Chapter 635 616: Six Hundred and Sixteen

If this were the old Wang Rencai, he would have pounced like a wild beast and done who-knows-what by now. But the current Wang Meng...

Zhan Yingluo was truly baffled. The Zhan Family and the Wang Family had an unusual relationship. They were not just old family friends; they were also related by marriage. Wang Rencai's mother was from the Zhan Family, but she passed away after giving birth to him, giving him the reputation of a jinx. Coupled with his Five Elements Wasted Body, everyone in the Wang Family looked down on him, which was also what drove him to act so wantonly.

While ninety-nine percent of people disliked Wang Rencai, it wasn't everyone. There were still people in the Wang Family who cared about him.

At this point, Zhan Yingluo was halfway convinced that Wang Meng had really decided to start over.

A prodigal son's return is worth more than gold. His Merak Fire Cloud Technique had even surged in power. It seemed everyone had misjudged him before. Perhaps he had always been diligent in his training, merely acting rebellious in front of others.

In truth, Zhan Yingluo didn't know much about the later Wang Rencai either. Everything she knew was hearsay, and she had never wanted to see him again. She had only come this time because she had no other choice.

But the result was truly unexpected.

Such powerful Spirit Control talent, coupled with his excellent cultivation—this was a true disciple of the Wang Family.

'Thinking about what I've seen myself, Wang Meng is so much better than Mo Chengkong and his crowd. In reality, which of the noble scions in Haojing doesn't mess around? It's just a matter of degree. Who knows how many times Wang Rencai has taken the blame for others. But since he didn't care, no one else did either.'

'It seemed he was trying to get his family's attention this way, but he just went about it the wrong way.'

Just as Zhan Yingluo's thoughts were running wild, the door opened. Her heart instantly tightened.

'Could it be...?'

Zhan Yingluo was genuinely flustered. She was debating whether to slap him half to death or kick him into a stupor, but she quickly calmed down.

She adopted the posture of a helpless maiden, dead drunk and at his mercy, completely unable to resist. There was even a hint of bewitching charm in her eyes. To be honest, she was feeling a little vengeful.

Wang Meng smiled, not shying away from appreciating the beauty of Zhan Yingluo's drunken act. 'She's even good at faking it.'

Seeing the "lecherous" smile on Wang Meng's face, Zhan Yingluo cursed inwardly. 'A wolf in sheep's clothing, just as I thought. I was almost fooled by his strange behavior earlier...' In her eyes, if Wang Meng wasn't a lecher, it would be as strange as a wolf going vegetarian!

In reality, Master Wang's smile was quite proper. It was just that under the filter of a certain someone's biased perception, even the most righteous smile would be seen as utterly roguish.

Wang Meng reached his hand out toward Zhan Yingluo.

'Here it comes!' Seeing Wang Meng's large hand reaching for her, Zhan Yingluo seethed internally. 'Just as I expected.' However, she suppressed the urge to kill him with a single palm strike and continued to feign a languid, powerless drunkenness. She wanted to see what excuses Wang Meng could possibly have after revealing his true colors!

However, at this moment, she felt more than just resentment. There was also an indescribable hint of disappointment. She had long expected Wang Meng to be no good, and her grudge was her grudge. But after seeing him display such extreme talent as a Spirit-Controlling Master, a part of her had secretly hoped for something more. Having admired the strong since childhood, she subconsciously wished that Wang Meng was a true man, not some lecherous villain who used deceitful tricks to possess women. A prodigal son's return, after all, held a powerful allure for women.

Besides, she was just vetting him on behalf of those in the Wang Family who cared. Given the Spirit Control prowess Wang Meng had shown at the Spirit Control Association, it was more than likely he would be recalled to Haojing by the family.

'I guess... that's the idea,' she tried to convince herself. 'It's not like a small sacrifice will kill me.'

"There aren't many people left in Haojing who still care about me. Mengg Sha, Wei'En... they barely count. They're just wastrels who live for the day, so they wouldn't have anything to do with you. That only leaves my aunt, although you seem to have put her request at the bottom of your list."

Wang Meng searched through Wang Rencai's memories for information. Surprisingly, while Wang Rencai was universally despised and not treated like a normal person, his memories did contain people who treated him as a true friend and brother, not just fair-weather companions. As for his "aunt"... she wasn't actually related to Wang Rencai by blood. She was the adopted daughter of his grandfather's comrade-in-arms, who had entrusted her to him on his deathbed. "So you do remember your aunt..." Zhan Yingluo felt a flash of annoyance at having her mystery unraveled. Besides her friends asking her to teach Wang Meng a harsh lesson, she had indeed been entrusted with a task by Wang Rencai's aunt...

