“What’s the big deal? If I wanted to go in, I could go in anytime!”
Jiang Tian said dismissively.
“Whoa, Tian Ge, your crazy streak is really acting up, it hasn’t healed yet, has it? Qing’er, sister-in-law, where’s his medicine?”
Jiang Chao was already used to Jiang Tian’s crazy antics, so he just laughed out loud exaggeratedly.
Jiang Tian couldn’t be bothered to say anything, and Zhao Xueqing, with her gentle temperament, also held back.
But Shen Mange couldn’t stand it anymore. Her pretty face stiffened slightly as she frowned and snapped, “You’re the one who’s crazy! Psycho!”
“What did you say? I’m crazy? If you weren’t a woman, I’d have slapped you silly by now!”
Jiang Chao immediately jumped to his feet, his face twisted in anger as he cursed.
Seeing her arrive with Jiang Tian, he just assumed she was Zhao Xueqing’s secretary or close friend. Since Jiang Chao looked down on even Jiang Tian and his wife, why would he pay her any mind?
“You’re asking for it!”
Shen Mange, who had been shelling melon seeds, raised her elegant eyebrows at this. With a few sharp swish sounds, several seeds in her hand shot through the air, fluttering up and down like butterflies, curving in mid-air, and striking several major acupoints all over Jiang Chao’s body.
“Anyone got some paper!”
Jiang Chao suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to defecate. His eyes bulged, cold sweat poured out, he clamped his legs together, and ran wildly, twisting his body.
“Where’s the bathroom!”
But he only made it a few meters.
Then came a series of wet, tearing sounds, and a pungent, foul stench filled the air. His pant legs were soaked, and some mess dripped out.
“Couldn’t… hold it in…”
Jiang Chao was on the verge of tears, his face burning bright red with shame.
If a crack in the earth had appeared right then, he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second before diving in and disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Everyone was dumbfounded. They couldn’t believe it; they didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Was this guy Jiang Chao totally nuts? Having an accident right at the old man’s birthday banquet? How could you be so reckless?
Could it be, like the woman said, that he really wasn’t right in the head?
“See? Called you a psycho, didn’t I? If you weren’t crazy, how could this happen?” Shen Mange said, her face full of mockery.
Jiang Chao had no chance to defend himself; he ran into a room, trailing a powerful stench, to wash up and change clothes.
“Following Jiang Tian really leads to no good. You’ve made him as miserable as that young master Ji!” Zhao Xueqing covered her mouth with a smile, her voice sweet as she said, “Man Ge Jie, that was truly amazing!”
“Mere sleight of hand!”
Shen Mange smiled faintly, but the pride deep in her eyes was impossible to hide.
With just a couple of casual pointers from Jiang Tian, she had now broken through to the Transcendent Realm. While she couldn’t project her internal energy externally just yet, she definitely had no problem controlling objects with it.
Only now did she truly understand why Zuo Zimu and Yin Yue Zhenren had so earnestly advised her to become Jiang Tian’s handmaiden back then.
He was indeed too powerful, too profound. Like a vast ocean, just scooping out a few basins of its water was enough for her to drink her fill.
“Hmph, mere sleight of hand indeed! What’s so amazing about it? You missed the acupoint! You hit the Dazhui point off-target!” Jiang Tian said sternly.
Shen Mange was deeply crushed, her face full of defeat, on the verge of tears.
Master Jiang, can you not set the bar so high? For me to break through to the Transcendent level in just a month or two is already a rare achievement!
“Jiang Ran is back!”
Just then, a commotion arose at the entrance. Many people in Jiangzhuang Village stood up, craning their necks to look towards the gate.
At the gate, a young man with an imposing presence and a sharp, sword-like aura was walking in.
He appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a tall, straight posture. Dressed in military uniform with short hair, he looked energetic and spirited. His tiger-like eyes gleamed with sharpness, and his face held a resolute quality.
“Although Jiang Ran is a distant relative, outside the immediate five generations from Old Man Jiang, when it comes to ability, he’s on par with Jiang Banxia and Young Master Qingfeng!”
“Yeah, I heard he has a talent for martial arts and was accepted as a disciple by a master in the martial arts world. Now he’s completed his training and even joined the military!”
“Right, I heard it’s not just any ordinary unit, but the Eastern Magic Sword Special Forces of the Jinling Military Region.”
“Look at his rank, he’s already a Lieutenant Colonel now, equivalent to a deputy department-level official! Truly outstanding, his future is limitless!”
“How did he get promoted so fast?”
“That unit is no joke, specifically for counter-terrorism. It’s easy to earn merits there. He’s already received two second-class merits in the army!”
Many of the villagers went up to offer him cigarettes and chat. The elders looked on with envy, regretting that their own children weren’t so accomplished. The younger ones gazed at him with admiration and awe, as if seeing an idol.
Jiang Ran was very talkative, warmly calling everyone ‘uncle’ and ‘granduncle’. He explained that Old Man Jiang Changgeng had treated his illness when he was a child, so he had taken leave specifically to wish the old man a happy birthday and also to celebrate the Spring Festival.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on Jiang Tian. His face darkened, and he walked over deliberately, sneering, “Jiang Tian, did you hit Uncle Daya?”
“Jiang Tian hit someone again?”
Only then did everyone notice Jiang Daya standing timidly at the entrance, glaring at Jiang Tian with a mix of fear and resentment on his face.
Several clear finger marks were visible on his face, swollen like steamed buns. The right side of his cheek was horrifically sunken, and half his teeth were gone.
“Daya is Jiang Ran’s own third uncle, you know!”
“Yeah, back in the day, when Jiang Tian was the crown prince of the Medicine King Group, hitting him might have been one thing, but things are different now!”
