The Jiang Family Arrives

A few days after the Yan family and the Jiang family finalized their engagement, Su Muyu once again made her way to Yan Yun’s residence.

This time, however, she did not immediately call out to Yan Yun; instead, she wrinkled her nose.

‘Another whiff of medicinal herbs,’ she thought.

‘What exactly is this little brat secretly up to? I can’t shake the feeling she’s hiding something from me.’

After a moment of contemplation, Su Muyu’s eyes suddenly glowed with a faint blue light.

Her gaze, much like a magnifying lens, swiftly honed in on Yan Yun’s dwelling.

Meanwhile, Yan Yun was still experimenting with various poisons.

This particular poison art allowed her to release toxins from her body in the form of energy.

Each type of toxin yielded a distinct effect.

For instance, if energy formed from [specific toxin] were released, it would inherently possess a captivating, mind-addling effect.

The converted toxic energy, in such cases, proved several times more potent than ingested poison.

However, this cultivation method was not without its drawbacks.

Once the toxins within her poison core were depleted, she would be unable to unleash her venomous power.

Consequently, Yan Yun needed to absorb and store a substantial amount of toxins.

Just as Yan Yun remained engrossed in her poison arts, her mother Su Muyu’s divine sense had already reached her window.

Su Muyu was no ordinary individual; she was an early-stage Cavern Heaven Realm cultivator.

She was peering into her own daughter’s activities.

Yet, the moment her divine sense was about to infiltrate the room…

The Poison Scripture on Yan Yun’s bed suddenly emitted a purple glow.

An invisible force instantly spread outwards.

Turning back to Su Muyu, her divine sense had indeed entered the room.

However, what she perceived was Yan Yun quietly reading a book, engaged in nothing out of the ordinary.

‘Reading a book? Was I overthinking things?’ Su Muyu, feeling somewhat puzzled, retracted her divine sense.

Strangely enough, what she had witnessed was not the reality of the situation.

It seemed as though some power was concealing Yan Yun’s true actions.

Unaware of this close call, Yan Yun had no idea her secrets had nearly been exposed by her beautiful mother.

“Yun’er, Little Yun, are you there?” Su Muyu’s voice called out from outside the house.

The summons startled Yan Yun, causing her to shiver.

She quickly withdrew her toxic power and responded.

“Oh, I’m here.”

Having responded, she promptly stepped out.

“Mother, what is it this time?” Yan Yun inquired.

Su Muyu offered a slight smile.

“The Jiang family has arrived.

They’re currently conversing with your father and your legal mother (TL Note: The primary wife of one’s father, distinguished from a birth mother who might be a concubine) in the front hall.

They expressed a desire to meet you, so I’ve come to escort you to your future father-in-law and mother-in-law.”

Yan Yun’s initial reaction was one of pure resistance.

“Must I go?”

Su Muyu, of course, discerned her daughter’s reluctance.

Anyone would be resistant to such an arrangement, and having experienced similar circumstances herself, she fully understood her daughter’s reaction.

“Ah, Yun’er,” Su Muyu urged softly.

“Things have come to this point; you must learn to accept them to make your future days more comfortable.

You should understand this.”

If given the choice, Yan Yun would undoubtedly refuse to go.

However, since her attendance was mandatory, there was no point in hesitation.

“Very well, let’s go.” Yan Yun immediately followed Su Muyu towards the front hall.

At this moment, five individuals were seated in the Yan family’s front hall.

There were Yan Long and First Madam Wu Peiping, along with Patriarch Jiang Yuan of the Jiang family, his First Madam Xie Ting, and Jiang Yao’s birth mother, Xia Yu.

The group chatted and laughed amiably.

Jiang Yuan presented the image of a refined, middle-aged gentleman.

“Old Jiang,” Yan Long inquired.

“When will your precious daughter be returning home? She won’t wait until the wedding day itself, will she?”

Jiang Yuan stroked his beard, his eyes narrowing into a smile.

“Ah, I’ve sent word to the Yunhua Sect as well,” he said.

“But Sect Leader Yunshuang mentioned that Yao’er is at a critical juncture in her cultivation, and it seems she won’t be able to make the trip back this time.”

These words caused Yan Long’s expression to stiffen slightly, for he suspected Jiang Yuan was merely making excuses.

The marriage between their two families represented the prestige of both houses.

For the future daughter-in-law not to even consider returning for the engagement period showed a blatant disregard for the Yan family’s reputation.

