Chapter 26: You Get What You Deserve

Upon seeing the modified carriage, Su Chen's eyes were still fixed and displayed no trace of anger. He truly was acting like a blind person.

After a brief moment, Mingshu brought Zhou Hong over.

In Su Chen's memory, Zhou Hong was originally a tall, st.u.r.dily-built man. He was taciturn, and had always acted in a calm manner. Now, however, he was emaciated and disheveled; his aged appearance and unkempt beard alluded to his difficult life after he was fired. When Mingshu told him that the Young Master wanted him to be his charioteer, he had been so excited that he could not control himself. He had sprinted the entire way to see Su Chen, before kneeling down in front of him and exclaiming, "Zhou Hong, the sinner, greets Fourth Young Master!"

Su Chen faintly said: "What happened back then is already in the past, and you have already been punished for it. I will use you now, just as I did before,so make sure you do things well for me."

Zhou Hong loudly replied: "I will serve Young Master faithfully until I die!"

"Okay, then go and set up the carriage," Su Chen said.

Zhou Hong thus hurriedly went to go setup the carriage. Although he hadn't touched reins for three years, his movements were still fluid. He very rapidly calmed the horse down, then sat at the driver's seat, waiting for Su Chen to get on the carriage behind him.

Su Chen took a few steps towards the carriage before he paused, as if he suddenly thought of something. Then, he walked towards Su Yue, saying as he walked: "That's right, I still haven't thanked Little Nine for speaking out for me as a matter of principle, so that I wouldn't be humiliated by servants."

Saying this, he walked towards Su Yue, then bowed to him.

Su Yue swung his fan and laughed: "There's no need to thank me. It is probably better for Fourth Brother to get on the carriage to avoid missing proper business."

"How could that be acceptable? If it weren't for Little Nine's actions, I probably wouldn't even be able to head out today. How about this, why doesn't Ninth Junior Brother come with me? I will treat Ninth Junior Brother to a cup of tea," Su Chen said as he grabbed Su Yue's wrist.

He was standing right in front of Su Yue. Su Chen moved very quickly, and caught Su Yue's wrist with ease as the latter was unprepared.

Su Yue's face revealed a trace of panic: "There's no need, I still have things I need to do."

As he spoke, he hurriedly retreated, wanting to shake off Su Chen.

However, based on strength he was much weaker than Su Chen. How could he possibly shake him off?

Su Chen held onto him, unmoving. His face displayed a light smile as he said, "What? Fourth Elder Brother is asking you nicely, yet you are unwilling to give me this much face?"

His arm was like steel, clamping down Su Yue and preventing him from moving.

Su Yue panicked even more, and he began to furiously hit Su Chen's arm. "Release me!"

Su Chen coldly laughed: "It seems like Ninth Junior Brother doesn't want to get on the carriage, but I really want to see what Ninth Junior Brother looks like after getting on…… Zhou Hong!"

Su Chen suddenly let out a loud shout.

Zhou Hong, who was sitting on the carriage at the moment instinctively responded: "This little one is here!"

Su Chen didn't even turn around to look. He grabbed Su Yue's hand and flung him backwards in the direction of Zhou Hong's voice. Su Yue's entire being flew towards the carriage behind Zhou Hong.

With a thunderous crash, Su Yue smashed into the carriage. The forceful impact caused the carriage, which was already weakened, to collapse with a loud bang. Not only that, but the needles hidden in the carriage were directly exposed and all pierced into Su Yue's body.

"Ah!" Su Yue let out an extremely pained yell.

"Ninth Young Master!" Mo Dayan yelled in shock, then glared at Su Chen in rage: "Su Chen you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you dare to……"

Su Chen's response was to take a step forward, leaving behind a deep footprint on the stone pavement. He flew into the air and slammed directly into Mo Dayan. The force of the collision knocked Mo Dayan backwards and caused him to spit out blood.

In truth, based on strength alone, Mo Dayan was slightly stronger than Su Chen. Though both were at the ninth layer of body tempering, Mo Dayan was at the peak of the ninth layer, the last step before a martial artist broke into the Origin Qi realm. However, Mo Dayan didn't expect that Su Chen would make a move so suddenly, especially one so vicious and precise despite being blind.

