Chapter 38: Young Master Mu's Deception
Mu Xiwang coldly rebutted her words, "Having Xiaolin proven as Changnian's child once more would only solidify your position, wouldn't it? After all, the position of the Mu family's matriarch cannot remain vacant."
He knew this woman had long coveted the role of the Mu family's matriarch. The fact that she could endure for over a decade proved just how deep her schemes ran.
"Dad, this isn't about proof, it's about the Mu family's dignity. Where does that leave my face?" Mu Changnian couldn't help but speak up.
He couldn't understand why his father was doing this. If the first test had been unavoidable, this was nothing short of outright humiliation, stripping him of any authority as the family head.
"Which is more important, your face or the purity of the Mu bloodline?" Mu Xiwang's eyes were icy with warning. "I'll say it again, provide the blood samples. Otherwise..." He left the threat hanging.
Bai Ping's face turned deathly pale. She couldn't let Mu Xiwang go through with this, or everything would be ruined. "Dad, the facts were already laid bare before, yet you refuse to believe them. If that's the case, then I..." She abruptly stood and made as if to dash toward a nearby pillar.
"Ah Ping!" Mu Changnian shouted, his eyes filled with panic.
"Go ahead and die. Even if you do, Mu Xiaolin will still be tested," Mu Xiwang said coldly, unmoved by her theatrics.
Bai Ping, who had only intended to feign desperation so someone would stop her, froze mid-step, her face drained of color. Mu Changnian quickly pulled her into his arms.
"Dad, how can you be so heartless? How can you treat them like this? What about me?" Mu Changnian growled, his voice thick with emotion.
The Mu family had always preached that men should never shed tears lightly, yet today, his father had pushed him to this point.
Mu Xiwang's expression darkened further at his protest. "Refusing a second test only proves you have something to hide." His son had always been sharp-witted, how could he be so blind now?
"Dad, it's not that I'm hiding anything. It's just too unreasonable," Bai Ping said with feigned grievance. "I've always been faithful to Changnian. Whether I’ve ever strayed, the master knows full well. When I first entered the Mu family, to prove my innocence, Xiaolin’s paternity was tested. The results were clear, Xiaolin is his son. Why test again now?"
"This isn’t just suspicion, it’s outright distrust, even of the master himself." Her words were clearly meant to sow discord.
Mu Xiwang seethed with anger. This should have been straightforward. He had assumed an open test would be simple, but he hadn’t anticipated this woman’s stubborn resistance.
"Mom, why beg them?" Mu Xiaolin, who had remained silent until now, spoke up hoarsely.
He would remember the Mu family. Even without their protection, he would rise. And when he did, he would make them pay.
"If the Mu family doesn’t want us, we’ll leave." Mu Xiaolin stood from the sofa, his frail frame radiating defiance.
Bai Ping’s face was streaked with tears. "Master... will you really let a descendant of the Mu family be cast out?" Her voice trembled, Xiaolin was still in danger.
"Dad!" Mu Changnian’s voice was laced with fury.
At that moment, Mu Lichuan entered. Seeing the situation, he knew things hadn’t gone smoothly, and that his grandfather hadn’t punished him.
Perhaps in his grandfather’s eyes, the entire Mu family was under his control. Forcing his father and Mu Xiaolin to take another test should have been simple. But Bai Ping was no pushover, she wouldn’t have endured this long otherwise.
"Lichuan, talk some sense into your grandfather. He’s about to humiliate the Mu family again!" Mu Changnian’s face flushed when he saw Mu Lichuan.
He knew his father favored Lichuan. Bai Ping, meanwhile, bit her lip silently, she was convinced this was all Mu Lichuan’s doing.
"Lichuan, stay out of this. The Mu bloodline must not be tainted," Mu Xiwang said sternly before Mu Lichuan could speak.
He hadn’t wanted the boy involved, yet here he was. Glancing at the time, he sighed, things had already been delayed.
