The Jiang family.

Wearing the elegant expression that she once had in the past, Shu Chen patted her son on the shoulder. Her urge to smile simply could not be suppressed at such a moment. “My dearest son, you…”

She was about to praise Jiang Shuxuan but she choked up at the last minute. It was impossible to speak, so she just kept on patting his shoulder.

Jiang Shuxuan was one head taller than his mother. However, to make her life slightly easier, he bent over slightly. His icy-cold expression warmed up rather significantly when he saw her start to tear up.

“And I thought that I wouldn’t live to see such a day.” Shu Chen let out a long sigh. She blinked multiple times, in an attempt to hold her tears back. She then muttered to Jiang Shuxuan, “Have you contacted Aunt Tang?”

“I gave her a call when I came back,” replied Jiang Shuxuan.

He cared an awful lot about this matter, which was why he called her personally when they were still on the helicopter.

Shu Chen nodded. “You should have let me call her first. But we still have time left. I’ll call Yanling immediately.” It wasn’t even seconds after she said this that her phone, which was still in her pocket, rang. She pulled it out and lo and behold, it was Tang Yanling calling.

While speaking on the phone, she went downstairs, where Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Han were chatting away. Jiang Han, who usually had the same, icy-cold demeanor as Jiang Shuxuan was now a transformed man. His expression had softened up quite a bit, with a subtle hint of glee on his face.

The four of them proceeded to the border of the ancient martial arts world to welcome the Tang family. Trailing behind them of course was the butler as well as Jiji.

“Jiji, what about that eagle that came back with you? Where has it gone?” The butler was elated by the occasion, which reminded him of the eagle that perched on Jiji’s head just now. It was nowhere to be seen now. He knew, just by looking at it that there was something special about that bird. In fact, there’s a chance that like Gu Xiqiao, an uproar would occur should it be let off into the ancient martial arts world.

Jiji shook its head. “Uncle Butler, I’ve thrown that eagle back to Peace Manor. I’m guessing it’s now battling Xixi to death.”

The butler was relieved when he heard Jiji speak about it so casually. Silently, they continued their journey forward.

It wasn’t just the Jiang family who had come forth to welcome the Tang family. There was also the current patriarch of the Tang family, Tang Wenbo, who was already standing at the border, stroking his long white beard with a tranquil expression. His other hand, however, was tightly clasped, perhaps out of anxiousness.

Behind him stood the juniors of the Tang family. In addition to Yin Shaoyuan, both Tang Qingqiu and Tang Qinghong were present too.

Their eyes lit up the moment they saw Gu Xiqiao. “Uncle Jiang, Auntie Shu, Brother Jiang and,” There was a brief pause when he turned towards Gu Xiqiao, before he continued in a more laid-back tone. “You’ve… come, Qiao Qiao.”

Yin Shaoyuan’s sudden change in tone invited Jiang Shuxuan’s attention. He was about to ask her about something when he abruptly changed the topic. It was at that point that he would wear an odd expression when looking at Gu Xiqiao.

It wasn’t just him that reacted this way. Of those who came over, they would first start with greeting Jiang Han, the man of the family, before shifting their attention over to Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan. More specifically, their eyes were on that shining bright ring she was wearing. It was as if someone had sewn their mouths shut the moment their eyes came across this ring.

Ever since their return, news of their marriage spread like wildfire around the ancient martial arts world. Yin Shaoyuan was initially skeptical about it, until he received the phone call from Tang Yanling.

“They’re here,” Gu Xiqiao murmured under her breath. The gaze she was getting from the crowd made her head throb in pain.

They did not doubt her words as they instinctively looked up at the sky.

Almost a minute later, a rumbling noise reached their ears. There were specially constructed runways at the edge of the martial arts world, where flying boats usually landed but it wasn’t unheard of for private jets to land here too.

The moment Tang Yanling and Yin Jinian got off the plane was when everybody’s emotions were at an all-time high.

It has been a couple of months since they last saw each other. The news Tang Yanling had been getting back in N City made her fairly anxious about their safety. She scanned through the crowd and finally located him. Visibly surprised, she called out to Yin Shaoyuan, “Shaoyuan? You’re here with them too?”

“…”

Yin Shaoyuan was not amused. ‘That’s enough. I already know that I’m adopted, you don’t have to remind me of that fact constantly.’

Gu Xiqiao didn’t mind that Tang Yanling was staring at her from head-to-toe. Her expression was relaxed and there was a bright smile on her face.

Jiang Shuxuan wasn’t very close to Tang Yanling but seeing Gu Xiqiao react like that made him loosen up quite a bit too. However, he was slightly peeved at the sight of Tang Yanling holding onto Gu Xiqiao’s hand, unwilling to let go. Acting as if he wasn’t annoyed by that, he said to her, “Auntie, the patriarch of the Tang family is here too.”

