Chapter 158: Chapter 158: Happily Bluffing I (Third update, asking for monthly votes)

Tian Yangni’s response struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Tian Leqian frozen as if he were a wooden chicken.

The Tian Family members present, including Tian Lewen, were also stunned, hardly believing their own ears.

It was a good while later that Tian Lewen finally swallowed his saliva and spoke with difficulty, “Uncle Seven, are you sure there’s no mistake? When Third Uncle died in battle, Third Aunt was already showing her pregnancy… and due to excessive grief… she nearly miscarried Brother Leqian.”

He was the up-and-coming talent of the clan, and even though he was just an intermediate-level martial master and two years younger than Tian Leqian, he wasn’t really qualified to comment on the matter… But who in the clan didn’t know about Tian Leqian’s situation?

The corner of Tian Yangni’s mouth twitched slightly, but he said nothing, cursing inwardly: It was precisely because of this that it was despicable!

In this realm, although there was a concept of remaining faithful to a deceased husband, it was nothing like the harmful ritualistic Confucian morals that once plagued the Earth Realm. The Lao San of the fifth branch died in battle, and his wife could very well remarry and even take her dowry with her.

As long as she did not take away the Tian Family’s property and children, it wouldn’t be considered a major issue.

However, when the fifth branch’s Lao San was alive, his wife cuckolded him and even became pregnant with a bastard, which was a humiliation; it was not only Lao San’s disgrace but also the disgrace of the Tian Family.

Tian Yangni finally understood why Lang Zhen looked so constipated: with such an issue, anyone would be left speechless.

Seeing that he had no reaction, Tian Lewen dared not press further, only glaring fiercely at Lang Zhen: Damn it, it’s all your fault, you kid!

Lone Wolf’s mouth twitched slightly: Bloody hell, why glare at me? I wasn’t the one who cuckolded your Third Uncle!

For a moment, the spacious courtyard fell into an extremely eerie silence; Tian Yangni simply couldn’t bring himself to speak, and Tian Lewen dared not to urge him further, as if by remaining silent he could preserve Third Uncle’s reputation.

After an indeterminate amount of time, someone timidly spoke up, “Before his death, Third Brother seemed to be in charge of managing the business in Xiyin City.”

The speaker was an intermediate-level martial artist around forty years old, and it was beyond question that at his age and cultivation level, it was no longer possible for him to advance further. The Tian Family members had already recognized him; he was a cadet son from the second branch.

In Donghua Country, there is no strong emphasis on the difference between legitimate and illegitimate offspring, but in many clans, this situation objectively exists – there are only so many resources to go around. Who gets them first, who gets more, and who gets less must follow certain rules.

This middle-aged cadet son, being only an intermediate-level martial warrior, to say his mediocrity had nothing to do with resources, would likely be believed by no one, and thus, evaluating the legitimate sons of another branch didn’t put any pressure on him.

Indeed, as soon as he mentioned the situation of the fifth branch’s Lao San, everyone reacted: Responsible for managing the business in Xiyin City, doesn’t that mean… he would often be away from home?

Before everyone had time to react, the entrapped Tian Leqian was already raging, “Tian Liuzhi, you dare to slander my late father, when I get out, I will kill you!”

Tian Liuzhi glanced at him indifferently, speaking without a ripple of disturbance, “I merely mentioned Third Brother’s former duties. Where does the slander come from? It’s you who are disrespectful to your elders, what should your crime be?”

Even if he were a cadet son, he wasn’t one to be shouted at by a junior.

“Enough,” Tian Lewen finally came to his senses and interrupted the argument between the two, then looked again at Tian Yangni, “Uncle Seven, this matter is of great importance, are you certain that Leqian is not of Tian Family bloodline?”

Tian Yangni trusted the Divine Doctor in his heart, but indeed… this matter was too grave. If what Feng Jun said was true, then Tian Leqian would only have one fate, to be executed by the Tian Family, including his mother, who would also be compelled to commit suicide.

Not being of Tian Family bloodline, that alone would not suffice for self-destruction; the key was the disgrace suffered by the Tian Family, which must be cleansed with fresh blood.

Therefore, he pondered for a moment before speaking, “With so many clan members watching, we have to handle this in a way that leaves you with no room for doubt!”

He didn’t say he believed the Divine Doctor, nor did he say Tian Leqian might be innocent, his attitude was clear: I will investigate thoroughly before acting.

If the Divine Doctor’s judgment was wrong, he didn’t mention how to handle it – in any case, he had to satisfy everyone.

However, just because he didn’t mention the Divine Doctor, didn’t mean others wouldn’t. Another high-rank martial warrior spoke up, a disciple from the fifth branch, naturally defending the martial master from his own branch, “Does the clan elder trust an outsider so much?”

Tian Yangni glanced at him, speaking coldly, “It’s not your turn to speak here. I have already said I would give you an account. What more do you want? Or… would you like to take over as clan elder?”

As soon as he spoke those words, the other party dared not say more, but when Tian Laoqi spoke, he was also drumming in his heart: Divine Doctor, oh Divine Doctor, you must not make a mistake.

After instructing everyone to keep silent about the matter, with more than thirty people present who were not Tian Family disciples, all were escorted out by the Tian Family members, and they wouldn’t be allowed to leave temporarily – until the matter was clarified, none were to think of leaving.

Tian Yangni then ordered the clan members to delay bringing in the fifth group of people before he walked to the front of the house and gave a respectful bow, “I seek an audience with the Divine Doctor and earnestly request your convenience.”

As soon as the door opened, Feng Jun came out, speaking weakly, “I know what you want to ask, and there’s definitely no mistake… Old Lang, hurry and get something to eat, I’m starving.”

