En route, Long Yi noticed that the security inside the Ximen Residence was much stricter. The defense in the sky had surrounded Ximen Residence in a tight encirclement. Even a mosquito would not be able to escape their eyes and ears.
The defense was probably so tight due to the growing intensity of the current situation. They were afraid that the slightest carelessness on their part would result in them wasting all of their previous efforts.
Long Yi knocked on the door of the study and gently pushed it open. He immediately saw Ximen Nu standing in front of the painting which was hung on the wall. Ximen Nu had his hands clasped behind his back as he stood there. That was the painting of a man wearing golden armor and he had a huge sword in his hand. The man emitted a mighty aura and he was the ancestor of the Ximen Clan, Ximen Jingfei.
“Come in.” Ximen Nu said without turning his head backwards. That straight back of his was still like a lofty mountain even after experiencing this storm. His tone was flat and it seemed as though there were no fluctuations in his emotions.
“Yes, father.” Long Yi replied. When he looked at the white hair on Ximen Nu’s head, he felt extremely bitter in his heart. Long Yi remembered that when he left two years ago, his father barely had any white hair growing on his head. Long Yi would never have thought that in an extremely short amount of time, his father would have aged so much.
“These past two years, you have done a good job.” Ximen Nu turned around. Although his expression was neutral, his eyes were shining with happiness. This son of his had truly not let him down.
Long Yi smiled he didn’t reply Ximen Nu. His eyes were fixed on that portrait Ximen Nu was looking at.
“The Long family usurping the empire was the greatest regret out ancestor had. I hope that us father and son can make up for the ancestor’s regret.” Ximen Nu sighed softly and said.
“Father, although it seems as though our Ximen Clan has the advantage at the moment, the Long family seems too calm.” When he thought about the intelligence report he read in the past few days, Long Yi frowned and cautioned his father.
“This is the calm before the storm. The moment the Proud Moon Empire is dealt with, the final decisive battle will begin. Of the two clans, the Long and the Ximen clan, only one will survive.” Ximen Nu walked to the back of his desk and he sat down.
Long Yi nodded his head. No matter who won or lost, the Violent Dragon Empire would face a huge cleansing. Both sides knew the consequences of not pulling out weeds from the root. The vassals of both clans knew that if they chose the wrong side, their clans would face destruction.
“Father, how is big brother?” Long Yi asked.
“Now, he is in the army headquarters doing light and easy jobs. As for Liu Shi, it has already been confirmed that that s*lt is the descendant of the previous dynasty’s imperial family. The dark force behind Long Zhan might also be connected to the previous dynasty. I truly had never thought that Long Zhan, who had always been clever throughout his life, would have gone senile. I can clearly see that those people are planning to reap the benefits by being an old fisherman.” Ximen Nu coldly snorted and said. Two years ago, after Long Yi left Soaring Dragon City, he had dispatched two groups of Skynet Intelligence agents to specifically analyze the language written in the script given to him by Mu Hanyan. That script was from the previous dynasty and he was finally able to dig out some clues.
Long Yi frowned and he instantly thought of Mu Hanyan. Could it be that she was also a surviving member of the previous dynasty? That didn’t seem quite right. The script from her hometown was the same as the mysterious script passed down in Holy City. It was completely different from the script used by the people from the previous dynasty. No matter how he thought about it, Long Yi couldn’t think of anything.
“Yu’er, after analyzing the intelligence reports, I am afraid that the dark force behind Long Zhan has already infiltrated into every part of the imperial clan. The current imperial clan is not much different from a puppet. It seems like our main opponent is the remnants of the previous dynasty.” Ximen Nu said in a heavy tone. Even if he failed to seize the empire, he absolutely could not allow the empire to fall back into the hands of the people from the previous dynasty.
Long Yi and Ximen Nu began to discuss and analyze the current situation happening inside Soaring Dragon City. Their discussion was extremely thorough and they covered everything. Unconsciously, the entire night passed while they were chatting, and when the first glimmer of light shone onto the land from the east, the stomach of these two was rumbling with hunger.
All of a sudden, a sound of knocking could be heard as it came from the door of the study. Dongfang Wan’s voice could be heard, “Lord, it’s me.”
The door was pushed open with a creak and Dongfang Wan walked into the room with several dishes and a bottle of wine. She chided the Ximen Nu as she jokingly complained, “Lord, Yu’er has just returned from a long journey… You pulled him over and chatted with him for the entire night. Did you not think about how tired Yu’er would be after his journey?”
“Mother, I am not made from flour. Even if I don’t sleep for ten days and ten nights, I will be completely fine.” Long Yi said with a smile.
“Don’t show off. Hurry up, sit down and eat something.” Dongfang Wan grumbled.
The father and son pair were indeed hungry. They picked up their chopsticks and they attacked the food as though they were wolves and tigers seeing their prey. As for Dongfang Wan, she sat at the side as she watched the son and father pair. Her heart was filled with happiness. In her heart, she didn’t want her husband and son to do anything great. As long as their entire family could sit together and have a meal together peacefully, she would be perfectly content. However, she knew that the Ximen Clan was at the point of no return.
