Chapter 127: Call Me Uncle?

The fat man’s sneak attack had failed, and his pistol had backfired; he was terrified that Ling Tian might walk over and crush him with a single blow. However, when he saw the arrival of Elder Situ, his eyes immediately welled up with tears. With the elder here, everything would be saved. No matter how formidable Ling Tian might be, he could not possibly be mentioned in the same breath as Elder Situ.

"Master, you must uphold justice for me! This bastard actually came here to cause trouble, and he even had the audacity to boast that he would beat me up even if you were here. I couldn't stand for it and tried to reason with him, but he was simply too strong... Master, you must seek justice for me!" The fat man’s acting was superb; he was snot-nosed and teary-eyed, painting a truly pathetic picture.

The reckless fat man even pointed a finger at Ling Tian, putting on a look of righteous indignation as he declared, "Boy, no matter how you insult me, I will never allow you to insult the Situ family. Even if I have to sacrifice this old life of mine, I will defend the properties and reputation of the Situ family!"

His words sounded high-minded, and combined with his well-executed performance, one might have truly believed he was deeply concerned for the family's interests.

Yan Fei walked over, staring blankly at Elder Situ, and said, "Old man, I want an explanation. Are you harboring filth and forcing innocent girls here..."

The elder was stunned. He rarely concerned himself with the family business, which was managed by his son, the current head of the Situ family, Situ Ze. The elder usually only flipped through the ledgers occasionally and stayed out of everything else.

"What did you say? I don't quite understand," Elder Situ muttered, confused. "Situ Ze will be here shortly; I will ask him then."

The current head of the Situ family, Situ Ze, arrived in a hurry, his mind racing as he wondered what could have happened to alarm even his father. The elder had been in semi-retirement for years and rarely made public appearances.

Situ Ze rushed into the hall and bowed respectfully before his father. "Father, why are you here? You could have just called me; I could have handled whatever it was."

"You scoundrel!" Elder Situ rebuked him angrily. "Is this how the family business is run? Look at what you've done!"

The fat man, naively thinking the elder was angry because he hadn't handled Ling Tian properly, immediately chimed in, "Head of the family, it was all my lack of competence in handling the situation, but that kid is truly strong. Even Brother Yan Fei was no match for him; he couldn't even be harmed by bullets."

Upon hearing this, Situ Ze found it unbelievable. Immune to bullets? Was he a superman?

However, there were very few people in Yunhai City who could defeat Yan Fei. Situ Ze knew Yan Fei’s strength well—he was a true martial artist.

"You fool, what are you looking at? Follow me," Elder Situ snapped. With that, he led Situ Ze toward Ling Tian.

With both the head of the family and the elder present, things had escalated.

Zhao Ming and Zhang Ding grew incredibly nervous, shifting in their seats as they watched Ling Tian. They knew he was strong, but they didn't believe he could stand against the Situ family, one of the four great families of Yunhai City. After all, the prestigious four great families were not comparable to low-level thugs like Scar.

The fat man gloated, "Kid, keep acting arrogant. I want to see how you die today."

Upon seeing Elder Situ and Situ Ze, a smile touched the corners of Ling Tian’s mouth. He thought to himself, *Elder Situ, isn't this the same old man who was selling spirit talismans at the Baolan Market? What a small world; I never expected to meet him here.*

Situ Ze looked at Ling Tian with suspicion, feeling a sense of familiarity. However, busy with family business, he had only glanced at Ling Tian's portrait at the time and hadn't paid it much mind. Now, he couldn't recall it and assumed the elder intended to personally teach Ling Tian a lesson.

Approaching Ling Tian, Situ Ze displayed the poise of a family head, looking down at him with haughty pride. He said in a deep voice, "Young man, I don't know where we have offended you to make you stir up such trouble. If I have done something wrong, I will surely provide an explanation, but if you cannot give me a reasonable justification, the Situ family will not let this go."

After speaking, Situ Ze glanced at the elder. Despite being the head of the family, he dared not be impudent in front of his father.

The elder was immediately enraged. He slapped Situ Ze across the face and roared, "You scoundrel, kneel!" The old man assumed Situ Ze had recognized Ling Tian, and he was so furious that his beard trembled at his son's incompetence.

The slap left Situ Ze reeling. It had been a long time since he had seen his father fly into such a rage. Terrified, he quickly knelt before the elder and said, aggrieved, "Father, I am a grown man, and I am the head of the Situ family. Please, give me some face in front of all these people."

