Lianshan Xin paid it no mind. "Mother, you've never spent time in the jianghu. How do you know all heroines have such fiery tempers?"
He Miaojun spoke frankly. "If you weren't my son, hearing the things you just said would have made even me want to beat you to death."
"Father, have you noticed Dai Yueying looks prettier than before?"
Noticing that He Miaojun seemed to have developed a rather negative opinion of him, Lianshan Xin prepared to drag his dear father down with him.
But Lianshan Jingcheng was a battle-tested veteran. He replied with a straight face, "I have no impression of how Dai Yueying looked before, so I can't tell if anything changed. But, my dear wife, your complexion looks far better today than yesterday."
Lianshan Xin was left speechless and could only give Lianshan Jingcheng a thumbs-up. "Father, you really are alert."
Lianshan Jingcheng raised his head proudly.
He Miaojun was amused by the father and son. After chuckling, she said to Lianshan Xin, "Dai Yueying came to the clinic to look for you once before, so I have some recollection. Indeed, she fell far short of how she looks now."
"So it wasn't my imagination." Lianshan Xin mused, "Mother, I know a girl changes eighteen times as she grows up, looking better each time, but could it really be this drastic?"
"Hard to say. Some people truly undergo a complete metamorphosis at this age, but for most, the change wouldn't be this great. This Dai Yueying... Husband, could she have some sort of special physique?"
He Miaojun looked at Lianshan Jingcheng.
Lianshan Jingcheng was highly skilled in medicine, and having been around him for years, both He Miaojun and Lianshan Xin had absorbed a fair bit of medical knowledge.
Consequently, they also knew that in this world, some people were gifted by heaven, born with physical constitutions unlike ordinary folk.
Lianshan Jingcheng pondered for a moment before giving an answer that surprised Lianshan Xin: "Most likely."
"Ah? Father, you're that certain?"
Lianshan Jingcheng glared at Lianshan Xin. "Your father is the Saintly Hand of Jiangzhou, someone who practices observation, auscultation, interrogation, and palpation. Are you doubting my eyesight?"
"A little bit, yeah."
Yesterday, Lianshan Xin had nearly been overawed by Lianshan Jingcheng, thinking his father was some top-tier miraculous physician. But mistaking the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus for a hundred-year one had taken his father's medical reputation down a notch in Xin's mind.
Lianshan Jingcheng grew even more displeased and decisively showed off: "With just a single glance at Dai Yueying from afar, I knew this woman possesses an innate charm physique. She is an unawakened enchantress—an ordinary man could never handle the blessing. Son, you were right to reject her. A woman like that isn't someone you can match."
Lianshan Xin's eyes lit up, and he immediately tattled, "Mother! Father dared to look at another woman right in front of you!"
Lianshan Jingcheng's heart gave a sudden thump.
*Damn it, the boy set a trap for me right here.*
"Madam, let me explain..."
"No need to explain. Husband, tell me more about this innate charm physique," He Miaojun said curiously.
Seeing that He Miaojun was only curious, Lianshan Jingcheng breathed a sigh of relief and explained, "It means exactly what it sounds like. People with this physique radiate a sultry, seductive charm down to their very bones. Typically, they possess enchanting looks and tantalizing figures. If they cultivate charm techniques, their martial arts progress advances by leaps and bounds. Judging by Dai Yueying, she likely possesses an internal charm physique that has yet to be awakened. Once her charm physique reaches full maturity, rivaling a Holy Maiden of the Demon Cult or the top courtesans of the two capitals would be child's play for her."
He Miaojun nodded in admiration. "Husband, you know so much. Did you encounter beauties with innate charm physiques back when you roamed the jianghu?"
Lianshan Jingcheng immediately adopted a solemn expression. "I learned all of this from medical manuals. As for roaming the jianghu, I was just like our son—as a boy, I dreamed of wandering the ends of the earth with a sword, but later gave up the idea because I was too weak."
"Father, that was you giving up. I'm still on the path of chasing my dreams."
Lianshan Xin firmly drew a line between himself and Lianshan Jingcheng.
Having come into this world for a lifetime, if he didn't experience the vastness of the jianghu and the heights of the imperial court, then... well, unless he had mountains of money.
Lianshan Xin didn't have mountains of money, and as far as he knew, mountains of money lay in the far corners of the jianghu and the high reaches of the court.
Thus, he had to see both places.
"Don't get too full of yourself either. Don't think that just because you got... that thing, you're invincible under heaven. Good luck and true strength are two different matters."
