Beneath the fearful and stunned gazes of the city's populace looking skyward, the giant eagle's traveling palace crossed the grand array of the Imperial Capital without the slightest hindrance. Within a few breaths, it arrived over the Chancellor's Manor and touched down amid a howling gale.
Descending the array-patterned stairs, Xu Yuan was not greeted by the welcoming ceremony he had envisioned.
He had made such a commotion returning to the capital, yet he saw neither Lou Ji, Xu Changge, Hua Hong, nor any of the other high-ranking figures. Even his little fourth sister hadn't shown up, let alone his old man.
At the eagle's feet, only the Prime Minister's Manor's head steward and a few stewards from the Beast-Taming Directorate were waiting.
A brief pulse of his perception, however, brought him understanding.
Even an ordinary Transcendent's senses were exceptionally sharp, let alone an expert like him blessed with spiritual vision.
His return had been poorly timed; the manor's high-ranking leadership was all gathered at Moyin Pavilion for a meeting.
His old man hadn't been caught entirely unprepared, though. He had sent a message through the head steward telling Xu Yuan to wait for him in the inner courtyard study.
Xu Yuan felt a hint of regret at this.
Had it not been for his father's words, he most likely would have headed straight to Moyin Pavilion to see that lot of old fogeys who had looked down on him back when he was weak and young.
Not to show off,
but mainly because introducing his cultivation realm to each of them one by one was far too troublesome.
After giving the head steward instructions regarding the three from the Feng family and having him arrange guest courtyards for Su Jinxuan and the other girl, Xu Yuan returned to the inner courtyard alone.
The chest-bound princess and the Big Block of Ice had both entered the inner courtyard with his old man's express consent, but Su Jinxuan and Bai Muxi had yet to gain his approval, so it was best not to bring them inside for now.
Stepping back into the Prime Minister's Manor's inner courtyard, looking at the familiar paved paths and smelling the familiar scent of earth, Xu Yuan drew a deep breath and suddenly smiled faintly.
Everything in the inner courtyard was unchanged from when he had left.
For some reason,
just walking through it made him feel lighter, as if all his past burdens had vanished.
Before entering the inner courtyard, Xu Yuan had been mulling over the situation in Di'an.
Pondering why only Li Zhaoyuan's army was stationed outside the walls.
Reflecting on the Emperor's stance, as well as the sects' likely reactions.
Yet the moment he stepped into the inner courtyard, that immense pressure weighing heavily on his mind vanished into thin air.
It seemed
that sense of security upon coming home had nothing to do with cultivation.
Lost in thought, Xu Yuan flickered into the study's courtyard. The next instant, his lowered gaze caught sight of a delicate figure ambling around the corner of the courtyard gate, carrying a thick stack of translucent, gossamer-thin paper in her arms.
He froze for a moment and immediately looked up.
And then,
Xu Yuan found himself meeting a pair of lovely panda-like eyes.
Had this girl not gone to the meeting?
Sporting dark rings around her eyes, Xu Xinyao stared blankly at her older brother, who had seemingly spawned out of thin air not far away, for several breaths.
Only when Xu Yuan walked toward her did Xu Xinyao belatedly rub her eyes, tilting her head with a dazed voice:
"...Third Brother?"
"Yeah."
"Huh?"
"..."
Xu Yuan gently brushed aside the slender girl's bangs and placed his hand against her forehead, smiling with an odd expression:
"Just how many days have you gone without sleep?"
"Third Brother, you're back!"
Xu Xinyao gave a delayed start of surprise, her lovely eyes widening. Her arms loosened, and the translucent papers in her embrace fluttered downward in a shower.
Xu Yuan casually gathered them with Source Qi and flicked her forehead lightly with a bent finger:
"Always startling like a rabbit. What are these?"
Xu Xinyao clutched her head in pain, keeping her head low as she looked up at Xu Yuan, murmuring softly:
"These are the blueprints for the soul-storing ring... Did you forget, Third Brother...?"
Xu Yuan remembered that he indeed seemed to have invested in such a project back then. But looking at the stack of drawings in his hand, a full two fingers thick, he felt slightly surprised:
"All of it? This thick?"
"Without the materials, I had to use a restructured laminar flow structure to build it, but..."
"All right, all right, I wouldn't understand even if you explained."
