The Attack Of The Wastrel

“You…are spouting nonsense! We only have one daughter now and that"s Lingzhi, what youngest daughter are you talking about?” Gu Rong furiously retorted. Pan En had caused Gu Linglong to be pregnant and the King of the North Qiu Kingdom would not reveal Gu Linglong"s true ident.i.ty for the safety of his grandchild. Alas, the only people that knew of Gu Linglong"s true ident.i.ty were Gu Rong, Lin Yue-er, and the King of the North Qiu Kingdom. Gu Rong did not believe that Xin Yi would have known of Gu Linglong"s true ident.i.ty. He must be lying!

“Oh? That"s weird,” Xin Yi was not at all intimidated by Gu Rong. On the other hand, his face darkened as he realized that Rong Yuan"s predictions were right. The woman by Pan En"s side that had shown an unexplainable enmity towards them was indeed Gu Linglong!

“According to what I know, Elder Gu seems to spend a lot of effort taking care of one particular concubine by the Second Prince"s side. Both of you stayed up to be by her side when the Second Prince had pa.s.sed away, the concern that you showed towards this concubine is more than that towards your own daughter. I thought that Elder Gu had long ago lost his youngest daughter, but I think not…” Xin Yi sighed.

“That"s not true!” Gu Rong clenched his teeth, not at all pleased about how Xin Yi had referred to Gu Linglong as a mere concubine. “My wife and I got along really well with that lady the moment we met her, so we took special care of her. Everyone knows that I, Gu Rong, only have two daughters.”

“So that"s how it is…” Xin Yi shook his head gently, “I thought that that lady was Elder Gu"s daughter. After all, didn"t your daughter go missing previously?”

Xin Yi did not bother to speak anymore, but he believed that his words had created the impact that he had hoped for. At the very least, the people from the Xia Kingdom would be able to guess what he had been implying. The ident.i.ty of Pan En"s concubine was questionable. All Xin Yi had to do was to plant the seeds of suspicion in their hearts so that the people would not be convinced of Gu Rong"s words. At the same time, it was a reminder to Gu Rong that they were not people that he could easily trick.

However, if Gu Rong could be so riled up easily, he would not have shown up here at this time. Though Xin Yi"s words had caused his face to darken significantly, he did not bother to vent his anger on him directly. Instead, he directed his anger towards Gu Lingzhi, “Are you going with me, or not?”

“No!” Rong Yuan rejected Gu Rong even before Gu Lingzhi had time to respond.

“You…” Gu Rong clenched his teeth, “I"m talking to my daughter, who are you to interrupt? She isn"t married to you yet, so she has to listen to me. I"m not acknowledging your marriage. Even if you both get married, it can only be considered as an illicit s.e.xual relations.h.i.+p!”

What? That was uncalled for.

However, there were indeed such unspoken rules in the Tianyuan Continent. Even though the decision of marriage ultimately lied in one"s hands, as long as one"s parents objected to it, one would have no choice but to heed their parent"s opinions. If they still decided to get married anyway, then he or she would be considered as an unfilial child.

For their reputation"s sake, this marriage…could no longer go on.

In an instant, the audience looked at Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan with mixed emotions. They did not know whether they should sympathise with the bride and the groom, or with Gu Rong.

In this world, parents were always right. Even though Gu Rong was not the wisest or kindest father, it was unfilial of Gu Lingzhi not to invite her parents to host the wedding. Seeing that it was not Gu Rong and Lin Yue-er sitting on the seats that were meant for Gu Lingzhi"s parents, some conservatives were already unhappy. Now that Gu Lingzhi had rebelled against her parents in front of such a large audience, her reputation was…

“Sc.u.mbag!” someone shouted right as people had started to think that Gu Lingzhi would have no choice but to leave with Gu Rong. Pan Wen had almost shown an expression of delight as well, but the voice stopped him in his tracks.

Everyone turned to where the voice was coming from. It was the Great Elder from the Gu Clan.

The Great Elder looked at Gu Rong, furious.

“Gu Rong, you"ve spent too long at the North Qiu Kingdom. Have you forgotten what"s basic courtesy? How dare you not greet me - do you think I"m dead already?” the Great Elder spat. When he saw that Gu Rong was taken aback and stood rooted on the ground, he banged his walking stick on the ground and reiterated himself, “Aren"t you going to kneel?”

Gu Rong"s body shook as he looked at Pan Wen for help. He had relied on the Great Elder to become the Gu Clan"s Clan Leader. When he had not become the Clan Leader yet, he had been punished by the Great Elder who used his walking stick a number of times. Now that the Great Elder was threatening him with the walking stick again, he could not help but be afraid.

However, how could Pan Wen interfere with such internal affairs? He could only give Gu Rong an appeasing look. Anyway, Gu Rong had distanced from his clan a long time ago. If the Great Elder crossed a line, it would not be too late for Pan Wen to step in.

