Lingxiao Pavilion was not only Yang Kai's sect — it was also Fourth Master Yang's sect. How could he not be concerned?
Yang Kai kept a grim expression and briefly recounted the various injustices that had occurred at the sect. Standing beside him, Yang Yingfeng's face grew increasingly dark with rage, his hair bristling with fury.
"But things are better now. Qiu Yimeng is helping to rebuild Lingxiao Pavilion, and the sect has already been placed under my name. Until the sect's reputation is officially restored, it's simply one of my properties!" The gloom between Yang Kai's brows gradually eased.
"Qiu Yimeng?" Yang Yingfeng and Dong Suzhu both stared at Yang Kai in astonishment. "That eldest Miss of the Qiu family?"
"Mm."
"Why would she help rebuild Lingxiao Pavilion? The sect was burned to the ground by her family's experts. That doesn't make sense." Yang Yingfeng frowned, utterly baffled, and slowly shook his head. "Is there some hidden reason behind this?"
"I helped her out a small favor. It was simply a reciprocal gesture — rebuilding Lingxiao Pavilion isn't exactly a big deal for her." Yang Kai said casually.
"You helped her out a small favor?" Fourth Master Yang's expression grew even more peculiar. He stared at Yang Kai with open disbelief, seemingly unable to imagine that during all these years away from home, his son had somehow become connected with the eldest Miss of the Qiu family.
Dong Suzhu, on the other hand, smiled sweetly, regarding Yang Kai with a knowing look. "Son, you're quite close with that girl?"
"Not exactly close, but not strangers either." Yang Kai nodded.
Dong Suzhu pursed her red lips thoughtfully, then giggled. "That girl from the Qiu family is quite the character. If she'd been born a man, she'd surely be the next head of the Qiu family. Son, work hard and win her over."
Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
He had absolutely no interest in Qiu Yimeng. There was no denying that this woman was attractive and well-connected — winning her favor would be a tremendous boost in the succession struggle. But Yang Kai instinctively recoiled from her.
She gave off an air of being too shrewd. Such calculating intelligence shouldn't reside in a young woman. Perhaps that was the tragedy of being born into a great family.
Cooperation was fine, but there could never be anything more between them.
"Restoring the sect's reputation..." Yang Yingfeng murmured softly. "Qiu Yimeng can't control the Qiu family, so she can't accomplish that."
If any one of the Eight Great Families of Zhongdu were to speak up and vouch for Lingxiao Pavilion, the stigma hanging over the sect could be removed without any reservations.
The label of an unorthodox sect wasn't really that big a deal.
The most important thing was that Lingxiao Pavilion had produced an Evil Master! That was the true reason the world feared and despised the sect.
"Any news from Grandmaster?" Yang Kai asked in a heavy voice.
Yang Yingfeng shook his head bitterly. "I've sent people to search everywhere, but after that battle, your Grandmaster and several of the sect's elders all vanished without a trace. There's simply nothing to go on."
He paused, then suddenly recalled something and asked with eager anticipation, "Did your Grandmaster really break through above the Shenyou Realm?"
When the Qiu family's experts had sent word back, Yang Yingfeng had received the news immediately. But it was, after all, only the Qiu family's people account — perhaps something they had fabricated to shirk responsibility. Fourth Master Yang didn't dare fully believe it.
Forget Yang Yingfeng — everyone else who had heard the news still harbored doubts even now!
How could a mere second-rate sect possibly produce such a super expert?
"He really did break through," Yang Kai confirmed with a firm nod.
Only after receiving Yang Kai's affirmation did Yang Yingfeng break into a grin, pacing back and forth across the study. Suddenly he stopped and slapped his thigh hard. "Good, good! I knew Master could definitely break through — I just didn't expect it to take so long!"
As he spoke, Fourth Master Yang's expression relaxed completely, as though a great weight had finally been lifted from his heart.
Back then, Ling Taixu had fallen into deep melancholy over the affairs of his two disciples, his heart tangled with unresolved feelings, wasting over a decade of precious time. Now that he had finally achieved a breakthrough, it must mean he had untied those knots. Naturally, Yang Yingfeng was overjoyed for him.
"Actually, Grandmaster benefited from a blessing in disguise." Yang Kai's eyes darted as a sudden idea came to him. "When the Evil Master emerged from Kunlong Gorge, he fought a fierce battle with the sect's experts. One elder was killed on the spot, and Grandmaster was gravely wounded."
"That unfilial wretch!" Yang Yingfeng couldn't help but roar in fury, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.
That Evil Master, if you traced the lineage, was technically Yang Yingfeng's martial brother — and yet he had committed the act of betraying his master, murdering his fellow disciples. Fourth Master Yang was naturally incensed.
"Someday, I'll make him kneel before Master and kowtow in apology!" Yang Yingfeng seethed for a moment before hastily asking, "What happened after that?"
"After that, Grandmaster was consumed by evil energy and his life was in imminent danger. It looked like nothing could save him, so I tried giving him something to eat."
"You gave him something?" Yang Yingfeng's eyes went wider than pigeon eggs, and Dong Suzhu clapped a hand over her mouth. The couple held their breath simultaneously, tension radiating from them.
"Mm, a medicinal liquid I'd mixed myself. I didn't expect it to actually work — not only did it pull Grandmaster back from the gates of death, it also helped expel the evil energy from his body." Yang Kai gritted his teeth and fabricated the story, delivering it with vivid conviction. "Once Grandmaster had fully recovered, he broke through."
"A medicinal liquid you mixed yourself?" Yang Yingfeng's face was stricken with lingering fear, gone completely pale.
Dong Suzhu patted her chest repeatedly with her small hand, silently thanking their lucky stars that nothing catastrophic had happened. Otherwise, the accusation of patricide wouldn't have fallen on the Evil Master's head — it would have been placed squarely on Yang Kai's shoulders.
If that were truly the case, wouldn't Fourth Brother be eaten alive by guilt?
Yang Kai sniffed and said, "Actually, I know a fair bit about medicinal herbs. I studied at Cloud Hidden Peak in the Medicine King Valley."