious the Xiahou family people were — it was genuinely satisfying to watch. Haha, Xiahou Xi gets killed, and the Xiahou family can't find a single flaw, not a shred of evidence. But this guy — he never admits it."
As he spoke, Yan Qingsang shot Jiang Chen a sidelong glance.
"What?" Yan Wanjun's entire body jolted, his eyes fixed on Jiang Chen in disbelief. Xiahou Xi hadn't been the very strongest of the Xiahou family geniuses, but he could still comfortably make the top five.
When the Xiahou family sent their people to the Blue Mist Island Domain for the Ancient Jade Assembly, Xiahou Xi had been the leading figure among the younger generation. His death had stirred up quite a bit of discussion in the Eternal Divine Kingdom.
Yan Wanjun had heard the rumors. Apparently, the Xiahou family was absolutely furious about the incident.
He never would have imagined that Xiahou Xi had been killed by the young man standing before him.
In a straightforward confrontation, killing Xiahou Xi wouldn't have been all that terrifying. But to take him out quickly under those circumstances without leaving a single trace — the difficulty of that was staggering. You'd need to overpower Xiahou Xi in raw strength, and on top of that, every move had to be executed with absolute decisiveness. The slightest hesitation could have ruined everything.
"Young Shao Yuan, that Xiahou Xi — was it really you who…"