Volume 3 Chapter 3 / Chapter 169: The Ye Family Trio
Inside the Heavenly Pavilion, on the couch by the window, Ye Anping and Ye Ao sat cross-legged facing each other. Kong Yulan brewed a pot of tea and then sat down beside Ye Ao.
As the tea leaves floated and sank in the pot, a fragrant aroma filled the entire room. They say a pot of old tea accompanies a story. The couple eagerly looked at Ye Anping, waiting for their son’s story.
After organizing his thoughts, Ye Anping gently exhaled and said:
“Junior Sister Pei doesn’t understand the difference between sleeping and making out yet, so she mistook sleeping together for a wedding night. When we were at the Chi Dragon Mansion, because of my excessive yang energy, I had no choice but to sleep holding her, just like when we were kids. That’s all.”
Ye Ao raised an eyebrow to confirm:
“Are you sure you’re telling the truth, boy?”
Kong Yulan chimed in:
“Ping’er, if you’ve done something, just admit it. Your mother won’t scold you.”
Ye Ao added:
“Exactly, a man should stand tall and take responsibility for his actions, even if he makes a mistake. You need to think of ways to make amends and never evade your responsibilities. You’ve always been a clever kid, so I haven’t said much. But this matter…”
Ye Anping sighed lightly, shook his head, and changed the topic:
“Every word I said is true. Besides, I was too preoccupied with other things at the Chi Dragon Mansion to do anything inappropriate.”
“What happened at the Chi Dragon Mansion?”
“Demonic cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Sect invaded, and Immortal Master Li Feng from the Chi Dragon Mansion fell. A lot happened, and there should be an official announcement soon.”
“Heavenly Demon Sect…hiss—” Ye Ao took a deep breath and furrowed his brows. “First, there was a Grand Elder from the Gu Poison Sect, and now the Heavenly Demon Sect. Both are world changing events, how did you get involved in both events?”
Ye Anping forced a smile:
“Just coincidence, I guess.”
Kong Yulan, looking worried, held Ye Anping’s hand and said:
“Ping’er, remember, if you encounter demonic cultivators again, stay far away. We don’t need to be heroes. Leave those matters to the powerful cultivators. Our priority is to live a peaceful life. Don’t think about dying for the cause.”
“Tsk, Yulan, we can’t be so absolute. The issue of demonic cultivators concerns all of the regions. Even if we’re from a small sect, we should contribute where we can. Ping’er knows this.”
Kong Yulan gave him a sidelong glance and said:
“Ping’er, remember, if you can’t handle something, come to me. I’ll protect you no matter what.”
“Okay.”
Kong Yulan smiled and poured more tea into Ye Anping’s cup:
“Let’s not talk about that. Let’s discuss something good. Ping’er, you’re of marriageable age now. With your excessive yang energy, Elder Wang said you should marry multiple girls.”
Ye Anping was taken aback:
“Mother, there’s no rush.”
“Why not? You said you had to sleep with Junior Sister Pei because of your yang energy. Why not marry her? She grew up with you, and we can hold the banquet at our own Hundred Lotus Sect. It’s convenient. If you want to marry more later, we can hold more banquets. There’s also the young mistress of Profound Star Sect and the white-haired girl with the Immortal Emperor’s bloodline…”
Ye Ao interrupted:
“Yulan, that’s not right. If Ping’er is to marry those two, the first banquet must be for Miss Xiao, the second for Miss Feng, and then for Junior Sister Pei. There’s an order to these things. Miss Xiao holds the highest status. If the Immortal Emperor hadn’t passed away, Miss Feng would be first…”
“But Ping’er likes Junior Sister Pei the most. They even sleep together.”
“Look at mortal emperors. Their favorite consorts are usually not the empresses but the noble consorts, like Yang Guifei or Zhang Guifei. We can make Junior Sister Pei a noble consort…”
…
Watching his parents argue, Ye Anping felt a headache coming on. He slammed the table and frowned:
“Stop! Father, Mother, I’ll handle my marriage. Let’s not discuss this now. With demonic cultivators invading and chaos looming, both my Junior Sister and I should focus on cultivating, not on marriage and children. This is for our safety and future.”
His argument left Ye Ao and Kong Yulan with no rebuttal. Ye Ao smiled and sipped his tea:
“As long as you know what you’re doing. We’re not a big family, so your marriage is your decision.”
“Okay.”
Seemingly remembering something, Ye Ao looked at the central table in the pavilion, picked up a jade slip, and handed it to Ye Anping:
“Speaking of your marriage, this jade slip reminded me… Ping’er, take a look.”
“My marriage?”
Ye Anping glanced at the jade slip, which bore the emblem of a golden spirit sword, showing some surprise. This jade slip was sent by the Shadowmoon Sword Sect.
The Shadowmoon Sword Sect was located at the border of the southern and western regions, about ten thousand miles from Hundred Lotus Sect. Being a third-rate small sect, Hundred Lotus Sect should be beneath their notice. Why would they send a jade slip?
