The middle-aged man Chen Zhi sighed, shook his head, and knew that the last glimmer of hope was gone. Even if the master were lenient, he would never tolerate Qiang's betrayal. Not to mention, the master was never a lenient person.
Qiang's actions were simply courting death, beyond redemption.
Sighing, Chen Zhi looked at Qiang: "If you release the two young ladies now and kneel to apologize, I think the master might, on account of... past sentiments, spare you this time."
When he said this, cold sweat was already forming on Chen Zhi's forehead. Because this was tantamount to making decisions on behalf of the master! The master, throughout the endless years of Xiushui Villa, was known by no one better than him.
However, Qiang eventually abandoned even this last chance for himself. He couldn't even detect the hint in Chen Zhi's words, totally oblivious that Chen Zhi was hinting that the master had returned.
He let out a few cold laughs: "Forget it, if you all want to be trapped in Xiushui Villa for the rest of your lives, then stay here. I want to leave, I want to go out... I want to see the exciting world outside!" As he said this, Qiang coldly looked at Chu Mo: "Aren't you leaving yet? What are you waiting for? Leave quickly! Otherwise... no one can save the two of them!"
At this moment, the old lady from Xiushui Villa, who appeared earlier, looked at Qiang with a face full of sorrow, and said: "Foolish child, by holding the two young ladies hostage like this, do you plan to seal them forever? Do you think they will willingly follow you?"
"Nanny Wu, you don't need to say anything. I've heard from people outside that if you make a woman yours, she will follow you. You can't even drive them away!" Qiang shouted loudly: "At worst, I'll abolish all of their cultivation..."
Bang!
A loud explosion!
Qiang's body was suddenly sent flying.
Landed several yards away.
Half of his face was completely gone!
An extremely precise force directly blasted away half of his face along with one eye, leaving the area bloody and revealing sinister white bone.
Qiang was completely stunned.
At this moment, the two women, freed from the oppressive aura, rushed toward Chu Mo.
"Husband!"
The two women shouted in unison.
Bang!
Chu Mo's figure was also knocked flying in an instant.
In mid-air, he spat out a mouthful of blood, but landed on the ground standing.
Then, an invisible barrier blocked the two women there.
In that instant, everyone at Xiushui Villa knelt down: "Welcome home, Master!"
A figure descended from the sky, an old man with a Daoist and immortal aura appeared before everyone. But at this moment, the old man's face was filled with murderous intent!
The man with half of his face gone, Qiang, was so dumbfounded he couldn't utter a single word, his body trembling incessantly.
At this moment, the kneeling middle-aged man Chen Zhi said: "Master..."
"You want to plead for him?" The old man did not look at Chen Zhi, his eyes lightly gazing at the fallen Qiang.
"He... he was just... overwhelmed... with emotion." Chen Zhi said, and with a wah, spat out a mouthful of blood, but gritted his teeth and finished speaking.
The old man gave Chen Zhi a sideways glance: "Considering your many years with me, I'll forgive you this once, remember, no next time."
At this moment, Qiang suddenly began to wail and cry: "Old Master... I was wrong, I was wrong, spare me this once!"
Chu Mo stood there, looking at the two women blocked by an invisible barrier, without saying a word, he walked toward them.
The old man casually waved again, and Chu Mo was knocked flying once more!
Qi Xiaoyu and Shui Yiyi on that side couldn't help but shout loudly: "Husband!"
The old man's eyes were filled with coldness, but he didn't target Chu Mo, who staggered towards the two women for the third time. Instead, his gaze fell on Qiang.
"Do you still remember the words you just said?" The old man's voice sounded calm, but to Qiang, it was countless times more terrifying than any danger in the world.
"Old Master... didn't you say you were going away for many years this time?" Qiang, although simple, wasn't that foolish; he had been with the old master for many years and understood his temperament. He knew he had no hope; he had said so many rebellious things, how could the old master forgive him?
"Many years?" The old man coldly looked at him: "Someone wants to harm my daughters! Do I seem like some incompetent fool who can't even protect his own wife?"
Boom!
These words were earth-shattering!
The people of Xiushui Villa were completely stunned.
Only today did they realize that the two young ladies were truly the young ladies!
They were actually the master's daughters!
This is too incredible!
Yiyi and Qi Xiaoyu were completely stunned as well. They could feel some different emotions from Spiritual Master Lingtong, but they couldn't believe that what he said was true.
But with Spiritual Master Lingtong's status, position, and level of cultivation, does he have to lie?
Chu Mo was the most shocked of all. He stared at Spiritual Master Lingtong blankly and thought to himself: How is this possible? Xiaoyu and Yiyi are his daughters? Could it be any more far-fetched?
This matter, no matter how one thinks of it, couldn't possibly be true.
As for Qiang, he was completely dumbfounded, unable to utter a single word, collapsed there as if his very soul had left him.