Lianshan Jingcheng had to admit his son's luck was off the charts. The Thousand-Year Snow Lotus he had spent twenty years searching for had actually been found by his own son.
Comparing oneself to others was infuriating enough to kill.
Fortunately, it was his own son.
Even so, he worried that Lianshan Xin's confidence would swell until he lost all sense of proportion.
"Father, luck is part of strength too. Don't worry, I know my current strength is lacking, which is why I plan to join Nine Heavens to latch onto a big backer. I'm just giving you both a heads-up in advance."
"Nine Heavens?"
Both Lianshan Jingcheng and He Miaojun looked visibly shaken.
Lianshan Xin hadn't explained this to them yesterday.
Only now did they learn that he had obtained the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus with the aid of Nine Heavens.
After that, both of their expressions darkened.
He Miaojun said in a heavy voice, "Little Xin, although I don't know much about Nine Heavens, as far as I'm aware, their reputation among the common folk is terrible. Both inside and outside the court, countless people would love nothing more than to see them eradicated."
Lianshan Xin nodded. "Mother, the rumors are all true."
"Then isn't it exceedingly dangerous?"
"Mother, think about it from another angle. So many people in the imperial court and the jianghu want to eradicate Nine Heavens, yet Nine Heavens has stood unshakable for a thousand years. Doesn't that prove just how powerful they are?"
Lianshan Xin's argument was well-reasoned, leaving He Miaojun unable to refute it.
So Lianshan Jingcheng stepped up. "Son, even if Nine Heavens can withstand external storms, wouldn't internal strife in an organization like that be fierce?"
"Undoubtedly," Lianshan Xin didn't deny it.
Constantly reassuring his parents that everything was fine served no purpose.
Lianshan Jingcheng was a renowned physician in Jiangzhou, and He Miaojun was an educated noblewoman who had fallen on hard times; they weren't ignorant fools. Furthermore, Lianshan Xin didn't believe he was doing anything shameful.
Therefore, being honest with his parents was the best approach.
"That's why your son found a major backer. Heavenly Sword, one of the Nine Heavens, thinks very highly of me."
"Why would Heavenly Sword think highly of you?"
"Chairman Qu, who lives next door, was harboring Demon Cult heretics. I reported him to Heavenly Sword. Caught red-handed with indisputable evidence, I performed a great service, so of course Heavenly Sword appreciates me."
"What?"
Lianshan Jingcheng and He Miaojun were shocked once more.
Lianshan Jingcheng even felt a lingering chill of fear. "Chairman Qu belongs to the Demon Cult?"
"Mm, hidden very deep. I only discovered it by chance. Father, you were quite lucky to come away unscathed from a Demon Cult fiend."
Cold sweat beaded on Lianshan Jingcheng's forehead. "Little Xin, you aren't lying to me?"
"Of course not. All the neighbors around here already know. It's just that you were brewing medicine for Mother all day yesterday and never left the house, so you missed the whole spectacle."
"Wait, how could Heavenly Sword possibly let you have the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus?"
He Miaojun caught the flaw in his story.
Lianshan Xin continued to tell the unvarnished truth. "Heavenly Sword doesn't know about the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. I embezzled it secretly. If it's ever discovered, I won't be able to escape retaliation from the Crown Prince. Mother, you wouldn't want to be left with no one to care for you in your old age and send you off to your grave, would you? So by all means, keep it an absolute secret."
He Miaojun: "..."
"Who else knows about this?" Lianshan Jingcheng grew nervous as well.
"Qi Shiyun, the young master of the Heaven's Chosen lineage in Nine Heavens. She said I have a talent for cultivating immortality and will recommend me to join the Heaven's Chosen lineage. However, I don't know the exact details of that lineage either, so I can't tell you two yet. In short, from now on, all three of us in this family are grasshoppers tied to the same string."
He Miaojun and Lianshan Jingcheng went completely numb together.
Their emotions were tangled beyond belief, neither of them knowing what expression to wear.
"What's done is done; treasonous acts have already been committed, and regretting it now is useless. Father, going forward, I'll be charging on the front lines, doing my utmost to climb through Nine Heavens. You take good care of Mother's health and keep the home front stable for me. Our family stays together as one. Either we go to the capital someday and have a dedicated page opened for us in the family genealogy, or you two will be dragged down with me and we'll all head to the Yellow Springs together."
Lianshan Xin gave a nonchalant shrug. "That's how things stand, and I had no intention of keeping you two in the dark. Now that I've said my piece, if you want to hit or scold me, come at me together."
Chapter 20