The old man frowned and looked closer. He immediately drew in a sharp breath, his eyes filled with disbelief. Ling Su... at the cost of sacrificing a huge number of her own pieces, had actually brought all of her white stones... back to life!

Ling Su showed no trace of triumph on her face. She remained as calm as ever, but her expression was now more infuriating than open mockery. She said, "So, Lord Zhe, life is like a game of chess. Until the very last moment, who can say who has truly won or lost?"

"Hahaha, a fine ’life is like a game of chess’ indeed!" The old man shot to his feet, kicked over the board between them, and sneered, "And just like that, the game is over! The initiative... will always remain in my hands alone!"

Ling Su didn’t react with anger. She stood up, gently stretching her slightly numb legs, and said, "You are far too arrogant, and your ambitions are too vast. In the end, your own nature will be your downfall!"

The old man chuckled darkly. "Are you counting on that Sword Emperor bodyguard your brother brought? Or perhaps... on your brother himself, who already has the power of a Mad Sword Master?"

Ling Su lifted her head, glanced at the old man, and said, "Is a Sword Emperor-level expert not enough to turn your Zhe Family upside down?"

The old man laughed with arrogance. "Miss Su, you underestimate my Zhe Family far too much. Why don’t we... make a wager? How about it? If you lose, you will marry me of your own free will! Then, you’ll open the Ancient Ruins, and I’ll give your Ling Family half of what’s inside! What do you say? If I lose, I, Zhe Jianye, will personally make a public apology to you, and... I’ll give you half the shares of Seven-colored Porcelain. How does that sound?"

This was a gamble of astronomical proportions! Forget half the profits of Seven-colored Porcelain; even a fraction of them was enough to make countless people green with envy and drive them into a frenzy!

Ling Su’s limpid eyes narrowed slightly as she asked calmly, "What is it you want to bet on?"

"I’ll bet that your brother, including all the forces backing him, cannot defeat my Zhe Family! In the end, he will return in utter defeat! And you, Miss Su, will not be able to take a single step out of this Zhe Mansion! How about that? My stakes are fair, aren’t they? So, Miss Su? Do you dare?"

Ling Su sighed softly, her expression placid. "Even if I don’t accept this bet, everything will happen just the same, won’t it? Nothing will change. So... I’ll take your bet! I believe in my brother. Since he could break through his Celestial Vein, he can also get me out of here."

"Excellent!" Zhe Jianye gave an arrogant smile. "Sometimes, overconfidence is not a good thing! We shall... wait and see!"

At that moment, a clamor suddenly erupted outside. From far away, they could hear a woman’s loud wails, crying and shrieking like a shrew. The sound grew closer and closer to the room.

Zhe Jianye’s face instantly darkened, and he frowned deeply. Just then, the door was shoved open, and a woman in her fifties burst in. In all fairness, the woman wasn’t unattractive, just a bit old, but her conduct was far from respectable. She first shot a venomous glare at Ling Su, a look so hateful that if it could ignite, it would have burned Ling Su to a crisp.

Then, she wailed and rushed toward Zhe Jianye, crying, "My Lord, it’s terrible! Xiaoxing... he’s been beaten to a pulp! Here, in Seven-colored City, someone actually dared to strike a member of our Zhe Family! You must get justice for Xiaoxing!"

"Stop your blubbering! Have you no sense of propriety!" Zhe Jianye’s brow furrowed into deep lines. He stared coldly at the woman before him—his primary wife. If not for the powerful family backing her, Zhe Jianye would have long since divorced this jealous shrew!

The woman seemed somewhat afraid of Zhe Jianye. Hearing his rebuke, she forced herself to stop crying and said between sobs, "I don’t know where those two bastards came from! Damn them! They beat Xiaoxing’s face until it’s swollen so badly! WAHHH... How can he show his face in public now? SOB SOB SOB!"

Annoyed by his wife’s crying, Zhe Jianye snapped, "Enough! It’s better if he doesn’t go out! It’ll save me from further embarrassment!"

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the ethereally beautiful Ling Su standing to the side, and he found the woman before him all the more detestable. "And you! You’ve spoiled him rotten! Relying on the Old Master’s doting, you... you people even turn a blind eye to that little beast’s... preference for men! My Zhe Family was built on martial strength, yet to think that by his generation, he would pick up those damned aristocratic habits! To spoil a child is to kill him! It’s good he got beaten! If you ask me, he got off easy! Now you, get out! Go back and reflect on your actions with him!"

The woman looked up, shot one last, extremely venomous glare at Ling Su, and turned to leave. As she did, Zhe Jianye’s sinister voice sounded, "Don’t you go thinking about things you shouldn’t. Otherwise, even with the Old Master protecting you, even with your family’s vast influence, I will still divorce you! Now get out!"

The woman’s body trembled violently, and she fled without daring to look back.

Zhe Jianye heaved a long sigh and turned back to Ling Su. "My apologies, Miss Su, you’ve had to witness a ridiculous scene. Alas, as you can see, this woman is incorrigibly shrewish. How could she possibly compare to you, Miss Su? Oh, I’m a fool for even comparing her to you. It’s an insult to you! It’s truly the difference between heaven and earth!"

Ling Su smiled, unmoved. "Your wife must have been very beautiful when she was young, right? Heh, I hear my brother is the one selling those Beauty Pills. How about I have him send one over for her?"