In that moment where he was not on guard, the impact of Su Chen's sneak attack broke one of his ribs instantly, the pain causing his vision to go black.

Su Chen, however, would not show mercy once he had the advantage. He flipped around and grabbed Mo Dayan's arm, then twisted, directly breaking Mo Dayan's right arm. Even though Mo Dayan hurriedly kicked back, the sharp pain made his entire lower body weak. This kick only contained half of his strength, and Su Chen received it forcefully. Su Chen reversed and placed another foot on Mo Dayan's knee.

Crack, Mo Dayan's leg had already been broken by Su Chen's stomp.

He then headb.u.t.ted the bridge of Mo Dayan's nose, breaking it, then flipped around and grabbed Mo Dayan's left arm, also breaking it. Finally, he broke his left leg.

Within the firelit room, the ninth layer Body Tempering Mo Dayan was completely ruined by Su Chen. He lay on the ground, unable to climb back up. This scene left everyone who saw it – all the charioteers, as well as Mingshu and Zhou Hong – dumbstruck.

Su Chen slowly stood. "This, is the consequence of being impudent and disrespectful to those with higher status than you."

"Su Chen, we aren't your people; you have no right to treat us this way!"

Surprisingly, the charioteers actually still dared to yell at Su Chen.

"What you said was right, I really don't have the authority to punish Mo Dayan," Su Chen laughed. "But…… so what?"

So what?

Upon hearing these words, all the charioteers were left dazed.

Su Chen lifted his foot and placed it on Mo Dayan's chest: "I really don't have the authority to punish him, but I punished him anyways. I went beyond my authority and I even heavily injured him. So what? I made a mistake, so the clan will naturally punish me. But Mo Dayan, as well as you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, take a guess. What kind of punishment will I receive?"

The crowd watched Su Chen fearfully. Mo Dayan, whose limbs had been broken, lay powerless on the floor, and those charioteers were too scared to even moan.

"Confinement? Penalties? Or something else? It doesn't matter, I will receive it," Su Chen responded. "But one thing is certain: no matter how the clan punishes me, the consequences for me will not be as severe as the wounds that Mo Dayan has received today. This, is the difference between a master and a servant!"

This one sentence shook everyone and made them speechless.

That's right, regardless of what punishment Su Chen received, it would not be as severe as the wounds that Mo Dayan had received!

Because he was a master, a Young Master!

This was privilege, an entirely justified privilege!

Su Chen had already lifted his head, glancing at those charioteers.

His eyes were clearly dim and lacking focus, but they gave everyone a frightening pressure so that they didn't dare to meet his gaze.

Su Chen leisurely spoke: "Therefore, even if I were to continue and killed all of you, there wouldn't be too many consequences. But if you were to hurt me…… then you would all die!"

This last sentence created chills in everyone's heart.

"So……" Su Chen had already released Mo Dayan's foot, then walked towards Su Yue.

This brat had been tossed by Su Chen and the needles had entered his body. At the moment, he was still lying on the ground moaning, unable to crawl up.

Su Chen tilted his ear, pretending to listen attentively, drawing near to Su Yue by following the sounds of his moans. He picked Su Yue up with one hand, raising his hand and knocking him out. Then, he turned around to speak to those charioteers: "Thus, I hope that you can all treat me with just that much more reverence. With a reverential att.i.tude, you will understand respect. And if you understand how to respect your masters, you will make less mistakes. Then, things like what just happened won't need to happen anymore."

A charioteer asked, his voice trembling: "What do you want us to do?"

Su Chen laughed.

This was what he wanted to hear.

"I want you to tell the truth," he said. "In a moment, the clan's elders will arrive. If anyone dares to ignore their conscience, believe me…… he will definitely die!"

"Don't answer him!" Mo Dayan let out a loud yell.

Woos.h.!.+

Su Chen leisurely tossed out his hand. A needle that he had pulled out of Su Yue's body had already entered Mo Dayan's lower body. The pain that Mo Dayan felt far exceeded everything else. Mo Dayan let out an extremely pained yell. He was unable to endure it, and actually pa.s.sed out directly.

