Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Wei Tianyi was virtually roaring at the top of his lungs.

Wei Xi found this person incredibly peculiar. Ever since he arrived at the Wei residence, his most profound impression was that the father of the little unlucky fellow seemed abnormal. His voice always boomed as if he was afraid others couldn't hear him. Perhaps he had a problem with his brain, for he often spouted bizarre nonsense like what he just said, which no one could understand. Despite his appearance suggesting longevity, the man appeared to be on the verge of fainting at any moment. If it weren't for the sake of the little unlucky fellow, Wei Xi wouldn't have even considered taking him in as a disciple.

Nonetheless, after such a long time, he had grown accustomed to the man's inconsistent speech. Thus, he ignored it, leading his two disciples straight into the house without casting a glance aside.

"Damn it! Stop! Did you hear me?!" Being ignored like this, veins popped on Wei Tianyi's forehead, and he nearly exploded on the spot. Forgetting the lessons from recent days, he raised his hand, ready to strike as he used to.

Wei Xi regarded his action as a joke, his gaze casually landing on the arm mid-air. He thought about dislocating the man's limbs if he remained so energetic.

In reality, there was no need for him to take such action. A limb swiftly extended from behind, blocking Wei Tianyi's slap.

A dull thud reminiscent of a car crash echoed.

The second disciple met Wei Xi's gaze expressionlessly. After a moment, he nonchalantly withdrew his scarred arm as if nothing had happened. Showing no signs of pain, the one who dealt the blow, Wei Tianyi, let out a howl, clutching his red and swollen palm.

Wei Tianyi felt as if his hand had struck a steel rod; the instant it connected, his entire palm went numb with pain, akin to bumping his big toe into a door frame in the middle of the night while half-asleep.

Wei Xi glanced at Wei Tianyi, who was jumping up and down on the spot, then shifted his gaze to where his disciple had been struck, his expression gradually turning sinister.

Suddenly, a large hand covered his head, warm and comforting. His second disciple gently turned his head towards the house and whispered, "Don't look anymore. Come inside."

Wei Xi still felt indignant, but after being lightly patted on the forehead, he could only glare at his disrespectful disciple before reluctantly turning away.

"You saw it, didn't you! You saw it, didn't you!" Wei Tianyi seethed as he watched their departing backs, grabbing the collar of Housekeeper Zhou and shaking him violently. "He even touched his head! Touched his head! He dares to say he's just a disciple! Doing this right in front of me! Does he think I'm an idiot?!"

Housekeeper Zhou was nauseated by the shaking and struggled, tears welling up in his eyes. "Sir! Sir! Please calm down! Calm down!"

After losing sight of his eldest son, Wei Tianyi regained some semblance of reason, staring fixedly at the wide-open door with a fluctuating expression.

Shu Wanrong dropped her flower spade and waded through the muddy ground to her husband's side. Looking at her mud-covered slippers, she couldn't help but grab his sleeve. "Tianyi, this kind of constant bickering isn't a solution. Why don't we move away with Little Shu first?"

She couldn't bear another day of being hungry while digging soil under orders!

To her surprise, her husband was stubborn. "Why should we? This is my home! If anyone's moving, it's that damn brat! Why should I make room for him? If word gets out, wouldn't I lose even more face? Disobedient child, I'll immediately tell him to get lost!"

"..." Shu Wanrong found it hard to express her feelings as she watched her husband's confident stance, ready to kick their eldest son out at any moment.

Wei Chengshu also leaned on his hoe, rolling his eyes heavenward. He thought to himself, You just keep talking big, why don't you try it? Do you want your sunglasses to be glued to your face?

******

Inside the house, Wei Xi went to the kitchen to inspect his dinner. His newly-accepted second disciple of Taicang Sect finally took out his phone that had been buzzing all day.

The screen was filled with unread WeChat messages and missed calls from Xia Shouren.

