At this moment, in the corridor outside the room, Qin Xinxin was waddling his chubby frame.
Beside him, Du Siyuan was attending to him with utmost care.
Ever since Sheng Xinrui left Lingyun and returned to the Imperial Capital, Du Zhe and Du Siyuan had been living in constant fear day and night.
When they learned that Qin Ning had left Lingyun City for the Lingyun Mountains, the father and son lost even more sleep.
Just how dangerous was the Lingyun mountain range?
If anything were to happen to Qin Ning, the consequences would be disastrous.
How could they dare forget Young Master Sheng's instructions?
If any harm came to Qin Ning, both father and son would lose their heads.
Thus, Du Siyuan had to constantly run to the Qin family home to ask about Qin Ning's whereabouts.
Over time, Du Siyuan and Qin Xinxin grew closer.
Today, Qin Xinxin had had a few too many drinks. Already a chatterbox by nature, he was now boasting without restraint.
"You're going the wrong way, this is the art room..."
Du Siyuan pulled Qin Xinxin back, a wry smile on his face.
"Oh... This way... This way... I know."
As the two passed by a private room, they burst into loud laughter.
Crash!
At that exact moment, the door of the private room was kicked open, splintering into pieces. Wood shards flew everywhere, showering the two of them and leaving their faces covered in debris.
"Who is it? Who's the blind fool that did this?!"
Qin Xinxin instinctively barked out in anger.
"I wondered who was spouting such nonsense, and it turns out to be the Qin family's useless trash!"
A cold voice suddenly rang out. A figure stepped out of the room—it was Ling Du.
"Qin Xinxin, why don't you take a piss and look at your own reflection in it!"
"Since when did Qin Ning become the number one genius of Lingyun City? Without his Star Gate, what is he? You're nothing but a dog running at his heels, yet you dare to run your mouth!"
"Ling Du!"
Seeing Ling Du's menacing expression, the half-drunk Qin Xinxin sobered up quite a bit.
"What... What do you want to do?"
Qin Xinxin had already broken through to the Gate of Injury, but to Ling Du, he was still nothing.
"What do I want? Today, you're going to pay for that filthy mouth of yours! Slap yourself and crawl out of Lingyan Pavilion!"
"Ling Du!"
Du Siyuan spoke up from the side.
Qin Ning was of paramount importance to the father and son. Meanwhile, Qin Xinxin was Qin Ning's childhood brother. If anything happened to Qin Xinxin and Qin Ning found out, he would be displeased. If he complained to Young Master Sheng, the father and son would not escape punishment.
"Qin Xinxin is just drunk and talking nonsense. Can you give me some face and let this matter slide?"
"Let it slide? Du Siyuan, who do you think you are?"
Lin Yuyuan spoke up as well, "I see everyone from the Qin family is insufferably arrogant. Slapping this brat is letting him off easy!"
Lin Yuyuan glared at Qin Xinxin and snorted, "Break his arms and throw him out!"
"Lin Yuyuan, don't push things too far!"
"And what if I do? What can you do about it?"
Currently, the four great families—Ling, Lin, Chu, and Shen—had formed an alliance. Even the Shengdan Pavilion was only on equal footing with them.
Moreover, Du Siyuan was only sixteen or seventeen, a mere child in the eyes of the four. They did not take him seriously at all.
"Lin Yuyuan!" Qin Xinxin barked, suddenly finding a burst of courage. "My Brother Ning is about to return, so shut your mouth!"
"Return?" Ling Du sneered. "Our Ling family has dispatched over a dozen Ling Tian Guards to slaughter Qin Ning. You might as well prepare to bury his corpse!"
What!
Hearing this, Du Siyuan was completely frozen in shock.
He knew all too well what the Ling family's Ling Tian Guards were capable of.
The Ling family had actually deployed the Ling Tian Guards to assassinate Qin Ning. No wonder... No wonder Qin Ning had said he would return in ten days, yet there had been no sign of him for over a dozen days now.
"Ling Du, your Ling family is in deep trouble!"
Du Siyuan snorted coldly, pulling Qin Xinxin up to leave.
"Want to leave? Stay right there!"
Lin Yuyuan also snorted coldly, stepping forward to grab Qin Xinxin.
"Let go!"
Du Siyuan turned around and blocked with his hand.
But he was only sixteen or seventeen, while Lin Yuyuan was a full ten years older than him, and the difference between the Du Gate Realm and the Jing Gate Realm was like heaven and earth.
*Crash...*
With a loud crash, Du Siyuan fell to the ground.
Since Du Siyuan was the son of Grandmaster Du Zhe, Lin Yuyuan did not use his full strength, merely repelling him.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Lin Yuyuan grabbed Qin Xinxin's chubby body and said, "Qin Ning killed my younger brother and sister. Today, I will kill you, Qin Xinxin. I'll let him know not to mess with the Lin family!"
Lin Yuyuan reached out to grab him, fully capable of taking Qin Xinxin's life.
"Tiger Roar Stance!"
But suddenly, drawing strength from who knows where, Qin Xinxin managed to break free from Lin Yuyuan and threw a punch.
A few days ago, Qin Ning had casually taught him the fourth stance, the Tiger Roar Stance of the Tiger Roar Dragon Cry Fist.
The punch went out with a loud boom. Qin Xinxin's face turned pale as he spat out blood. With a sharp crack, his arm bone snapped, and his chubby body tumbled over the railing of the corridor, falling from the second floor.
A miserable shriek rang out.
Qin Xinxin fell hard, feeling as if the dinner he ate last night was about to surge up his throat.
The pain in his shoulder left him dazed, but he caught sight of a figure.
The figure was tall and straight, with a slightly pale face, wearing white robes with gold-trimmed sleeves, walking toward him. The person was riding a Green Ox and stopped right in front of him.
It was Qin Ning!
"Oh no, oh no, am I dead? I'm seeing Brother Ning's ghost!"
Qin Xinxin cried out in terror, "Brother Ning, if I'm dead, you must avenge me! Oh, wait, the Ling Heavenly Guards were hunting you down. Did you die too? Brother Ning, are we going to the Yellow Springs together..."
"What are you shouting about? What do you mean dead or not dead?"
A voice rang in his ears, startling Qin Xinxin.
He rubbed his eyes and looked to the side, completely dazed.
"Brother Ning?"
Qin Xinxin scrambled to sit up.
"Brother Ning!"
Then, Qin Xinxin burst into tears.
"Brother Ning, if you hadn't come back, I would have died! You would never have seen your adorable little brother again!"
"That bastard Du Ling said you were killed by the Ling family's Ling Heavenly Guards and could never return!"
"And that bastard Lin Yuyuan wanted to kill me too. If not for that Tiger Roar Stance, I'd be a corpse by now!"
Qin Xinxin wailed and cried, his entire body drenched in sweat.
"Get up!"
Qin Ning bluntly kicked Qin Xinxin, laughing as he scolded, "What are you blathering about? Do you still want your arm?"
"Yes, I do!"
Qin Xinxin hurriedly stood up.
Looking at the deep crater in the solid stone floor, a flash of killing intent flickered in Qin Ning's eyes.
"Let me see!"
Qin Ning grabbed Qin Xinxin's arm.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
"Bear with it!"
"Oh!"
With a sharp crack, Qin Xinxin let out a miserable cry, his vision spinning as he nearly fainted.
"Are you dead yet? If not, swallow this pill!"
In an instant, the elixir slid down his throat. Qin Xinxin felt the medicine dissolve into his body, seeping into his arm. The fractured bones of his arm began to knit back together.