The place where Ye Zhong met Xiao Fan was not the Ye Family's main hall.
It was in an unremarkable little courtyard behind the medicine workshop.
In the courtyard stood an old medicinal tree, its branches and leaves sparse, its bark dry and cracked. When the wind blew, a few withered leaves fell onto the stone table, looking very much like the Ye Family of today.
The roots were still there.
But the branches and leaves had already been whittled down by wind and frost until almost nothing remained.
Ye Zhong sat beneath the tree.
The old man's face was gaunt, his aura weak and unsteady, and the seventh-tier low-grade Alchemist badge on his chest had already dimmed somewhat. When he saw Xiao Fan enter, he braced himself on his cane and tried to rise, only for Xiao Fan to lift a hand and press down lightly through the air.
"No need."
Ye Zhong gave a bitter laugh.
"Mr. Mu helped Xinlan out of trouble today. The Ye Family owes you a favor."
Xiao Fan sat down.
"The Ye Family invited me here for more than just thanks, I assume."
Ye Zhong fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"You speak frankly, sir, so this old man will not beat around the bush either."
"The Danta Five Great Families assessment is drawing near. In recent years, the Ye Family's younger generation has failed to keep up, and this old man has injured his soul. I no longer have the strength to hold up the assessment."
"If we lose again in the next assessment, the Ye Family will be completely expelled from the Five Great Families."
Ye Xinlan stood to the side, her fingertips gently tightening around the edge of her skirt.
She lowered her head and said nothing.
But