The elder barked, "I don't care who you are! In front of me, you are my son, and I am your father. Besides, you're kneeling in the wrong direction. You should be kneeling over there." He pointed toward Ling Tian, who sat calmly opposite them.

Situ Ze felt his mind failing him. As the head of one of the four great families, he was expected to kneel before a mere brat? What kind of logic was this? Just as he looked up, intending to question his father, he saw the elder’s dark expression and shut his mouth in terror.

Before the eyes of the stunned crowd, Situ Ze, the head of the prestigious Situ family, sank to his knees before Ling Tian.

Only then did Elder Situ nod with satisfaction. He clasped his hands together and said to Ling Tian, "Little brother, you really are full of surprises. Ever since we parted at the Baolan Market, I have ordered my men to search for you, but there was no news. I never expected us to meet here today. Please, accept my respects." With that, the elder bowed deeply to Ling Tian.

Who was Elder Situ? Among the older generation of the four great families, he was undeniably a top-tier figure. For such a man to bow to Ling Tian—if this were to get out, it would surely cause a sensation throughout Yunhai City.

Ling Tian hurriedly stood up and helped the elder up, laughing, "Old sir, you were quite the hidden expert yourself. Who would have thought that the old man selling spirit talismans at a street stall in Baolan Market was actually the former head of one of the four great families?"

Seeing that Ling Tian held no grudge, the elder breathed a sigh of relief. "Little brother, come, sit down. We haven't seen each other in a long time; let’s have a good talk." He sat down beside Ling Tian.

Ling Tian pointed to Situ Ze, who was still kneeling on the ground, looking miserable. "Old sir, shouldn't you let him get up?"

Situ Ze immediately shot Ling Tian a look of gratitude.

"Hmph! Let him kneel! This unpromising thing—he didn't even recognize my savior!" The elder said indignantly, his beard twitching.

Situ Ze finally understood: the young man sitting before him was his father's savior. According to the elder, Ling Tian was an otherworldly expert; compared to him, these so-called great families of Yunhai City were nothing. Though this was an extreme sentiment, it showed just how highly the elder regarded Ling Tian.

"Is it really appropriate to make him kneel?" Ling Tian felt awkward at the elder's gesture. Making the head of a family kneel to him—if this got out, the whole city would go mad. People would sooner believe in aliens than this.

Elder Situ scoffed, "What’s inappropriate about it? You and I are brothers; you are his uncle’s generation. A nephew kneeling to his uncle—what is inappropriate about that?"

Hearing this, Situ Ze thought, *It's over. It's completely over.* In the blink of an eye, not only had his status plummeted, but he also had an absurdly young uncle.

"Little brother, it is all thanks to the spirit talisman you gave me that my old injuries were healed; otherwise, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you today," the elder said with deep emotion, his eyes full of gratitude.

Ling Tian laughed, "It was just a small favor, old sir... elder brother. I think it's quite hard for my nephew to be kneeling there; let him get up and speak."

Elder Situ nodded and said coldly to Situ Ze, "Why aren't you thanking your uncle? You have no manners at all."

Situ Ze was on the verge of tears. How could he be polite when he had suddenly acquired an uncle decades younger than himself? Under his father's stern gaze, Situ Ze awkwardly muttered, "Thank you, Uncle." Even to his own ears, it sounded wrong.

Ling Tian felt even more awkward than Situ Ze. Having a grown man as a "nephew" was hard to accept, but he couldn't refuse the elder's enthusiasm. Ling Tian steeled himself and said, "Good boy, nephew. I didn't prepare anything when I came, so I don't have a proper gift, but take this for now."

Ling Tian reached into his pocket and pulled out a healing talisman, handing it to Situ Ze.

*What is this?* Situ Ze was at a loss as he looked at the talisman. This piece of junk was a gift?

Seeing his foolish son staring blankly, the elder couldn't help himself and slapped him again, grumbling, "Why aren't you thanking your uncle? This is a priceless treasure that money can't buy!"

Having been slapped again, Situ Ze was ready to cry. His luck today was abysmal. The once formidable and imposing head of the Situ family felt like a child, suffering one blow after another: he had gained an absurdly young uncle and been slapped multiple times. The worst part was that he had to endure it—where could he even go to complain?

"This is a healing talisman. It can cure basic external injuries. To use it, drip a drop of your blood onto it and chant 'Lin' from the Nine Syllables of Power," Ling Tian said calmly.