Chapter 196 : Chapter 196
Chapter 196 Ning Cen Was Completely Beyond Saving, and Ning Dingyuan’s Madness!
Duke Dingguo’s Estate.
“Cen’er, my Cen’er!”
Inside the lavish and exquisitely decorated room, the sound of crying was piercing.
Ning Cen had curled into a ball, hiding against the wall in the corner. He kept trembling uncontrollably, his eyes filled with terror.
“Don’t kill me! I was wrong. I really know I was wrong!”
Ning Dingyuan and his wife looked at this scene, their hearts filled with sorrow like a flowing river.
Their perfectly fine son.
How had he become like this?
Another famous physician invited from the Great Qian Capital shook his head and helplessly packed up his things.
“As for your esteemed son’s condition, this old man is also powerless. Lord Duke Dingguo, you should invite someone more capable... For a condition like this, perhaps only Doctor Li in the city can glimpse a clue or two.”
Mental trauma was far too complicated!
Ordinary physicians simply could not bear the risk of treating it. Only someone renowned throughout the world might possibly be able to resolve it.
When Duke Dingguo’s Wife heard this, her eyes immediately reddened.
“He already came yesterday, and he also said he could not save Cen’er!”
“Ah?”
The famous physician was instantly dumbfounded. Even Doctor Li had said he could not treat him, so why had they invited him here? To humiliate him?
He hurriedly shook his head helplessly and left.
Before he departed, he cast Ning Cen a complicated glance and inwardly clicked his tongue.
This pitiful patient before him was actually that young lord who had once been so arrogant and overbearing?
It truly made one sigh with emotion!
When Ning Dingyuan saw this, anger erupted amid his grief.
That look again!
Why did every physician who came to examine his son have that look before leaving?
Six parts helplessness, three parts pity, one part curiosity toward an unknown illness...
And ninety parts delight at another’s misfortune!
If he had not been worried about Ning Cen’s condition, Ning Dingyuan would certainly have taught these physicians a lesson.
“A pack of useless quacks. Their medical skills are worthless, yet they still want to point fingers at my son!”
His precious son, Ning Cen.
Had he not merely committed a few bad deeds because he had been indulged and spoiled? Did that make him so hateful?
Although Ning Dingyuan was speaking up for his son, in his heart, a faint trace of irritation and resentment had long since emerged.
Ning Dingyuan looked at Ning Cen’s pitiful appearance and increasingly felt that he was an embarrassment.
A true man.
No matter what he had experienced, he should not become like this.
Moreover, this was the son of the dignified Duke Dingguo. Even if he went mad, he should not be this cowardly!
Ning Dingyuan gritted his teeth, and a trace of ruthlessness flashed through his heart.
Since those useless physicians could not cure him, then he, as his father, would try. He would use noble bloodline and status to tell Ning Cen one thing.
The son of Duke Dingguo—
Even if he went mad, he should not be so weak!
He strode forward. Under his wife’s disbelieving gaze, he grabbed the trembling Ning Cen.
An incomparably powerful surge of Internal Energy erupted from his body.
With an unquestionable expression, he shouted sternly, “As my son, should you look like this?!”
Ning Dingyuan had never scolded Ning Cen before.
But today—
He had to scold awake this son of his, whose martial talent was outstanding. If he lost his edge, then no matter how good his talent was, it would all be futile!
“Ah! Spare me! Don’t kill me!”
Ning Cen screamed again.
“My lord, what are you trying to do to Cen’er?!”
Duke Dingguo’s Wife also rushed forward anxiously and grabbed Ning Dingyuan’s sleeve.
But he shoved her away.
Ning Dingyuan stared at the screaming Ning Cen, his gaze firm. Today, he had to educate him properly.
“He refused to listen to my discipline and fell to this state. He has no backbone and has utterly disgraced me. Today, I will personally awaken him!”
“I was wrong, don’t kill—”
Slap!
A slap struck out, leaving a red mark on Ning Cen’s face.
“What are you wrong about?! How can the son of Ning Dingyuan be so lowly and weak?!”
Ning Dingyuan shouted furiously.
“You are not allowed to cry. If someone hits you, you find a way to hit them back!”
After this blow, Ning Cen’s expression instantly froze, his tears hanging in his eyes.
A strike of fatherly love left him stunned.
