Mission: Seduce the Master!

"Uuu..."

Fan Lan covered her red face and hid behind Xie Qing, who was casually drinking tea.

"How embarrassing!" the girl thought, feeling Xie Meiling's gaze full of annoyance on her: "She must have understood that I was deliberately flattering her because of our relationship with that scumbag Xie Qing!"

Fan Lan was a girl from a traditional family, and she was taught to first leave a good impression on her mother-in-law for her future married life to go smoothly.

The same was true on the part of the husband. However, Xie Qing had not yet met her parents, but the meeting with Xie Qing's mother had failed!

"Mom, don't glare at her like that, she's not to blame. It's my fault," Xie Qing said calmly, raising his eyebrows: "If I weren't so drunk and carefree, I wouldn't have put Fan Lan in such an awkward situation."

"This... no, I'm not angry. I was just surprised," Xie Meiling added, and finally, her gaze softened, and she turned her head away.

At the same time, Xie Qing and Fan Lan rolled their eyes.

"Surprised? Is that what you call your jealousy, woman?" they thought.

***

Although one could argue forever, Xie Meiling preferred to spend this time visiting the Xie family estate. No matter how unpleasant the feeling of returning after a long time was, she was determined.

"Mom, I'll be by your side," Xie Qing said and took Xie Meiling's hand, who, although she didn't show it, was very nervous: "Everything will end here... on the ruins of the Xie family, we will build a magnificent world."

"Heh..." the woman smiled gently and squeezed her son's hand, and her charming black eyes sparkled with love as she looked at the young man: "Thank you. I think my suffering has paid off since the Heavens have endowed you with such talent. You've helped me a lot."

"A lot? Oh, Mom, I haven't even started yet!" Xie Qing proudly smiled, patting himself on the chest and saying with an enthusiastic look: "This young master will protect you like the apple of his eye, and together we will ride dragons to ascend to the Heavens!"

"Really?" Xie Meiling's smile became wider, and she asked with narrowed eyes: "Are you sure there will be enough dragons? I somehow doubt it."

"Hahaha!"

Xie Qing awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of his head, and Xie Meiling just snorted but did not let go of her son's hand.

Silence reigned between them until they reached the gates of the estate. Immediately, Xie Qing's eyes narrowed when he felt someone in the estate looking at him.

"This... a strong cultivator!" the young man was surprised: "I can't determine his cultivation level!"

Xie Qing's gaze became wary, and he conveyed this information to Xie Meiling, who was also surprised.

They approached the guards, who, seeing them from afar, opened their mouths wide and looked in shock at the two approaching people.

"Y-young master and... um... L-Lady Xie Meiling..."

The guard looked uncomfortable, his movements were wooden, and his face was distorted with fear and shock.

Of course, he was surprised to find that the woman, who had been openly hunted by her own family, was unharmed and even emitting an aura of danger.

"Heh. We don't have much time, so let's go, open the gates. I've missed Brother Hui and the respected family head very much. And especially, I've missed... "Xie Qing smiled widely and added in such a voice that a shiver ran down the guards' spines: "...Xiao Yui."

"Ugh..."

The guards shivered with fear, and their teeth chattered as they felt the killing intent in Xie Qing's words. They were not fools and knew about the situation within the family.

Explanation - the name that Xie Qing mentioned belonged to the former head maid who was once Xie Meiling's close right hand.

On that fateful night, she betrayed her mistress and stabbed her in the back with a knife in exchange for wealth and acceptance into the Xie family as a legitimate member.

In the end, Xie Meiling survived, and Xiao Yui was not smart enough to leave the estate. She bathed in luxury and enjoyed the respect of the servants.

Returning to our sheep, the guards turned pale with fear and looked as if they had bathed in milk.

Trembling all over, they opened the gates and bowed ninety degrees, lowering their heads, not wanting to meet Xie Qing's gaze.

"P-please, come in..." finally, one of the guards mustered up the courage to say.

"How generous of you~" Xie Qing laughed and slowly ran his hand from the guard's head to his neck, then squeezed a little.

"Hiii!"

The young man's fingers were as cold and sharp as death, so the guard screamed and lost consciousness, helplessly falling to the ground.

"Oops... I overdid it," Xie Qing twisted the corners of his mouth.

Xie Meiling remained silent during this time and did not pay attention to the guards, leaving these questions to her son.

She, like an eagle searching for its prey, fixed her gaze on the main estate. Many memories of that fateful night flashed through her head as if it had happened just yesterday.

