"Actually, there is something I'd like to request, father-in-law." Yun Lei spoke in complete seriousness.
The fact that he himself had chosen to speak up without getting Yun Meili involved surprised the Governor.
"It is a rather preposterous request, father-in-law. I find it quite hard to bring this up but if I did not think it necessary, I would not bring it up at all."
The way Yun Lei had chosen to word it, made the Governor quite interested in this 'preposterous' request of his.
"Speak your mind, son-in-law. We are family, after all."
Yun Lei took a sip of wine before speaking. "I want access to the Cultivation and Battle Techniques."
The Governor's eyes went wide with shock. Yun Lei's request was nothing short of absurd. The Cultivation and Battle Techniques of a family were its lifeblood.
Although Yun Lei had been married into the Yun Family and had taken the Yun surname, it was a fact that he was an outsider. His loyalty to the Family was questionable at best. If he were to take this opportunity to steal those techniques, it would spell disaster for the Yun family.
"This..." Yun Wei was at a loss for words. Allowing him in the library had already been a very big concession on the Family's part.
"I thought son-in-law was a cri— was unable to cultivate."
"That is true, I am unable to cultivate." Yun Lei put down his cup as a melancholic look appeared on his face. He continued, "The flow of time is inevitable, father-in-law. And while it pains me to say this, a time will come when you must step down from your position. The one to succeed you will naturally be Yun Meili.
"When that happens, there will be many who will point their spears at her, just the way they point their spears at you. In fact, she might face far more spears than you ever have. We all know she is kind and just but that is not enough to stop those with evil intentions.
"When it comes to cultivation, there will be hardly any who can match her. However, cultivation alone is not enough to guard her and the Yun Family against all hidden dangers. If they cannot take her head-on, they will employ all sorts of cheap tactics.
"They will do anything to harm her, including harming those around her. Her husband, her family, no one will be safe. Her kindness and sense of justice will become an easily exploitable weakness.
"In order to fight back, she needs to be equally cunning and devious. She needs to have enough knowledge and the wisdom to use the knowledge she has. I think I do not need to tell you that you will never find your daughter sitting down with a book in hand.
"I am the opposite. I cannot fight head on but if I have the appropriate knowledge, I can have enough wisdom to guide her path. In order to fight an enemy, one must first know them. In this way, I will go from becoming her weakness to becoming her strength."
While he was talking, a maid had refilled his wine cup. He was already feeling quite tipsy but he finished the cup anyways before waving off the maid.
Yun Wei, on the other hand, couldn't stop his heart from palpating. He couldn't believe that he agreed with every word Yun Lei had spoken.
The Young Master lowered his voice till it was barely audible and spoke, "Out of respect for the great kindness the Grand Elder has shown me, I thought it best not to approach the third floor without discussing things with father-in-law first. Thus, I have kept myself within the first and the second floors. This conversation needed to be had at some point."
Yun Wei felt as though another bomb had been dropped on his head. The fact that there was a Blood Cleansing Realm Cultivator stationed at the library was an open secret. However, the details were only known to a few people.
In fact, the books regarding the cultivation and battle techniques being kept on the third floor of the library was a secret only he, the Patriarch and the Grand Elder should have known. There were speculations about it, yes, but Yun Lei had spoken with so much confidence that the Governor found himself a bit shaken.
"Agree to his request." A voice transmission arrived in the Governor's ears. It was the voice of the Grand Patriarch, his father. "This matter has already been discussed with the Grand Elder."
The tone of his father's voice left no room for discussion. While Yun Wei was the Patriarch, he still had to listen to his father, after all.
"Son-in-law's thinking is indeed far-reaching. I will inform the Grand Elder of your request. Feel free to go to the third floor."
Yun Wei couldn't help but feel bewilderment. His son-in-law had somehow earned the approval of both his father and the Grand Elder and he himself didn't even know how it had happened.
"Young Lady Yun, entering the dining hall." A servant announced, causing both the father and the husband to look towards the entrance.
Yun Meili was wearing pure white robes that day, just like her husband. Her snow-coloured hair was intricately decorated with beautiful flowers, her blue eyes sparkled brighter than any sapphire. Her flawless skin reflected light in a way that made her appear to glow.
"Father." She greeted him with a slight bow.
Yun Lei watched in stunned silence as his wife walked to the table and sat beside him.
"Ah, Mei'er. I was just discussing some things with my good son-in-law here."
"What do you think of him, then?" Yun Meili asked, leaving Yun Wei in a bit of an awkward position. Truly, she had a talent for making people uncomfortable.