Jiang Yuan distinctly caught Yan Long’s displeasure.

His eyes shifted subtly, and he hastily added.

“Old Yan,” he said.

“This matter genuinely stems from the Yunhua Sect’s restrictions.

Otherwise, given the relationship between our two families, Yao’er would certainly be brought back for the engagement.

Rest assured, I will definitely ensure she returns before the two of them are wed.”

Jiang Yuan’s repeated explanations somewhat alleviated the discomfort in Yan Long’s heart.

“Very well.”

Just then, Su Muyu arrived at the entrance of the front hall, bringing Yan Yun with her.

Their arrival immediately drew the attention of the others.

“They’ve arrived,” Yan Long chuckled.

The Jiang family members instantly directed their gaze towards Yan Yun, who stood behind Su Muyu.

However, the moment the three of them saw Yan Yun, they were all momentarily stunned.

“Eh? Old Yan,” Jiang Yuan asked, a hint of bewilderment in his voice.

“Are you… are you certain this is your third young master?”

Xie Ting and Xia Yu exchanged glances, equally perplexed.

In their eyes, Yan Yun was nothing short of a beautiful young girl in men’s clothing—fair-skinned, delicate-featured, and utterly adorable.

How could she possibly be related to a boy, even by a hair?

In truth, it was fortunate Yan Yun had grown up looking this way.

Otherwise, the fact that she was a girl would likely have been impossible to conceal.

Precisely because she had always been this way since childhood, the Yan family had grown accustomed to it.

Even Yan Long himself was momentarily taken aback.

In the twelve years since her birth, he had only seen Yan Yun a handful of times, and he had not expected his third son to have grown into such an appearance.

“Haha, he looks so much like his mother!” Yan Long quickly chuckled, attempting to smooth things over.

“Look at the two of them, mother and child—they’re practically cut from the same mold!”

Jiang Yuan and the other two immediately compared Yan Yun’s appearance to Su Muyu’s, then nodded in understanding.

‘After all, the child is still young,’ they thought.

‘Perhaps when he grows older, his appearance will change.’

Yan Yun, naturally, overheard the discussion about her appearance from within the room, and she felt quite displeased.

‘Discussing someone’s looks behind their back is truly impolite,’ she mused inwardly.

Upon entering the room, Su Muyu offered a respectful bow to everyone.

“Patriarch, First Madam, I have brought Yun’er.”

The address of ‘Patriarch’ immediately made Jiang Yuan and the other two realize that the relationship between Su Muyu and Yan Long was likely quite strained.

Yet, this form of address was not entirely incorrect.

After all, Su Muyu was merely a concubine; theoretically, she should not address Yan Long as ‘husband,’ though ‘Master’ would have been more appropriate.

After a moment of slight awkwardness, Yan Long immediately spoke, steering the conversation away.

“Ahem! Yun’er,” he said.

“This is Patriarch Jiang, Madam Jiang, and Madam Xia, Jiang Yao’s birth mother.

They have come specifically to meet you.”

As for Yan Yun, she remained silent, gazing at Yan Long with an air of profound indifference.

For this father, with whom she shared no affection, only one word resonated in Yan Yun’s heart: ‘Disgust.’

The atmosphere in the living room grew heavy, yet Yan Yun did not prolong the awkwardness.

Instead, her demeanor underwent a complete 180-degree shift.

“Yan Yun greets Uncle Jiang, and both Aunts.” She offered a bow to the three Jiang family members.

Had this been in the past, such an attitude from Yan Yun would undoubtedly have drawn severe reprimands.

Now, however, with the Yan family practically sending her off to become a live-in son-in-law, a less-than-perfect attitude was only natural.

Surely, they couldn’t expect her to smile cheerily about the whole affair?

“Haha, so you’re Little Yun!” Jiang Yuan remarked playfully.

“My, my, this must be our first meeting.

You truly do look like a young girl; when you first entered, we actually mistook you for one.”

Yan Yun’s face remained impassive, her heart steady.

‘I don’t just ‘look like’ one now; I *am* one,’ she mused inwardly.

‘I’ll certainly give you all a grand surprise in the future.’

While she thought this, she certainly couldn’t voice it aloud.

“Many in the family say the same,” she replied.

“There’s nothing to be done.

My appearance is natural; I can’t help it.”

Following this, Yan Yun and Su Muyu took their seats and engaged in a more in-depth conversation with the three Jiang family members.