"You were seven years old at that time when all of this took place." Yun Ning's eyes went into a daze as she recalled those past events.
"We were originally from one of the Major families that ruled over an entire city, and our family was the one in charge of trading."
"We would run trade between different cities and sometimes even different kingdoms. Even though we mostly dealt in trade, sometimes we even took escort missions as well as delivering goods."
Cang Yue quietly listened to her mother without interrupting her. Every city in this world follows the same pattern. Often, a few families would rule over the city. Usually, the cities were often established by a bunch of families banding together and occupying a piece of land. If the location is good and people are willing to stay, then over time, they will gradually develop into large cities.
In the early days, after cities were established, there were often disputes over who would get the biggest share of the profits. Sometimes, things would get ugly, and those major families would go to war against each other, thus resulting in the complete decimation of the city.
Gradually, people figured out a way. Instead of dividing the profits, they would distribute the profits. If there were four families, then one would take care of trade, one would take care of farming, one would take care of blacksmithing and pill refinement, and the last one would take care of the City's security.
How much one would earn would depend on how well they would be at managing things.
And thus, the bloody conflicts that arose because of profits finally ended.
You wanna enter a city? You need to pay an entrance fee to the city guards.
You wanna sell something? Well, you need to head to the merchant's association that is controlled by a different family and pay taxes.
You wanna do some farming? Oh well, you need to rent fields from one of the major families.
You wanna a bunch of pills and equipment? Oh well, you'd better head to the family that controls it all.
Over time, this became the norm and the cities around the world stabilised.
Even though Lin Wan knew her family was rich and strong, she didn't think they would be one of the major families controlling a city. But this filled her with even more doubts. If her family was already this powerful, then how could they be massacred in the span of a single night?
Perhaps sensing her daughter's confusion, Yun Ning began to explain.
"Everything was going good at first. We were making pretty good money from trades, the city was peaceful with no signs of demonic beasts causing trouble, and the family was in harmony with the other three major families."
"And then..." Yun Ning's voice trembled as she closed her eyes. Lin Wan quietly looked at her mother, whose breasts were trembling due to her rapid breathing, as a teardrop slid from the corner of her eyes.
"I still remember that day." When Yun Ning opened her eyes again, they had regained their previous lustre.
"A group of people came to us, wanting us to deliver a bunch of items to a distant place."
"Initially, I wanted to refuse, because the distance was just too vast. But your father..."
Yun Ning's voice was filled with pain. "Your father wanted to prove himself, for some reason. He took the offer and decided to deliver the items."
"And the very next day..."
Yun Ning just took a deep breath and stopped talking, but the meaning behind her words was obvious.
"Who were they?" Lin Wan always wanted to know the identity of the people who destroyed her family. It was one of her life's goals. She had tried countless times before, trying to find information about that group, but it always ended in failure.
"Heh!" Yun Ning just let out a cold sneer as her eyes were filled with killing intent. "Does it matter now?"
"...." Lin Wan quietly looked at her mother for a moment before letting out a hollow laugh. "No, it does not.. No, it does not."
She had already heard it from Cang Yue that her mother personally flayed those people alive. With them now gone, does it really matter where they came from?
"Hmm." Yun Ning gently ruffled her eldest daughter's hair. "It's good that you are back."
Her eyes were full of love and affection, unlike her previous lazy state. If anyone from the Duality Sect saw her like this, their eyes would pop out in disbelief. Who could have imagined that a lazy and laid-back woman like her was capable of showing such emotions?
"But, how did you get here?" This was what confused Lin Wan the most. She still remembers vividly that after killing every member of her family and then toying with her father to death, those women took her mother and sister with them. How did they escape? How did they end up here? The more she thought about it, the more confused she got.
"The sect leader." Yun Ning spoke softly, answering Lin Wan's question. "The sect leader was out wandering and came across us. She personally caught those people and handed them over to us."
"After we had our revenge, we joined the sect."
"Wan'er... Oh, Wan'er." Gently caressing her face, Yun Ning spoke softly, "After I got here, I was overwhelmed. Losing your father and the family... I almost wanted to die."
