Chapter 634: Marriage Alliance Matters, A Stone Drum Falls from the Sky

A moment later...

"A high-level martial artist, possessing the combat power of the first heaven of Qiangwu, 1.5 times the speed, and capable of ascending to about 2,000 meters."

"At just over twenty years of age, he is already the master of a martial arts hall in Fucheng, and he even possesses a cultivation cauldron gifted by a noble family."

"Even if he is not of my direct kin, but a descendant of that Servant Lineage, he is still far too outstanding."

The middle-aged Grandmaster, while talking to himself, had already acknowledged that he was the grand-uncle who had left home in his youth.

"Grandmaster Zhou, I have feelings for him; please do not kill me, I am carrying your descendant's bloodline."

Grandmaster Zhou smiled, "Since you are a Qiangwu and follow the path of the Human Seed Sect, do not tell me you are pregnant with his child because of true love."

"Could it be that you used some vicious Secret Technique to spy on my Zhou Clan's bloodline?"

Yufu'er desperately defended herself, "I dare not, I dare not; before today, I did not know he was your clansman."

"He may not necessarily be a clansman; Zhou Family Village has two bloodlines, one is the Master Lineage, and the other is the Servant Lineage."

Grandmaster Zhou's expression was indifferent as he tapped a finger on Yufu'er's lower abdomen, calmly extracting a thin, thread-like strand of blood energy.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, his gaze full of pleasant surprise, "Excellent, it is a descendant of my Master Lineage."

"I never imagined that after several hundred years, my family would still have a Qilin Child; truly, Heaven blesses my branch!"

Grandmaster Zhou was overjoyed, "Good, good; your identity in the Human Seed Sect happens to be useful. I want you to bear him even more excellent descendants to pass on the superior bloodline of my Zhou Clan."

The implication was that Yufu'er could live, but the price was to carry the child to term.

Yufu'er's heart sank as she foresaw her future; having fallen into the other party's hands, she would have her Essence Energy and blood drained to nourish the fetus, and not only would she fail to steal Zhou You's Grandmaster Mark, but her own vitality would be severely damaged, causing her to drop in cultivation realm.

Miserable, truly miserable.

If she had not harbored evil intentions at the time, she would not have ended up in this current plight.

But then again, if she had not become pregnant with Zhou You's child, Grandmaster Zhou would never have bothered to waste words with her; she would have been lying dead with her companions by now, heading together to the Yellow Springs.

Fearing that her coveting of the Grandmaster Mark would be exposed, Yufu'er gritted her teeth and refused to admit it; if the other party knew the fetus was merely a sacrificial pawn, her fate would undoubtedly be even more tragic.

A moment later...

"Foster Father!"

Seeing the returning Grandmaster Zhou, Zhu Qinghua rose to greet him, only to see Yufu'er following behind with a look of grievance on her face.

"This woman is with child; give her a chance to atone for her crimes."

Grandmaster Zhou laughed, "Qinghua, it is good that you are unharmed."

"By the way, you were not fond of my good-for-nothing son, but your Foster Father now has a solution."

It is difficult for a great man to avoid having an unworthy wife or an unfilial son; no matter how powerful a person is, if they produce a son who does not live up to expectations, there is nothing to be done.

Grandmaster Zhou was facing such a mid-life crisis; although he had many children and grandchildren, they were all talentless material.

Picking the best among the mediocre, his third son, who had a marriage contract with Zhu Qinghua, was merely of average aptitude among the noble families, and he always felt it was a grievance to Zhu Qinghua, but now there was a better choice.

"I have a direct bloodline descendant with a secure future in Qiangwu; he is much better than my son."

"The marriage contract remains unchanged; you will marry him, and I will have fulfilled a wish."

Zhu Qinghua's heart was filled with sorrow, but when the words reached her lips, there was only one sentence, "I will follow Foster Father's arrangements."

The marriage alliance between her family and Grandmaster Zhou was a fixed fact; as the person involved, she had no right to object.

This thrilling ten-thousand-mile escape was over, and she was about to return to her family, far away from the dangers of the outside world.

