Ms. Diviner: The Prodigal Daughter's Return

Chapter 781: 781 makes you so mad!

Before he could vomit blood, Mu Hanyan spat out a mouthful. The sight of her spitting blood was as tragic as it could possibly be—it was heart-wrenching to smell and tear-inducing to see.

”Mu Chengyang,” Mu Hanyan struggled to stand, pointing at Mu Chengyang with a trembling body, on the verge of passing out. ”You relentlessly insulted me earlier, and I lashed out at you in anger, which was my mistake. However, after repeatedly apologizing to you, you were unrelenting and even sought to kill me in front of the Family Head and the elders, as well as the heads of the various houses. Do you not have an ounce of familial affection?”

Many present found Mu Hanyan’s pitiful state hard to bear and felt a surge of sympathy.

At these words, Mu Chengyang was so angry he nearly jumped out of his skin. Apologize? Apart from the last moment when Mu Hanyan tricked him, when had she ever apologized to him, let alone several times?

It had been a constant stream of mockery and insult and pouring fuel on the fire—that was the reality.

Mu Hanyan, how could you even utter such words? Have you no shame, no dignity befitting a swordsman at all? It was utterly disgraceful and shameless! Infuriating!

”Mu Hanyan, slandering me with blood in your mouth—earlier it was clearly you who insulted me in every possible way; I only failed to hold back in my fury,” Mu Chengyang pointed at Mu Hanyan with a face as red as a liver. His quivering finger made it clear just how incensed he was.

”I insulted you in every possible way? Our strengths are similar, yet your hand skill far exceeds mine. You had me cornered and overwhelmed. How could I afford to be distracted and insult you? I kept apologizing to you, yet you were relentless. Now you have the gall to falsely claim that I insulted you? Mu Chengyang, do you have no dignity as a swordsman, no sense of shame as a person?” Mu Hanyan shouted with righteous indignation, venting out the reproaches she believed Chengyang deserved.

Everyone cast odd looks at Mu Chengyang. They had all seen what happened; Mu Hanyan’s hand skill was no match for Mu Chengyang, that was undeniable. She had been pushed to her limits, her steps unsteady and on the verge of being gravely injured by his strikes—how could she possibly have had the spare attention to insult Mu Chengyang?

Moreover, they had witnessed Mu Hanyan conceding defeat and apologizing sincerely to Mu Chengyang. Who was right and who was wrong wasn’t for fools to decide—they could clearly tell.

Sigh, the Family Head’s only child was not by his side, and his wife had returned to her hometown for a family visit, leaving him all alone. It was a rare occasion for grandfather and granddaughter to reunite, but it had only been a day before Mu Hanyan was seriously injured at Mu Chengyang’s hands. The Third Elder’s family was truly crossing the line.

Inside the Zong Family, even those who were originally in favor of the Third Elder’s family were finding it hard to watch.

”Hanyan,” Mu Beichen stepped forward to support Mu Hanyan, his face filled with anger as he said, ”I will see justice done for you regarding today’s affairs.”

Seeing Mu Beichen’s anger, Mu Chengyang panicked and looked to the Third Elder for help. Although their family was in power, they could only covertly contend with Mu Beichen and did not dare to oppose him brazenly. After all, the authority of the Family Head was inviolable.

If they disregarded the Family Head now, then even if the Third Elder became the Family Head in the future, who would respect him?

”Family Head,” the Third Elder glared fiercely at Mu Chengyang and then said to Mu Beichen, ”I will look into this matter and will ensure accountability for Hanyan.”

”What are we waiting for? Everyone is here, let’s get to the bottom of this now,” Mu Beichen said with a cold snort.

”What exactly happened?” the Third Elder frowned and asked.

The matter was simple: just a few words exchanged and hands raised in conflict, and no one dared to conceal the truth or exaggerate it. Soon, everyone knew about the altercation between Mu Hanyan and Mu Chengyang.

”Family Head, both parties were at fault in this matter. Although Chengyang, being young and impulsive, could not hold back and injured Hanyan, overall, it was still Hanyan who first violated the family rules. Perhaps we should just leave it at that,” after hearing the full story, the Third Elder felt greatly relieved. No matter how you looked at it, it was Mu Hanyan who had acted first, breaking the clan’s rules, so they were not entirely without justification.

Upon hearing this, the Zong Family members around remained silent. Although they all sympathized with Mu Hanyan, the Third Elder insisted on blaming Mu Hanyan for breaking the family rules first, leaving even the Family Head helpless. As things stood, naturally, there was no further talk of punishments like the fifty-board beating, especially since Mu Hanyan was seriously injured—it wouldn’t be right to punish him further. But if Mu Hanyan wasn’t punished, then naturally Mu Chengyang couldn’t be punished either.

In the end, the incident could only be set aside, and Mu Hanyan’s strike had been in vain.

”What family rules? I’ve never heard of any family rules. In Heishi City, there’s no such rule,” Mu Hanyan said, looking utterly confused.

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, then realized: although Mu Hanyan was the eldest grandson of the Family Head, he had gone to Heishi City at a very young age—how could he possibly know the Zong Family’s rules? It’s well known that although the Branch Families are part of the Zong Family, their situations are different, and so are their rules.

All eyes then turned towards the Third Elder.

According to the Zong Family’s rules, any Branch Family Members who were called back to the Sect Family were to first visit the ancestral hall to pay respects to the ancestors, with the elders explaining the family rules to them to prevent accidental transgressions. And it was the Third Elder who was in charge of these matters at the ancestral hall.

”Third Elder, didn’t you take him to the ancestral hall and explain the Sect Family’s rules to him?” the Fifth Elder asked.

The Third Elder’s heart sank. It was his duty to bring Branch Family Members who were called back into the temple and, before the spirit tablets of our ancestors, to explain the family rules. However, Mu Hanyan being the grandson of the Family Head, and given the long-standing grudges between him and the Third Elder, he couldn’t be bothered to pay him any mind. More importantly, he was still upset with Mu Hanyan for defeating Mu Chengxuan yesterday, and had no inclination to take him to any temple to explain the family rules.

”Third Elder, did you really not explain to him?” Seeing his silence, the Fourth Elder also pressed.

”I thought the Family Head had already explained it to him,” the Third Elder, pushed into a corner by the two, could only mumble his response.

”Third Elder, this is where you have been negligent. The affairs of the ancestral hall are your responsibility. The Family Head is too busy with numerous affairs; how could he have time to take Hanyan to the hall?” the Fifth Elder shook his head and said.

”Yes, the saying goes, ’Ignorance excuses no one,’ but since Hanyan was unaware of the family rules, his violation is understandable. If we must blame someone, it would be you for your negligence, for not having explained the family rules to him sooner,” the Fourth Elder quickly added.

The Third Elder’s face darkened. He had been prepared to use the violation of family rules to deal with Mu Hanyan, but now suddenly, the accusation had been turned onto him, and it all became his fault.