“Exactly. Jiang Ran is now an officer with several bars on his shoulder, while Jiang Tian has been kicked out of the family!”
“Putting that aside, just the fact that Jiang Tian hit someone is wrong. No matter what, Jiang Daya is an elder!”
“Yeah, this shows absolutely no respect for one’s elders!”
Many of the villagers present pointed at Jiang Tian and murmured among themselves. Some were deeply pained, some looked indignant, others were skeptical. But regardless of their expression, they all agreed that Jiang Tian had gotten himself into big trouble today.
“I hit him.”
Jiang Tian was shelling melon seeds for Qing’er, his expression calm and composed, his gaze indifferent as he said, “But what kind of uncle is he to me? What relation do we have? He’s just a dog that bites people indiscriminately!”
Apart from his closest kin, apart from the friends and family who had helped him in his past life, Jiang Tian viewed blood relations with extreme detachment.
In the outer realms of the cosmos, Jiang Tian had once reforged his physical body and could shapeshift at will. So, he couldn’t care less about these distant, barely-related clan members.
“Jiang Tian, you are so arrogant!”
Jiang Ran’s face turned pale with anger upon hearing this, his whole body trembling.
He came from a very poor background. As a child, his family was so destitute they couldn’t keep the pot boiling, and he had endured the ridicule and contempt of the villagers.
Now, returning to the village after being promoted to officer, he felt he was strutting home in glory, draped in success.
One day, an elder would bring gifts to his door, asking him to take their son under his command. The next day, a childhood friend would prepare a feast and invite him, showing him immense respect.
It could be said that he had established his prestige in the village; he was highly respected, a far cry from the past.
But he never expected Jiang Tian to be so arrogant, even calling his third uncle a dog.
Just then, Jiang Qingfeng walked out, glanced at Jiang Tian, and asked, “Jiang Ran, what’s going on?”
“Just a small matter!”
Jiang Ran’s face immediately broke into a smile at the sight of Jiang Qingfeng, and he patted his shoulder affectionately.
“Jiang Ran, it’s been a few years, and you’ve truly become someone extraordinary. I heard you’ve joined the Eastern Magic Sword!”
Jiang Qingfeng glanced at Jiang Daya in the distance and had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but he didn’t make a scene. Instead, he warmly shook hands with Jiang Ran and started chatting.
“You’re not doing badly yourself. I heard you’re already in charge of the family business!” Jiang Ran chuckled.
“It’s all thanks to everyone’s support.”
Jiang Qingfeng made a polite remark, his face beaming as he said, “Go on in. The old man invites you to the inner hall for a chat.”
“Jiang Ran is truly remarkable, even getting Jiang Qingfeng to personally welcome him and having the chance to enter the inner hall!”
“The old man likes to mentor the younger generation. Jiang Ran is too outstanding; even as a distant relative, he’s already caught the old man’s eye!”
“Exactly. The Jiang family passes down medical knowledge, and ultimately values scholarly etiquette. As long as you work hard and are willing to put in the effort, you can definitely succeed!”
“Unlike some people, even if they are from the direct line, they just keep causing trouble and now can only sit outside with us!”
Many people present sighed with envy. Contrasted with Jiang Ran, they naturally held Jiang Tian in even greater contempt.
Some even used the opportunity to lecture their own younger family members as a way to subtly mock Jiang Tian, their words laced with veiled barbs.
Jiang Tian completely ignored these comments, simply drinking tea and chatting with the two women, occasionally bursting into laughter.
In everyone’s eyes, this made Jiang Tian seem even more frivolous, thoughtless, and utterly useless.
…
At this moment, inside the inner hall, several rows of ornate wooden armchairs held the core members of the Jiang family, who were drinking tea and chatting.
An old man sat at the head. He was their Ninth Granduncle, already a hundred years old, the eldest and most senior person in Jiangzhuang Village.
He had studied medicine abroad, then abandoned his studies to join the army, attending the Whampoa Military Academy and participating in the national liberation struggle. After liberation, he served as a division commander in the Jinling Military Region. He could be considered the spiritual leader of the Jiang family.
Beside him sat Jiang Changgeng in his Tang suit, flanked by Jiang Changgeng’s two brothers.
Further down were the middle-aged men, led by Jiang Shouren – the pillars of the Jiang family.
“Grandfather, Jiang Tian actually hit someone at your birthday banquet!”
Jiang Qingfeng pulled Jiang Ran inside and immediately started tattling, his voice indignant. “If he’d hit someone his own age, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. But he hit Uncle Daya!”
“What? He actually shows such disrespect for his elders?”
“Uncle Daya has been utterly loyal as head of the Group’s security department. Back in the day, he even took a bullet for us Jiang family members!”
“Uncle Daya is Jiang Ran’s own third uncle! Jiang Tian this… this is outrageous!”
“How could he do such a thing?”
“That’s going too far!”
Upon hearing Jiang Qingfeng’s words, everyone present voiced their support for Jiang Daya, their indignation at Jiang Tian palpable.
Jiang Tian’s slap wasn’t just a simple act; it was like courting public outrage.
Jiang Shouren’s face was particularly contorted with anger, his hands trembling.
Jiang Ran was now a regiment-level officer; in the future, the Jiang family might very well need to rely on him to some extent. Yet Jiang Tian had to go and cause trouble like this.
Jiang Zhixing and his wife’s faces changed dramatically; they couldn’t believe it.
How could Jiang Tian be so foolish? Didn’t he know what day it was today? And he still dared to hit someone!
Only Jiang Changgeng remained very calm, maintaining the demeanor of a great family patriarch.