"Wallet: Aren't you at the Lu family's place?"

"Wallet: Answer the phone!"

"Wallet: What use is a phone to someone like you!"

"Wallet: You didn't really go looking for that guy, did you!?"

"Wallet: Also, pay me back, damn it! When will you return my money!?"

"Wallet: ...Where are you?"

"Purse: F*ck"

"Purse: [The other party has transferred you 100,000 yuan]"

"Purse: Testing if you're online. The transfer will be revoked in ten minutes."

Lu Que... or rather, Shuo Zong, swiftly accepted the money and leisurely typed, "I'm at the Wei residence."

Xia Shouren, who seemed to be glued to his phone all day, promptly called. As soon as the call connected, his voice, not any less furious than Wei Tianyi's, blared through the earpiece, "Shuo Zong, you bastard! You swindled me out of another 100,000 yuan! Give it back! Give it back! That wasn't for you!"

Shuo Zong: "..."

Seeing no intention of repayment from Shuo Zong, Xia Shouren couldn't help but burst into tears, "I really have no money left by the end of the month. I still need to pay off my Huabei next month, sob sob sob..."

Despite his pitiful cries, his ruthless friend remained unmoved.

Wiping away his tears, Xia Shouren faced reality and ended his useless daily lament, "Did you really go to monitor Wei Xi? How's the situation? Did anyone actually die in the Wei family?"

Shuo Zong looked up. Wei Xi had been unceremoniously ejected from the kitchen by a few Wei family cooks for stealing dinner ingredients, still clutching a half-eaten cabbage in his hand. After a moment of silence, he calmly replied, "No."

"That's good." Xia Shouren let out a long sigh of relief. "I knew it. I haven't heard of any major incidents in the Wei family lately. Wei Tianyi was still full of energy at a charity gala just the other day, wearing trendy black sunglasses. He looked great. Wei Xi probably hasn't done anything to them."

Shuo Zong turned his head and saw Wei Tianyi, mentioned in the conversation, standing at the door, roaring with all his might. Vague phrases like "get him out" and "I don't have a son like you" could be heard. Perhaps due to his exaggerated movements, the black sunglasses on his nose suddenly slid down, revealing a pair of even darker circles beneath.

Shuo Zong: "...Maybe."

Xia Shouren: "Wei Tianyi didn't recognize you?"

Shuo Zong: "He wouldn't recognize me."

Xia Shouren made an 'oh' sound but didn't press further. People like them, in this rapidly changing modern society, always had to find ways to justify their prolonged existence. After reminding his friend to be cautious, he hesitantly asked the question that concerned him most, "So... you really can't return my money? Let's forget about the past, but the ten thousand yuan just now was just a test to see if you were there, not a genuine transfer to you..."

At this moment, Wei Xi approached with the half cabbage in his arms. Seeing his second disciple, Lu Que, holding a phone, he asked, "Disciple, is there something urgent?"

Lu Que slowly put down the phone. "No."

As soon as he spoke, the phone pinged with another WeChat message. Shuo Zong picked it up to read:

"Wallet: Bastard! Bastard! That was really the money I needed to pay back Huabei! Give it back!!!"

Wei Xi glanced over and saw the multitude of exclamation marks, asking, "Who is it?"

Shuo Zong casually blacklisted the WeChat ID with a calm and composed tone, "Just an insignificant person."

*****

The dinner served this evening was not as abundant as before, leaving Wei Tianyi highly dissatisfied with the meager spread on the table. He asked the housekeeper, "What's going on? Where are the dishes you were supposed to buy?"

Having survived his master's frenzied shaking, Manager Zhou cautiously stole a glance at Wei Xi, who was swiftly distributing food to his two disciples. He discreetly wiped the sweat off his forehead and tidied up his disheveled bangs, "Aunt Wang and the others said that Young Master had eaten all the carrots, cabbages, and tomatoes while cooking earlier."

