Bang, bang, bang!
A knock sounded at the door.
"Meng, Grandpa's come to see you."
Outside Meng Hongchen's room, Jing Hongchen called softly with a smile on his face, carrying medicine meant to help Meng Hongchen recuperate.
Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen lost their parents early. Jing Hongchen had raised the siblings from childhood, and in other words, Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen were his spiritual pillars.
Naturally, compared to Xiao Hongchen, Jing Hongchen doted on Meng Hongchen even more—so much so that one could say he worried himself sick over her.
"Ah! Grandpa's here!"
Meng Hongchen, who had been in Jiang Jue's arms, was startled upon hearing this. A trace of panic flashed across her pretty face as she hurriedly smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes.
"Jiang Jue, should you hide for a bit? My grandpa might—"
Meng Hongchen pursed her slightly glistening lips. She had never formally brought Jiang Jue to meet her family before, and facing this first encounter, she was inevitably nervous.
"It's fine. It was Hall Master Hongchen who asked me to come," Jiang Jue replied.
For some reason, Jiang Jue suddenly had the strange sense of déjà vu of being a delinquent boyfriend from his previous life.
"Huh? Grandpa asked you to come?"
Hearing this, Meng Hongchen's beautiful eyes lit up.
Didn't that mean her grandpa approved of her being together with Jiang Jue?!
"Meng, hurry up and open the door for Grandpa."
Jing Hongchen's voice sounded again.
"Coming, Grandpa."
Meng Hongchen tidied Jiang Jue's clothes, took his hand, and led him toward the door.
"Hm? What's Meng doing in her room? Cultivating? Why is she taking so long to come down?"
Jing Hongchen wondered inwardly.
Ever since Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen grew up, he had stopped interfering in their lives, giving them sufficient privacy.
Jing Hongchen shook his head, but when he thought of the high-quality soul beast he had sent people to capture for Meng Hongchen, the smile on his face deepened.
"I'm sure Meng will be happy."
Click!
The door opened, and two figures appeared before Jing Hongchen.
Meng Hongchen stood gracefully beside Jiang Jue, her cheeks flushed. Her fair little hand was being held in Jiang Jue's.
In an instant, the smile on Jing Hongchen's face froze. The medicine in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. He stood there dumbfounded, as if his brain had crashed.
They weren't even hiding it from him anymore?
"Grandpa, this is Jiang Jue, my—"
Meng Hongchen's heart tightened as she began to introduce him.
"No need to introduce him. Grandpa knows him—Jiang Jue, right?"
Jing Hongchen took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and looked at Jiang Jue with a smile on his face.
"It's fine, it's fine. Meng has grown up. I can't control everything anymore. Hoo… hoo… calm down."
He kept persuading himself internally.
"If they dare to hold hands today, who knows what they'll dare to do tomorrow? No, I can't take this!"
After forcing himself to endure for a moment, Jing Hongchen finally snapped.
"Grandpa, come inside first."
Seeing something was off, Meng Hongchen hurriedly said.
Jing Hongchen glanced at his granddaughter, then at Jiang Jue, and finally stepped inside.
"Grandpa, what was that thing you dropped just now?"
Meng Hongchen asked softly, pointing at the medicine on the ground, trying to divert his attention.
"That was medicine to treat and suppress the toxins in your body."
As he spoke, a stream of soul power appeared in Jing Hongchen's hand, reaching toward the medicine.
But before it could arrive, a strand of ashen-gray soul power reached it first.
Jing Hongchen raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jiang Jue, thinking, This brat at least has some sense.
But in the next moment, the packet of medicine exploded.
Powder scattered everywhere.
"Hm?!"
Jing Hongchen's eyes widened as anger flared. He strode directly up to Jiang Jue and shouted angrily,
"Boy Jiang! That's the medicine Meng uses to suppress the toxins in her body—what are you doing?!"
