Chapter 1978: Reunion

The courtyard was small but laid out elegantly with various flowers and plants. Several types of flowers were blooming with the refreshing floral scents filling the air.

As soon as he stepped into the small courtyard, Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was fixed on a beautiful woman watering the flowers.

Zhang Ruochen’s face instantly brightened up with a smile.

He had purposely made Concubine Lin take some longevity elixir last time. So after so many years, by the look of her appearance, she had changed little, still young as ever, and in excellent health, with no illness or pain.

Standing beside Concubine Lin was a young woman with a slender figure, a soft appearance, and a pair of colorful wings on her back. She was no one else but Kong Xuan, the Peacock Halfling that Zhang Ruochen had spent a fortune and bought out from the Sky Moon House.

Kong Xuan had been staying beside Concubine Lin for all these years, taking care of Concubine Lin uncomplainingly.

One thing that surprised Zhang Ruochen was that Kong Xuan was now a Saint King. Although it was only a One-Step Saint Kinghood, it was already exceptional.

This proved that Zhang Ruochen teaching her The Peacock Scripture was an extremely wise decision. Nevertheless, The Peacock Scripture was incomplete. He had no idea what more she had learned.

When Kong Xuan turned her head around and saw Zhang Ruochen, excitement burst out across her face.

“Master—”

Zhang Ruochen quickly stopped Kong Xuan just as she was about to call him.

Zhang Ruochen walked with light steps beside Concubine Lin and silently watched her watering the flowers.

Just then, Concubine Lin turned around and finally discovered Zhang Ruochen.

The water pot slipped from her hand and dropped to the ground as Concubine Lin’s attention was entirely focused on Zhang Ruochen.

“Mother, I am back.” There was a gentle look in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes as he called out softly.

Concubine Lin looked excited, lunging forward to hug Zhang Ruochen. “You’re back, my son. I am not dreaming, right?”

She had constantly missed Zhang Ruochen all these years, often imagining Zhang Ruochen coming home. So, she was just afraid that this was a dream, that when she woke up, Zhang Ruochen would disappear.

Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel Concubine Lin’s love and longing for him. He could not help but hug Concubine Lin tightly. “Mother, you are not dreaming. This is real. I am back. I am sorry for making you worry about me.”

“It is all right as long as you have returned. We can finally be united as a family.” Concubine Lin was so emotional that tears flowed out of her eyes.

Zhang Shaochu came over and comforted her. “Mother, you should be happy that Ninth Brother is back. Why are you still crying?”

Concubine Lin quickly reached up to wipe away her tears. “You are right, I should be happy. I am just too happy. Come and sit inside. Go and make tea, Kong Xuan.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

As they entered the house and until they sat down, Concubine Lin had never let go of Zhang Ruochen’s hand. Even if this was just a dream, she wanted to stay with Zhang Ruochen for a little while longer.

“Wouldn’t you leave right away when you have just come back this time, would you?” Concubine Lin looked at Zhang Ruochen with a hopeful look.

Zhang Ruochen looked at Concubine Lin with a gentle smile. “Don’t worry, Mother. I am going to stay with you for a while this time.”

Concubine Fei felt a sense of great relief upon hearing that. “That’s good. That’s good.”

Not long after, Kong Xuan came back with a pot of tea and three teacups on a bronze tray.

Putting the tray on the table, Kong Xuan lifted the teapot, poured tea into the three teacups, and served them in front of Concubine Lin, Ruochen Zhang, and Zhang Shaochu.

“Thank you for taking care of my mother all these years, Kong Xuan,” said Zhang Ruochen with a smile.

Kong Xuan hurriedly shook her head. “Think nothing of it. It is my duty to do so.”

Back then, Zhang Ruochen had taken her from Sky Moon House and taught her The Peacock Scripture. She always remembered Zhang Ruochen for this and was willing to do whatever he asked of her to repay his kindness.

With a flick of his hand, Zhang Ruochen took out a colorful Saint robe and handed it to Kong Xuan. “This is for you. I still need you to take care of my mother in the future.”

“This is too expensive. Your servant can’t accept this,” Kong Xuan declined.

Concubine Lin reached out to take the robe and shoved it into Kong Xuan’s hands. “Take it. This is a gift from my son.”

Kong Xuan could not decline anymore and accepted the gift. “Thank you for the gift, Master.”

Zhang Ruochen smiled and nodded. He was a man of honor. Although Kong Xuan was a servant, he never regarded her as such. He could see Kong Xuan’s loyalty to Concubine Lin, and naturally, he wanted to express his gratitude to her.

After being separated for too long, Zhang Ruochen and Concubine Lin had too many things to confide in each other.

Before they knew it, the sky had darkened. It was nighttime.

While they chatted, Mu Lingxi, Zhang Yuxi, Drunkard, and Gu Songzi came into the small courtyard.

As Mu Lingxi waved his hand, a large round table appeared out of nowhere in the courtyard, full of wine and gourmet dishes.

“The meal is ready. Everyone, please come sit down,” called out Mu Lingxi with a smile.

Soon, everyone was seated. Even Kong Xuan was invited to join—Zhang Ruochen had insisted on it.

On earlier New Year’s Eve, Zhang Ruochen failed to come back. This was a belated reunion dinner.

Over the years, Zhang Ruochen had been in a tense mental state. He had not felt so at ease like this for a long time. Now he wanted to think about nothing but just get together with his family and friends, eating and chit-chatting like ordinary folks.

