"Xin, if you truly care for me, let me go! Xuan’Er and Ling’Er are your own nephew and niece! Are you really going to watch them die here in the Gongsun family?"
Gongsun Yanran roared. Although she had fallen to the ground, she pulled Ye Xuan and Ye Ling’Er tightly against her chest. Spreading her arms, which had transformed into wings, she shielded her children.
This scene deeply impacted Ye Xuan. Having lacked a mother’s love since childhood, at this moment, he felt he no longer needed to envy anyone. Suddenly, he took a step forward, placing his own body in front of his mother and sister to shield them.
"Xuan’Er, you..." Gongsun Yanran was taken aback.
Ye Xuan merely offered a faint smile. "Mother, I am a man. How can I hide behind you when facing an enemy? Even if I am no match for them, I will still protect you and my sister. The worst that can happen is death. And what’s so scary about dying? A chopped-off head just leaves a bowl-sized scar!"
His bold declaration—that a chopped-off head was nothing more than a scar—echoed continuously through the surroundings.
"Hmm?" Ye Xuan’s actions greatly surprised Gongsun Xin. Although the boy was naive, he was at least a real man.
"Xin, no! Please don’t hurt him!" Gongsun Yanran pleaded. "You are their biological uncle!"
Gongsun Xin said flatly, "If I wanted to hurt him, he would have died twenty years ago."
"Xin, what do you mean by that?" Gongsun Yanran was bewildered.
Nearby, Gongsun Qingyue, who had just stood up, was equally astonished. "Xin, you knew Yanran had illegitimate children all along?"
Gongsun Xin nodded. "Twenty years ago, before Yanran returned home on her own accord, I found out that she had already married someone and given birth to two children."
"Xin... you..." Gongsun Yanran looked entirely stunned. She had assumed no one knew about this for the past twenty years, believing she had hidden it perfectly. Then, her shock gave way to gratitude. "Xin, thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?" he replied. "I’m your older brother. Did you really think I would ruin your family and destroy your life? Imagine how much you would hate me then."
"Xin, I know you care for me, but then why are you still stopping me?"
"Even if I didn’t stop you, you wouldn’t be able to leave. Father is furious right now. But rest assured, I will stand by your side. Let’s go. What must be faced, must be faced. Running away will only make the situation worse, won’t it?"
Gongsun Xin looked directly at Ye Xuan as he delivered that last sentence.
"I..." Gongsun Yanran gritted her teeth, wanting to say more.
But Ye Xuan interrupted her, "Mother, he is right. There’s no use running from what we must face. Besides, the power of a city is incredibly vast. Even if I fled now, where could I possibly go?"
"Xuan’Er... alright." Gongsun Yanran nodded and retracted her Beast Soul Transformation, her wings turning back into arms.
Taking Ye Xuan and Ye Ling’Er by the hand, she led them toward the main courtyard’s meeting hall.
The doors to the meeting hall were wide open. By the time Ye Xuan and the others walked in, the room was already packed with people.
An elderly man sat at the head of the hall. Seated along both sides were the members of the Direct Lineage. They stared at Ye Xuan and Ye Ling’Er, their gazes scrutinizing them like criminals. The atmosphere inside the hall was incredibly oppressive.
"Father, I have brought them," Gongsun Xin announced, cupping his hands in a respectful salute toward the elderly man at the highest seat.
This elder was none other than the City Lord of Dapeng City. He was also Ye Xuan’s grandfather, Gongsun Wenjin.
Before Gongsun Wenjin could even speak, the surrounding family members shouted coldly.
"Kneel! Get on your knees right now!"
"These two country bumpkins have truly tainted the bloodline of our Gongsun family!"
"Yanran, how could you do something so foolish?! The daughter of the City Lord, the prestigious young lady of the Gongsun family, actually married and had children with some nobody from a small town. You have thoroughly disgraced the Gongsun family!"