"Mu Lichuan! First, you made Xiaolin and your father take a paternity test. Now you’ve dragged your grandfather into it? Do you reject the previous results?" Bai Ping’s eyes burned with quiet fury.
Mu Lichuan’s expression remained indifferent as he looked at his father. "Dad, if it’s just a retest, why refuse?"
"And Aunt Bai, if you’re truly innocent, why fear it? As for the Mu family’s dignity, wasn’t the first test done in secret? Who even knew about it?"
They kept harping about "the Mu family’s dignity," oblivious that the real shame lay in their own actions, not the results.
Silence fell after his words. Mu Xiaolin gritted his teeth. "Mom, the Mu family doesn’t respect us. They don’t see us as family. Let’s leave!" He couldn’t understand why his mother clung to this place. Wasn’t their pride worth more?
Once mocked as a bastard, he had finally gained a father - only to be bullied by this half-brother, who schemed relentlessly to drive him out.
He knew Mu Lichuan was behind it all but lacked proof. The man pretended kindness, only to turn vicious the next moment. How could such a hypocrite be so beloved?
Bai Ping steeled herself and pulled away from Mu Changnian. "Master, I’ve failed you. Before, though life was hard for us, we managed. At least we weren’t forced into a corner like this. Xiaolin and I will leave. Perhaps returning was a mistake." She wasn’t a fool, fighting Mu Xiwang was futile.
"Then I’ll leave with you!" Mu Changnian declared. Bai Ping was the only one who understood him, the rest of the Mu family treated him as a pawn.
Mu Xiwang’s aura turned glacial. "Mu Changnian, do you think the Mu family is a place you can just walk away from?" He knew Mu Xiaolin’s unusual constitution. If released, the consequences for the mortal world could be catastrophic.
"Dad, what do you want?" Mu Changnian was baffled. His father insisted on another test, yet now refused to let them leave.
He managed all the Mu family’s worldly affairs. If he left, chaos would ensue. Even if Mu Lichuan was capable, he couldn’t stabilize the family’s industries overnight.
"That boy carries an ominous energy. He cannot leave the Mu family," Mu Xiwang said sharply.
"Just because you’re the Mu family? Just because you rule this city, you think you can imprison us?" Bai Ping had never imagined their confinement was due to the dark energy around her son. Hatred swelled in her chest.
"We have our freedom!" she spat. They had sought the Mu family’s protection, only to find themselves trapped in a den of tigers.
Mu Xiwang pressed his lips together. Mu Lichuan spoke calmly, "Aunt Bai, you misunderstand Grandfather. He means that the energy around Xiaolin is dangerous - it could harm others, even turn him into a weapon."
The moment these words left his mouth, Bai Ping’s expression changed. "Lies! That energy would never hurt Xiaolin!" she cried.
The man who had given it to them had said it would protect Xiaolin in times of danger. How could Mu Lichuan claim it was a threat?
"Aunt Bai, why would I lie? You saw what happened when Xiaolin lost control before. If not for you snapping him out of it, he might have slaughtered everyone. Isn’t that harm?" Mu Lichuan thought this should have been handled discreetly. Announcing it like this only gave them time to prepare.
He didn’t know who stood behind Mu Xiaolin, but they had to be a powerful cultivator - how else had Mu Xiaolin grown so strong so quickly in his past life?
From his great-grandfather’s records, he knew that without his own fortuitous encounters, he wouldn’t have reached Foundation Establishment so soon. Cultivation depended on opportunity, even geniuses could perish prematurely.
Though cultivators were rare on their planet and spiritual energy was sparse, other worlds teemed with them. A Foundation Establishment cultivator like him would be considered bottom-tier elsewhere.
"Y-you’re lying! It’s impossible..." Bai Ping’s face paled with fear as she recalled that incident. "Xiaolin didn’t hurt me!"
No comments:
Post a Comment