At noon that day, when Luo Jiujiang returned to his hometown, he happened to meet his second brother's maid.

Luo Cang didn't leave any lunch for Luo Jiujiang at noon. If he didn't complete his morning tasks, he would simply throw him under a newly built waterfall, causing him to miss his lunch. Afternoon training usually focused on Yin Sha and Hui Feng Bagua Steps. If Luo Jiujiang showed any weakness, Luo Cang would coldly mock him, "Didn't you eat lunch?"

...He knows best whether he has eaten it or not.

Luo Jiujiang's second brother, Luo Liushen, had two maids he always used, one named Yueting and the other Yuelou. As a child, Luo Jiujiang often found ways to visit his second brother for a treat, and so he became very familiar with these two maids.

"Young Master!" Yue Ting was originally running around with her skirt lifted in a panic, but her eyes lit up when she saw Luo Jiujiang. "A guest came to Fenghexuan, and Yuelou was not careful enough, so the guest punished her."

"Guests?" Luo Jiujiang frowned slightly. "It's not a festival, and it's lunchtime. What kind of guests would want to come to Fenghexuan to play?"

Fenghexuan was located adjacent to the lotus pond in the Luo family's backyard, a place reserved for summertime viewing. It was also connected to Luo Liushen's courtyard. Entering Fenghexuan was like stepping halfway into Luo Liushen's territory.

However, Luo Liushen was in the sect now, and it was unreasonable for this guest to go straight to Feng Hexuan without informing anyone. He also punished Luo Liushen's maid. He was simply looking for trouble.

Yue Ting glanced at Luo Jiujiang's expression and said with a wry smile, "It's Master Du Di."

"That Du guy?" Luo Jiujiang raised his eyebrows. "Is he still a guest? Why isn't he taken to the stable?"

Yue Ting originally had an anxious look on her face, but she couldn't help but smile when she heard Luo Jiujiang's blunt comment.

The "Du" was the second son of the Du family head of Daimao Island. He possessed a domineering personality and a high opinion of himself. To quote Luo Jiujiang's past assessment, this Young Master Du was truly a remarkable being, "born with nostrils on his forehead."

He was four years older than Luo Jiujiang, and had only just reached the fifth level of Qi Refining this year. Honestly, this was a pretty good result, but it wasn't good enough compared to Luo Jiujiang and Han Qianling.

Perhaps it was because of this that he disliked the two of them and kept provoking them until he received a counterattack and they completely fell out.

——————————

In fact, to be honest, the reason why Luo Jiujiang and Du Di don’t get along can be attributed to Han Qianling’s life experience.

At the end of each year, Daimao Island held a traditional competition among the outstanding young men of each race. Luo Jiujiang and Han Qianling had just reached the fourth level of Qi Refining at that time, qualifying to participate in the competition for the first time.

Before the competition, these young people would gather together to talk, get to know each other, and chat and laugh. The atmosphere was not tense at all.

After all, they were all from the same island, and they would have to spend more time together in the future, so they were closer than the people from other islands. Moreover, most of them were descendants of the elders, so even if they had never met before, they had heard of each other's names.

The competition venue had always been hosted by several of the major clans of Daimao Island, and this year it happened to be the Luo clan's turn to host. Two or three days beforehand, the young men had already begun arriving to visit, and they would stay at the Luo clan's grounds during the competition.

It just so happened that Luo Jiujiang had something important to attend to that day, so he asked Han Qianling to go ahead and meet those young talents. At that time, their reputations as geniuses had just begun to emerge, and while some might have been wary of them, they always appeared sincere and friendly.

And Duti is the one who is different and very unfriendly.

He had clearly seen Han Qianling exchanging pleasantries with everyone in the room and walking towards him, but he remained firmly seated in his chair, not even raising his eyelids, and asked in a long, sarcastic tone, "Who is this—huh?"

Han Qianling had seen a lot of hostility since he was a child, and Du Di was no exception. He said calmly, "I am Han Qianling."

"Han?" Du Di slumped down in the large armchair. "There are twenty-nine surnames on the six islands, and I've never heard of anyone with the surname Han."

Han Qianling remained motionless as a mountain and said calmly, "Then Master Du will know now."

He said this in a neither humble nor arrogant manner. Du Di sneered twice and made a series of sarcastic remarks. Han Qianling did not linger on him for a second, but walked straight past him to his seat.

Du Di seemed to be irritated by Han Qianling's attitude. He stared at his back and said loudly, "I've heard before that bastards born from mothers but not fathers are never well-mannered and won't even greet people when they greet them. Today I know that's true."

...Compared to the situation at Han Qianling's home, these words are too heartbreaking and too vicious.

For a moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Han Qianling. Some looked sympathetic, others stood by indifferently. However, Han Qianling himself was completely indifferent. There were at least eight hundred people bringing up his parents, if not a thousand. If he were to anger them all, he'd barely have time to do anything.

No matter how others tried to discern any clues from Han Qianling's face, he remained expressionless. At this moment, a single thought crossed his mind: "What a 'respectable gentleman,' 'Mr. Elephant Toucher!'"

Compared to the flamboyant and unrestrained Luo Jiujiang, Han Qianling is more often a silent shadow who is not very familiar to others, and often stands silently behind Luo Jiujiang.

His silence makes his thoughts particularly mysterious. Many have speculated about his true thoughts when faced with adversity. Some believe he is taciturn and can be deceived; others believe that although he remains silent, he secretly records his thoughts and plans revenge in the future.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!