“Phew…I"ve it planned out, but it"s still killing me…”Bai Yunfei gave a long exhale as he eyed the people here in the hall. To rea.s.sure himself, he slapped his chest with a palm.
The pressure was overwhelming. It didn"t even begin here, but back in the Core World when he was surrounded by his fellow crafters. The pressure was only made worse now that he was in the hall of the Tang and listened to the elders speak. He didn"t even have the heart to speak up now, and the way he was being stared at only made it worse.
Luckily, Shen Pojun seemed to understand Bai Yunfei"s unease and asked permission for Tang Xinyun and Bai Yunfei to leave so Tang Xinyun could visit her mother.
Bai Yunfei felt as though he had just received a huge pardon. Gratefully, he and the others of his generation left the hall.
It wasn"t until they left the hall that Li Chengfeng spoke up, “Haha, that was some considerable amount of pressure back there.”
Tang Xinyun smiled, “Let"s visit my mother, it"s been far too long since I last saw her…”
In truth, she felt guilty whenever she thought about her mother.
“Let"s get going, then.”
“Sister! Brother Bai!!”
Suddenly, an ecstatic voice came calling out to them from the right. The owner of the voice must"ve been waiting for them outside the hall for quite some time.
“Tang Ming?” Bai Yunfei smiled, “It"s been a long time, look how tall you"ve got! Ah, you look like you"re close to becoming a Soul King already? Good good…”
The one coming toward them was Tang Xinyun"s little brother, Tang Ming. He had grown up to be quite the elegant man and slightly taller than Bai Yunfei. Though a Peak Late-stage Soul Exalt, he was not far from the realm of Soul Kings.
But the way he acted around them made Bai Yunfei feel like Tang Ming was still the same young kid from all those years ago. If anything, the look of respect he was getting from Tang Ming was far greater than before…
It was practically overflowing, the admiration. The "legends" that spoke of Bai Yunfei were something Tang Ming listened religiously almost, and the man was essentially an idol for him. Having Bai Yunfei as a "brother-in-law" filled him with the utmost pride and was quite often the topic of conversation among his friends, much to the envy of others.
“Haha, I"m not very slow, but it"s nothing compared to you, big brother Bai…” Tang Ming replied modestly.
He, of course, wanted to accompany them as they traveled to meet Tang Xinyun"s mother. As it just so happened, his own mother was currently with Tang Xinyun"s mother.
Tang Ming"s mother was the third wife of Tang Qianlei, Hua Yueying. Initially, the cold shoulder received by Tang Xinyun"s mother was due to Hua Yueying, hence why Tang Xinyun had a very bitter relations.h.i.+p with her. But over the years, the relations.h.i.+p between the two mothers improved to a considerable degree.
“Ah, little Ming, where is third brother? Why haven"t I seen him yet?” Tang Xinyun asked as they walked through the courtyards.
“Oh him? He"s outside training right now. He came back three months ago, so I think he"ll be back soon. He and Yan Lin are both Peak Late-stage Soul Kings! I think he told me he"s going to the Soulbeast Forest to try and breakthrough…” Tang Ming"s eyes lit up when he talked about his third brother, evidently, he admired him as well.
“He"s close to becoming a Soul Emperor?” Bai Yunfei murmured, “The Soulbeast Forest? He…must be going to the Tomb of the Emperor Beasts then? With his talent, I"m sure breaking through won"t be a problem…”
Tang Wei was a man of considerable talent. And with a soulbeast partner as powerful as Yan Lin, Bai Yunfei was sure that the two wouldn"t have any problems in the Tomb of the Emperor Beasts. As long as a Soul Emperor-leveled soulbeast was there to guide the way, there was no way Yan Lin wouldn"t breakthrough. And that by extension meant Tang Wei.
But if Tang Wei was somehow unable to enter the tomb, he should still gain enough benefits from their soul contract and breakthrough anyway.
……
By now, the group was getting close to where Tang Xinyun"s mother was. Bai Yunfei could already sense her aura getting closer to them as well. As they walked over the cobblestone road, the group saw another set of people walk toward them across a small bridge. Of the group, one of them on the left was most definitely Tang Xinyun"s mother.
Plenty had changed about the woman since their last meeting. Contrary to the pa.s.sage of time, the woman looked quite young. Without a poison taxing her body anymore, she was looking far healthier and more youthful. For soul cultivators, maintaining their youthful appearance was nothing but a minor problem.
