Yu Qing was truly caught off guard.
The other party had not held back much when striking. Not using internal energy to deliver a killing blow already counted as showing mercy.
Completely unprepared, Yu Qing felt his intestines were nearly snapped by that blow.
Due to the pain, the other party’s words reached his ears with an echo, the kind that buzzed thunderously in his mind. His eyes were somewhat weak, rolling back now and then.
He gasped violently for a while before catching his breath. Only then did he feel the pain of his head being pressed against the wall and his face rubbing against it.
After coming to his senses, following the pain, was the immense anger surging from the bottom of his heart.
He had not expected that such a person, who was after all a member of the cultivation world, and this being the Wen residence, with the two of them having no grievances or enmity, this fellow would actually suddenly strike someone like him, a mere servant. It was truly excessive bullying.
“Don’t want to talk?” After questioning him, Zou Yunting lightly reminded him, “In the Wen Clan, for a lowly servant like you, even if I kill you, no one will say anything.”
Yu Qing forcibly suppressed his anger and said humbly, “I’ll talk, but… Young Master Zou, with you like this, I cannot talk.”
Zou Yunting’s face showed contempt. The look of refusing the easy way and choosing the hard way was obvious. However, he did let go.
Who would have known that what Yu Qing gave him was not an explanation, but a fist.
The moment Zou Yunting let go, Yu Qing’s fist blasted out like a cannon.
He had struck a servant without using internal energy, but Yu Qing delivered a full-powered punch infused with his entire cultivation.
Zou Yunting had never dreamed that the moment he attacked someone, that person would strike back with a sneak attack. He had not expected retribution to come so quickly.
His cultivation was actually higher than Yu Qing’s, at the High Martial realm, but similarly completely unprepared, similarly caught off guard. The distance was too close, and even raising his hand to block in emergency was a bit too late.
Regardless of whether his cultivation could surpass the other person’s, and regardless of whether the sneak attack could succeed, Yu Qing simply dared to strike him. If it had been someone else, Yu Qing might not have dared to do so.
Bang! Zou Yunting was sent flying on the spot.
Pfft! He spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air. He flew across the small courtyard, crashed beneath the eaves opposite, and only stopped when he collided with the corner wall.
Yu Qing, erupting with rage, had a gloomy and cold face. One hand rubbed his abdomen as he flashed out, landing and standing in front of Zou Yunting.
Zou Yunting was clearly stunned by the punch. His insides were churning violently. He had not recovered, lying on the ground and shaking his head forcefully. Just as he tried to flip over and get up, Yu Qing viciously kicked him in the ribs.
Crack!
The clear sound of ribs breaking rang out.
Bam! Bam! Bam…
Yu Qing kicked and stomped viciously, one foot after another.
He was furious. With such huge leverage in his hands, the other party actually dared to lay hands on him. Refraining from causing trouble already showed he had been cautious and thought thrice. He had held back, yet the other party actually dared to come to his door and attack him. He truly was tired of living.
Added to that, this person’s junior sister had taken the little puppy away. He might find it very difficult to see Wen Xin again in the future, making him even more furious.
“Cough, cough…” Zou Yunting coughed up blood. He had already suffered very severe internal injuries. Waving his hand vaguely while choking on blood, he said, “Stop… Someone knows I came. If I die, you won’t escape either.”
“And you still dare to threaten me?” Yu Qing was amused. He suddenly bent down and smashed several punches onto his head, bam bam, cursing while hitting, “Is that something I should worry about? That’s what you should worry about. I don’t fall for this.”
Zou Yunting, with his nasal bridge, brow bone, corner of the eye, cheekbone, and many other positions smashed and burst, no longer had the image of a handsome young gentleman. He rolled his eyes back weakly as if about to breathe his last at any moment.
Yu Qing could not very well beat him to death directly. Once he had vented enough, he stopped.
After a good while, the dizzy Zou Yunting, who occasionally still choked on blood, finally slowly came back to his senses. He somewhat did not understand what he had encountered. After his somewhat confused gaze aligned with Yu Qing, who was looking down at him from above, he gasped, “You’re a cultivator. Who are you?”
He could not imagine that someone would dare to treat him like this in the Wen family.
Yu Qing bent down, grabbed his topknot, and pulled his entire person up, pressing him against the wall. “Who I am matters not. What is important is that I am someone you cannot afford to offend. Tell me, if the matter of your adultery with the Wen Clan Second Branch Master’s wife were exposed, what would be the reaction of Qinglian Mountain and the Wen Clan?”
Hearing these words, the still somewhat dizzy Zou Yunting seemed to instantly sober up. His pupils contracted sharply. He struggled violently but was pressed against the wall by Yu Qing, unable to break free, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood.
Yu Qing grabbed his hair and reminded him, “Want to silence me? You don’t think I’m alone, do you? Let me tell you, if anything happens to me in the Wen Clan, the thousand-year reputations of Qinglian Mountain and the Wen Clan will be completely buried by your hands. Ask them whether they will give you a way to live.”
After speaking, he pushed him out in one go. “Scram!”
Zou Yunting, who nearly fell over, hugged the pillar under the eaves to avoid collapsing. His entire person could not pull himself out of the immense terror. It was like a dream. How had it suddenly become like this?
After his internal breathing steadied, he exchanged a glance with Yu Qing. He pushed away from the pillar, staggered to the door, and opened it.
He did not charge directly out, but first looked left and right. After confirming there was no one on either side, he stared at the wall opposite, gathered his true qi with effort, then leapt up and pounced onto the high wall, flipping over and dropping outside.
