Translator: Aristophaneso Editor: Caron_
“What?! Lin Fei’s missing? How’s that possible? How could a Level Nine Martial Artist just disappear? Did he leave and return to the Lin Family Village?”
A group of four powerful experts were gathered in a basement in the Wang Family Village—the four powerhouses of the Wang Family: Wang Xu, Wang Tian, Wang Hu, and Wang Hong.
These four were the leaders and peak experts of the village, and their words and actions dictated the future of the family.
Today, they were gathered with furrowed brows and worry.
Black Face Mad Tiger Wang Hu spoke, his deep voice quiet: “Impossible! I just gave him the Hundred Year Fruit last night. That guy would’ve wanted to eat it right away; he never would’ve left for his village.”
Wang Hu was filled with confusion. After all, he had just met with Lin Fei the previous night.
It really was strange; if Lin Fei had decided to return to the Lin Family Village, he would’ve at least said something.
“Yes, and his son is still here. If he really left, why leave his son behind?” Wang Tian nodded in agreement, his voice quiet. His thick eyebrows were perched above his intimidating gaze, powerful Qi emitting from him even as he sat quietly.
Wang Hu was quietly stunned by his Captain’s growing strength, and he wondered if the man might even break through to Martial Master soon.
“Uncle Tian is right!” Wang Hu nodded. Lin Wudi was only a Level Three Martial Artist and without Lin Fei’s protection, the child had no way of returning to his home village. Countless beasts roamed the path back, and no Martial Warrior below Level Five could travel the distance alone.
So, why did Lin Fei disappear?
A cold voice filled the room: “Perhaps someone discovered his fruit treasure and killed him for it.”
“En?”
“En?”
Wang Hu and Wang Tian turned to the sole female voice in the room, their gazes complex. It was Wang Hong, the female expert.
Unfortunately, the woman was incredibly ugly and had giant black moles on her face. None of the Wang villagers liked interacting with her, and all of the children were scared of her.
But this ugly woman had surpassed so many martial warriors and claimed her seat at the table of experts.
Wang Hong spoke frankly, her eyes and voice cold as winter.
“Little Hong, seems like you’re close to Level Ten Martial Artist,” Wang Tian commented, his face covered with a bitter smile.
Wang Hu turned to view Wang Hong with shock.
“At least three months, at most a year,” Wang Hong replied with cold satisfaction, her scarlet tongue flicking out and licking her lips, revealing the blood in her mouth.
Wang Tian frowned. “You’ve been eating people again?”
“What if I have?” Wang Hong retorted, her eyes filled with disdain and contempt.
“You!” Wang Tian roared, speechlessly pointing at the woman.
Wang Hu turned away, focusing on the air, seeing and hearing nothing.
“Enough.”
Wang Xu finally spoke, cutting through the tense atmosphere, his calm words clearing the air.
Wang Tian and the others immediately turned respectfully to Wang Xu, the supreme leader and heart of the Wang Family Village.
“Ay, father and daughter are both part of our Wang Family’s elites. Stop fighting. You are flesh and blood so no matter how great your grudge, you cannot break this bond!” Wang Xu turned from Wang Tian to Wang Hong, a hint of frustration in his eyes.
Only a few people knew that Wang Tian and Wang Hong were direct family. The Wang Villagers were all wary of the pair’s power and status so they didn’t dare to gossip about them to outsiders.
“Flesh and blood? Even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, but there are people more vicious than tigers.” A ghastly smile crossed Wang Hong’s face as she turned uncaring eyes towards Wang Tian.
“Xiao Hong, it was my fault but you need to understand my troubles as well. Have I not compensated you?” Wang Tian sighed.
“Compensation? Hmph. I worked for everything I have; all you did was congratulate me after the fact.” Wang Hong sneered.
As the two began to bicker again, Wang Xu gestured helplessly. The current grudge ultimately did connect back to him, more or less.
Wang Xu never thought that his rare show of compassion all those years ago would’ve not only made Wong Hong an expert but also ruptured the bond between father and daughter.
Everything began thirty years ago.
Wang Hong was Wang Tian’s daughter but she was born ugly, so Wang Tian didn’t care for her. Since the day she was born, Wang Tian never called her daughter, and none of the other children wanted to play with her.
Wang Hong grew up sad and in pain, and when she turned ten, her mother passed away and there was no longer anyone in her life who cared for her. She might as well have been a shadow.
But she was still Wang Tian’s daughter, so even though the villagers despised her, they didn’t dare to offend her, so they kept their curses and insults hidden.