Su Chen skillfully pulled out another needle, faintly smiling as he looked at those charioteers.

Facing this perceptive individual who, in their minds, clearly possessed "powers of echolocation"", all of the charioteers felt a chill run across their bodies simultaneously.

Chapter 27: Punishment

Such a grand commotion was guaranteed to shock and alert the Su Clan.

The first person to arrive was the Su Clan's head of security, Pei Jiyun. He was Su Changche's nephew, and was an Origin Qi Scholar in the Blood Gus.h.i.+ng realm. Of the Su Clan's second generation, he was second only to a handful of people like Su Keji or Su Huaiyou.

The most rare thing was that the way this person dealt with matters could be considered quite fair. As the clan's head of security, he was not allowed to have too much political bias.

Upon seeing that he was the first to arrive, Su Chen's heart relaxed.

Although Pei Jiyun was not as warm as Su Feihu towards him, he at least did not discriminate against or try to suppress him. He was someone who could be reasoned with.

At this moment, Pei Jiyun arrived. Upon seeing the condition of Su Yue and Mo Dayan, he was very clearly dazed for a moment before he glanced at Su Chen. "Su Chen, what are you doing?"

Su Chen gently laughed and responded, "What I am doing cannot be explained in a sentence or two. Let's wait for all the elders to arrive before I address your questions all at once, okay?"

Pei Jiyun was startled, but in the end he nodded and said, "Sure, but you have to release Su Yue first."

"That won't do. Without him, most people probably won't even give me an opportunity to speak." As Su Chen spoke, he placed his right hand on Su Yue's eyes. "Make no mistake, if a blind man gets pushed too far, he can do anything."

Pei Jiyun sucked in a breath of air, then hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, don't be hasty, isn't it enough for you to just hold onto him? Let's just wait here together for the clan's other elders."

"Uncle Pei, you might not be able to rest just yet." Su Chen pointed at those charioteers behind him. "These people were all witnesses to what happened today, so I need them to testify. But to prevent anyone from having evil intentions and lying, I ask that Uncle Pei confine them separately and interrogate them individually.

All of the charioteers were shocked. Some of them had not been frightened by Su Chen's words, and had only pretended to lower their heads to him. They were holding their hatred in their hearts and waiting for an opportunity to strike back at him once they escaped his grasp.

They never expected that Su Chen actually had such a method up his sleeve. It felt like what he had said before was to stabilize the situation, but the real tactic was still waiting for them.

Pei Jiyun didn't care about what they thought. Su Chen's words caused his eyes to light up.

With the testimony of enough people, regardless of who was in the right or wrong, there wouldn't be a mistaken conviction. Since every injustice had its own perpetrator, any responsibility would not fall upon him, the head of security.

Thus, he waved his hand. "Catch all of them and interrogate them individually. Without my permission, do not allow anybody to visit them!"

One of the clan's guards had already stepped forwards and taken away all of those charioteers. When they tried to take away Mingshu and Zhou Hong, they were stopped by Su Chen, which Pei Jiyun didn't mind. He could tell that although Su Chen had injured those people, the trouble had most likely been stirred up by the other party. Otherwise, Su Chen wouldn't be so calm and unhurried.

Not long after, all the masters in the Su Clan were all shocked into action.

Su Cheng'an came, Su Keji came, Su Feihu came, Tang Hongrui came, and Yan Wushuang also came.

A large group of people stood around Su Chen, confused, but no one dared to draw near to Su Chen because he was still holding onto Su Yue.

His two fingers were placed on Su Yue's eyelids no matter who pleaded with him.

When Su Changqing arrived and saw the scene, he was so enraged that his nose became slanted. "Su Cheng'an, look at what your son did! Tell him to quickly release Yue'er!"

Su Cheng'an wore an expression of embarra.s.sment. "This unfilial son hasn't listened to me for a long time. Just now, I ordered him to release your son, but he just wouldn't listen. Instead, he used a needle to draw a scratch on Su Yue's face……"

"Su Cheng'an, you're not a man!" Tang Hongrui began to yell piercingly, "For something so big to happen and you act not to protect Chen'er, but instead directly call him an unfilial son. Did you even ask what exactly happened?"