The next moment, Ning Cen actually began trembling, and for the first time ever, he started gathering his Internal Energy.
“Cen’er!”
When Ning Dingyuan sensed this Internal Energy, he was instantly overjoyed.
His son seemed... to have truly been cured by his slap!
His medical skills were no worse than those quacks who chased fame and reputation!
“Come, strike back at me! Wherever you fell, stand back up from there!”
Ning Dingyuan’s eyes were filled with anticipation.
But in the next moment—
The hope that had only just arisen did not continue shining. Instead, it suddenly collapsed.
Ning Cen continued gathering all the Internal Energy in his body and concentrated it in his arm, which had only just healed, but he did not strike back.
Instead, he suddenly threw a punch...
At his own head!
“I was wrong! Don’t torture me! I will do it myself!”
It would have been fine if Ning Dingyuan had not acted just now.
But the moment he did, he actually triggered Ning Cen’s terrifying memories.
A glove covered in long, sharp spikes. Heavy slaps across the face. After each slap, an extremely good wound medicine would be applied.
Then the slapping continued!
His face would forever be bloodied and newly healed flesh, agonizing, unbearably itchy, and enough to drive one to despair!
Once he recalled that sensation again—
It was better to die!
Ning Cen’s punch completely exceeded Ning Dingyuan’s expectations. He did not even have time to stop it.
The punch landed solidly on Ning Cen’s undefended head.
It turned into a miserable, bloody mess.
Ning Cen’s head tilted to one side, and he fainted.
Ning Dingyuan looked at his son, who had mutilated himself until he passed out. His eyes widened until they were blood-red, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Pfft!
Extreme sorrow and despair!
When Duke Dingguo’s Wife saw this scene, her eyes also rolled back, and she fainted.
Ning Dingyuan looked at his wife and son collapsed on the floor.
He roared in anguish, “Jinyiwei! Cheng Yu! If I do not avenge this hatred, I swear I am not human!!!”
At that moment, a servant hurriedly pushed open the door.
“My lord, this is bad! The Jinyiwei have come. They demand that you return the young lord to the Imperial Prison. Otherwise, they will add another crime to his charges, and they will also pursue you for breaking into the prison!”
Return Ning Cen to the Imperial Prison?
When Ning Dingyuan heard this, his expression turned hideous to the extreme, and his eyes became crimson.
The Jinyiwei.
They actually wanted to kick him while he was down!
His anguished roar exploded. “Get out! If they do not want to die, tell them to get out!”
The servant was startled and lowered his head as he withdrew.
In front of Duke Dingguo’s Estate.
When the Zhang Brothers heard Ning Dingyuan’s thunderous roar, they frowned and exchanged a glance.
They had originally planned to explain the advantages and disadvantages to Ning Dingyuan and give him an explanation.
But they did not know that the servant of Duke Dingguo’s Estate had conveyed their meaning far too bluntly and aggressively, completely enraging Ning Dingyuan.
Zhang De was utterly helpless. “Now this is completely troublesome.”
Ning Cen could not be taken back!
Inside the estate.
Ning Dingyuan roared hysterically, smashing everything in the room that could be smashed.
Standing in the wreckage of the room, he finally calmed down a little. He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself.
“Jinyiwei! Cheng Yu! Do not think I do not know why you dare do this!”
A mere Commandant who had only just arrived had dared commit such a ruthless act.
The Jinyiwei, who had been cowering for so long, had even come to kick him while he was down.
When something was abnormal, there had to be a reason.
Ning Dingyuan was certain that all of this was definitely the Great Qian Emperor Xiao Wuji’s intention!
The other party disdained the fact that although Ning Dingyuan was a noble and aristocrat, he was still hesitant in choosing a faction and was not loyal enough.
This matter—
The signs had already appeared from the moment Xiao Wuji issued the imperial decree ordering Ning Cen to be arrested and thrown into the Imperial Prison.
And now—
Even Lu Zhi, the Commander of the Jinyiwei, a man who could endure like a tortoise, had come to pursue his crimes.
Ning Dingyuan did not believe there was no imperial decree from the Great Qian Emperor behind this.
Could it be that Lu Zhi had simply endured too long and could no longer hold himself back?
“I cannot fight Xiao Wuji, but if a mere Jinyiwei dares harm and humiliate me, then that is the road to death!”
