CHAPTER 268: CHAPTER 263: HEROINE AND DEMONESS

When a girl marries, it’s not only the husband’s character that matters, but also the family she is marrying into. Ye Lingxian herself is an orphan, raised alongside her senior brother by their Master, who also served as their marriage witness. Therefore, Ye Lingxian had no worries about dealing with difficulties from her husband’s family.

But it’s different for her daughter. Her future in-laws are the renowned Chongjian Manor. Although they, as a couple, don’t fear the strength of the other party, if their daughter can’t get along with her in-laws, they surely can’t just go and fight them, can they?

The daughters of the Jianghu may not face as many constraints as court officials and commoners, but women undoubtedly end up at a disadvantage.

Now that Lin Shuanghua seems genuinely fond of her daughter, Ye Lingxian finally lets her guard down. With in-laws who are courteous and a husband who is considerate, she can rest easy about marrying her daughter off to them.

"Since it’s a rare occasion to be out of Medicine Valley, why not stay in Yunzhou City a bit longer, so that we as a couple can take good care of you," Lin Shuanghua said, holding Ye Lingxian’s hand.

Having said that, she looked at Ye Qiu and commented, "It’s because Qiu’er is so sensible that we’ve allowed you to remain secluded in Medicine Valley for ten years. Ordinary people would have grown unhappy with such a life long ago."

Ye Lingxian shook her head with a bemused smile: "How could that be? It’s this girl who pestered us to leave the Valley! This girl has been spoiled by us since she was little; Sister-in-law Lin, please don’t find her bothersome these next few days."

"I think Qiu’er is quite lovely, lively, and bright. Not like my own son, who spends all day with his sword practice and is utterly boring," Lin Shuanghua remarked, seemingly complaining but in reality boasting, yet without any intent to belittle Ye Qiu.

Although Ye Qiu’s martial arts might not be advanced, after all, she’s only ten years old. It’s very normal for children to be playful. And since entering the gates of Chongjian Manor, Ye Qiu has been acting very sensibly, not staring around at the splendor indiscriminately but appearing quite dignified.

This demeanor actually surprised Ye Chongtian and Ye Lingxian for a moment, but then they thought about it; after all, she is their child. Although Medicine Valley might not be as grand as Chongjian Manor, it’s still exquisite and beautiful, so there’s no reason for their daughter to be envious.

"Sister-in-law Lin is too kind, I actually prefer someone like Shaochen, steady and sensible, rather than my restless daughter," praised Ye Lingxian sincerely, as she truly approved of her future son-in-law, Yin Shaochen.

"That’s perfect then, your son will be my son, and your daughter will be my daughter in the future," Lin Shuanghua laughed heartily, leading Ye Lingxian into the backyard, intentionally letting the two children be by themselves.

Now Yin Shaochen is fifteen and Ye Qiu is ten. It’s impossible for two children to develop a romantic relationship just yet. The intention is for the pair, who were engaged as children, to get to know each other better.

"Sister Qiu, let me take you on a tour around the Manor," Yin Shaochen offered warmly to Ye Qiu.

He had always known he had a fiancée since he was a young boy and had imagined what she might be like, but upon seeing Ye Qiu still a child, Yin Shaochen instantly lost interest.

She’s just an unknowing little sister, thought Yin Shaochen. If only she were really his sister; she should be lively, adorable, and clever just like this.

"I will never marry you," declared Ye Qiu, shedding her polite facade as soon as the adults were gone, abruptly becoming impolite to Yin Shaochen.

Yin Shaochen was amused yet exasperated—what do kids know about marriage? He took Ye Qiu’s child-like demeanor in stride and didn’t take it to heart, placating her with, "Alright, alright, whatever you say."

"You promised this yourself, make sure not to forget to mention it to the adults." Ye Qiu hurriedly said, she definitely did not want to be chased by the Demoness of the Demon Sect in the future. Although she was not afraid, it would still be troublesome.

"Alright, I promise you." Yin Shaochen truly had no particular interest in Ye Qiu; the marriage had been arranged by their parents, and he thought that since it was the command of his parents and the matchmakers’ words, if Ye Qiu were to marry him in the future, he would definitely treat her well. However, if she truly did not wish to marry him, he could not force her.

Girls are always a bit more bashful, so he’d handle it when the time comes. But thinking about this matter now seemed premature. Yin Shaochen believed his own conditions were not bad, and if Ye Qiu was unwilling to marry him now, it might be because she was young and did not understand these things. What if she grew up and wanted to marry?

Therefore, Yin Shaochen decided that it would not be too late to wait a few more years to discuss this matter.

Ye Qiu hummed in her heart, you’ll probably be eager to clear relations with me when you meet your beloved Demoness from the Demon Sect in the future! I’m actually doing you a favor.

After clarifying this matter with Yin Shaochen, Ye Qiu truly began to explore Chongjian Manor wholeheartedly. With her secret thoughts, she memorized the layout of Chongjian Manor firmly in her mind.

"What is that place?" Ye Qiu pointed at a place guarded by many disciples.

Following Ye Qiu’s gaze, Yin Shaochen’s eyes focused for a moment before he regained his elegant and graceful demeanor: "Oh, that place? It’s where our Chongjian Manor manufactures important weapons. It’s mostly orders from major sects. My father doesn’t even allow me inside, it’s dirty and hot. Sister Ye Qiu, let’s go to the back mountain instead, the scenery there is beautiful, and there are a lot of fun little monkeys."

Kid stuff! Ye Qiu snorted coldly in her heart. The core weapons of major sects were either passed down from ancestors or crafted by reclusive weapon masters. The orders given to Chongjian Manor were only for ordinary weapons; would they require heavy guarding? It clearly indicates there’s something fishy!

Ye Qiu then recalled her previous life, the Demon Sect dwelled in the Western Regions, and when they launched an attack on the Central Plains, even if there were spies, the sects couldn’t be breached so quickly, unless they had access to the sects’ secrets.

And where could the secrets of the Demon Sect come from? The Chongjian Manor, already harboring malicious intentions towards the martial arts world, was very suspicious.

Ye Qiu made a note of the heavily guarded location and obediently followed Yin Shaochen to the back mountain.

It was no wonder that Chongjian Manor was considered the Taisan Beidou of the martial arts world, with a highly advantageous geographical location. The North Mountain of Yunzhou had a steep terrain, a rare place with beautiful scenery that was easy to defend and hard to attack.

For over a hundred years, Chongjian Manor had occupied this place, with sentries every five steps and guards every ten steps, maintaining an orderly environment. Any slight disturbance would quickly be noticed.

People from the world often joked that once inside Chongjian Manor, unless the Manor Master permitted, not even a sparrow could fly out. Ye Qiu deeply felt the truth of this today.

And the only place one could enter Chongjian Manor without being detected was the cliff at the back mountain. However, with the cliff’s smooth surface and its depth and height measuring ten thousand feet, who could possess such extraordinary Qinggong to climb up from there?

"Brother Shaochen, your home is so big!" It took a full Chen to barely make it to the back mountain, a testament to the vastness of Chongjian Manor.

Standing at the highest point of the back mountain, Ye Qiu looked over the entire Manor. As expected, the place they had just passed, heavily guarded by many disciples, was at the very center of the Manor and also very close to the Manor Master’s resting place.