Cherished By Seven Sisters by Melvin Houle

Chapter 236 The Houghton Family

The Ginger family of Juxshire and the Cooper family had previously engaged in business dealings.

Stefan had visited the Ginger residence several times and had met Lydia. Therefore, the two could be

considered old acquaintances.

Stefan sighed emotionally, “The last time I saw you, you were just a woman in your twenties. I didn’t

expect time to pass so quickly…”

Lydia also nodded with mixed emotions, saying, “Indeed, so many years have passed in the blink of an

eye… How is my father doing?”

“Your father was indeed still robust. I’ve heard him mention you quite a few times. He probably regrets

driving you out of the Ginger family back then,” Stefan said with a sigh.

Back in the day, the Ginger family wanted to arrange a marriage alliance, but Lydia disagreed.

Consequently, her father issued a harsh ultimatum. If she refused the marriage, she would have to

leave the Ginger family. His intention was to pressure Lydia into submission. However, unbeknownst to

him, Lydia was stubborn and defiant. To everyone’s surprise, she left the Ginger family in a huff.

After that, there was no further contact.

After hearing that, Lydia felt a bitter taste in her heart. She said, “If he truly regretted it, why didn’t he

come to apologize to me?”

Stefan replied, “You’re well aware of how your father is, always concerned about saving face…”

The two engaged in a heartfelt conversation, and as they chatted, the topic gradually shifted to the

recent situation of the Ginger family. Stefan’s expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural.

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Lydia seemed to realize something and quickly asked, “Old Mr. Cooper, has something happened to

the Ginger family?”

Many things could fade in time.

Over the years, Lydia had actually lost much of her resentment toward her father. However, a stubborn

streak remained in her heart, as she was still waiting for him to apologize.

Upon hearing Stefan’s words, Lydia didn’t feel great.

As the conversation progressed, Lydia noticed something off about Stefan’s demeanor. Instinctively,

Lydia sensed that the Ginger family might be in some sort of trouble, and so she began to press for

answers.

Originally, Stefan had no intention of speaking up, but under Lydia’s relentless questioning, he could

only sigh and say, “Recently, the Ginger family has indeed been having a tough time…”

He began to recount slowly.

The Ginger family’s ability to establish themselves in Juxshire was due to Lydia’s grandfather, Alastair,

a Manifestor grandmaster. It’was his singular efforts that elevated the Ginger family to the ranks of the

top–tier families in Juxshire. However, recently, one of Alastair’s sworn enemies had returned to

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Juxshire,

That arch–enemy’s surname was Houghton.

Many years ago, the Houghton family had a feud with the Ginger family. Initially, they were driven out of

Juxshire by Alastair. However, they later kept a low profile and surprisingly nurtured a Manifestor

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grandmaster who was not even forty years old.

The Manifestor grandmaster was named Travis, who in recent years had risen to prominence, securing

the thirty–eighth position on the Chanaea Grandmaster List. Due to his unique characteristic of having

only eight fingers, he was also commonly referred to as “Eight–finger Grandmaster.”

As for Alastair, he was only ranked in the eightieths on the Chanaea Grandmaster List. Although his

ranking might fluctuate, there was undoubtedly a significant gap when compared to Travis.

The most important thing was that Travis was young, and his future potential was undoubtedly

immense.

At that point, Stefan suddenly cast a meaningful glance at Emrys. He was quite certain Emrys was not

on the Chanaea Grandmaster List. Otherwise, it would have definitely caused a stir in the martial arts

world.

After all, it was an incomplete system, so omissions were quite normal.

Anyway, when the Houghton family returned to Juxshire, they naturally sought to settle scores with the

Ginger family. After several instances of provocation, Alastair, left with no choice, reluctantly agreed to

a duel with Travis. The date was set for the tenth of the following month. They also established a

wager, stipulating that the losing party would have to withdraw from Juxshire.

Just as the Houghton family had suffered defeat years ago, they withdrew from Juxshire.

In that duel, the majority favored the Houghton family, which was why families that had business

dealings with the Cooper family had recently become much quieter. Some had even begun to align

themselves with the Houghton family.

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Stefan said with embarrassment, “Actually, our Cooper family has also been observing the situation

recently.”

After hearing that, Lydia was deeply unsettled for a long time. She had not expected such a major

incident to occur in the Ginger family. However, she did not blame Stefan, as such occurrences were

quite common in martial arts families.

Moreover, that method of settling disputes through duels was already considered quite mild. If it weren’t

for the Central Chanaean Martial Arts Alliance keeping things in check from above, there was a

likelihood that bloody incidents could have erupted.

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