Chen Qiuqiao quickly followed her cousin to Senior Brother Fang's courtyard.
Since they had already informed in advance, after verifying the information with the identity token, the defensive formation opened, allowing the two of them to enter.
As Chen Qiuqiao's cousin led her into the courtyard, he sighed, "Every time I come to Senior Brother Fang's home, I wish I could live here permanently."
He looked at Chen Qiuqiao's complicated expression and said, "What do you think? The courtyard for disciples ranked on the List of Outstanding Talents is much better than the quarters on the mountainside, isn't it?"
"Yes," Chen Qiuqiao nodded slightly, with a hint of envy in her eyes.
Her cousin said, "Then you must work hard in the future. Our Chen Family is counting on you to make it to the List of Outstanding Talents. If you manage to live here, your cousin can share in the good fortune."
Chen Qiuqiao responded, "I will work hard!"
The two of them passed through the front yard, entered the main building, and were greeted by Senior Brother Fang's servant, who showed them to the living room.
"The master is cultivating; please wait a moment," the servant explained softly, serving them tea and snacks.
"Alright," they naturally had no objections.
An hour later.
Senior Brother Fang finally finished cultivating and came to the living room to see Chen Qiuqiao and her cousin.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting."
As he entered the living room, Senior Brother Fang first apologized to them before taking a seat in the main position.
"No problem, Senior Brother Fang. Your cultivation is important, we don't mind,"
Chen Qiuqiao's cousin replied with a flattering smile, waving his hand dismissively.
Noticing Senior Brother Fang's gaze drifting towards Chen Qiuqiao, he immediately stood up and prompted Chen Qiuqiao to do the same, introducing her, "Senior Brother Fang, this is my cousin, Chen Qiuqiao, one of the top three disciples of the Outer Gate. She's got quite a talent; as soon as she entered the Inner Gate, I brought her to you."
Senior Brother Fang examined Chen Qiuqiao for a moment, then nodded and said, "Hmm, not bad. Quite an extraordinary root bone, indeed a jadeite. But I heard that you didn't rank in the top three in the Outer Gate examination this time, did you?"
"Uh..." Chen Qiuqiao's cousin's mind raced, looking to explain.
Chen Qiuqiao's face turned pale then flushed.
What's the deal? Can't you just let this go?
Damn it, do you have to bring it up every time you see someone? It's irritating!
Seeing their uncomfortable expressions, Senior Brother Fang smiled and waved, "It's fine, no need to be nervous. I also heard that this year's Outer Gate examination was quite special, with several geniuses, especially that one with the talent that even made the Sect Leader want to take a disciple. I understand why you couldn't make it to the top three."
Chen Qiuqiao's cousin breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled, "Yes, indeed. My cousin Qiuqiao is actually very capable. If it weren't for being schemed against by that spirit-root genius, she would definitely have made it into the top three!"
"Oh?" Senior Brother Fang's eyes glimmered with a strange light as he calmly asked, "Schemed against by that spirit-root genius? What happened?"
Chen Qiuqiao's expression grew even darker, but she restrained herself. She dared not lose control, for if she did, Senior Brother Fang could easily deal with them.
Her cousin, seeing Senior Brother Fang inquire about this matter, eyes gleaming, immediately began to embellish and recount how Mu Jinyu had schemed against Chen Qiuqiao.
He hoped that Senior Brother Fang would stand up for them and teach Mu Jinyu a lesson.
Who would have thought that, after hearing his embellished complaint, Senior Brother Fang's face would change dramatically, and he would angrily slam the table, standing up and roaring, "Outrageous! Get out of here!"
Chen Qiuqiao's cousin, seeing Senior Brother Fang's furious expression, and only hearing the first part of his outburst, secretly smiled and prepared to pretend to calm Senior Brother Fang down.
"Smack!"
Senior Brother Fang, seeing the obsequious smile on Chen Qiuqiao's cousin's face, grew even more infuriated. With a swift motion, he slapped him hard!
"Bang!"
Chen Qiuqiao's cousin spun several times from the force of the slap, stars dancing before his eyes, finally spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with a few teeth before collapsing, unable to rise.
"Cousin!"
Chen Qiuqiao, realizing what had happened, cried out in shock and rushed to help her cousin up!
"Get out!!"
Senior Brother Fang, still seething, flicked his sleeve, enveloping the pair in a surge of powerful True Essence Power and threw them out!
After expelling them from his home, Senior Brother Fang instinctively patted his chest, his face slightly pale, muttering in fear:
"Damn it, they tried to deceive me, using me to deal with Senior Brother Mu. They really don't know their place!"
Who did they think he was? How could he not see through Chen Qiuqiao's cousin's petty schemes?
In the past, he turned a blind eye to some minor manipulations, but using him to confront Mu Jinyu? That was asking for trouble!
Didn't they know he was only ranked in the fifties on the List of Outstanding Talents? Didn't they know Huang Daotian, ranked forty-fifth, was defeated by Mu Jinyu with just one strike?
"You bastards, trying to provoke discord between Senior Brother Mu and me. If I see you again, I'll beat you every time!"
...
"Bang!!"
Chen Qiuqiao and her cousin were tossed onto the street outside, writhing in pain. To make matters worse, bystanders whispered mockingly at their plight, further adding to their humiliation.
"Cousin, are you alright?"
Ignoring their shame, Chen Qiuqiao immediately tended to her cousin, shaking him to bring him back to consciousness.
"Ugh..."
Her cousin, after being shaken several times, finally woke up with a pained groan.
"I'm fine, stop shaking."
Chen Qiuqiao stopped immediately, worriedly asking, "Cousin, what do we do now? Should we leave?"
Her cousin, not understanding why Senior Brother Fang had turned on them so suddenly, shook his head quickly, "No, we mustn't leave!"
With a glint of determination, he said, "Since Fang Yuan treated me so coldly, I won't hesitate to turn to someone else!"
He stood up and, pulling Chen Qiuqiao, headed towards another courtyard nearby, saying:
"Let's go, Qiuqiao. I'll take you to see another Senior Brother Huang. His ranking on the List of Outstanding Talents is much higher than Fang Yuan's. He sits at forty-fifth. He once invited me to work for him, but I declined because I thought Fang Yuan treated me well."
"It turns out I was blind to follow Fang Yuan!"
His cousin gritted his teeth, his voice filled with regret.