The next morning at eight o'clock…
Fang Yanxi woke up first. She looked at the man sleeping beside her. Seeing his furrowed brows and fearful expression, it was clear he was still having nightmares.
Throughout the night, Fang Yanxi had heard Wan Yunting calling out Lu Xiaodie and Zheng Rong's names in his sleep more than once. He had even gotten up in the middle of the night to sit in the small garden behind the house and smoke…
Fang Yanxi said nothing, knowing that the deaths of Lu Xiaodie and Zheng Rong had dealt a heavy blow to Wan Yunting, and he felt immense guilt and regret.
“Yanxi, why did you come alone? Where is Yunting?”
At that moment, in the dining hall, Grandpa Ouyang Shenhe, along with Uncle Ouyang Xingteng, Uncle Zhihui, and young family members like Ouyang Xinyuan and Ouyang Yumeng, were all having breakfast. Xia Xiangyun only saw Fang Yanxi enter alone. She nodded and said, “He’s still sleeping.”
“Let him sleep a little longer,”
Ouyang Shenhe waved his hand, naturally not blaming Wan Yunting for his absence from the rare family breakfast gathering.
It wasn't until past nine o’clock that Wan Yunting, lying in bed, woke up with a frown. He slowly opened his hazy eyes, stared at the ceiling for a long time, and then slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard. His eyes were vacant. He reached for the cigarettes on the bedside table, lit one, and smoked, appearing utterly dejected and listless.
By ten o'clock, Wan Yunting finally left his room. He saw his mother and several aunts chatting and laughing in the pavilion in the courtyard. Xia Xiangyun happily called out when she saw him, “Yunting, you’re awake! Come over quickly, I’ll have someone bring you breakfast.”
Wan Yunting walked over, greeted his aunts, and Xia Xiangyun had a servant bring him breakfast that she had personally prepared. However, she could tell from his dejected and listless expression that he wasn’t in a good mood, so she didn’t discuss him with the other aunts…
“Did Yanxi and Dad go to the company?” Wan Yunting asked while eating.
“Yes.”
Xia Xiangyun, sitting beside him, gently stroked Wan Yunting's hair and smiled, “You’re home now, so just stay at home and don’t think about those things. As long as our family is happy.”
Wan Yunting forced a natural smile onto his face, nodded at his mother, and continued eating his noodles…
“Yunting…”
His cousin Ouyang Xiuxian strode in. Wan Yunting looked up, surprised, and asked, “Xian Ge, when did you get back?”
“Just now.”
Ouyang Xiuxian first greeted Xia Xiangyun and the others, then smiled at Wan Yunting, “Have you finished eating? Come with me to have some tea with Grandpa and chat?”
Wan Yunting nodded, quickly finished the noodles in his bowl, got up, bid farewell to his mother and the others, and went out with Ouyang Xiuxian towards the lotus lake. He knew Grandpa would surely be in the small pavilion by the lake having tea…
“Yunting, all the major sects are condemning you now.”
Ouyang Xiuxian, walking beside Wan Yunting, turned his head to look at him, unable to help but ask, “Did you really learn the techniques of the Carefree Sect?”
Wan Yunting took out a cigarette and offered one to him, but Ouyang Xiuxian waved his hand, declining. Wan Yunting then took out a cigarette himself, put it in his mouth, and lit it with his lighter, exhaling a slow puff of smoke. His expression was calm, and a smile appeared. He turned to Ouyang Xiuxian and said, “Xian Ge, did you come back this time because of me?”
“You could say that.”
Ouyang Xiuxian nodded and said, “I was supposed to participate in this martial arts convention, but my master told me to go into seclusion, so I couldn’t make it. With the major incident you’re involved in, as your cousin, I naturally have to come back and see what’s going on.”
Wan Yunting said worriedly, “Did I implicate you?”
Ouyang Xiuxian smiled and shook his head, “How could I be? Even if I were implicated, at most I would just leave the Shaolin Sect.”
Wan Yunting waved his hand while smoking, sighing, “I did indeed learn the techniques of the Carefree Sect. It’s equivalent to inheriting the legacy of the Carefree Sect!”
Ouyang Xiuxian’s expression stiffened. Then, he patted Wan Yunting on the shoulder and chuckled indifferently, “No matter what sect’s techniques you learn, brother believes in your character. Even if you learned the Carefree Sect’s techniques, you wouldn’t do anything harmful to heaven and reason.”
“Hmph, on the contrary, those major sects that claim to be on the righteous path, the wicked things they do in private are more deserving of opposition and accountability than you.”
Wan Yunting walked with him along the long corridor. The small lake was ahead. Looking at the pavilion from a distance, he saw Grandpa and Uncle sitting there drinking tea and chatting…
“But Yunting, what are your plans now?” Ouyang Xiuxian then asked.
Wan Yunting smiled, took a puff of his cigarette, and slowly exhaled, shaking his head, “I’ll take it one step at a time.”
His words were a bit disheartening. Ouyang Xiuxian knew that his two beloved women had died tragically, so he didn’t press the matter further…
The two brothers arrived at the pavilion. Ouyang Xingteng and Ouyang Shenhe invited them to sit down for tea. Ajin and the butler Zhang Heng were attending to them…
“Grandpa, I’m sorry for implicating you and preventing you from continuing your peaceful cultivation at Wudang Mountain.”
Wan Yunting first apologized to his grandfather, Ouyang Shenhe, as it was because of him that his grandfather could no longer live out his retirement at Wudang Mountain.
“Alas, no need to apologize.”
