Wu Long did not know why he had an impulse to tell this old story, maybe his emotional state was slightly affected as the deepest part of his being was dug out by his experiences in the past two months.
And the couple fleeing in hopes of better life appearing right at the moment he was reminiscing might have put him in a sentimental mood to do so.
He did not dwell on this, however, as he proceeded to cultivate in his room.
The next morning came, and then the next one after. Hua Ziyan did not mention the story, as if she never heard of it, but the eyes with which she now saw the couple changed. She was young, and impressionable, so the impact of the story instantly made her protective of them, wishing to shield them from such a cruel ending.
Of course, for her the story was fiction since there were no such events or lands in all of the three great continents.
Ye Ling was surprised when she was told that Wu Long wanted to take them along and help them, but she did not have any reason to oppose, so she just greeted them briefly and did not interact much after.
The couple recuperated, and Wu Long told them that there is no pressure to answer him immediately, as they would only move after a few days have passed since the rain stopped for the safest passage, and it has not even stopped yet.
But on the third day, when they recovered significantly, they appeared before him with resolute expressions on their faces.
"Thank you for saving us, and… although this is somewhat shameless, we would like to ask you to help us solve this once and for all as you proposed"
Xia Jung said while Lei Ding nodded, both of them bowing at the same time once he was finished.
Wu Long showed a kind smile when he looked at them standing with their hands linked, resolute and hopeful for the future.
He then nodded, "Good choice, you can go rest now. We will depart once the rain stops and it is safe to pass through the mountain pass, it is starting to lighten already so maybe in a few days"
Soon, the rainy days passed, and after the mountain pass opened up some more days later a massive flood of people from both sides moved along it from two small towns located on the two sides.
After close to two weeks of travel, the group finally arrived at the Imperial Capital, a massive city with an ancient history. It was recorded that this city was built on the ruins of a more ancient city that existed before the 'great calamity'. But the original ruins were basically some stone walls and columns, so the architecture was only ancient in regards to after the great calamity. The only exception was the massive and majestic city palace that remained relatively intact and was now renovated and occupied by the imperial family. It sat on a rocky hill in the center, overseeing the city from above, and could be seen from almost any part of the city.
The trip from the sect took them a month and a half. More or less the same as Ye Ling calculated, as she expected to be delayed at the mountain pass as it rains there extensively every end of summer and autumn. It only opens up for a few days and then it rains again, sometimes for weeks.
By the time they arrived, Wu Long made another breakthrough and finally reached the 9th level of the Body Transformation Realm. It took him nearly three months to get from the 3rd level to the 9th. It was an astonishing speed considering his poor innate talent and the quality of Spiritual Qi here.
However, what Wu Long found strange, was that the quality of Spiritual Qi started to almost imperceptibly slowly but certainly improve. He first thought that it was due to them moving to territories with better quality Spiritual Qi, but when they spent around a week before the Autumn Storm Mountain Pass he noticed that the improvement continued despite them staying at the same place.
Fractured worlds would indeed naturally recover to become linked to the Seven Boundless Worlds, but the speed should not be so fast that he could notice it, even if it seemed slow, if this pace continued for the past 10,000 years this world would have long since recovered.
The group split here, as the disciples went with the two elders, and Wu Long, Hua Ziyan and the couple of fugitives they picked up went with Ye Ling. Zheng Huang, whose existence was completely forgotten by Wu Long, was staring daggers at him, but could only follow the elders and disappear with them.
They went to one of the many inns in the city, as there were preparations to be made before arriving at the Ye Family Manor.
Wu Long and Hua Ziyan stood in the corridor in plain clothes, with Xie Jung and Lei Ding close by as they did not have to change clothes.
Though, in case of Hua Ziyan, plain was only in the meaning of not being Yin Yang Unity Palace disciple robes. Her dress was luxurious and adorned with many decorations. Its form accentuated her slim figure that was not as voluptuous as Ye Ling but was nonetheless mature and had forms, it exuded a certain charm. Her dark brown hair was freely falling with some flowery jewelry accentuating it. And her warm brown eyes were brimming with her youth and innocence.
They were waiting for Ye Ling since it took some time to remove her disguise. Hua Ziyan as the apprentice of the same master and one of the inner circle people knew about Ye Ling's circumstances, and had even seen her without the disguise.
When Ye Ling appeared, her appearance took Wu Long's breath away no matter how he prepared himself, as she looked exactly like he remembered her. The previously beautiful woman with a stunning figure turned into a goddess walking among mortals. Her face changed completely, not even resembling that of the disguise, and her figure became even more sensual in the chest and in the hips. She was wearing a blue dress with golden jewelry that had blue gems in it, all of it accentuating her now piercing bright blue eyes instead of plain black eyes she had earlier. Her raven black hair was in a complicated hairstyle with jewelry woven into it.
"Elder Liu…" he started, still keeping a formal etiquette, but she smiled and said,
"I am not in the status of the sect elder now, so you can call me Ye Ling"
"... Ye Ling, you look beautiful"
He smiled at her, with tenderness in his eyes that slightly overwhelmed her as she blushed and looked slightly to the side and down.
