[When I left the Yang Family all those years ago, I was still just an ordinary mortal, unable to cultivate, now I’m returning as a True Element Boundary Seventh Stage cultivator.] [It’s like that was a lifetime ago!] Yang Kai’s heart was also very concerned about his parents back home. Due to the family rules, it was impossible for him to come back to visit them. Some time ago, Dong Qing Han had told him that his mother had secretly snuck out to see him, the result being that she was discovered by the family. In her place, his father Yang Ying Feng had suffered thirty lashes as punishment, causing Yang Kai no small worry. He really wanted to know how his parents had faired these past few years. Yang Kai’s heart pounded all the way as he walked towards the outside from the Dragon Transformation Pond’s restricted area, and just as he stepped out of the fog bank, he saw two straight figures quietly standing there, looking expectantly towards the pond. When their eyes met, all of them were stunned. Yang Kai had never thought his mother and father would be waiting here for him, after all, it had only been half a day since he had returned to the family. If someone hadn’t deliberately informed them, they might not have even known he was back yet. Yang Ying Feng and Dong Su Zhu also didn’t expect that their soon would appear in front of them so soon. This unexpected development left all of them temporarily dumbstruck. When Yang Ying Feng had said that Yang Kai would spend at least one or two days cultivating in the Dragon Transformation Pond, he had already overestimated Yang Kai’s aptitude as much as possible. He had already heard about Kai’s current cultivation realm from Tu Feng and knew that he had already solved his congenital problem, but as for Yang Kai’s true aptitude, the Yang Family’s Fourth Master was still clueless. Estimating that Yang Kai could stay in the Dragon Transformation Pond for a day or two would mean his aptitude was certainly not fantastic, but at least better than normal. Unexpectedly, after only half a day, Yang Kai came out from the Dragon Transformation Pond. Only being able to insist for such a short time, Yang Kai’s aptitude was apparently very problematic. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎 After the three of them started at each other blankly for a moment, Yang Kai smiled gently; for all these years outside he had never revealed such a warm, happy smile. Dong Su Zhu’s expression completely collapsed, her tears once again streaming down, unable to say anything, instead just stepping forward and holding her son in her arms. But today’s Yang Kai was obviously not the same one who had left so long ago, after all these years outside, he was now a head taller than her. As a result, Dong Su Zhu could only stand on her tip toes and loop her small hand over Yang Kai’s neck, pulling his head onto her slender shoulder as she gently combed his hair while her other hand wrapped around his broad back. Dong Su Zhu opened her mouth several times to speak, but all that came out was a quiet weeping. As her tears fell like raindrops on his shoulder, Yang Kai felt a long absent sense of warmth overcome him, gently sniffing the familiar fragrance that had comforted him so when he was a child. At that moment, Yang Kai’s heart became peaceful as all his tension and nervousness seemed to melt away. The ship which had been sailing for so long had finally returned to familiar harbours. Yang Kai’s eyes wet slightly. Even the Yang Family’s Fourth Master who tried to portray the image of an iron blooded man, at this moment, also had blurry eyes as he kept his head up, desperately squeezing back his tears. “Mother, I’m home!” Yang Kai whispered softly. Dong Su Zhu finally managed to calm herself and gently patted Yang Kai’s back while nodding her head again and again, “Good good, you coming home is good!” After more than a dozen breaths, Dong Su Zhu’s voice gradually became steady, finally able to speak without bursting into tears. Reluctantly, she separated herself from Yang Kai and placed both her hands on his shoulders, carefully examining him from head to toe, with an expression filled with joy. He had grown taller and stronger, no longer the thin child who appeared so weak in the past. Her son who now stood in front of her gave off a courageous and dependable aura. Thinking about all he must have gone through in order