Chapter Twenty-Seven: Seeking Not Immortality

“The woods are vast enough to house every kind of bird, it seems,” Yu Youwei murmured with a cold laugh. She had seen arrogant people before, but never someone so bold as this—he didn’t even bother to introduce himself, simply demanded to take her as a disciple. Who did he think he was?

“What do you mean?” Luo Changfeng’s expression darkened. Though Tianfeng Island was not as colossal as the Immortal Chen Sect, his title as its master was no less illustrious than Ye Qingyun, the sect leader of Immortal Chen. He had personally approached this girl, recognizing her talent and offering to take her as his disciple, yet she seemed unimpressed.

With a polite bow, Yu Youwei declined, “Thank you for your kind offer, senior, but my mother taught me that a woman’s duty is to care for her husband and children. I’m really not interested in becoming anyone’s disciple.”

Luo Changfeng, for all his pride and domineering nature, still admired talent and restrained himself enough to persuade her. “Do you not seek immortality? You have remarkable potential—it would be a shame to waste it.”

Yu Youwei, accustomed to her freedom and uninterested in binding herself to a master, found nothing appealing in Luo Changfeng’s attitude. She replied calmly, “Geniuses are born every year, yet how many survive?”

“Young lady, how can you be so lacking in ambition?” Luo Changfeng’s temper flared and he rebuked her loudly.

“Carefree and idle, I have nothing to do; in sunlight, I stroll with my husband. On the river under a broken cloud, the moon shines; in the sea, I set sail. Even if I cannot cultivate immortality, I live as freely as a god.” Yu Youwei recited in a languid tone, her eyes and brows exuding a spirited, unrestrained elegance and a boldness equal to any man, her demeanor matching Luo Changfeng’s in every way. Pausing, she let a subtle smirk curve her lips and asked, “May I ask, how many immortals are there, senior?”

Luo Changfeng was startled, his composure shaken.

Around them, the Ning family’s younger members exchanged complicated glances between Yu Youwei and Ning Mofei, the young couple. In the Eastern Continent’s cultivation world, few could compare to the Tianfeng Island master—whom they always treated with utmost respect. To receive a compliment from this mercurial elder was enough to brag about for ages, yet she had refused to become his disciple? If it were them, they’d seize the chance to escape Ning Mofei without hesitation!

Was it Ning Mofei who was foolish, or Yu Youwei? Many wondered.

At that moment, the Ning family patriarch barked, “Old Luo, if you keep pestering my great-grandson’s wife, don’t blame me for turning hostile!”

Yu Youwei looked at the old patriarch, half amused and half exasperated, thinking: Elder, could you please speak less ambiguously?

But Ning Guodong, the seventh lord of the Ning family, understood the old man’s temperament well. Knowing that if he still had the energy to spar verbally with Luo Changfeng, it meant Ning Baixia was not in mortal danger. Smiling broadly, he asked, “Grandfather, is Xia’er all right?”

“If you were struck by lightning, do you think you’d be all right?” The patriarch rolled his copper-bell eyes at his grandson and floated away carrying Ning Baixia.

“So what’s really going on with the third brother? Can’t the old man say something?” Ning Zhongwu grumbled.

“Get lost! Stop loitering in front of me!” Ning Guodong snapped irritably, then turned to Yu Youwei with a look of satisfaction. “You were clever, Youwei, and brought Mofei out in time. Otherwise, things could have turned much worse.”

Yu Youwei had barely figured out who was who, uncertain about the proper titles, so she joked, “Are you praising me for being quick to run away?”

“Just like him, truly like him. Youwei is even more like my brother Tianming than Rushuang was,” Ning Guodong said to his wife.

Yu Youwei immediately understood—the gentle, neighborly man beside her was her father-in-law, and the noble, somewhat ostentatious beauty at his side must be her mother-in-law, Lady Yu.

As Lady Yu wiped Ning Mofei’s face with a handkerchief, she smiled, “Yes, and it’s fortunate the Yu family sent her to marry in place of Rushuang. She’s even more attentive to Mofei than Rushuang would have been.”

Was this a reminder that she was merely a gray sparrow married in place of her elder sister, and being Ning Mofei’s wife was a great honor? Yu Youwei sneered inwardly, but feigned ignorance, her expression unchanged.

Ning Guodong frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

The eldest daughter-in-law, Lady Liu, hurried to change the subject. “Father, now that Qixia Residence has been destroyed, may the fourth brother and his wife temporarily settle in Silver Willow Hall?”

Yu Youwei realized this year truly was ill-fated. First, she was forced into marriage; then, attacked on the way to the wedding; hadn’t even finished her wedding night before Ning San’s tribulation struck, turning the bridal chamber to ashes.

“I don’t want to stay in Silver Willow Hall. I want to wait for Third Brother to wake up in Yongqing Hall. Youwei, let’s go.” Remembering his third brother, Ning Mofei nevertheless didn’t forget he now had a wife, naturally taking Yu Youwei’s hand.

Before anyone could respond, Luo Changfeng roared, “You may not leave!”

A flash of menace glinted in his deep eyes. Yu Youwei was secretly annoyed, considering whether she should find a chance to poison him—not to kill, but to make him suffer for ten days or so.

“Girl, your words have enlightened me. I feel my bottleneck about to break; I won’t linger any longer. Here, take this little token as thanks.” As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Changfeng vanished on the spot, his disciples following in pursuit. In Yu Youwei’s hand appeared a white jade ruyi scepter.

Under everyone’s gaze, Yu Youwei felt a bit embarrassed and stuffed the jade ruyi into Ning Mofei’s hand. “Return this thing to that crazy old man.”

“If the Island Master gave it to you, just keep it,” Ning Guodong replied with a gentle smile.

In the Ning family, the heads of each branch were ranked by their house, not by age. The Seventh Lord was the head of the seventh branch; the eldest lord was the current patriarch, and he and the Seventh Lord were true brothers. The previous Seventh Lord had no sons and adopted the eldest branch’s second son, so the two had always been close. Now he laughed, “You’re a lucky fourth daughter-in-law—just married to Mofei, his third brother has succeeded in crossing his tribulation to become the youngest golden core cultivator in the world, and the Island Master, after a few words with you, found inspiration for his own breakthrough.”

“Then as your eldest uncle, I’ll have to double the meeting gift for my niece-in-law. Who knows, perhaps she’ll give me a tip one day and help me break through too.” Ning Guodong laughed heartily.

Lady Yu scolded, “What kind of father-in-law are you, teasing your own daughter-in-law along with others?” She finished with a warning glance at Yu Youwei, displeased by her sudden prominence.

Yu Youwei felt truly wronged—trouble had sought her out, and all she’d said was that one needn’t be obsessed with cultivation, yet the old Luo had found inspiration for a breakthrough in that. If blame were to be assigned, it should fall to fate. The elders made her the butt of their jokes, and her mother-in-law took offense. Ah, since ancient times, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law have been natural enemies!

Unable to follow the conversation, Ning Mofei grasped his mother’s point and pouted, “Father’s bad, eldest uncle’s bad, talking bad about Youwei. I’ll tell Grandpa to beat you up.”

The second lord, never in harmony with the eldest branch, commented dryly, “Eldest brother, you’re overpraising Mofei’s wife. Baixia’s diligent cultivation led smoothly to today’s breakthrough; it was nothing but coincidence.”

“Yes, Xia’er trains ten hours a day—he deserved that breakthrough.” Lady Yu, always proud of her third son, was unwilling to concede he owed his success to Yu Youwei. She quickly agreed with the second lord.