The three ancient families of the cultivation world.

The Xia family is now the royal family of the Yu Dynasty, high above, its strength needless to say; the Jiang family has experienced the disaster of extermination, and has long disappeared; and the Ji family, has always been mysterious and powerful.

If you look closely at history, the Ji family is the earliest of the three major families. In the early years, people always said that the Ji family was the strongest among the three major families. Even after the Xia family became the emperor, this argument has not completely subsided. The root cause is that the Ji family is too mysterious, hidden in the Emperor Hong Valley for many years, with few family members entering the world, and rarely having disputes with other forces.

They keep a low profile.

But the large sects of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths know a bit more about the Ji family, their deepest impression of the Ji family is not “low-key”, but “arrogant”.

The arrogance of the Ji family is inherited in their bones!

Their contact with the outside world is minimal, not so much because they dislike it, but because they disdain it.

Of course, all of this has no impact on Chu Liang, he is just a messenger.

From a distance, the so-called “Xuan Yuan Mansion” in the valley, under the faint cover of clouds and mist, already has a continuous series of tall buildings, clearly a small city hidden in the mountains.

Is this the scale a family can reach?

Chu Liang couldn’t help but be slightly surprised.

This was his first time here, feeling the majestic and profoundness of this ancient family.

Before he could fly to the sky, he descended his golden-haired beast early. For any major power, flying over their territory is a provocative act. If you encounter a hot-tempered one, it would be justified to shoot you down.

He arrived at the main entrance and saw two tall Han white jade pillars in front of him, with the four golden characters of “Xuan Yuan Mansion” hanging high, majestic and grand.

He parked the golden-haired beast obediently at the entrance, and a doorman had already come out to greet him.

Chu Liang stepped forward and saluted, “I am Chu Liang, a disciple of Shu Mountain, entrusted by others to deliver a letter to Miss Ji Lianhua, the thirteenth lady of the Ji family.”

The Ji family’s doorman heard his name and also lightly saluted, then said, “Our family currently does not have a thirteenth lady, could the young hero of Shu Mountain have made a mistake?”

“What?” Chu Liang was puzzled.

The scholar had solemnly asked him to come to the Ji family to deliver a letter to the thirteenth lady, he wouldn’t be making fun of him.

Was there a mistake in this?

He then asked, “Could it be a relative or a side branch? This letter is quite important, please help me think about it.”

The Ji family’s doorman frowned and thought for a while, then said, “Although there are many relatives and side branches in the family, none of them are ranked thirteenth… Why don’t you tell me who asked you to deliver the letter, leave the letter here, and I’ll ask the manager.”

“Well… it’s not good to say who it is, but this matter is indeed important…” Chu Liang hesitated for a moment, then said, “Can I see the manager and ask him personally?”

The doorman nodded, “That’s fine.”

With that, he led Chu Liang into a guest pavilion after entering the gate. This large mansion-like city is divided into an inner and outer mansion. The outermost part of the mansion is not afraid of outsiders entering.

After waiting for a while, a middle-aged man in brocade clothes walked in and said to Chu Liang, “Are you the young hero of Shu Mountain?”

“I am Chu Liang.” Chu Liang stood up to greet him, “I’m sorry for the disturbance.”

“Hehe, it’s no problem.” The middle-aged man waved his hand, indicating Chu Liang to sit down, and then asked, “I heard that the young hero is looking for the thirteenth lady, but there is no lady named Ji Lianhua in our Ji family now, can the young hero be more specific?”

“Ah, actually, I don’t know much.” Chu Liang said helplessly, “I was entrusted by someone and I must personally deliver this letter to the hands of the thirteenth lady before I can complete the task with peace of mind.”

“But since the young hero can’t leave the letter and can’t reveal the identity of the person who entrusted you, it’s really hard for us to find her.” The middle-aged man said, “Then I can only inquire more in the family, to see if anyone has used the name Ji Lianhua to make a name in the world.”

“Okay, thank you.” Chu Liang thanked him.

Since he didn’t see the person, he couldn’t leave the letter, so he had to get up and leave.

The Ji family couldn’t find the person, it wasn’t his fault. What was going on, only the scholar could ask clearly.

……

Out of the gate, Chu Liang rode his golden-haired beast again, intending to return before it got completely dark.

Suddenly, a call came from behind, “The one riding the beast!”

“Hmm?” Chu Liang looked around.

The handsome guy riding the beast was undoubtedly himself.

So he dismounted and saw a green figure hiding behind a tree outside the open space, waving at him.

Chu Liang found it strange and went over to check.

He saw a young girl in a jade-colored Luo skirt half squatting there, the mottled twilight sunlight falling, making her skin as white as mutton fat, her figure petite and curvy, her eyebrows and eyes lively, and the pupils in her eyes were actually golden.

As everyone knows, heterochromatic pupils are the mark of the Ji family’s mysterious bloodline, Xuan Yuan pupils.

This young girl is undoubtedly a core member of the Ji family.

“Miss, did you call me?” Chu Liang asked.

“Yes, were you the one who came to deliver a letter to the thirteenth lady just now?” the girl asked.

“Yes.” Chu Liang nodded.

“Give it to me, I am her.” The girl stretched out her hand and opened her palm.

