Chapter 82 - 77: Heir, Humiliation [Second of Three Updates, Please Subscribe]
Chapter 82 - 77: Heir, Humiliation [Second of Three Updates, Please Subscribe]
His expression immediately turned cold, and he coldly looked at Zhou Zhengkang, saying, "I am following the Clan Leader's orders to inquire and investigate the matter of your leaving the Zhou Family twenty-two days ago. Please, cooperate with me."
Yet to his surprise, Zhou Zhengkang became even more alarmed and angry upon hearing these words.
Suddenly, with an agitated expression, he pointed at Zhou Chun and shouted angrily, "What do you mean by this? You want to use the Clan Leader to press me? Don't you see who I am? Don't you recognize my status?"
However, with his prior experiences, Zhou Chun did not find his words surprising at this time.
Without yielding an inch, he coldly met his gaze and said, "My meaning is simple. Please cooperate with me to complete the task entrusted by the Clan Leader!"
Having said this, he did not wait for Zhou Zhengkang to respond and continued, "If you want to keep making a fuss, I can only assume you have a guilty conscience for resisting the investigation and will truthfully report this matter to the Clan Leader!"
"You..."
Zhou Zhengkang glared at Zhou Chun, speechless.
Indeed, he had a guilty conscience, which was why he so vehemently opposed Zhou Chun's investigation and tried to use abusive language to force Zhou Chun to "wisely" back off.
But he was not completely thoughtless and obviously understood that some things were doable but not sayable.
Now that Zhou Chun had put it that way, if he persisted in his reckless behavior, the one to investigate him might very well be the Clan Leader, Zhou Daoyi.
Compared to Zhou Chun, he obviously had much more reverence for Zhou Daoyi.
"Fine, you're ruthless! I'll remember this!"
He scowled at Zhou Chun, threatening him, then waved his hand impatiently and said, "What do you want to ask? Out with it quickly!"
Little did he expect that by stepping back, Zhou Chun would take even more advantage.
With a flash of cold light in his eyes, Zhou Chun looked at him and said directly, "I now suspect that you have betrayed the family and colluded with outsiders to sell family secrets. I suspect your residence may contain illicit items given by outsiders, and I need to search your residence!"
Of course, Zhou Chun was deliberately looking for an excuse to get back at Zhou Zhengkang.
Even Zhou Zhengkang himself could hear that he was being nitpicked.
So, he immediately burst out in angry protest, "Bullshit! What evidence do you have to accuse me of betraying the family? Who gave you the authority to slander me like this? To slander a Foundation Establishment Seed of the family!"
"Whether it's slander or not, we'll know once we conduct a search. Or is it that you have a guilty conscience, which is why you resist my search?"
Zhou Chun's expression remained unchanged as he coldly looked at Zhou Zhengkang and then turned to walk away.
As he walked, he casually called back without turning his head, "This is actually better. Let us go up the mountain to see the Clan Leader and truthfully report the previous matter, asking for his judgment!"
He had barely taken a few steps when Zhou Zhengkang, with a changing complexion, loudly called out, "Wait!"
"What? Have you changed your mind?"
Zhou Chun paused in his tracks, turning around to look at Zhou Zhengkang with a mocking smile as he asked. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
From Zhou Zhengkang's earlier concession, he knew that there was considerable reverence for Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi.
And once a concession is made, it opens the door to countless more.
That's exactly why he used this method to humiliate the other party, to avenge the repeated insults he had endured.
Zhou Chun had already quite grasped Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi's attitude towards him and knew in his heart that he now had a powerful backer.
Therefore, he was not very afraid of Zhou Zhengkang.
Mainly because his nature was not one to suffer in silence meekly.
His tolerance would only surface when there was absolutely no chance of winning.
Otherwise, there was no way he could be scolded to his face and remain silent.
As a Cultivator, one must have integrity!
A Cultivator who constantly yields will lose their spirit, and when facing the crucial realms where failure could mean death, how could they have the courage to break through!
At this moment, facing Zhou Chun's mocking, Zhou Zhengkang couldn't help but turn dark in the face, clenching his teeth tightly.
However, having already suffered a setback earlier, he was now forcefully suppressing the rage in his heart and refrained from continuing to argue with Zhou Chun.