As he had expected, Tang Yanling stopped gripping Gu Xiqiao’s hand and turned towards the silent Yin Jinian standing next to her, and then moving on to Tang Wenbo.

Tang Wenbo cleared his throat. “Now that you have returned, we’ll head back to the family first. Many negotiations still need to be done in regards to the marriage.”

Jiang Shuxuan intertwined his fingers with Gu Xiqiao’s as he peered down at her ring. His facial expression at that moment was calm and gentle. Without haste in his voice, he replied, “No, there isn’t. We’ll finish the negotiations in three days.”

He had always maintained a grandiose presence in the ancient martial arts world. Tang Wenbo did little to nothing in protest to his statement. However, there was still a hint of reluctance in his response.

It wasn’t just him that was reluctant, but Shu Chen too was slightly puzzled by her son’s statement. “Shuxuan, why the hurry?”

She shared the same thought as the Tang family in relation to Jiang Shuxuan’s marriage with Gu Xiqiao. Much thought and effort must be put into the planning part of the event in order for the end result to be as majestic and awe-inspiring as possible. Three days was too little for that to be possible.

“Do not be hasty, we should instead—” Jiang Shuxuan raised his head abruptly, revealing that the warm expression they saw on his face had now faded away. “We don’t have that much time.”

Don’t have that much time? Tang Yanling, who was about to speak up, turned towards Jiang Shuxuan as her mouth moved as if she was about to say something.

Gu Xiqiao laughed. From what Jiang Shuxuan was saying, she more or less understood what was going through his mind at the moment. Calmly, she helped ease the tension in the atmosphere. “We will be heading towards Delxun Forest in three days’ time. After that, there’s no guarantee as to what would happen afterward.”

Because of this uncertainty, no one knew if they would regret this decision or not, which was why both of them wished to go through with this occasion as quickly as possible.

Jiang Shuxuan squeezed Gu Xiqiao’s palm when he heard her explanation.

If possible, he too, wished to meticulously plan their wedding and make the best possible arrangements for her. What a shame that they were running out of time. This thought made him squeeze her hand even more tightly.

The crowd went silent as they were given some time to process her words. They were running out of time. Although the way they said that was relatively tepid, they understood pretty well how much weight it carried. It felt to every single one of them as if someone had picked up a large boulder and crushed their hearts with it.

This especially affected Tang Yanling. She bowed her head in silence for a while before raising her head and forcing a smile. “No worries, we’ll do the best we can in this coming three days!”

Shu Chen and the rest nodded in unison.

Yin Shaoyuan however, noticed the redness in his mother’s eyes.

That afternoon, the two families joined resources and started their work for the occasion. Halfway through the discussion, Baili Bin and Baili Qu had dropped by. The two of them did not contribute to the project, but instead, stood at the side, listening to their plans as they went along.

Now that the planning was complete, Gu Xiqiao wanted to leave with Tang Yanling.

When both of them exited the Jiang family mansion, they saw Baili Wenxi standing outside the compound. Tang Yanling nodded at her as a form of greeting before looking elsewhere.

Gu Xiqiao, who walked next to her, chose to ignore her. However, she remembered how disgusted Jiang Shuxuan’s face was when he first stepped out of the compound, which made her want to laugh out loud.

“Jinian and my dad will return to the Tang family first. I’m guessing now should be the time when everyone is present there. We should head back soon.” Tang Yanling glanced at Gu Xiqiao and let out a laugh, followed by a sigh. She had barely gotten the chance to spoil her daughter and she’s marrying into another family already.

She held Gu Xiqiao’s hand the entire journey back to the Tang family.

***

Yin Jinian had already gone back with Tang Wenbo.

He was just a regular human, which was why he acted with caution around Tang Wenbo. After all, Tang Wenbo had always had a bone to pick with him.

It was already blood-boiling enough to see a daughter, whom he had raised personally with care and affection marry a regular human but to live in such a faraway place, and to stay there for over two decades without returning? How could he possibly not be bitter about this?!

Even with his ties to Gu Xiqiao, Tang Wenbo still despised Yin Jinian. Recalling how his daughter had rebelled against him for the sake of this man—oh how much it pissed him off! Thank god Tang Yanling wasn’t here at the moment. Tang Wenbo grunted in dissatisfaction. “You stand outside. I’ll go in and inform the elders about your presence first, else you’d have to face their unending wrath.”

Yin Jinian responded hastily out of pressure. Adrenaline and fear were coursing through his veins. Tang Wenbo’s stubbornness to accept him was partly the source of his mental suffering. There had been multiple occasions in the past where he had sent gifts to their family during festivities but was rejected and returned by Tang Wenbo.

It was only in recent years that they had started to accept him. He thought that the torment still had to go on for a couple more years before they allowed him into their family. Who would’ve thought that such a day came early for him?

