Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

He hadn't done well in educating his children back then and the result was this mess that caused him to be unable to do anything.

Old Master Nan felt tired.

Even if his grandchildren never blame him, he could never forgive himself for his action back then.

These 'ifs' only bothered him.

It will take some time for him to truly calm down.

While Old Master Nan was lamenting his past mistake, Nan Hua was looking at the scene in front of her coldly. She had seen countless people die thorough her life. Many of them died at her own hands.

Even if the person who died in front of her was her supposed father, she was not shaken at all.

In her heart, there was never any place for Nan Shu Cheng.

He was someone who would not even enter her eyes, much less her heart.

"Hua'er, are you alright?"

"Mhm, I'm fine, Brother Long." Nan Hua turned to look at Long Qian Xing with her clear black obsidian eyes. For a moment, she was confused by his question before she recalled her persona.

Shouldn't she be a weak person who would feel weak even at the sight of blood?

"…"

Nan Hua really didn't want to act right now, but she still leaned her body towards her grandfather.

As for why her grandfather and not Long Qian Xing?

It was obviously she didn't have any intention to break the etiquette that had been drilled into her body by her aunt.

Long Qian Xing looked at Nan Hua's small gesture and showed a helpless smile. If only it was possible, he wanted to bring her into his arms and shield her from seeing the scene in front of them.

However, he was sure that the officials around would criticize him should he do that.

"MMPFHH!" (FATHER!)

Nan Hou Xiang broke free from his struggle and screamed out loudly. He wanted to break free from his restrain, but the guard was faster than him.

How could a pampered young master possibly win against a veteran soldier who had been tempered by the harsh battlefield? The probability was less than 0.00000000001%. In other words, it was absolutely impossible.

Thunk!

Nan Hou Xiang could feel his body turn cold when he saw his father's head rolling on the cold ground. He wanted to scream and yell, but he found himself unable to do anything. All he could do was to stare at the scene in front of him.

Why?

Why did things turn this way?

Everything had been going so smoothly and he had even talked with his uncle just a few days ago. They had confirmed that everything was ready and that they would never be found out.

Even if the Fei Yang Kingdom had noticed, it would have been too late and they would have left this kingdom.

From the very beginning, Nan Hou Xiang never had much loyalty towards Fei Yang Kingdom. He was more a person who cared about the benefit he could get and also the few things that would benefit him directly.

But now?

It didn't seem to be that way anymore.

Nan Hou Xiang was only 13 years old, but he had already started to involve himself in whatever his father and uncles were planning to do. He familiarized himself with everything so that he would be able to take over once he became an official.

That way, he would be able to earn much more than what his father could.

But it was impossible now.

His entire dream had shattered.

His eyes turned moist as he lay on the cold floor. Their entire plan was already in shambles. There was no way the Fei Yang Kingdom would turn into chaos with the current development.

Instead, they cleaned out those working for other kingdoms and secretly sent information. This included Nan Family and he might not be able to keep his life if this continued.

Even though his father actually didn't know much about Qu Family's interaction with the spies, it was also the truth that Nan Shu Cheng had been talking about some other business.

And these businesses….

Are illegal.

Now that both Qu Family and Nan Family had been taken down, Nan Hou Xiang knew that his future that he dreamed of wouldn't be realized. He was already used to being treated with respect by others because of his father's high status, but it had become the past by now.

The officials were all looking at him as if they were looking at a piece of trash.

No one was willing to even get close to him. And Nan Hou Xiang was actually prepared for this mentally when he first heard about his uncle's plan. If they succeeded, they would be able to flee from Fei Yang Kingdom to settle in another kingdom.

After all, this is a time of chaos.

There was no telling about what would happen in the future and which kingdom would win the battle. Thus, this was basically the chance that was given to them.  A chance for them to move from one kingdom to another and try to obtain glory and power in other ways.

The chance was slipping away.

The plan they had carefully prepared for so many years was crumbling before their eyes without them being able to do anything.

But when Nan Hou Xiang actually experienced this horrendous treatment, he felt cold all over his body.

Being prepared mentally and experiencing it by himself was naturally different. It was not something that Nan Hou Xiang could actually handle. He could sense the pressure these officials' eyes were giving him.

They were judging him for the things his family had done and naturally included him.

A child of a 'traitor' will never have a good end.

Nan Hou Xiang knew that.

He himself was also involved and had prepared himself mentally. But facing these gazes, his body still trembled. He knew very well that his future would never be good in the Fei Yang Kingdom anymore.

But he couldn't just run away.

There were a lot of Imperial Guards here, and the Capital City was naturally not a place without high level security.

If he could run away under their strict supervision, he would have long become the best martial artist in the entire world.

Nan Hou Xiang is weak.

At least in terms of martial arts, he was definitely among those who were weaker. He didn't inherit his grandfather's talent for martial arts and instead inherited his father's scheming mind.

From his mother?

He might have inherited her petty mind. Nan Hou Xiang himself was not entirely sure about that.

However, Nan Hou Xiang was not a complete trash.

The genes he had inherited were not completely bad and being trained ever since he was young had allowed him to temporarily calm down. His father is an official and has taught him many kinds of tricks for his son so that he would be able to survive on the cruel battlefield at the court.

Everyone on the court was basically people with a honeyed mouth.

They would say something good on the surface, but who knew what they actually meant below that?

Thus, Nan Hou Xiang forced himself to calm down. No matter how angry and terrified he was in the face of this treatment imposed on him, he had to calm down if he wished to survive.

The most important thing for him was to think of something to do.

He had to figure out a way.

Right now, he was only a mere 13 years old boy. They shouldn't kill him directly just because he's Nan Shu Cheng's son, right? There should be some time for him to figure out how to get out of this situation.

Inheriting his father and uncle's shrewdness, Nan Hou Xiang began to think of thousands of possibilities and how to act in the best way for his survival. He has been nurtured ever since he was young.

Even though his line of thought was somewhat childish, it was undoubtedly still superior compared to many other ordinary people. It might be the only advantage that he could possibly use when he was already in this desperate situation.

And Nan Hou Xiang wanted to live.

He's still young, so what he wanted was to live well and somehow achieve something big in the future.

Will they kill him directly?

He didn't think that way; thus, Nan Hou Xiang thought about whether he could have any value left. Being a smart person, Nan Hou Xiang could guess that they might not want to kill him, but they definitely couldn't use him right away.

After all, his father is a 'traitor.'

Even though Nan Shu Cheng technically only helped Qu Family, the reputation was already in shambles.

Who would trust him again in the future?

Thus, he had to slowly but surely build his reputation and then decide what he was going to do from there on.