"Gongsun Yanran must be grounded. And these two country brats must die. Otherwise, we won’t be able to bear this humiliation!"
The family members gritted their teeth, their knuckles going CRACK as they clenched their fists.
For a prominent family, marrying below one’s station was always an absolute disgrace. The more powerful the family, the more they cared about matching backgrounds and social status. They sought alliances between equally powerful forces. Only through such unions could a family thrive and be passed down for generations.
"Mother..." Ye Ling’Er was terrified by the angry crowd.
"Don’t be afraid, Ling’Er. Mother won’t let anything happen to you."
"Mother, I’m not afraid. It’s just... I don’t understand," the young girl said softly. "Since I am your child, aren’t they supposed to be my family? Why are they treating me like an enemy? Is it just because my father is weak and lacks a powerful background? Does that mean we deserve to be despised?"
"Ling’Er..." Gongsun Yanran didn’t know what to say. Because Ye Ling’Er was speaking the absolute truth.
At this moment, Gongsun Wenjin, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke. "Gongsun Yanran, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Gongsun Yanran shook her head. "No. They are indeed my biological children."
"Good, as long as you admit it. Then, kill them." Gongsun Wenjin’s voice carried not a single trace of emotion.
"Agreed! Kill them!"
"Their very existence is a stain on the Gongsun family!"
The family members voiced their agreement one after another.
Gongsun Yanran gritted her teeth. "Father, if you want to kill them, you’ll have to kill me first! If they die, I will not live on!"
"Insolent! Are you threatening me?"
"Father, it’s not a threat. I’m simply speaking from the heart of a mother. Everyone sitting here is a parent too. If I were to kill your children, how would you feel?"
"Hmph, it’s not the same! Our children possess noble bloodlines. How can they possibly compare? They are nothing but bastards!"
Bastards! The vicious insult echoed through the air.
Hearing that word, Ye Xuan was instantly enraged. He immediately glared at a middle-aged woman and growled, "Who is the bastard cursing?!"
"The bastard is cursing you!"
Ye Xuan let out a cold chuckle. "I heard you loud and clear. A bastard is indeed cursing me."
"You’re just realizing it now? You country bumpkins are truly stupid. You don’t even know who the bastard is cursi— Wait, you little brat, are you saying I’m the bastard?!" The woman finally caught on, her reaction time clearly a bit slow.
"How vulgar, truly classless!" she shrieked. "You deserve to die, you absolutely deserve to die!"
Ye Xuan replied coldly, "So it’s fine when you curse at me, but when I curse back, I’m vulgar? If that’s the case, then I’ll gladly be vulgar. You’re a gi—ant—dumb—ass!"
Ye Xuan enunciated every single syllable clearly and forcefully.
Everyone present was utterly dumbfounded.
Gongsun Yanran, however, found it amusing and burst into laughter.
"Mother, I’m sorry for swearing, but I’m usually not like this," Ye Xuan said. "Normally, if I can use my fists, I never waste time talking—I just smash their mouths in right away. But here, I’m no match for them, so I can only use my words. Did I embarrass you?"
Gongsun Yanran shook her head. "No, you weren’t wrong at all. She is a giant dumbass. I cursed her exactly like that over twenty years ago."
"Ah! Father, you need to discipline her!" the woman shrieked. "Yanran is still the exact same. She relies on your doting love to do whatever she pleases. She had illegitimate children with some country bumpkin, yet she still feels no remorse and refuses to admit her mistakes!"
As soon as her words fell, Ye Xuan spoke up once again. "My mother did nothing wrong, so why should she admit to anything?"
His gaze didn’t flinch in the slightest. Even knowing these people were far stronger than him, so what? If he groveled and begged for mercy like a dog, would these people really let him go?
Ye Xuan knew for a fact that they wouldn’t.
"This kid is incredibly stubborn. Father, there’s no need to waste breath on them. Just kill them."
"Yes, kill them. Out of sight, out of mind."