Atypical Reincarnation Chapter 26 - Xu Qi Gets Beaten Up

Chapter 26 - Xu Qi Gets Beaten Up

Edited by Michyrr

“Brother Yan, what happened to your face!” Mo Dingtian became agitated as he spoke. Evidently, his brotherly relationship with Mo Yan wasn’t all talk.

Now, Mo Yan’s face was fully revealed. His once-handsome face was now ruined with a palm-sized scar on the right cheek. Even so, he unconsciously smiled when he saw Mo Dingtian’s reaction, saying, “I had thought my lord had forgotten about me before my arrival. Seeing Young Lord weep for me, Mo Yan here feels like he hasn’t lived his life in vain.”

“I have treated you as my younger brother all along, Brother Yan. It’s just that our clan had sent me here to manage the auction house and never summoned me back; I had no way of meeting you. That aside, Brother Yan… First let’s talk about your face. What happened?” Mo Dingtian looked at the scar, still feeling agitated.

Mo Yan touched the scar on his face, saying, “Young Lord, this happened long ago; my skills were inferior to another. It was this scar, which signifies my humiliation, that spurred me on to become stronger bit by bit. All in all, I’m glad it turned out this way.”  

“Glad? Tell me the truth, Brother Yan. Was it caused by your enemies, or those guys from our clan? Please tell me truthfully!” Mo Dingtian gritted his teeth as he mentioned their clansmen, squeezing out each word in detestation.

“Please don’t ask anymore, Young Lord. All these happened long ago; it’s already over. It’s all good for us now, isn’t it?” Mo Yan was clearly avoiding the topic as he replied.

Though, of course, the wise Mo Dingtian noticed it. He suppressed the rage inside him, saying, “Don’t worry, Brother Yan. I’ll return to the clan sooner or later, and I’ll make sure those who tried to harm me in the past get their deserved punishment!”

“I have confidence in you, Young Lord. I will definitely support you if needed!” Mo Yan said resolutely.

“Haha, I believe that! Let’s not talk about these unhappy matters. Come, let’s go get wasted! Tell me all about your experiences from these past years!” Mo Dingtian hugged Mo Yan’s shoulder, and led him out.

Deep in the night, while Mo Dingtian and Mo Yan were getting intoxicated in the inner courtyard of the auction house, a carriage set off from three of the four exits of Rivulet City. Subsequently, the three carriages converged somewhere not far from the city, slowly disappearing into the night.

The next afternoon, in the inner courtyard of Xu Clan, Xu Qi sat in meditation in his own room, practicing his cultivation method. After a few cycles, he let out a soft sigh. He felt dispirited; ever since his encounter with the white-robed man a few days ago, Xu Qi felt unprecedented nervousness. Thus, he hoped to further advance in his cultivation, but not one bit of improvement could be seen even after he had made such an effort.

Xu Qi had considered entering the Four Divinities Cavern for training, but decided to put aside such thoughts temporarily, since Xu Clan was fraught with troubles recently. It would be disastrous if he were to unintentionally disappear for a week or so.

“Are you in there, Young Master?” Suddenly Xu Pingfan’s voice interrupted Xu Qi’s thoughts.

“I am, Uncle Mang. Come on in,” Xu Qi replied.

The door opened. Xu Pingfan cautiously entered the room. He peeked out warily, ensuring no one suspicious was around before closing the doors, then walked to Xu Qi.

The latter laughed out loud as he watched the scene play out, saying, “Uncle Mang, why are you being so cautious with me around? Do you think there’s anyone in Rivulet City who is able to sneak into my place undetected from my senses?”

Xu Pingfan immediately cracked up, “Didn’t you remind me to be cautious? It doesn’t hurt to be.”

Xu Qi inquired laughingly, “Alright, tell me what you’re here for, Uncle Mang. You’re not one to look for me if there’s nothing up.”

“I’d sent the twenty-six of them out of the city last night, and settled them down at the inst.i.tution in the suburbs, Young Master. I was following them in secret, and nothing unusual happened. What should we do next?” Xu Pingfan asked.

Hearing Xu Pingfan’s report, Xu Qi scratched his head before saying, “Uncle Mang, since our plans are already in motion, now what you’ll have to do is to kick me out of Xu Clan. Truthfully, I have long wanted to leave Rivulet City; I have no freedom here.”

Xu Pingfan felt uncomfortable in his heart when he heard Xu Qi asking for him to drive him out of the clan. However, on second thought, he couldn’t afford to hinder the latter’s plans. Therefore, he replied, “Pardon my offending you then, Young Master.”

“Do it, Uncle Mang. The only thing I want to remind you is to try to stay put in the clan, and keep your mind on cultivating. I’ll come look for you if the need arises,” Xu Qi said slowly, while Xu Pingfan nodded silently at his reminder.

