Chapter 526 Getting the Tree Lotus

Ji Chang sighed deeply. “Many people think we tolerated them because of the expensive gifts they gave us all those years ago. But really, what were those gifts to us? My Ji Family has endured since the Primordial Era. While those things were nice, did we truly value them so highly?”

“Then why?” Ji Yuyan looked at her grandfather, her face full of suspicion.

Ji Chang sighed again. He fell silent for a long moment, a conflicted look flashing in his eyes, before he slowly said, “The Li Si who died today was the Saint Emperor’s own son!”

Qin Li didn’t have much of a reaction to this, as he had no idea who the Saint Emperor was. But Ji Yuyan’s face went pale with shock, her rosy complexion instantly turning ashen.

She cried out, “That… that’s impossible! The Saint Emperor’s son… how could he do such a thing? And how could the Saint Emperor allow him to enter the world? Aren’t the Saint Emperor’s clan all supposed to remain in seclusion?”

Ji Chang pointed to the tall Tree Lotuses outside with a wry smile. “Our Ji Family gives the Saint Emperor thirty percent of our Tree Lotus Fruit harvest every one hundred thousand years. But a hundred years ago, your parents developed a special potion that allowed the Tree Lotuses to flower and bear fruit in a very short time. A traitor in the family leaked this information, so the Saint Emperor sent someone to inquire. By then, all the Tree Lotus Fruits had been picked, and you had already consumed most of them. Naturally, we denied it.”

Ji Chang’s eyes grew profound as he gazed at the towering Tree Lotuses outside. He continued slowly, “But not long after, your aunt came to visit. We didn’t think anything of it at the time. It wasn’t until later, when your parents died suddenly and your aunt brought that man, Li Si, over, that we investigated. We found that Li Si had poisoned your parents, and we planned to kill their entire family to avenge them. Your mother’s family, while possessing some minor influence, was nothing compared to our Ji Family. Besides, they were the ones in the wrong to begin with. But when we were about to make our move, Li Si suddenly revealed his identity. Of course, we didn’t believe him, so we sent someone to the Saint Emperor to ask for clarification. Child, do you know what the Saint Emperor said?”

“The Saint Emperor admitted it?” Ji Yuyan’s face was a mask of disbelief.

Ji Chang shook his head helplessly. “Of course the Saint Emperor wouldn’t admit it. But he did say that Li Si was one of his juniors. ‘When the young ones like to cause trouble, the elders shouldn’t get involved…'”

At this, Ji Chang glanced at Qin Li before continuing, “Later, one of the Saint Emperor’s personal Guards came to our family in secret. He gave us a great number of treasures and told me that Li Si was one of the Saint Emperor’s illegitimate sons. Although his existence couldn’t be brought to light and the Saint Emperor didn’t particularly like him, he was still the Saint Emperor’s flesh and blood. The Saint Emperor couldn’t just stand by and watch his own child be killed… Yan’Er, now do you understand why we’ve tolerated them for so many years? You know, this is the first time I’ve come back to the Ji Family Valley since your parents died. My heart aches, too!”

Ji Yuyan sat there, her eyes vacant. After a long while, a desolate smile appeared on her face. “So by killing him today, I’ve brought immense trouble upon our family?”

Ji Chang smiled faintly. “My Ji Family’s power in this Land of Extreme Cold Ice and Snow is immense. If it really came to a fight, we wouldn’t necessarily be afraid of the Saint Emperor! What’s the worst that could happen? At most, we’ll hand over a scapegoat to appease the Saint Emperor’s anger and give him a way to save face. That should be enough!”

Ji Chang spoke as if it were a simple matter, but both Ji Yuyan and Qin Li knew it wouldn’t be that easy. At that moment, a question suddenly occurred to Qin Li. He asked, “Elder Ji, this junior has a question, though I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to ask.”

“Haha, young man, go ahead and ask.” Ji Chang seemed quite pleased with Qin Li and spoke with a smile.

“Since Uncle and Aunt developed the special potion to accelerate the Tree Lotus’s growth back then, has the formula been lost? Why doesn’t the Ji Family use it to cultivate a large number of experts? If you did, you naturally wouldn’t have to fear anyone!”

Hearing Qin Li refer to her parents as “Uncle and Aunt,” a blush rose on Ji Yuyan’s pretty face. Her gaze flickered away, and she didn’t dare to look at her grandfather.

Ji Chang sighed. “Back then, Yan’Er’s parents had only just developed that potion. They did have some manuscripts at the time, but after they died, all those manuscripts mysteriously vanished.”

“Could Li Si and his family have taken them?” Qin Li asked.

Ji Chang shook his head. “It’s possible, but the manuscript wasn’t complete. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have stayed here for a hundred years!”

As he spoke, Ji Chang glanced at the wooden box in Ji Yuyan’s hands. “He tried to stop you from taking this box today because he must have thought the rest of the manuscript was inside it!”

Ji Yuyan suddenly looked up, her clear eyes fixed on her grandfather. “Does Grandfather think so, too?”

