Chapter 176: No Matter How Serious the Appearance

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: No Matter How Serious the Appearance

"Back when you had me join Purple Bamboo Peak, didn’t you know my master?"

Ye Linglong looked at her mother helplessly. The original plan was for her to apprentice under a Spirit Chef, but that fell through. Only then did she become a disciple of her current master.

Of course, for the formal ceremony, she would most likely become the disciple of her grandmaster, and her master would become the grandmaster’s wife. Her master had already discussed this with her. After all, once her master returned to the Mo Family, she would be considered an outsider, and Linglong might be affected by that.

Ye Linglong didn’t really have an opinion on the matter, but since her master insisted, she could only go along with it. However, before all this, Ye Linglong had always had one question: how did her mother know her master?

’If she knew my master, then she should also know about my master and grandmaster’s relationship. She shouldn’t be questioning it like this.’

"Of course I know her. We’ve met a few times and even made some deals. Don’t change the subject. I’m asking about your relationship with that Second Grade Spirit Chef."

Lady Ye spoke calmly. In truth, she and Bai Qiulan had a much more involved history, but those were bygone affairs she had chosen to forget long ago. There was no need to rehash the past.

"He’s my senior brother, and that’s all. Senior Brother Liu Chen’s master is my grandmaster, and my master is his and Suyao’s grandmaster’s wife. That makes us fellow disciples from the same school."

Ye Linglong explained helplessly. Even if things changed after her formal apprenticeship ceremony, that was a matter for the future. For now, that was the extent of their relationship. ’As for me and Senior Brother... nothing has even started between us yet!’

"I see. Then I suppose we’re in luck. He can’t possibly stay at the Imperial Palace, so that only leaves the Ye Family. But there must be more to it than that, right?"

Lady Ye nodded, then frowned as she stared at Ye Linglong. In truth, the best option would have been the courier station; staying there would have avoided a lot of potential problems.

"Suyao and I are about to undergo our formal apprenticeship ceremony. Before that, we need to sever our worldly ties. Senior Brother is here to help with that."

Ye Linglong nodded. If it weren’t for official business, her senior brother probably wouldn’t have even attended the sacrificial rites, let alone come directly to the Ye Family residence.

"Joining Purple Cloud Valley isn’t truly severing your worldly ties. At most, it just lets you escape the family’s influence. A true severing of worldly ties would be you returning just before your father and I die to cut your connections then. But we’re all Cultivators. If you don’t strive hard enough, you might end up dying before we do."

Lady Ye shook her head. Ye Linglong, who had been feeling a bit sentimental, couldn’t help but stare. The mother in her memory had always been gentle and mild-mannered, with a modest Cultivation. She never even seemed to care about such matters. ’How does she know so much?’

Noticing Ye Linglong’s gaze, Lady Ye hesitated for a moment before speaking with a mischievous smile, "Ah, forget it. There’s no point in hiding it from you anymore. Go ask your senior brother what he needs first. When you get back, I’ll tell you everything. Of course, if he wants you to keep him company, we can always talk tomorrow."

Ye Linglong quickly averted her gaze. Back when she wrote the letter, she could still tell herself it was just to deal with the trouble from the Nangong Family. But now, she couldn’t lie to herself anymore, let alone her mother.

"Don’t let that business with Nangong Mu get to you. My daughter is the most outstanding girl there is. She’s more than a match for a Second Grade Spirit Chef."

Seeing the look on Ye Linglong’s face, the smile on Lady Ye’s face vanished. She reached out and pulled her daughter into an embrace.

"Linglong, hurry and ask Honored Guest Elder Liu what he needs."

Father Ye had returned in a hurry. He had no idea what Liu Chen might like, so he could only ask his daughter to make the arrangements. The man’s status was incredibly high; if he were to be impolite, his daughter would be the one to ultimately suffer the embarrassment.

"I’ll go prepare some tea and refreshments."

Ye Linglong slowly departed. Back on Purple Bamboo Peak, she certainly never would have had such an opportunity. For one, preparing refreshments for her senior brother would feel like teaching a fish to swim. But even if he didn’t mind, Purple Bamboo Peak didn’t have the necessary ingredients anyway.

"What could he possibly need? Our daughter, of course."

Lady Ye looked at the nervous Father Ye and shook her head. ’This man has only been bold twice in his entire life,’ she thought. ’Once for me, and once for our daughter.’

"The Ye Family is small and weak. I just hope Linglong won’t be treated unfairly."

Father Ye shook his head. While he hadn’t been deeply involved in her life away from home, he knew his daughter’s personality well enough. In all these years, aside from Princess Suyao of the Royal Family, she hadn’t made any other friends.

Now she had brought a "senior brother" home. Who would believe they were just fellow disciples?

"You weren’t thinking about the Ye Family being ’small and weak’ when you saved me from those Loose Cultivators back then."

Lady Ye shook her head. It was amusing to recall those events. She had been in a hopeless situation, certain she would die, but then she was rescued. And she’d even met a complete blockhead. ’Thank goodness our daughter didn’t inherit his personality.’

"My dear, I’ve always wanted to know... who was it that drugged you back then?"

Father Ye looked at her with a helpless expression. He had thought it was a classic case of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress. But after they had taken refuge in a cave, his wife, who had been perfectly fine, was suddenly poisoned—and with an aphrodisiac from the Joyful Union Sect, no less. After that incident, he had no choice but to take her home with him.

All these years, he had replayed the events in his mind countless times, but he could never figure out how his wife had been poisoned. If it had happened during their escape, there surely would have been some sign. But if it was in the cave, there were only the two of them. Who could have possibly administered the poison?

"Why? Do you regret it?"

Lady Ye smiled at him. ’Who else could it have been?’ she thought. ’Was it really so hard to drug myself without a mere Body Tempering Late Stage like you noticing? Besides, we both had feelings for each other. Can you even call it poison at that point?’

"Of course not! It’s just... the method was so strange. I’m worried our daughter might..."

Father Ye frowned. He was a Meridian Passage Middle Stage cultivator now, yet he still couldn’t make sense of it. If his daughter were to be affected by something similar, it would be terrible.

He was just about to say something more when he saw his wife stop their daughter, who had finished preparing the refreshments. She then discreetly pressed a small white porcelain bottle into her daughter’s hand.

"Three drops is the most you should use on someone in the Body Tempering Realm. When the time is right, just fall into his arms. Then, you beg him to help you with the ’poison.’ Make sure to act humble and promise you’ll forget everything afterward and won’t pester him.

Trust me, no matter how prim and proper a man acts, none of them can control themselves in that situation. Your father looked so stern and righteous back then, but the moment I asked, he agreed."

Lady Ye whispered these instructions, leaving an already flustered Ye Linglong completely dumbfounded. While her mother had always seemed to be the more assertive one in the family, wasn’t this a bit too much?

After she finished speaking, Lady Ye shot a look at the bewildered Father Ye. She had always assumed that when he brought her back to the Ye Family to become his Dao companion, it was based on a mutual, unspoken understanding.

But it turned out the man was even denser than she’d thought. He was still agonizing over who administered the poison. ’There were only two of us in that cave. If it wasn’t me, who else could it possibly have been?’

"I never imagined your story was so... dramatic!"

Ye Linglong was silent for a long time. She never would have dreamed that her parents’ history was so colorful.

In her mind, her mother, though assertive, was always well-read and reasonable. Her father, though sometimes old-fashioned, was humble and courteous.

How could two people like that have created such a thrilling, scandalous story?