What had he been doing all this time? He actually kidnapped the two biological daughters of the ancestor!
So it turns out, when the ancestor asked them to call the two ladies "Miss," they truly were the misses!
This is a true princess of Xiushui Villa!
Spiritual Master Lingtong looked at the stunned crowd and then glanced at Qiang: "You are the only one who has ever left Xiushui Villa in the endless ages. All of you, every single one of you, are orphans I brought back from outside. Like Chen Zhi and the others, I even personally raised some of them."
Chen Zhi and Nanny Wu, along with some of the elders, were all teary-eyed: "Master's kindness, we will never forget."
Spiritual Master Lingtong sighed: "As for kindness, I don't really care. As long as it doesn't turn into hatred."
Qiang lay there, as if barely alive, yet tears of shame fell from his eyes.
"The outside world is indeed bustling, but it's also full of danger. Xiushui Villa is a pure land. To keep you from stepping out isn't exactly for your own good... but at least, it's not harming you." Spiritual Master Lingtong said lightly.
"Master is truly looking out for us. We don't even like the filthy world outside." A group from Xiushui Villa said.
Spiritual Master Lingtong's face showed a trace of complexity: "You say this because you haven't seen the world out there. So, I won't blame you for wanting to go out. But..." He looked at Qiang: "You shouldn't have... threatened my daughters."
"I... I didn't know, ancestor." Qiang mumbled as if trying to defend himself or express his feelings: "If I had known, I'd rather die than dare..."
"No, you dared." Spiritual Master Lingtong looked at him: "You knew they were the misses of Xiushui Villa and still dared to act like this. What else wouldn't you dare to do?"
"No, I didn't mean it, not like that," Qiang defended.
But Spiritual Master Lingtong didn't want to listen anymore. With a wave of his hand, Qiang simply disappeared. It wasn't a sudden disappearance but rather, his whole being instantly underwent Dao Conversion, turning into countless, tiny stars of light before vanishing into the void, completely gone without a trace.
"What else is there to say?" Spiritual Master Lingtong sighed, then glanced at the three of them, Chu Mo, separated by a barrier, who were looking at each other affectionately. He showed an expression of mixed feelings and helplessness: "The three of you, come with me. The others, go on with whatever you were doing."
After Spiritual Master Lingtong finished, he headed straight towards an ancient-looking house inside the villa.
The invisible barrier between Chu Mo and the three disappeared in an instant.
Chu Mo and the other two exchanged a glance, then followed Spiritual Master Lingtong toward that house.
The rest of Xiushui Villa only got up off the ground after Spiritual Master Lingtong disappeared from sight, looking somewhat mournfully toward the place where Qiang vanished. In the end, all they could do was turn that sadness into a sigh filled with helplessness.
Inside the room, Chu Mo found the decor incredibly simple—just a few chairs, a table, and an ordinary bed. It seemed no different from an ordinary person's home.
The entire room didn't even contain any arrays.
"Sit down." Spiritual Master Lingtong said, sitting on a chair, looking complexly at Chu Mo: "Kid, you shouldn't be appearing here at such a time."
Chu Mo looked at Spiritual Master Lingtong: "I want to save my wife."
"You lack the ability to protect them," Spiritual Master Lingtong said calmly, looking at Chu Mo: "If they follow you now, it's purely a dead end."
"But we are still willing," Qi Xiaoyu said.
Yiyi nodded forcefully.
Spiritual Master Lingtong glanced at the two, somewhat helpless but without rebuttal and merely looked at Chu Mo: "Since you're here, ask away."
"Are they really your daughters?" Chu Mo didn't start by asking about his own matters but instead voiced the biggest doubt in the two women's hearts.
"Of course, old man wouldn't joke about such matters." Spiritual Master Lingtong looked at the two women with some indulgence: "They were originally one person, in the wrong time and the wrong place, fallen in love with the wrong person—you!"
"..." Chu Mo was left speechless.
It was the second time Qi Xiaoyu and Yiyi had heard they were originally one person, but they still found it unbelievable.
"Years ago, before the Chu Clan royalty was destroyed, my daughter once went there and met the legendary... unparalleled Young Master Chu." Spiritual Master Lingtong's tone seemed tinged with a slight mockery. But more than that, there was a sense of sadness.
"Love at first sight... Heh, such a thing happened to my daughter, the only one I have had in ten thousand ages." Spiritual Master Lingtong glanced at Chu Mo: "You little bastard, besides being smart and good-looking, I can't see any other positives about you."
Chu Mo's mouth twitched a bit but he didn't refute. Because if Spiritual Master Lingtong truly was the father of the two women, didn't that make him the son-in-law of Xiushui Villa? Being criticized in front of the father-in-law, it seems he could only endure it?
Although wanting not to endure it, he still has to, because he couldn't defeat him...
Chu Mo sighed, remaining silent without speaking.