Upon hearing this, he felt a headache coming on. He knew that Young Master had been eating excessively recently, but he never expected him to eat raw vegetables now.

Wei Tianyi also found this situation unbearable. Meeting his wife's inquiring gaze, he forced himself to suppress his anger and opened his mouth, intending to repeat the harsh words he had just threatened his wife with, ordering their eldest son to move out. However, just as he was about to speak, his gaze inadvertently met Wei Xi's indifferent stare, which held the same coldness as when he had once beaten him black and blue around the eyes.

A twinge of pain shot through his temple, and without knowing why, his anger subsided. Pushing up his sunglasses, he fell silent for a long time, nearly suffocating with frustration. Eventually, to avoid going hungry, he picked up his bowl and started serving himself before Wei Xi could, his movements precise and forceful.

Hmph, I'll take more, leaving nothing for you, you little brat! Do you really think I can't discipline you?

Shu Wanrong watched her husband snatch a chicken leg from under her chopsticks with a menacing expression, "..."

Wei Chengshu rolled his eyes so hard they nearly flipped to the back of his head. See, he had told them so.

After Wei Xi consumed a vengeful spirit, he wasn't feeling particularly hungry that day. As he was portioning food for his disciple, he instructed Housekeeper Zhou, "Prepare a guest room for Lu Que later."

Before Housekeeper Zhou could respond, Wei Tianyi frowned. He stuffed a chicken leg into the already overflowing pile of food in his bowl, and the unstable position of the family's patriarch stirred once more. "What?! You want him to live here?! Little Zhou, don't you dare! We have no guest rooms available for outsiders!"

Wei Xi's cognitive abilities were impaired, so he didn't realize that this was a firm refusal. Thus, he didn't get angry. Instead, he looked at Housekeeper Zhou. "Really no more guest rooms?"

Housekeeper Zhou was drenched in sweat. Looking at his boss, whose eyes seemed to say, "Do you know who you work for?", he reluctantly nodded. "Yes."

"Oh—" Unsuspecting, Wei Xi thought for a moment and came up with a good idea. "No problem then. He can just stay with me. Lu Que, what do you think?"

Territory wasn't an issue when it came to his own people, especially since his new disciple was yang-energy-rich and capable of earning money. Wei Xi adored him!

His second disciple, holding a bowl of food on the verge of collapsing, gazed over with his handsome features. His expression was indiscernible, revealing neither consent nor refusal. However, before he could voice his opinion, the hair on Wei Tianyi's forehead stood on end, and he slammed his hand down. "NOOOO!!"

Shu Wanrong, aware that her stepson's sexuality was a mystery, awkwardly spoke up in support of her husband. "Little Xi, you're being too reckless. How would it look if you two lived together? I think you should listen to your father and let him… move out."

But before she could finish her sentence, her husband's outburst interrupted her. Wei Tianyi finally demonstrated the authority of a family patriarch as he grabbed Housekeeper Zhou's collar. "Hurry up! Prepare a guest room right now! Make him move in immediately!!!"

Shu Wanrong: "..."

Wei Xi made an intrigued sound. "Didn't you say there were no guest rooms left?"

Housekeeper Zhou dared not respond and hurriedly escaped with his disheveled hair, leaving Wei Tianyi to huff and majestically take his seat. He glared at his eldest son and declared, "I'm your father! In this house, is there anything I can't have?"

After saying that, he glanced at his son's new disciple, who had the appearance of a pretty boy. It might have been an illusion, but he felt as if the young man's gaze was dark and sinister.

Wei Tianyi shivered involuntarily but dismissed it, thinking he had regained control over the family. With a pleased mood, he turned to his wife and boastfully said, "This little rascal thinks he can pull tricks in front of me, but he'd better remember that this household is still ruled by his old man!"

Shu Wanrong: "..."

With this level of intelligence... Shu Wanrong despairingly placed a hand on her forehead.