Grinding his teeth in anger, he said to Zhou Chun, "Fine, I'll let you search. Let's see what you can find!"
Having said that, he opened the courtyard door and strode inside.
Zhou Chun, seeing this, was not about to be polite either. He truly followed suit, striding into the courtyard and then searching through each and every room.
Compared to Zhou Chun's rather plain courtyard, Zhou Zhengkang's dwelling was undoubtedly much more luxurious. Every piece of equipment was made from superior materials, and a type of Spirit Spice that served to repel insects and calm the mind was constantly burning in the bedroom.
After searching room by room in this manner, Zhou Chun walked into the study under Zhou Zhengkang's murderous gaze. Then, he sat down boldly in the chair next to the desk, took out paper and pen, and laid them on the desk.
As if interrogating a prisoner, he looked at him and said, "Alright, now you can tell me in detail about your recent trip out of the Zhou Family, and be truthful about it!"
Hearing this, Zhou Zhengkang's face twitched uncontrollably, glaring at him as he retorted, "You brat, you're even more arrogant than me. I'll remember this incident today!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun casually responded, "I ask, you answer, and this too will be noted down!"
These words enraged Zhou Zhengkang even further.
But, having conceded so much already, if he were to completely fall out with him now, wouldn't all the anger he had endured so far have been for nothing?
Thus, he could only pinch his nose and forcefully keep his anger in check, reciting a set of flawless explanations he had prepared in advance.
Zhou Chun, however, was deliberately nitpicking, challenging him everywhere, forcing Zhou Zhengkang to repeat many parts, and Zhou Zhengkang had to explain every single discrepancy Zhou Chun pointed out.
This nearly drove Zhou Zhengkang to the point of slamming the table and lashing out in violence!
"Hmm, it's basically done, but..."
Zhou Chun, while writing on the paper, reached out for the teapot next to him, feeling thirsty and ready to pour himself some tea.
But when he opened the pot, he realized there was no tea inside; it was empty.
"Your teapot clearly smells of tea, yet there is no tea in it. Are you hiding the good tea on purpose? Come on, you're a Zhou Family Foundation Establishment Seed, you shouldn't be so petty!"
Shaking his head, Zhou Chun continued to tease Zhou Zhengkang while putting the teapot back.
He didn't realize that upon seeing him return the teapot, Zhou Zhengkang's tense face subtly relaxed quite a bit, and unusually, he showed no sign of objection to Zhou Chun's mockery.
At this moment, Zhou Zhengkang felt both relief and regret.
Relieved that Zhou Chun didn't identify the scent of the "Honey Flower Tea," and regretful that he had forgotten to put away the teapot that had been used to brew "Honey Flower Tea" before Zhou Chun entered his residence.
Fortunately, Zhou Chun seemed to have finished asking his questions, and seeing that he had nothing more to say, appeared to lose interest and got up to bid farewell and leave.
Only after watching Zhou Chun walk away did Zhou Zhengkang let out a furious, almost hysterical roar with a somber face.
"Ahhh! Damn mutt, I must slaughter you, I will dismember you into pieces and feed you to the wolves before I leave the Zhou Family!!"
When had he ever been subjected to such treatment before!
Since he had memory, he had never been treated like this by a peer, never!
If it weren't for the fact that he did feel guilty, and the day for the Zhou Family's distribution of Foundation Establishment Pills was approaching, not wanting to incur Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi's disgust and suspicion at this crucial time, he would never have tolerated such humiliation!
So now, all he had in his heart was one thought, and that was, as soon as he achieved Foundation Establishment, to immediately dismember Zhou Chun, without a moment's delay!
As for Zhou Chun, remembering how he had manipulated Zhou Zhengkang to his will that day, he couldn't help but smile cheerfully as he walked, in a great mood.
Having left Zhou Zhengkang's residence, he certainly did not honestly hand over the interrogation record to Zhou Daoyi.
If he had turned it in, even if he was justified, he would certainly have been severely reprimanded by Zhou Daoyi.
So first, he wrote down a normal investigative report highlighting the key points, and then safely stored the original as evidence, in case future developments exposed the truth and he needed it to absolve himself.
Even though he was quite certain in his heart that Zhou Zhengkang did not have the guts or the face to reveal the day's events.