Chapter 207: Food is important.

Chapter 207: 207: Food is important.

"You... who are you to act like this?!"

Peng Yucheng’s fear was gradually replaced by hysteria.

"Even the Lin Patriarch wouldn’t dare disrespect me like this!"

Zhaowen’s expression immediately changed.

He could tolerate being insulted himself.

He could even tolerate Peng Yucheng cursing at him.

But hearing this idiot speak badly about Young Miss’s father was something else entirely.

"You can curse me all you want," Zhaowen said, his voice turning cold. "But you dare speak about Young Miss’s father like that?"

His eyes narrowed.

"You must have forfeited your life."

Peng Yucheng’s face turned pale.

Zhaowen took a step forward.

"Do you know what happened to your father and your uncle?"

He paused, staring directly at Peng Yucheng.

"They went running when Young Miss gave chase."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

"And yet you actually believe her father would show respect to cowards like them?"

A strange smile appeared on Zhaowen’s face.

Then he suddenly began laughing.

"Hahaha!"

His laughter carried obvious anger, and the surrounding villagers could feel the pressure in his voice.

"You really have no idea who you are dealing with."

Zhaowen took a breath and slowly calmed himself.

He had already said more than he intended to.

Still, since the matter had reached this point, there was no reason not to flaunt his identity.

"My name is Lin Zhaowen."

The moment those words left his mouth, Xu Liang’s expression changed.

Zhaowen continued without hesitation.

"I am a member of the Lin Family, and I have pledged my allegiance to Young Miss Lin Zhaoyue."

Xu Liang’s eyes widened.

He immediately turned toward his friends who were still standing near the inn.

They were all members of the Xu Clan who worked at the inn, and judging from their expressions, they had clearly recognized the name as well.

The group of delinquent children led by a child called Lin Zhaoyue who was the head of that group.

It was the very same young lady this boy had just declared his allegiance to.

There was even a wild rumor circulating among the cultivators who travelled between cities.

According to that rumor, Lin Zhaoyue had chased both Peng Tianyun and Hao Zhenshan, two great patriarchs, until the two had been forced to flee from her.

Most people had treated the story as an exaggeration.

After all, how could a young girl possibly chase two great patriarchs into retreat?

Yet Xu Liang looked at Zhaowen again.

If this young child was truly a member of the Lin Family and had reached the Golden Core Realm at only thirteen or perhaps fourteen years old, then suddenly, some of those ridiculous rumors did not seem quite as impossible as they had before.

If this had been the Xu Family in its prime, back when they were still a Rank Seven clan, they would have treated a child like Zhaowen as a seed candidate and poured considerable resources into nurturing him.

Yet this young man had willingly sworn his loyalty to another person.

Either he had been coerced into doing so, or he had been genuinely convinced by that person.

And judging by the pride on Zhaowen’s face whenever he mentioned Young Miss, it was obvious that neither possibility involved coercion.

"Senior, if you don’t mind..." Xu Liang began cautiously.

Zhaowen immediately stared at him.

Xu Liang felt a faint aura of anger mixed with confusion radiating from him.

"Young Master?" Xu Liang muttered instinctively.

The strange mixture of anger and confusion immediately disappeared, while Zhaowen’s aura remained otherwise unchanged.

Xu Liang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

I see.

He definitely hates being called Senior.

Zhaowen, meanwhile, stared at Xu Liang with a puzzled expression.

Why did he suddenly call me Young Master?

He could not understand what had caused the strange reaction.

Still, there were more important things to deal with.

Let’s settle this matter first and then go find Young Miss.

I’m sure she’ll be surprised to see me.

A mischievous thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Zhaowen’s lips curled upward.

"Hehehe..."

His laughter was strangely eerie.

So eerie, in fact, that Peng Yucheng’s body trembled.

A moment later, the unfortunate young master wet himself again.

"This... How weak is your bladder?"

Zhaowen stared at Peng Yucheng in disbelief.

His tone carried genuine scolding and Peng Yucheng’s face crumpled.

He completely broke down and began crying before his body finally went limp and fainted.

The two Peng Clan guards immediately panicked.

"Young Master!"

They hurried forward and stood protectively around Peng Yucheng, their bodies tense as they watched Zhaowen.

Zhaowen pinched his nose.

He had noticed that the Patriarch often did this whenever something unpleasant happened, so he decided to imitate the gesture.

He stood there like that for nearly a minute, thinking about absolutely nothing.

Finally, he lowered his hand.

"Alright. Take that idiot and leave."

The two guards immediately bowed.

"Yes, Senior!"

They hurriedly picked up Peng Yucheng and carried him away as quickly as their legs could take them.

Once they were gone, Zhaowen turned toward Xu Liang.

"Xu Liang, is it?"

Xu Liang straightened immediately.

"You did well by stepping up."

The words were simple, but the way Zhaowen said them was strangely eerie.

There was something unsettling about hearing such an adult tone come from a child who looked barely thirteen years old.

Xu Liang could not help but flinch.

Zhaowen, however, was completely satisfied.

Young Miss really is the best role model.

He had managed to copy her properly.

With that thought in mind, Zhaowen turned away from Xu Liang and walked toward the injured innkeeper.

Zhaowen crouched beside Lin Qingshan and helped him back onto his feet.

"You are very lucky. Thank the heavens for taking in the Xu Family and allowing them to help around this place."

He glanced toward Xu Liang.

"If not for Xu Liang stepping forward, I’m afraid you would have suffered a much heavier injury."

Lin Qingshan and the others stared at the kid with unexplainable expressions.

Zhaowen on the other hand, glanced at the damaged inn.

"As for the destruction..."

He paused and looked over the broken wooden wall.

"There’s nothing I can do to help with that. As you can see, I’m just a kid."

The words were perfectly reasonable yet nobody found them comforting.

Instead, the people around him felt an inexplicable chill.

Was this really the words from a child who looked barely thirteen years old?

Zhaowen, completely unaware of how unsettling he sounded, simply looked around at the damaged inn with a thoughtful expression.

Zhaowen, completely unaware of how unsettling he sounded, simply looked around at the damaged inn when his stomach suddenly growled.

An awkward silence filled the place until he opened his mouth.

"If you don’t mind me asking, what do you have ready-made? I’m hungry."