28: Chapter Humiliation

“This…”

“I have already contributed the qinghe rice cultivation plan to the Spirit Plant Hall. If I were to disseminate it without authorization again, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be appropriate.”

“The Elder can obtain authorization from the Spirit Plant Hall.”

Elder Chen Yinzong frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then said, “Jiancang is absolutely right. This matter should indeed be handled according to the rules. I will go to the Spirit Plant Hall now and discuss the authorization with Yinzhang.”

With that, he turned and was about to leave.

Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, “Elder, wait!”

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a middle-aged Cultivator quickly walk out. It was Chen Youze, who was in charge of logistics for the Chen Family.

Chen Youze cupped his hands and bowed to Elder Chen Yinzong, saying, “Elder, this matter is of great importance. The authorization process at the Spirit Plant Hall is cumbersome, and it may delay the planting of the new season of qinghe rice. In my opinion, it would be better to let Jiancang tell us the main points of the cultivation plan first, so we can prepare in advance.”

As soon as he said this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Chen Jiancang looked troubled and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Fourteenth Uncle, it’s not that I don’t want to say it, but this cultivation plan lacks details. Saying it would be equivalent to leaking it. Without formal authorization from the Spirit Plant Hall, I really don’t dare to teach it casually.”

Chen Youze’s expression changed slightly, and his tone carried a hint of threat: “Jiancang, what do you mean by this? Now the Chen Family is facing a shortage of cultivation resources, and the increase in qinghe rice production is related to the rise and fall of the Chen Family. If you stubbornly refuse, aren’t you disregarding the interests of the Chen Family?”

Chen Jiancang’s expression changed upon hearing this, and he was displeased, but he forcefully suppressed his anger and said, “I absolutely do not mean that. It’s just that the Chen Family rules cannot be abolished. If I violate them rashly and disrupt the Spirit Plant Hall’s arrangements, it wouldn’t be good. Please understand, Fourteenth Uncle.”

This Fourteenth Uncle was quite close to Chen Jianshen’s Family, and his current moral blackmail definitely had the intention of retaliating on behalf of Chen Jianshen.

“After all, regarding the matter of me first purchasing the Spirit Field that Chen Jianshen’s Family was renting, those who don’t know the situation will definitely think that my actions were not very moral,” Jiancang thought to himself.

At this time, Chen Youze’s face turned ashen upon hearing this, and he was about to argue further.

Elder Chen Yinzong also stopped at this moment, turned around, and said, “Youze, Jiancang is right. Once the rules are set, they must be followed. I will go to the Spirit Plant Hall and handle the authorization as soon as possible. Before that, everyone, please do not make things difficult for Chen Jiancang anymore.”

Cultivating immortals in the Chen Family is not all about mutual affection; there are also some unsavory matters. This Chen Youze wanted to use Chen Jiancang’s cultivation plan to curry favor with the clansmen and also wanted to vent his anger for Chen Jianshen. Anyone with a discerning eye could see this at a glance.

It was just this method of moral blackmail that made Chen Jiancang feel quite uncomfortable.

It’s my business that I’m willing to contribute, but if you want to threaten me because of this, then I’m not someone to be easily manipulated.

Upon hearing this, Chen Youze also didn’t dare to erupt anymore, grunted, and stopped talking.

At this time, Chen Jianshen stood to the side, regretting his previous bet immensely. Seeing that everyone’s attention was focused on the argument between Chen Jiancang and Chen Youze, he quietly thought about retreating and wanted to slip away in the chaos.

But just as he turned around, he was spotted by the sharp-eyed Chen Youming.

“Chen Jianshen, where are you going?” Chen Youming’s voice was not loud, but it exploded like a thunderclap in Chen Jianshen’s ears.

Chen Jianshen’s steps suddenly froze, his face alternately pale and red, and he awkwardly turned around, pretending to be calm, saying, “Ninth Uncle, I suddenly remembered that I still have some miscellaneous matters to attend to.”

Chen Youming’s gaze was like a torch, staring at Chen Jianshen, and he slowly said, “No matter how urgent the miscellaneous matters are, they can’t be more important than the promise you made earlier, right? You said before that if Jiancang could produce proof of contribution points, you would crawl three times around the Xiao Yun Mountain Market.”

As soon as these words came out, the clansmen who were originally whispering around instantly fell silent, and they all turned their gaze towards Chen Jianshen.

Chen Jianshen only felt his face burning hot, and his heart was filled with shame and anger. He stiffened his neck and played dumb, saying, “Ninth Uncle, how can that be taken seriously? It was just a joke. Why is everyone so serious about it?”

Chen Youming’s expression became stern, and he said solemnly, “Chen Jianshen, as a Chen Family disciple, every word and deed is related to the Chen Family’s reputation. How can you treat a promise as a child’s play? If you break your word today, how will you face the Chen Family members in the future?”

Chen Jianshen was speechless, his hands clenched tightly into fists, veins bulging on his forehead, feeling both ashamed and annoyed, yet not daring to refute Chen Youming.

“Alas, when will revenge end?”

Chen Jiancang sighed and stepped forward, saying softly, “Ninth Uncle, let it go. We are all brothers in the Chen Family, why hurt our harmony over such a small matter? Let’s just forget about this.”