to grow to such an extent, Dong Su Zhu felt her tears welling up again. One’s growth was always accompanied by hardships. For Yang Kai to have become like this in such a short time, the number of trials and tribulations he must have suffered outside was definitely not small. Yang Kai tried signaling his father with his eyes, hoping he could comfort his mother, but what he saw was his old man’s head staring away, up in to the sky at a forty-five degree angle, seemingly watching the birds fly by as he crossed his arms in front of him. With the corners of his eyes moist! Helplessly sighing to himself, Yang Kai could only do his best to comfort Dong Su Zhu himself, “It’s alright, don’t cry!” *Sniff...* “En, I’ve let you see something disgraceful.” Dong Su Zhu gently nodded as she tried to dry her tears, her eyes swollen like ripe peaches. Yang Kai smiled and looked towards Yang Ying Feng. However, the Yang Family’s Fourth Master still maintained his stance. Even the eight winds would be unable to move him. “Haa...” Yang Kai sighed softly. In a slight flurry of confusion, Yang Ying Feng took a deep breath, quickly turned his head and actually held out his hands to cup his fists towards Yang Kai, opening his mouth to say something when he suddenly felt something was wrong. [I’m seeing my son, not greeting my elders, why am I cupping my fists to him? Isn’t this backwards?] His old face suddenly blushing rose red, the Yang Family’s Fourth Master casually extended his arms and brushed some invisible dust off his sleeves before crossing his arms behind his back and nodding slightly, doing his best to portray a calm demeanor, “Ahem, you’ve returned?” Yang Kai’s nose twitched slightly, feeling half joyful and half helpless, doing his best to ignore his father’s gaff and simply nodding his head, “En, I’ve returned.” “Good... then we should head back!” The Yang Family’s Fourth Master spoke decisively, waving his hand exaggeratedly before turning around, walking away quickly, his ears still slightly red. Yang Kai and Dong Su Zhu glanced at each other before quickly following, both of them grinning knowingly. Although Yang Ying Feng didn’t have much to say when he saw Yang Kai, anyone who saw him at that moment would be able to tell how happy he was, even his footsteps seemed to have become much lighter than before. The Fourth Master’s house. The group of three walked up to the entrance and returned home. Yang Ying Feng’s courtyard was neither big nor small; after all, he only had one son and a dozen or so servants, so the house seemed a fair bit quieter than other nearby residences. Inside the gates, the family’s servants had all lined up along the entranceway, respectfully bowing to welcome Yang Kai home. Yang Ying Feng quickly made the servants prepare a number of dishes while also drawing a bath for his son to wash himself. Meanwhile, Dong Su Zhu took Yang Kai’s hand and led him straight to his former bedroom. Pushing open the familiar door, Yang Kai slowly walked in and saw a nostalgic sight. There was basically no difference between what he saw before him and his childhood memories. No matter the layout or the decorations inside, there was absolutely no change. The bed was neatly made with fresh sheets and there was not a speck of dust in sight, obviously someone had meticulously maintained this place while he had been away. Yang Ying Feng’s eyes flashed as he quietly whispered, “After you left, your mother would often come here, as if you were still at home.” Dong Su Zhu maliciously twisted Yang Ying Feng waist, silently rebuking her thick skinned husband who simply endured it as he glanced back at her and smiled. “Don’t listen to his nonsense; I only came here to look around occasionally.” Dong Su Zhu quickly said. Yang Kai nodded slightly, knowing better than anyone that his old room was likely not only frequented by his mother, but even his father as well. The whole house was filled with familiar warmth of family. He could almost picture Yang Ying Feng standing here, sighing repeatedly while Dong Su Zhu would sit on his bed while wiping the tears from her face. More than six years, over a thousand days and nights... If one wasn’t a parent, they would never be able to comprehend the hardship of this period. Yang Kai’s heart beat slightly faster, his breathing becoming a bit disordered, not knowing what to say. “I’m going to open my best wine! Let’s