Chapter 23: A Formidable Background!

"Rest assured, my good man, I guarantee that every word you spoke will be delivered without fail!"

The innkeeper grinned, revealing a row of prominent teeth, beaming with delight.

Half an hour later.

Liufeng Stronghold.

The chieftain, Liu Jinyu, was snoring away as he reclined on the grand seat of the leader.

"Boss! We have news!"

Suddenly, a subordinate rushed in to report.

Liu Jinyu was instantly jolted awake, his senses sharp, as he glared and demanded, "What news? Speak!"

The subordinate replied, "Yesterday, quite a few people saw the second-in-command of Jinfeng Stronghold, One-Eyed Dragon, setting an ambush at the entrance of the Savage Bandit Mountain. It seemed they intended to kill someone very important, but they ended up being slaughtered by that very person."

Hearing this, Liu Jinyu couldn't help but look surprised. "Who was the person they were ambushing? Is there any word on that?"

"Reporting to the boss, it is said to be someone from the Chen family."

Liu Jinyu’s brow furrowed.

The Chen family of the capital?

As one of the three top-tier families in the capital, many members of the Chen family held key positions in the imperial court, and their power was terrifying.

"Are those idiots at Jinfeng Stronghold out of their minds? Daring to kill someone from the Chen family? Have they grown tired of living?" Liu Jinyu cursed.

The subordinate quickly added, "According to my intelligence, the person from the Chen family they were targeting seems to be extremely weak and holds no status within the clan."

Liu Jinyu scoffed immediately. "Even if he is weak and holds no status, he is still a member of the Chen family! Tell me, which member of the Chen family were they after?"

The subordinate scratched his head and said, "It seems to be someone called Chen Xuan."

"Damn it, it’s that kid?"

Liu Jinyu’s expression suddenly turned peculiar.

"Do you all know who this Chen Xuan is?"

The numerous bandits shook their heads.

One of them asked cautiously, "Boss, is he a big deal?"

"Could he be a high-ranking official of the fifth rank or above?"

"Or is he a master-level martial artist?"

"He must be some incredible figure, then."

Listening to his men’s chaotic guesses, Liu Jinyu was so amused he was driven to curse, "You bunch of idiots, you don't know a thing! Him? A big shot? He is only famous in the capital not because he is powerful, but because he is a notorious good-for-nothing!"

"His father was a renowned genius of the Chen family, the youngest general in the Great Qian Dynasty, granted the title of Marquis before he was thirty! He was immensely brilliant, but unfortunately, he died young, falling on the battlefield."

"His mother was also of extraordinary origin, rumored to be a princess from a certain kingdom, a woman who held her own against any man; she was a female general who died in battle alongside his father!"

"And this Chen Xuan, born under the blinding aura of his two parents, was expected by everyone to inherit his father's exceptional martial talent. Yet, unexpectedly, he was born with blocked meridians—a natural-born cripple!"

"Furthermore, the boy is timid and weak, lacking even half of his father’s heroic spirit. He has been bullied since he was a child. With his father’s world-shaking might and illustrious reputation, he is nothing but a disgrace of a failure!"

Liu Jinyu shook his head as he spoke.

Chen Xuan’s fame was largely due to his father’s overwhelming brilliance, which led everyone to hold high expectations for him.

As it turned out, he was the most disappointing of all. Not only was he unable to cultivate, but his timid character turned him into a laughingstock.

Of course, Liu Jinyu did not know that the current Chen Xuan was no longer the old Chen Xuan. Though they shared the same body, the soul had long since changed!

"A piece of trash like that, even the Chen family doesn't take him seriously anymore; beggars on the street could spit in his face. And you’re telling me now that the destruction of Jinfeng Stronghold has something to do with him? Are you kidding me?"

Liu Jinyu berated his subordinates until they were cowed.

In his eyes, the intelligence gathered by his men was absolute nonsense. The destruction of Jinfeng Stronghold could be linked to anyone, but certainly not Chen Xuan, whose reputation as a failure was legendary.

