"A high-grade tier-five Furious Thunder Talisman. Such talismans are incredibly rare. You must have stolen it from your family, right? What, were you planning to kill us all here?" Gongsun Yanran frowned as she looked at the Talisman in her hand.
"You... give the t-talisman back... give it back to me." Liu Ruoxi was so anxious she was on the verge of tears. This Yellow Talisman was her very last resort, yet she hadn’t even had the chance to activate it.
Gongsun Yanran merely replied coldly, "Confiscated."
"You... I..." Liu Ruoxi was so furious she was at a loss for words. With Gongsun Yanran here, she could neither win in a fight nor snatch it back.
"Xuan’Er, what perfect timing. I’ll give this Talisman to you. Thunder Talismans are exceptionally rare, and their power is astounding. From now on, even if you find yourself heavily surrounded, you can easily carve a bloody path out with this. Even my Gongsun Family doesn’t have this kind of talisman. Here, take it." Gongsun Yanran’s voice suddenly softened. Under Liu Ruoxi’s watchful eyes, she handed the high-grade tier-five Thunder Talisman to Ye Xuan.
"Mine. That’s mine! I went through so much trouble to steal it from home," Liu Ruoxi thought, tears of grievance finally spilling from her large eyes at the sight.
"You’re all bullying me! You’re all bullying me!" she cried, suddenly blowing a sharp whistle.
A Colored Crane flew over from the distance. She leaped onto its back, glared viciously at Ye Xuan and Gongsun Yanran, and quickly flew away.
On the Colored Crane’s back, Liu Ruoxi didn’t wipe her eyes. She stared at the sky with a stubborn gaze.
After a long while, she took out a stalk of Spirit Medicine and rubbed it on her face. Her previously swollen cheeks returned to their smooth, flawless state. She took out a bronze mirror and stroked her face. This face was truly far too beautiful. But the more beautiful she felt she was, the more aggrieved she became.
She gritted her teeth. "I won’t marry him. Why should I, Liu Ruoxi, have to marry a bastard? Is this fair to me? At worst, I’ll just run away from the marriage. Yes, I’m not going back."
Meanwhile, in the Ye Family Main Courtyard, Ye Xuan watched the Colored Crane fly into the sky. As if realizing something, he turned to his mother. "Mother, we can’t let her leave."
"Xuan’Er, why not? Are you really going to kill her? In truth, there’s no deep-seated hatred between you two. The little girl is just being stubborn and doesn’t want to marry you. I can actually understand how she feels."
Ye Xuan’s expression remained cold. "Even killing her wouldn’t be enough to vent the anger in my heart. Killing her would be letting her off too easily."
"Xuan’Er, did you know her before?" Gongsun Yanran felt that Ye Xuan’s killing intent toward Liu Ruoxi was far too sudden and uncalled for. Naturally, she didn’t know that if they hadn’t returned in time, the Ye Family would already be a pile of ruins. The Ye Family would have been reduced to ash amid the thunder.
"Mother, if I told you that had we not returned, everyone in the Ye Family would have died by her hands, would you believe me?"
"That... that’s a bit of an exaggeration, isn’t it?"
"Mother, not everyone is as kind-hearted as you. In the eyes of most experts, our lives are nothing but worthless weeds. If she didn’t come to kill my family, what was she doing traveling all the way to the Ye Family?"
"You make a valid point, but why would she want to kill the Ye Family?"
"Mother, if she were the one who murdered my father, do you think I’d still marry her?"
Gongsun Yanran was stunned. "Are you saying that just because she didn’t want you to marry her, she was going to slaughter your entire family? But how do you know this?"
Ye Xuan murmured, "She said it herself."
"She said it herself?" Gongsun Yanran looked completely bewildered. She hadn’t heard Liu Ruoxi say anything of the sort.
Ye Xuan didn’t explain. Watching the Colored Crane flying farther and farther away into the horizon, he spoke again, "Mother, I have a feeling that now she’s left, she won’t return to Chasing Moon City. She might do the same thing you did in your youth."
"Xuan’Er, are you saying she’ll run away from the marriage? That won’t do. Whether you go to Chasing Moon City to cancel the engagement or go through with it, she can’t just disappear. Xuan’Er, wait for me..."
Before long, the Wide-Backed Bird soared into the sky, swiftly chasing after the Colored Crane.
It didn’t take long for Liu Ruoxi to be tied hand and foot with Gongsun Yanran’s specially made ropes and thrown into the Ye Family Main Courtyard.
Looking thoroughly defeated and having lost all will to live, Liu Ruoxi couldn’t help but ask, "Gongsun Yanran, what exactly are you doing? Why did you capture me and bring me back?"
"To prevent you from running away from the marriage," Gongsun Yanran replied straightforwardly.
Liu Ruoxi asked in astonishment, "How did you know I was going to run away?"
"Xuan’Er reminded me."
"Ye Xuan!" Liu Ruoxi’s gaze toward Ye Xuan grew even more sinister. Just how desperately did this man want to marry her? He had even anticipated that she would run away. For the first time in her life, she felt that being beautiful was a sin.
"Yanran..." Ye Yizhou’s voice finally rang out. When Gongsun Yanran had flown off earlier, he had thought she was leaving again.
Ignoring Liu Ruoxi, Gongsun Yanran turned to the Ye Family with a smile. "Yizhou... Dad, brothers, everyone—I’m home."
Only after she spoke did the Ye Family step forward to greet her.
"Yanran, where have you been these past twenty years? You suddenly disappeared without a trace." In the eyes of the Ye Family, Gongsun Yanran had abandoned her family and run away from home. Ye Yizhou had never told anyone her true identity.
"Yanran, it’s good that you’re back, but what is going on here? How did you return with Ye Xuan? Wasn’t he taken by that mysterious middle-aged man?" Ye Zeyun also spoke up, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Dad, I’m sorry for making you all worry during this time. It’s all my fault. It was my family who took Ye Xuan."
"Your family? When you and Yizhou got married, didn’t you say you were an orphan? How do you have a family now? Were you lying to us?" Ye Zeyun’s frown deepened, his confusion growing.
Gongsun Yanran explained, "Dad, I did lie to you intentionally. I was afraid that if I told the truth, you wouldn’t agree to my marriage with Yizhou."
"How... how could I not agree? You and Yizhou were deeply in love. Do you think I’d be the type to stand in the way of true love? Wait... Could it be your identity?" Ye Zeyun raised an eyebrow, guessing something. He lowered his voice and asked, "Yanran, tell me. What exactly is your background?"
"Dad, let me tell you." Ye Yizhou stepped forward, tightly grasping Gongsun Yanran’s hand. "Dad, Yanran comes from a city."
GASP!
Everyone drew a sharp breath of cold air, their eyes wide and mouths agape. They exchanged bewildered glances, unable to believe their ears.
An eerie silence fell over the courtyard, with only the sound of the wind rustling by.
After a long while, someone finally exclaimed, "A... a city!"
"Heavens, is this true?"
A city! It was the place every Cultivator dreamed of going. To them, it was akin to a paradise that inspired endless yearning.
While the clan members were still reeling in shock, Ye Yizhou spoke again. "Not only is Yanran from a city, but she is also the City Lord’s daughter."
What!
The already shocked Ye Family nearly jumped off the ground. Coming from a city was astonishing enough, but for Gongsun Yanran’s true identity to be the City Lord’s daughter?
They were stunned!
They were completely dumbfounded!
They had actually guessed that Gongsun Yanran might have a formidable background, but they never expected it to be this monumental.