Su Cheng'an's face reddened. "How would I know if he doesn't say anything?"

"You yourself also know that he hasn't said exactly what happened and you still call him an unfilial son, telling him to release the person? Have you even looked around, do you not see how many b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are eyeing Su Chen like he's prey? If he releases the person, would there even be a chance for Chen'er to defend himself?" Tang Hongrui asked angrily.

Yan Wushuang let out a gentle cough, "Madame's words are basically throwing a lot of people under the bus. Everyone here is actually just concerned for Chen'er……"

"s.l.u.t, close your mouth, you're one of the hungry scavengers eyeing my son." Tang Hongrui pointed at Yan Wushuang and cursed, "Don't think that I don't know about the things that you, b*tch, did behind my back. If it wasn't for my Chen'er's caution, we would have been harmed by you a long time ago!"

Back then, when the True Jade Pavilion's laborer had been bribed, Tang Hongrui also knew about it. She had even criticized her son, wanting him to hold the laborer accountable publicly instead of letting him go. That way, even if Yan Wushuang's properties couldn't be affected, she would still have been thoroughly discredited. But Su Chen believed that doing so would not only smack Yan Wushuang's face but also Su Cheng'an's, so in the end he had refused.

At this moment, Yan Wushuang was also getting angry after being cursed at by Tang Hongrui, but while she had a great deal of authority, her status was still lower than Tang Hongrui's, so she could only look at Su Cheng'an pleadingly.

Su Cheng'an's face alternated shades of red and white. In the end, he could only say, "That's enough."

Tang Hongrui's personality was inherently forceful. How could she heed Su Cheng'an's urging? Instead, she began to argue loudly and unrestrainedly with Su Cheng'an.

Thankfully, at this moment a voice sounded out, "Enough!"

All those present immediately were jolted, then replied in unison.

"Clan Leader!"

The crowd parted to form a path, and an older person walked over.

This was the Su Clan's clan leader, Su Changche.

Su Changche wore an azure cloth gown, and held his hands behind his back. His clothing was plain, as was his appearance, and he looked just like an elderly neighbor.

But all the members of the Su Clan, regardless of whether they were loud and clamoring, fiercely arguing, or whispering amongst themselves, all shut their mouths after they saw this old man come, and none dared to make another noise.

Su Changeche was not only the clan leader of the Su Clan, but even more he was the founder of the Su Clan.

As the clan that had emerged the latest in Northface City, the Su Clan had been raised up purely based on Su Changche's strength alone.

Upon arriving at the end of the path, Su Changche glanced at Su Chen, Su Yue, and Mo Dayan who was still lying on the ground, then let out a soft sigh.

"Big Brother, Su Chen, he……."

Su Changqing wanted to say something, but Su Changche waved his hand and said, "Enough, I already know what happened. This matter originated from Su Yue scheming against Su Chen. He ruined his carriage and secretly planted needles inside with malicious intent. Chen'er was only acting in self-defense. As for Mo Dayan, as a servant he dared to lie to his master, and he also knew that the carriage had been tampered with yet he didn't say anything. Because of his betrayal and evil actions, he ought to be punished."

With just a few sentences, Su Changche was able to explain everything that had happened earlier.

No one knew where he had gotten his information from, but that wasn't important. What was important was that the Head of the Su Clan had spoken, and no one dared to ignore it, let alone question him.

This was a good thing, but also a bad thing.

The good part was that Su Chen didn't need to defend himself anymore. The bad part was that Su Changche had used the simplest possible description of the events that had transpired. Evidently, he didn't want this matter to escalate. Based on what he said, this was a family conflict; thus, naturally it should be taken care of low-key. The simpler it was, the better, to prevent any more waves from being created.

This also meant that matters would not escalate to the degree that Su Chen wanted.

Upon hearing that Su Yue had placed needles into the carriage to attempt to harm her son, Tang Hongrui fiercely stared at Su Changqing. Su Changqing's face was completely red, and he lowered his head, not daring to speak. However, the hatred in his heart did not decrease because of this.