Ye Anping didn’t immediately read the jade slip. He pondered for a moment and realized the likely reason was the news that Profound Star Sect had given the spirit stone mine of Chi Yun Valley to Hundred Lotus Sect, prompting this “friendly” gesture.
It was like an investment, betting that Hundred Lotus Sect would grow significantly, so they came to “invest” early. However, Ye Anping knew the Shadowmoon Sword Sect wouldn’t do this just to invest.
Thinking this through, Ye Anping finally read the jade slip with his spiritual sense.
The jade slip contained about a thousand words, but Ye Anping could distill it to four:
——Arranged Marriage.
The Shadowmoon Sword Sect wanted Ye Anping to marry into their sect as a son-in-law for the Sect Master eldest daughter, Yun Yiyi.
In return, the Shadowmoon Sword Sect would provide Hundred Lotus Sect with a thousand top-grade spirit swords, a hundred magical tools, ten thousand pills, countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and five million spirit stones as a bride price. They would even send an elder to serve as an outer sect elder for Hundred Lotus Sect, training their disciples.
These “bride prices” hit Hundred Lotus Sect’s weaknesses perfectly. They had an excess of spirit stones due to the new mine but lacked spirit swords, pills, artifacts, and treasures. Purchasing these individually wasn’t an issue, but acquiring them in bulk was another story.
Moreover, convincing a top sect elder to come teach at Hundred Lotus Sect for decades was nearly impossible. It was like inviting a prestigious professor to teach in a rural school for decades.
In short, sending Ye Anping to Shadowmoon Sword Sect would save the Hundred Lotus Sect decades of development.
Ye Anping withdrew his spiritual sense, placed the jade slip back on the table, and looked at his father’s awkward smile. He shook his head and asked:
“So, you want to send me there?”
“Yes, sending you there would save Hundred Lotus Sect decades of effort, but your mother disagrees.”
Kong Yulan, hearing this, shot a glare and pinched Ye Ao’s ear:
“What do you mean, I disagreed? You got so angry you threw the jade slip against the wall, breaking my jade orchid vase!”
“Hey, hey—” Ye Ao tried to stop her, “Not in front of our son, give me some face!”
“Your face is worthless!”
Ye Anping, amused and exasperated, sipped his tea and asked:
“Seriously though, is the Shadowmoon Sword Sect trying to control the Hundred Lotus Sect? With me as a hostage and sending an elder, likely of Nascent Soul level or higher?”
Ye Ao, placating his wife, replied:
“On the surface, no, but likely in secret. The disciple who delivered the jade slip mentioned something.”
“What?”
“The Sect Master eldest daughter saw your portrait and thinks you’re very handsome, which is likely another reason.”
“Mm.” Ye Anping nodded. “Yun Yiyi has good taste.”
Kong Yulan agreed: “Our Ping’er is very handsome. Even the young mistress of the Profound Star Sect wants to marry him. So it’s normal for the Shadowmoon Sword Sect young mistress to also fall.”
Ye Ao, speechless but thinking of his own handsomeness, nodded:
“Yes, indeed. Anyway, I just wanted to inform you. I won’t be replying to the jade slip. I’ll throw it out later.”
“Mm… I’ll dispose of it myself.”
Ye Anping smiled as he put the jade slip into his storage pouch. He already had some plans forming in his mind, and this jade slip might come in handy.
At this moment, Ye Anping remembered his junior sister and Zhuang Hu, who had been left outside for nearly half an hour. He quickly said:
“Oh, right, Father, I have someone to introduce to you. A sword brother I made while I was out.”
“What? You made a sworn brother?”
“Yes, he’s a great person, originally a rogue cultivator, very astute. His name is Zhuang Hu; he’s my eldest brother, and I am his sixth brother.”
“Sixth brother?” Ye Ao paused. “What about the second, third, fourth, and fifth?”
“…Returned to the dust.”
“I see… that’s fine. What is his cultivation level?”
“You’ll find out if you test him,” Ye Anping pondered for a moment. “We can have him assist Elder Qian. He’s a spellcaster knowledgeable in formations and spells. Just make sure not to short his monthly stipend. As long as he’s paid well, he’s very reliable.”
“Where is he now?”
Ye Anping got up from the couch, walked to the door, and opened it:
“Brother Zhuang, bring Atin in. I’ve explained everything.”
Zhuang Atin, who had been standing at the bottom of the steps until her legs went numb, looked at Ye Anping with a face full of resentment. However, prompted by Zhuang Hu, she quickly rubbed her face, replaced her expression with a naive, innocent smile, and followed Zhuang Hu into the Heavenly Pavilion.
“Master Ye, Madam Ye, I am Zhuang Hu, and this is my adopted daughter, Atin.”
Atin quickly hid behind Zhuang Hu, nodded shyly, and softly greeted:
“Hello, Master Ye… Hello, Madam Ye…”