He knew that Gu Xiqiao was to thank for this. Due to his business, the news he heard of Gu Xiqiao came exclusively from Tang Yanling. He understood that she was now well-known throughout the ancient martial arts world, and to his surprise, she had earned the respect of the Tang family patriarch.

The thought of this made Yin Jinian smile to himself.

Back then, the reason why he and Tang Yanling accepted Gu Xiqiao as their daughter was partly because of how badly she was being treated by the Gu family. The other part of the reason was Yin Shaoyuan’s claim on Gu Xiqiao as his own little sister. The rest was because Tang Yanling had taken up a liking to Gu Xiqiao.

So, when they accepted her into their family, they weren’t under any impression that she’d go on to achieve such great feats, and within such a short time too. Even Yin Jinian found it hard to believe how quickly she was able to climb up the social ladder.

It felt almost like a dream to him.

“Yin Jinian?” The sudden voice that called out his name snapped Yin Jinian out of his reverie. He turned around to find that it was a middle-aged man in a set of black clothes. There were also a couple of people behind that man, all of whom seemed to be fairly high-ranking within the Tang family hierarchy.

Yin Jinian raised his hand to greet them, in neither a humble nor overbearing manner.

The man looked at Yin Jinian with a sneer. “Have you forgotten who I am? Back when you were pursuing Tang Yanling, I was the person who threw you out of the Tang family.”

Yin Jinian’s memories flooded his mind when he heard of this. Instantly, he pursed his lips. No matter how he tried, it was futile to hide his identity as a regular human. Even if he was allowed back to the Tang family, he still felt his self-confidence wither away. That’s right, even Tang Yanling had no idea how inferior he felt when standing next to her family members!

“Tang Yanling back then was the most promising young girl our family had ever produced. Because of you, she chose to reject our family heritage. Do you know how much she has lost by choosing to stay with you?” So many years have passed and yet they still couldn’t get over that fact. “I truly cannot comprehend why she treats you with such great importance despite the fact that people like you are treated like garbage in the ancient martial arts world.”

The men behind him turned towards Yin Jinian when they were reminded of the past, of how the incident had rocked their family.

For a regular human being, a young prodigy of the Tang family was willing to forsake her future and run off into the secular world for over twenty years!

They scrutinized Yin Jinian from head-to-toe. Where’s the charm in him that managed to trap her? He’s merely a human being through and through!

Yin Jinian felt as if he had been struck by lightning. In the beginning, he knew that Tang Yanling was no simpleton but he was only dating under the impression that she was from a rich family. He was completely oblivious about how much she had sacrificed just to stay with him. Yin Jinian’s body trembled as his mind went blank.

The man in black saw Yin Jinian’s reaction and surprisingly, was even more pissed off. “Now that you’re back, you better study Miss Gu’s teachings well. As much as I hate to say this, you are a part of our family. So don’t tarnish our family name! The end is nigh, and I hope you at least have the strength to protect Tang Yanling!”

“Miss Gu?” Yin Jinian’s ears perked up when he heard the name. “Are you talking about Qiao Qiao?”

Qiao Qiao? The members of the Tang family knew that only a handful of people who were close enough with Gu Xiqiao were permitted to call her that. This fact naturally gained their attention. “Do you know Miss Gu as well?”

Yin Jinian’s mood improved when they started to talk about Gu Xiqiao. This probably was a disease he had caught from Tang Yanling. Momentarily, he had forgotten the abusive words thrown at him, and proudly, he told them, “Of course, for she’s my daughter!”

His daughter? The man in black was taken aback for a second before he started cackling.

Miss Gu was a saint-like figure in the ancient martial arts world. No one knew who she was, nor where she came from, and yet this person’s claiming that he’s her father?

Unacceptable! Preposterous! How could someone make such bold claims about their idol?

“Yin Jinian! Have you gone mad?!” The man in black grabbed Yin Jinian by the collar. “You’ve got balls, don’t you? Claiming someone like her as your daughter. Have you any idea who Miss Gu is? If she’s your daughter, then I’m her son!”

The man then flung Yin Jinian aside angrily. And he thought that Yin Jinian had already learned his lesson. Seems like he still needed a good beating! Hearing him disrespect their idol was infuriating.

Him flinging Yin Jinian onto the ground was a lesson he felt he ought to teach. He stood there, expecting to hear a heavy thud that never came, which surprised him.

The man in black then spun around to find that the man, who was supposed to be writhing in pain on the ground, was standing nearby. Next to him was a familiar skinny figure and a snow-white face so delicate that it seemed like it was carved from white jade. No doubt this person was Gu Xiqiao.

Gu Xiqiao shot them a glance before whispering something to Yin Jinian.

The man in black froze up. He turned towards the men behind him and asked, “Did I just attempt to throw Miss Gu’s father onto the ground and hurl insults at him?”