By her side was another woman much younger than her. Her ovalish face had phoenix-shaped eyes, and even her walk had a graceful feel to it. It was Tang Ming"s mother, Hua Yueying.
“Mother!!”
Excited to see her mother, Tang Xinyun ran quickly across the pathway to run into the arms of her mother at long last.
Having been chatting with Hua Yueying about something, Chu Qingxue took a moment before she realized there were guests here. And when she noticed that Tang Xinyun was among those guests, her body began to quiver in excitement as well.
By the time Bai Yunfei reached the two, Tang Xinyun was already hugging her mother while Tang Ming walked up to his own mother to greet her. He bowed politely to the two but otherwise remained quiet so he wouldn"t disturb the reunion between mother and daughter.
It was then that Bai Yunfei noted someone was pulling at his sleeves. Turning his head, he realized it was Huangfu Rui. “Ah"Rui?” He whispered, confused by the strange expression on her face, “What"s wrong?”
She was staring at Hua Yueying, “Brother Yunfei,” She whispered back, “that person…is being controlled by Soul Puppetry!”
“What!?”
He could hardly prevent himself from exhaling sharply. Facing Huangfu Rui in earnest, he began to speak with her via the soul, “Say that again, Ah"Rui? Who"s being controlled by Soul Puppetry? Are you sure?”
He was deeply confused because Huangfu Rui was…still looking at Hua Yueying!
Though Bai Yunfei wanted to avoid a disturbance, Huangfu Rui didn"t think that far. She initially spoke quietly because she hadn"t been very sure of herself, but she was pointing now that she was more confident. “I"m not wrong, brother Yunfei, it"s her. I"m sure she"s being controlled, I"m getting the same feeling as with brother Zhiqiu"s father.”
With how she was pointing and how loudly she was speaking, Bai Yunfei couldn"t even stop the others from noticing even if he tried. Already, Tang Xinyun and her mother were listening in now and following where she was pointing in strange curiosity.
“What?”
The woman in question, Hua Yueying, had been smiling as she spoke with Tang Xinyun"s mother. She had been startled to see Bai Yunfei staring at her. But then she turned around, confused on whether or not it was her or the servant girl next to her that was being pointed at.
A silent breath of relief escaped from Bai Yunfei"s lips. It was at that moment that she realized Hua Yueying wasn"t the person Huangfu Rui was pointing at, it was the servant girl!
Things would seriously be trouble if it was Hua Yueying that was being controlled by Soul Puppetry!
At the sight of the middle-aged maid, Bai Yunfei casted a withering glare at her, causing her to immediately freeze in place with fear.
“What"s wrong…Yunfei?”
Haven"t not heard the exact details of what Huangfu Rui said, Tang Xinyun was confused by why Bai Yunfei was acting this way. Already, she, her mother, and Hua Yueying were starting to question what was going on.
“This person is being controlled by Soul Puppetry, she"s a puppet of the Soul Refining School.”
“What!?” Tang Xinyun"s hand flew to her mouth, shocked. “That"s…how could that be? Are you sure, Yunfei?”
“Huangfu Rui said it, so it must be true.”
“What are you talking about? Cui Ying can"t be a puppet of the Soul Refining School. It"s simply impossible…” Hua Yueying was becoming fl.u.s.tered now, “She"s been my maid ever since I was young. How could she possibly be with the Soul Refining School?”
“Please don"t panic, aunty Hua. I said she"s being controlled, not that she"s an insider. We can undo the Soul Puppetry. The method to do so won"t harm her even if she"s not a puppet.”
“Stil…” Hua Yueying still didn"t seem to believe Bai Yunfei"s words. Everything was happening far too fast for her to properly digest.
Feeling that he was getting nowhere with this conversation, Bai Yunfei took out a single pill. “This is a truth pill. Everything will be clear if we administer this to her and ask a few questions. No harm will be done to her.”
Soulscanning an "innocent" person, even if they were a Soul Puppet, was not something Bai Yunfei wanted to do. Therefore, a truth pill was an easier solution, especially on a Soul Sprite. There was no way such a person would be able to resist its effects.
As doubtful as Hua Yueying was, her fear of the Soul Refining School finally convinced her in the end. The recent horrors of Soul Puppetry wasn"t unknown to her, but she still found it incredibly hard to believe that her maid of over a dozen years would be one of those unfortunate victims. In the end, she relented to Bai Yunfei"s actions for the sake of knowing the truth.
And so the pill was administered to the maid. And once a few questions were asked, Bai Yunfei"s groups were alarmed to hear that…
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