Snow Lotus

The Chen Family First Grand Elder paused for a moment before carefully choosing his words and continuing.

"There are still about ten days until the end of the Rainy Season, Chen Fan... Young Master North River Chen Family Camp No. 37 stands on the Wasteland."

"No signs of destruction yet."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Several Elder beside him subconsciously looked up at him.

A hint of dissatisfaction flashed in the eyes of the Chen Family elder sitting opposite, but he didn't say anything. Chen Quan remained seated, fiddling with the hem of his clothes, so his expression was not visible. The Chen Family Head also showed no intention of opening his eyes.

Although the title "Young Master Chen Fan" sounds rather abrupt.

But-

At this point, they had to admit that Chen Fan had definitely become a Builder, and a very capable Builder at that.

Since that's the case.

Regardless of the other party's identity.

They all deserve a certain level of respect.

At least!

Attendant Liu knew perfectly well that even with an unlimited supply of Eerie Stone, he couldn't survive 18 days in the Rainy Season. For one thing, where would he get so many Building Blueprint? Don't people need to learn those?

No practice is required?

Could Chen Fan really just conjure up a building with a mere thought?

Seeing that the others had no intention of joining in the conversation.

The Chen Family First Grand Elder then continued.

"At the northernmost edge of the Jiangbei Wasteland, near the sea, there is a mountain called 'Nameless Mountain.' The Ghosthide Map shows that this mountain contains an Eerie Fire, which was lit a few days ago and has not gone out since."

I guess.

"It's probably a Camp that Young Master Chen Fan set up there."

"And..."

"Last night, the Ghosthide Map showed that 20 Eerie Fire suddenly appeared at the Nameless Mountain, but they went out shortly after dawn. We don't know what happened, but it's highly likely that Young Master Chen Fan experienced a fierce battle last night."

"Young Master Chen Fan's experiences during the Rainy Season may have been far more dangerous than we imagined."

"Moreover, Young Master Chen Fan..."

He was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

Chen Quan, who had been sitting quietly in the chair, raised his bloodshot eyes and stared intently at the Chen Family First Grand Elder, saying each word clearly, "You seem to enjoy calling him 'Young Master Chen Fan' all the time, don't you?"

"The person hasn't even returned yet, and you're already thinking about becoming someone's slave?"

Then, as if having an emotional breakdown, he suddenly stood up, slammed his hands on the table, and roared.

"I, Chen Quan, am the only Young Master of the Chen Family! The only heir!"

"Can you understand?"

"Can you remember that!"

"Presumptuous!"

The Chen Family Head, who had been sitting in the main seat with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, a hint of anger flashing in his cloudy pupils. "He is the Chen Family First Grand Elder, and you are a junior. How dare you speak to him like that?"

"Apology!"

Chen Quan snorted coldly, got up without a word, and slammed the door shut as he left.

The Level 5 Builder the Chen Family respected also left with a gloomy expression.

After sitting in silence for a long time, the Chen Family Head did not say anything more. He simply waved his sleeve and walked out of the Council Hall alone.

"First Elder."

After only a few Elder remained in the Council Hall, the other Elder turned their attention to the First Elder.

"Well."

The Chen Family First Grand Elder stood up, paused for a moment, then sighed and asked, "Do you usually go to Teahouse to listen to storytelling?"

"Every time I go to Teahouse to listen to storytelling, there's a certain character who always gives off the feeling that they're destined to die the moment they appear on screen."

"That's the feeling I get from Young Master Chen Quan."

The Rainy Season is almost over.

After uttering his last sentence without any preamble, the First Elder shook his head and walked out of the council Council Hall without saying anything more.

"Mother!"

The North River Chen Family.

With red-rimmed eyes, Chen Quan knelt before a woman, sobbing uncontrollably, "Isn't the Level 5 Builder that the Chen Family employs a member of your Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association?"

Why should we attach ourselves to the Chen Family?

"We can't do it alone."

"My father is bullying me too much!"

The woman sitting in the chair took a leisurely sip of tea before slowly saying, "There are many hidden details you don't know. You only need to know two things."

"First point."

"The North River Chen Family needs our Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association."

"Second point."

"The Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association needs the North River Chen Family."

"As for Chen Fan, you don't need to worry about him too much. Our plans over the years will come to an end after this Rainy Season. After the Rainy Season, your mother will take you away from the North River Chen Family. You have a long life ahead of you."

"Once you've seen the outside world, you'll realize that a mere Northbank City is nothing special."

Chen Quan, kneeling on the ground with red-rimmed eyes, was first slightly taken aback, then asked blankly, "Mother, what plan?"

