Chapter 973

Liu Junyan is not afraid of Xiao Jiu scolding and cursing him; she most fears Xiao Jiu speaking to her in such a yin-yang strange tone.

The wife's face-to-face complaints are the most fatal.

Liu Junyan instantly lowered her flags and stopped her drums, fully aware she admitted her mistake: "Wife, don't be angry, after all I'm becoming a father-in-law for the first time, putting on airs is normal, right?"

"Putting on airs is normal?" Xiao Jiu retorted, "So you're putting on airs—do you want to assert authority in front of your son-in-law, or to back up your little padded jacket?"

Liu Junyan discovered that Xiao Jiu was like the roundworm in his belly—she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Indeed, these two points are exactly what Liu Junyan had in mind.

But he didn't dare admit the first point: "No, how could I dare to show any authority? Hehe, I'm just afraid my daughter will suffer from that brat's anger, so I want to give him a little warning first."

"Will Shan Shan suffer Jing'er's anger?" Xiao Jiu continued to complain, "You don't even know your daughter's temperament? Besides, if Jing'er really dared to make Shan Shan angry, do you think we need to step in and give him a warning?"

Xiaoye and Shushu could easily settle Ao Jing properly.

Liu Junyan felt bored, so she tried to change the subject: "Wife, I've noticed that as I get older, I'm more inclined to be a henpecked husband; if you don't make decisions, I'm prone to make mistakes."

Xiao Jiu gave Liu Junyan a sideways glance: "I see you have big ideas."

Liu Junyan smiled apologetically and tried to appease.

Regarding Ao Jing and Shan Shan's matter, Xiao Jiu has consistently remained calm and rational.

But no one knows that, in the dead of night, she also worries.

No matter how grown the child, she is still a child, and also the treasure held in her palm.

She really wants to go back quickly, first to have a good talk with Shan Shan, then to delve deeper into the matter between her aunt and the Seven Halls Yama.

Compared to the two, Xiao Jiu is actually more worried about Tang Xun.

Last time Shan Shan and A Cheng went to Hu Shan to visit Tang Xun, they found Tang Xun's mental state somewhat off, unwilling to say much, just insisting on expressing her desire to marry the Seven Halls Yama.

This surprised everyone greatly.

Anyone who knows Tang Xun knows that the Seven Halls Yama has repeatedly expressed love to her, wanting to marry her, but Tang Xun has refused each time for various reasons.

Now how has the situation reversed, becoming Tang Xun wanting to marry while the Seven Halls Yama refuses?

Who are they tormenting with this back-and-forth?

Xiao Jiu also urged Liu Junyan to contact the Seven Halls Yama several times.

As a result, every time Liu Junyan asked about this matter, the Seven Halls Yama brushed her off.

Liu Junyan said he clearly felt that the Seven Halls Yama was avoiding this issue.

Xiao Jiu then contacted Yu Nian again, asking whether the Nether Realm had been unsettled lately and if anything had happened with the Seven Halls Yama.

Yu Nian's feedback was that everything was normal.

Everything is normal…… so what is the Seven Halls Yama up to?

However, the Earth Vein Journey was clearly about to end, and it wasn't a matter of ten days or half a month, so Xiao Jiu endured and did not rush back.

After Ao Jing contacted Xiao Jiu, he sat cross-legged in meditation for half a day, circulating the internal energy that had just been transformed the previous night.

Zhong Shushu came by midway to look for Ao Jing, found him meditating, and then left again.

At dinner, at the table, Xiaoye and Zhong Shushu mentioned Ao Ji.

Xiaoye's attitude toward this son shifted from sheer joy at his birth to now having become exasperated, wishing he could forge him into steel.

"Tell me about him, how can he be so troublesome? I've sent people to track him, they're practically all over China! Does he still want to learn from his seventh uncle and wander the world?!"

Zhong Shushu also sighed: "Before he broke his shell, I communicated with him for so long; this child was quite well-behaved, but I don't know why after breaking his shell he seems like a different person."

What they worry about most, besides Ao Ji's life safety, is that he's young and his worldview hasn't been cultivated or shaped in a good environment; if he gets warped, what can we do?

Ao Jing sat at the side, eating his meal leisurely, not participating in the discussion.

But the topic eventually fell on Ao Jing.

Xiaoye looked at Ao Jing and said: "Jing'er, if you, as the older brother, get married and hold a wedding, will that little rascal come back to attend the wedding?"

Ao Jing had a mouthful of noodles stuck in his mouth, holding his chopsticks, petrified.

He didn't quite understand; they were talking about Ao Ji just fine, how did the topic suddenly turn to him?

Usually at this time, Zhong Shushu would certainly stop Xiaoye in time, but this time she didn't.

Ao Jing thought of his mother coming to his residence in the afternoon, and meeting her gaze, he suddenly realized: "Is something wrong with my brother's side? Do I need to go myself and drag him back?"

Xiaoye let out an inexplicable long sigh.

Thank goodness, the eldest son isn't disabled; his alertness and sense of responsibility are top-notch.

And Zhong Shushu said: "The second son has been out of his shell for several months now; I and your father have carefully deduced that he might soon need his first secluded retreat to break through a bottleneck. I calculated it, and the situation is somewhat perilous, so we've sent people to track his footsteps, hoping to give him a heads-up. Ideally, he should return home quickly to seclude himself and break through the bottleneck—definitely safer than outside. If he encounters an insoluble situation, at least your father and the clan's various elders can back him up, right?"

Unfortunately, they never managed to catch Ao Ji, and only then did the couple become anxious.

Ao Jing was about to speak when Xiaoye waved his hand, cutting him off.

"Forget it, forget it, we won't look for him, let him be." Xiaoye said, "Shushu, maybe we're just too anxious; looking at the whole dragon clan, whose child hasn't experienced a few hardships while growing up? Our excessive interference might actually be bad for the second son."

Ao Ji's cultivation talent is outstanding; this body is born transcending ordinary people. If he cannot be a greenhouse plant carefully tended by a gardener, then we must let go completely, hoping he can forge his own path in the outside world.

After discussing back and forth, the dishes on the table had all gone cold; the final decision still leaned toward Xiaoye's view, letting Ao Ji go out and make his own way.

Ao Jing did not voice his own opinion.

After all, lately at night he might still need to sneak over to Shan Shan's place, until the yang energy released from the incense of the dragon-head incense is completely transformed by the two of them, can he then attend to Ao Ji's matters.

As Ao Jing had guessed, that very night, the internal anomaly in his dantian arrived as expected.

He went to Shan Shan's place again.

He went secretly, leaving just as the sky began to lighten.

In this way, a week passed.

It must be said, this week Ao Jing's mood was extremely cheerful.

His feelings for Shan Shan deepened considerably.

On the eighth night, that familiar heat source inside his dantian did not appear again.

He waited until midnight, but still nothing.

Habit had become second nature; when the time came, Ao Jing subconsciously was about to run toward Shan Shan again.

But halfway, he only then realized there was no movement in his dantian, and Shan Shan was likely the same.

So now he's running over there, eyes full of longing—what's that supposed to be…