He honestly wanted to live a simple life like this. Unfortunately, he couldn’t. Sometimes, many things were not up to him. As much as he wanted to let go, he just could not do whatever he wanted.

As he came back to Lake Phoenix, dealing with the Mu Clan became inevitable.

In the past, Zhang Ruochen had led his men to attack Peakless Mountain and grabbed their bride, ruining the opportunity for the Mu Clan and Wutong Qiuyu to form a marriage alliance. That had caused great humiliation to the Mu Clan.

Hence, most of the Mu Clan members did not like Zhang Ruochen at all. They all pulled a sour face when they saw him coming.

The Mu Clan’s overall strength had risen sharply in the recent years after they returned to their ancestral land. As a result, they had become arrogant and despised Zhang Ruochen even more.

Of course, the primary reason was, they had been staying in the holy land of awakening near Lake Phoenix. Thus, they were unaware of what had happened in the outside world. They did not know the changes and incredible things that Zhang Ruochen had done in the Kunlun Realm.

“Zhang Ruochen, this is our ancestral land. You are not welcome here. You had better leave quickly,” said Yun Zheng with a bitter look on his face.

As Mu Lingxi’s father, he was most eager for Mu Lingxi to marry Wutong Qiuyu. Once Qiuyu grew to become the Realm Root, it would also benefit him greatly.

Yet, Zhang Ruochen had ruined everything, shattering his hopes and turning him into a laughing stock. He had held a grudge against Zhang Ruochen ever since.

“Don’t pretend to be somebody just because you are the Divine Envoy of Yueshen. We don’t buy it.”

“Exactly. We welcome all the Saints of the Guanghan Realm, but not you.”

“The traitor of the Kunlun Realm! How the heck do you still have the nerve to come back.”

“Perhaps he thinks that the Kunlun Realm will not survive without him.”

“He is so laughable. All the macroworlds have sent their cultivators into the Kunlun Realm to fight the Infernal Court. He is just an abbreviated piece of nothing.”

The Mu Clan members wantonly belittled Zhang Ruochen, wanting to expel him from Lake Phoenix.

In fact, if it were not for Mu Lingxi’s presence, they would have done that already and not waste time talking to him.

In their eyes, the Mu Clan could completely overpower Zhang Ruochen. They did not believe that his strength had grown to a point where he was beyond their control.

With the presence of the Mu Clan’s eldest patriarch in the hall, they felt especially emboldened.

The patriarch of the Mu Clan had been a powerful Saint King cultivator long before the Kunlun Realm recovered.

After the revival of the Kunlun Realm, his cultivation base had improved by leaps and bounds. Now, he had attained the rank of the Nine-Step Saint King and was expected to reach Precept Domain.

“Leave now, Zhang Ruochen. Don’t make a fool of yourself here,” said Mu Qingtian, the Sacred Lord of Mu Clan.

He had lost to Zhang Ruochen last time, so he disliked Zhang Ruochen the most.

The Mu Clan had three Saint King cultivators right then, and he was one of them.

The other two were Mu Xinghe, the Mu Clan patriarch, and Mu Lingxi.

As time went by, the Mu Clan would only give birth to more Saint Kings.

Mu Lingxi’s face darkened when she saw so many people from the Mu Clan singling Zhang Ruochen out. Had she known this would happen, she would not have brought Zhang Ruochen to meet the Mu Clan.

She was no longer the little Saintess of the sect who was at the mercy of others. She needed no one to tell her what to do.

“Enough! Don’t blame me for being rude if anyone dares to spew insults again,” Mu Lingxi shouted bitterly.

Yun Zheng slammed the armrest and got to his feet. “How dare you! Do you still treat me as your father?”

The gray-haired Mu Xinghe was sitting in the principal seat while looking down and exuding a majestic personal aura.

“Don’t you forget that you are also a disciple of the Mu Clan, Lingxi. It would be shameful of you to threaten your clan members just for the sake of an outsider,” said Mu Xinghe in a low voice.

Mu Lingxi did not budge and was about to retort.

Zhang Ruochen stepped out at that moment, reaching out his hand to stop Mu Lingxi. “Lingxi is my companion of cultivation. What’s wrong with me coming here to see her?”

“Nonsense! I absolutely will not allow this.” Yun Zheng became furious instantly.

Mu Xinghe stood up, exuding a terrifying aura, his stern eyes flashing as he looked at Zhang Ruochen directly in the eyes, like a beast staring at its prey.

“Who do you think you are to befriend the Saintess of our Mu Clan, Zhang Ruochen?”

Mu Xinghe was extremely bossy at this moment, wanting to intimidate Zhang Ruochen with his authority.

In his eyes, Zhang Ruochen was just a junior. As talented as Zhang Ruochen was, how far could Zhang Ruochen grow in such a short time?

He was a Nine-Step Saint King of the Greater Precept World, just a step away from reaching the Precept Domain. He was confident enough about subduing Zhang Ruochen with ease.

Zhang Ruochen looked calm amid Mu Xinghe’s bossy pressure.

Suddenly, a powerful aura burst out of Zhang Ruochen, like the eruption of a supervolcano that had been dormant for 10,000 years.

Mu Xinghe was forced back a few steps, horror filling his eyes.

Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had been low-key, and his personal aura had been completely restrained, so much so that Mu Xinghe had seriously underestimated Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation strength.

“What an aura!”

In the hall, the expressions of all the Mu Clan members changed.

What happened to make Zhang Ruochen so powerful? It’s impossible. When he first left the Kunlun Realm, his cultivation base was only in the Xuanhuang Realm. Yun Zheng was beyond shocked.