Chapter 1500 - The Xiao Family Birthday Feas (1/2)

Blue Wind Nation, Floating Cloud City, Xiao Clan.

As usual, today’s Floating Cloud City was a little noisy but peaceful.

Floating Cloud City was the smallest city in the entire Blue Wind Nation, but now it was also the most unusual place in the entire Profound Sky Continent. There was no one who cultivated the profound way who didn’t know that it was where Spiritual Master Yun was born.

However, Floating Cloud City remained as quiet and secluded as ever, and no obvious change came over it. Everyday, a large number of profound practitioners from the Profound Sky Continent or even Illusory Demon Realm would visit Floating Cloud City to worship the birthplace of Spiritual Master Yun, but they always did it from a distance. No one dared to disturb or sully this quiet city in the slightest.

As for the citizens of Floating Cloud City, very, very few of them truly understood what the title “Spiritual Master Yun” truly meant in their world.

Even fewer people knew that the Xiao Clan was attended by the greatest people in the Profound Sky Continent, or even the entire planet today.

“I wish that Great Grandpa will enjoy eternal wealth and peace, and live as long as Mt. Nan… Please drink tea, Great Grandpa.”

Xiao Lie was seated in the middle of the hall. Xiao Yongan was currently kneeling in front of him primly and serving him tea with a serious look on his face.

“Good boy, good boy.” Xiao Lie accepted the teacup with a chuckle and finished the drink in one gulp. He wore a gentle smile on his face.

A long time ago, when Xiao Lie was still in his fifties, he had looked unusually old despite being a Spirit Profound Realm practitioner. Yun Che’s death especially had turned his hair completely white in almost a single night. Today was his seventieth birthday, but not only did he have black hair and a healthy complexion, he looked at least thirty years younger. His appearance was completely different from what it used to be.

There was no place Xiao Lie loved more than the Xiao Clan. It was a place he wasn’t willing to leave for long even though he had been wounded and disappointed in the past. Yun Che had brought over his wives and daughters, and Xiao Yun brought his wife and his son over in the early morning to congratulate him on his birthday, and serve him tea.

“...Wuxin serves Great Grandpa tea.”

It was Yun Wuxin’s turn to kneel on the ground and serve Xiao Lie tea after Xiao Yongan.

Xiao Lie accepted the tea and let out a sigh. He smiled and said, “To think that even Che’er has a daughter this big already. Time truly waits for no one.”

“But Great Grandpa, you’re growing younger and younger, aren’t you?” Yun Wuxin blinked cutely with a smile on her face. “So there’s no way time can catch up to you. A lot more seventy years are waiting for you down the line.”

“Hahahaha.” Xiao Lie laughed joyfully. “Great Grandpa wouldn’t want to age too quickly with such a good great granddaughter too.”

Again, he finished the tea he was served in one gulp. The warmth in the tea spread to his entire body instead of stopping at just his internal organs.

When the two juniors were done serving tea, Yun Che and Xiao Yun exchanged a glance with each other. The latter smiled at him and said, “You first, Big Brother.”

Although Yun Che’s true surname wasn’t Xiao, it made absolutely no difference to Xiao Yun. Yun Che would always be his brother.

“Alright!”

Yun Che didn’t turn down his offer. He strode forward, poured a cup of tea and knelt in front of Xiao Lie. “Grandson Yun Che serves tea to grandfather. He wishes that grandfather will enjoy a heaven of good fortune and boundless lifespan.”

It was a simple and down-to-earth birthday congratulations from a grandson to his grandfather, but it rang loud and clear in everyone’s ears. Exactly how many people in the entire world was Yun Che willing to kneel to with all his heart?

There were only his parents, and Xiao Lie.

Xiao Lie accepted the teacup, but didn’t drain it immediately. Instead, he looked at Yun Che and let out a sigh. “Che’er… to be honest with you, I once blamed you and even hated you right after Ying’er’s passing. But… what I got back from you was a million times reciprocation and good fortune. It is my eternal blessing to have a grandson like you.”

But Yun Che shook his head and said softly, “Uncle Xiao, Auntie Xiao, and grandmother have all passed away because of me. You should have blamed me and hated me for my role in their passing. But not only did you raise me to adulthood without ever abandoning me or looking down on me, you treated me better than even Lingxi, your real granddaughter. You could never bring yourself to scold or punish me too harshly for the mistakes I made. Moreover, you have had to swallow countless injustices for me, and to heal my profound veins you even bowed and begged countless people for a cure despite your given name, ‘Lie’ (Fierce).”

“You shouldn’t say that this is reciprocation and good fortune, grandfather. It is simply the filial duty that any grown junior should perform… even now, this is nothing but a drop in the sea of kindness that I still owe you.”

“It is my honor to encounter you in this life, grandfather.”

