All around, there was silence.
Even everyone's breathing stopped.
Everyone stared at Tang Yan in astonishment. Was this fellow actually berating the City Lord of Purple Bamboo City?
Zi Yun's heart was already covered in wounds. Hearing Tang Yan's words, her tears immediately fell like pearls from a broken string, pattering down and staining her clothes with one blooming flower after another.
Even with her resilient nature, even though her strength had long since reached Heaven Tier Fifth Grade, even though she understood reason and knew to put her Lineage first, Zi Yun felt unbearably heartsick at that moment.
But when she saw her equally silent father, saw the self-reproach, embarrassment, and sorrow in his eyes, the past rose vividly in Zi Yun's mind, as clear as yesterday.
When she was little, her father had carried her on his shoulders through the night markets. Candied hawthorns, cotton candy...
Her father had guided her martial training, pouring his heart and blood into every move and stance...
Her father had taken her through the world's famous mountains and great rivers, showing her every blade of grass and every tree, and the splendor of different lands.
To find Spirit Herbs for her cultivation, her father had crossed mountains and rivers, endured countless hardships, and searched tirelessly for the rare treasures of heaven and earth...
Through her blurred, tearful eyes, Zi Yun's gaze fell on a strand of white hair at her father's temple. An inexplicable pain pierced her heart, and she choked out, "Tang Yan, stop, please stop. I volunteered for all of this. I volunteered for all of this..."
Zi Xian's body jolted!
He looked at the tear tracks on his daughter's cheeks. Her lovely face should have worn a smile blooming like a flower, but now held only despair and resignation.