The Xu Clan mansion was located in the middle of Rivulet City, with many people pa.s.sing by their main gate. Suddenly, the tightly shut gates slammed open, causing pa.s.sersby to look over. What entered their vision was a boy with dishevelled hair and a bruised face staggering out the door. His eyes were full of rage, looking in the direction of the mansion. As the boy staggered over to the steps, he slipped and rolled down the stairs onto the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the streets turned dead silent. Every onlooker spread their mouth wide when they registered what had just happened. Soon after, a man appeared at the gates with two others lending a hand to support him.

“That’s the housekeeper, Xu Pingfan.”

“Then, who’s that child, and why was he beaten to this state? How pitiful.”

…

Xu Pingfan appearing caused a commotion in the crowd, springing discussions everywhere. Meanwhile, he let go of his supports and started coughing severely, his face looking pale. Xu Pingfan pointed at the child on the ground, cursing, “Get out of Xu Clan, you unfilial child. Get out of Rivulet City and don’t ever let me see you again!” Cough, cough.

The onlookers gathered before the Xu Clan mansion one after another, checking out the situation. In just a short while, so many people gathered that they congested the traffic.

Their attention was on the pitiful abused child, who slowly crawled to his feet. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spat towards Xu Pingfan. Then, he limped his way to the crowd, who opened up a path for him as he neared them.

“Oh G.o.d, that’s the young master of Xu clan.”

“You’re right! I almost failed to recognize him from those injuries. Who would beat him up so badly?”

“Could it be Xu Pingfan? How shameless of him to a.s.sault his young master.”

“How unthinkable of Xu Pingfan to be so shameless. To think that Patiarch Xu Yingzhou treated him like a brother when he was alive.”

…

At this moment, everyone in the crowd recognized the child as Xu Qi. After all, he had already shown himself in public once during his parents’ funeral. Many of them had recognized Xu Qi and understood the situation. As such, they looked towards Xu Pingfan in rage.

However, Xu Qi ignored all their discussions, and limped forward without lifting his head.

Xu Pingfan stood still at the gates during all this. With his hands pressed onto his chest, he coughed a few times. Then he cupped his fist, and yelled to the crowd in a hoa.r.s.e voice, “Everyone, this one surnamed Xu is driving the unfilial child Xu Qi out of our clan today, in the capacity of the housekeeper. Please stand witness to this, that I am not acting out of self-interest. Rather, it is this young master who is preposterous. Patriarch Xu Yingzhou had urged me before his demise, that if Xu Qi is unwilling to work to better himself, I am to drive him out of the clan, and leave him to his own devices.”

“Chief Housekeeper Xu, the young master is but a child. What wrong has he done that you would hurt him so? On top of that, you would drive him out of the clan? Is that necessary?” 

“That’s right, he’s so young, and you used such force on him.”

“Yeah, what wrong could a child possibly commit? Putting his injuries aside, you’re even driving him away now.”

…

More people from the crowd showed their anger and annoyance over the matter over time.

“Everyone, this one surnamed Xu shall not clarify the wrongs committed by Xu Qi. These are our clan’s internal affairs after all. Please excuse us,” Xu Pingfan said, clasping his fists and bowing to the crowd with slight difficulty.

“Internal affairs?! I bet Chief Housekeeper Xu is just seizing Xu Clan for yourself! Hmph!” someone from the crowd yelled, his tone obviously furious. No matter when or where, there would always be someone with a strong sense of righteousness.

“May I know which dear friend out there was dissatisfied with how I handled our affairs? Would you please step out? I’ll slowly explain to you,” Xu Pingfan said calmly, still pressing on his chest.

Following which, a brawny young man emerged from the crowd, quickly making his way before Xu Pingfan. He said, “This lowly one thinks that…”

Just as the brawny young man started speaking, Xu Pingfan’s face turned cold and he struck out at the former with his palm. Facing the palm strike from someone of Xu Pingfan’s caliber, there was no way he could have dodged. He got hit squarely in his chest, and was immediately sent flying through the air. He coughed up blood as he flew, his eyes filled with terror. In the end, he landed on the ground far away. It was unknown whether he survived.

Everyone was immediately scared witless by the fierce strike from Xu Pingfan as they watched such a scene unfold. 

Cough, cough. “Is anyone here still of the opinion that this one surnamed Xu has done a poor job handling our affairs? Does anyone still wish to meddle in our Xu Clan’s affairs?!” Killing intent seeped out from Xu Pingfan’s gaze as he looked towards the stupefied crowd.

The crowd who saw Xu Pingfan strike out unreasonably came to their senses after hearing his words. They immediately dispersed; none of them dared to show themselves before Xu Clan anymore. In just a moment, the front of Xu Clan’s mansion went from overly crowded to nearly deserted. All that was left was the brawny young man who was sent flying by Xu Pingfan.

The latter coughed a few times. The trembling servants of Xu Clan came over and supported Xu Pingfan back into the mansion. Following his return, the gates gradually shut as well.