Having drunk and eaten to his heart’s content, Long Yi patted his stomach with a satisfied expression. The food made by his mother was truly delicious. Suddenly, Long Yi thought of a matter and he opened his mouth. However, he swallowed his words all of a sudden.
“Yu’er, do you have something to say?” Ximen Nu asked in confusion when he saw Long Yi’s appearance.
“There…… There is. But this is a secret and I’ll only talk to mother about it.” Long Yi smiled and said.
“Secret?”
A smile suddenly bloomed on Dongfang Wan’s face. This proved that her position in her son’s heart was second to none.
Long Yi pulled Dongfang Wan to a room at the side before setting up a barrier. Seeing as Long Yi was so cautious, Dongfang Wan also became serious.
“Mother, can you tell me how father got involved with Wuhen’s mother?” Long Yi looked at Dongfang Wan and asked her with a serious expression. He knew that his mother was extremely petty when it came to love. In this aspect, one could say that she was very similar to his cousin, Dongfang Kexin. He wondered if all the women from the Dongfang Clan had an inborn possessiveness. However, unlike Dongfang Wan who had succeeded in keeping her husband from different women, Dongfang Kexin failed miserably. It was her bad luck to meet Long Yi, this super womanizer.
Sure enough, Dongfang Wan’s expression changed the moment Long Yi brought up the matter. She became a bit annoyed and she said, “Smelly brat, is this the mysterious secret you are talking about?”
“Mother, I have a reason to ask about this. Can you tell me, please?” Long Yi pulled Dongfang Wan’s hand and he asked.
Dongfang Wan looked at Long Yi with a suspicious gaze. She knew that her son wasn’t someone who would enjoy gossips. As such, she explained everything to him with some resentment in her voice, “Isn’t everything your father’s fault? At that time, when your father was drunk, he violated a maid who just started working here. As a result, Ximen Wuhen was born.”
“Mother, are you sure that that maid gave birth to Wuhen?” Long Yi asked.
Dongfang Wan frowned and she realized Long Yi’s point. She became serious and she answered Long Yi seriously, “When that woman was about to give birth, I was on the scene. Wuhen was also brought up in front of me. How could there be any mistakes?”
“Then, you are sure that Wuhen is……” Long Yi thought for a bit but he didn’t complete his sentence.
“Son, do you think that Wuhen isn’t a daughter from our Ximen Clan?” Dongfang Wan was intelligent and she instantly understood the meaning behind Long Yi’s words.
“Eh…… Yes……” One of the reasons why Long Yi returned this time was to understand Ximen Wuhen’s past. That was the reason he asked so many questions.
“Why would you say so? Do you have any proof? You cannot say anything you like…” The complexion of Dongfang Wan was already ghastly pale. If Ximen Wuhen really wasn’t a daughter from the Ximen Clan, that meant that someone had schemed against the Ximen Clan since a long time ago. That was truly absurd. If this matter was spread outside, the Ximen Clan would become a laughing stock and Ximen Nu would no longer have the face to meet other people.
Long Yi thought for a bit and he knew that since he had arrived at this point, he didn’t need to hide anything. His mother Dongfang Wan wasn’t a simple person. Long Yi was certain that she would be able to find some leads.
“Yes, I performed a test and I am one hundred percent sure that there is no blood relationship between me and Wuhen.” Long Yi frowned and said.
When he tested the relationship between himself and Wuhen in the past, he was shocked as well.
Dongfang Wan gritted her teeth and her eyes shone with pallid light. She absolutely believed that her son wouldn’t shoot an arrow without a target in mind. Since he said that Ximen Wuhen and her son didn’t have any blood relationship, Ximen Wuhen was definitely not a child from the Ximen Clan. Who had the guts to make the Ximen Clan a scapegoat?
“Could it be……” Dongfang Wan seemed to have recalled something and her beautiful face had huge changes and she unexpectedly trembled.
“What?” Long Yi asked.
The eyelid of Dongfang Wan trembled beyond her control as she said: “I remember that that maid was brought in by your grandfather and another woman. He said that he saw her on the road, and taking a pity on her, he brought her along to make her the personal maid of your father. Thinking about it now, it is somewhat fishy. That girl was an outstanding beauty, how could he find such beauty on the road?”
“Mother mean to say that this entire matter was arranged single-handedly by grandfather?” Long Yi asked.
“I don’t know, unfortunately, it has already been more than 20 years we have not heard from him, otherwise, we could have asked him.” Dongfang Wan shook her head and said but she was not able to shake off that indistinct doubt.
Long Yi suddenly recalled Aunt Ou of Mea Holy Magic Academy. At that time, she had said: As it turned out you are the kid of Ximen Clan, never thought that you have already gotten this big in the blink of an eye.
Didn’t this sentence mean that she had seen him during his childhood? Then, was she that woman together with his grandfather? She had once decisively said that Wuhen didn’t have any relation with Ximen Clan. His guess might not be wrong. Moreover, seeing that she cared so much about Wuhen, the relationship between her and Wuhen was certainly not simple.
“Yu’er, this matter you said to mother, forget it, and be sure to never tell your father, do you understand?” Dongfang Wan seriously said.
“I know, mother. You should know that your son, I am not a person that speaks carelessly.” Long Yi replied. It seemed only that Aunt Ou and his grandfather held the answer to this mystery.