have our meal here today.” Yang Ying Feng fumbled over his words, feeling like he was about to show an unsightly performance, quickly turning around and dashing off. “I’m going to help out in the kitchen! Son, rest here for a while.” Not long after, a group of servants carried over a number of dishes, each one having been cooked by Dong Su Zhu herself, while Yang Ying Feng brought over a bottle of good wine, one he had cherished for many years and had before now been unwilling to drink. The family of three, who sat together at the same table for the first time in many years, shared a jubilant meal. As the night went on, the Fourth Master drank generously, seemingly having determined that he would not stop tonight until he was completely drunk. Dong Su Zhu also joined her husband in his revelry so soon, only Yang Kai remained sober. “Rest here for today, tomorrow we can talk again.” Despite all the questions he had, Yang Ying Feng didn’t ask anything on this first day of Yang Kai’s return home, standing up swiftly as he prepared to leave. Dong Su Zhu, who was clearly drunk, turned her slightly glossy eyes to her husband and nodded, “You go back yourself, tonight I’ll sleep here with my son, I haven’t slept together with him for so long.” Yang Kai immediately choked on his wine. The Yang Family’s Fourth Master stared dully for a moment before nodding firmly, turning around and walking towards the door unsteadily. “Wait...” Yang Kai quickly called out to his father. “Hm, what’s wrong?” Yang Ying Feng asked casually. “Father, you don’t think there’s anything wrong here?” Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he felt a slight headache coming on. Yang Ying Feng paused and thought seriously for a while before frowning, “What’s the problem?” Yang Kai grabbed his forehead and rubbed his temples, wondering just how drunk his old man was, did he still see him as a child or something? However, no matter what he said right now, Yang Kai knew that his parents wouldn’t listen so in desperation, he could only call the maidservants outside to help Dong Su Zhu return to her room to rest. As her footsteps gradually drifted away, Dong Su Zhu’s muttering drifted into Yang Kai’s ears, “Let go of me, I have to sleep with my son tonight! Anyone who pulls me away I’ll hit mercilessly!” [In the future, I must never allow these two to get drunk!] Yang Kai decided secretly to himself. Dawn the next day. Yang Kai got up early as always to practice his Tempered Body Record under the morning sun. The True Qi in his meridians flowed with great vigor, some faint signs of breakthrough apparent. At the Lu Family home, Yang Kai had absorbed a large piece of Yang Crystal Jade, coupled with his daily Myriad Drug Liquid regiment to cleanse his body, it was only natural for him to show signs of promotion. Calming his mood, showing neither sadness nor joy, he let himself enter a serene state. Half an hour later, covered in perspiration, Yang Kai ended his morning routine. After breakfast, one of the servants came to inform him of the Fourth Master’s summons! Yang Kai knows that his father must have a lot of things to say to and ask of him, so he didn’t show any signs of surprise. After tidying himself up a bit, he quickly rushed to his father’s study. Unsurprisingly, not only was Yang Ying Feng waiting for him, Dong Su Zhu also sat nearby and stared towards the door. When Yang Kai entered the room, Dong Su Zhu quickly stood up and pulled him to sit next to her. When all three were seated, the Yang Family’s Fourth Master coughed and looked at Dong Su Zhu. “Do you want to go first or should I?” “You start, I only have some trivial things I want to ask.” Yang Ying Feng nodded, his expression becoming slight more dignified as he spoke, “My relationship with High Heaven Pavilion, your Grand Master should have told you, right?” “Yes, Grand Master has spoken to me about it.” Yang Kai nodded. “Then you should also know why I told you to go to High Heaven Pavilion.” Yang Ying Feng paused before letting out a sigh, “Son, I ask you, how is High Heaven Pavilion now?” Yang Ying Feng only knew that High Heaven Pavilion had been razed by the angered Qiu Family’s masters and that High Heaven Pavilion’s thousands of disciples had been disbanded while the Sect Elders had gone missing. Silavin: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I think it was one of the best 😀