The Abandoned Daughter's Second Chance

A month after Xiao Man returned to Beijing for the start of school, on the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ai Wenli gave birth to twin boys. The two little brothers were premature, arriving nearly a month early, but they were in high spirits. Their weight and all other aspects were normal, showing none of the frailty typical of premature babies.

Grandpa Tang and Grandma Tang were overjoyed, each holding a precious grandson, unwilling to let go. Poor Mr. Tang had been planning to work hard and save up his vacation days so he could stay home longer when his wife gave birth. He hadn’t even come home for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The babies arrived without any warning, catching Mr. Tang completely off guard. He rushed home, and the first thing he did was check on his wife. Seeing her healthy complexion and that everything was fine, he finally relaxed. Only then did he pick up the two beautiful, pink, chubby little bundles. The more he looked at them, the more he adored them, grinning from ear to ear. Although he had long been called "Dad" by Zheng Shaolian and Zheng Shaojin, and had later adopted Xiao Man, giving him a strong sense of fatherhood, holding these two soft little ones in his arms was a new and wondrous feeling, filling him with happiness.

Xiao Man, of course, adored her two newborn baby brothers. Every time she coaxed and played with them, she never wanted to leave. With the support and encouragement of her grandma and Mrs. Ai, she applied to live off-campus. A driver took her to and from school every morning and evening, allowing her to spend more time with the little ones. She found everything they did, whether crying or laughing, to be absolutely delightful.

At the end of October, Xiao Man took a leave of absence from school and left Beijing for another trip south to G Province—Gu Shaojun had suffered a severe internal injury. Traveling with Xiao Man were Granny Gu, Mrs. Gu, and Gu Shaozheng. Gu Qiming, Gu Qifan, and Gu Shaofeng followed in separate trips to visit. Gu Qiming and Gu Shaofeng’s movements were secretive; they came and went like the wind. Gu Qifan, however, stayed for one night and took Granny Gu and Mrs. Gu with him when he left the next day. Gu Shaozheng remained in the South to attend to his own business, while Xiao Man stayed by Gu Shaojun’s side, meticulously treating and nursing him back to health. Only when Gu Shaojun had mostly recovered did he reluctantly send Xiao Man back to Beijing.

The vicious battle Gu Shaojun had just endured was against the Gongsun Clan. Though he had narrowly won, it had nearly cost him his life. For this, he was severely reprimanded by his elders. Xiao Man was also furious. Gu Shaojun admitted his mistake and hurriedly promised Xiao Man it would never happen again, that he would never be so reckless. ’This time, I was truly careless. I didn’t realize the Gongsun Clan had a secret technique for sending messages. They alerted each other without me even noticing, and their reinforcements arrived before I had a chance to escape.’

Facing three Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Gongsun Clan as a Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator was one perilous moment after another. Fortunately, Gu Shaojun acted decisively and killed Gongsun Hanshan first, just before Gongsun Li and Gongsun Xiang rushed to the scene. While the enraged Gongsun Xiang attacked immediately, Gongsun Li was still hesitating. For Gu Shaojun, who had nearly exhausted his strength, fighting them one after another was still incredibly dangerous. However, it cut the pressure in half compared to facing two Foundation Establishment Cultivators at once. This gave him a chance to catch his breath—a chance he seized to turn the tables and survive the life-or-death crisis.

He was incredibly thankful that during their cultivation in the deep mountains and wilderness over the summer break, Xiao Man had provided him with rare materials brimming with immense Spiritual Power from her Treasure Pearl Space. With them, Gu Shaojun had crafted six mysterious and incredibly powerful Array Plates. He had given them all to Xiao Man to hold onto, but she only took two, leaving the other four in his drawer. Tucked among them was a Transmission Array she had found in her space, originally intended as a model for him to study and replicate. After Gu Shaojun successfully crafted his first Storage Ring, he naturally put everything Xiao Man had left him inside it to carry with him. He never expected to use them this time.

Because he hadn’t anticipated reinforcements and was determined to settle the score with Gongsun Hanshan, Gu Shaojun relied solely on his own strength to kill him. As a result, by the time Gongsun Hanshan was dead, Gu Shaojun had nearly exhausted his energy. To then face Gongsun Xiang and Gongsun Li, he had no choice but to rely on the arrays.

