Chapter 108: I Have Pledged Myself to the Dao

It was said that some disgruntled cultivation family patriarchs had gone to ask the two whether they had truly found a treasure.

The two brothers nearly replied in unison: Do you believe rumors?

Weren’t we all cutting shell insects together back then?

Who wasn’t present at the time?!

So some believed, some didn’t… believe!

Wang Yueyi quietly invited her junior brother Xu Yunrui to a newly reopened tavern in Beicheng.

Private room on the top floor!

As soon as Xu Yunrui arrived, Wang Yueyi hurriedly invited him to take the seat of honor.

Xu Yunrui’s expression was cold and tinged with disdain—this was precisely why Wang Yueyi wasn’t eager to meet him. Who wants to fall in love with a block of ice?

Even though he was her own sect junior.

“Junior, I know you don’t want to see me, but I’ve just become family patriarch—I have no choice. There’s something urgent.” Wang Yueyi said.

“Your Wang family’s mess? I’m surprised you’re willing to pick it up and carry it on your shoulders.” Xu Yunrui spoke harshly, but Wang Yueyi still sensed a hint of concern—her face broke into a maternal smile.

She knew her Master had been right: Xu Yunrui was cold outside, warm inside.

“The Wang family is where I was born and raised—I have no choice.”

“You’ll eventually be dragged to death by it,” Xu Yunrui said.

Wang Yueyi paid it no mind.

“Junior Xu, could you spare us another one or two pieces of the shell insect’s skull?” Wang Yueyi knew the skull had been split into over a hundred fragments, and each family had received a few. But her Wang family had suffered such heavy losses and received only two—wasn’t that unfair?

“How the shell insect’s skull is divided is my father’s responsibility. If you have complaints, take them to him—not me,” Xu Yunrui said. He was, in fact, the only son of the City Lord Xu.

The City Lord Xu had no wife, but he had a son—though few knew it.

“I feel the City Lord Xu is deliberately treating our Wang family unfairly in this distribution of spoils,” Wang Yueyi said, puzzled. “But we’ve never offended him before, have we?”

“The shell insect hid beneath Qianli Lake for so long. Your Wang family lives so close—how could you have noticed nothing?” Xu Yunrui asked.

Only then did Wang Yueyi understand why her family was so disliked.

“We truly noticed nothing. Such a major event—if we’d found anything, we would’ve reported it immediately.”

Xu Yunrui let out a cold snort.

“No wonder my father dislikes you. How stupid are you? Not noticing anything is itself the biggest problem. Your Wang family definitely has a traitor.”

Wang Yueyi’s face turned pale. “That’s impossible.”

“Hmph.” Xu Yunrui snorted again. “Senior Wang, if your family has a traitor and you remain completely unaware, even as my Master’s disciple, you’ll be expelled from the sect.”

The sect never nurtures fools or useless people!

The Wang family must have a problem—otherwise, her own father wouldn’t target her during the spoils distribution.

Why did Wang Yueyi say “That’s impossible”? Because she refused to accept that answer.

She wanted to be an ostrich.

The key is, you’re happy to be an ostrich—but others aren’t.

“Senior Wang, for the sake of sharing the same Master, I’ll warn you: if you don’t investigate yourself, when the Neijian Office or the Grand Patrol Office sends people down, your Wang family won’t be exiled—just expelled from Xiancheng.”

Wang Yueyi’s face changed again: “Our Wang family lost many people, and our ancestral lands were destroyed. We’ve sacrificed so much!”

“Your Wang family fed the shell insect!” Xu Yunrui said.

Wang Yueyi fell silent, staring coldly at Xu Yunrui. After a long moment, she said: “What proof do you have?”

“Save that question for when the higher-ups arrive,” Xu Yunrui said. He realized Senior Wang had changed since becoming patriarch—or rather, her loyalties had shifted.

He stood up and left, unwilling to waste more words on her.

Only after Xu Yunrui left did Wang Yueyi’s expression collapse, utterly defeated.

She’d just become patriarch—she truly didn’t want to turn her blade on her own people again.

She’d hoped Xu Yunrui would mediate, to convince the City Lord Xu to stop targeting her family.

But clearly, Xu Yunrui sided with the sect—he believed the Wang family was at fault.

It seemed she truly had to make a choice.

And she must write another plea for help to her Master!

Sigh. Being patriarch is too hard.

…

In just three days, Xiancheng had returned to peace and tranquility.

The Su family’s war fortress had been dismantled again.

All blocked districts had reopened, as if nothing had ever changed.

In two more days, it would be rest day again—and Su Jin’s heart began to stir.

She still hadn’t mastered extracting wood essence!

So she went straight to Su Jian. “Big brother, can we go outside the city to practice our techniques again? I haven’t mastered extracting wood essence yet!”

“Sure, but let’s pick a new place—a forest near Xiancheng,” Su Jian thought for a moment and said.

His daily duty had finally ended.

The family had disbanded all the temporary young men they’d recruited!

After two days of lying idle at home, Su Jian felt he needed to get out, stretch his limbs.

“Great! As long as we can practice techniques, I don’t care where,” Su Jin said immediately.

But Su Yu and Su Hanlin had broken ties—Su Hanlin had gone to work in the Intelligence Office. So Su Jian needed to form a new trustworthy team.

After much thought, Su Jian found no suitable team—either people were temporarily away from Xiancheng, or the team included someone he despised. With no other option, he went to ask Su Hanlin for help.

Su Hanlin thought for a moment and asked: “What if they’re not family?”

“Are they reliable?”

“According to my investigation, this person has excellent character. She’s currently teamed with two brothers—all three seem decent,” Su Hanlin said.

“Who exactly are you talking about?” Su Jian asked curiously.

“An Qian—the woman Su Yu dragged me to save,” Su Hanlin said.

Su Jian’s eyes widened.

He thought: You two fought over a woman, and now you’re introducing her to me for a team to extract wood essence outside the city?

“Isn’t An Qian teamed with Su Yu?” Su Jian stammered.

“An Qian is very clever. I saw through Su Yu’s true nature—do you think she didn’t?” Su Hanlin sneered.

“Wait, how do you know she’s clever?” Su Jian asked, puzzled.

“Ahem. Later, she came to thank me several times—we got to know each other,” Su Hanlin said casually.

Su Jian: Something’s off—Su Hanlin seems… strange.

“Are you and An Qian a couple?”

“No,” Su Hanlin immediately denied. “I’ve already pledged myself to the Dao—I will never marry or seek a Dao partner in this life.”

Su Jian didn’t believe it for a second: Before he met his wife, he’d also shouted every day, “I’ve already pledged myself to the Dao!”