Chapter 169: The Ye Family of Three
Inside the Tian Ge, by the window, Ye Anping and Ye Ao sat cross-legged on the couch. Kong Yulan served a pot of clear tea and then sat beside Ye Ao.
The tea leaves floated in the pot, and a delicate fragrance filled the entire room.
As the saying goes, an old pot of tea, a story.
The couple looked at Ye Anping expectantly, waiting for their son’s story.
Organizing his thoughts, Ye Anping let out a soft breath and said:
“Junior Sister Pei doesn’t understand the matters between men and women, so she mistook sleeping together for consummating the marriage. When we were at Chi Long Mansion, due to my yang energy, I had no choice but to hold her while sleeping, just like when we were children. It was nothing more than that.”
Ye Ao knitted his brows, confirming:
“Are you telling the truth, you brat?”
Kong Yulan beside him added:
“Ping’er, if you did something, you did something. Just say it, and your mother won’t scold you.”
Ye Ao added another sentence:
“That’s right. A man stands tall and strong. Even if he makes a mistake, he must take responsibility and find a way to make amends. Never run away. You were always a clever kid when you were little, and I thought you knew what you were doing, so I didn’t say much. But this matter…”
Ye Anping sighed softly, shook his head slightly, and steered the conversation away:
“What your son says is the absolute truth. Besides, I didn’t have the leisure to do those things at Chi Long Mansion.”
“What happened at Chi Long Mansion?”
“The demonic cultivators of Tian Mo Sect invaded, and the Mansion Lord, Immortal Master Li, perished… a lot of things happened. There should be an official announcement issued soon.”
“Tian Mo Sect… Hiss—” Ye Ao took a sharp breath, his brows furrowed deeply. “First, a Grand Tutor from Gu Poison Sect showed up, and now Tian Mo Sect. The world is about to change. Also, how come you’ve encountered both these incidents?”
Ye Anping forced a smile:
“Coincidence, I suppose.”
Kong Yulan showed concern, taking Ye Anping’s hand and saying:
“Ping’er, remember in the future, if you encounter demonic cultivators again, stay far away from them. There’s no need for us to show off. Let the powerful cultivators handle the matters of demonic cultivators. We should just live our own lives. Staying alive is the most important thing. Don’t think about dedicating yourself to the end.”
“Tsk, Yulan, you can’t be so absolute about this. The matters of demonic cultivators concern the entire Immortal Domain. Even as a small sect, we should contribute if we can. Ping’er knows what he’s doing.”
Kong Yulan shot him a glance and ignored him, saying:
“Ping’er, remember this, if you get into trouble you can’t handle, come to your mother. Mother will always protect you.”
“Okay.”
Kong Yulan smiled, then picked up the teapot and refilled Ye Anping’s teacup, asking:
“Let’s not talk about those things; let’s talk about something good. Speaking of which, Ping’er, you are indeed of marrying age. Don’t you have too much yang energy? Elder Wang also said before that you should marry several girls.”
Ye Anping was taken aback and said:
“Mother, there’s no rush for this matter.”
“Why no rush? Didn’t you say before that you had to sleep holding Missy Pei because of your yang energy? Then marry Missy Pei. Missy Pei grew up with you. We can hold the banquet at our Hundred Lotus Sect; it’s convenient, isn’t it? If you want to marry again later, we can hold another one. That Xuan Xing Sect Young Master, and the white-haired girl with Saint Emperor bloodline…”
Ye Ao glanced at Kong Yulan and interrupted:
“Yulan, that won’t do. If Ping’er really wants to marry those two, the first banquet should be for Xiao Girl, the second for Feng Girl, and only then for Missy Pei… we need to maintain the proper etiquette. Xiao Girl holds the most importance here. If the Saint Emperor hadn’t returned to dust, Feng Girl would have been first…”
“But our Ping’er likes Missy Pei the most! He even sleeps hugging her.”