If things had continued, she would’ve spent her whole life in misery, but her life took a drastic turn.
Thirty years ago, Wang Xu was the Captain of the Hunter Team while Wang Tian and another man, Wang Lie, were vice captains.
Wang Tian and Wang Lie secretly jostled for power, and one day, Wang Lie used Wang Tian’s daughter to humiliate him.
Wang Tian beat Wang Lie in a fit of fury, but winning a duel could not dispel the anger in his heart. The expert felt as if the only stain on his life was this ugly daughter.
So, a fit of madness befell Wang Tian and he sent someone to abandon the ten year old Wang Hong in the mountainous forest to die.
Even though Wang Tian immediately came to his senses, the deed was done. Shame came over the man but he believed that Wang Hong had already been slain and devoured. With no way to undo his actions, he began damage-control and spread news of his daughter’s disappearance, organizing a search party to hide his own monstrosity.
He might be able to fool the common villagers, but he couldn’t fool the Village Chief or Hunter Captain Wang Xu.
But Wang Tian was a powerful expert of the village, so the Village Chief and Wang Xu both turned a blind eye.
This should’ve been the end of the tragic and shameful story, but a hidden twist surprised everyone.
Fate found a way. Wang Hong had been despised and abused since her earliest memories, so she spent her days relying on herself, living on her own, and she managed to survive three days on tree bark.
Somehow, not a single beast found her in those three days, and it was as if the heavens were finally watching over her after her life of misery. On the third night, Wang Xu had gone into the mountains to practice his martial skills when he stumbled upon her.
Everyone knew about the ugly little girl, and Wang Xu recognized her instantly.
The girl had been eating bark for three days, her little, ugly face disgusting and marred brown and black. Even a fierce warrior like Wang Xu couldn’t help but feel sympathy. After all, the little girl was still a child of his village, so Wang Xu made a rare move of compassion, saving the little girl.
Wang Xu knew his actions would upset Wang Tian, but he was the ashamed father’s boss, so Wang Tian shut his mouth and said nothing.
But this shame festered, and even though Wang Tian still ignored Wang Hong, he sent people to take care of her and train her, giving her the martial education of the talented geniuses of the village.
Years later, Wang Hong shocked everyone. Although she was ugly, her talent in cultivation was great, but since Wang Tian never spent any time with her, no one knew anything.
But soon, her talent manifested and she took the first place in the New Year competition year after year, advancing to Martial Artist a few years later, her power steadily growing until she had broken through to Peak Stage Level Nine Martial Artist.
In order to hide their power, however, the Wang Family Village only announced to the world that she was an Early Stage Level Nine warrior.
“Sir, Village Chief, there’s a big problem!”
Just as Wang Tian and Wang Hong were giving Wang Xu a headache, a nervous call came from the basement exit.
“En?” Wang Xu said with surprise, gesturing for Wang Hu to open the door. An anxious elder rushed in, speaking hurriedly: “Village Chief, it’s bad. We found part of Lin Fei’s body—he’s been murdered.”
This anxious elder was actually a very powerful warrior, his status only below that of the four peak experts, so he also know about the secret alliance between the Wang Family Village and the Lin Family Village.
“What?!”
The three younger experts jolted upright in surprise, and even Wang Xu’s face fell.
“Do we know who did it?” Wang Tian yelled, too anxious to care that he was shouting at an elder.
Wang Hu and Wang Hong regarded the elder impatiently, waiting for the answer. Everyone knew how important Lin Fei was and how vulnerable his death would leave them. Once Lin Fei was confirmed dead, not only would the alliance between the two villages be broken, but if they could not provide a good accounting for the situation, they might even create a generations-long grudge and enemy.
“It’s not clear. We only found the lower half of Lin Fei’s body. There’s no sign of a fatal injury—only some beast bites.” The elder shook his head as he replied.
“Could it have been beasts?” Wang Hu asked with furrowed brows.
“Impossible. He’s a Level Nine Martial Artist—how could he have been killed so easily by beasts? It would only have happened if he went deep into the forest and stumbled upon an extremely powerful beast. The probability is too low and Lin Fei isn’t an idiot—why would he have gone so deep into the forest by himself? Was he courting death?” Wang Tian replied, shaking his head.
“Alright, we must first see the corpse ourselves. Keep this news within our circle,” Wang Xu commanded, his cold eyes pausing on each of the gathered experts.
“Yes, Village Chief!”
The four experts called back, all of them worried. Lin Fei’s death would surely have a huge impact on their village and it might even spark the beginnings of a war in White Cloud Town.