He understood very clearly in his heart.
The Jinyiwei would always be the Great Qian Emperor’s blade!
And Cheng Yu was the sharpest and maddest blade among them!
Amid despair and fury, Ning Dingyuan made a crazed decision.
He would compromise with the Great Qian Emperor and plead guilty!
Back then, Zhao Yi resigned from office and went into seclusion.
The Moderate Faction began to dominate alone.
Xiao Wuji, who had not been enthroned for long, could not possibly allow these people to grow wantonly and continuously surrender the court’s interests to the Jianghu.
This was cutting away at the foundation of his imperial rule.
Xiao Wuji said nothing aloud, but in action, he always opposed Elder Grand Secretary Qi and the others. He had sent the Jinyiwei to Dragon Abyss Path to demand an explanation from Sword-Forging Manor, and after destroying Sword-Forging Manor, he had rewarded them instead of punishing them.
All of this could prove these points.
As Duke Dingguo of Great Qian, Ning Dingyuan had a noble status and powerful strength.
Yet when it came to factions, he remained hesitant.
He was also unlike the historians, who were firmly neutral and cared only for chronicling history.
Caught between the Moderate Faction and the Great Qian Emperor, he had maneuvered smoothly between both sides, avoided many risks, and obtained many benefits.
Because of this, however, he could not obtain sufficiently powerful assistance.
Once one side lost patience with him, terrifying consequences would follow.
Ning Dingyuan had long anticipated these things. When the Great Qian Emperor ordered Ning Cen arrested, he did not react much.
People always had to pay a price.
But he had never expected—
The price paid would be so great. That little Jinyiwei from Jiangnan had completely ruined his only son!
Now that things had reached this point and such a blood-deep hatred had been formed—
Only by pleading guilty to the Great Qian Emperor could Ning Dingyuan take his great revenge!
As long as he could persuade the Great Qian Emperor behind the scenes, Cheng Yu, who was merely a tool, would lose his value.
At that time—
Without Xiao Wuji as his backing, Cheng Yu would naturally be left for him to butcher as he pleased!
“Cheng Yu, you brat, I said that I would definitely make you pay the price. Otherwise, I swear I am not human!”
Ning Dingyuan’s eyes were blood-red. He seemed to have already seen the scene of himself crazily torturing Cheng Yu and avenging his great hatred.
Without Xiao Wuji—
A mere Jinyiwei Commandant. He had a thousand and ten thousand methods to deal with him!
At this moment, Duke Dingguo had completely fallen into madness.
Even though, in the rumors, Cheng Yu’s strength was terrifying and his identity and background were strange yet extremely powerful—
Ning Dingyuan did not care about any of it!
He had not even considered that he had completely misunderstood everything.
Everything Cheng Yu had done to Ning Cen had nothing to do with Xiao Wuji at all.
It had been purely a choice from his heart!
...
Somewhere in the Great Qian Capital.
Under Ai Peng’s guidance, Cheng Yu walked into an utterly ordinary deep alley.
There were no special houses, only ordinary people coming and going as they lived their lives.
But that did not make him look down on the destination of this trip.
Because the person they were going to visit—
Was Zhao Yi, Lord Zhao, the former Grand Chancellor of Great Qian!
Cheng Yu had an excellent impression of this old man. In a Jianghu full of hypocritical benevolence and righteousness, Zhao Yi could distinguish right from wrong and uphold good and evil.
In Cheng Yu’s memories from childhood—
The blacksmith couple who had taken him in had greatly respected Lord Zhao.
Because the other party would not package himself with a fine reputation while seizing things by force and trickery at the same time.
He was the only good official who treated the common people as human.
Not long ago in Jiangnan—
Cheng Yu had received Zhao Yi’s help many times, and he felt much gratitude in his heart.
Now that he had come to the Great Qian Capital, he naturally had to pay him a visit.
Very soon—
The two of them arrived before an extremely ordinary small courtyard.
A familiar aged laugh rang out.
“Little Friend Cheng, I trust you have been well. The great deeds you have done during this period and the reputation that has spread from them have truly made this old man admire you immensely!”
Seeing Zhao Yi walking out hale and hearty, Cheng Yu revealed a smile.
He cupped his fists and saluted. “This junior greets Lord Zhao!”
In this world—
There were very few people Cheng Yu admired from the bottom of his heart.
