Chapter 515 - 255: Incompetent Son

Chapter 515: Chapter 255: Incompetent Son

"If... if I... hmm... were to find someone else in the future... Ke’Er... could you accept it?"

Lady Lan’s halting words exploded beside Ouyang Ke’s ears like a clap of thunder.

His body went rigid as if struck by lightning. He froze on the spot, his mind a complete blank.

’What?’

’Someone else?’

’My mother... is getting married?!’

This sudden revelation was completely beyond his comprehension.

Ouyang Ke had never imagined such a day would come, much less ever heard his mother express such a desire.

To him, his mother was his mother—no different than if she had given birth to him. That role, that relationship, was supposed to be eternal.

He instinctively rejected the very idea.

After a silence that lasted for a dozen breaths, Ouyang Ke slowly turned his stiff neck.

He stared blankly at his mother, his voice dry and laced with disbelief as he asked tentatively,

"You... you’re joking with me, aren’t you?"

’How could that be?’

’Why would Mother suddenly want to get married?’

’There must be some misunderstanding, or maybe I just heard her wrong.’

A pang of pain shot through Lady Lan’s heart as she met her adopted son’s shocked gaze, but she knew the topic could no longer be avoided.

In the end, she averted her eyes, unable to meet Ouyang Ke’s stare.

Her tacit admission was more powerful than any words.

’Better to get the pain over with quickly.’

’It was better to give him some time to prepare now than for it to happen suddenly later, which would cause him even greater shock and suspicion.’

When his mother didn’t deny it, nor showed any sign of joking, Ouyang Ke’s heart sank, growing colder and colder until it felt like ice.

’So... Mother wasn’t joking.’

’Her sudden offer to pass her title to me was just to pave the way for this!’

But after the initial shock and confusion, a deeper suspicion and worry began to surface.

Ouyang Ke forced himself to calm down. He stared intently at his mother and asked, enunciating each word,

"Why?"

’Isn’t Mother’s life in the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect good?’

’She’s the highly respected Sect Leader, and I’m her closest adopted son. There might be some conflicts within the sect, but for the most part, things are stable.’

’What could possibly have made her suddenly think of this?’

’Could it be... that there’s some hidden reason, something forcing her hand that I don’t know about?’

"Ke’Er, I... I have no choice. You... don’t blame me."

Lady Lan let out a soft, mournful sigh.

She knew how harsh these words must sound to Ke’Er, but she couldn’t reveal the whole secret of the Gu King.

"Who is it?"

Ouyang Ke’s gaze sharpened instantly. Deep in his eyes, a cold killing intent began to form like ice.

He had keenly picked up on the helplessness in his mother’s voice!

His immediate assumption was that his mother wasn’t doing this willingly.

But was being coerced or forced by some external power!

"No, Ke’Er, you’ve misunderstood!"

When Lady Lan saw his expression change and the murderous glint in his eyes, her heart tightened, and she quickly explained,

"No one is forcing me. It’s... it’s my own... I truly want this."

However, to Ouyang Ke, Lady Lan’s denial only sounded like a desperate attempt to cover up the truth—words spoken against her will under duress.

His mother’s evasive eyes and strained voice seemed to confirm his every suspicion.

"Who. Is. He?"

Ouyang Ke took a step forward. His voice was extremely low, yet it carried the force of gritted teeth, as if he wanted to tear the imagined culprit limb from limb.

Lady Lan once again fell into a suffocating silence.

Looking at the undisguised ferocity in her adopted son’s eyes, how could she dare to speak Chen Sheng’s name at this moment?

He and Chen Sheng were peers. Though not the closest of friends, they still addressed one another as brothers.

If she let him know that the person possibly coercing his mother...

...was actually the very Chen he spoke of so admiringly...

Lady Lan had no doubt that an enraged Ouyang Ke would immediately draw his sword, storm the man’s home, and not rest until one of them was dead.

"Mother!" ℴ

As his mother met his question with silence yet again, Ouyang Ke’s anxiety mounted, and his voice grew louder.

"Ke’Er, please calm down. It’s really not what you think..." Lady Lan tried to placate him, but she couldn’t find a more convincing argument.

"Tell me, who is he?!"

Ouyang Ke demanded, his gaze burning, refusing to back down an inch.

"In time, you will know."

Left with no other choice, Lady Lan could only offer a vague promise, trying to buy time.

But her words were like a bucket of ice water, completely extinguishing the last flicker of hope in Ouyang Ke’s heart that this was all a misunderstanding.

’Find out in time?’

’By then, it’ll be too late!’

’Mother won’t even say who he is. If she isn’t being threatened, what else could it be?’

After a moment of silence, Ouyang Ke suddenly raised his head and asked in a hoarse voice,

"If... if you don’t submit to this coercion, Mother... what... will happen?"

Hearing this, Lady Lan’s heart filled with a storm of emotions.

How could she tell him, "My path will be severed if I don’t comply"?

That would only further convince Ke’Er that she was facing a life-or-death threat from an outside force.

She could only evade the question and re-emphasize their relationship—a fact that sounded like a weak excuse to Ouyang Ke.

"Ke’Er, don’t be so radical. I am, after all... just your aunt. I..."

"You will always be my mother!"

Ouyang Ke cut her off, his voice sharp and resolute.

Before the words had even faded, Ouyang Ke spun around and stormed out of the study, his movements filled with suppressed fury and grim resolve.

’He couldn’t wait any longer!’

’He had to find a way to stop this!’

If his mother were willingly finding a good husband, he, though heartbroken and reluctant, might have been able to accept it after a long, long time.

But if she was being coerced, forced into this against her will...

He, Ouyang Ke, would risk his very life to never allow such a thing to happen!