It had been more than ten years since Yang Ru’s parents had been murdered, and while he’d never forget them and was glad the perpetrator had been published, he had his own family to worry about. Frankly, making sure that Ting’er actually brushed her teeth instead of simply running water over her toothbrush and protecting Hong’er from monsters hiding underneath his bed held far, far more importance.
Yang Ru believed that his mother and father would have thought the same. They would have wanted the happiness of their grandchildren to come first.
Yang Xiu was different. No family. No love interest. Nothing but Master and fighting and leading the sect and cultivation. She did have friends and loved her new niece and nephew, but they weren’t enough to take the place of what she’d lost. Avenging their parents ranked way too highly on her personal priority list in Yang Ru’s opinion.
“Gratitude, Brother,” she’d said while cupping her hands.
He smiled at her, glad that she’d found her peace with her actions. Which was what she’d been seeking in the first place. Like she’d ever be that torn up over his opinion of her actions. She was far too independent for that.
Still, she was obviously shaken up, and he was glad that he’d helped in some small way.
“So,” she said, now that she’d calmed down. “The new mayor?”
Normally, it was very much not the Rising Tide Sect’s job to deal with such matters. The Emperor’s faction and only the Emperor’s faction was in charge of deciding who led a mortal settlement. Given the twins’ status, however, they were being given much face in being deferred to in making that choice for their hometown.
Most of that regard was due to either Master’s supreme lack or extreme mastery of negotiation skills. Whenever either the Poison Claw Sect or the Emperor himself offered a boon, Master refused it most of the time, claiming to be a simple man who didn’t need such extravagances when everyone knew he wouldn’t whittle a stick without a blade crafted to such a high standard to make a Nihility realm cultivator weep. The other two factions fell all over themselves trying to keep the relationship balanced, meaning that anytime someone from the Rising Tide Sect actually desired something, it was almost always granted.
Of course, neither of the other factions had understood how valuable all the beachfront properties and the various farm and grazing lands far from established population centers that Master had wanted would become once he set up the portal network. They’d had no inkling such a thing was even possible at the time. Nor how high the value of putting hotels and resorts and restaurants near the ocean could become when formations were erected to keep the truly nasty sea creatures away.
Not even counting greater spirit coins and the cost of his formations and crafts, Master’s developments alone made him the richest man on the continent.
“I assumed we’d appoint someone qualified from the town’s council,” Yang Ru said.
She hesitated before responding, like she usually did when she planned to propose something he was sure not to like. “How about Uncle Shen?”
The idea stopped Yang Ru cold. They’d had Zou Tian’s intelligence division track down their uncle years ago. Not so they could approach him, of course. But many fortuitous occurrences came about since that improved his family’s status. Like a wealthy merchant coincidentally being near their farm and desperately needed just the crop they were harvesting and willing to pay three times the price for it. Or that time when an array had somehow accidentally gotten placed around a rice paddy that caused production to be five times higher than normal.
Given what Uncle Shen’s family had suffered due to the twins, improving the family’s finances from the shadows wasn’t much payback. Raising their uncle to Town Lord, though? That was a major improvement to his status. Most simple farmers would take the tradeoff of ten years of exile in exchange for such an advancement.
The only problem was that it meant they’d need to present the situation to their uncle personally. Which obviously meant seeing their aunt and uncle for the first time in a decade. Frankly, Yang Ru felt more than a little trepidation at the prospect of a reunion.
On the other hand, their oldest nephew was of the age to be inducted into the sect. Considering that a position in the Rising Tide Sect was sought by literally hundreds of thousands of people, arranging that for a family member was a significant boon and the least the twins could do. Not to mention that Master had long since created perfect cultivation methods for older family members, designed for ease of use and to give maximum health and longevity benefits. Giving those to Aunt and Uncle would mean they’d live decades longer.
The presentation of those boons was something both Yang Xiu and Yang Ru had wanted to do for the last few years but had been procrastinating due to their anxiousness at the situation.
“It’s a good idea,” he said, “but you know what that means.”
“I do. There’s still time today.”
Yang Ru grimaced but knew his sister was right. He grunted assent.
“Let’s all go,” Lin’er said. “The three of us and the kids. Ting’er and Hong’er would love to meet their cousins, and making it a family visit should lower tension.”
Both the twins nodded. It was a good plan.
When Ting’er emerged from school, her eyes went wide at seeing the trio, and she rushed directly to Yang Xiu. Yang Ru didn’t take offense, though. Lin’er had explained that it was good for their daughter to have a “cool aunt” as a role model. Besides, once the moppet let go, he and Lin’er got their hugs as well.
It wasn’t until after the embraces were over that Ting’er thought to ask why all three of them were picking her up. They held off of the explanation by telling her she’d have to wait until Hong’er could hear as well. Since they were heading directly to the day care, even a six-year-old’s patience could last that long.
