"He... he's not here right now..."
Looking at the deeply wrinkled face of Old Madam Grace Zheng, Joy Zheng felt especially sad and distressed deep down. "Mom, what happened to your leg?"
"What happened to my leg? You have the nerve to ask? Back then you ran off, just disappeared, didn't you? You nearly worried me to death! I was so anxious to find you that I got hit by a car as soon as I stepped out! My leg was saved, but my foot's been messed up ever since! And you still have the nerve to ask!"
Susan Xu crossed her arms and spoke coldly.
Old Madam Grace Zheng turned her head, glared, and shouted at her, "I'm talking to my daughter! Who asked you to butt in? Your surname is Xu, not Zheng!"
"My daughter hasn't been home in over ten years, and now she has to put up with you, her sister-in-law? Where do you get off, huh? Trying to bully my daughter right in front of me!"
Old Madam Grace Zheng shouted, spittle flying everywhere, "I'm not dead yet!"
After being scolded by Old Madam Grace Zheng, Susan Xu's expression shifted. She knew the old lady always doted on Joy Zheng, her youngest daughter, so she didn't bother arguing and instead looked over at Old Master George Zheng, who was sizing up Joy.
Compared to his groveling attitude toward Master Luke just now, Old Master George Zheng now stood with his hands behind his back, looking dignified as he carefully studied Joy Zheng without saying a word.
"Dad! I need to tell you a few things."
Susan Xu looked at Old Master George Zheng and spoke up: "First, Jason Zheng has broken through into the Vajra Realm!"
"Vajra Realm!"
Old Master Zheng had been focused on Joy Zheng. As her father and the former head of the Zheng family, he always carried his own authority.
If not for wanting Joy Zheng and Evan Lin to return home in peace, he wouldn't have personally gone to Mount Wutai with Ben Moran to call in the favor owed by Master Luke.
Now, hearing Susan Xu's words, Old Master George Zheng was shocked, immediately turning to look at Jason Zheng, eyes full of joy. "Really!"
"Jason is still young, and now that he's reached the Vajra Realm, his future is limitless! Good, good! Later, I'll have Liancheng buy some more century-old ginseng to help Jason nourish his body!"
Old Master George Zheng was all smiles, laughing heartily.
"But the second thing is because of Joy Zheng's son. The Zhu family barged in, and not only that, he stole Jason Zheng's pills and now Jason's cultivation has been knocked back from Vajra Realm to his original level! You have to stand up for us!"
Susan Xu was indignant: "Besides that, that kid openly declared he's leaving our Zheng family, never to have any ties to us again! Since you've brought Master Luke back, why not have him teach that kid a harsh lesson!"
As soon as Susan Xu finished, Jason Zheng nodded repeatedly: "That's right! He colluded with the Zhu family, broke into our Zheng house, beat me up, and stole my pills to give to Aunt Joy. If Aunt Joy wanted my things, of course I'd give them to her!"
"But if she told her son to snatch it, then that's just way out of line!"
Jason Zheng was full of resentment.
Old Master George Zheng's expression froze when he heard this.
"It's not like that..."
Joy Zheng hurried to explain, but Old Master George Zheng waved her off and looked at her. "You're my daughter. No matter what pills or whatever, if you want it, just take it."
"Now that Jason has fallen from the Vajra Realm, he should work hard to climb back up!"
He looked at Jason Zheng, his tone stern: "Besides, I've never heard of anyone breaking into the Vajra Realm and then getting knocked back down!"
"Even Master Ben—when he was badly injured years ago—remained at first-grade Vajra to this day, didn't he?"
"You're just making excuses."
Old Master George Zheng's words left Susan Xu and Jason Zheng looking pale and embarrassed.
"That's right! I think you two are just full of nasty schemes! You just want to make this old lady miserable! I'm not dead yet! The Zheng family isn't a place for you to stir up trouble!"
Old Madam Grace Zheng glared, shielding Joy Zheng.
Autumn Zheng stepped forward, taking Old Master George Zheng's arm and speaking gently: "Grandpa, the urgent thing now is for Aunt Joy to bring her child back."
"Even if the child left in anger, he's still a Zheng family member."
Autumn Zheng looked at Joy Zheng. "And Aunt Joy has been worried sick these past few days."
"He should come back, of course! By the way, is the child a boy or a girl? What's his name?" Old Madam Grace Zheng looked at Joy Zheng with concern.
"His name is Evan Lin. He's a boy," Joy Zheng replied.
"A boy, that's great! My grandson has suffered so much. Call him and tell him to come home, will you?"
Old Madam Grace Zheng looked at Joy Zheng with deep affection. "I've never even seen my precious grandson since he was born. Hurry, call him and let me see him!"
"I promise, in this house, no one will be able to bully him!"
Old Madam Grace Zheng vowed with absolute certainty.
Joy Zheng hesitated, glancing at Old Master George Zheng.
Old Master George Zheng still wore a stern face. "Let him come home first, but entering the Zheng family gate won't be that easy!"
Faye Zheng had been standing off to the side, waiting to see how Jason Zheng and Susan Xu would stir up trouble and make Evan suffer. But now, things weren't going her way, and she felt frustrated.
Faye Zheng simply turned and left, not wanting to stay any longer.
A short while later, her phone rang. Faye Zheng picked it up and saw it was Leo Li calling.
"Faye, come out tonight—let's get together at Phoenix Mountain. My master is still in Jinnan, but he'll be back in a few days!"
"That kid won't be able to act cocky for much longer."
Leo Li shouted on the other end, his voice noisy in the background.
Faye Zheng agreed, deciding to change her mood.
Now that Old Master Zheng had invited Master Luke, he should be able to fend off the Keene family's pressure. Still, what kept replaying in Faye Zheng's mind was the shocking scene that night when Evan Lin calmly bled himself—truly unforgettable.
But on the other hand, Faye Zheng really couldn't stand Evan Lin.
"He's just some poor kid from the countryside trying to cling to the Zheng family. He thinks acting tough and getting in with the Zhu clan makes him hot stuff?"
"They both have the surname Lin, but Master Lin from Seacrest is about the same age as you and worlds apart. You strut around like you're all that, but don't think having the old lady on your side means you can relax!"
Faye Zheng seethed with hatred, remembering how she got slapped several times by Yvonne Zhu at Evan Lin's command, which only made her angrier.