Before Huo Zeyu could puzzle over it for long, the voice of his new buddy Tang Yan rang in his ears.
[Huo Zeyu's older brother, Huo Zerui, has a hobby of collecting beauties? He likes playing the hero and rescuing them, and every year he brings all sorts of beauties home? As long as they're reasonably good-looking, he takes them all home.]
Huo Zeyu's eyes widened. How did you know?! The Huo Family had kept this under wraps!
Si Yu and Lin Yichen: Huh? There's something like that going on?!
And judging by their friend's expression, what Tang Yan said was actually true?
Their eyes gradually lit up. They hurriedly held their breath and pricked up their ears, staring at the board with slightly vacant gazes.
[In just eighteen years, this guy has already brought home a hundred and eight people? What is this, the one hundred and eight heroes of the Water Margin?!]
Huo Zeyu: Exactly, exactly! There's barely any room left at home. Every morning, all I hear when I wake up is endless chattering.
Anyone who didn't know better would think the Huo Family ran some shady brothel instead of a trading business!
Huo Zeyu felt exhausted. What was a man supposed to do with an older brother who loved bringing people home? It was urgent, so urgent—he had been fretting over it for eighteen years!
Bringing people home was one thing, but eight out of every ten his brother picked up were troublemakers.
To win his older brother's favor, they deployed every trick in their arsenals, turning the house into a complete mess. The palace intrigue and household feuds described in Mortal World storybooks played out there every single day.
Huo Zeyu had previously gone to the Mortal World to gain experience.
The mortal emperor had three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two consorts.
His brother was even more impressive than that emperor—he had gone straight for a hundred and eight.
At least the emperor's harem was entirely made up of women. His brother, on the other hand...
Men, women, people who were neither, beings that weren't human, beings that were neither human nor demon—he had even brought home a few fucking half-human, half-beast creatures!!!
Oh, right, and two Merfolk who could be either male or female!!
There were even a few actual, literal pretty fish!!
And damn it, the year before last, he had brought home a Tree Spirit and a Flower Spirit.
It was an absolute circus of monsters, with spirits running rampant.
Thank goodness he hadn't brought home any snake spirits or spider spirits. Otherwise, Huo Zeyu would definitely throw his brother and all hundred and eight of his supernatural companions out on the street!
As Huo Zeyu grumbled inwardly, a sudden snort of laughter reached his ears.
The next instant, tea sprayed all over his head and face.
The culprit was none other than Tang Yan, who was sitting beside him.
Tang Yan stood up and apologized repeatedly. "Sorry, Brother Zeyu. I suddenly thought of something funny and couldn't hold it in. I really couldn't."
Huo Zeyu: "???" Damn it! •᷄ࡇ•᷅
Having his own family turned into juicy gossip was bad enough, but now someone had sprayed tea all over his head and face!! Why was his life so hard?!
Tang Yan desperately fought to keep the corners of his mouth from shooting upward.
He apologized sheepishly aloud while laughing his head off without a shred of remorse inside.
[Hahaha, I'm dying! Fine, Huo Zeyu's older brother picks up men and women, but why does he also collect eunuchs who are neither and Merfolk who can be either?! He even brings home nonhuman Tree Spirits, Flower Spirits, and Fish Spirits!!]
Si Yu and Lin Yichen: !!o_O??? Holy shit! It's that wild?
Who would have thought? Brother Huo was actually that sort of person!
[I just want to ask—is Huo Zeyu's older brother all right?]
Tang Yan was bursting with curiosity.
Si Yu and Lin Yichen were just as curious and stole a glance at Huo Zeyu.
Even Xiao Jixue, cool as the moon and aloof in his elegance, felt the corners of his mouth twitch.
Huo Zeyu: “......”
[Huo Zerui has such peculiar tastes. They say these things run in the family—does Huo Zeyu have some unusual preferences too?]
[Hehehe~~ Let me take a look~]
Tang Yan's eyes shimmered as he devoted himself entirely to the gossip.
He failed to notice Si Yu and Lin Yichen beside him, their mouths twitching incessantly as they struggled with all their might to keep from laughing.