Ji Chang shook his head. “Even if someone got their hands on that manuscript, it would be useless. The number of Plant Masters in this world is already minuscule. Without a Plant Master, it’s impossible to formulate that kind of potion. Besides, even if they waited here for another thousand years, they would never obtain the complete formula! Your father once told me that he only ever wrote down eighty percent of the manuscript for the special potion. The other twenty percent remained in his and your mother’s minds!”

Hearing this, Qin Li couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. ‘Ji Yuyan’s parents were certainly not simple people,’ he thought. ‘They probably didn’t write down the full manuscript precisely because they feared a situation like this.’

“I see,” Ji Yuyan murmured, then reached out and opened the foot-wide wooden box in her hands.

Inside, a dried lotus flower took up more than half the space in the box, lying there quietly. Beside it was a golden phoenix hairpin and a colorful wooden doll. Other than these items, the box was empty!

Seeing these things, Ji Yuyan’s expression instantly softened, as if she had suddenly returned to the carefree days of her childhood.

“A Tree Lotus?” Ji Chang’s eyes were sharp, and he identified the dried flower at a glance.

Ji Yuyan nodded, closed the box, and handed it to Qin Li, who casually put it into his Storage Ring. Ji Yuyan then said, “Grandfather, what will you do now? I never imagined my aunt was the Saint Emperor’s daughter-in-law. How do you plan to deal with them?”

Ji Chang said slowly, “That mother and daughter are no longer fit to live in this world! They saw what happened today. If we just find a random scapegoat, they won’t accept it. Yan’Er, what are your thoughts on this matter?”

“I…” Although her aunt had participated in her parents’ murder—or at the very least, was an accomplice who knew about it—Ji Yuyan still felt a pang of reluctance at the thought of killing them just like that.

Just then, Qin Li spoke softly, “Elder Ji is right to do so. After they are all dead, send their bodies directly to that Saint Emperor. Just say that the cause of death is the same as Yuyan’s parents’ back then, and that the Ji Family was unable to find anything and is powerless to investigate. Ask the Saint Emperor to help look into it.”

Ji Yuyan said, “But in that case, wouldn’t the Saint Emperor know at a glance that his son was poisoned? It’s their own family’s poison; wouldn’t they be able to recognize it?”

“Haha, so what if he recognizes it? Would he admit the poison belongs to his family? If he did, then the cause of your parents’ death back then…” Qin Li trailed off, saying no more.

Ji Yuyan froze for a moment, blinking. Then she said, “You’re right. Even if he knows the truth, he’ll have no choice but to accept it!”

At that moment, someone entered and whispered a few words in Ji Chang’s ear. Ji Chang nodded to show he understood and waved the person away.

Then he said, “The family of three has been dealt with. Yan’Er, your parents’ great revenge… has been achieved!”

Ji Yuyan nodded silently. Of the three who had died, two were her direct blood relatives. She had no feelings for Man, but her aunt was, after all, family. So, Ji Yuyan couldn’t say if she felt happy or sad. She looked up and said softly, “Grandfather, I want to go pay my respects to my parents.”

Ji Chang nodded. “Alright. I’ll go with you.”

Ji Yuyan’s parents were buried in a spot in the Ji Family Valley sheltered from the wind and facing the sun. A single tomb sat quietly beneath a thousand-meter-tall Tree Lotus.

Ji Yuyan knelt before her parents’ grave, silently weeping.

Ji Chang stood behind her, also silent. On one hand, his heart ached for his son. On the other, he couldn’t help but think: ‘If they hadn’t died, the Ji Family might have already surpassed the Saint Emperor and become the true hegemon of this frozen land!’

‘Unfortunately, the heavens do not grant all wishes!’

Qin Li stood there and silently bowed several times to the grave. He said in his heart, ‘Your revenge has been exacted, so you two elders can rest in peace in the netherworld. Yuyan is doing very well now, so you don’t need to worry.’

That day, Qin Li and Ji Yuyan did not leave immediately. At Ji Chang’s insistence, they stayed in the Ji Family Valley. That evening, many of the Ji Family’s upper echelons rushed over from all corners. Upon seeing Ji Yuyan, they all sighed with emotion, and a long-overdue reunion naturally followed.

Interestingly, all of these people treated Qin Li as the husband Ji Yuyan had found for herself. During the banquet, they relentlessly plied him with drinks, trying to get him drunk.

Because they couldn’t discern Qin Li’s cultivation level, they all assumed he was just an average young man. While their attitudes weren’t disrespectful, their words were a bit too casual.

Qin Li didn’t mind. He accepted all challenges, refusing no one. He didn’t even need to force the alcohol out of his body. He just had to neutralize it slightly with his Innate Purple Qi, and the alcohol he drank would naturally be converted into energy and stored.

Therefore, no amount of alcohol was a problem for Qin Li!

In the end, Qin Li’s magnanimity won the admiration of some of them. A middle-aged man whom Ji Yuyan called Seventh Uncle patted Qin Li on the shoulder with drowsy, drunken eyes and said, “Little brother, your strength… isn’t great, but that’s okay! It’s not important. As long as you have the heart, you can improve! The Ji Family… likes a son-in-law like you!”