Chapter 103: THE REWARD PAVILION(2)

Li Yan’s lips twitched when he heard Li Wei call him an outer sect rat.

Did he really just call me a rat? Could a rat ever be this good-looking?

He was tempted to turn around and argue, but after noticing the five inner sect disciples surrounding Li Wei, he decided it was not worth wasting his time. He had come to the Rewards Pavilion to understand the mission system and points, so it was better to find the pavilion keeper and ask his questions directly.

Li Yan continued toward the counter, but one of the three male disciples beside Li Wei suddenly looked in his direction.

"Li Wei, do you know this outer sect disciple?"

Li Wei glanced at Li Yan and gave a disdainful scoff. "Of course I know him. He is my weak younger brother."

The five inner sect disciples exchanged looks, and one of the girls looked at Li Wei with surprise. "Your younger brother? Then doesn’t that mean he is also Senior Brother Li Hanye’s actual younger brother?"

Li Wei’s expression became unpleasant. Everyone in the sect knew that he was an adopted son of the Li family, so there was no way for him to deny Li Yan’s relationship with Li Hanye without making himself look suspicious. He could only nod and admit, "Yes. He is Li Hanye’s actual younger brother."

The disciples immediately looked toward Li Yan with greater interest. They had already heard about the new outer sect disciple who had ranked first in two sections of the entrance examination, and learning that he was Li Hanye’s younger brother made them even more curious.

"So he is the disciple who ranked first in two sections?"

"I heard his results were exceptionally good."

"Then why is he still an outer sect disciple? He could obviously be promoted to inner sect..."

The three men spoke with obvious curiosity, while the two girls also looked at Li Yan as though they wanted to know more about him. However, when they noticed Li Wei’s unpleasant expression, they quickly understood that praising Li Yan in front of him would only cause trouble.

There was another reason they did not want to offend Li Yan. Both Hu Bai and Li Hanye were core disciples, and everyone knew that they had already given Li Yan their backing. If they bullied him and Li Yan reported the matter, they would have to answer to those two.

On top of that, Li Yan’s master was the sect master himself. No matter how curious they were, there was no reason to take such a risk.

One of the girls smiled and excused herself. "We still have something to take care of, so we will leave first."

The others quickly followed her, bidding Li Wei goodbye before leaving the Rewards Pavilion. Within moments, the five inner sect disciples had disappeared, leaving Li Wei and Li Yan alone.

Li Yan paid them no attention and continued toward the keeper. He had no interest in remaining there to entertain Li Wei, especially when there were still many things he needed to learn about the Rewards Pavilion.

He had barely taken a few steps when someone suddenly grabbed his hair and pulled him backward.

Li Yan’s expression immediately darkened. He reached up, slapped Li Wei’s hand away, and turned around to face him.

"If you have something to say, just say it to my face. You don’t need to drag my hair to get my attention."

Li Wei looked at him with displeasure. Ever since that day, Li Hanye had refused to speak to him properly. His older brother would not even look at him whenever they crossed paths, and Li Wei could not understand what Li Yan had told him that had caused such a drastic change.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that Li Yan was responsible.

"You should go and meet our older brother," Li Wei said, his voice carrying a trace of irritation. "You should apologize to him for whatever you said. Ever since that day, he has refused to speak to me. I don’t know what you told him, but this is all because of you."

Li Yan stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh. "So when you set me up to get married, you did not do anything to me? When you tossed me out and left me on the streets to die, you also did not do anything to me? You abandoned me as though I was not even worth the handkerchief in your pocket, and now you want me to apologize because our older brother no longer wants to speak to you?"

Li Wei’s face hardened. "It is not my fault that you were so weak. Father did not want a weak son like you. That was why it was best for you to get married and have children. A Ger could never amount to anything, so we did what was best for you. Yet you are the one being ungrateful."

Li Yan’s expression remained calm as he listened. He had heard enough of Li Wei’s reasoning to know that there was no point arguing about what the family considered best for him.

"Your way of reasoning must be so muddled for you to believe that I would spend all this time pretending to be dead just to deceive you. You were the ones who tossed me away after I was injured, and you were the ones who chose to believe that I was dead. I did not deceive anybody."

Li Wei’s expression darkened. Li Yan did not give him another chance to continue. "Mind your own business and leave me alone. This is the second time I have warned you. If you come looking for me a third time, I will teach you a lesson."

Li Wei suddenly laughed. The sound echoed through the pavilion as though Li Yan had just said something incredibly funny.

This grabbed other attention and they gathered to watch their argument.

He stepped forward, grabbed Li Yan by the chin, and slapped him across the face.

"Do not forget who you are. Even though I am adopted, I am still part of the Li family, and I am your older brother. You should not speak to me however you please."

Li Yan remained silent. Instead of arguing with him, he slowly placed his hands together and bowed.

"Yes. I will not say anything again."

Li Wei looked at his bowed figure and felt satisfied. He had finally made Li Yan remember who his older brother was, and the sight of Li Yan lowering his head pleased him enough to make him want to leave.

He turned around, but the moment he did, his expression froze. Li Hanye was standing behind him.

His gaze moved from Li Wei to Li Yan, then settled on the red mark left on Li Yan’s face. His expression immediately changed as he looked at his younger brother.

"Li Wei, what’s going on here, and why did you slap him?"