Chapter 97

"Alright, let's hurry up and leave. After all, we are quite close to the capital. If Wanyan Honglie were to chase us out, it would be truly unwise to expose our identities!"

Seeing Huang Rong squatting there, frowning and deep in thought, Qiu Chuji was unwilling to waste time here. He immediately said, "Miss... um... Miss Huang, right? Since you are a good friend of Jing'er, if there's nothing else, why don't you come with us?"

"Hmm... no, I have some matters to attend to with Brother Jing. We need to go to another place."

Huang Rong was unwilling to travel with these people. She then pulled on Guo Jing's arm and said, "Brother Jing, let's travel together, just the two of us?"

She emphasized the words "just the two of us" particularly heavily, clearly not intending to follow the group at all...

"Ah?" Guo Jing let out an awkward "ah," his face showing a hint of hesitation. He felt that if he could travel alone with this girl, it would be the greatest joy in the world. However, leaving like this would be disrespectful to his elders and the newly recognized brothers and sisters. For a moment, he was at a loss for words!

Su Yi smiled. With his current high level of internal martial arts, his mental cultivation had also greatly improved. As long as it didn't endanger his life, giving Guo Jing this naive boy some benefits would not be harmful. Therefore, he gently pulled Qiu Chuji's arm, which was slightly displeased, and said loudly, "Since that's the case, then Second Brother, you should go with Miss Huang. Just don't forget to meet us at the Yan Yu Lou in Jiaxing!"

"Ah, I'll remember." Guo Jing smiled awkwardly and was pulled away by Huang Rong.

Before leaving, Huang Rong smiled at Su Yi and said, "You're not as annoying as I thought... Well, since you're so sensible, I won't let my father deal with you."

Su Yi immediately wore a bitter smile, realizing that she had been thinking about having the Eastern Heretic take care of him! Truly the daughter of the Eastern Heretic, she was indeed quite evil!

Beside him, Ma Yu frowned and said, "Kang'er, why did you let Jing'er leave with this little girl? I don't think this girl is from a righteous sect! Jing'er is honest, and he shouldn't be taken advantage of!"

Su Yi laughed and said, "Uncle, as the saying goes, 'It's better to destroy ten temples than to break up a marriage.' Can't you see that this girl has taken a fancy to my Second Brother? How could she possibly bully him? Why should we be the ones to ruin their romantic moment and disturb their sweet time together?"

"Oh, I see!" Ma Yu suddenly realized, but his face showed a strange expression, as if he was regretful or guilty, which was quite peculiar!

What the heck. You're not thinking of betrothing Mu Nianci to Guo Jing right now, are you?

Seeing Ma Yu's strange expression about Guo Jing and Huang Rong being together, Su Yi immediately thought of this possibility and felt very unhappy. He couldn't help but think that this old Taoist, who seemed kind and gentle, was actually targeting him.

Seeing Su Yi's strange expression, Ma Yu couldn't help but cough a few times and said regretfully, "I was thinking of having Jing'er meet your father. After all, he can also be considered Jing'er's uncle. Now that he has survived by chance, he should meet him!"

This time, it was Su Yi's turn to look uncomfortable.

Beside him, Mu Nianci was overjoyed and asked, "Dare I ask, where is my father now?"

Ma Yu smiled and said, "They are going to Zhongnan Mountain with my junior brother Wang. They have only been gone for two hours. If we hurry, we might catch up with them!"

Beside him, Su Yi scratched his cheek with his little finger and said, "Why don't you catch up with them? I won't go. I have some other matters to attend to!"

Qiu Chuji immediately glared and said, "What could be more important than meeting your own father?"

Su Yi turned his head to the side and said, "I helped them reunite because my mother has always been sad. I have no intention of recognizing my father yet!"

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Although he knew he couldn't beat Su Yi, Qiu Chuji still rolled up his sleeves, seemingly ready to enforce the sect rules.

"That's exactly what I mean..." Su Yi frankly said, "I helped them reunite because my mother couldn't forget him. If my mother had forgotten who he was, even if I recognized him, I wouldn't pay him any attention and would treat him like a stranger..."

He then muttered softly, "To ask someone to call a stranger 'father' without any emotional foundation is really too much to ask!"

Qiu Chuji's face turned red with anger, and he pointed at the flustered Mu Nianci and said, "Then why did you so readily recognize this sister? If you don't recognize your father, you shouldn't recognize this sister either, right?"

Mu Nianci also said timidly, "Big Brother, I think what you're doing is wrong. After all, Father is your biological father. Even if you look down on him for being poor, you can't deny the relationship between you two!"

Su Yi said helplessly, "What's this about being poor or not? Nianci, you're underestimating me. If I were so greedy for wealth and honor, I would have gone back to the prince's mansion to find my prince father. Who knows, I might even become an emperor one day! It's just that... I don't want to call a stranger 'father.' No matter how closely related we are, he was a stranger to me yesterday, and now you want me to call him 'father'? Nianci, when you were young and your parents passed away, if I brought your father back to life now, could you call him 'father' with a clear conscience?"

Mu Nianci thought about it carefully and then frowned, "It seems... it seems I wouldn't be able to!"

"There you go..." Su Yi spread his hands and said, "I just don't want to call him 'father.' It's because I have too much integrity... You don't need to worry about me interfering in their relationship. I'm not against them being together, so why should you worry about me? They haven't seen each other for eighteen years, and they probably have a lot to talk about. They wouldn't be happy if someone suddenly joined them!"

"So, you go back if you need to. I won't go. I'm going to travel the world and broaden my horizons!"

"You're full of excuses!" Qiu Chuji glared at Su Yi but didn't say anything more. Su Yi's words sounded harsh at first, but upon careful thought, they made sense. This child has always been very measured, so there's no need to worry too much.

After all, he won't return to the Wanyan mansion. Qiu Chuji was most afraid that he would be unwilling to leave the mansion. Now that he doesn't even care about wealth and honor, what is there to worry about?

"Alright, if you don't want to go back, then don't. With your current martial arts skills, there are few in the world who can surpass you. Just be careful of the low-down tricks. The world is dangerous, and you must be cautious of hidden dangers. High martial arts skills alone won't guarantee safety!"

Qiu Chuji gave Su Yi a few detailed instructions, then patted his shoulder and said, "In any case, I trust your actions. Just remember not to bully the weak!"

"Yes, I will remember," Su Yi answered sincerely.

Mu Nianci took a few steps forward, looked at her big brother timidly, and said, "Big Brother, please be careful. I'll go with Daoist Qiu and Daoist Ma."

"Sure, be careful on your journey!" Su Yi reached into his pocket and pulled out a large stack of silver bills. He had long prepared for his escape from the mansion and had hidden a lot of gold and silver. This time, he handed over several hundred taels of silver!

"Take this money. When you see Mother, give it to her. They left in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare like I did. They probably don't have any money on them! As the saying goes, 'Money can take you anywhere, but without it, you can't move an inch.' Money is indeed indispensable."

Qiu Chuji coldly snorted. To him, these were all fallacies! But upon careful thought, it was indeed true, so he didn't say anything.

Mu Nianci, who was not shy with her big brother, took the silver bills, looked deeply at Su Yi, and said, "Big Brother, take care. I'll be on my way."

"Travel safely!"

...

Watching the backs of Mu Nianci, Qiu Chuji, and the others gradually disappear, Su Yi finally let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. (To be continued)