"For brothers to quarrel really hurts my heart!" After describing the causes of the situation, Su Changche said, "Su Yue harmed Su Chen first and reaped what he sowed. Since he was injured by Su Chen, he can be considered punished already. Chen'er, let him go and we can consider the matter finished here. What do you think?"

"Since grandfather has commanded it, how could grandson dare to disobey?" Su Chen tossed Su Yue back.

"But Big Brother, although Mo Dayan was disrespectful to his master, Su Chen shouldn't have acted so heavy-handed. He basically wasted this person," Su Changqing said, still not satisfied. "Mo Dayan never actively made a move against him, he only kept his silence. If Su Chen was unhappy about it, he should have reported to his superiors. How could he overstep his authority?"

"Wasn't it because you wanted to cover up for each other!" Tang Hongrui let out a loud yell.

"Hm?" Su Changche glanced at Tang Hongrui, causing her to unwillingly lower her head and fall silent.

Su Changche thought for a moment, then said, "Although Mo Dayan was wrong, he wouldn't be in this condition according to clan laws at this moment. Su Chen overstepped his authority and the punishment was too severe, so by law Su Chen should be punished. Su Chen, Grandfather will punish you. Do you accept?"

"Su Chen is willing to accept."

"Good. Since you severely injured a servant, I will punish you with twenty strikes, forced mining for three months, and half a year's allowance. Do you have any objections?"

Su Chen lifted his head and asked, "Is it possible to switch a form of punishment?"

Su Changqing angrily yelled, "Su Chen, you are trying to avoid forced mining!"

Of the three great punishments, the one of forced mining was still the heaviest. Although disciples of the Su Clan would not actually need to mine in the caves, they still had to spend a long period of time in the dark mines, living in and enduring the filthy, moist, and cold conditions.

But Su Chen replied, "What if it were Scarlet Punishment?"

Scarlet Punishment?

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned.

Chapter 28: Scarlet Punishment

North of Northface City lay an extremely tall, continuous mountain range.

To the north of the mountain range was a boundless prairie. That place was the dwelling place for large numbers of Vicious Beasts, and to the south were the human kingdoms.

The mountain range was the boundary between man and beast. Every so often, large numbers of Vicious Beasts would trespa.s.s over the boundary, invading man's territory. These were known as the beast tides.

The organized resistance of humankind had been battling for a thousand years. The blood that had been spilt there had dyed the entire mountain range a deep scarlet, and so it became known as the Scarlet Mountain Range.

Although the beast tide was not occurring at that moment, many vicious beasts still dwelt in the Scarlet Mountain Range.

Thus, this place was one of the battlegrounds between humans and beasts along this border, although it was one of the smallest ones.

Every year, many martial artists and Origin Qi scholars would gather to hunt Vicious Beasts for the purpose of harvesting resources, and – most importantly – awakening one's bloodline power.

This was a place of intense compet.i.tion, and no two parties could coexist.. Every year, large numbers of martial artists or Origin Qi Scholars would all die in the Scarlet Mountain Range.

Scarlet Punishment was when the clan would throw offenders into the Scarlet Mountain Range, forcing them to live there for a certain period of time to cancel out their offenses. The duration was decided based on the severity of the offense. This period of time was equivalent to a prison sentence — the difference being that even while the duration was much shorter, the level of danger was extremely high. One wrong move could turn the prison sentence into a death sentence..

For Su Chen to voluntarily bring up Scarlet Punishment truly shocked everyone present.

To volunteer for such a punishment, how seriously did he take this matter?

Even more, Su Chen was only a martial artist in the ninth layer of Body Tempering, not even an Origin Qi Scholar. And yet he still dared to go to the Scarlet Mountain Range?

There, Vicious Beasts ran rampant. Any one of them could torture Su Chen to death.

According to the Su Clan's rules, if a disciple voluntarily brought up Scarlet Punishment, it was not proper to refuse them.

That was because while this was a punishment, choosing to go there also symbolized one's bravery. Even more, it represented the determination of mankind to resist the beast race.

