章節 73: The City Lord's Young Master

A week later, Ye Zong was meeting with many leaders of Glory City in the Main Hall of the City Lord's Mansion.

There were a lot of important issues he needed to work out in the aftermath of the demon beast horde and the simultaneous Dark Guild attack because the casualties were huge, as well as the damage to important buildings from the bombs.

He needed to allocate the pensions for the families of of those who had died protecting the city, and organise the manpower of the builder associations on where to prioritise repairs first.

He lifted his right hand to his head and pressed gently on his temples at the staggering amount of things to follow up with, and he hadn't even started following up on the investigation on how the Sacred Family had not done their part in the defence of the Eastern walls.

This troublesome family had been lying low the past week in tense nervousness due to the Dark Guild's failure. Out of the seven experts captured alive, two of them had strong linkages to the Sacred Family but for the time being, Ye Zong decided not to take action until more substantial evidence could be built up.

A guard hastily rushed into the hall.

"City Lord, Young Master Ye Han seeks an audience."

The tightly knitted brows of Ye Zong relaxed slightly at the welcome distraction from his overwhelming duties. Lightly smiling, he said, "Oh? Xiao Han has returned? Bring him in!"

A smart and handsome looking young man walked in. He was wearing a white robe and his body stood proper and upright like a jade tree. His facial features were almost as though they had been sculptured, and he had sharp and manly jawline on his confident face. He had a tall pointed nose, clear brown eyes, and hair as black as obsidian.

Any girl that saw him wouldn't be able to hold back their ecstatic screams. What a handsome youth!

This was Ye Han, the adopted son of Ye Zong, and believed to be the next possible successor of the City Lord. He had always been at the center of attention in Glory City and when he reached thirteen years old, multiple powerful families sent people over to request marriage, but all had been rejected by Ye Han so far under the excuse of wanting to focus on cultivating.

Ye Han, on his part, did not let down everyone's expectations of him. He had reached 1-Star Gold Rank Demon Spiritualist at eighteen years old. This meant that before Ning'Er's group exploded in growth, Ye Han clearly had the most potential after Lord Ye Mo!

Thereafter, he followed an elder of the Snow Wind Family to train for two years and to gain exposure outside the city through life and death battles.

Ye Zong laughed happily at seeing his strapping adoptive son back home safe and sound. "Xiao Han, you're back. Where's Elder Ye Ming? He didn't come back with you?"

Ye Han cupped his hands, appearing very polite and said, "Elder Ye Ming found a secret location that he wanted to explore. That place was too dangerous for me so he let me return to Glory City first."

"Oh? So that's the case. It's truly good that you're back." Ye Zong walked out from his seat and patted Ye Han's shoulders. "Xiao Han has grown, you're looking more outstanding compared to the past. In these recent times, your cultivation did not fall behind right?"

"Father, I have reached 3-Star Gold Rank," Ye Han reported, in a gentle and light tone, seemingly holding an indifferent and humble attitude to what should have been considered the speed of a genius.

"3-Star Gold Rank? That's not bad, it has exceeded my expectations," Ye Zong laughed and said. His face dropped as he continued, "Unfortunately, we'll have to put aside a celebratory dinner for you because of the current situation. As you would have seen and heard, we're trying to pick up the pieces after a deadly demon beast invasion."

"It's OK, father, I understand. I haven't heard much yet because the moment I saw the damage, I rushed straight back here to see you. Can I ask, where is little sis Ziyun now?"

Ye Zong's face became a bit strained as he remembered his daughter was still in the hospital injured, then he took on an awkward expression as he also recalled that Nie Li and his daughter were now an item. Things had changed so much over the last few months that he had forgotten that Ye Han had not been around throughout.

"Ziyun...she's currently in the hospital, injured by demon beasts. Maybe you can visit your sister to cheer her up after this." Ye Zong emphasised the word 'sister' because he knew the feelings Ye Han had about his daughter.

Ye Han's face turned to deep concern as he heard about Ziyun. His face held a tender expression as he replied, "I'll visit her right after this...I've brought her a present with me to give to her which may cheer her up."

As Ye Han walked out of the hall, Ye Zong's shoulders drooped as he sighed heavily. He just realised that his adopted son had a lot of finding out to do about the rapidly changing situation in Glory City, and he hoped that there would be gracious understanding about why Ning'Er would be his next successor.

.....

Ye Han strode into the room that Ziyun lay in, his eyes imperceptibly frowning as he saw Nie Li at the bedside, holding on to his foster sister's hand.