With Pan Wen"s affirmation, Gu Rong plucked up his courage once more. He stood up straight as he walked towards the Great Elder, but he did not kneel. After being the Clan Leader for so many years, he had long forgotten what it felt like to kneel in front of others. All the more he would not do it now, in front of such a large audience.

“Kneel!” the Great Elder urged him once more. His voice was powerful and filled with threat. He exerted his spiritual power of a Martial Sage, and Gu Rong, who was only a Martial Lord, uncontrollably fell to his knees, unable to resist the Great Elder"s power. However, everyone else did not feel a thing, which meant that the Great Elder had only directed his power at Gu Rong and Gu Rong alone.

“Great Elder, you…” Gu Rong could only mutter these words, indignant. The Great Elder"s power pressed down on him, almost causing his spine to break into half. When Gu Rong started to speak, the Great Elder exerted even more pressure on him so that he could not continue talking.

“So, you still acknowledge me as the Great Elder? Why didn"t you greet me when I entered then? I thought you did not recognize me because you spent so long at the North Qiu Kingdom,” the Great Elder spoke sarcastically.

Gu Rong had left the clan behind a long time ago, it was too late for him to hide away from the Great Elder, why would he greet him of his own accord?

The Great Elder was using his superiority to pressure Gu Rong now, the way Gu Rong had done the same to Gu Lingzhi. Back then, Gu Rong had left the Xia Kingdom secretly. Strictly speaking, he had not entirely left the Gu Clan yet. If that was the case, then the Great Elder was still his elder and thus, Gu Rong had to obey him. If he disobeyed the Great Elder, he would be seen as unfilial.

Following this train of thought, Gu Rong opened his mouth, wanting to greet the Great Elder. However, the Great Elder interrupted him yet again, “Never mind, anyway you"ve already sold yourself to the North Qiu Kingdom. It"s normal that you no longer respect me as an elder. I"m merely taking the opportunity today to make a statement.”

What was there to clarify? Did the Great Elder have a plan of his own?

The audience was curious, before the Great Elder finally revealed his plan. With a strict look, he turned to look behind him and said, “The Clan Punishment Artefact, please.”

Gu Rong"s face paled immediately.

The Clan Punishment Artefact was a spiritual treasure that was used only when someone from the clan had committed a serious crime. Every time it appeared it would signify a huge change in the clan"s dynamics. Now that the Great Elder had resorted to the Clan Punishment, was he going to punish Gu Rong in public?

Without waiting for him to finish his thoughts, Gu Han, who was standing behind the Great Elder, took out a black and metallic whip. It was an Earth-Level Spiritual Weapon that the Gu Clan used to punish clan members that committed a serious crime. It was made using the Dissolving Vine that could cause flesh to rot and decompose. With a single whip, it would rip open one"s flesh and leave a substance that caused one"s flesh to rot, so that the wound could not be healed even by Spiritual Medicines. One could only bear with the pain until the wound recovered completely.

Gu Han looked at Gu Rong with disdain. They were both fathers, so he could not imagine how Gu Rong could treat his daughter so cruelly in such a public setting. It was a waste of Gu Lingzhi"s filial piety since the very beginning.

Upon seeing the whip in Gu Han"s hands, Gu Rong could feel his hairs standing on end. He wanted desperately to escape, but he could not move due to the Great Elder"s power that was pressing down on him. He could only turn his head and look towards Pan Wen for help once again.

Pan Wen"s face turned sour. Even though Gu Rong was now part of the Pan Family, he had come here as part of the North Qiu Kingdom"s envoy. If he was to be publicly punished by the Great Elder in front of everyone, it would be damaging to the North Qiu Kingdom"s reputation.

“Great Elder, don"t you think you"re crossing a line? Gu Rong…”

The Great Elder narrowed his eyes at Pan Wen and laughed coldly, “What? Even the North Qiu Kingdom"s First Prince wishes to interfere in my clan"s internal matters?”

Pan Wen was rendered speechless by the Great Elder"s words immediately. He then retorted angrily, “This is the Royal Palace. No matter what your status is, Gu Rong is part of the North Qiu Kingdom"s envoy, you don"t have the right to do something like this.”

“Do what? This?” the Great Elder spoke sarcastically before he flicked the whip towards Gu Rong with a huge force. The whip moved so fast that it produced a sound that was similar to that of a gust of wind and it landed heavily on Gu Rong"s back. Suddenly, all he could feel was pain, to the point where he could not say a word.

However, the Great Elder was not done.

He whipped Gu Rong four more times, causing everyone"s hairs to stand on end as well. Pan Wen could not look any more bitter as he looked at the Great Elder, but the Great Elder only returned the whip back to Gu Han, before he announced, “Gu Rong betrayed his family and his Kingdom. Your daughter is a woman of morals and has pleaded for you many times. On her behalf, I will not punish you any further. With these five whips, we"ll take it as you have returned your favor to the Gu Clan for all these years that we"ve raised you. When you go out of this door today, you will no longer be part of the Gu Clan. All the best in your future endeavors!”
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