When they heard that Tang Yan was going to dig into Huo Zeyu's gossip, their eyes instantly lit up.
Tell us, tell us! Juicy gossip about our own friend—how could we pass that up?! ୧⍢⃝୨
Huo Zeyu's vision darkened.
I don't have any unusual preferences! I'm a perfectly respectable second-generation cultivator!
[Huh~ There's no gossip about Huo Zeyu for now. How disappointing...]
Si Yu and Lin Yichen: We're disappointed too. We were hoping to hear some juicy gossip about our friend. Sigh!
Noticing his two friends' expressions, Huo Zeyu glared at them and inwardly cursed them as a pair of rotten friends.
Ji Xue is still the best. Ji Xue would never snoop into my gossip.
Xiao Jixue placed a stone on the board and poured Tang Yan a cup of spiritual tea rich in spiritual energy.
"You've been talking quite a bit. Thirsty?"
“Not particularly.” Tang Yan lifted the cup and took a leisurely sip.
The rich fragrance of tea spread through his mouth. Its mellow flavor amazed him. "Senior Brother Xiao, your tea-making skills really are superb."
Xiao Jixue smiled. "As long as you like it."
The game continued. Tang Yan held his teacup, his eyes resting on the board.
His thoughts, however, drifted back to the gossip.
[Oh my, Huo Zerui actually brought another man home half a month ago.]
[This man is really something. He threw the Huo Family into chaos as soon as he arrived.]
[He not only made Huo Zerui fall out with his parents over him, but also got him to injure his second and third uncles?]
[What? The Huo Family's second uncle died outright, and that man was actually behind it? He framed Huo Zerui? Yikes! Doesn't that mean the Huo Family is in complete chaos now?]
[Holy shit! This man is actually a mole sent by the Huo Family's rival, the Lian Family? He's there to gather information and stir up trouble so the Lian Family can fish in troubled waters?]
[The Lian Family is so devious. No wonder the Huo Family later declined from a first-rate clan to a minor third-rate one. Even Huo Zerui, the heir they poured so much effort into raising, was ruined. There's no guarding against every dirty scheme.]
Tang Yan rubbed his chin. [Maybe I should find a chance to warn Huo Zeyu? He is Xiao Jixue's friend, after all.]
Huo Zeyu's expression grew grave. Having completely lost any interest in the game, he abruptly stood up.
"Ji Xue, I have something urgent to deal with at home. I'll keep an eye out for what you asked me about."
Just then, a Paper Crane passed through the wards around Purple Dawn Peak and flew straight toward Huo Zeyu.
Huo Zeyu recognized it as a Message Kite used internally by the Huo Family. He hurriedly caught it and poured spiritual energy into it.
"Yu'er, your second uncle is dead, and the Huo Family is in chaos. Return at once!"
"What?!"
Huo Zeyu's face turned thunderous. In a frantic rush, he became a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.
Si Yu and Lin Yichen were utterly stunned.
If they had harbored any doubts earlier, those doubts were now completely gone.
Tang Yan definitely possessed a secret treasure that could uncover hidden secrets! An immensely powerful treasure!!
As their thoughts churned, Xiao Jixue's cool voice suddenly reached their ears through a divine sense transmission.
"My master previously used his divine sense to investigate the treasure on A-Yan as well. As a result, his divine sense was severely injured, and he'll need a long time to recover."
"!!!" Si Yu and Lin Yichen exchanged covert glances, shock filling their eyes.
Even Dao Venerable Tian Ci had been severely injured?!
Neither had intended to pry into Tang Yan's secrets in the first place, and now they had even less desire to do so.
They were only at the late Golden Core stage, nowhere near as tough or resilient as Dao Venerable Tian Ci.
They had better just quietly enjoy the gossip and watch the show.
Hehehe~~ Enjoying gossip and watching the show was pretty great too.
And if they happened to get some news about their own families from Tang Yan along the way, that would be even better.
Si Yu and Lin Yichen immediately decided to get along well with Tang Yan.
If Tang Yan ever ran into trouble, they could lend him a hand wherever they were able.
Before you continue