Xu Yuan cut off the girl's technical spiel, taking the remaining half piece of Dragon Transformation Essence from his Sumeru ring and holding it out in his open palm.
Xu Xinyao blinked her lovely eyes:
"What's this? Xinyao has never seen this kind of material before..."
"Dragon Transformation Essence—"
*Swish—*
The Dragon Transformation Essence vanished in an instant.
After a brief silence, Xu Yuan felt rather amused.
Having not seen her in months, how had Little Fourth turned into a hamster?
Under his smiling gaze, Xu Xinyao blushed faintly. She smoothed back a few stray strands of hair by her temples and changed the subject:
"Third Brother... why didn't you say anything about coming back?"
Looking at the dark circles around her eyes, Xu Yuan curved his eyes with a smile:
"I think Father probably told you, but you weren't listening."
"Mm..."
Xu Xinyao guiltily looked away.
When drawing array patterns, she was indeed prone to ignoring the people and things around her.
Xu Yuan let out a soft snort, dusted the drawings in his hand, and asked with a smile:
"Since you're working so hard, how is the project I invested in coming along?"
Xu Xinyao lifted her left hand to pinch her right forearm, her gaze earnest:
"It's almost done."
"..."
Seeing Little Fourth's telltale tell for lying, Xu Yuan flicked her forehead once more, then smiled:
"Xinyao, I want the truth."
Having taken two successive finger-flicks from a Transcendent Realm expert, Xu Xinyao's delicate forehead was already flushed red. Lowering her gaze, she muttered:
"The... the same as when you left, Third Brother..."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan did not actually intend to blame her.
That was how research and development went—how could an immortal-grade nuclear bomb be easy to build?
A gentle breeze brushed the ends of her hair. Seeing the girl's guilty look actually made Xu Yuan feel a bit tenderhearted. He reached out, patted her drooping head, and said softly:
"It doesn't matter. Didn't I just bring back Dragon Transformation Essence for you?"
Hearing his tone, Xu Xinyao relaxed slightly. She peeked up at him cautiously and reported in a small voice:
"There's one more thing... Brother, all the silver you gave Xinyao is spent..."
"That's fine."
"And I bought over seven million taels on credit."
"That's fi—wait."
Xu Yuan's eyes widened in sudden fury. The hand gently caressing the girl's hair tightened slightly as he hoisted this little spendthrift right up in front of him:
"How much did you say you took on credit?!"
Xu Xinyao blinked pitifully, her voice faint as a mosquito:
"Se... over seven million..."
"..."
Xu Yuan lost it.
Over seven million—combined with what he had provided beforehand, it already exceeded ten million! Converted into currency from his past life, that was a staggering fifteen billion!
So much money, squandered in the blink of an eye?
And he was the one who had to pay it back!
Xu Yuan's breathing grew ragged, his gaze darting erratically around the courtyard.
Where was the whip Xu Changge used to beat him with back then?!
Discovering that even sweeping his spiritual vision across the entire inner courtyard turned up nothing, Xu Yuan gave a flick of his sleeve, and the fungal carpet directly transformed into a long whip.
At the sight, Xu Xinyao gasped in terror.
Growing up, she had witnessed her third brother get whipped plenty of times.
Yet thinking of all the silver she had burned through, the girl kept her head down and obediently stayed put, like a child who had done something wrong.
*Crack!*
Xu Yuan cracked the whip by the girl's feet, causing her delicate frame to shudder violently.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan said:
"Seven million. Seven lashes. Understand?"
"Mm... okay."
"Turn around."
"Oh..."
Clutching the hem of her clothes, Xu Xinyao obediently turned around, cooperatively tilting up her peach of a bottom beneath her skirt.
Xu Yuan fought to rein in his emotions.
At this moment, he suddenly understood why Xu Changge used to pause for a bit before beating him.
Furious as he was, he had to exercise restraint.
Otherwise, a single strike from him might turn her into dust.
Calming himself slightly, Xu Yuan slowly raised his hand.
*Crack!*
Following a crisp crack of the whip, Xu Xinyao's body shivered, but the anticipated pain never came.
Blinking in bewilderment, she felt a flash of joy.
*Did Third Brother soften his heart after all...?*
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than
the voice coming from her third brother behind her made her freeze:
"Xu Changge, let the fuck go! If you don't let go, I'll beat you together with her today!"
Chapter 707