"Ahem… Shall we go?" she asked, after slightly clearing her throat.
When they approached the family manor the guards immediately recognized her, and gave way, simultaneously summoning a servant to lead them.
As Ye Ling was a direct descendant, they were escorted to her personal living quarters that was basically a separate area of the manor that had her house with a courtyard, several minor courtyards, a small garden, several buildings that were used as her study, martial arts training room, and so on. It even had a guest courtyard with 8 rooms on two sides where everyone except Ye Ling was to be lodging.
The manor was so large that it was essentially a small town, with many such separate areas for various branches of the family. Although a descendant of the family would live with their spouse and children in such an area, Ye Ling was the only one living here. Although she did not even live here anymore.
Just as they were settling in, a group of visitors arrived at the gateway that led to this whole area.
There was a gray-haired old man, as well as a couple who looked to be in their forties. The old man had the same eye color as Ye Ling, but the two who came with him did not.
"Greetings, grandfather, uncle, aunt. Please enter, let us talk while drinking some tea"
Ye Ling gracefully greeted them and gestured to the tea house not far from the gate. The three only coldly nodded and went past her with their chins raised high.
Once they were seated, her grandfather looked at her with a stern look.
"You still refuse to leave that shameful place and come home?"
"Grandfather, we have been on this before, and not once.
When my parents died without a son, I was living in this place in seclusion without a purpose, and would likely have continued to do so until I died, if Master had not traveled by and taken me in. There was no role for me to play and no use for me in this place anyway, what difference does it make?
Now, even more so, as uncle will inherit the family head position from you in just a week or so, and Ye Zhen, Ye Sen are going to be his inheritors"
Ye Ling said in a tranquil and respectful tone, as she had done many times in the past.
"It does not mean we will tolerate the noble Ye family's reputation to continue being tarnished by being associated with that damnable place!"
Her grandfather, Ye Lihai said with a zeal in his eyes.
"Ling'er, father is right. As a soon-to-be family head, I wish to uphold the family's dignity. And to do so, I have to ensure that when I ascend to that position, I remove all blemishes that might tarnish our house. That place… it is not suitable for a descendant of our noble name to be there."
Her uncle chimed in. He feared that the family name would be soiled in his generation, and he could not afford that.
"Listen to your uncle, we are only wishing for the best for you, Ling'er, we can promise you that you will never be neglected like that, you only need to return. I cannot even imagine what it must be like, to be surrounded by such filth. I hope you have kept your promise and kept your body pure, then we can even find you a good husband… it is just your cultivation has risen quite sharply…"
Her aunt had a fake friendly smile plastered all over her face, but even a complete fool could see through it. Her last words instantly sparked a reaction from the two men.
"You! I swear if you dared to…!"
"Ling'er, I hope you did not disgrace us"
Despite the humiliating remarks and indignation from her 'family', Ye Ling was tranquil, only slightly sad at the reality of their relations.
"I have not broken my promise in the past 10 years you have not seen me, same as the previous times we have met. In fact, as I do not conform to the sect's cultivation, I was stripped of the Prime Disciple position and occupy an Outer Court elder position now. And am not allowed to have higher status because of this limitation. My rise in cultivation is purely due to the high acceptability of Spiritual Qi like my mother had"
She said with dignity, not lowering herself while still answering the degrading question.
Father and son duo sighed with relief as her aunt only nodded with the same fake smile.
The conversation lasted for a few more hours, with about the same topic being the main focus while being mulled over and over again without end. When they failed after all this time, they left with frustration as Ye Ling remained on the spot with a hand on her forehead.
"Do you want me to help?"
Sometime later, a voice that surprised her but did not startle came from the door. She looked up with a tired look to see Wu Long standing in the door with crossed arms, leaning on the doorway.
"My head? It will be fine, I am just surprised how little changed around here"
She naturally assumed his intention and he did not correct her, only nodding after she was done speaking. However, this question was too vague to know for sure what he was referring to.
"I can make it go away now, just sit still and relax"
He made his way behind her and sat down, placing his hands on her shoulders. Like electric shock running through her she stiffened at the sensation of his hands touching her, but she then gradually relaxed, as she trusted him.
He gently kneaded her shoulder area up to her neck with both hands, pressing with his fingers and lightly applying pressure giving her a soothing feeling. There was no hint of inappropriate light in his eyes as he was looking at her with care, and the touches were purely relaxational.
If he wanted, he could make her feel pleasure, as his hands were the hands of the God of Pleasure, but he only made sure her headache went away and her body relaxed.
She felt strange, as she by no means knew him for long, but felt like she knew him for a lifetime. She let him touch her with surprising ease, a body no man except her father, when she was a child, has ever touched even a finger of. There was no fear of him taking advantage, and deep down in her heart, even some anticipation, but it went unnoticed by her conscious self.
She closed her eyes and reeled in the comfortable feeling, enjoying the sense of his touch. The headache she felt just before disappeared like a smoke in a windstorm, and her voice would somtimes involuntarily make a sound of comfort, making her blush.
As she relaxed, he changed his seat to beside her, and they sat in a tranquil atmosphere for some time, drinking tea and talking.