Xiao Lie smiled… he could still remember that delicate, gentle boy that always needed his protection as clear as yesterday, and yet a dozen or so years later he had grown to become a legendary god that watched over the entire continent.

But the boy had never changed. Despite climbing to such heights, he still bowed humbly in front of him just like before.

Beside Yun Che, Cang Yue also bowed respectfully towards Xiao Lie before saying, “Your granddaughter-in-law serves you tea, grandfather.”

Xia Qingyue might have been the first to wed to Yun Che, but no one had any doubt that Cang Yue was Yun Che’s real first wife. Even the Little Demon Empress had to address her as the older sister.

Cang Yue had ruled Blue Wind Nation for quite some time now, and she was far from the green princess she was way back then. Today, she was a woman who carried the bearing of a monarch with every movement, not to mention that her title of the “Queen of Blue Wind” was still far less important than her status as Yun Che’s “First Wife”. It was something no other monarch in the Profound Sky Continent could match.

“Yue’er.” Xiao Lie chuckled while looking at Cang Yue. “The nation is of course important, but you’ve also been married to Che’er for over ten years, haven’t you? I think it’s about time the two of you try and get a child. I’m sure you’d like to continue your royal lineage too, am I right?”

“...Yes. Yue’er will remember this.” Cang Yue bowed her head slightly, but sneaked a glance at Yun Che beside her.

“Urk… Yue’er and I will work harder, I promise,” Yun Che said hurriedly, making sure to keep his worry away from his face.

Ever since he obtained the Dragon God’s bloodline—and especially the Dragon God Marrow—his essence remained human, but his body was slowly but surely turning closer and closer to that of a dragon’s, or more accurately the Dragon God’s. The Dragon God was the highest existence in the Dragon Race even in ancient times.

A dragon was salacious by nature, and Yun Che was without a doubt a “hardworking” man. Unfortunately, dragons had notoriously low birth rates… the greater a dragon was, the worse their birth rate became.

Yun Che had an inkling that it was something like this many years ago.

Cang Yue was the monarch of Blue Wind Nation, and the Little Demon Empress was the ruler of the Illusory Demon Realm. Both queens wanted very much to have a child with Yun Che, but nothing had come of their hard work despite many years of trying.

In fact, Yun Che had secretly tried a spirit medicine that guaranteed pregnancy one hundred percent of the time on his wives before, but what had been immediately effective on Xiao Yun and Number Seven Under Heaven was completely useless to him!

It was something that had troubled him greatly.

Yun Che thought to himself with renewed determination: I guess the only way left is to try even harder in the future… I wonder who will give birth to my second child? Will it be as cute as Wuxin?

Crack!

The second the thought passed through his mind, his body suddenly shuddered with impossible pain… It was as if a poisoned needle had pierced right through his heart.

What… what’s happening...

Since Yun Che was facing Xiao Lie, no one had noticed the flash of pain on his face.

It was the Little Demon Empress’ turn to serve tea after Cang Yue was done. She was the only other woman besides Cang Yue to have officially married Yun Che, but her circumstances were slightly different. In her family, all descendants must use the surname “Huan” because they were the future masters of the Illusory Demon Realm.

“Caiyi,” Xiao Lie said with a smile, “you have worked to preserve the peace of the Illusory Demon Realm for over a century, and your homeland is finally at peace. It’s time you settle down, have a child with Che’er and focus on raising the next Demon Emperor, don’t you think?”

“As you request,” Little Demon Empress answered very respectfully.

Chu Yuechan came after the Little Demon Empress. Although she and Yun Che hadn’t gotten married yet, she was the only one who gave him a child. Therefore, her status in both the Yun Family and Xiao Family was extremely important. Xiao Lie looked very moved as Chu Yuechan came to him. He said, “Yuechan, Che’er owes you many, many things, and we of the Yun Family and Xiao Family even more so. It is Che’er’s honor to have a lifelong partner like you.”

“Che’er, I know that you and the others are no longer bound by the customs, but the Yun Family and the Xiao Family have always kept to the traditions. Therefore, grandfather still prefers to see you marry Yuechan properly into the family and give her the rightful status she deserves.”

“Hahahaha, you’re absolutely correct, father.”

A loud laugh interrupted before he could give an answer as Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou entered the hall side by side. After kneeling in front of Xiao Lie and congratulating him on his birthday, they said, “Che’er, your grandfather’s thoughts are exactly the same as mine. Yuechan isn’t the only one you haven’t given a proper status yet either. It’s been several years since you’ve been engaged to Xue’er, and Ling’er has accompanied you since the Azure Cloud Continent, hasn’t she? How much longer do you plan to put off their wedding ceremonies?”