Of course, once they reached the day care, Ting’er ran to embrace Master, who, laughing, lifted her up.
“How high?” he said.
“All the way to space!”
He pursed his lips. “You sure?”
“Yes! Please!”
That was a big moment. Ting’er had always been a little apprehensive about going so high. Master glanced at Lin’er and Yang Ru for confirmation. Lin’er nodded, and he grunted.
“Ready for launch?” Master said.
“R-ready.”
Ting’er was clearly apprehensive, and Yang Ru’s heart swelled at her bravery. It was always so amazing to see one of his children let go of a fear.
“5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Liftoff!” Master yelled.
As soon as he said the last word, he threw her upward with great force.
Obviously, he wouldn’t throw her all the way to space as the gravitational forces exerted on her fully mortal body would be too great, so he extended a qi shield in front of her to cut down on wind resistance and wrapped it around her to hold in warmth and air while using a series of Teleportation jumps to take her out of the planet’s atmosphere.
Even with Yang Ru’s Golden Core perception, he could barely see his little girl as she passed into the vacuum of space. She’d barely even started her fall, though, when she appeared in Master’s arms.
“How was it?” Master said.
It took her no time at all to readjust to being back on land, a testament to how used she was to Teleportation. “So pretty! And … a little scary.”
“I know. You’re such a brave girl.”
She nodded her head firmly. “I’m gonna grow up to be just like Aunt Xiu’er!”
That brought smiles to all the adults’ faces, especially Yang Xiu’s.
Since Ting’er had a turn being thrown into the air, Hong’er, of course, wanted his turn—a wish that Master of course granted, though not nearly so high for the four-year-old.
With both kids on the ground, it was time for Yang Ru to explain the plan, so he told them about going to meet their great-uncle and their cousins. They were excited, of course, mainly for the prospect of flying on swords for longer than just to go across the sect grounds instead of for meeting family they hadn’t known existed.
Master, of course, knew instantly what the trip represented.
“What did you decide?” he said to Yang Xiu.
“Exile to a small farming village.” Her tone held only a trace of bitterness.
Master cupped his hands. “Gratitude for your service to the sect and for showing mercy. I’m proud of you.”
When she didn’t answer, probably due to being a little choked up, Lin’er said, “We all are.”
Both women and the two kids got hugs from Master, and Yang Ru was given a handshake and a unenhanced slap to the back.
“Light’s fading,” Master said, his voice a bit choked as well. “Best get to it.”
So they did. After using the portal to get close, they flew the rest of the way, Hong’er with his mom on her sword and Ting’er with her aunt.
The trip in total took less than an hour with the flight being five times longer than the portals had taken, and soon, Yang Shen’s farm came into view.
Yang Ru and Yang Xiu shared a glance, one that said, “It’s right down there and we’ve come all this way so we kind of have to go down there, right?”
“How dramatic do we want to be?” Yang Xiu said.
Yang Ru pondered the question for a moment. “Uncle Shen wouldn’t react well to cultivators descending from the sky. Besides, it feels like a rude way to re-introduce ourselves.”
Lin’er nodded vigorously, so he knew he was on safe ground.
From Yang Xiu’s expression, she obviously agreed as well. “Change into peasant clothes, then?”
That question, too, required careful thought. It was good to take steps not to startle people, but consideration could be carried too far.
“We shouldn’t hide who we are with family,” Yang Ru said, “and we’ll need to convince them of our authority to make him the Town Lord.”
No one disagreed, and slowly, they descended, touching ground on a dirt path that led to the small farmhouse.
The twins looked at each other before leading their small group toward the house. No one appeared to Yang Ru’s spiritual sense, but the sounds of manual labor came both from inside and out in the fields. Mortals, as expected.
The closer they got to the door, the harder Yang Ru’s heart beat. Which, in a way, was silly. He was a Golden Core cultivator. One swipe of his spear, Irresistible Force, that Master had crafted for him, and the entire farm would be destroyed. There was nothing physical anyone present could do to him.
No, it was purely emotional damage that he feared. When he and Xiu’er had fled. It meant that Uncle Shen’s family had to flee as well, and the man had built his home and farm over the course of decades, had lived in Seventh Brilliant Raven Town his entire life.
And he’d had to give up all that due to the twins. His family had struggled for years to get established. One bad crop could have ruined them.
Yang Ru honestly had no idea what they were walking into. Uncle Shen had every right to blame them for every sleepless night and every time their kids went hungry.
Yang Xiu clearly felt the same way as her steps grew slower the closer they got.
Eventually, though, the inevitable had to happen—they arrived at the door. As the siblings hesitated, Lin’er stepped forward and knocked.
Steps approached from the other side. Like it or not, a reunion was about to happen.