Chapter 143: The Yu Family of the Imperial Capital

After searching the entire space, no more Abyssal creatures were found. The grove of tangled trees at the end of the valley had been burned to ashes. Perhaps due to the lingering presence of that Abyssal creature, there were no high-level demonic beasts in the area, making it a sanctuary for the elderly, weak, and injured of the Yu family. With the Red Cloud Deer provided to Xiao Yihao and Mu Yuanyan, they were now able to come and go from this space at will.

After gifting a Red Cloud Deer King to her sworn sister and sending Night Five and his men on their way, Yu Youwei visited the space housing the Poison Crocodile Pool. She collected a pile of crocodile eggs for Night Five to take back and appease the Master of the Thousand Poison Palace, keeping his storage bag as payment for the transaction.

Once Night Five and his group had departed, Yu Youwei took the deer herd to sweep through the various array-protected spaces, gathering a large quantity of beast eggs and demonic beasts, while also harvesting many spiritual herbs along the way. However, she could not find Butcher Xiang or the Yu family members he had taken with him.

After handing the beasts and eggs over to Mu Yuanyan to take back, Yu Youwei ran to Ye Yinchen’s residence and brought out the herbs she had gathered. "Sister, teach me how to refine pills. I tried learning at the Ning family and was looked down upon."

Ye Yinchen was a master of the poisonous arts and an expert in alchemy. Yu Youwei had often assisted her in the past, but this was the first time she had taken the initiative to ask to learn alchemy herself. "Didn't you used to say that trying to do too much at once leads to poor results? What's this about learning alchemy today?" She smiled as she watched her sworn sister blush, then sighed internally for her son: this girl seemed determined to spend her life with the Ning family.

"A while ago, I was looked down upon while trying to learn alchemy at the Ning family," Yu Youwei said gloomily, not explaining that it was a little bear cub, not a member of the Ning family, who had dealt the blow to her confidence.

Ye Yinchen found this strange. "The Ning family's alchemy isn't even that advanced. With your cleverness, after watching me refine pills for so long, you should have picked it up by now. How could you be looked down upon by the Ning family?"

"Sigh! Maybe I just don't have the talent for it. Sister, I want to refine all these herbs into pills; you just need to guide me."

"If you want to learn, just buy the pills outside; it won't cost much. Why waste these precious medicinal materials?"

"Fine, so even you think I’m just wasting herbs by trying to refine them." Yu Youwei was deeply discouraged, her enthusiasm for alchemy extinguished once again. "Forget it, just do it for me when you have time, same as usual: half the finished pills for me, half for Little Five. I’ll come to collect them later; just do it when you're free, there's no rush."

After bidding a hurried farewell to her sworn sister, Yu Youwei returned to the tribesmen's encampment with a wounded heart. Her mood only improved when she saw everyone happily distributing the spoils she had spent all day gathering.

"Ninth Aunt, I have a beast pet! It’s so beautiful, thank you, Auntie!"

The little girl who had previously asked her for a Red Cloud Deer rushed over, tugging at Yu Youwei’s sleeve, laughing and shouting. Other children gathered around to express their gratitude as well. The adults looked at her with appreciative eyes. Even the eldest aunt, who had just lost her son, no longer kept a stern face; she stepped forward and said, "After the children have made their choices, what do you think about leaving the remaining pets for our clan members outside?"

"I was thinking the same thing, but I’m worried it might cause trouble if we just take them out," she said after a moment of reflection. "I believe my sister will be able to come here before long. When she does, we can have her take them. We'll let the Yu family members of the Sword Sect choose their pets first, then have her send the rest to the Imperial Capital. The outside world will assume she obtained them from the sect for the Yu family, which will also serve to signal to everyone that the Sword Sect supports the Yu family."

"Is Third Girl up to it? With her temperament..." The Eldest Madam did not finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

"Trust my sister. She is my father’s daughter, too; she will do her best to help the family. She isn't as weak and easy to bully as she once was," Yu Youwei said with a smile.

After chatting for a while longer, Yu Youwei left with the eldest aunt. The deer herd escorted them to the edge of the Cloud Desolation Marsh before turning back. They hiked out of the mountains, bought a carriage in a small town at the foot of the hills, and headed for the nearest city, Wushuang, intending to use the teleportation arrays. However, upon reaching Wushuang City, they learned that all teleportation arrays within the Qian Dynasty had been destroyed and were currently undergoing repairs.

Yu Ruoshuang needed to go to the Imperial Capital, while the eldest aunt needed to take her son’s ashes to the ancestral tombs in Dongling before meeting Yu Ruoshuang in Dongling Prefecture to guide her back to the Cloud Desolation Marsh. They parted ways in Wushuang City. The Eldest Madam continued by carriage, while Yu Youwei traveled by sword, finding quiet places in the wilderness to cultivate at night, racing toward the Imperial Capital under the stars.

A new residence had been built on the ruins of the Yu family estate in the Imperial Capital; the vermilion gates still smelled strongly of fresh paint. The guards outside were new recruits, standing in two straight lines beneath the eaves. The alley outside the gate was packed with vehicles bearing various insignias, all queuing up to deliver gifts. Yu Youwei finally managed to squeeze her way to the front.

The reconstruction of the Yu family was not surprising, and it was normal for old family friends to pay visits, but the sheer chaos of the traffic was somewhat eerie. Was the Qian Emperor playing some sort of trick? Yu Youwei couldn't help but speculate with worry as she kept walking toward the gate.

A guard stopped her and asked, "Do you have an invitation?"

"I am Yu Youwei; I don't need an invitation, do I?" Yu Youwei said, feeling a bit insecure. She doubted the older members of the Yu family even knew of her existence, let alone these guards, who clearly appeared to be new recruits.

To her surprise, the guard immediately bowed and saluted. "Ninth Miss, please come in."

"Eh? You don't need to verify that?" Yu Youwei was surprised.

"Your subordinate has met the Ninth Miss before, and the brothers at the gate have all seen you. Please forgive me for my momentary blindness," the guard respectfully explained.

"You are very thoughtful." Yu Youwei smiled, realizing that someone must have specifically arranged for the guards to recognize her. This time last year, she hadn't even stepped through the Yu family's gate, and now she was an important figure within it; it was quite amusing when she thought about it.

Bypassing the screen wall and following the tiled stone path along the central axis, Yu Youwei wandered all the way to the main hall of the Yu estate. Yu Shiyu and a group of young people walked over to meet her, some of whom looked quite familiar.

"Ninth Sister, you’ve finally returned!" Yu Shiyu said with a warm smile. The young people beside him greeted her as well, some calling her Ninth Sister and others Ninth Cousin, all with a sense of genuine warmth.

Since they were all Yu family members, Yu Youwei said directly, "Second Brother, I couldn't find the brothers that Butcher Xiang took with him."

Everyone laughed.

Yu Shiyu draped his arm over the shoulder of a brother beside him and laughed, "Ninth Sister, how forgetful you must be to not recognize them when you see them—they are all here, not a single one missing."

"Ah! I saw Ning Jinwen’s corpse and thought you had all met the same fate!" Yu Youwei said happily, a heavy stone finally lifting from her heart.

Yu Shiyu’s smile faded, and he said in a low voice, "Although Second Brother is very curious about how you convinced Butcher Xiang to help with this, it would be best for all of us to keep this matter buried deep in our hearts."