This man was one of them.
And Zhao Yi had finally seen his eldest grandson again. Infinite kindness and gratification flashed through his eyes.
His heart was incomparably proud.
The Jianghu slandered Cheng Yu as cruel, violent, and lawless.
But they did not know that this was because his eldest grandson had grown up among the lowly.
He had struggled his way up from the bottom and experienced the suffering of the common people.
Because of that, he could distinguish black and white even more clearly. There was simply no need for him to exchange polite reasoning with a group of hypocrites.
“Lord Zhao, Lord Cheng. This one still has duties to attend to, so I shall take my leave first.”
Ai Peng did not disturb the grandfather and grandson. Sensibly, he left.
“Go on.”
Zhao Yi nodded and brought Cheng Yu into the house to sit and drink tea.
“Lord Zhao lives here?”
Cheng Yu looked around the simple room, somewhat puzzled. Now that Lord Zhao had returned to court and taken up an official seal, why did he live in a place like this?
This place—Was where your mother grew up.
Zhao Yi subconsciously thought this in his heart, but he still held back and did not say it.
Because whenever that daughter was mentioned—
Only helplessness and sorrow remained in his heart.
Zhao Xichun seemed to care about Cheng Yu, his son.
But in reality, she was extremely biased and had followed Cheng Zhenjiang in doing far too many wrong things.
Such a good girl—
She had run to River-Severing Sect to become a disciple, been bewitched by that bastard Cheng Zhenjiang, and had even given birth to Cheng Yue first and only told him afterward.
After Zhao Yi learned of it, he flew into a rage and had a huge quarrel with Zhao Xichun. They did not communicate for several years.
Later—
Great Qian’s borderlands were thrown into unrest, and the Demon Race and Barbarian Tribes invaded.
While Cheng Zhenjiang was away, treacherous people seized the chance to take revenge. They launched a sneak attack on River-Severing Sect and set a great fire. The guards protected Cheng Zhenjiang and Zhao Xichun’s children with their lives.
Zhao Yi was furious when he heard of this.
He gathered his forces to avenge his children and grandchildren, but at the crucial moment, because of Cheng Zhenjiang’s cowardice and hypocrisy, he suffered a great loss.
It even affected Zhao Yi’s grand plan.
Zhao Yi became completely disappointed in Zhao Xichun and her husband. If he had not heard of Cheng Yu’s existence, he absolutely would not have paid them much more attention.
Now that he thought about how Cheng Yu had already severed ties with his parents, it was also not appropriate for him to mention these things and acknowledge their relationship.
Only sighs and helplessness remained in his heart.
When Cheng Yu saw Zhao Yi fall into deep thought without answering him, he smiled and said, “Those who do great things do not worry over trifles. Living anywhere is the same. Some people dwell in luxury, yet are they not still laughably incompetent?”
Zhao Yi was startled.
Then he nodded and laughed, his gaze toward Cheng Yu growing even more satisfied.
His biological daughter lacked sense.
The only good thing she had done was give birth to this eldest grandson, who had fallen outside the family and had not yet been acknowledged. He was very much of one mind with Zhao Yi.
That was truly great fortune.
“I heard Little Friend Cheng has recently done another great thing.”
Cheng Yu had only just arrived, yet he had offended Duke Dingguo’s Estate and crippled Ning Cen. This counted as eliminating a scourge of the Great Qian Capital.
As far as Zhao Yi knew—
Many people who understood the situation had begun to feel grateful to Cheng Yu.
When Cheng Yu heard this, he merely shook his head calmly.
His tone was filled with indifference.
“I only cleaned up a few small fish and shrimp. If we are truly speaking of a great deed, then it will only count once Duke Dingguo’s Estate is raided!”
When Zhao Yi heard this, he nodded repeatedly, revealing a look of praise.
“Fine ambition!”
As a martial artist whose name was on the Earth Ranking, if Cheng Yu remained fixated on Ning Cen, others would look down on him instead.
Zhao Yi then asked, “Then what plans do you have, Little Friend? The interests involved behind this are no small matter.”
Cheng Yu revealed a cold smile.
“Interests involved? Why would the Jinyiwei care about this and that?”
“I already have evidence of Duke Dingguo plotting something improper. In a few days, I will find an opportunity to take down Duke Dingguo’s Estate.”