Big Trouble's Coming!

The Sixth Elder froze there awkwardly, unsure whether to keep crying or stop.

After a while, a puzzled voice rang out. "Uncle?"

The female disciple whose robe the Sixth Elder had been clutching and sobbing into finally spoke hesitantly.

Luan Ning was a female disciple who had only just joined the outer sect. Her lineage was merely an insignificant little lineage in the Southern Region.

Before she came, however, her father had mysteriously pulled her into his study.

"My girl, your father has found you a nice, sturdy thigh to cling to. You won't have to worry when you join the outer sect. Your uncle will definitely protect you."

"If you ever run into danger, make sure you tell your uncle. Let him stand up for you, whatever happens!"

When he said those words, Luan Ning had even felt that her father, whom she had always considered rather indifferent toward her, stood so tall!

So this was her uncle? He looked incredibly powerful, and he had even sought her out first when danger struck.

At that thought, all the hurt in Luan Ning's heart came pouring out, and her tears flowed without stopping.

"Uncle, it was him! He used something strange to freeze us in place so that black bear demon beast could eat us!"

The baby-faced girl cried loud enough to shake heaven and earth, even more miserably than the Sixth Elder had earlier, hiccuping between sobs.

The Sixth Elder: "..."

He looked around blankly, unable to understand how he had suddenly acquired another niece.

[Oho, congratulations on your brand-new niece! Sixth Elder, you might have cried over the wrong person, but you picked up a niece for free!]

Lan Yue was secretly snickering behind them.

Everyone: "..."

So where was their actual niece?

Even the sect master looked uncertain as he surveyed the four girls.

The Sixth Elder, who was being hugged amid the sobbing, wiped away his tears. His mind was perfectly clear now. The girl before him had yet to achieve Qi Induction, so she had not heard little Lan Yue's inner voice.

Otherwise, he would have lost every last shred of his dignity!

Thank goodness, thank goodness!

This restriction imposed by the immortal artifact was simply marvelous!

Then his actual niece surely had not achieved Qi Induction either, and knew nothing of his current embarrassment.

He needed to think of a way to resolve the problem before him. He absolutely could not let his niece find out that her uncle had foolishly mistaken someone else for her.

[Woohoo! So the female lead has already achieved Qi Induction! I knew my Nü E was the best. She's barely been at the Southern Spirit Sect, and she isn't even an official outer disciple yet, but she's already made it this far. That's seriously impressive!]

Hiding at the very back, Lan Yue gazed toward Yun Xi with admiration, her eyes brimming with longing.

When would she become someone as powerful as the female lead?

But then she thought again of all the near-fatal crises the female lead faced on her road to immortality. There had even been one time when heavenly lightning blasted her down to nothing but a skeleton, and she still stubbornly held on.

The longing in Lan Yue's mind went out with a snap.

The main cast was so powerful because each one pushed themselves harder than the last. No wonder these people could walk the road to immortality!

Lan Yue sighed again and again, deciding she would be better off sticking to watching the drama.

Meanwhile, the Sixth Elder was falling apart.

What? His niece had already achieved Qi Induction and knew about his embarrassing mistake?

The Sixth Elder was left utterly windblown and bewildered. Not only was Luan Ning tugging at his sleeve, she had also smeared it with plenty of tears.

"Uncle, you have to stand up for me!" Her young voice was utterly pitiful.

The Sixth Elder could only shakily pull out his weapon, the Immortal-Binding Cord, and bind Luo Sen and the others again.

Luo Sen and his companions were nearly scared senseless. They had only intended to curry favor with the sect master through Yun Li.

Now, not only had the sect master come in person, but one of the people they had bullied was actually his own daughter?

[Oho, big trouble's coming for you!]

The gloating voice rang out just then. Upon hearing it, Luo Sen's eyes rolled back, and he fainted from sheer fright.

Once the others reacted, each fainted faster than the last. Within seconds, they were all sprawled on the ground.

"Niece, your uncle has avenged you." The Sixth Elder clutched Luan Ning's sleeve, old tears streaming down his face as he wept miserably.

Two people with no blood relation somehow ended up clinging to each other and bawling.

Of course, whether the Sixth Elder was crying so bitterly out of embarrassment or for some other reason was something no one could know.

[Huh? Could she really be the Sixth Elder's niece? Did I get it wrong?]

Yes, yes, yes! Hurry up and move on from this! Otherwise, where was he supposed to hide his old face?

The Sixth Elder urged her silently as he cried.

[But the system clearly says they have no relationship whatsoever.]

Lan Yue could not make sense of it. She looked toward the Sixth Elder in confusion.

"Ahem. Since fate brought us together today, I shall take you as my disciple. Are you willing to become my disciple from now on?" The Sixth Elder raised his head and spoke solemnly.

"Waaah, Uncle, you're so good to me! I'm willing!" Luan Ning was so moved that she could barely stop crying.

After saying that, the Sixth Elder secretly glanced toward Lan Yue, as if to say, Who said we had no relationship? Doesn't a master-disciple relationship count?

[Why is the Sixth Elder looking at me? Could the gloating on my face be too obvious?]

[Maybe I really did get it wrong. Perhaps they only had a verbal agreement before and hadn't formally acknowledged their family relationship? Looks like there are things even the gossip system doesn't know. I'll have to pay closer attention.]

Lan Yue reflected inwardly as she stealthily edged toward the female lead.

[Forget it, no more gossip. The female lead is much more enticing. Nü E, here I come!]

Thud.

A tree had appeared in front of Lan Yue at some point, and she nearly knocked herself senseless against it.

"Lan Yue, why are you being so careless? Come here and let me take a look." The Second Elder secretly dispersed his spell, wearing an affectionate expression.

While Lan Yue was dizzy and seeing stars, the sect master had already approached Yun Xi.

Yun Chong gazed at the frail girl before him. She was clearly around ten years old, yet looked only eight or nine.

Her palm-sized face was so thin that her eyes seemed to take up half of it, making them look especially dark and bright, filled with a tenacity that refused to yield.

She was like a weed carelessly scattered into a crack in the rocks, stubbornly growing through sheer perseverance, displaying her fragile shoots to the world and asserting her existence.

Only now, as he stood there looking at his daughter, did he truly feel that warmth.

It did not come from the stirring of his blood, nor did it rely on a spell to test their blood relationship. Simply seeing the girl standing before him gave him an indescribably wondrous feeling.

At that moment, he truly realized that this was his daughter, and that he had become a father-an irresponsible father, at that, who had failed to hold a protective umbrella over his daughter.

The two gazed at each other, and everything was so warm and tender. Even Lan Yue's inner voice had vanished at some point, leaving all of Green Silk Mountain silent.

Even the black birds and beasts seemed to have sensed something. Feeling an inexplicable threat, they all shut their mouths tightly, not daring to make a sound.

Just as Yun Chong looked at the girl's scar-covered hands, his heart aching so badly that he nearly wept,

the female lead before him spoke. "Do you want to take me as your niece too?"

In that instant, Yun Chong's expression nearly cracked apart.