Yun Ning's voice choked as her face was overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions. It was a pity that only her daughter was present to see her alluring face; otherwise, she would have driven countless people crazy.
"I wanted to die... But then I thought about your sister, and I thought about you."
"I worked hard and even tried finding you, but you were long gone. All your traces disappeared. Till now, I have always thought that you were taken away by those bitches. It wasn't until a few days ago that your sister brought me your news."
"I really didn't believe her. I wanted to come and see you myself, but I was in the midst of my cultivation. But even then, I ended my cultivation session just to see you."
The moment she finished her sentence, Lin Wan jumped into her embrace once again.
She finally had closure... She finally found her family... She could finally be at ease.
Only Lin Wan knew the burden that she carried in her heart. She was an unfortunate young girl who was orphaned and spent her entire life seeking revenge. Even though she never truly thought about it, deep in her heart, she always dreaded that her mother and sister were already dead. She feared that her years of effort would lead her to the skeletons of her mother and sister.
But now... now she could finally rest easy.
The last two weeks have been overwhelming for her. From meeting that boy, to getting kidnapped, being brought to the Duality sect, then meeting her sister and then finding out that Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan have been kidnapped... She was already overwhelmed.
And after her falling out with Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan, she was already at her edge.
Now, after meeting her mother, her restless mind finally calmed down and with it came an extreme sense of sleepiness.
She had been awake for two weeks straight, and even with her current cultivation realm, it took a toll on her mind.
Now with her mother here, she could finally rest at ease.
With these thoughts overwhelming her, she finally closed her eyes and gradually fell asleep.
She didn't know what she was going to do in the future, and for now, she couldn't care less about it. She didn't want to think, she didn't want to worry. She just wants to sleep for now. She wants to sleep and hopes that when she wakes up, everything will still be there.
"...." Yun Ning looked at the peaceful sleeping face of her daughter resting her head at the top of her large, bouncy breasts as she gently caressed her head.
It wasn't until almost an hour had passed that she carried her sleeping daughter to the bed, placed her down and after kissing her on the forehead, walked out of the room.
Stepping outside, she stood there for a long time, quietly gazing at the moon.
After a good fifteen minutes, she took a step forward and disappeared. If one were to look carefully, one would see her figure constantly appearing and disappearing as she made her way towards her room.
After reaching a relatively simple house that was constructed completely out of bamboo, with a bamboo forest surrounding it, Yun Ning quietly stepped inside the house and sat on the cushion placed near the large window, quietly looking at the starry sky.
One minute passed... two minutes passed... ten minutes passed.
It wasn't until fifteen minutes had passed that a leisurely voice broke the silence of the room.
"So..!?" The other party asked in a leisurely tone. "What do you think about your eldest daughter?"
"...." Yun Ning wasn't surprised by this sudden voice. She seemed to be already aware of the other party's presence.
"Hmph!" With a cold snort, Yun Ning spoke in a cold voice, completely different than her previous soft tone.
"She is as stupid and gullible as her useless father."
"I thought that these twenty years would hone her into a warrior, someone whose sole purpose and ambition is strength. But she... Heh."
The more she spoke, the angrier and disappointed Yun Ning got.
"She is soft."
"A few gentle words, and she starts crying like a baby."
"And her strength..." Yun Ning gritted her teeth in anger.
"Do you know that she was already in the realm of Body forging when she was seven?"
"More than twenty years have passed, and she has just stepped into the Vein Expansion realm."
"What kind of trash is this?"
"If she were not my own flesh and blood, I would have skinned her alive."
Yun Ning's appearance was now completely different from when she was with Lin Wan. Instead of affection, her eyes were filled with coldness and bloodlust. She looked like she just wanted to find the first person and tear them apart.
"Heh... Can you blame her?" The other party's leisure voice didn't change. It was still as carefree as before. Yun Ning's appearance didn't seem to affect them in the slightest.
"No." Yun Ning turned around while gritting her teeth as she shook her head.
"I can not blame her."
She took a deep breath while clenching her fists in anger.
"But I sure as hell can blame you for it, Lin Meilin."