Wen Meijue

He nodded and bowed in a hurry. “Yes, Fourth Senior Brother.”

Song Yao: “?”

Didn't Fourth Junior Brother just say everyone would return to the sect tomorrow? Why had it suddenly changed to a few days later?

She was hesitating over whether to tell Fourth Junior Brother that she wanted to stay behind too.

Glancing sideways, she saw Ming Ran's anxious expression, and her old habit immediately flared up again. “Rest easy. Seventh Senior Sister will go with you. What is there to fear?”

Xie Zhou paused for some reason, his face darkening as he turned and walked away.

Ming Ran's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at her.

She was clearly younger than Ming Ran, with a cool countenance that still retained a trace of childishness, making her look quite cute most of the time. Yet, she always protected Ming Ran like this.

And she was even going out of her way to accompany her to the Wen family...

Ming Ran sniffled. “First Master, is there anything you want?”

Song Yao: “What?”

Ming Ran: “I want to spend some money on you. How about I give you a few shops in Wuzhou City? You can choose them yourself.”

Song Yao: “...”

Why did everyone love to start giving things away at the slightest provocation?

She shook her head. “No, thanks.”

Once she retired, she wouldn't have any use for these things anyway.

Ming Ran: “Then... is there anything else you want? If the Ming family has it, I'll give it to you.”

Song Yao: “Yes.”

Ming Ran: “What is it?”

Song Yao: “I want to sleep.”

...

With a fragmented soul, she truly couldn't handle staying up late.

Song Yao slept furiously for a whole day and night. The next morning, Ming Ran came to knock on her door, saying it was time to set off for the Wen family and telling her to get up for some breakfast.

Sleeping too much also made her dizzy. Song Yao closed her eyes and tried to struggle up, but failed. Letting her head fall back onto the pillow, she mumbled, “I'm not eating. Just call me when you're ready to set off...”

Ming Ran gave an okay from outside, her footsteps quickly fading away.

Before she could enjoy much of her morning nap, the knocking rang out again.

This time, Song Yao didn't budge or open her eyes. Too tired to even roll over, she mumbled again, “I'm not eating.”

The knocking paused for a moment, and then the door creaked open.

Someone walked in, stopping by her bedside. A cool, raspy voice said, “Get up and eat breakfast. Everyone is waiting.”

Fourth Junior Brother's voice.

Fourth Junior Brother had come to wake her up again.

Song Yao turned her face slightly out of the pillow, her eyes still squeezed shut as she grumbled, “Didn't I tell you guys to just eat? I don't like breakfast. Stop bothering me. If you keep making noise, I won't take you...”

Halfway through venting her morning grumpiness, she suddenly snapped awake.

Song Yao forced herself to swallow the rest of her sentence. Pulling the blanket over her head, she forced a calm tone. “I'm awake. I'll be out in a second.”

After a soft chuckle, the footsteps drifted away, and the door closed.

Song Yao poked her head out from under the blanket and rubbed her face, giving herself a fright.

Having spent so much time together, she was no longer constantly on edge about him finding her out.

Besides, other than being cold and temperamental, Fourth Junior Brother wasn't unreasonable.

But letting her guard down for too long had almost made her speak to him the way she used to.

By the time she dressed and stepped outside, Xie Zhou was still standing there.

He stood tall and straight, his hair neatly bound. The sunlight spilling over him softened the usual coldness of his features.

Neither of them spoke, walking one after the other toward the front hall.

It was a rare, untouched sanctuary, completely unburned and fully intact.

When they stepped into the front hall, Song Yao was slightly dumbfounded.

Wasn't this supposed to be breakfast?

What was with this imperial feast?

All kinds of dishes stretched from one end of the table to the other. Several of the Ming family's leading figures sat around the table, alongside Ming Ran and Cheng Yue. Not a single person had picked up their chopsticks, clearly waiting for her.

Upon seeing the two of them enter, the Ming family elders rose to welcome them, even bowing in Song Yao's direction.

For a split second, Song Yao felt as if she had returned to her previous life. Snapping out of it, she hurriedly bowed back to them. “What is the meaning of this, everyone?”

The Ming family's Eldest Aunt stepped forward and took her hands, gripping them tightly with slightly red eyes. “We heard all about it from Ranran. This time, it's all thanks to everyone from Nine Saints Hall and you. If you hadn't used your flames to burn that demon infant and led everyone to safety, our Ming family would have faced a grim fate.”

She gripped so hard that Song Yao tried to pull her hands away. “It's nothing, really.”

Before she could successfully escape, Second Uncle Ming bowed deeply to her. “I heard Ranran has already taken you as her master and learned a great deal from you. For her to reach the fourth stage of the Seven Continents Twelve Swords at her age is entirely your credit!”

“Please, do not be polite with us. From now on, you are an honored guest of our Ming family.”

He spoke with absolute sincerity, without any exaggeration.

He had practiced the Seven Continents Twelve Swords himself, so he knew exactly how difficult it was to reach the fourth stage.

Hearing from Ming Ran that a few casual pointers from this master had brought her so much enlightenment and even a breakthrough, it was obvious how powerful this master must be.

Moreover, when they were buried underground, it was her hand-refined pills that saved everyone.

Seeing her now, she was actually such a young girl. It wasn't hard to imagine how immense her future achievements would be. She absolutely deserved to be treated with the utmost respect.

Having said that, he added with some regret, “It is a pity that you and Young Master Xie must depart so soon. Given the Ming family's current state, we cannot host you properly. Please forgive us.”

Ming Ran finally stepped in to rescue her. “Alright, alright, we have to set off right after we eat. Let's not waste time. Let Master eat her breakfast quickly.”

The Ming family elders quickly cleared a path. “Yes, yes, please take a seat.”

By the time they left, Song Yao was so full she felt like throwing up.

Fortunately, since they had to bring along Ming Ran's parents, who were infected with dark poison, Xie Zhou had procured a highly luxurious spiritual boat to make the journey easier.

This spared her from having to fly on her sword, allowing Song Yao to comfortably take another nap. By the time she woke up, they had already reached the Molian River.

The Wen family was built along the river, with their backs against a great mountain. Their location was rather secluded, and being nestled in the mountains, the temperature was quite low.

Ming Ran shook her awake and draped a heavy cloak over her shoulders. “Master, it's time to go down.”

Song Yao gave an understanding hum. Noticing that Ming Ran's parents were no longer on the adjacent beds, she yawned and asked, “Where are your parents and Fourth Senior Brother?”

“Second Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother just had some people carry them into the Wen family estate first.”

Ming Ran said, a little nervously, “I heard that before we arrived, Second Senior Sister had already clashed with the Wen family. Family Head Wen relented and agreed to help cure the poison.”

Song Yao couldn't help but chuckle.

That was indeed Second Senior Sister's style.

Why use words when you can use fists?

Wrapping her cloak tightly around herself, she hopped off the spiritual boat and strolled leisurely into the Wen family estate alongside Ming Ran.

Just as they reached the outside of the front hall, a furious roar echoed from within, so loud that the door panels trembled. “You can't cure it?! Say that again! What do you mean you can't cure it?!”

Startled, Ming Ran hitched up her skirt and ran inside.

Song Yao frowned slightly, quickening her pace as well. Instead of entering directly, she poked her head in to take a look.

In the center of the front hall stood a thin woman in black robes. Her hair was streaked with gray, her face was gaunt, and she held a bone staff in her hand.

Song Yao recognized her.

Wen Meijue.

Great Elder of the Wen family.

Was she the one in charge now?