Upon hearing this, a trace of shame and anger flashed in Chen Jianshen’s eyes.

Chen Youming looked at Chen Jiancang, then at Chen Jianshen, shook his head slightly, and said, “Chen Jiancang, you are kind-hearted and willing to let him off. But the rules cannot be abolished. If we easily let Chen Jianshen off today, and other clansmen follow suit in the future, where will the Chen Family’s dignity be?”

Chen Jiancang remained silent. He understood that Chen Youming was right, but he didn’t want to make things too awkward.

Chen Jianshen’s face turned ashen upon hearing this, as if being forgiven by Chen Jiancang was an extremely shameful thing. In his opinion, the fact that Chen Jiancang, who was only at the third level of Qi Refining, was so recognized by everyone was an insult to him.

Chen Jiancang was even pleading for him at this time, which was too hypocritical.

“Chen Jiancang, don’t act like a good person here. Even if I crawl three times, I will never admit I was wrong to you.”

“I’ll crawl! Isn’t it just crawling three times around the Xiao Yun Mountain Market? I, Chen Jianshen, keep my word!” After saying that, he ignored the gazes of the crowd, bent down and lay on the ground, and began to crawl with difficulty.

Chen Jianshen crawled with difficulty on the cold ground, every movement carrying humiliation and unwillingness.

His palms were scraped open by the rough ground, blood seeped out, mixing with the dirt, making him look particularly dishevelled.

Just as Chen Jianshen had crawled more than half a circle, there was a commotion in the crowd, and Chen Yinzhang was seen rushing over.

“Youming, Chen Jiancang, I already know about this. Please let this child, Chen Jianshen, off. He is young and ignorant. Please forgive him this time.” Chen Yinzhang’s old tears flowed. He didn’t want his precious grandson, whom he held in the palm of his hand, to lose face.

Although he was also dissatisfied with Chen Jiancang buying the Spirit Field he was renting, since things had come to this, he could only let it go.

Chen Youming quickly reached out to help him up, a troubled expression on his face: “Seventeenth Uncle, why are you doing this? It’s not that I won’t let Chen Jianshen off, but Chen Jianshen really went too far today. If we don’t give him a lesson and temper his nature, he will definitely suffer a great loss in the future.”

Chen Yinzhang’s lips moved upon hearing this, wanting to say something but stopping. Then he turned his head and looked at Chen Jiancang again: “Chen Jiancang, this child, Chen Jianshen, if he really crawls these three circles, this child will lose all face. How will he be able to stand in the Chen Family in the future?”

Chen Jiancang also took a step forward and said helplessly, “Seventeenth Uncle-Grandfather, this matter all started because of me. I didn’t think things through. I originally planned to compensate you for the losses afterwards, but due to various delays, it has come to this point.”

“Also, I will not pursue this matter further, but Chen Jianshen…”

Chen Jianshen felt even more ashamed and angry when he heard his grandfather pleading for him. He suddenly stopped crawling, turned his head, and looked at Chen Jiancang fiercely, the hatred in his eyes almost overflowing.

In his heart, he was already jealous of Chen Jiancang being recognized by everyone. Now that his grandfather was pleading for him to Chen Jiancang, it made him feel even more humiliated. This hatred grew wildly in his heart.

“Chen Jiancang, don’t be too pleased with yourself! I, Chen Jianshen, will remember this debt today!” Chen Jianshen gritted his teeth and roared, his voice hoarse with anger.

Chen Yinzhang’s face turned pale with fright when he heard his grandson’s words, and he quickly reprimanded him: “Chen Jianshen, what nonsense are you talking about! Hurry up and apologize to Jiancang!”

Chen Jianshen, however, turned a deaf ear, struggled to stand up, and ran away without regard for the dust and wounds on his body. Seeing this, Chen Yinzhang tried to chase him, but he stumbled and almost fell.

Chen Youming sighed and said, “Seventeenth Uncle-Grandfather, don’t worry first. Wait until Chen Jianshen calms down, then talk to him properly.”

Chen Yinzhang was full of helplessness and could only nod, staggering away slowly, as if he had aged many years in an instant.

After this farce, Chen Jiancang did not feel the slightest joy of victory in his heart.

He knew that because of this incident, Chen Jianshen’s hatred for him was already deeply rooted, and in the future, he would probably have one more enemy in the Chen Family.

But he did not regret his insistence. In his opinion, some principles must be upheld, even if he had to pay a price for it.

“Alas.”

And Chen Youze stood to the side, watching all of this. He sneered inwardly, thinking that although Chen Jiancang had temporarily won this argument, he had offended Chen Jianshen and Chen Yinzhang, and there would be no shortage of trouble in the future.

The abacus in his heart began to click again, thinking about how to use this conflict to achieve his own goals.

Elder Chen Yinzong, on the other hand, frowned, looking in the direction Chen Jianshen had left, his heart filled with worry. He knew deeply that if the internal conflicts of the Chen Family were not resolved in time, they would bring great hidden dangers to the Chen Family.

He quickened his pace towards the Spirit Plant Hall, hoping to resolve the authorization issue of the qinghe rice cultivation plan as soon as possible, and at the same time, find an opportunity to properly mediate the conflicts among the clansmen.