Yu Qing also went to the door and looked left and right. Afterwards, he stood silently at the door for a while. He felt he had already found a suitable person to gather information, but he still needed to observe a bit more.
He had not originally planned to get Zou Yunting to do this kind of thing, because Zou Yunting and that woman from the second branch had indeed seriously affected the thousand-year reputations of Qinglian Mountain and the Wen Clan. The stakes were too high, and he was afraid of creating additional complications. However, the other party had come to his door on his own initiative, forcing him to have no choice.
He said he had no way to feed the little puppy, but the other party did not even listen to an explanation. Without a single extra word, he struck directly. For a servant like him, the other party directly stated that even if he killed him, no one would say anything.
If he confessed that he had fed the little puppy mixed food, letting people know he had defied Song Pingping’s instructions, he did not know whether he would be killed, but he would definitely be beaten severely. That pretty boy was absolutely capable of such ruthlessness.
Since that was the case, he would not stand on ceremony either. It was better to let the other party suffer than to let himself suffer.
After his mind was made up, he closed the door, then went to the well to draw water and wash away the bloodstains on the ground.
The rain grew heavier. There were few pedestrians on the road. Zou Yunting staggered along. He did not feel much physical pain. It was more a chill in the heart.
After a detour, he finally made his way to outside the side gate of the Wen residence.
He had to take a detour and put on an appearance of having been beaten up outside.
As Yu Qing said, why he was injured like this was not for Yu Qing to worry about, but rather something Zou Yunting needed to figure out, how to conceal that he had been beaten by a servant.
The servants at the gate were immediately startled. They quickly shouted for people to come and carried the severely injured Zou Yunting inside.
Once the person was brought back, seeing his disciple severely injured, covered in blood, and his face disfigured, Fan Wuchou was furious. He asked Zou Yunting, “Who did this?”
Lying on the door plank, Zou Yunting’s heart was filled with panic and also grief, but he still weakly shook his head and said, “This disciple does not know. I was suddenly ambushed outside and do not know who did it.”
Seeing that he did not even have the strength to speak, Fan Wuchou immediately examined and treated him. He discovered the injuries were very severe, and he had indeed been dealt with ruthlessly. Even his internal organs had suffered heavy damage. If treatment was not administered promptly, he might truly die. He quickly called for people to come and help administer treatment.
Not long after, Song Pingping also hurried over upon hearing the news. The set of clothes she had just changed into at Jade Garden was soaked by the heavy rain again. Seeing her senior brother’s miserable state, her eyes turned red from crying. She asked who did it but got no answer, and was even driven out by her master, who told her not to interfere with the treatment.
Wiping her tears, Song Pingping once again rushed into the rain, heading straight for the miscellaneous courtyard, and found Yu Qing.
This action nearly startled Yu Qing. He thought Zou Yunting had decided to go all out and fight to mutual destruction. After hearing Song Pingping’s purpose and learning she had only come to find clues about Zou Yunting’s injuries, he naturally pushed all responsibility away completely, saying Zou Yunting had only come to ask him about the method for feeding the Purple Dragon, then left. He did not know why he had been injured.
He even pretended to show concern, asking, “Are the injuries alright?”
“None of your business!” Song Pingping, with red-rimmed eyes, flicked her sleeve and left.
Yu Qing gazed at the curtain of rain outside, pondering. He slightly reflected that earlier, in the heat of anger, his strikes had definitely been somewhat heavy. He did not know whether that fellow could still be saved. If he died, the suitable spy he had just found would be gone, which would be rather a pity.
Outside the round window, the curtain of rain and banana leaves were like a painting.
Inside the round window, a burner of sandalwood smoke curled on the table.
Wen Mou, with hair like snow, sat in a chair looking at sheets of paper.
Steward Wen Kui walked through the heavy rain holding an umbrella. Beneath the eaves, he set the umbrella aside, shook the water droplets from his body, and wiped his shoes on a thick cotton cloth before entering the room. He saluted Wen Mou, who was examining papers by the window, “Master, over there, three ribs broken, one arm, and severe internal organ injuries.”
Wen Mou asked with his back turned, “Has the culprit been caught?”
Wen Kui said, “Not at present. Elder Fan has dispatched quite a few Qinglian Mountain disciples to search outside, and also asked us to help search. This old servant could not easily refuse, but this old servant estimates it is wasted effort. The culprit probably cannot be found.”
There was hidden meaning in his words. Wen Mou let out an “oh.” “How so?”
Wen Kui said, “The utility room where the spirit pet had been kept, Song Pingping went there earlier and took the spirit pet back to Jade Garden, letting the Third Young Lady feed it personally.”
Wen Mou laughed heartily. “It seems Elder Fan returned and learned of it. The young person lacked understanding and probably got scolded.”
Wen Kui continued, “After Song Pingping came out, Zou Yunting entered that courtyard again. After emerging, he was injured, climbed over the wall to leave, and then returned saying he was ambushed outside.”
Wen Mou, who had been looking at the papers, finally slowly turned his head. Looking at him, he asked, “Zou Yunting was beaten by that servant in that miscellaneous courtyard?”
Wen Kui said, “Those monitoring Niu Youqing could not determine exactly what happened inside the courtyard, but at that time there was only Niu Youqing in the courtyard. Apart from him, there was likely no second culprit.”
Wen Mou stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked out the window. “That is to say, Zou Yunting was injured, yet not only did he not say who the culprit was, he also intentionally helped the culprit conceal it?”
Wen Kui bowed slightly. “That would appear to be the case.”
Wen Mou said, “Kui, you said that person’s methods were shallow, low-class jianghu tricks. Now it seems things are not as simple as you made them out to be.”