"Absolutely not!" Tang Hongrui began to yell piercingly.

Su Changche also knitted his eyebrows: "Why do you want to go there?"

Su Chen replied, "I want to obtain the bloodline of the cloud bat. Only in this way will I have any hope of competing in the Hidden Dragon Inst.i.tute's qualifying exams next year."

Cloud bats were a type of Vicious Beast. This Vicious Beast's innate vision was extremely poor, yet it could use echolocation with pinpoint accuracy. If he could obtain the cloud bat's bloodline and control a location-determining Origin Skill, it would enable even a "blind" man like him to do batte.

Of course, Su Chen was making things up. But this explanation was more than sufficient to fool everyone else.

His true reason was actually very simple. He needed to get stronger!

The information Gu Qingluo had divulged gave Su Chen a great sense of urgency. In the future, perhaps there would be opponents whose strength greatly surpa.s.sed his wildest imaginations. As for himself, his loss of sight had cost him a whole three years. In those three years, he had to fully focus his efforts on just maintaining his right to partic.i.p.ate in the Hidden Dragon Inst.i.tute's qualifying exam, to speak nothing of performing well. The elevation of opponents, however, was more than enough to cause a right to partic.i.p.ate to only remain a right to partic.i.p.ate.

If Su Chen didn't want to miss the day of "battling to enter the Hidden Dragon Inst.i.tute," he would have to continue striving.

The Scarlet Mountain Range was the best decision.

That place had its dangers, but it also had many opportunities!

He had decided when he left the Lin Clan to go to the Scarlet Mountain Range. The matter with Su Yue had only given him an excuse to do so. To get an opportunity to go to the Scarlet Mountain Range and give his enemy a beating, how was this not worth it?

But to everyone else who heard this words, they were all shaken by Su Chen's att.i.tude of never giving up.

Hidden Dragon Inst.i.tute?

A blind person actually still wanted to compete in the exam for the top school in the entire Long Sang Country, the Hidden Dragon Inst.i.tute?

What kind of ambition was this!

Even Su Changche couldn't help but say, "Is the Hidden Dragon Inst.i.tute that important to you?"

Su Chen tilted his head, then replied, "No. Actually, it isn't that important to me."

"What?" Everyone felt muddle-headed.

What did he mean?

"It is only another goal," Su Chen replied. "A goal that constantly pushes me forward, one that makes me unwilling to give up. This is just like how I believe that old beggar's words, how I trust that my eyes will definitely recover. Humans always need goals, need hope, in order to keep fighting. My belief that my eyes will recover is my hope, and the Hidden Dragon Inst.i.tute is a goal that I set for myself so that I won't give up.

Upon speaking to here, Su Chen paused, then said, "I just don't want to stop here."

The cloud bat was fake, but what he said at this moment was genuine.

The Hidden Dragon Inst.i.tute wasn't actually something so important that Su Chen couldn't abandon it.

However, because he had this goal, Su Chen had the motivation and strength to persevere.

"You are not afraid of the dangers of the Scarlet Mountain Range and the possibility you might lose your life?" Su Changche asked again.

Su Chen replied: "As a man, my ambitions are lofty. How could I run away out of fear, cursing my bad fortune?"

When everyone heard this, their hearts began to thump simultaneously.

These words finally moved Su Changche. He let out a long sigh, then said, "I understand…… Scarlet Punishment for a hundred days. Before time runs out, you are not allowed to return."

Once Su Changche spoke, the matter was as good as settled. No matter how much Tang Hongrui objected, it was of no use. She could only sit to the side and cry.

"Grandson obeys your command!" Su Chen's expression did not change as he said, "Right. Grandfather, I also want Zhou Hong and Mingshu to be my servants."

"Okay. If there's nothing else, the matter is settled." Su Changche didn't waste any words. He turned around and left.

Upon seeing Su Changche leave, Su Changqing ferociously glared at Su Chen before also leaving.

Including Su Keji and Yan Wushuang, the Su Clan had yet another person who hated Su Chen completely.

But Su Chen did not worry, nor did he care at all.

After looking around, Su Chen said, "Come, lend Su Yue's carriage to me."

