A man spending decades out in the world, surrounded by all its charms — how could he never have made a mistake? Dong Suzhu knew exactly what Yang Kai was like. The reason she was making such a fuss was simply on Su Yan's behalf, and she had long since anticipated how Su Yan would respond.
It wasn't that she was being calculating. It was simply that as Yang Kai's mother, she had to put on this show of standing up for Su Yan.
Su Yan smiled faintly. "Although none of us sisters mind this sort of thing, Junior Brother, you should know that not just any woman can walk through the doors of the Yang family. She must come from a clean background and have a gentle temperament. Otherwise, if you bring someone home, it won't be a blessing you enjoy — it'll be trouble you bring upon yourself. Wouldn't you agree, Junior Brother?"
She suddenly put on the air of a big sister, which made Yang Kai rather uncomfortable. He hurriedly nodded. "Senior Sister is right."
Su Yan said, "Now that Father and Mother are here as well, why don't you tell us about the sisters from the Star Boundary? That way, Father and Mother can help you do some screening."
Dong Suzhu's face turned stern. "That's right. Whatever needs to be said, say it now. Don't you dare try to hide anything, or you'll regret it."
Yang Siye was glaring at him from the side too.
It was practically a full-blown tribunal.
Yang Kai felt the pressure like a mountain bearing down on him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and held up a finger. "Just one. Not as many as you're thinking."
"Just one?" All three of them stared in surprise.
That answer was beyond what anyone had expected. They had figured that after being away for so many years, Yang Kai had surely caught the attention of quite a few women. Who would have thought there was only one? It showed he had remarkable self-restraint — for a man to conduct himself that well while out in the world was truly rare.
Dong Suzhu said, "What sort of person? Tell us about her."
Yang Kai said, "She's not human."
"Not human?" Yang Siye's eyes lit up with interest. "Could she be a demon?"
Tsk, tsk, tsk — the boy had quite the taste! But then again, women of the demon race did have a certain exotic charm that human women couldn't quite match. He was almost envious! Damn the kid, living the dream.
"Not a demon either…"
Dong Suzhu frowned. "Neither human nor demon — could she be a plant spirit?" She slapped the armrest of her chair. Good heavens, how desperate could he get? Plant spirits could occasionally gain human form through sheer chance, but how could one possibly take such a creature as a partner? He might as well have just found some random demon girl.
"She's a dragon!" Yang Kai said through gritted teeth.
The room fell silent for several breaths. Dong Suzhu asked in disbelief, "What dragon?"
"A dragon — literally," Yang Kai explained. Seeing that they still hadn't quite grasped it, he went on. "The Star Boundary has the Dragon Clan — the foremost among the ancient sacred spirits from our old legends. Ah, I had a certain… incident with one of the dragon women, and then we…"
Both Dong Suzhu and Yang Siye sucked in a sharp breath, finally understanding what Yang Kai meant.
A dragon! Now that was truly the stuff of legends. Among the ancient sacred spirits, dragons and phoenixes stood supreme. But in the current Star Boundary, you'd never see such a powerful race — their majestic forms could only be glimpsed in old texts.
Their own son had actually won the heart of a dragon woman? They could barely believe it.
Dong Suzhu swallowed hard. "Does this dragon lady… does she have family?"
Yang Kai said, "The Dragon Clan in the Star Boundary has roughly twenty or so members. They all live on a place called Dragon Island."
"Twenty dragon kin!" Dong Suzhu was dazed. A single dragon was already beyond imagination — what kind of scene would it be to have over twenty gathered together? Her mind wasn't quite keeping up.
"You actually managed to come back alive." Yang Siye broke out in a cold sweat, looking Yang Kai up and down with astonishment.
He didn't know exactly what the Dragon Clan was like in the Star Boundary or what kind of standing they held, but it certainly wouldn't be low. They were likely one of the most powerful races there. For Yang Kai — a mere human — to have won over a dragon woman without getting beaten to death was nothing short of a miracle.
Yang Kai grinned. "I have some influence on Dragon Island." Strength was the right to speak.
Dong Suzhu was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke up. "Regardless of what your dragon woman is like, if she wants to enter the Yang family, she must acknowledge Su Yan as the mistress of the household."
Su Yan said, "Mother, among us sisters, there's no distinction of rank. We're all family."
Dong Suzhu shook her head. "It's not the same, it's not the same. She's a dragon woman — that has to be made clear to her beforehand." She turned to Yang Kai. "Do you understand?"
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. "Understood, understood."
"And what if she refuses?"
Yang Kai raised his fist. "Then I'll beat her until she agrees!"
Dong Suzhu smacked him across the back of the head. "So now you've taken to hitting women, have you?!"