"Hall Master Hongchen, the toxins in Meng's body have already been cured by me. She doesn't need to take these medicines anymore."
A smile curved Jiang Jue's lips. With a casual wave of his hand, a gentle breeze dispersed the white powder, as if bidding it farewell.
"What did you say?!"
Jing Hongchen froze, blurting out in shock.
No one understood the poison of the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad better than he did. The toxins in Meng Hongchen's body were a fusion of fire poison and ice poison. If they were removed, her overall strength would drop drastically.
In his panic, Jing Hongchen hurriedly looked at Meng Hongchen, losing the calm composure he usually had as a hall master.
"Grandpa, don't worry. With Jiang Jue's help, my toxins have already transformed into Extreme Poison."
Seeing her grandfather like this, Meng Hongchen naturally understood his concerns and gently explained.
At once, soul rings rose from beneath her feet.
Yellow! Yellow! Purple! Purple! Black! Red!!
As the bewitching blood-red ten-thousand-year soul ring ascended, Jing Hongchen's hands stiffened in midair, disbelief filling his eyes.
"A ten-thousand-year soul ring!"
"Grandpa, Jiang Jue helped me with this. I don't have to worry about the toxins anymore. Let them drift away with the wind along with that medicine."
Meng Hongchen said softly, a hint of happiness in her eyes as she subconsciously tightened her grip on Jiang Jue's hand.
"Extreme Poison… the hidden dangers resolved by Jiang Jue… a ten-thousand-year soul ring…"
Jing Hongchen murmured to himself, suddenly feeling as though everything was unreal.
"Hall Master Hongchen, what are you thinking about?"
Jiang Jue waved a hand in front of Jing Hongchen's eyes and asked lightly.
"Hahaha, it's nothing. Jiang Jue, I've always believed in you. I knew you'd amount to something."
"Entrusting Meng to you—this grandpa feels very reassured."
"Hey, hey, why did you let go of her hand? Hold it again, hold it again! What kind of couple doesn't hold hands?"
Snapping back to reality, Jing Hongchen patted Jiang Jue's shoulder with a broad smile, his face full of relief and approval—an unmistakable I believe in you expression.
When Meng Hongchen tried to pull her hand away, Jing Hongchen even pressed it back into Jiang Jue's.
He, Jing Hongchen, approved of this marriage.
Whoever said Jiang Jue wasn't good? He was extremely good.
Though he didn't know where Jiang Jue had obtained a ten-thousand-year soul beast, the fact that he was willing to give such a precious soul beast to Meng Hongchen was enough for Jing Hongchen to rest easy entrusting her to him.
What's more, Jiang Jue had resolved Meng Hongchen's toxin problem entirely—this alone made Jing Hongchen deeply relieved and gratified.
Now, the more he looked at Jiang Jue, the more he liked him.
"Oh right, Jiang Jue, come out with me for a moment."
Suddenly remembering something, Jing Hongchen pulled Jiang Jue outside.
"Grandpa…"
Meng Hongchen looked a little worried.
"It's fine. Grandpa has good news to tell Jiang Jue."
Jing Hongchen waved his hand and led Jiang Jue out of the room.
"Boy Jiang, thank you for what you did for Meng this time. If not for you, she would still be suffering from that poison."
Outside, Jing Hongchen spoke with a solemn expression.
"It's nothing. Solving the problem with Meng's martial soul was something I wanted to see as well,"
Jiang Jue replied, shaking his head slightly.
"I read the letter you left inside the Starlight Blue Sapphire last time. I also helped you investigate that girl. This is her information. I never expected that there would still be someone left wandering outside…"
As he spoke, Jing Hongchen took out some documents from his storage ring and handed them to Jiang Jue.
Jiang Jue's eyes flickered as he accepted them.
Upon opening the file, the first thing that caught his eye were three characters:
Zhang Lexuan.
"Just as I expected…"
Jiang Jue's eyes brightened as he murmured softly.
(End of Chapter)