"You don't want me to fight for the heir position anymore?"

"Heir?"

The woman rose and sat by the window, her jet-black hair meticulously combed, adorned with an exquisite hairpin. Her face was as white as jade, her eyebrows like crescent moons, and her lips were red and her teeth white as she gazed at the rain falling from the eaves outside.

Just sitting there.

It's like a courtyard painting kept in a large Family.

Her bare feet swayed gently in the air, like White Magnolia blooming after the rain, exuding a cool fragrance that was not to be trifled with.

He chuckled softly, poured himself a cup of tea, and then said lazily.

"More than ten years ago, my father came from Jiangnan to the desolate Northbank City. It was rumored that my father's family had fallen on hard times, but he rebuilt his fortune in the Rise-Again Clan, Northbank City, with 5,000 Eerie Stones and founded the Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association."

"But people's minds are foolish."

"They can't think about many things."

"They can't understand why our Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association, which clearly has Level 5 Builder, would want to form a marriage alliance with the North River Chen Family. Maybe they really think that since I'm my father's only daughter, I'll eventually have to get married, so he should definitely find a local gentry."

The woman's attire was extremely alluring.

A pale white strapless top hung loosely, revealing glimpses of her skin, and she wore a light red nightgown embroidered with Plum Blossom.

"As well as-

"How could a place like Jiangbei possibly produce a beauty like me?"

The woman picked up Bronze Mirror and admired her appearance, clearly extremely satisfied with it.

But it certainly has the qualities to be satisfied with.

If beauty could be ranked.

She was undoubtedly the best in Northbank City, far surpassing the vulgar beauties of Brothel. She was like a lotus rising from the mud, pure and untainted, exuding an aura that was not to be profaned.

Men love this kind of thing.

A man's inherent destructive desires make him most fond of playing with those inviolable beauties.

Chen Quan was kneeling on the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently fell on those swaying, jade-white little feet. His Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably. He quickly looked away, and after struggling to process the news, he said in disbelief.

So my position as the heir of the Chen Family is completely unimportant?

"Unimportant."

"Then... Mother, why do you still want me to fight for it?"

"I'm giving you a chance to practice; after all, we'll still have to compete in the future."

"Mother."

Chen Quan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "Is that grand plan you mentioned related to Nameless Mountain?"

The woman's delicate brows furrowed again as she turned her gaze from the rain outside to Chen Quan: "Where did you hear that from?"

"I..."

Chen Quan didn't dare to look up at his mother, and said in a trembling voice while lying on the ground, "Last time you and Uncle Liu were talking inside the house, I happened to pass by and overheard something about 'Nameless Mountain'."

Uncle Liu is the same Attendant Liu the Chen Family, the Level 5 Builder.

He didn't finish speaking.

That time, he not only overheard the conversation, but also some suggestive music.

However, he did not tell his father.

The woman did not speak.

The room fell into absolute silence; you could hear a pin drop.

Chen Quan was feeling the pressure, but he forced himself to continue.

"In the Council Hall today, the Chen Family First Grand Elder said that Chen Fan went to Nameless Mountain and set up Camp. If you have any plans there, will he thwart them?"

"This has caused your years of planning to come to nothing."

The words had barely left his mouth.

"Oh."

A barely audible chuckle escaped from inside the room.

"Destroy?"

"What you're saying..."

The woman sat on the edge of the bed, her slender fingers gracefully resting on her chin. A pitiful smile flickered in her eyes as she tilted her head slightly, trying to think of a word that wouldn't hurt anyone.

"How innocent and adorable!"

Do you know whose former residence is Nameless Mountain?

"It belongs to that That One."

"You mean the Snow Lotus and Earthheart Fruit cultivated by the 'Heaven-Imprisoning Array' That One person set up before leaving back then could be destroyed by an ordinary mortal?"

"If Chen Fan can really do that."

"Then perhaps I should become his disciple; his methods seem far more formidable than my master's."

Do you know why the "Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association" is named that?

"Because our goal is to destroy the Heaven-Imprisoning Array."

Kneeling on the ground, Chen Quan's cheeks pressed against the earth, he had never heard of such a secret before. He felt as if a real world was slowly being unveiled before him, and he subconsciously asked a question.

"Won't we offend that That One by doing this?"

"That One can't even protect himself now."

The woman raised her hand to cover her lips, a hint of barely concealed pleasure flickering in her eyes.

"Then why do you call him 'That One person' instead of his name, Mother?"