Mu Yurou also smiled gently and said, “And let’s not forget about Lingxi and Xian’er. I don’t think I need to say anything about Lingxi, but Xian’er is the famous Daughter of the Phoenix, and there is no one in the continent who doesn’t know that she is your personal servant today. She can’t marry another person even if she wants to, can she? You’re not planning to keep her as your servant forever, are you?”

Mu Yurou’s words immediately jolted Feng Xian’er into full panic. “H-how can Xian’er possibly… It is already the honor of a lifetime for Xian’er to serve young master as a servant, how can she possibly… possibly…”

She bowed her head deeply, afraid to meet anyone’s gaze.

“Xian’er.” Mu Yurou smiled gently. “When Che’er hit rock bottom, you were the one who stayed by his side until he recovered. Your heart is good and pure, and everyone can see how well you treat our Che’er. If you are willing to enter the Yun Family and stay by Che’er’s side, we as parents could only be happy for both your sakes.”

“Che’er, if you find all these customs too burdensome, you may leave it to the rest of us to handle,” Mu Yurou continued. “You aren’t a woman after all. A rightful status is far more important to us than you, you know.”

Yun Che looked at Chu Yuechan, Feng Xue’er, Su Ling’er, Xiao Lingxi, and Feng Xian’er… He could see the changes in all their expressions. Even the least expressive of them all, Chu Yuechan, was hiding a kind of expectation behind her countenance.

And so he nodded gently and smiled, saying, “No problem. I will leave everything to you, grandfather, father, mother.”

Yun Qinghong smiled at his answer, and Mu Yurou was practically blossoming like a flower. “Good boy. Since Che’er and Xue’er’s engagement is the earliest of them all, your wedding shall be set during the warm autumn two months from now. This way, we’ll have enough time to prepare and welcome Xue’er into our family properly.”

“Mother…” Feng Xue’er whispered. She might be the unreachable Phoenix Goddess in other people’s eyes, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t feel embarrassment like a common girl.

“As for Xian’er,” Mu Yurou continued, “you and Xue’er happen to be of the same lineage, so why don’t you join her on the same wedding?”

Mu Yurou clearly had a plan in her mind already. Feng Xian’er was the youngest among all of Yun Che’s women, and her admiration and adoration for Yun Che was almost obsessive. Even when she was facing Yun Che’s wives, she had only ever acted like a servant. In this case, Mu Yurou knew that pushing a proper marriage on Xian’er would only make her uncomfortable.

“Ah…” Cheeks red, Feng Xian’er groaned as she gripped the hem of her dress nervously. “I… I…”

“Xian’er, maybe all you want in life is to be Che’er’s servant forever, but what about your parents?” Mu Yurou smiled gently at her. “Just think of it as giving your parents a proper reply. Although… I suppose we aren’t doing right by you completely.”

“N-not at all…” Feng Xian’er shook her head strongly. Right now she felt like floating off the ground, and her reason had been almost completely shut down for the past couple of minutes… A long time later, she finally bowed her head deeply and whispered as quietly as a mosquito, “I… I’ll leave everything in your hands, Mistress.”

“Haha, I suppose she’s still the ‘Mistress’ for now, isn’t she? Both you and Xue’er will have to change the way you address her in two months though,” said Yun Qinghong while laughing loudly. His simple remark caused the redness in Feng Xian’er’s cheeks to spread all the way down to her neck, and her heart threatened to jump out of her throat.

“As for the exact date of the wedding, I’ll meet with Brother Feng and speak to him about it tomorrow.”

A mighty laugh burst out of the entrance just as Yun Qinghong finished speaking. “Hahahaha, there’s no need for that. We can settle the date right now.”

“Father!” Feng Xue’er turned around and cried out with a smile.

Feng Henkong strode in and bowed deeply towards Xiao Lie. “Senior Xiao, Divine Phoenix Feng Henkong has come to pay his birthday congratulations!”

Technically speaking, he was at least several hundred years older than Xiao Lie, but because his daughter was soon to marry Yun Che, his seniority was now a level below Xiao Lie’s.

In fact, forget the God Realm, seventy years old wasn’t old even among the high level profound practitioners of the Profound Sky Continent. In Feng Henkong’s life, this was the first time he had ever attended an “elderly’s” birthday that was beneath five hundred years old.

But no matter how ordinary Xiao Lie was… he was still the grandfather of Yun Che!

“Why have you come, father?” Feng Xue’er asked.

“It’s not just me,” Feng Henkong said. “Countless important people are making the trip to Floating Cloud City right now.”

“...” Yun Che pressed a hand to his forehead and helplessly snorted. “These bastards…”

“Hehe, it’s pretty natural if you think about it.” Yun Qinghong smiled while explaining, “There is no one in the Profound Sky Continent or Illusory Demon Realm who would dare to think less about anything that’s related to you. Although it’s true you didn’t tell anyone about father’s seventieth birthday, there’s no way they wouldn’t know about it, much less miss it.”