"Report! Boss, someone on horseback has arrived at the gates of our Liufeng Stronghold and says he wants to see you!"

Just then, another subordinate hurried in.

Liu Jinyu froze and quickly asked, "Who wants to see me? What do they look like? What is their name?"

He felt uneasy. Could it be the person who destroyed Jinfeng Stronghold last night?

The subordinate quickly said, "Reporting to the boss, it is a young man. He says his name is Chen Xuan, from the Chen family, one of the three great families of the capital!"

"Uh..."

As these words were spoken, the entire room fell into a deathly, stunned silence.

Liu Jinyu stood frozen.

They had just been discussing that Chen Xuan was a useless waste, and yet, no sooner had the words left their mouths than the man himself showed up at their door?

Most importantly, he had declared his own identity as Chen Xuan of the capital's Chen family. There was no chance of a coincidence in name.

"This waste actually dares to come looking for me?" Liu Jinyu felt it was unbelievable.

"Speak of the devil. Pass the order down: stop him, don't let him in. I want to see if he really has the ability to force his way through my gates!"

...

At the inn.

In one of the guest rooms, the door opened a crack. A head peeked out, looking left and right. Seeing that the hallway was empty, she gave a sneaky smile, crept out, and gently closed the door behind her.

Her movements were light, like a thief afraid of being caught.

"Hehe, while you are all asleep, I’ll sneak into my husband's room and consummate the marriage first."

"Once I'm pregnant with my husband's child, I can rise in status through my son. Even the 'first wife' will have to show me some respect in the future."

The woman covered her mouth and giggled, feeling quite clever.

She was Xu Ruolan, originally a courtesan who had been redeemed by a high-ranking official to be his concubine due to her outstanding beauty.

However, before the marriage could be consummated, the official was exposed as corrupt and his household was confiscated. Xu Ruolan was implicated and thrown into prison.

Coming from a background in a brothel, Xu Ruolan knew clearly that if she wanted a good life, she had to capture the heart of the man by her side.

So, even though she was tired from the night before and everyone else was resting, she refused to sleep. She planned to sneak into Chen Xuan’s room to perform the rites of marriage, hoping to get pregnant before the other sisters.

"Husband, I'm coming!"

A blush crept onto Xu Ruolan’s face as she steeled herself.

She knocked on Chen Xuan’s door. No response.

She knocked again. Still nothing.

"Strange, does my husband sleep that soundly?" Xu Ruolan giggled behind her hand. "Sleeping soundly is good. It means he's well-rested and will have more energy in bed later."

She pushed the door open gently.

Creeeak.

The door swung open.

The empty room was revealed before her. The expectant Xu Ruolan was dumbfounded—where was Chen Xuan?

"Oh no? Where is he? Did he go to Li Xiuning's room?"

Li Xiuning had her own separate room, as did An Ruxue.

"Damn it! The first wife is too cunning; she got there first!" Xu Ruolan clutched her chest in regret. She had been too slow!

"Detestable Li Xiuning, I’ll see if you’re flirting with my husband!"

Unwilling to give up, Xu Ruolan walked to Li Xiuning’s door and pressed her ear against it. After listening for a long time, it was perfectly quiet inside, with no unusual sounds at all.

"What’s going on? If he's not in Li Xiuning's bed, is he with An Ruxue?"

She licked her finger, poked a hole in the paper window, and peered inside. Li Xiuning was alone in her bed; Chen Xuan was not there.

"He must be in that vixen An Ruxue's bed. That vixen, she looks so proper usually, but of all the sisters, she’s the best at pretending!"

Xu Ruolan muttered a curse and went to peek at An Ruxue’s room.

As it turned out, Chen Xuan was not there either.

"Could he be in that girl Yang Ying'er’s bed? Yang Ying'er isn't even an adult yet, does my husband like that?"

Xu Ruolan grew suspicious and peeked at Yang Ying'er’s room. Still, no sign of Chen Xuan.

Her face changed instantly as she considered the worst-case scenario, and she screamed out loud:

"It's over! Sisters, our husband has abandoned us and run away!"