"Yue Ran!" Madam Yue turned around, slamming the table in anger, "You're getting more audacious!"
Xiao Man stood at the doorway, looking at Madam Yue's face on the main seat. Her pupils contracted sharply. How could this be? How could this be possible?
As if to confirm her thoughts, Xiao Man stepped inside, walking up to Yue Ran and staring intently at Madam Yue, as if wanting to engrave Madam Yue's appearance into her mind.
"Second Brother, what are you doing?" Yue Ran quickly pulled him back to her side.
Madam Yue's gaze fell on Xiao Man, seeing Xiao Man looking at her with disbelief, her eyes red. There were too many emotions in those eyes, but for some reason, Xiao Man, in this state, pierced her heart!
Madam Yue subconsciously clutched her chest. The momentary sting felt real. Strange, why would she be hurt by that gaze?
"I saw you letting people into your courtyard and thought you had changed your ways. Plus, she kept begging me, so I let her come," Madam Yue softened her tone. "If you don't like it, just kick her out. Why kill someone?"
"If I don't kill one to warn the others, everyone will send people to my courtyard!" Yue Ran said, his voice icy. "I don't like messy people entering my courtyard. You don't want what happened ten years ago to happen again, do you? If it happens again, I might not be as lucky as I was ten years ago."
Madam Yue's face turned pale. Ten years ago, the people serving Yue Ran had betrayed him, and Yue Ran had nearly lost his life. That's why he hadn't let anyone into his courtyard since. But precisely because of this, she was startled to see Yue Ran allowing someone into his courtyard again.
"Mother thought, since you and Tong'er have always been close, you might be happy to see her..."
"I've only met her a few times; we're not close," Yue Ran explained, though these words were directed at Xiao Man. Xiao Man, however, kept staring at Madam Yue, her expression bordering on numb. "Second Brother, I'm really not familiar with Huo Tong'er."
Xiao Man, however, only stared at Madam Yue. After a moment, she looked up, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill. "A Ran, I'm tired."
"Liu Han, escort Second Brother back to rest."
"I know the way myself." Xiao Man turned and left quickly. Liu Han almost had to run to catch up. However, once Xiao Man returned to her room, she immediately shut the door.
Yue Ran stood at the door, watching Xiao Man close the door before turning to Madam Yue. "Mother, what exactly do you want to do?"
Madam Yue walked up to Yue Ran. "I want to ask you, what does Xiao Qin mean to you?"
"She is my Second Brother."
"You don't have a second brother!" Madam Yue retorted angrily. "Don't think I don't know what your intentions are towards her. If she were a girl, I wouldn't stop you, but she's not."
"Mother is worrying about this?" Yue Ran couldn't help but laugh at her words. "Alright, the thing you're worried about doesn't exist. Go back, and don't send people to my courtyard anymore."
"Yue Ran, I'm serious!"
"Mother, I'm also very serious." Yue Ran's tone was rare and gentle. "What I want to protect, I will protect. You are my own mother. I don't ask for your help, but I beg you not to hinder me."
"You are going to be the Young Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect in the future. You cannot have weaknesses."
"Mother, my father is the Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Do you think he has weaknesses?" Yue Ran retorted. His own father was very cold towards him, his son, but he was extremely gentle towards his mother. Everyone in the Heavenly Sword Sect knew that his mother was his father's reverse scale. And he too had a reverse scale.
"You are different from your father; your father is very powerful!"
"I will also become powerful, and eventually surpass him." Yue Ran looked at Madam Yue and smiled. "Mother, I didn't understand before why I had to cultivate hard, why I had to become a supreme powerhouse. Was it just because I am the Young Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect? But later, I understood. Becoming stronger is so that I have the ability to protect those I want to protect."
"That person is Xiao Qin?" Madam Yue, though reluctant to admit it, had to acknowledge that the person Yue Ran wanted to protect was Xiao Man.
"Yes." Yue Ran nodded affirmatively. "From the first time I saw her, I felt as if I had seen her somewhere before and wanted to be close to her. This is probably what they call love at first sight."
"But she is a..."
"The first time I saw her, I knew she was a girl." Yue Ran lowered his voice and whispered in Madam Yue's ear, "Although your son is not very clever, I'm not stupid. Her disguise was very perfect, but it couldn't fool my eyes."
"A girl?" Madam Yue was extremely shocked. Even she hadn't discovered that Xiao Man was a girl. "How did you find out?"
"Don't worry about how I found out." Yue Ran helped Madam Yue walk out. "The important thing is that I know. You, don't worry too much. I know what I want! It's late, go back and rest early, otherwise, my father will blame me for tiring you out."
Xiao Man shut herself in her room, her back against the door, her body trembling uncontrollably. She had to hug her knees and curl up to calm herself down!
"How could this be? Why is it like this?" Xiao Man kept asking herself. Why was it like this? She had imagined countless possibilities, but never this one!
"Could it be her?" The thought alone sent goosebumps all over Xiao Man's body. Yue Ran's mother looked exactly like her own mother!
Xiao Man's thoughts were in a mess. She didn't know if Madam Yue was her mother. After all, Madam Yue came from the Huo family, was called Huo Xian'er, and had parents and an origin. But identities could be faked, especially for a powerful sect like the Heavenly Sword Sect. If they wanted to give someone a false identity, they could do it flawlessly!
"Second Brother, have you slept?" Yue Ran's voice sounded outside the door.
"No." Xiao Man calmed herself down. She wasn't sure if Madam Yue was her mother yet, so she couldn't panic.
"Second Brother, my mother has already gone back. Don't worry."
"A Ran, I remember you said the Huo family is your maternal clan. So, your mother is a young lady of the Huo family. Did she grow up in the Huo family all along?"
"Not exactly. My mother is my maternal grandfather's illegitimate daughter. She only returned to the Huo family after she came of age," Yue Ran said, sitting outside Xiao Man's door, leaning against it. "My mother doesn't have deep feelings for the Huo family and is also estranged from my maternal grandfather, as she didn't grow up in the Huo family."
"How old is your mother?"
"My mother is thirty-eight this year."
Thirty-eight years old, the same age as her mother, the same appearance. To prove whether she was her, all it took was a drop of her blood. The Myriad Poison Golden Body of the Qin family's direct bloodline was not something anyone could possess. Even if she had a child, the bloodline wouldn't change. However, obtaining her blood wouldn't be easy, so another method had to be used.