It is said that one mountain cannot harbor two tigers.
Unless one is male and the other female.
But...
In Guangling Prefecture, four forces intertwine.
Prefect Yuan Zun.
Duke of Tao, Tao Wenyuan.
Magistrate of Guangling County, Tuo Zhan.
And him, Song Linhui.
The existence of these four forces restricts the development of Guangling Prefecture.
If the Tuo family could be eliminated.
It would be a good thing for them.
And for the people of Guangling Prefecture.
"Then I shall take my leave, junior."
Chen Nan cupped his fists in a salute to the two, then left Caisimenzu.
Watching Chen Nan's receding back, the Duke of Tao revealed a meaningful smile: "Lord Song, this young man seems rather interesting."
Song Linhui couldn't help but ask, "Why do you say that, Duke Tao?"
The Duke of Tao smiled: "This child appears reckless in his actions, yet every move he makes is meticulously planned."
"His personality seems ill-suited for the imperial court."
"But he possesses a kind of magical aura."
"It can make people set aside their prejudices against him."
Song Linhui raised an eyebrow: "If I understand correctly, Duke Tao, have you set aside your prejudice against this child?"
He knew that Chen Nan had killed Marquis Wen Bo, Liu Jia.
This case seemed insignificant.
But for the conservatives and radicals of Fengdu City, it set a precedent.
As a conservative, Duke Tao should have minded this.
After all, the radicals had always wanted to abolish all noble titles.
Duke Tao said: "Setting aside that matter, Chen Nan is still a likable young man, and I look forward to his next move."
Song Linhui shook his head dismissively: "I don't believe he can break the curse of the head of the Demon Suppressing Department!"
The Duke of Tao revealed a meaningful smile: "As long as you want him to break it, he can break it, can't he?"
Song Linhui remained silent.
Although Chen Nan's performance today had impressed him.
He still didn't like Chen Nan.
Of course.
Even if he wanted to help Chen Nan, he might not be able to.
After all, no one knew who held the five pages of the Life and Death Registers.
------
Upon arriving at the Demon Suppressing Department.
Chen Nan met Wang Lan, who had already reunited with his family.
"Thank you for saving my life, Lord Chen!" Seeing Chen Nan return, Wang Lan immediately knelt on the ground.
The Wang family also knelt down to thank Chen Nan for his kindness.
"Please rise, everyone. The Wang family's current predicament is all my fault. I naturally cannot stand by and watch you suffer because of me!" Chen Nan quickly helped everyone up.
The Wang family's current situation was a sacrifice in the struggle between him and Tuo Zhan.
Fortunately, the Wang family members had not suffered any casualties.
Otherwise, he would have felt guilty for the rest of his life.
"Kuáng tú, send some brothers to secretly protect the Wang family and prevent the Tuo family from making a desperate move!" Chen Nan ordered Kuáng tú.
"Yes!"
After seeing the Wang family off.
Chen Nan personally drafted a memorial.
He wrote down the cause, process, and outcome of the incident.
Then he affixed the seal of the head of the Demon Suppressing Department.
He handed it to a member of the Demon Suppressing Department.
Asking him to deliver it to the Prefect's yamen to have Song Linhui stamp his Daotai seal.
After completing these tasks, he left the Demon Suppressing Department.
Heading towards home.
He had been staying at the Demon Suppressing Department these past few days.
Firstly, to consolidate his cultivation and control the wood element laws.
Secondly, he was evading.
Evading the relationship with the two Lu sisters.
After all, he no longer needed the Lu sisters to suppress the fire poison within him.
Yet he wanted to sleep with the two sisters.
This was quite a dilemma...
Although he didn't know how to handle the relationship between the Lu sisters.
He knew one thing.
No matter what he did, he had to face it head-on.
Evasion was the act of a coward.
------
At the same time.
Song Linhui returned to the Song family.
As soon as he got home, he heard the hearty laughter of his four sons.
This surprised him a little.
Ever since his four sons were severely beaten by Tuo Kai!
And after he had reprimanded them!
The four of them had refused to come out of their rooms, diligently cultivating.
Even when he wanted to take them to watch the excitement today, they had refused.
This was something that would never have happened before.
But he felt extremely gratified.
Knowing shame and striving for honor.
His sons had clearly matured after being beaten once.
Listening to the laughter from the backyard, Song Linhui also revealed a faint smile: "Could it be that these four little fellows have broken through?"
Without further thought.
He walked directly towards the backyard.
They say parents wish for their children to become dragons and phoenixes.
He sincerely hoped his four sons would be outstanding.
Arriving at the backyard.
Song Linhui was stunned by the scene before him.
His third and fourth sons had both entered the Soul Gathering realm.
Although they only had the cultivation of the first level of the Soul Gathering realm.
They had broken through the shackles of the Yin Gathering realm.
This was a joyous occasion.
Of course.
What shocked him even more were his eldest and second sons.
They had advanced from the peak of the Soul Gathering realm to the Form Transformation realm.
This made him feel as if he were dreaming.
He never expected all four sons to break through simultaneously.
This excited him even more than when he achieved his official position.
Just then.
His fourth son, Song Feilong, saw him and immediately bowed: "Greetings, esteemed father!"
Song Feiyang, Song Feipeng, and Song Feiheng also bowed in unison.
"Can you tell your father how you all broke through at the same time?" Song Linhui asked with a face full of gratified smiles. Even though his sons' current strength was not enough to seek revenge against Tuo Kai.
But breaking through was still a good thing.
Upon hearing his father's question.
The four Song brothers appeared somewhat nervous and uneasy.
Because they knew their father would surely be angry if they told the truth.
Song Linhui frowned. He sensed something unusual in his sons' nervous expressions and said sternly: "Did your breakthroughs have anything to do with Chen Nan?"
A father knows his son best.
Although he was happy that his sons had all broken through.
He also knew the cultivation talent of his four sons.
It could only be said to be above average.
Now that they had all broken through.
He wouldn't believe there was no hidden reason.
Seeing that the matter could no longer be concealed, Song Feiheng said calmly: "Reporting to father, it was Chen Nan who gave us cultivation pills that allowed us to break through."
Song Linhui's face was filled with ferocity, and he flew into a rage: "Bastards, didn't I warn you to stay away from him?"
"Why didn't you listen to your father?"
"Why did you accept his pills?"
"Why didn't you tell your father about him giving you pills?"
Song Linhui knew that Chen Nan would not give his sons pills for no reason.
He must have had some ulterior motive.
Song Feilong said aggrievedly: "We originally intended to tell you about him giving us pills, so you could decide what to do with them."
"But you called us useless."
"You said we couldn't beat Tuo Kai."
"Then we took those pills."
Song Linhui's teeth itched with anger, and then his brows furrowed: "According to what you're saying, Chen Nan gave you pills before you were beaten?"
Song Feilong nodded nervously.
Song Linhui stood there dumbfounded, like a sand sculpture standing by the sea.
A tragic and bitter smile appeared on his face: "Chen Nan truly has a remarkable method, a remarkable method indeed!"
"I thought avoiding him would ensure everything was fine."
"But in the end, I couldn't escape his clutches!"
"I have ultimately been defeated by this man!"