[Uhm… what?!]
Gasping, Yan Fu stammered, “Who did you say you were here for again?”
“Zhuo Fan.”
“N-no, I mean, is Steward Zhuo your…” Yan Fu gulped.
The kid raised an eyebrow and spoke genially, “My dad, why?”
“What, Steward Zhuo is your dad?” Only now did the words register in Yan Fu’s grinding mind. He gasped with bulging eyes, “Steward Zhuo has a child? Why didn’t he say anything?”
The kid put on his thinking cap, “Eh… he probably didn’t have the time. Since the two of us only recently met.”
[An out of wedlock child!]
Yan Fu’s heart was pumping at full throttle as a cryptic smile formed on his face and he rubbed the kid’s head, “Little guy, wait here while I get your dad.”
The kid flicked Yan Fu’s hand off, “Listen bud, I hate it when people touch my head. If not for being one of dad’s men, I’d pummel you into the ground and leave you to the wolves.”
Shivering, words left Yan Fu.
The kid was so tiny yet packed a mean attitude, threatening him left and right. [Just like Steward Zhuo.]
He now somewhat believed that the two were related. They were just too similar. Not to mention the kid sure was mighty, his hand was still stinging.
Sss~
Gasping, Yan Fu cradled his inflamed hand and darted inside to report.
[This is breaking news! Zhuo Fan’s love child is at the door!]
In a jiffy, a stream of people rushed down the mountain, with Luo Yunchang in lead. The report had her thunderstruck, freezing on the spot.
She should’ve known Zhuo Fan had other girls out there besides Chu Qingcheng and Ning’er. With a child no less. That was the last straw!
[You damn player, once I get to the bottom of this, you’re dead!]
Raging like a volcano, Luo Yunchang stormed down the mountain along with Xue Qingjian, Qiu Yanhai, Captain Pang and many more joining the bustle.
They were looking forward to meet their Steward’s son. With such an attitude, his child ought not to be as fiendish as his dad, no?
But when they arrived, the kid looked so cute and bright, everyone just wanted to hug him.
“Awww, I didn’t think the Steward’s son would be so adorable. His mother must be gorgeous!” Xue Qingjian’s maternal instinct kicked in high gear.
Luo Yunchang’s mood only sank, mirthless. But seeing the kid she squeezed a smile as she asked, “Little guy, is your dad really our steward Zhuo Fan? Mind telling me your name?”
“Are you calling me a liar? You, rude bint, I’ve come to see my dad. You all better not stand in my way and take me to him, now!” The kid snapped.
Luo Yunchang’s face twitched.
That was a first, for a kid to call her a bint. The others were having a blast and broke out in laughter.
Yan Song sized the kid and said, “The child may be young, but quite spirited. His tone is just like Steward Zhuo’s, as brash and egotistical. We no longer have to fear the Luo clan’s decline. We even have the next steward, ha-ha-ha…”
Yan Song laughed, rubbing the kid’s hair.
But the kid’s brow shivered and his face looked positively dark.
“Elder Yan is right. I find the kid clever and with Steward Zhuo’s teachings, we will have endless generations of stronger and stronger geniuses. Come, call me uncle Pang!”
Captain Pang laughed, getting his turn to ruffle the kid’s head, who only glowered.
But the crowd hardly noticed or cared. A child was getting teased by adults. What could he do other than bear it?
And so, after the second came the third, and on and on it went. Everyone rubbed his head and teased him. But the child’s only reaction was an increasingly darker face.
The last draw was when Qiu Yanhai came over laughing. But before he could speak, the kid flung his hand off and snapped, “I told you not to touch my head. Take me to see my father!”
“Oh my, he’s pouting, ha-ha-ha… The spitting image of Steward Zhuo!”
Qiu Yanhai laughed, further aggravating the kid by rubbing his head again, “You twerp, you are so young yet have such fire in you, just like your old man. A shame you don’t have his strength. Look, I’m touching your head. What are you gonna do about it? I can’t mess with your dad, so why don’t I mess with you? Ha-ha-ha…”
Qiu Yanhai toyed with him until the kid’s face was practically throbbing with rage.
Xue Qingjian poured more oil, “Geezer, stop poking him. He is only a child. Worry about when his dad finds out that we teased his son and he’ll come toy with us. “
“Ha-ha-ha, what’s there to fear? Steward Zhuo is in seclusion to nurse his wounds. He won’t be coming out soon. A child’s memory is like a fish anyway, gone the next day. He won’t remember, right twerp?” Qiu Yanhai smirked.
The kid snorted, “Quite right. I don’t have a good memory. Because anybody that pisses me off, I’ll make sure to deal with them on the spot.”
With a bang, the kid’s tiny hand clamped on Qiu Yanhai’s wrist like a vise.
Qiu Yanhai felt his wrist about to break and paled. Nothing he did could get him out of the hold. Only now did he realize that the kid was more than he seemed, way more.
While others were still blissfully oblivious.
The kid’s eyes left him cold and shivering, “I don’t need dad for help. I’ll let you have a taste myself.”
The kid flung Qiu Yanhai, under the bug-eyed crowd, smack into the ground.
Boom!
Qiu Yanhai cracked the earth, the gap extending farther and farther. In a blink, it crossed a whole mile and passed into Windgaze City.
Rumble!
No one could believe their eyes as to how Windgaze City was suddenly sporting a bottomless gap.
Pff!
Qiu Yanhai coughed blood, filled with shock.
[What kind of monster is he? How does he have so much power to wound an 8th layer Radiant Stage expert just like that?] He had never imagined the kid would be so freakish.
The rest went slack jawed, with eyes wide as saucers.
This seven year old scamp had the power to kill a Radiant Stage expert in one blow! [What the hell?]
The people gulped from shock.
[That’s Zhuo Fan’s kid alright. Neither of them is normal, but monsters! With the son even more outrageous than the father.]
Luo Yunchang forgot about her jealousy then and there. She stared at the previously adorable kid with raw fear.
Letting go of Qiu Yanhai, the kid tended to his hair, and mocked, “Geezer, know what’s good for you. If not for you being under my dad, I’d have snapped your twig of a body in two. Humph, try touching me again and see where that gets you.”
Qiu Yanhai felt like crying.
He, a Radiant Stage expert and an elder, was manhandled like a child, by a child!
The others looked startled and their hands shivered. Who among them hadn’t touched the kid’s head? It was just Elder Qiu’s rotten luck to do it last. If it were them, their entire skeleton would be dust by now.
The crowd looked at the kid with even more fear, yet no less amazement. Zhuo Fan was a monster, but that didn’t guarantee his son would be one too. At least not a freak of nature like this one.
[Holy hell! A seven year old kid can shoot down a Radiant Stage expert in one blow. How are the rest of us supposed to survive?]
Tears began to well in their hearts…
“Enough wasting time. Take me to my father!” The kid spoke with pride after that little display.
This time, the people were amiable enough to nod, and led the way shivering.
The kid held his head high, strutting before them as he walked into the Luo clan’s manor.
Just then, five figures appeared, Li Jingtian and the Four Scheming Demons.
Seeing Luo Yunchang and the rest, Li Jingtian asked, “What’s wrong? What was all the commotion outside?”
The faces of everyone sank as they pointed at the kid.
Li Jingtian merely looked at him and became a blundering shivering mess, “I-Invincible Scamp Gu Santong! What in god’s name are you doing here?”