His own carriage had been destroyed and he needed to find a new one, so he decided to just use Su Yue's.

Although this was not entirely according to the rules, the people nearby had already gone to find Su Chen a carriage.

After today's battle, Su Chen had ostentatiously and completely confirmed his own status.

Although he couldn't yet shake the elders of the clan, no one from the same generation and below dared to provoke him anymore.

The matter of Su Yue's carriage being led away by Su Chen very quickly reached Su Changqing. The veins on Su Changqing's forehead jumped furiously, but in the end he only said, "If he wants it, give it to him."

Of course, he could only say that long after Su Chen had already left. .

Meanwhile, Su Chen's carriage had arrived at the True Jade Pavilion. He made Zhou Hong wait outside and entered himself.

At the moment, Tang Zhen was on the third floor of the pavilion. Upon seeing Su Chen arrive, his face sank slightly. "You're late."

Although Su Chen was a young master, Tang Zhen's personality was very straightforward. He would not hesitate to criticize Su Chen when teaching him. In the entire True Jade Pavilion, only he really dared to criticize Su Chen for being late.

Su Chen didn't put on the airs of a young master, instead cupping his hands and saying, "Something happened on the way here. My carriage broke, delaying my arrival."

Tang Zhen's expression warmed. He smoothed his beard and said: "Since it's like that, then forget about it. Come, today I want to teach you……"

Su Chen replied, "Head storekeeper, in a few days I will need to temporarily stop our lessons."

"Why is that?" Tang Zhen stared dumbly, so surprised that even his voice changed.

He actually liked this student of his, Su Chen, a lot.

Although Su Chen couldn't see, he was modest and studious. He was also extremely bright, and could remember many things after only being told once. In four months of studying, Su Chen already had a considerable understanding of the history of the Primordial Continent, and he could explain many things logically and clearly. Even if he could not inherit Tang Zhen's ability to inspect treasures, he at least could inherit his learnings. From a master's perspective, knowledge was more important than skill. Thus, at some point, Tang Zhen had begun to see Su Chen as the inheritor of his life's knowledge.

Now, for the disciple that he liked the most to actually say that he didn't want to learn anymore, how could he not be surprised, not be panicked?

Su Chen thus told him everything that had happened earlier.

Upon hearing that Su Chen had beaten Su Yue ferociously and crippled Mo Dayan, as well as Su Chen voluntarily bringing up the matter of Scarlet Punishment, Tang Zhen felt completely muddle-headed.

"Thus, head storekeeper, I can only study for three more days here. In these three days, I want to learn in-depth about how to discern things visually, not just with cultural relics but also how to differentiate between different herbs and vegetation."

Since he was headed to the Scarlet Mountain Range, Su Chen definitely needed to have some knowledge of plants and the like as a survival tool. Thankfully, the True Jade Pavilion also accepted rare herbs, and head storekeeper Tang had a similarly rich experience in this aspect.

However, Tang Zhen couldn't raise his enthusiasm. "You can't even see. What do I use to teach you?"

Su Chen laughed, then turned around and walked towards a shelf full of antiques. . He pulled out an ancient jade from behind him, then leisurely said, "This must be the Idle Cow Patterned Tricolored Jade, right? Head storekeeper said that it was sleek and l.u.s.trous, somewhat transparent, and slightly blemished. I never knew what sleek and l.u.s.trous meant, or transparent, or how it was slightly blemished……. Now I finally understand."

Tang Zhen was instantly shocked into a stupor.

He stared at Su Chen, dazed. "You……"

Su Chen turned his head around, looking at Tang Zhen. The eyes which had been lifeless just a moment ago suddenly recovered their vitality; they were bright and full of expression.

Tang Zhen instantly realized what had happened. He rushed over to hug Su Chen and yelled loudly, "Your eyes……"

"Shh!" Su Chen placed his finger on Tang Zhen's lips: "No one else knows about this yet apart from head storekeeper."

"You don't plan on telling other people?" Tang Zhen finally reacted, then said, mystified, "Why not?"

Su Chen gently smiled. "Because I discovered that sometimes, being blind lets you see more."