The magnificent hall was adorned with beautiful tapestries hanging from the high ceiling, and the walls were decorated with intricate murals depicting ancient battles and mythical creatures. The ten seats, five on the left and five on the right, were made of polished wood and were cushioned with luxurious red velvet. The elders seated on these seats were dressed in fine silk robes, their faces showing signs of worry and anxiety.
In the center of the hall, there was a massive throne-like seat, larger and more ornate than the others. It was made of the finest materials and was intricately carved with beautiful designs. Seated on this impressive throne was a burly man with a thick mustache and beard on his face. His broad shoulders were covered with a fur cape, and his eyes were piercing and impatient.
As the elders continued to whisper amongst themselves, a servant suddenly burst into the hall, his breaths coming out in gasps. He hurriedly made his way to the center of the hall and whispered something in the ear of the man sitting on the throne. The burly man's expression changed instantly as he stood up, towering over the rest of the people in the hall.
"What, you guys still haven't found Su Ling's dead body? And only saw those bandits and merchant's dead bodies!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the hall.
One of the elders stood up and tried to calm Su Song down. "Patriarch Song, please calm down," he said. "You don't have to worry about Su Ling too much. Even if she somehow ran away from there, there are other bandit groups in the area. I have informed some of them to kill anyone they see who looks like a little girl near the age of 17, so they would kill her for sure. The wild forest is not safe for her, and she doesn't know about the outside world."
Hearing the elders word Su Song leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. He couldn't help but feel frustrated at the situation. He had worked hard to build the business and the property after his wife's death, and now it seemed like it was all going to be handed over to Su Ling. He didn't think it was fair that he should have to give up everything he had worked for just because his daughter was turning 18.
As he thought more about it, a sinister idea came to him. "If Su Ling is dead, the property would be solely mine," he thought to himself, with a dark chuckle. He knew it was wrong to think such things, but the desire for power and wealth was too strong.
He leaned forward in his chair, rubbing his hands together with a greedy look in his eyes. "I'll have to come up with a plan if she somehow came back," he muttered to himself. "A plan to get rid of Su Ling once and for all."
Su Song's history with Su Ling's family was a complicated one. He started working for Su Ling's grandfather and when Su Ling's mother inherited the business after her father's death, Su Song continued working for her. It was during this time that Su Ling's mother fell in love with Su Song and they got married. Su Ling was born and her mother focused on raising her while Su Song handled the business.
However, things changed after Su Ling's mother fell ill and passed away. Su Song showed no emotion or care for his wife's death and focused solely on the business. He also turned to brothels to satisfy his loneliness, disregarding his responsibilities towards his daughter.
Three months prior to the events that took place in the story, Su Song came across a letter that stated that all the property would be transferred to Su Ling once she turned 18. This enraged him as he realized that if Su Ling were to marry, the property would end up in the hands of her husband instead of him.
Su Ling's mother had been the one who had taken care of her, and Su Song had simply used her as a pawn in his business dealings. But when Su Ling will turn 18, everything will change. She will inherit all of her mother's property, and Su Song was furious About this.
He realized that he had no control over Su Ling or her property, and he became obsessed with taking it all for himself. He began to plot against Su Ling, trying to find a way to eliminate her so that he could inherit her assets.
This led him to hatch a plan to kill Su Ling and keep the property for himself. His opportunity came when he learned that Su Ling was traveling with a group of merchants. He hired bandits to attack the group, hoping that Su Ling would be killed in the attack. However, Su Ling was fortunate enough to be rescued by Wang Chen and Liang Wei, who foiled Su Song's plan.
….
Suddenly another servant came on the hall running, "Patriach… Huff Huff."
"What happened?" Su Song said angrily.
"Miss Su Ling is back and she is coming here." The servant said.
"What"
Hearing this all of them became shocked as they didn't expect she would come back home alive.
The news of Su Ling's return surprised all the elders, including Su Song. "What do you mean she's coming back? How can she be alive?" Su Song asked incredulously.
"Is there someone with her?" Su Song thought that she couldn't return on her own so somebody should be with her.
"She's on her way here with two young men," the servant replied, still trying to catch his breath.
"Sure enough those two young man should be her helper." Su Song muttered under his breath.
"Let them come here." Su Song said.
…
Suddenly three people entered on the hall, these three were none other than Wang Chen, Su Ling and Liang Wei.
"Father" Su Ling said as she ran towards his father and his father stood up from his seat and hugged his running daughter as soon as Su Ling hugged her father she started crying saying she was scared of those bandits they tried to do bad things, hearing this Su Song acted like a sympathic father and patted her daughter and comforted her then he angrily glanced at all the elders and said I need you guys to finish every bandit group on the wild forest.
As Su Ling hugged her father and cried, the other elders were surprised to see her alive and well. They all stood up from their seats and approached Su Ling and the two young men.
One of the elders, an old man with a long white beard, said, "Miss Su Ling, we are glad to see that you are safe. But who are these two young men with you?"
Su Ling wiped her tears and introduced Wang Chen and Liang Wei to everyone. "These two young men saved my life. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have made it back here."
Su Song nodded his head and thanked the young men for their bravery. "You have my gratitude. I will make sure to reward you for your service."
As Su Song turned to face the elders, his expression turned serious. "But now, we must focus on the task at hand. We need to eliminate all the bandit groups in the wild forest. We cannot allow them to harm anyone else."
The other elders nodded in agreement and discussed plans on how to locate and eliminate the bandits. Su Song looked at his daughter and thought to himself, 'I need to make sure those two guys don't interfere with my plans. Once the bandits are eliminated, I can take care of her and those two young men.'
As Wang Chen observed the situation, he couldn't help but feel amused by the theatrics being played out in front of him. He knew that Su Song's show of affection towards Su Ling was just an act, and that the other elders were also in on the plan. However, he couldn't let his guard down just yet, as he knew that these people were capable of anything to achieve their goals.
As he watched Su Song give orders to the elders, he couldn't help but wonder what they were really planning. He knew that the reward they were offering was just a ploy to get him and Liang Wei to do death's door but he wasn't sure what their endgame was.
Nevertheless, Wang Chen was confident in his abilities and in Liang Wei, who he knew was also a skilled cultivator. And if things go south then these two son and daughter of Heaven's luck are for nothing they will show their magic when the time comes so Wang Chen came here because of that even knowing there would be immense danger but there is also an opportunity so he has to take the risk for it.
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