Beside them, a great weight lifted from Ye Xuan’s shoulders. "Thank goodness it worked," he murmured.
"Xuan’Er, what kind of medicinal herb is this?" Ye Yizhou asked. "Is Ling’Er cured?"
Ye Xuan shook his head. "I don’t know either."
"You don’t know?"
"Right. These herbs aren’t actually medicine. They contain a special kind of energy that can withstand extremely high temperatures."
The principle behind using Hidden Green Grass to treat heat afflictions was actually quite simple—it was highly resistant to heat. This was why the surrounding grass had withered and burned when the Fire Spirit Ginseng was unearthed, yet the Hidden Green Grass had remained completely unharmed.
"Are you saying that if Ling’Er’s body temperature exceeds a certain limit, your medicine might lose its effect?"
"Yes. Because of that, we still have to find the root of the problem."
"But... how are we supposed to find it? There’s never any trigger when she falls ill. The only factor seems to be drastic emotional fluctuations."
Ye Xuan didn’t reply. Instead, he reached out and touched Ye Ling’Er’s forehead. Spiritual Qi flowed from his hands into her body. Then, he frowned.
He suspected that Ye Ling’Er’s internal body temperature had likely surpassed a hundred degrees just moments ago. Yet her internal organs hadn’t suffered the slightest bit of damage. That shouldn’t be possible.
What exactly was this illness? And what were those strange patterns that had suddenly appeared on her skin? Ye Xuan suddenly felt that his knowledge was far too limited. From now on, he would need to pore over ancient texts to see if there were any records of something similar.
At that moment, Ye Ling’Er opened her eyes. "The ice cave... did I faint again?"
Ye Yizhou immediately spoke up. "Ling’Er, how is your body feeling? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
"Huh..." Ye Ling’Er let out a soft sound of surprise. "My body feels a bit light."
"Light? It seems your brother’s medicine worked."
"My brother’s medicine? You saved me again, brother." Smiling brightly, Ye Ling’Er wrapped her arms around Ye Xuan’s waist.
Ye Xuan was at a loss for words. "How can you still smile? You nearly scared me to death just now."
Ye Ling’Er stuck out her tongue playfully. "Why wouldn’t I smile? My brother is an almighty hero."
"You... I really don’t know what to say to you. How can you be so carefree? Alright, since you’re fine, let’s leave. It’s too cold in here."
The three of them left the ice cave and returned to the main courtyard.
The moment they stepped into the courtyard, a low shout rang out.
"Patriarch!"
The collective voices startled Ye Xuan and the other two. Looking up, they saw Ye Zeyun leading all the members of the Ye Family, kneeling on one knee in the courtyard.
"What are you all doing?"
"Patriarch, we were too weak before. We only knew how to run when faced with danger, which led to our lack of trust in you. But I, Ye Yiwei..."
"Ye Yihe..."
"Ye Wen..."
"Hua Xiaoyu..."
"Ye Shanhan..."
At this moment, every clansman loudly declared their name.
"Ye Zeyun!"
Once all the clansmen had announced their names, they spoke in absolute unison.
"We swear here and now that, from this day forward, we will obey only Patriarch Ye Xuan. If the Patriarch tells us to stay, we stay. If the Patriarch tells us to leave, we leave. If the Patriarch tells us to die, we die. We will not ask for reasons!
"Because we believe in you!"
"We believe in you!" Dozens of people roared as one.
Although the spectacle was a bit dramatic, it was undeniably awe-inspiring. By saying these words, the Ye Family was declaring that they were keeping their end of the bargain.
Ye Xuan smiled. This was the exact moment he had been waiting for.
"All of you, rise. I, Ye Xuan, also make a promise here. I will do everything in my power to bring glory to the Ye Family. I will never allow anyone to bully my clansmen, because your lives are my life! Whoever tries to kill you, I will kill them," Ye Xuan’s sonorous voice echoed through the courtyard.
"Ye Xuan! Ye Xuan! Ye Xuan!" At that moment, the clansmen began chanting his name.
Ye Xuan waved his hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down, before he continued. "Since everyone is here, there are a few things I need to tell you. I’ve thought a lot over the past two days and drafted a new family rule."
"A family rule? What rule?"
"From now on, our Ye Family will no longer distinguish between the main lineage and the branches. Whether you are from the Direct Lineage or the Side Branches, everyone will be treated equally. Every month, the allowance and resources each household receives will be exactly the same!"
"Is... is this true?"
Ye Xuan’s words deeply moved the disciples of the Side Branches. On the Beast Soul Continent, the resources of any family were always heavily skewed toward the Direct Lineage, leaving the Side Branches to fight over meager scraps. There was no such thing as a family that treated everyone equally!
In the crowd, only Ye Zeyun furrowed his brow. Ye Xuan’s decision sounded noble—distributing resources evenly—but in reality, it carried many hidden flaws. For instance, what if there simply weren’t enough resources to go around? Or, considering there were many mediocre talents among the Side Branches, wouldn’t giving them resources just be a disguised waste? Resources should always be concentrated in the hands of the Direct Lineage, who would then distribute them to the family’s true geniuses. That was the only way a family could secure long-term prosperity. Ye Xuan was just too young. He sought fairness, but failed to see reality.
"Ye Xuan..." Ye Zeyun tried to speak up, but Ye Xuan seemed to anticipate his objections and continued.
"Of course, this new rule of mine won’t last forever. Once the population of the Ye Family grows, our limited resources will absolutely not be enough to satisfy every household. So, this is only temporary. As for when the new rule will end, I have the final say."
Hearing this, Ye Zeyun finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then, Ye Xuan spoke again.
"Aside from equalizing resources and allowances, starting today, our Ye Family encourages childbirth! Have children early, and have many of them—that is the new slogan of our Ye Family.
"None of you need to worry about lacking the money to raise children. I’ve done a bit of looking into it; previously, the monthly allowance for a family in the Side Branches was fifty taels of silver. But now I announce that, regardless of whether you are from the Side Branches or the Direct Lineage, for every child you have, you get an extra ten taels. Two children means twenty taels, three children means thirty. Five children gets you one hundred taels, six children gets you two hundred, and whoever has ten children will receive one thousand taels a month!"
BUZZ.
As soon as Ye Xuan finished speaking, the members of the Side Branches were thrilled. Didn’t this mean the more they had, the more they earned? If they just focused on having kids, wouldn’t they be able to enjoy a comfortable life from now on? Ten children meant a thousand taels a month. That was absolutely enough to live like royalty. They could just sit back and relax for the rest of their lives!
The young people in the crowd instantly boiled over with excitement.
"The Patriarch is mighty! I, Ye Qiang, will definitely marry ten wives! I’ll spread the branches and grow the leaves for our Ye Family!"
"Only ten? I’ll marry twenty! If I have twenty kids, will the reward double again?"
"Patriarch, that’s not fair! What about us women? Even if we marry men into the family, we can’t physically have that many children!"
"Haha, who says you can’t? With the strong bodies of Cultivators, you could have one every year. Just give birth for twenty years, and that’s twenty kids!"
"Piss off! Do I look like a breeding tool to you?"
"Nobody’s begging you to. It’s completely voluntary."
"Sigh, fine, I’ll do my best. It’d be ideal if I could just pop out ten at once!"
PFFT.
The younger generation of the Ye Family burst into laughter at the fierce woman’s words. Although the atmosphere was a bit goofy, it was incredibly cheerful.