Chapter 1231: Chapter 1204: Behind the Mary Sue 3
An Yue remembered vividly how the Zhu Family, a prominent clan in Sifang City for thousands of years, was wiped out just for offending Xiao Qing.
Of course, it couldn’t be said that the entire family was wiped out, at least two people survived.
One of them was her, and the other was Anning.
Thinking of Anning, An Yue couldn’t help but sneer coldly. Her concubine-born sister was truly shameless.
She recalled in her past life, when the Zhu Family was destroyed, she had insulted Xiao Qing while breaking off their engagement, and he harbored a grudge. In revenge, Xiao Qing captured her, dragging her to a private dungeon where she endured endless torture and humiliation from him. Reflecting on the sufferings of those years, the pain was unbearable both physically and mentally.
Meanwhile, Anning was the only one in the Zhu Family who survived under Xiao Qing’s protection. Not only did she live well, but Xiao Qing also treated her kindly because at that time Anning stealthily gave him some Spirit Stones when he left Sifang City, and after he was gone, she took care of Xiao Qing’s frail and sickly younger brother.
Due to these two acts, Xiao Qing was very grateful to Anning. After exterminating the Zhu Family, he brought Anning out and settled her down, granting her a good cultivation technique, and gave her many Spirit Stones and elixirs. Even as Xiao Qing grew stronger and became the most powerful figure on the Dongling Continent, he remained Anning’s supporter.
And Anning, relying on Xiao Qing and her demon-like beauty, seduced countless outstanding men across Dongling Continent, making them bow to her.
These men were all highly influential figures in Dongling Continent, ranging from the Princely Heirs of great families to the elder brothers of Great Sect Leaders, even the Young Master of the Demon Clan was willing to be at her beck and call.
These men obeyed her every command, willing to do anything for her, removing many of her adversaries, and showering her with extreme affection.
Anning became the envy of every woman on Dongling Continent.
With so many men in love with her, and willing to tolerate one another for her, Anning turned into a legend of Dongling Continent.
Thinking of these, An Yue’s eyes turned icy.
Ha, Anning, this time she won’t be as enchanting as before.
This time, she aimed to snatch Anning’s Qi Fortune, make connections with Xiao Qing before Anning does, and have Xiao Qing become her pillar. She also wanted Xiao Qing to detest Anning and use Xiao Qing’s hand to deal with Anning.
She wanted to see how Anning would win the affection of so many exceptional men without Xiao Qing as her backing this time.
Xiao Qing returned with the Spirit Stones given by the Zhu Family to the small house he and his brother rented.
Indeed, they had been driven out by the Xiao Family, and having nowhere to live, they were forced to rent a small room in the slums.
But even though they had fallen into such dire straits, they were not left alone. Side branches of the Xiao Family often came to bully him, and even descendants from other families took pleasure in tormenting the brothers.
After all, Xiao Qing was once a favored child of the heavens, with the best Spirit Root in all of Sifang City, envied and resented by many.
Once he was exalted, others could only look up to him, but now having been cast into the mud, naturally, people would kick him while he was down.
Over these past two years, Xiao Qing had grown accustomed to such things and was already able to remain calm.
He returned to the small room with the Spirit Stones, feeling relieved to see his brother still sleeping peacefully.
He worried that his brother might be bullied while he was away.
After safely storing the Spirit Stones, Xiao Qing went to light a fire and cook.
He prepared the meal and brought it over just as his brother Xiao Yuan woke up.
"Brother."
Xiao Yuan sat up, catching the scent of meat with a hint of surprise on his face: "Did you cook meat? It smells so good."
Xiao Qing smiled and passed a bowl of meat to Xiao Yuan: "Yes, today I visited the Zhu Family and they had a celebration, so Uncle Zhu gave me a bit of meat."
Xiao Yuan pushed the bowl of meat toward Xiao Qing: "Brother, you eat more."
"You eat."
Xiao Qing did not touch the meat; he watched Xiao Yuan with a smile: "You eat more."
Xiao Yuan picked up some meat with his chopsticks: "It smells really good."
He took a bite: "Brother, you should eat quickly, it won’t be as good once it cools."
With a smile on his face, Xiao Qing felt a deep sadness in his heart. His brother, who used to play with top-grade Spirit Stones like marbles and found all sorts of spirit beast meat unimpressive, now couldn’t even afford ordinary chicken or pork.
He wiped his face, not wanting Xiao Yuan to see his sorrow.
"It is quite delicious."
Xiao Qing took a small piece of the smallest meat to eat.
Xiao Yuan laughed: "Then brother, eat more."
"Okay."
After eating only a few pieces of meat, Xiao Qing stopped, saving the rest for Xiao Yuan.
"Ayuan, brother got some Spirit Stones, later I’ll buy Spiritual Medicine for you. Drinking it will make you feel better."
Hearing Xiao Qing’s words, Xiao Yuan’s chopsticks slipped, and the meat fell back into the bowl.
He put down his chopsticks: "Brother, did you do something against your will?"
"No."
Xiao Qing smiled: "It’s from Uncle Zhu."
Xiao Yuan frowned: "Brother, don’t borrow things from Uncle Zhu anymore. After all... we’ve already troubled Uncle Zhu a lot, and besides, doing so might make the Zhu Family look down on you. How will you marry Sister An Yue in the future?"
This one sentence nearly brought Xiao Qing to tears.
He bowed his head, rubbed his eyes with his hand, hiding the tears threatening to fall: "It’s alright, Uncle Zhu is nice, and An Yue is good too, An Yue wouldn’t mind these things."
Xiao Yuan looked at Xiao Qing, already understanding what had happened, but unwilling to break it to him.
"Brother, my body is much better. I’m exercising, and soon enough, I’ll be fine."
He smiled at Xiao Qing: "Once I’m well, I can cultivate. Brother, I have a Spirit Root. I can cultivate. When my cultivation grows stronger, no one can bully us anymore."
Xiao Qing also smiled: "Good, brother is waiting for that day."
While saying this, Xiao Yuan was contemplating something else in his mind.
He wondered if that Zhu Family concubine, Zhu Anning, was indeed his Anning?
When Xiao Qing returned after clearing the table, Xiao Yuan asked casually: "Right, what was today’s celebration at the Zhu Family?"
Xiao Qing sat down: "Uncle Zhu took another concubine."
"Another one, huh?"
Xiao Yuan exclaimed: "How many concubines has Uncle Zhu taken? Isn’t it enough? What about Aunt Zhu, is she okay with this? Oh, I remember there was a concubine in the Zhu Family who had a daughter, what was that girl’s name?"
Xiao Qing smiled: "Her name is Anning."
"Yes, her name is Anning."
Xiao Yuan’s face was filled with gossip: "Brother, how many concubines has Uncle Zhu taken? Only Aunt Zhu and that concubine have had children, none of the other concubines have. What’s going on with that?"
Xiao Qing rubbed Xiao Yuan’s head. He wasn’t one for gossip, but seeing his brother’s rare interest in talking so much made him happy, so he chatted along: "Probably Aunt Zhu has great skills, that Aunt Feng was mainly too beautiful. I heard when she was first brought into the Zhu Family, she was greatly favored. Uncle Zhu treated her well back then, and later she had a concubine-born daughter."
"Aunt Feng should be quite beautiful."
Xiao Yuan echoed Xiao Qing’s words: "I’ve seen Anning once; she’s indeed very pretty."
Xiao Qing burst into laughter: "Even our Ayuan knows what’s pretty, huh? Not bad, Ayuan, thinking of getting a wife?"