Lang Zhen turned and left, but Tian Yangni spoke again, “Divine Doctor, it’s not that I don’t trust you, I just want to know… where did you get this information from?”

He didn’t dare to doubt the Divine Doctor – setting aside the latter’s status as an uninvolved party, the Divine Doctor had always been faultless.

But he really wanted to know, how the Divine Doctor came to determine that Tian Leqian was not a child of the Tian Family.

Expanding his thoughts even further, if the Tian Family could learn this technique, it would have immense significance for determining clan bloodlines, turning a scandal into a blessing in disguise.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you,” Feng Jun bluntly replied and, after a moment of thought, added with certainty, “My methods are something you simply can’t learn.”

Tian Yangni gnashed his teeth in frustration, disappointment written all over his face as he muttered, “How did things get this messy…”

Feng Jun glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and then inquired, “Having regrets?”

The question struck a raw nerve. After hesitating briefly, Tian Yangni nodded and honestly answered, “Yes, somewhat… Tian Leqian, the kid, is actually not that bad.”

“Tsk,” Lang Zhen, having just arranged for some food to be brought in, let out a disdainful scoff upon hearing this, “No matter how good he is… he’s not a member of the Tian Family.”

Tian Yangni’s face darkened again, “I’m telling you, Lone Wolf, if you can’t talk nicely, you’d better keep quiet.”

After a pause, Tian Yangni turned toward Feng Jun again, his voice contemplative as he asked, “This Tian Leqian… Does he intend harm against my Tian Family, or is it simply a matter of mismatched bloodlines?”

Feng Jun just looked at him lightly and said nothing.

In fact, there wasn’t much he could say because the “Nearby People” information only showed brackets—this person should have Wang as a surname.

Honestly, even Tian Leqian himself may not know his true identity, so that’s still up for debate.

But Feng Jun didn’t care about that; in his view, if the information didn’t match the real identity, there was definitely a problem. As for whether those people were spies or might be wronged, he never considered that.

His principle was simple: better to kill the wrong person than to let a potential threat go. He intended to weed out anyone who could possibly be detrimental to him.

However, these thoughts were not something he could openly express—once he did, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his impressive façade, would he?

While Feng Jun stayed silent, Lang Zhen couldn’t hold back and asked, “Is there any difference?”

No wonder they say Lone Wolf has a sharp tongue. His words were always razor-edged.

Tian Yangni really wanted to lash out, but he couldn’t, and could only explain, “As long as he isn’t of Tian bloodline, he’s as good as dead. My question was just to consider, to work out an appropriate way for him to die.”

If he wasn’t of Tian bloodline and was colluding with external enemies, then certainly the method of death would be extremely miserable; otherwise… even if they had to kill him, it would just be that, regardless, he had been living with a large family for many years.

Still, Feng Jun didn’t reply. It was Lone Wolf who spoke up again, “Have you ever heard the saying: ‘Heavenly secrets must not be divulged’?”

Upon hearing this, Tian Yangni was initially startled, then with a sudden slap to his forehead, he exclaimed, “Understood!”

As the old adage goes, Immortals can calculate the Heavenly secrets—in fact, even mortals possess some who can decipher such mysteries, albeit with less accuracy. Regardless of who attempts to divine such secrets, they would face retribution from the Heavenly Dao.

At that moment, Tian Yangni truly understood that perhaps the Divine Doctor was not unwilling to reveal the mystery, but the consequences of divulging Heavenly secrets were just too severe; and since the Divine Doctor couldn’t be bothered to explain, he simply stayed silent.

This logic… made perfect sense! And then he noticed that the Divine Doctor glanced at Lone Wolf, nodding in approval.

My guess was spot on!

To Feng Jun’s surprise, he thought: Old Lang, you’ve actually come up with such a solid reason to facilitate my act, truly impressive!

Resigned, Tian Yangni gave up, sighing, “In the end, it’s my lack of insight, I beg for your forgiveness, Divine Doctor… May I call the next person from the group of a hundred in now?”

Feng Jun shook his head, and upon seeing this, Tian Laoqi’s heart sank: Bad move, I knew I shouldn’t have doubted the Divine Doctor.

See, isn’t the retribution immediate?

But to his surprise, in the next moment, the Divine Doctor spoke, “I’m almost starving to death, you’ve got to let me eat something, right?”

“Of course,” Tian Yangni assured with a servile smile, nodding incessantly, “Calculating Heavenly secrets must take a great toll on you.”

This response was not without its probes, trying to confirm whether the other party’s observation was indeed divining Heavenly secrets. Although some mortals had mastered parts of this ability, only an Immortal could make such accurate calculations, right?

But Lang Zhen exposed a sycophantic grin, praising Feng Jun, “Whether the Divine Doctor has been calculating Heavenly secrets or not, don’t bother asking. However, the food the Divine Doctor consumed today exceeds my three-day ration, he’s been working hard.”

That revelation was shocking, given that Lone Wolf was an Intermediate Level martial master whose Inner Qi, derived largely from food, was accumulated over time.

Lone Wolf’s appetite would undoubtedly not be smaller than that of a robust young man, and very likely even larger.

So the scale of the Divine Doctor’s consumption today spoke for itself.

(The third update has arrived, and the first debt I owe my readers has been paid off. Now to repay the second one. Additionally, for those who do not like single-chapter updates, it’s always been my rule to issue them only with added updates. These past few days have been challenging with illness and new-chapter updates as I try to secure a top three spot for the monthly ranking before the month ends. So, the days of frequent single-chapter updates will soon be over.)