The smile on the woman's face hadn't fully spread when it suddenly froze at the corner of her mouth. Her face turned deathly pale for a moment, and even her fingertips instinctively curled up. She took a deep breath and regained her usual composure.

But when I pick up the teacup...

There was still a barely perceptible tremor in her fingertips.

She lowered her eyes, her voice soft yet slightly hoarse.

"This is respect for the strong."

"Then why did you cultivate Snow Lotus, senior? What is Snow Lotus used for?"

"Save an Exotic Beast."

"Are Exotic Beast... a type of Strange Entities?"

The woman didn't reply, but instead turned her head to look at the rainy scene outside and said softly, "You know too much. You'll know everything in time. Be quiet these days and wait for the Rainy Season to pass."

After Chen Quan left.

A man dressed in white, like a ghost, floated into the house without opening the door. He stood there, his voice strangely calm, sometimes near, sometimes far.

"The 'Monkey Chief' made its move last night."

"The Meatworm Wraith Tide was driven towards the Nameless Mountain as planned, but the wind suddenly changed Wind Direction halfway there, causing an unexpected incident. The Eerie Fire on the Nameless Mountain has not been extinguished. Shall we continue tonight?"

The woman didn't speak or turn around.

A few days ago.

The Meatworm Wraith Tide attacked "Northbank City," and if she hadn't intervened, Northbank City would have been destroyed long ago.

It's laughable that the ordinary people in the city actually believed that the Wild Wolf Gang had desperately held back the Meatworm Wraith Tide.

It's just Level-1 City Wall.

Even if the Wild Wolf Gang were to unleash its full potential, it would be impossible to withstand the Meatworm Wraith Tide.

These people had never seen a flesh-worm Meatworm Wraith Tide before and had no idea how terrifying it was. If she hadn't sent people to deal with it, even if the Three Great Families of Northbank City had used all their resources, they would not have been able to hold it off.

The Strange Entities of the Rainy Season can only be truly understood by experiencing them firsthand.

If she were to allow the Meatworm Wraith Tide to flood into Northbank City, she would die anyway. She didn't care about the lives of these mortals; they were worth less than a hairpin of hers.

"Can Monkey Chief be activated a second time tonight?"

The woman lowered her head in thought. Although she said that Chen Fan couldn't possibly cause any damage to Nameless Mountain, extinguishing the Eerie Fire on Nameless Mountain was naturally the safest option, just to be on the safe side.

She has been guarding this place for over a decade.

The Sky-Pacifying Merchant Association has been guarding this place for over a decade. So many people have been planning and guarding this place for so many years, all for this Snow Lotus, and... what she didn't say.

They will ripen after this Rainy Season.

She didn't want anything to go wrong.

Once this matter is resolved.

She can finally leave this remote place.

"Not at the moment."

"We'll have to wait until the Meatworm Wraith Tide is blown to the vicinity of Northbank City again, but who knows when that will be."

Just then -

The man in white turned to look at the door, narrowed his eyes, and took a step back. His body almost blended into the room, and it was impossible to tell that there was a person standing there unless you looked closely.

Chen Quan, who had already left, suddenly returned.

With a mixture of fear and determination, she knelt at the doorway, looking at her mother, and said in a trembling voice.

"Mother."

"Do you have a relationship with your father...?"

"No."

The woman slowly shook her head, her delicate brows furrowing as if she couldn't understand why someone would ask such a foolish question.

"That..."

Chen Quan buried his head in the ground, mustered his courage, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Then who is my biological father—the head of the Chen Family Head, or... Uncle Liu?"

After a long while.

A woman's voice came from inside the house.

Does it matter?

Chen Quan, who was still feeling anxious, suddenly looked up at his mother sitting by the window with a blank expression. "This..."

Isn't that important?

Even that doesn't matter.

What's the point of life then?

Is Snow Lotus important?

P. S.: 2000 monthly votes achieved, 5 extra chapters today.

Today's update totals 32,000 words, and there will definitely be many typos and grammatical errors.

Let me explain my proofreading process to new readers.

Before each scheduled release, I do a rough proofreading. This process is like watching a movie after takeoff, where it's hard to concentrate and you're feeling mentally exhausted. There will be many missed typos, incoherent sentences, etc. I mainly check the plot and the context.

My wife proofread the second draft.

She will proofread and revise after publication. She revises slowly, but it will be much better after this round.

The third round of proofreading is done by the readers.

Readers will point out errors in the comments section and then correct them. If you see any typos, grammatical errors, or grammatical mistakes, please be patient and correct them in the comments section. Thank you.

Creating content is hard work, thank you for your support.