“Look at mortal emperors, the most favored concubines are usually not the Empress, but the Noble Consorts, like Consort Yang, Consort Zhang. At that time, we can give Missy Pei…”
…
Seeing her parents almost arguing about this matter, Ye Anping felt a headache coming on. He quickly slapped the table and said with a frown:
“Stop!! Dad, Mom, I will consider my own marriage. We are not discussing this now. With the invasion of demonic cultivators and the world about to descend into chaos, both my Junior Sister and I should focus on cultivating, not getting married and having children. This is for our own safety and future.”
He used righteousness to refute personal matters. Ye Ao and Kong Yulan were momentarily speechless.
Ye Ao smiled and took a sip of tea:
“As long as you know what you’re doing. We’re not some major Great Family/Clan. You’re the Young Master, so handle your marriage as you see fit.”
“Okay.”
However, as if remembering something, he turned and looked at the desk in the center of the Tian Ge. He flicked his finger and took out a Jade Slip, placing it in front of Ye Anping.
“Speaking of your marriage, this Jade Slip came to mind… Ping’er, take a look?”
“My marriage?”
Ye Anping frowned and glanced at the Jade Slip. He saw a golden Spirit Sword emblem carved on it and showed a hint of surprise.
This Jade Slip must have been sent by the Moon Shadow Sword Sect.
The Moon Shadow Sword Sect was located where the Southern Domain and Western Regions meet, tens of thousands of miles away from the Hundred Lotus Sect. Moreover, the Hundred Lotus Sect was a third-rate small sect and didn’t warrant their attention. Why would they send a Jade Slip?
Ye Anping didn’t immediately examine the contents of the Jade Slip; he lowered his gaze and pondered. He suddenly realized that the fundamental reason was likely that they heard Xuan Xing Sect gave the Chi Yun Valley Spirit Stone veins to the Hundred Lotus Sect, which is why they came to “strike up a conversation.”
This move was akin to investment. Because they believed the Hundred Lotus Sect would develop greatly in the future, they decided to invest while it was still a sapling.
However, based on his understanding of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect, they were definitely not just there to invest.
With this thought, Ye Anping reached out and took the Jade Slip, using his Spiritual Sense to read it.
The Jade Slip contained a thousand characters, but no matter how Ye Anping looked at it, he could only decipher four words:
— Human Trafficking.
The Moon Shadow Sword Sect wished for Ye Anping to marry into their family and become the live-in son-in-law of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect’s Eldest Miss, Yun Yiyi.
In exchange, the Moon Shadow Sword Sect would provide the Hundred Lotus Sect with a thousand high-quality Spirit Swords, a hundred Magical Artifacts, one hundred thousand Pills, countless Heavenly Treasures and Earthly Treasures, and five million Spirit Stones as betrothal gifts. They would even send an Elder from the Moon Shadow Sword Sect to personally serve as an Outer Sect Elder of the Hundred Lotus Sect, training disciples…
These “betrothal gifts” directly addressed all of the Hundred Lotus Sect’s pain points.
The Hundred Lotus Sect currently had a Spirit Stone vein, so they were not short of Spirit Stones.
However, they were still severely lacking in items like Spirit Swords, Pills, Magical Artifacts, and Heavenly Treasures.
Purchasing these items individually was not a problem, but acquiring them in large quantities was a different matter.
To this end, the Hundred Lotus Sect needed to send people to negotiate with various sects and establish trade routes.
This matter could not be resolved in just a few years.
The last point, having an Elder from the Moon Shadow Sword Sect personally serve as an Outer Sect Elder, was something the Hundred Lotus Sect couldn’t be happier about.
The Hundred Lotus Sect truly needed an Elder from a major sect to come and teach, helping to improve the quality of the courses for their disciples.
But how easy was it to persuade an Elder from a major sect to come to the Hundred Lotus Sect to teach?
It was like inviting a teacher from a prestigious university to teach in a rural town, and to teach for decades.