"I hate... this disgrace I will wash away with your damned blood. I won't spare the bastards!" Xie Meiling thought and clenched her teeth, looking angry: "I'll kill them all!"

She was filled with anger, remembering those days when she had to run from one corner to another, hiding from pitiful cultivators at the Foundation Building stage.

Every second could have been the end of her life, but she restrained herself and did everything possible to prolong just one day.

In the last days, when she was already feeling bad, even moving her little finger was difficult, she only dreamed of seeing a miracle, the light of her life - her beloved son.

And as if a bright star sent from the Heavens, his beautiful face appeared at the moment when she had despaired.

"You lit my way..."

He gave her light.

"You helped me survive..."

He gave her life.

"You helped me realize..."

Realize?

"That only you deserve my love and care!"

...Oh.

***

Wisdom of the Heavens Square.

That's what the location is called, located in the underground part of the estate, where today's meeting was supposed to take place.

Here were all the legitimate members of the Xie family, including Xie Yu, who was sitting far away from Xie Hai and Xie Hui, and behind her back were five disciples from the Starry Stream Sect.

"Boring..." she thought, yawning.

Xie Yu was not interested in the family war or anything like that, but she was more interested in whether her cousin, Xie Qing, would come.

And while they were silent, someone spoke up.

"Xie Qing is late. What kind of guy, having gained a little fame, can now ignore us and be late?! Pfft!"

The grave silence was broken by an elder who looked like an apple that had been left for a hundred years and had completely rotted and dried up.

The others did not pay attention to him and simply ignored him. The fact was that the legitimate heir, Xie Qing, had the power and reputation to ignore everyone gathered in this square.

Even Xie Hai and Xie Hui, who usually excelled in their foul language, were silent and looked gloomy.

Next to Xie Hui was Xiao Yui, who put her hand to her heart and felt her heartbeat slowing down.

"I... I'm not feeling well. What's going on?" the woman wondered.

Let me describe her appearance. Although many cultivators were able to maintain their appearance, this woman in the past was a cultivator with weak talent who was only able to reach the third stage of Foundation Building, and then during an attempt to break through, injured herself.

Her appearance forever remained old. She looked unremarkable, her skin was wrinkled, her eyes sunken, and her hair cut to her ears and turned gray.

Her eyes had lost all their youthful energy, and her back was hunched. Her legs trembled with any wind.

She was about three hundred and something years old. The old witch had even seen Xie Qing's grandfather and served as the head maid when one day she realized that even with such a status, she could not have a good life.

However, she humbly served Xie Meiling, and when Xie Hai resolutely swore to give her the status of a member of the Xie family, Xiao Yui was so happy that she immediately abandoned her previous loyalty to Xie Meiling.

She thought it was better to betray her and gain the status of a legitimate member of the Xie family than to die without status.

Did she regret it? No, of course not. For her, it was most important to allow herself a luxurious and carefree life. She was opportunistic.

However, in the last month, her sixth sense had been screaming about impending danger, and memories of that fateful night returned to her as a nightmare every night.

"What's happening..." Xiao Yui thought.

And when someone else also wanted to express their dissatisfaction with Xie Qing's absence, soft footsteps were heard, which echoed in the ears of every person in this hall.

For some reason, from the sound of these two footsteps, Xie Hui felt a shiver, and Xie Hai's eyes filled with disbelief.

In the only passage from which one could enter here, two people appeared, very similar to each other if one looked closely. A woman and a man.

If everything was normal with the man - Xie Qing's appearance was not new to everyone present, then the appearance of the woman - Xie Meiling was like a coffin in the clear sky.

"This..."

"Isn't she..."

"Lady Xie Meiling is alive? I thought she was struck by illness..."

Everyone whispered, but the leaders of the Xie family were silent as if they had been struck by lightning. They looked at the woman in disbelief.

The most surprised was Xie Hai, whose eyes trembled with fear, and his knees knocked against the armrests of the chair.

"Xie Meiling..." Xie Hai muttered in horror.

He stood up from his seat and looked as if he was about to kneel, but he was interrupted by Xie Hui:

"You're alive?!" The man shouted in shock: "How is that possible?!"

Xie Meiling's eyes, who was watching this circus, brightly flashed. She bared her white teeth, and a cold smile appeared on her face.

"How harmoniously you've gathered here. A real circus of freaks."

Silence fell!