"I know you don’t believe me, but I used this very sword to sever his head."
With a mere thought from Ye Xuan, a longsword materialized in his hand.
"Let me see that sword."
"Of course."
Spiritual Qi bloomed from Ye Xuan’s right hand as he tossed the sword to Gongsun Ancient Formula.
Gongsun Ancient Formula reached out and caught the sword. The moment he did, his expression changed. It was incredibly heavy. He examined the blade and exclaimed, "This is an Earth-grade weapon! Jing Zhiyuan said our Gongsun Family was actually willing to part with a mid-tier Earth-grade weapon. Was he referring to this sword?"
"What? An Earth-grade weapon!"
"Ye Xuan, where did you get this? You’ve been to the resource vault—could it be that you stole it?"
Ye Xuan said calmly, "This sword was given to me by Liu Yan of Chasing Moon City."
"Liu Yan? Liu Ruoxi’s older sister? She gave you such a high-grade sword? How is that possible!"
The Elders’ gazes toward Ye Xuan instantly turned peculiar. Earth-grade weapons were incredibly precious. Even an entire city would only have a handful of them. Not even the Elders of the Gongsun Family could boast having one for each of them. What right or ability did this kid have to make Liu Yan gift him an Earth-grade weapon? Could it be that this kid was romantically involved with Liu Yan? Wanting to have his cake and eat it too? Refusing to spare either of the two sisters? However, even if it was Liu Yan, she couldn’t possibly give away the Liu Family’s Earth-grade weapon so casually.
"Ye Xuan, did Liu Yan truly give you this weapon?" Gongsun Xin asked, clearly doubting the claim as well.
"Uncle Xin, if you don’t believe me, you can send a message to Chasing Moon City and ask her yourself. If I’m lying, I’ll forfeit this sword and give it to you. How about that?"
Gongsun Xin fell silent. Beside him, Gongsun Ancient Formula spoke up again, "With this Earth-grade weapon, and given that Sun Hang was caught off guard and underestimated you, it’s indeed possible for you to sever his head with a single strike. As for Jing Zhiyuan claiming you were protected by an expert, he likely made up that lie out of shame. That Elder Jing has always been quite arrogant. Alright, put the sword away and don’t expose it lightly."
With that said, Gongsun Ancient Formula returned the Earth-grade weapon to Ye Xuan.
"Elders, Uncle Xin, do you have any other questions for me?"
"We have none. Gongsun Xin, do you?"
Gongsun Xin scrutinized Ye Xuan for a long moment before saying, "You may leave, but do not leave the Gongsun Family estate lightly. The Sun Family has suffered a massive loss and will definitely harbor a grudge against you. Your cultivation is still weak; if you fall into their traps, you’ll still lose your life. When that time comes, our Gongsun Family will be the ones left suffering in silence."
"Thank you for the warning, Uncle Xin. I’ll take my leave now." Ye Xuan bowed and withdrew.
After he left, one of the Elders spoke up. "Is what that kid said actually the truth? It still feels unbelievable. Gongsun Xin, there should have been someone else in that shop at the time. A third party must know what really happened. Have you sent anyone to investigate?"
"When the Golden Armor Guards arrived, they happened to see the Sun Family’s men disposing of a corpse. That person was the shop clerk."
"What! That means the only witness is already dead. The only ones who know what truly happened are Jing Zhiyuan, Sun Hang, and Ye Xuan. But clearly, none of those three are going to tell the truth."
"Elders, then there is no need to pursue this further. Let’s leave the matter at that. It’s already in the past."
Gongsun Xin knew that Ye Xuan might still be harboring secrets. But since they were secrets, why should he pry into them?
Lingxuan Courtyard.
After Ye Xuan returned from the main courtyard, his days grew quiet. Every day, he was either practicing Martial Techniques or comprehending Arrays. Six days was neither too long nor too short. Ye Xuan quietly awaited the opening of the three-star Secret Realm.
But for some reason, he had felt restless these past few days. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something major was about to happen. He wondered if something would actually happen to his grandfather on this trip. Or perhaps he cared too much about the three-star Secret Realm. It was because he cared so much that he felt this anxious trepidation. Sometimes, the more one cared about something, the more uneasy they became. He hoped he was just overthinking things.
Three days passed.
On this day, Ye Xuan was sketching Arrays in the courtyard, attempting to see if he could set up a level-three Array. Unfortunately, no matter how he pieced the Array Patterns together, he just couldn’t manage it. Even though the foundational knowledge and basic patterns were already deeply engraved in his mind, figuring out how to piece and combine them together still required repeated trial and error.
BANG!
At that moment, the sound of a door opening rang out. Hua ran out of the room, her face filled with excitement. Beneath the Peach Blossom Mask, her eyes flickered incessantly, faintly glimmering with unshed tears. In just a single breath, she appeared right in front of Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan was just about to ask what was wrong.
Hua spoke up, "Young Master..." Her voice was crisp and melodious, like a yellow oriole.
Ye Xuan’s movements instantly froze. He stood up from the ground, his expression intensely agitated. He grabbed Hua by the shoulders and laughed, "Hua, you can speak?"
"Yes, Young Master. I can speak now. I’m all better."
As soon as her words fell, Ye Xuan pulled her right into a hug. This embrace brought warmth to the entire summer. Hua was actually somewhat at a loss for what to do.
"This is wonderful! It means my medicine was correct. Muteness can indeed be cured."
"Young Master..." Hua’s eyes were already blurry with tears. She had once solemnly asked Ye Xuan if those medicinal herbs were important, and Ye Xuan had given her an affirmative answer. That was why, in the Beast Hunting Village, she hadn’t hesitated for a second to kill and snatch the herbs! As long as it was something her Young Master needed, even if it meant making an enemy of the entire world, she would do it without looking back and without a single frown. But she had never expected that the medicine Ye Xuan was searching for was to cure her muteness. He had said these herbs were very important. Wasn’t that just an indirect way of saying that letting her speak again was very important? Hua was crying, not out of sadness, but rather the exact opposite.
In the courtyard, Liu Ruoxi, who was washing Ye Xuan’s clothes, saw the two of them embracing. An indescribable feeling actually welled up in her heart. She wondered how Ye Xuan could hug Hua. Huh? Was she angry? How could this be? Could it be that she had developed feelings for Ye Xuan?! Impossible! Who would develop feelings for someone they despised? Who would fall in love with someone they hated? She asked herself: since she hated someone, how could she possibly fall in love with him? She was only angry because Ye Xuan was hugging a hideous monster. Yes, that was it. That had to be it.
"Hua, you can speak? That was you talking just now, right?" Gongsun Yanran’s voice drifted over as well.
Hua turned around and said, "Mrs. Ye, Hua pays her respects to you."
"It really is your voice. Hua, your voice is so beautiful."
"Ah? Is it?"
"Yes, it is. Your voice sounds like a yellow oriole singing—crisp and melodious."
"Uh... well." Hua was actually feeling a little embarrassed.
"It’s so wonderful that you can speak. Come, chat with me for a bit."
"Okay."
Hua went over to Gongsun Yanran’s side, and the two chatted while drinking tea. Ye Xuan crouched down and continued sketching runes. Perhaps it was because he was so happy for Hua, but looking at the Array Patterns on the ground again, his mind felt a bit sharper. Using that Array Pattern just now was indeed incorrect; he would try swapping it for a different Array Pattern symbol.