CHAPTER 549: CHAPTER 511: WORSE THAN DEATH

Zhou Mengjiao said she wanted to connect with Ju Yunhai and have a good gathering with Tian Lin and others.

But Tian Lin stayed at Gourd Peak for two days and didn’t receive Zhou Mengjiao’s invitation; it seemed she had turned around and forgotten those words.

Tian Lin himself had no desire for a gathering, but he noticed something was amiss, so he decided to turn passive into active and sent Cui’er to invite Zhou Mengjiao.

Zhou Mengjiao didn’t refuse at all, and this time she brought her husband along.

As soon as she entered Tian Lin’s cave mansion, she explained, "Brother Ju got into some trouble, so it’s not convenient to invite him at the moment."

"Was it Tang Chuchu’s doing?"

After saying this, Tian Lin shook his head again.

Tang Chuchu’s cultivation wasn’t enough to harm Ju Yunhai. Tian Lin associated Tang Chuchu with Tang Chujie and said, "Was it Tang Chujie’s doing then?"

But he clearly guessed wrong again, as Zhou Mengjiao said, "It was Tang Haoran."

This name Tian Lin had not heard for a long time, but upon Zhou Mengjiao’s mention, he instantly remembered the youth who had said he wanted revenge on him.

"I have a revenge match with Tang Haoran regarding my mother’s death, but Brother Ju has never had any other dealings with Tang Haoran. Brother Ju was probably implicated because of me and was hurt by Tang Haoran."

After Tian Lin finished speaking, Zhou Mengjiao continued:

"The day after Tang Haoran hurt Brother Ju, Elder Tang Zhi brought Tang Haoran to apologize. Now not only has Tang Haoran been punished, but Elder Tang Zhi also promised to accept Brother Ju as a True Disciple once he recovers."

She smiled, not without envy: "Now, everyone is saying Brother Ju has found fortune in misfortune."

Tian Lin raised an eyebrow and said, "Indeed, Elder Tang now has Nascent Soul cultivation. Rightfully, he also has the qualification to accept True Disciples."

True Disciples are not trivial; although the Tang Family has several Nascent Soul elders, the quota for True Disciples under their names is not enough for the family itself.

Tang Zhi giving his True Disciple quota to Ju Yunhai could be seen as a betrayal by many clan members—where’s the logic in giving opportunities to outsiders instead of taking care of their own?

But to ordinary sect disciples, Tang Zhi’s action is genuinely selfless. But know this, Tang Zhi’s own son is still only an Inner Sect Disciple—

His son made a mistake and he not only didn’t cover it up but after punishing his son, he gave the precious quota to Ju Yunhai, allowing him to leap into the position of True Disciple.

Such conduct, if you ask throughout the entire sect, how many people could do it? Even Elder Xue blatantly took his own ghost baby granddaughter back into the sect—

"Brother Ju, it does seem that he’s indeed found fortune in misfortune."

Tian Lin agreed with Zhou Mengjiao—

"Fortune in misfortune, indeed, fortune in misfortune."

Though it was daytime, sunlight couldn’t penetrate through the mass of flying locusts to bring warmth and light to Gourd Peak.

At this moment, Ju Yunhai was lying on a stone bed in the cave. His smile under the flickering candlelight seemed somewhat fierce.

"Isn’t it fortune in misfortune?"

His wife Tang Chuchu sat beside the stone bed, spitting out the seed with satisfaction: "If it wasn’t for me, would you have been beaten by Tang Haoran? If you hadn’t been beaten by Tang Haoran, would my second uncle accept you as a True Disciple?"

Ju Yunhai was infuriated and laughed; his wife found someone to beat him and showed no remorse or embarrassment; instead, she was complacent. She even brazenly acted as if she had done something great before him.

Ju Yunhai wanted to punch Tang Chuchu to the ground and proudly tell her he didn’t care for the True Disciple title.

But he opened his mouth, unable to speak angry words.

Since the sect’s reform, Ju Yunhai had gone through too much in the past few years.

His uncle and aunt took away his quota, and he married a wife who cheated on him—

He endured again and again, until this time being beaten by Tang Haoran—

Ju Yunhai couldn’t forget how Tang Haoran stepped on him in the dirt, the condescending gaze. Nor could he forget Tang Haoran’s taunting words: A weak turtle like you can’t control your wife who sleeps with others, and finally gets beaten by the guy your wife finds. If I were you, what’s the point of living, might as well just end it!

Physical abuse could hardly make Ju Yunhai submit, but he couldn’t withstand the mental torment.

"You’ve become a True Disciple, barely matching my status."

Tang Chuchu brazenly: "But don’t think becoming a True Disciple means you don’t have to listen to me. If you dare defy me, I’ll have my brother beat you."

"Ultimately, this True Disciple position was given to you by my second uncle for my sake. My Tang Family can give you the quota, but we can also take it away anytime."

"In short, you have to obey; also, going forward, you’re not allowed to associate with that Tian surname or that slattern Mei surname, or I’ll have someone break your other leg."

After rambling for half a day, Tang Chuchu left the cave mansion, satisfied with herself, not knowing which man she went to sleep with next.

Watching the backs of his wife and maidservant as they left, Ju Yunhai tightly grasped his right leg.

He used such force that his fingers nearly embedded into his thigh, but he distinctly felt no pain.

His right leg had been broken by Tang Haoran. Even with medicines like Bone Healing Ointment, it would still take over a month to restore sensation.

"Better off ending it?"

Ju Yunhai reflected on Tang Haoran’s words, feeling they made an exceptionally reasonable point.

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to end it; moreover, he felt he wasn’t the one at fault, so why should he end it?

In his childhood, while cultivating at the Tang Family, he swore to enter the Wenda Sect and become a disciple.

He later fulfilled this wish, finally becoming a Class D disciple of the Wenda Sect.

Lacking much support from family members, he relied on relentless effort to become a Class B disciple.

During the transition from Class D to Class B disciple, the hardships he endured and the risks he took were countless.

Finally, with the sect’s reform, he also had the chance to become an Inner Sect Disciple.

Yet his uncle and aunt wanted him to give his chance to enter the inner sect to his younger brother—

Ju Yunhai felt unwilling, but considering his uncle and aunt’s nurturing grace, he didn’t want to be ungrateful.

To repay his uncle and aunt, Ju Yunhai was willing to step back and give the hard-won opportunity to his younger brother.

He firmly believed that even if this opportunity was missed, as long as he was willing to work hard, the door of the Wenda Sect’s Inner Sect would definitely open again for him!

Indeed, in just two years, the chance to become an Inner Sect Disciple came again.

The opportunity wasn’t fought for by himself, but rather, it was ’fought for’ by his uncle and aunt.

That, being willing to marry Tang Chuchu.

As long as he married Tang Chuchu, not minding her bad reputation, then the Tang Family could let him become an Inner Sect Disciple—

Frankly, Ju Yunhai didn’t want to marry this woman just for an Inner Sect Disciple status.

Proud as he was, he always believed that with effort, he would definitely become an Inner Sect Disciple without needing any connections.

But unfortunately, his marriage was not something he could decide.

Afterwards, it was proven that after marrying Tang Chuchu, calamities followed.

His wife’s indiscretion and his fellow disciples’ ridicule led Ju Yunhai, who had never been weaker than anyone in his life, to lose his former pride.

He felt that his current self was worse than death.

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