The First Summoner - Chapter 24

Shen Yan was silent for a moment before addressing him in a cold voice.

“Family Head.”

His eyes sharpened.

“Do you resent me? Why do you not call me Grandfather?”

Shen Yan scoffed.

“You already have Shen Xue as your granddaughter, don’t you?”

“Insolent!”

Bang!

The family head slammed his cane against the floor. Displeasure darkened his face.

“Xue’er is my granddaughter, and so are you. I know you resent me over what happened several days ago, but you must understand that the Shen family cannot afford to lack talented people! Is it not good for Xue’er to accomplish what you cannot? You share in every honor she brings to the family.”

Shen Yan raised her eyes indifferently.

“Do you think I need that kind of honor?”

The question choked off his reply.

She continued, “You want me to call you Grandfather. Have you ever done a single good thing for me? You favor Shen Xue at every turn and indulge her when she harms me. Isn’t that true?”

The family head’s face sank.

“You have no respect for your elders! Are you interrogating your own grandfather?”

Shen Yan’s tone remained calm. “Do you not dare admit it?”

Fury erupted across his face.

He released his oppressive aura and sent it crashing toward Shen Yan, plainly intending to teach her a lesson.

The overwhelming pressure struck.

The taste of blood flooded Shen Yan’s throat. It felt as though an entire mountain had dropped onto her back.

Still, she forced her spine to remain straight.

Her bones creaked beneath the strain.

She stared coldly at the family head.

Wounds that had nearly closed split open again. Blood seeped through her clothing, but she refused to bow.

She wanted him to know exactly what he was.

Biased.

Profit-driven.

A man who had never treated the original Shen Yan with the care she deserved.

Seeing his grim expression, Shen Yan suddenly smiled.

“If you admitted that you were biased, selfish, and concerned only with your own interests, I might think a little more highly of you.”

The family head roared.

“Shen Yan!”

Boom!

The violent force of his pressure blasted Shen Yan off her feet. She struck the floor and rolled once.

Blood burst from her mouth.

Every trace of color vanished from her face.

Outside the hall, Hongri’s pupils contracted when she saw her mistress collapse with severe injuries.

Her heart leaped into her throat.

She turned, desperate to find Shen Tianhao and bring him to save Shen Yan—

But two guards blocked her.

Hongri’s expression changed. “Why are you stopping me?”

One guard answered, “The family head has given his order. Until he permits you to leave, none of you may go anywhere.”

Hongri tried to push past them.

A sword pressed against her throat.

The cold edge froze her in place.

She looked up in disbelief.

“You…”

The guards remained expressionless, as though they were merely carrying out ordinary business.

Inside the hall, the family head rose abruptly and looked down at Shen Yan with an ugly expression.

“Do not be ungrateful! The Shen family provides every bit of your food and clothing. When have I ever mistreated you? I even compensated you for what happened several days ago!”

His voice grew colder.

“So stop ruining Xue’er’s reputation outside this estate. Otherwise, you will lose even the chance to remain alive in the Shen family!”

Shen Yan tried to stand.

His oppressive aura crushed her down again.

Bang!

The powerful force pinned her to the floor. Agony tore through her organs as though they were splitting apart.

She frowned as blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, but her eyes remained fixed coldly on the family head.

“For an adopted granddaughter, you are even willing to kill your biological one. How admirable.”

“Shut up!”

The family head had not expected her to continue resisting.

Cold-faced, he raised his cane and smashed it down onto the back of her hand.

Bang!

Shen Yan gave a muffled grunt. Her left hand convulsed violently.

The family head stared at her as though she were a stranger.

“Do not challenge my authority. I rule the Shen family! I have a hundred ways to kill you without a sound. Tianhao can protect you for a time, but not forever. If you still wish to live comfortably in this family, learn to behave.”

Shen Yan suddenly felt a pang of sorrow for the body’s original owner.

Everything she had said and done in the weapons shop that day must have reached the family head’s ears.

That was why he had summoned her so urgently.

He wanted to threaten her into silence—to ensure she never spoke a single word against Shen Xue.

Shen Yan smiled in bitter mockery.

She gave him no answer.

Again and again, she tried to rise.

Again and again, the family head crushed her down with his pressure.

Their deadlock continued.

More and more blood soaked through Shen Yan’s clothes.

At last, the family head frowned. Worried that Shen Tianhao might create a scene over her condition, he finally withdrew his pressure.

He declared self-righteously, “Yesterday, you tore open a disciple’s mouth. Today, you showed no respect for your elders. Your behavior is utterly lawless. I have administered a minor punishment in the hope that you will correct yourself!”

Shen Yan rose.

A scornful smile curved her lips, and she spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor.

Disgusting.

The family head’s expression grew even darker.

Shen Yan did not threaten him then.

She simply committed every debt to memory—both those owed to the original girl and those owed to herself.

Without a word, she walked out of the main hall.

Her pale-purple dress was stained crimson. Her hair was disheveled, but her spine remained straight.

Even in such a battered state, she radiated an unyielding determination.

“Miss!”

The moment Hongri saw her, her eyes reddened.

Why had the family head hurt Miss so badly?

Miss had no cultivation at all. She was an ordinary person. How could her body possibly withstand the family head’s oppressive aura?

Ignoring everything, Hongri shoved at the guards blocking her.

The sword at her throat sliced through the skin, leaving a thin line of blood.

“Miss!”

Hongri rushed to Shen Yan’s side and caught her arm.

“I’m fine,” Shen Yan said calmly.

“How could you possibly be fine?”

Hongri’s heart ached. Large tears rolled down her cheeks.

The instant Shen Yan left the main hall, news of her punishment spread throughout the Shen estate.

The official reasons were that she had beaten a fellow disciple, shown no respect for her elders, and refused to mend her ways.

Not one accusation mentioned Shen Xue.

But Shen Yan knew that Shen Xue was the true reason the family head had attacked her.

After Shen Yan left, a white-robed woman slowly stepped out from behind the screen in the main hall.

It was Shen Xue.

She had heard every word of the confrontation.

Her brows drew together as she said, “Grandfather, wasn’t that a little too cruel to Sister Yan’er?”

“A good-for-nothing should know her place,” the family head snorted.

Then his voice softened.

“Xue’er, pay her no mind. I have already taught her a lesson for you.”

Shen Xue took his arm, her face full of emotion.

“Thank you, Grandfather. You are the only person in this world who treats me so well.”

She smiled.

“I will repay you and the Shen family. In the Qiutian Sect’s competition, I will do everything I can to take first place!”

The family head looked at her indulgently.

“You certainly can. But do not reveal that you have become a Summoner yet. Keep it as your hidden trump card. It will be most effective when no one expects it.”