Chapter 91: Am I about to bite the dust?

What Zhang Ze could not understand was crystal clear in Wen Ran’s mind.

Although part of the reason he had made a move was Wen Song and Ren Xueer, a considerable part of it was because of the people from the Jiuhua Sect.

At this moment, Duan Qingkuang was somewhere watching him, and Wen Ran himself had a favor to ask of that man.

That was the real reason he had laid hands on Zhang Ze.

As for the hidden complications, Zhang Ze naturally could never have guessed them.

...

"Hey..."

"Old Master, seriously?"

The bewildered Zhang Ze was as wronged as could be.

Yet Wen Ran had no intention of stopping there.

He was unmoved by Zhang Ze’s explanation, and the aura around him only grew more terrifying by the moment. Clearly, he was not merely trying to teach Zhang Ze a lesson.

Sensing Wen Ran’s odd behavior, Cai Hu acted at once as well.

But someone not even at the second rank had no chance whatsoever of making a scene before a mid-rank martial artist like Wen Ran.

Bang.

With a casual sweep of his right hand, there was a dull thud. Looking again, Cai Hu was already sprawled on the ground.

His chest heaved violently, and blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Cai Hu’s fate made Zhang Ze instantly understand.

This was no joke.

The suddenly appeared old Master Wen had come with the intent to kill.

For a moment, Zhang Ze truly felt that he might be done for this time.

...

"Grandpa Ran..."

Just as Zhang Ze’s expression turned grave and he was thinking about how to deal with this old master Wen, Ren Xueer’s figure blocked his way.

With a faint smile at Zhang Ze, the girl said, "I said I’d plead for both of you. Grandpa Ran won’t..."

But before Ren Xueer could finish, the old man’s figure suddenly moved.

In an instant, he had crossed past her and appeared directly in front of Zhang Ze.

Zhang Ze could not help but tremble all over. Facing a mid-rank martial artist, he now seemed almost powerless.

...

"Damn it."

"You want to kill me?"

"Go to hell."

Tap.

Zhang Ze stopped thinking wildly and shouted curses at Wen Ran.

At the same time, he stepped forward, intending to put some distance between himself and the other man.

However, as a fifth-rank martial artist, Wen Ran might have had white hair and looked frail, but he was a true master through and through. His martial training from childhood was no mere empty boast.

And because his intent was plain, he did not rely on his superior cultivation to grow careless.

When he saw Zhang Ze dodge aside, the old man immediately stepped forward as well, once again sticking close in front of Zhang Ze.

Gone was the earlier amusement. Wen Ran’s eyes were filled with killing intent. This was also the first time Zhang Ze had faced such a powerful fifth-rank expert head-on.

To put it bluntly, if Old Master Wen’s fist landed on him, even if it did not kill him, it would cost him half his life.

Yet no amount of anxiety helped. Zhang Ze wanted to lunge at Wen Song instead. As long as he could restrain that sissy, he might at least slow the old master’s assault.

But Wen Ran had long been prepared. While pressing Zhang Ze step by step, he also blocked off his position so tightly that Zhang Ze had no way around him.

...

When Old Master Wen made his move, the figures of Duan Qingkuang and Duan Hong also appeared outside the crowd not far away.

Looking at Zhang Ze’s sorry state, Duan Hong said coldly, "Uncle Qingkuang, will Old Master Wen kill him?"

"Heh."

Duan Qingkuang gave two light chuckles and replied, "As long as his Wen family still wants to rely on us to get into the weapons company, they can only follow the Jiuhua Sect’s lead."

Duan Qingkuang hit the nail on the head, and the youth beside him nodded repeatedly at once.

Then, glancing at the young man beside him, Duan Qingkuang said in a low voice, "You need to raise your cultivation as soon as possible. Wen Song may be useless, but Wen Qing is still pretty good among the younger generation."

"Besides, you’ve seen Wu Ren’s progress over the past year. You don’t have the confidence to beat him now, do you?"

"..."

Hearing this, Duan Hong fell silent for a moment.

Duan Qingkuang added, "Once the weapons company proposal passes, you’ll have to fight for a spot too."

"Yes."

...

At this point, Zhang Ze could no longer notice Duan Qingkuang and the other man.

Pff.

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

His whole body was flung down hard some distance away like a broken kite.

Even when he had been chased by those two cultists, Zhang Ze had never looked this wretched.

If he happened to escape this time, the grudge between him and the Wen family would be set in stone.

...

"You brat, why did you have to curse me?"

Seeing that Zhang Ze no longer had the strength to struggle, Wen Ran was no longer tense either.

With a teasing tone, he walked slowly toward Zhang Ze.

Spit.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Zhang Ze remained puzzled.

He said sharply, "Old Master..."

"I just can’t figure it out. I only beat that punk up a little, and you, a mid-rank martial artist, are willing to throw away your dignity just to kill me?"

By now, Zhang Ze no longer bothered to hold back when speaking. He looked toward Wen Song not far away, his face full of undisguised contempt.

"Heh."

"Wen Song really is a bit useless."

Wen Ran did not refute him. Crouching beside Zhang Ze, he said with a laugh, "But some people insist on having you dead, and I happen to need a favor from them. Just look at how this turned out."

Hearing that, how could Zhang Ze not understand?

So it was not because of Wen Song, that idiot.

Someone wanted to make trouble for him.

Having understood that much, Zhang Ze still did not ask Wen Ran who the other party was.

...

Now Zhang Ze understood the reason behind all this.

But there was one girl who did not.

Looking at Zhang Ze, Ren Xueer could not help blaming herself in her heart.

Maybe she should have obediently stayed with Wen Song, that idiot.

In the future, when the time was right, she should probably have resigned herself to him.

If she had not so impulsively thrown herself into Zhang Ze’s arms, Old Master Wen would not have been driven into such a terrible rage.

Only now did Ren Xueer truly understand her situation. Her only identity was as the child bride of that sissy Wen Song.

Even if this was 2019, even if she also called him Grandpa Ran all the time...

In the end, he was still not her own family.

"No..."

Her thoughts were in utter disarray.

She truly did not want to drag anyone else down because of herself, and even less did she want to drag Zhang Ze down.

Ren Xueer shouted at Wen Ran, "Senior Wen, I won’t make a fuss anymore. I’ll get along properly with Wen Song..."

"Please spare his life. Before this, I really did not know Zhang Ze, and I promise I won’t have anything to do with him ever again!"

Suddenly hearing Ren Xueer’s words, Wen Ran could not help feeling a sharp pain in his heart.

He thought, Xueer, you have misunderstood Grandpa Ran.

Yet he knew very well that Duan Qingkuang was watching from the outskirts at this very moment. Since he had already made a move, there was no way he could let Zhang Ze go now.

A fifth-rank martial artist had taken killing intent toward him, and Zhang Ze could not help feeling powerless.

Still, hearing Ren Xueer plead for him made his heart unexpectedly sweet, and the corners of his mouth could not help rising.

"Brother Ze..."

Cai Hu forced himself up with great effort.

But whether it was Ren Xueer’s plea or the indignation in Cai Hu’s heart, none of it could stop Wen Ran’s palm from falling swiftly.

Bang.

Though the sound was faint, Wen Ran’s palm had truly struck Zhang Ze’s heart.

...

A moment later.

Wen Ran left with Wen Song, but Ren Xueer did not follow.