“Senior Brother Gan, for the sake of Senior Sister Su’s life-saving grace to you in the past, can you tell me what kind of attitude your Clan Leader actually has toward her?”
Blocked outside the door, Zhou Li grew increasingly anxious as time ticked by.
He could only place his hopes on Gan Hua.
After all, they had shared the experience of life and death; there had to be some level of sentiment between them.
Gan Hua looked at Zhou Li with a conflicted expression. “Young Master Zhou, I truly do not know. No one has ever been able to guess the Clan Leader’s thoughts.”
He was absolutely telling the truth.
“Then, will he be inside, perhaps...” Zhou Li did not finish his sentence, but it was more than enough for Gan Hua to understand his meaning.
“It shouldn't happen. Based on how Martial Uncle Kong Xiang treated Senior Sister Su previously, I feel the Clan Leader is more interested in recruiting her.” Gan Hua spoke without absolute certainty.
Even though he was older than Su Yan, in the Kong family where strength was paramount, he still had to address her as Senior Sister.
Zhou Li took a heavy breath, forcing himself to wait calmly.
His identity was special; unless it was absolutely necessary, he could not afford to damage his relationship with the Kong family.
***
Inside the main hall, combat was on the verge of breaking out.
Su Yan stared coldly at Kong Shan Kui. “I want everyone who was involved in that matter back then! Don't say you don't know—Kong Xiang and Kong Nian were both involved!”
She was incredibly certain of this.
When Kong Shan Kui heard Su Yan mention Kong Xiang and Kong Nian, a crack finally appeared on his calm, expressionless face.
“I’m afraid not just yet.”
Energy began to gather within Su Yan’s pupils.
Kong Shan Kui saw it clearly and knew how terrifying that energy was. He immediately said, “Kong Nian is currently treating his eyes. I know you have always wanted to reclaim the memories that belong to you; I can actually help you achieve that.”
He understood perfectly what to say and do to quell Su Yan’s rage and temporarily calm her down.
Sure enough, Su Yan forcibly suppressed that energy.
“When?”
“Tomorrow,” Kong Shan Kui answered quite curtly.
“Fine. Then I will wait one night.” Su Yan’s face was cold. After speaking, she turned and left.
Kong Shan Kui did not stop her, but instead let her walk further and further away.
Only after Su Yan’s figure disappeared from sight did he sit back down in his chair.
“Kong Xiangrou, your daughter is truly just like you. Though she appears cold and ruthless, she possesses a heart of compassion.”
He murmured softly, his voice drifting into the far distance.
***
Outside the door, seeing Su Yan emerge unharmed, both Zhou Li and Gan Hua breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“Senior Sister Su, are you alright?” Zhou Li scanned her nervously.
Aside from her somewhat grim expression, there were no signs of a struggle.
“I am fine. Let’s go back.” Su Yan clearly had no intention of saying much more here.
A few minutes later, she and Zhou Li returned to their room.
Zhou Li was still worried about her. “Senior Sister Su, how did your talk with Clan Leader Kong go?”
Su Yan thought back to how the three Great Clan Leaders had approached Kong Lingfeng together back then, which was why her mother had suffered that tragedy. If it was confirmed to be true, then the three great families could not escape responsibility. At this moment, her attitude toward Zhou Li became much more distant.
“He said Kong Lingfeng is dead.”
“Dead?!” Zhou Li gasped in disbelief.
Su Yan saw that his expression didn't look feigned; he truly seemed unaware of this matter.
“I heard from my father that the Clan Leader Kong Lingfeng was once hailed as a genius rarely seen in the Kong family for hundreds of years, and his strength had reached an unfathomable level. How could such a person just die like that?” Zhou Li could not wrap his head around it.
By calculation, Kong Lingfeng should be around the same age as his father. At such an age, if one didn't meet with an accident, even wanting to die would not be an easy task.
Su Yan’s gaze wavered violently.
Indeed, if even Zhou Li felt this way, she wasn't the only one who was suspicious.
Perhaps there was another possibility: that Kong Shan Kui had been deceiving her from beginning to end.
Gan Hua had clearly said that Kong Lingfeng had been in seclusion to recover from injuries; if the Clan Leader was dead, how could the people in the clan not know?
“Senior Sister Su, what do we do next?”
Zhou Li knew Su Yan had a grievance with the Kong family, most likely involving Kong Lingfeng. But if Kong Lingfeng was already dead, wouldn't that grievance just fade away into nothing?
Su Yan’s eyes darkened. “I want to reclaim my memories first.”
It wouldn't be too late to make plans after she remembered exactly what the Kong family had done to her and her mother fourteen years ago!
***
The next day.
Su Yan was waiting for Kong Shan Kui early.
Kong Shan Kui did not delay at all; he led her directly toward her secret chamber.
“Clan Leader.”
“Clan Leader.”
Wherever the two went, the Kong family disciples all stopped to salute.
Kong Shan Kui did not even spare them a glance, merely continuing forward.
Su Yan followed behind him, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
Soon, the two arrived at the back mountains of the manor.
This was the place where Su Yan had been stopped yesterday.
Today, with Kong Shan Kui leading the way, there were naturally no obstacles.
Su Yan’s gaze did not miss a single detail of the surroundings.
She knew the Kong family's secret chambers were all clustered in this area; perhaps even Kong Lingfeng was located somewhere here.
“This is the Kong family’s forbidden zone. Without my command or a token, no one can enter.”
It was as if Kong Shan Kui had eyes in the back of his head, having seen through Su Yan’s intentions.
After saying this, he actually took the token from his waist and displayed it before Su Yan.
“In the Kong family, seeing this hand-token is like seeing me. You can enter and exit any place at will, and anyone can question you at any time.” Kong Shan Kui explained the importance of the token very clearly.
Su Yan’s gaze indeed fell upon the token.
A few seconds later, Kong Shan Kui hung the token back on his waist.
After walking forward for another few hundred meters, Kong Shan Kui stopped in front of a certain cave.
“The Kong family's secret chambers are all built according to the topography of this back mountain. There are twelve secret chambers in total, inside and out. Every chamber entrance is guarded by a different formation. If an external force is encountered, the formation will immediately issue an alarm.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Clan Leader Kong. I have noted it all,” Su Yan thanked him coldly.
The fact that he had told her so much along the way was simply to inform her of how strict the Kong family's guards and defenses were, telling her not to act rashly.
Kong Shan Kui finally turned to look at her, his face still wearing that same stern expression.
“It would be best if you truly noted it all.”
Su Yan stared straight at him, sensing there was a subtext in his words.
“Let’s go in.” Kong Shan Kui gave her no time to investigate further. A surge of pure spiritual energy struck the great door. Sure enough, a glow from a formation immediately rippled out. Once the light faded, the door creaked open.
Su Yan couldn't even discern what kind of formation it was before Kong Shan Kui’s figure had already entered the secret chamber.
(End of Chapter)