Zhe Jianye waved his hand dismissively. "Let’s not talk about her, let’s not. Speaking of her just ruins the mood!"

Just then, a ghost-like figure in gray robes suddenly appeared, whispered a few words into Zhe Jianye’s ear, and then vanished in a flash.

Zhe Jianye shot Ling Su a strange look and suddenly sneered, "Your brother really has some nerve. No wonder so many people say he’s arrogant and domineering. The first thing he does upon arriving in Seven-colored City isn’t to figure out how to rescue you, but to get into a fight out of sheer impulse! It seems he’s not as smart as you claim, is he!"

A mocking smile played on Ling Su’s lips. "That explains why someone dared to hit your precious son. Weren’t you just saying he deserved it? I think he deserved it, too! In fact, I think my brother showed great restraint. With a temper like your son’s, if he had the power to crush his opponent, someone would probably be dead by now! My brother not wiping out your Zhe Family bloodline was already him being quite rational!"

"Hmph!"

For the first time, Zhe Jianye showed his impatience in front of Ling Su. He let out a cold snort, flicked his sleeves, and stormed off.

Regardless, Zhe Xiaoxing was his only son. Although the Zhe Family was powerful, its direct line had always struggled with producing heirs. The collateral branches, on the other hand, had flourished and multiplied, growing ever more powerful. Zhe Jianye himself was an only son with a few sisters, and now, in Zhe Xiaoxing’s generation, he too was an only son.

Zhe Jianye had several daughters who were already married, so this only son was spoiled beyond belief. This was especially true of the Zhe Family’s Old Master. For the past few generations, the hidden clan behind the Zhe Family had lived in seclusion, cultivating day and night without meddling in worldly affairs. As a result, Zhe Jianye made the decisions on virtually all of the family’s matters. The only exception was his son, a matter in which he had little say because the Old Master doted on his grandson far too much, refusing to let Zhe Jianye interfere at all.

And Zhe Jianye didn’t dare to disobey! It wasn’t just because the Old Master was his father. There was a more important reason, the very reason why Zhe Jianye was so confident despite Ling Xiao’s Sword Emperor bodyguard: the Zhe Family’s Old Master... was also a Sword Emperor!

The Old Master alone was the powerful pillar supporting the entire Zhe Family! No matter how capable the collateral branches became or how well they developed, no one could shake the status of Zhe Jianye’s direct line in the slightest.

However, the Old Master was over two hundred years old, and his health was beginning to decline. Zhe Jianye had been constantly searching for ways to extend his father’s life, because Zhe Xiaoxing was just too disappointing. Although at his age, possessing the cultivation of a Sixth Rank Mad Swordsman was enough to be called a genius in the Mortal World.

But Zhe Jianye knew perfectly well that the Mortal World and the world of the hidden clans were two completely different realms!

Zhe Jianye even knew many things that most other hidden clans were unaware of. For instance, why did so many members of hidden clans, so many dazzlingly talented experts, vanish without a trace after reaching the Saint Tier? While Zhe Jianye wouldn’t claim to know the full story, he had managed to glean a few clues.

Thus, his son had always been a thorn in his side. Otherwise, at over seventy years of age and with the cultivation of a Sixth Rank Demon Sword Master, why would he waste his time scheming for a young woman instead of cultivating? For the past few years, Zhe Jianye had been mulling over one idea: if he took a few more wives and kept having children, he would eventually produce a son... a son who would finally satisfy him!

In all these years, Ling Su was the first woman to truly stir Zhe Jianye’s heart. But her tongue was just too venomous! And until he had another son, Zhe Jianye didn’t want any accidents to befall his only one!

So, he prepared to go admonish that little beast and tell him to lie low for the next couple of days. ’You are no match for that Ling Xiao,’ he’d tell him, ’and what’s more, Ling Xiao can’t die! In the future, he’ll be your uncle...’

Ling Su watched Zhe Jianye’s retreating back and sneered. She had finally managed to anger that repulsive old man enough to make him leave. Immediately after, however, a look of worry crossed her face as she thought, ’Ling Xiao, oh Ling Xiao, why did you have to come? Your sister has no freedom here, it’s true, but that old man can’t do anything to me. But you... if you’re captured by him, what is your sister supposed to do?’

...

Song Mingyue wore an apologetic expression as she said to Ling Xiao, "Brother Ling, I was too impulsive. I’m sorry for causing you trouble!"

Ling Xiao suddenly grabbed her hand. Song Mingyue instinctively tried to pull it back, but she heard Ling Xiao whisper, "Shh, not a sound. We’re leaving through the back!"

Her expression immediately turned serious. She whispered, "Are we going to the Zhe Mansion? What about Tiger?"

Ling Xiao whispered back, "Let’s scout it out first before we decide anything."

---------------------------

P.S. I’m kicking myself. In my haste, I just mistyped the Chapter title, and since it had just been posted, I unlocked it without double-checking. I didn’t expect over a hundred readers to have already auto-subscribed. Xiaodao offers you all a sincere apology. After today’s Chapter burst, I will release a free Chapter within three days as a formal apology. I’m really sorry, it wasn’t intentional... If you’re upset, feel free to curse me out. This is so embarrassing...