"Don't mind her, father-in-law. She's a bit jealous that you spent so much time with her husband without her being there." Yun Lei acted as a mediator to break the awkward atmosphere that was beginning to form in the room. His joke caused the Governor to guffaw while Yun Meili quickly ducked her head down to hide her blush.
Now that his wife was beside him, Yun Lei no longer needed to wait and began eating. This act of his hadn't gone unnoticed by both the father and the daughter.
They had a pleasant dinner and talked about various matters around town. The Governor and Yun Lei were the ones talking mostly, Yun Meili was content with just watching them get along. And indeed, they had gotten along swimmingly.
Yun Wei was very powerful and had an equally lofty position yet there wasn't a shred of arrogance in the man. He was pleasant and easy to talk to.
Yun Lei had neither the strength nor the position to speak to the Governor as equals but the more they talked, the more Yun Wei had come to respect Yun Lei as a young man wise beyond his years.
As the night deepened, the dinner came to an end. Just as Yun Lei and Yun Meili were about to retire for the night, they began hearing several loud bells. A guard hurriedly arrived at the dining hall, out of breath.
"Governor, it's a tide!"
Sometimes, a large number of beasts attacked a settlement in what was known as a beast tide. There were several reasons for this, the most common being a lack of food during winter. To a small village, such a thing was a disastrous event.
Ether Cloud had been built in a valley, with lush mountains surrounding it on all sides. As such, hungry beasts resulting in a tide was a rarity.
"Calm down." The Governor told the guard before turning to his daughter and son-in-law. "It seems I must take my leave."
"I'm coming with you, father." Yun Meili said resolutely. The fact that she was one of the strongest fighters in the entire city couldn't be denied.
Yun Lei stood up from his seat, slightly stretching. "I've never seen a tide before. Doesn't seem like a bad time to see one."
The Governor knew there was no turning down either one of them so he had no choice but to let out a sigh and agree. If Yun Meili was coming, it was better for Yun Lei to come too. At least, he could use 'protect my son-in-law' as an excuse to keep her from the front line.
Of course, Yun Lei was already aware of what the Governor was thinking.
"Hmm, how accurate is this map?"
They were in the war room, discussing strategies to be used in the upcoming battle. The scouts had confirmed about 700 beasts and they would be arriving in roughly half an hour. There were 200 troops on their side that were combat-ready. The rest had been left to maintain order within the city and other duties they couldn't free themselves from.
"It was updated just a month ago." The Governor answered Yun Lei's question.
"We already know what kind of beast they are?"
"Savage Boars. Elementary beasts. Someone in the 3rd stage of Energy Sensing Realm can take one out without breaking a sweat."
The man to speak this time was the head of the City Guard and he would be leading the combat force in the front line. Of course, he had already recognised the son-in-law of the Yun Family so he spoke with a respectful tone. He did question what a cripple was doing in a war room but he didn't voice it.
Yun Lei had immediately come up with a plan to deal with the threat in his head but he felt a bit hesitant to speak. After all, the Governor and his wife might humour him but he had no right to ask the rest of the warriors to risk their life on his plan. He just found an empty chair and sat down.
However, when he heard how they planned to fight the tide, he couldn't help but frown. The first to notice this was Yun Meili since she was paying more attention to him than the meeting. Yun Wei noticed it not long after.
"Do you wish to say anything, son-in-law?"
"This is a defensive battle, if we let the tide get that close to the wall, the beasts will start fanning out. We lack the numerical advantage to contain this and the line will be stretched too thin."
Everyone in the room agreed that it was a logical conclusion to reach. The Head Guard was first to speak his mind.
"What the Young Master says is true. But that is precisely why we will let the beasts come to us. When they are busy attacking the walls, we will have an easier time finishing them off."
Yun Lei didn't have a problem with a plan. However, he did have a problem with what would happen after the execution.
This was, of course, because of the ominous words that Emperor had left behind.
A simple beast tide couldn't have amounted to something that could be referred to as a 'disaster', especially not to Ether Cloud. He had thought hard but he couldn't even speculate its nature. Thus, they had to be ready to face anything.
While that strategy would work just fine, sacrifices had to be made. Several battle capable guards might be injured or killed. Even the wall would be damaged in several places which would require time and resources to be fixed.
Whatever the disaster was, Ether Cloud would be left to face it in a weakened state.
Of course, he had a method of avoiding such an outcome entirely, it was just a matter of getting the others on board.