Ouyang Shenhe waved his hand, his old face showing a nonchalant smile, “Retiring anywhere is the same. From now on, Grandpa will retire in the capital with your uncle and his old friends. It’s quite good.”
“Yes.”
Uncle Ouyang Xingteng smiled, “Elder brother, if you like quiet and being close to nature, why don’t we find a secluded place and build a small courtyard to retire in? Wouldn’t that be the same as being at Wudang Mountain?”
Ouyang Shenhe nodded with a smile and said, “I think that’s a good idea. Let’s see where it’s suitable later.”
“No problem.”
Ouyang Xingteng smiled, then shifted the topic back to Wan Yunting, “Xiao Wan, what are your plans next?”
Facing the concern of his uncle and grandfather, Wan Yunting shook his head slightly and said, “I’ll wait and see. I’ll make plans once things outside calm down.”
Ouyang Shenhe nodded. Currently, there was unfavorable news about him everywhere. Even if the Ouyang family intervened, they couldn’t stop it. Although many people were attacking Wan Yunting, there were also some netizens who supported him.
Especially on the Douyin platform, people from some sects maliciously posted topics unfavorable to Wan Yunting, such as him learning unorthodox techniques, betraying the righteous sects, and deserving punishment!
Furthermore, a popular influencer named Zhang Yuan, who was cultivated by the Kongtong Sect, even declared on Douyin that Wan Yunting should voluntarily cripple his own martial arts and never step into the martial world again!
Not only that, but well-known influencers from sects like Diancang and Xingyi also posted topics attacking and boycotting Wan Yunting, causing a fierce debate among Douyin netizens and Wan Yunting’s supporters.
Wan Yunting had over thirty million followers on Douyin. Although many people unfollowed him because of this incident, he also gained many new fans.
Especially those fans who supported Wan Yunting from the beginning, they knew his character well. Seeing those people maliciously commenting on Wan Yunting’s situation, those upright fans directly confronted the influencers from those sects, listing Wan Yunting’s deeds from the beginning and arguing fiercely with them.
Therefore, Douyin was now divided into two factions: one was fans who supported Wan Yunting, and the other was organized by some sects with ulterior motives to smear Wan Yunting and post various attacking topics…
However, since returning to the capital, Wan Yunting had been keeping an eye on the outside world and paid even less attention to the unfavorable attacks and comments on Douyin. Regardless, the major sects had already labeled him as heretical and expelled him from the righteous path. With various boycotts, he probably wouldn’t be able to operate in the martial world anymore.
To be honest, Wan Yunting was also disappointed with the people from the major martial sects because of this matter!
Although Wan Yunting knew that not all people from the sects wanted to expel him from the righteous martial world, some sects with ulterior motives, fearing that Wan Yunting would affect their interests, had secretly pushed this matter, intentionally smearing Wan Yunting’s reputation to force him out of the martial arts circle.
Just as Wan Yunting, Ouyang Xiuxian, and the two elders were having tea and chatting, a servant hurried over and said, “Young Master Wan, a Mr. Gu Yuanbai is looking for you.”
“Old Gu…”
Wan Yunting’s expression froze. He immediately stood up and called out to the servant, “Please invite him in quickly…”
With that, Wan Yunting greeted his grandfather and the others and personally went out to welcome Gu Yuanbai. The servant at the entrance had already invited Gu Yuanbai in. They met on the long corridor, and he immediately cupped his fist in greeting, “Old Gu, I’m sorry, I should have been the one to visit you.”
Gu Yuanbai waved his hand, his old eyes looking at Wan Yunting with concern, and asked, “Xiao Wan, are you alright?”
Wan Yunting smiled slightly and shook his head, “I’m fine.”
Gu Yuanbai had heard from his granddaughter Gu Luotang and the others, and he could see that Wan Yunting was in low spirits and seemed somewhat dejected…
“My grandfather and the others are drinking tea in the pavilion by the lake. Why don’t we go over there, Old Gu?” Wan Yunting said.
“Alright.”
Gu Yuanbai nodded and followed Wan Yunting to the pavilion by the lake. After greeting Ouyang Shenhe and Ouyang Xingteng, Gu Yuanbai sat down. Wan Yunting poured him tea and asked, “Old Gu, is there something wrong with the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association that you’ve visited so suddenly?”
Gu Yuanbai frowned slightly, nodded, and said, “There are quite a few people in the association who are proposing to remove you as chairman!”
As soon as he said this, his grandfather and Ouyang Xingteng exchanged glances and asked Gu Yuanbai, “Because of this matter, can it affect Xiao Wan’s position in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association?”
Gu Yuanbai nodded and said, “Traditional Chinese Medicine and martial arts are inherently integrated. Now, it is also being rumored that Xiao Wan’s Thirteen Ghost Needles are evil needle techniques of an evil sect. Therefore, some individuals in the association believe that Xiao Wan cannot continue to serve as chairman!”
“What absurd logic.”
Ouyang Shenhe snorted coldly upon hearing this, “Even if there’s a problem with the techniques Xiao Wan learned, he did it to save people. To dismiss him as chairman of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association because of this is simply preposterous.”
“Exactly…”
Ouyang Xingteng and Ouyang Xiuxian both nodded in agreement.
Wan Yunting smiled and said, “Perhaps someone is deliberately trying to remove me as chairman?”
Gu Yuanbai nodded with a frown, and said solemnly, “There will be a meeting this afternoon, and the presidents from all over the country will attend to discuss this matter. However, Xiao Wan, at present, it is likely unfavorable to you.”
Hearing this, Wan Yunting smiled and said, “It seems those people are determined not to rest until they’ve ruined me!”