However, he was no longer here.
No matter how big the matter was, it was impossible for him to pay with his life.
Bai Xin was slightly relieved that Zhu Minglang was back. He was standing in front of her, alive and well.
Besides, Zhu Minglang had killed Hao Shaocong on the streets on his first day back in the Imperial City. This would only bring more trouble to Zhu Minglang and Zhu Tianguan.
They could slowly settle this score with the Hao father and son. Using this method was the stupidest.
The Hao father and son knew that Zhu Minglang was not someone to be trifled with, so they put away their arrogance and hypocrisy.
Hao Shaocong's eyes were filled with anger, but in the end, he had no choice but to walk into the mourning hall under his father's threat.
He knelt down and kowtowed.
He kowtowed until he reached a hundred.
Zhu Minglang stood in the mourning hall, looking at the young man lying quietly in the wooden coffin …
"Kowtow harder," Zhu Minglang turned around and said coldly to Hao Shaocong.
Hao Shaocong was filled with anger, but in the end, he still slammed his head heavily on the ground, causing his forehead to bleed.
"Zhu Tong, this is the person who caused your death. In a few days' time, I will participate in the Power Competition. At that time, I will definitely get him to personally apologize to you!" Zhu Minglang did not say these words softly. Instead, he said it directly in front of everyone in the mourning hall.
Hao Yong, Madam Zhao, and the others who came to attend the funeral all looked at Zhu Minglang in shock.
Was Zhu Minglang swearing in front of everyone that he would kill Hao Shaocong?
How could there be someone who disregarded the law so brazenly?
"Zhu Minglang, my son only accidentally killed your brother who was not related by blood. How dare you say such words in front of everyone? Do you not have any respect for me and Zi Zonglin??" Hao Yong said angrily.
"My uncle and aunt only had one child in their entire lives, while you, Hao Yong, have three sons. A life for a life, what wrong did I do?" Zhu Minglang retorted.
"I said it was an accident!"
"Don't worry. The day you met me, I also made a mistake." Zhu Minglang laughed.
It was fine if he was lying to himself about something like an accident.
When he was looking at Zhu Tong's body just now, Zhu Minglang saw the scars that even makeup couldn't cover up. Even if she was wearing expensive burial clothes, he could still see them clearly!
If this was before, Zhu Minglang would have believed that he had failed. He would have let him kowtow a hundred times and then hand him over to the royal family for punishment.
However, Zhu Minglang would never let Hao Shaocong off the hook after seeing the corpse!
That meant that they were rushing to kill Zhu Tong. In fact, after they died, their limbs were even severely damaged. It was clear that they harbored enormous resentment toward Zhu Tong. Not only was their killing intent heavy, they did not stop even after Zhu Tong's death.
Such vile behavior was not a competition between factions. What was even more hateful was that before he showed up, their so-called offering a bramble and asking for punishment was like a joke. Not only were they hypocritical, they were even mocking Zhu Yushan and Bai Xin!
Now that things had come to this, how could they expect Zhu Minglang to be amiable with them?
Did any Tom, Dick, or Harry dare to behave atrociously in front of the Zhu Clan now?
"Hao Yong, if your son of a bitch wants to withdraw from the competition or hide somewhere else, then prepare coffins for your other two sons. I'll also give you the suona players from my family for free. Your family will be even more solemn than the Zhu Clan today!" Zhu Minglang said.
His words silenced the entire mourning hall, including the guests from the large forests and clans. They never thought that the Zhu Clan would have such an unscrupulous and arrogant person!
For a moment, Hao Yong and Madam Zhao's faces turned ashen. Hao Shaocong, whose head was covered in blood from kowtowing, turned from anger to fear.
Regarding some of Zhu Minglang's past deeds, they had all heard of it.
This guy was an outstanding Swordsman. Even the older generation had been beaten up by him. At such a young age, he had already trampled on the peerless geniuses of various factions …
Although they heard that he had fallen and lost his way, they were still worried that this little demon from the Imperial Capital would do something outrageous. After all, he was Zhu Tianguan's son. He was completely different from an adopted son like Zhu Tong!
"Zhu Minglang, if you dare touch my son, I'll make you regret it even if I have to risk everything!" Hao Yong's face was a little twisted. He was probably so angry that he could not calm down.
"Let's go, let's go. Don't waste time with this lunatic," Madam Zhao said hurriedly.
"There are still twenty left," Zhu Minglang said coldly as he stared behind Hao Shaocong.
Hao Shaocong's head was already covered in blood. He was already frightened by Zhu Minglang's words, but when Zhu Minglang stood behind him, he looked like an executioner of the underworld.
Hao Shaocong believed that if he did not finish kowtowing, his head would really fall off. This Zhu Minglang clearly did not have the cultivation of a Swordsman, but there was a terrifying evil aura around him. It made Hao Shaocong feel like there was an evil sword hanging behind his neck, as if it had drunk an unknown amount of blood and slain an unknown amount of souls.
Finally, he finished kowtowing.
Hao Shaocong was a little delirious. His father had to help him up.
"Family members, thank you," Zhu Minglang finally said, as if he was sending them off.