Zhu Qinghua felt a slight melancholy; the time she spent escaping with Zhou You was the most free and uninhibited she had ever felt in her life. She buried her thoughts deep, deciding not to mention Zhou You again, and after returning home, she would send people to deliver martial arts resources and wealth to repay his life-saving grace, thus concluding this experience.

Grandmaster Zhou looked at Zhu Qinghua with a smile, thinking that he had not yet met Zhou You, and relying on the descriptions of others was not entirely accurate; it would be better to wait until after the agreement to help fight off the Witch invasion.

Then he would go to Fucheng to observe his character. Grandmaster Zhou was a self-made man who had only reached his current realm through hard work, so he understood better that a realm achieved through steady, down-to-earth cultivation was the real deal; even if his good-for-nothing sons became Qiangwu, they would just be showy shells.

The only one who could inherit his career might be that descendant he had never met.

Both sides harbored their own thoughts, and since neither spoke clearly, a misunderstanding occurred right then and there.

Yufu'er also remained silent; she was now Grandmaster Zhou's captive and could not speak recklessly, and even though she knew the atmosphere was somewhat wrong, she could not point it out.

Thus, in the eyes of Grandmaster Zhou, Zhu Qinghua, and Yufu'er, there were three different versions of Zhou You.

"This child must not forget his own roots."

Before leaving, Grandmaster Zhou nodded for a moment, "Before I left home, I took away the token of the family name; he lacks this link, making his breakthroughs extremely difficult, so I shall send it to him now."

As he spoke, a flash of light shone from his sleeve, and an object broke through the air, disappearing at the end of the horizon.

Checked for errors, this version is correct!

"Let's go, Qinghua, I will take you home first."

Several days later...

"Why have we stopped?"

Zhou You caught up with the migrating Zhou Family Village team, only to see a bustling crowd gathered by the roadside.

Although this was not far from the settlement outside Fucheng, it was not yet safe, and delaying the journey was unwise.

"Master, last night a meteor fell from the sky, and an object plummeted from the night sky, blocking the team; fortunately, there were no casualties."

Zhou Laiwei, who was guarding the area, introduced the situation to Zhou You.

The area around the large crater was filled with loose soil, and an object lay at the bottom of the pit, emitting a scorched smell from the friction, with wisps of smoke still lingering.

"Hmm?"

Zhou You swept his gaze over it and saw the object at the bottom of the pit; it was a Stone Drum, covered in dense patterns.

More importantly, on both the front and back of the Stone Drum, the large Seal Script character 'Zhou' was clearly written.

This Seal Script character happened to correspond to his surname.

Zhou You then remembered that the noble Zhou Clan from which his branch originated was supposed to have a family name, but he had never seen it since he was born, and his great-grandfather had no such memories either.

This was too strange!

Looking at the Stone Drum before him, Zhou You's heart suddenly skipped a beat; this was too coincidental—an object suspected to be his family name had fallen from the sky and landed right in the middle of the migrating team.

No matter how you look at it, this is a miracle from the heavens; if this were a historical novel, an exotic object appearing in troubled times would surely lead to raising a banner in revolt and changing the dynasty, right? He shook his head—stop thinking about it, rebellion has no future, it's a dead end! "There's nothing strange about this thing, everyone disperse, I'm confiscating it."

"Uncle Zhou Laiwei, hurry up and get on the road; there is fighting everywhere, it's no surprise that anything falls from the sky, it's fortunate it didn't hit anyone this time."

Zhou Laiwei nodded, turned around to organize the men, the front of the line moved slowly, and the rear of the line bypassed the large pit.

After Zhou You put the Stone Drum into his Storage Pocket, he already had a plan in mind to find a time to verify it.

Whether the Seal Script character 'Zhou' on this Stone Drum had any connection to his own family—if there was no connection, that would be fine, and the events of recent days would just be a coincidence, but if there were a connection...

Hmm, someone must have deliberately dropped the Stone Drum here with the purpose of getting it into his hands.

(End of chapter)