Chapter 672: Blood is Thicker than Water

"Okay."

He kissed his wife on the forehead to comfort her.

Jian Yining promised he would definitely return safely, telling her to take good care of the children at home and also to take care of her own health.

The couple stood in the room, eyes brimming with tears, reluctant to part.

But once they stepped out of the room, it was a different scene entirely.

The living room was filled with joy, as a house full of Lady Jian's maternal relatives had gathered.

The relatives crowded around her, offering compliments, and Lady Jian smiled so broadly that the wrinkles on her face smoothed out.

Jian Yixin and Sheng Zerong sat to one side with their children, not caring to speak with those people.

Even Jian Fu had no sense of presence; he hated these relatives from his wife's side the most—they would come over to curry favor when things were fine, but if the family ever had any real trouble, they would run faster than rabbits.

They were all people who sought profit and avoided harm.

But Lady Jian loved hearing flattery and enjoyed being showered with praise.

Once praised by these people, she lost all sense of direction.

Jian Yining's upcoming trip was also brought up and praised.

"Big Sister, A Ning is someone with great prospects. Since he's going out this time, why not have A Ning take your two nephews along? People say brothers go into battle together; even though they are cousins, they are still better than people with no blood relation," said Lady Jian's younger sister.

Last time, she had kidnapped Sheng Zichen and nearly ended up in prison for life.

Later, after saying many nice things and pulling various strings, she had gone through great trouble to finally avoid a prison sentence.

However, her family had been bankrupted by Sheng Hanyu's retaliation.

She had two sons who had been raised with good living conditions and had developed the habit of spending money lavishly; even after the family went bankrupt, this habit had not changed!

When they went out to look for work, they found it too bitter or tiring, and were picky and choosy.

They wanted high-paying jobs but lacked the ability, yet they looked down on entry-level wages; they remained stuck in limbo, wasting their time.

Originally, these two had always wanted to go to the United States with their cousin, but Jian Yining had always put them off with various excuses.

Now that they heard their cousin was going to do big business, they had their mother come over to put in a good word so they could follow their cousin and make big money.

Lady Jian knew exactly what kind of people those two nephews were—they couldn't do anything right, and they were never satisfied with what they ate.

If she let them follow her son, they would definitely become a burden to A Ning, and she was unwilling!

But she couldn't say no directly, as they had reached their current state partly because of her own involvement.

Lady Jian smiled and said, "Of course, I'll take care of this matter..."

Her sister was overjoyed: "Big Sister, I knew you were the best. Those two children always say their aunt is the best person to them, even better than I am as their own mother, and they say they will definitely treat you well in the future..."

Lady Jian accepted all of her sister's praise; regardless of whether it was sincere or fake, the person being flattered felt quite comfortable.

Sheng Zerong heard this and felt it was unreliable.

His mother-in-law would agree to anything?

A Ning would definitely not agree to this.

He whispered to his wife, "Yixin, Mom agreed to let A Ning take your two cousins. You should go persuade her; don't let her trap A Ning."

Jian Yixin patted her husband's hand and said unhurriedly, "Don't worry, Mom knows what she's doing."

Sheng Zerong:...

Lady Jian smiled and accepted all of her sister's praise, only stopping when her sister's mouth was dry from talking.

Then, she slapped her forehead: "Oh my, look at my memory, I actually forgot the most important thing."

"A Ning is going out this time with Sheng Hanyu and Shi Youxuan."

Sister:...

Her face turned the color of a pig's liver.

Her expression changed instantly, and she said angrily, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

If she had known earlier that Sheng Hanyu was going, she would have stayed far away and never brought it up at all.

Although that incident had passed more than two years ago, she still trembled with fear whenever she thought about it now.

The name "Sheng Hanyu" was like a plague god; she turned pale at the mere mention of it.

Lady Jian patted her sister's shoulder and apologized, "I'm sorry, Xiaowen, it's just that I'm getting old and my memory isn't what it used to be. But you should thank me for remembering now; if I had waited until they had already left to remember, I'm afraid you wouldn't even have a place to cry."

Sister:...

She wanted to cry right now.

Naturally, the matter was dropped.

Sheng Zerong stared in shock—this actually worked?

Jian Yixin looked smug and whispered to her husband, "See, what did I say just now? There's no need to worry at all; Mom knows what she's doing."

It was indeed no need to worry; she certainly knew what she was doing!

The Jian Family's reunion dinner was lively, and when the three of them set off the next day, only friends were there to see them off.

Sheng Zerong: "Big Brother, let me go with you too? There is strength in numbers."

Sheng Hanyu patted his third brother's shoulder: "Taking care of the elders and the young of both families at home, and making sure they are well looked after, is your greatest contribution."

With the two of them leaving together, only the old and the young were left at home; he wouldn't be at ease without someone reliable to keep an eye on things.

The third brother was a member of the Sheng Family, so there was no one more suitable to entrust the family to.

Shi Youxuan: "We aren't going to a street fight, we don't need 'strength in numbers.' Yixin, Zerong, I leave the home to you." It was rare for her to speak with such a serious expression.

Jian Yixin agreed: "Don't worry, if they lose even a single hair by the time you return, I'll pay you with my head."

The friends parted reluctantly, and the three of them went to the Swamp to meet up with Nianyin.

Before setting off, the group made a detailed plan, including which route to take and whether to find more help.

To keep the Ji Family's secret, Nianyin did not want outsiders to help.

"No, the location of the Ji Family cannot be known by foreigners, especially men."

Jian Yining: "Then according to your logic, neither Hanyu Ge nor I are qualified to go to your territory; Xuanxuan's mother was also removed from the clan genealogy back then, so she isn't qualified either. Let's go back."

Nianyin:...

Discarding the millstone once the grain is ground?

She explained: "You are different; the two of you are sons-in-law of our Ji Family, which means you are men of the Ji Family, and men of the Ji Family have an obligation to do things for the Clan."

"Although the old Clan Leader removed Miss Yingyin from the clan genealogy back then, she regretted it later and added her back on, so Miss Xuan is a legitimate member of the Ji Family. When the Ji Family is in trouble, she should be even more duty-bound!"

This girl is teachable.

The women of the Ji Family all have high IQs; it is truly well-deserved.

Having only met Shi Youxuan a few times, she had already learned Shi Youxuan's way of speaking.

They were going to help, so naturally, they had to respect the customs of others.

Thus, Sheng Hanyu gave up the idea of finding Wang Yong, and the four of them went to Q Country.

The journey was very smooth; the four of them traveled by plane, water route, and land route, finally entering a primeval Forest.

The mountains were overlapping, and the mountains were high and the forests dense.

Shi Youxuan had never seen so many large trees gathered together.

She had seen large trees, but it was rare to see trees that even three... or even four people holding hands couldn't wrap their arms around!

Trees this thick should be over a thousand years old, and the problem was that there wasn't just one.

Basically, there was one such tree every ten-plus meters, while relatively young trees were rarely seen.

The trees towered into the sky, as if the highest branches were going to pierce straight into the clouds.

Countless branches were intertwined in the air, and the leaves blocked the sunlight tightly, so even at noon, the visibility below was very low.

On the ground were countless vines, as well as many precious plants, and of course, animals.

Along the way, Jian Yining was the one who screamed the most!

"My God! A big catch!" he growled in a low, excited, and suppressed voice.