News of Young Master Wang's dramatic change and prodigal return had already reached the Wang Family. However, most people dismissed it as a joke, assuming it was just a smokescreen Wang Rencai had created to get back to Haojing. Even Wang Rencai's own father, upon hearing the news, had his face turn ashen as he spat out a two-word curse: "Little bastard!"

Only Wang Rencai's aunt, Wang Xueyi, still held out hope for him. As long as he could turn over a new leaf, returning to the Wang Family was not an impossible feat.

At first, Zhan Yingluo hadn't taken Wang Xueyi's words to heart. What kind of person was Wang Rencai? Everyone in Haojing knew! Her initial goal was to find Wang Meng and get her revenge! But now, Zhan Yingluo's opinion had completely changed. A person who could reach the level of a Master on the path of a Spirit-Controlling Master was definitely not the useless Young Master Wang she had only heard rumors about in Haojing.

Who knew how much of those "legends" was actually true?

How much of it was context, and how much was embellished rumor?

A story gets distorted when it passes to a third person, let alone through the gossip of thousands. Perhaps the old Wang Rencai was indeed useless, but he probably wasn't as outlandish as the rumors claimed.

"Since you have such great talent as a Spirit-Controlling Master, and your Merak Fire Cloud Technique is quite decent as well... Mo Chengkong may have been careless, but he's not a fragile egg that shatters at the slightest touch. Your aunt hopes you will return to the Wang Family."

Zhan Yingluo said this in a light tone, but her eyes were discreetly observing the subtle expressions on Wang Meng's face.

But she was soon disappointed. Wang Meng's expression didn't change at all; there wasn't the slightest hint of pleasant surprise.

"What, you don't believe your aunt can help you?"

Although Wang Rencai's aunt, Wang Xueyi, was only an adopted daughter, she was exceptionally favored in the Wang Family. Even the Patriarch's own daughters had to take a backseat. As long as she insisted on something, the Patriarch would eventually yield. She was Wang Rencai's only hope of being welcomed back into the family. In fact, the only reason Wang Rencai hadn't been kicked out after being a good-for-nothing in Haojing for so many years was because this highly favored aunt was protecting him.

"I don't plan on returning to Haojing for now. Please thank my aunt for me when you go back," Wang Meng said calmly. 'Haojing... I'll have to check it out sooner or later, but not right now.'

'Haojing isn't Wang City... The waters there run deep.' Master Wang's cultivation in this world had only just begun. As the saying goes, you have to eat a meal one bite at a time and walk a road one step at a time. 'If I return to Haojing right away, even if I prove my abilities and am accepted back into the Wang Family, so what? The old Wang Rencai was a waste, so the internal competition for cultivation resources within the family had nothing to do with him. But if I go back, I'll inevitably have to participate. This is actually the Wang Family's way of maintaining its vitality. A disciple who has never experienced struggle, no matter how high their cultivation realm, is nothing but a pewter spearhead that looks like silver—all show and no substance.'

To Wang Meng, these processes were all part of his training. He was certain he would find the hidden flaws within the Dao Laws through them.

Wang Meng already had a plan in mind. His answer, however, made Zhan Yingluo's beautiful eyes widen in shock. "You don't want to go back to Haojing?"

Everyone assumed that the former waste, who had suddenly become a Spirit Control Genius and staged such a grand drama of a prodigal son's return, was doing it all for one purpose: to return to Haojing and be reinstated into the Wang Family. To go back to living the comfortable life of a young master.

Zhan Yingluo would never have imagined in a million years that Wang Meng would say he didn't want to return to Haojing.

"Why? Even for a prodigal son returning, Haojing is where you'll find the most favorable conditions, right? Don't tell me you've really fallen for Jiang Biyao?" Although Wang City was gradually becoming one of the eight major cities, it still paled in comparison to Haojing.

"Are you concerned about me?"

"Even if every other man on earth dropped dead, it still wouldn't be your turn!" Zhan Yingluo immediately shot back.

"Plenty of people are concerned about me, actually." Wang Meng chuckled and shook his head, his thoughts turning to his band of brothers already in the Divine Realm.

But Zhan Yingluo misunderstood. A blush of angry embarrassment flashed across her fair, beautiful face. "Whether you go back or not is your business, but! How am I supposed to explain this to your aunt? And you better think this through. If you miss this chance, there won't be a next time. If you stay in Wang City, I won't be helping you with what you'll have to face." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)