In other words, as long as Ye Ao sent him to the Moon Shadow Sword Sect, the Hundred Lotus Sect could save tens of years of development time.
Ye Anping withdrew his Spiritual Sense, placed the Jade Slip back on the table, and looked at his father, who had a sheepish smile on his face. He shook his head and asked:
“So, Dad, you want to send me over?”
“Yes, send you over, and the Hundred Lotus Sect will save at least dozens of years of effort. It’s just a pity your mother disagrees.”
Kong Yulan heard this, her eyes narrowed, and she reached out and grabbed his ear:
“What do you mean if I disagree, you won’t send him? You old man, back then you started a big fire and threw this Jade Slip against the wall, and you even broke my jade orchid vase.”
“Hey, hey, hey—” Ye Ao grabbed his wife’s hand and stopped her, “In front of our son, can you save me some face?”
“What face do you have to save, you old fogey!!”
Ye Anping was somewhat amused and exasperated. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, then pondered for a moment, asking:
“Speaking of which, does that Eldest Miss of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect want to control the Hundred Lotus Sect? With my Young Master as a hostage, and sending an Elder, they are likely Nascent Soul cultivators or above, right?”
Ye Ao pacified his wife and pouted, answering:
“They didn’t say so explicitly, but they likely think so in private. However, it’s probably more than that. The disciple who delivered the Jade Slip also said something.”
“What did he say?”
“He said their Eldest Miss saw your portrait and thought you had the bearing of a dragon and phoenix, very handsome. This should be one of the reasons.”
“Hmm.” Ye Anping nodded. “Yun Yiyi has good taste.”
Kong Yulan on the side also agreed. “Our Ping’er is very handsome. Even the Xuan Xing Sect Young Master was eager to marry him. Can she be of higher status than Xiao Girl?”
Ye Ao looked at the mother and son, feeling a bit speechless, but then he thought that his son took after him, and he himself was also handsome, so he quickly nodded.
“Yes, in sum, I’m telling you about this. I don’t plan to reply to this Jade Slip; I’ll just throw it away later.”
“Okay… I’ll take it and throw it away later.”
Ye Anping smiled and put the Jade Slip into his Storage Bag. He already had some plans in mind now, and this Jade Slip might be useful.
At this moment, Ye Anping remembered his Junior Sister and Liang Zhu, who had been left outside the door for nearly half an hour. He quickly said:
“By the way, Dad, let me introduce someone to you. A sworn brother I made while I was away.”
“Ah? You made sworn brothers?”
“Yes, a very good person. He’s a Rogue Cultivator and is quite shrewd in his dealings. His name is Liang Zhu, and he’s my Eldest Brother. I am his Sixth Brother.”
“Sixth Brother?” Ye Ao paused. “Then what about the second, third, fourth, and fifth?”
“…They have returned to dust.”
“I see… That’s acceptable. What’s his cultivation level?”
“You’ll know when you meet him.” Ye Anping pondered for a moment and said, “You can let him help Elder Qian. He’s a Law Cultivator and has insights into formations and spells. Just make sure you don’t owe him any monthly wages. As long as the pay is sufficient, he’s very effective.”
“Where is he?”
Ye Anping got down from the couch and walked to the door. He pushed open the pavilion door and said:
“Brother Liang, bring A’ting in. I’ve already made arrangements.”
Liang A’ting’s legs were numb from standing at the bottom of the stairs. She glared at Ye Anping resentfully, but at Liang Zhu’s reminder, she quickly rubbed her face and put on an innocent and cute childlike smile. She was then pulled into the Tian Ge by Liang Zhu.
“Sect Master Ye, Madam Ye, I am Liang Zhu. This is my adopted daughter, named A’ting.”
Liang A’ting quickly hid behind Liang Zhu, nodded shyly, and whispered:
“Greetings, Sect Master Ye… Greetings, Madam Ye…”
…
Ps: Two chapters totaling 3000 words, a solid combination.