In the end, he used several killing arrays to wear down and severely injure Gongsun Li and Gongsun Xiang. When he sensed the two old brothers intended to use a desperate, all-or-nothing final move to take him down with them, Gu Shaojun threw out the Transmission Array Xiao Man had left him. Gongsun Li and Gongsun Xiang were hoist by their own petard, while the Transmission Array sent Gu Shaojun dozens of miles away. Even so, he was still gravely injured.

Gu Shaojun had cornered Gongsun Hanshan in a deep forest valley in G Province. Needless to say, Gongsun Hanshan’s destination was Gongdao Village in Wancheng Ping County. The two exchanged few words upon meeting and battled with wind, fire, and lightning for a full day and night. Although Gongsun Hanshan was seasoned and ruthless, an old underlying injury eventually caused his strength to fail. Gu Shaojun, with the advantage of youth and vigor, had sworn an oath to kill Gongsun Hanshan and showed not a moment’s hesitation. Pressing his advantage, he used a Wind Blade to slice off half of Gongsun Hanshan’s head. Gongsun Li and Gongsun Xiang arrived just in time to see Gongsun Hanshan fall from the sky and die on the spot. Gongsun Xiang’s eyes instantly turned red, and he lunged at Gu Shaojun in a mad quest for revenge.

The promise once made with Gongsun Li as the representative was this: Gongsun Hanshan would be confined in seclusion for life. If he violated this, the Gu family would execute him on sight, and the Gongsun Clan was not to seek revenge out of hatred.

Now, that promise had been utterly forgotten.

As Gongsun Xiang attacked, Gongsun Li initially tried to persuade his brother to stop. But Gongsun Xiang, furious, accused Gongsun Li of being too cowardly and timid to be the Clan Leader, lacking the unyielding might and presence of a Cultivator. No wonder the Gongsun Clan had been in decline; their fighting spirit had been completely eroded by this useless leader!

Gongsun Li’s anger was stoked. He then saw that Gu Shaojun, after killing Gongsun Hanshan, seemed to be struggling against Gongsun Xiang and was gradually losing ground. His mind began to race. He considered the situation. The forces Gu Shaojun had brought from the Gu family were all just Ancient Martial Artists, some even armed with guns. But within the force field created by several experts casting techniques simultaneously, ordinary bullets were no threat. The other Gongsun disciples could easily handle those Ancient Martial Artists. ’On the contrary, with an audience, Gu Shaojun has to be more cautious. If he wants to save face, he has to play by the rules!’ Furthermore, in Gongsun Li’s century of experience, he knew that while Cultivators appeared sanctimonious, they were almost all bullies who flattered the powerful and trampled the weak. They might watch quietly from the sidelines, but when it came time to strike the loser and snatch up magic artifacts and treasures, not a single one would hold back. ’Everyone who’s here will want a piece of the prize.’ Gongsun Li weighed the pros and cons over and over. Then, he saw Gu Shaojun reveal an opening and get struck by Gongsun Xiang’s palm, causing him to vomit blood. At that moment, he finally made his decision. He leaped into the fray, joining forces with Gongsun Xiang to attack Gu Shaojun.

’So what if we cripple or even kill Gu Shaojun? Besides him, no one in the Gu family has a High-level Cultivation. Why should we be so hesitant! Since we’ve rejoined the path of cultivation, we should understand and accept the rule of the Cultivation World: the strong are revered!’

’If the Gu family dares to act recklessly and use their worldly power to oppress us, the Gongsun Clan is no pushover. We’ll counter whatever they throw at us. We’ll see who the real winner is in the end!’

He was starting to agree with Gongsun Xiang. ’It’s true, there’s no point in living a low-profile existence, following the ancestral teachings for over a hundred years. Restraining our ambition and constantly giving way has only led to us being passively beaten. We lost our ancestral Storage Ring, our wealth was coveted, our ancestral home was invaded, and we even lost Gongsun Hanshan, who had finally achieved Foundation Establishment... If this continues, the spirit and fighting will of the Gongsun Clan will be completely extinguished. The entire clan will likely fall into ruin under my leadership, eventually scattering like sand in the wind, leaving no trace behind!’

Gongsun Li told himself he could not bear such a sin. He had to charge forward and defend his clan’s honor with his life!