Ye Han's gaze swept past Nie Li and landed on Ziyun. His eyes lit up when he realised that she was awake. Showing a warm smile on his face, he said, "Little sister Ziyun, it's been almost two years since we last saw each other. I was distressed to hear that you had gotten injured."

Ziyun smiled sincerely, "Big brother Ye Han, welcome home. It's good to see that you're safe from your adventures with Elder Ye Ming."

"Welcome home, Senior Ye Han. My name is Nie Li." Nie Li greeted nonchalantly.

Ye Han's eyes flashed with a hidden, momentary anger as he saw that Nie Li hadn't stopped holding Ziyun's hand.

"Little sister Ziyun, I brought you a gift from my long journey. I hope you like it." Ye Han retrieved a bracelet that's emitting a chilling blue luster from within his interspatial ring.

Nie Li and Ziyun looked at the bracelet and showed a tinge of surprise at it. It was a Frozen Jade Bracelet, made from a thousand year old Jade Ice, although its manufacturing method had long been lost during the Age of Darkness. There were only a handful of Frozen Jade Bracelets which were still in known existence.

This item had an extremely beneficial effect towards cultivation, especially for the Snow Wind constitution of Ziyun. It was able to reduce the amount of Qi deviation during training, and was also able to nurture the soul realm at all times it was word.

"Big brother Ye Han, I can't accept such gift," Ye Ziyun refused, shaking her head, as she tentatively glanced at Nie Li. Accepting the gift might cause issues due to the secret feelings Ye Han had for her, which she had sensed for awhile but had pretended not to know.

Ye Han was stunned on the spot. He didn't know whether to retract the hand that was holding onto the Frozen Jade Bracelet or not.

Suddenly, Nie Li stretched his hand out and took the Frozen Jade Bracelet. Breaking the awkward silence, he laughed and said, "Such a precious gift, I'm really embarrassed. I'll receive it on behalf of my Ziyun. Thanks a lot, Senior Ye Han!"

Ye Han felt the weight on his hand disappear when before he knew it, the bracelet was already gone. Nie Li's action was truly too fast, it was simply no different from snatching! His eyebrows couldn't help twitching a few times before settling down. 'Senior Ye Han? Where did you pop out from? Who the heck are you? Your Ziyun? Who is yours? This fellow is way too shameless!'

"This is..." Ye Han looked at Nie Li, standing up beside Ziyun resting on the bed.

Ziyun sighed helplessly, "He's my friend...he's my boyfriend. Big brother Ye Han, I haven't had a chance to properly introduce you to him yet. We've been together for awhile..." She frowned as she complained in her mind about Nie Li. He was simple too good at creating trouble now that she had opened her heart to him. She had yet to say she would accept the Frozen Jade Bracelet, and he had already accepted it on her behalf.

Ye Han was caught off-guard by her direct confession, and stood there awkwardly for a few long moments.

"Little sister Ziyun, please keep the bracelet. I brought it back specially for you. Please...get well soon." he stammered out before exiting out of the room. His eyes narrowed in anger as he wondered about whether he should teach Nie Li a lesson in the near future. The issue was that he curiously could not sense Nie Li's cultivation at all.

There was no way this kid that looked fourteen years old had a more advanced cultivation than himself, right? Nie Li must have a cultivation technique that masks his cultivation, or maybe even a special item that served this function. Ye Han smiled to himself as he pictured himself punching and breaking that smug face.

As Ye Han walked away, Ziyun turned to Nie Li. "Hey! Can you stop trying to make trouble? Remember what Ning'Er told us about Ye Han in the previous timeline. His jealousy and pride are easily triggered and he even tried to kill my father in spite, the person who had adopted him, loved him and believed in him."

Nie Li had a petulant expression, "I saw how he was looking at you. How can a brother and sister be together in the first place? What kind of messed up mind is in there? And anyway, if we're on guard against him, he'll have no chance to sneak an attack on us."

He put his hands together and began cracking his knuckles, "I hope he tries something. I'm ready to teach him a lesson for poisoning your father in the previous timeline..."

Ziyun sighed in mild exasperation. "Ning'Er told us she'd handle it. Let's update her when we have the chance so that no unforeseen events happen from you boys...fighting over me." She giggled in embarrassment as she said these words, partly in jest.

It was unlike her usual behaviour to be able to joke like this but her time spent with Ning'Er and their close group had started to give her more confidence.

Nie Li's face beamed in delight as he heard her attempt at humour. He was glad that his beloved was visibly starting to feel better and recover from her injuries battling against the Snow Wind Great Ape.