Chu Liang stared at the girl’s face, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly smiled, “Miss, don’t joke, you are not! I must give it to the real thirteenth lady.”

“Huh?” The girl was puzzled for a moment, “How did you know I’m not real?”

“Hehe.” Chu Liang laughed, “I didn’t know at first, I just said it casually. Since you admitted it, I really see it now.”

“Ah!” The girl wrinkled her nose, “You are so cunning!”

“I was entrusted by others, I dare not be careless, please forgive me, Miss.” Chu Liang said.

Although this girl was not the one he was supposed to deliver the letter to, she was indeed a core member of the Ji family with Xuan Yuan pupils, Chu Liang didn’t want to offend her, so he just smiled and wanted to leave.

As he turned around, he heard the girl call out again, “I know who you’re looking for!”

“Oh?” Chu Liang paused his turning motion, looking at the young girl, “You know?”

His gaze was clear… he wanted details.

“My name is Ji Lingyu, the ninth young lady of the Ji family.” The girl introduced herself first, “I was passing by the Welcome Pavilion earlier and heard that someone was looking for the thirteenth young lady, so I hurried out to find you.”

“Is this Ji Lianhua your younger sister?” Chu Liang asked.

“No.” Ji Lingyu shook her head, “She is my aunt.”

“Hmm?” Chu Liang’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Then he thought, could the reason he couldn’t find her be because the thirteenth young lady was from the previous generation?

That didn’t make sense either.

He had specifically come to find her by name, they should at least know her name, right?

Ji Lingyu continued, “You’re looking for Ji Lianhua, but these latecomers in the family wouldn’t know about her, because my aunt severed ties with the Ji family thirty years ago.”

“Why is that?” Chu Liang asked again.

He squatted behind the big tree, indicating to Ji Lingyu that he wanted her to elaborate.

It seemed there was more to the story.

“Sigh.” Ji Lingyu said, “I heard it from the elders in private. Back then, my thirteenth aunt was the most favored daughter in the family. She was extremely talented and intelligent, and should have had a bright future.”

“Unfortunately, one year she went out for training and came back saying she had fallen in love with a common, sectless cultivator.” Ji Lingyu continued.

The plot was not hard to guess, such non-mainstream cultivators naturally wouldn’t be accepted by the Ji family elders, Chu Liang thought.

This plot was quite melodramatic.

“The elders disagreed with my thirteenth aunt’s marriage to that man, and she insisted on marrying no one but him, causing a stalemate in the family.”

“Just at this time, that cultivator actually came to challenge the elite of the Ji family’s same generation. If he won, he hoped the family elders would no longer obstruct their marriage.”

“That day, he challenged seven of the Ji family’s elite and won all the matches. However, it seemed that he used some dishonorable means during the process, so even though he won, the elders still disagreed. They finally said that if he wanted to marry my thirteenth aunt, he could, but only if he became a seventh realm powerhouse.”

“That man made a bold statement that day at Xuan Yuan Villa, claiming that he would achieve enlightenment within three years and come back to marry my thirteenth aunt!” Ji Lingyu’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“Thirty years in the west of the river, thirty years in the east of the river, don’t bully the young and poor…” Chu Liang unconsciously muttered.

“Eh? How do you know what he said at the time?” Ji Lingyu was surprised.

“Ah…” Chu Liang smiled, “Isn’t that what they all say for a three-year agreement… Never mind, continue.”

“Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t so good. After setting the three-year agreement, he never came back in thirty years.” Ji Lingyu looked a bit desolate, “I heard he went into the mountains of the Southern Territory to seek some kind of opportunity, but there are countless dangers there, and every year, countless people die there…”

Sigh.

Chu Liang also sighed silently, there weren’t that many comebacks in reality.

“On the day his three-year agreement expired, my thirteenth aunt sneaked into the family ancestral temple, stole the family tree, and crossed out her own name in front of everyone.” Ji Lingyu continued, “She said… If Gu Qingyuan doesn’t come to marry me, then I will leave the Ji family on my own, and I will never come back in this life.”

“From that day on, the name of my thirteenth aunt, Ji Lianhua, became a taboo in the family. The elders forbade anyone to mention it, and since her name was removed from the family tree, the later generations naturally didn’t know about her.” Ji Lingyu said, “I’ve never seen her, but after accidentally hearing about her, I greatly admired her and took her as my role model!”

“She is indeed admirable.” Chu Liang echoed, and then asked, “Do you know where this thirteenth aunt is now?”

“I don’t know.” Ji Lingyu said, “If I knew, I would have gone to find her a long time ago. But I guess, she must have gone to find Gu Qingyuan! A woman like her will never forget her lover!”

“I see…”

Chu Liang was quite helpless.

Could the scholar who asked him to deliver the letter be Gu Qingyuan?

After squatting for a while, he felt his legs were a bit numb, so he asked, “Miss Ji, why do you have to hide here to tell me this?”

“I’m afraid they’ll find out…” Ji Lingyu said with a determined look, “I’m running away from home!”

——Author’s Note——

Good morning.

Jilin said it’s going to be silent again, people are in panic. This is the extra update for reaching 4000 monthly votes, today’s three chapters add up to over 8000, really working hard. Hope the monthly votes can surge, to comfort the soul.

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