Hao Yong and Hao Shaocong had no choice but to bow to Zhu Yushan and Bai Xin again. In the end, they left Zhu Tong's mourning hall in shock.
After the father and son left, many people from the Zhu Clan were discussing softly beside the mourning hall.
"That's how it should be for scum like him. I've been wanting to avenge Zhu Tong for a long time. Did you know that when Zhu Tong's corpse was sent back, it was no different from a slaughtered pig or lamb!" said a young apprentice blacksmith.
"As expected of Brother Minglang, he didn't hesitate at all when dealing with scum like that. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!"
"Is he really Zhu Minglang?" Some of the younger disciples almost could not recognize Zhu Minglang. They looked at him curiously.
After all, they had more or less heard of his name since they were from the Zhu Clan.
… …
The ceremony was just the last form of respect for the dead.
However, the ceremony would eventually come to an end.
He would completely fade out from everyone's sight, whether it was just a casual acquaintance, or close relatives like Zhu Yushan and Bai Xin.
People were separated into different ranks. Once they were in different ranks, their lives would not be judged fairly.
In the end, Zhu Tong was not a direct descendant. He was only an adopted son.
Zhu Minglang knew very well that other than himself, not many people would seek justice for him.
Originally, Zhu Minglang was still considering whether to participate in the Zong Lin and Clan Tournament. Now, because of Hao Shaocong, he had to go.
… …
After passing through the courtyard, he walked toward the island in the middle of Dripping Lake.
There were no white lanterns hanging inside. Just like before, the Zhu Clan maintained its usual silence and elegance. The funeral in front of the courtyard seemed to have nothing to do with the Zhu Clan behind it.
In the end, he was only an adopted son. His uncle and aunt did not have much status in the Zhu Clan. They only managed a few shops in the imperial city.
There was a stone bridge in front of him that led to the inner courtyard of the Zhu Clan.
The Zhu Clan was divided into an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard.
The inner courtyard was the core of the Zhu Clan. It was responsible for the inheritance and research of the art of blacksmithing. The outer courtyard mainly managed the business of the blacksmithing shops.
All this time, the inner courtyard of the Zhu Clan was indifferent to the outer courtyard. They even looked down on it.
They did what they wanted, and their loss had nothing to do with the inner courtyard of the island.
"Zhu Minglang, your family seems very complicated," Fang Niannian said in a small voice.
She could also see that the outer courtyard and inner courtyard of the Zhu Clan were like two different worlds.
The inner courtyard was in the middle of the island. It was like a sacred place that was cut off from the rest of the world. The loss of the outer courtyard did not affect the inner courtyard at all. It was like two unrelated families.
"Our Zhu Clan once took in a blacksmith family from a defeated country. Most of them became slaves. My grandfather did not agree with the slave system. Back then, he separated the inner courtyard and gave it to the blacksmith family of the defeated country to manage. That is the outer courtyard that my uncle and aunt are in charge of now, "Zhu Minglang explained helplessly.
In the imperial city of Extreme Court, many families had slaves.
Slaves had no status in the eyes of any faction. Even though people like Zhu Yushan had slowly changed their status and become a true core member of the Zhu Clan, the entire imperial city of Extreme Court still did not take them seriously.
"Then, your uncle and aunt are not related by blood?" Fang Niannian asked.
"Uncle Zhu Yushan's original name was Yushan. He used to be my father's companion. My father's views were the same as my grandfather's. He did not like slaves from defeated countries. They always called each other brothers. He even asked the clan to change his surname. That was how he got the name Zhu Yushan. My father treated him like a brother, and they always saw me as their own, "Zhu Minglang explained.
In fact, even if the slave family had children, they would still be slaves.
Even if Zhu Yushan and Bai Xin had changed their surnames and gotten rid of their status as slaves, if they had children, they would still be recognized as slaves by the Extreme Court Dynasty.
That was why they had not had children for many years.
Their children still couldn't wash away this layer of slave imprint.
"So, as a disciple of your family, even if Zhu Tong was killed in the competition, no one would look into it?" Fang Niannian suddenly realized.
Coming from the Distant Mountain Sword Sect, Fang Niannian's general impression of the Zhu Clan should be extremely powerful. How could they be defeated and even be mocked by the murderer? They did not respect the family of the deceased at all. Instead, they were deliberately provoking them.
It turned out that the outer court of the Zhu Clan was made up of defeated slaves. Even if the Zhu Clan accepted them and gave them enough respect and status, they would still be a group of lowly slaves in the eyes of outsiders.
Fang Niannian could not help but shudder at the thought that the Ancestral Dragon City might end up like this.
Even if they were in a reasonable clan, human lives were still as worthless as grass.
"What other people think is their business. My uncle is my uncle, my aunt is my aunt, and my younger brother is my younger brother! "Zhu Minglang took a deep breath.
"Yes, what you said in the mourning hall just now can be described with one word: handsome. That father, son, and Madam Zhao were really disgusting. They went too far! "Fang Niannian said.
Zhu Minglang looked at Fang Niannian and was stunned.
After a while, he said, "I've known you for so long, but this is the first time I've heard you praise me."
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