Hu Liena recalled the story, looking helpless.
"He said that his dream used to be to break through to Soul Grandmaster, find a little mountain village, marry five wives, and spend the rest of his life in peace."
Qian Renxue nodded. That dream wasn't unreasonable. It was perfectly normal.
Become a Soul Grandmaster, find a village, marry a few pretty, ordinary women, and live out your days in peace. It made perfect sense!
"Then he must be unwilling to settle for an ordinary life now, right?" Qian Renxue asked.
Hu Liena laughed. "Ha! Of course he's not content with an ordinary life now. He's gotten stronger, and his dreams have grown bigger too."
"Now he wants to marry ten wives, and they have to be the most beautiful women on the continent. He said... he wants them all!"
Hu Liena clenched a fist and did a passable imitation of Su Chen.
Qian Renxue was momentarily speechless. How could I call someone who never forgot his original dream a womanizer?
He was just alone and without support in this world. He just wanted to marry a few more wives and have a few more children. He just wanted a big, happy family!
What could he possibly be doing wrong?
Thinking of the contents of the diary she had read earlier, Qian Renxue found herself at an even greater loss for words.
That made sense!
As a powerful man, he wanted to marry a few more wives and settle down. She honestly couldn't find a reason to criticize him, Su Chen!
If everyone in this world were like him, there'd be so much less bloodshed and strife. What a beautiful future that would be!
But Hu Liena sighed again.
"Unfortunately! He said Teacher isn't right in the head. If she were normal, he'd send her a huge dowry."
"He said he's afraid that if he sends the dowry, Teacher will use it to blow up Spirit Hall. He also told us to work harder and seize power as soon as possible!"
"Xiao Xue, what should we do?"
Qian Renxue's face fell. "How should I know? That woman's always been crazy!"
Hu Liena sighed. Now that they knew all of Bibi Dong's secrets, they actually hoped she could get better.
Face life properly!
Don't spend your whole life trapped in hatred and pain.
Hu Liena yawned. "Never mind. I'll take a nap here first. Send someone to wait at Spirit Hall. When Su Chen and Lingling get back, tell them to come straight here!"
While one flower blooms, another branch tells its tale.
Ye Mansion.
Ye Lingling's home could hardly be called a clan.
There weren't many people in Ye Lingling's family. Her only relatives were her grandmother and mother. Apart from a few elder retainers, there was hardly anyone else.
Ye Lingling's grandmother, Ye Yongjun, was another wielder of the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, a seventy-sixth-level Soul Saint. She was an old woman with a head of white hair.
Ye Lingling's mother was called Yu Jing. She was a young, beautiful woman and a sixty-seventh-level Soul Emperor. She looked very much like Ye Lingling. It seemed Ye Lingling had inherited her father's Nine Heart Begonia and her mother's looks.
When the two women heard that Ye Lingling had brought a boy home, they hurried over at once.
"Lingling."
"Good girl."
When Ye Lingling saw her grandmother and mother come in, she rushed straight into her grandmother's arms and burst into tears.
Su Chen stood to one side without saying a word, waiting for Ye Lingling to finish letting her feelings out.
Ye Yongjun held her sobbing granddaughter and said tenderly, "Good girl, don't cry now. Tell Grandma what happened."
Her mother stood nearby, her face full of concern.
Ye Lingling choked out, "Grandma, Mom, my Martial Soul evolved. From now on, our family's Nine Heart Begonia won't have that restriction anymore. Every generation can have one Nine Heart Begonia."
As she spoke, Ye Lingling summoned her Martial Soul. Ye Yongjun could clearly sense its pressure—that was the majesty of a king in its Martial Soul bloodline!
At that moment,
tears slipped down Ye Yongjun's aged face.
By rights,
for a new generation to awaken the Nine Heart Begonia, the previous generation had to die early. But Ye Lingling's father hadn't had much Soul Power. For the sake of the family's Martial Soul being passed down, he had made his choice.
Ye Lingling's father hadn't been the first to sacrifice himself for the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul's inheritance, but now... he would be the last.
From now on, the Nine Heart Begonia would never again have to face such a difficult choice. At last, it could escape this ridiculous fate.
How could it not be ridiculous?
The greatest healing Martial Soul on the continent depended on the wounds of its own family. The Nine Heart Begonia could save thousands, yet couldn't save its own family of three generations living under one roof.
"Good! Good girl! Good girl!"
Ye Yongjun comforted her granddaughter as tears kept falling from her own eyes.
Ye Lingling's mother wiped away her tears nearby. Only their own family knew how much suffering the Nine Heart Begonia had brought them.
Only then did Ye Lingling finally come to her senses. She wiped her eyes and took her grandmother's hand as she introduced them.
"Grandma, Mom, this is my boyfriend. His name is Su Chen. He gave me the Immortal Herb that helped my Martial Soul evolve."
"Su Chen, this is my grandmother, and this is my mother. Sorry about earlier. I couldn't control my emotions when I saw Grandma."
Su Chen didn't mind and greeted them politely.
"Grandma Ye, Auntie."
"My name is Su Chen."
The two women had felt conflicted when they heard Ye Lingling call him her "boyfriend." But when they heard the rest, they were instantly overcome with emotion.
"Benefactor!"
They immediately started to kneel to Su Chen, but he hurried forward and stopped them.
"Grandma Ye, Auntie, Lingling is my girlfriend, and you're both my elders. I couldn't possibly accept that."
After spending time with Su Chen, Ye Lingling understood him. Supporting her grandmother, she said, "Grandma, Mom, Su Chen is pretty easygoing. He doesn't like it when people are too formal."
"Ah."
Ye Yongjun nodded and said to Su Chen, "Our family has no way to repay your great kindness. For Lingling to be with you is a blessing for her."
"We still have to repay this debt of gratitude. If you ever need anything from this old woman, just ask. Please, have a seat!"
"Alright!"
Su Chen nodded and said,
"Grandma Ye and Auntie, please don't be so formal with me either. Just treat me like an ordinary junior and call me Su Chen."
That day,
Su Chen stayed with Ye Lingling at Ye Mansion and met several of the family's elders. They were all around Soul Power levels sixty or seventy. Nearly all of them had once received kindness from the Ye Family and had willingly agreed to stay and protect it.
During that time, Su Chen also talked with them about going to Spirit City. None of them objected. They'd simply be moving to a different place.
Meanwhile,
the Shrek Seven Devils finally met that day.
Early in the morning,
Ning Rongrong dragged Xiao Wu to register at Shrek Academy, with Tang San following behind like a shadow.
While they were taking the entrance test at the gate,
the three of them ran into Dai Mubai. Both sides were itching with resentment, but neither said anything.
"Hmph!"
Xiao Wu snorted. She was growing more and more dissatisfied with this lousy school called Shrek.
Ning Rongrong was unhappy too.
However,
their main goal right now was to wait at Shrek for Su Chen to arrive. They didn't do anything about it, and, just as in the usual storyline, passed the test and entered Shrek Academy.
Zhu Zhuqing joined them and enrolled at Shrek Academy that same day.