Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 389 I miss your mom!

The secret chamber of the imperial palace.

Yagyu Yu sat at the head of the table, his face grim.

Yagyu Jubei sat at the lower end, his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.

Miyamoto Takeshi sat in the corner, head down, without saying a word.

There were also several elderly men whose auras were waning; they were all members of the Eastern Li royal family, and the lowest among them had the cultivation level of the late-stage Celestial Being.

After a moment of silence, Yagyu Yu spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse:

"He knows."

The three words were like three stones thrown into a calm pond.

Miyamoto Takeshi raised his head, his face pale: "Your Majesty, you mean..."

Liu Shengxiong nodded: "He knows about the Yin Yang Hehuan Sect. Today at the banquet, he asked me if there were any cults in Dongli. He was testing me."

Miyamoto Takeshi's face turned completely pale, as white as paper: "What do we do then? What if he investigates further..."

Despite his arrogant demeanor in front of Lin Chen, he knew perfectly well that Lin Chen was not someone to be trifled with.

"Why don't you investigate further?" an old man asked.

His voice was old but full of energy; he was the patriarch of the Dongli royal family, named Yagyu Genpei.

At 290 years old this year, he has barely reached the threshold of becoming a terrestrial immortal thanks to the evil skills of the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect.

However, his energy had already deteriorated significantly, and there was no hope of breaking through.

"What can he do even if he investigates? This is Dongli, not Dayan. He's just an outsider; what can he possibly do?"

Yagyu Jubei opened his eyes and glanced at Yagyu Genpei, his gaze as if he were looking at an ignorant child.

"Uncle Motohira," Yagyu Jubei spoke, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"The cultivation level of the Prince of Zhenbei is beyond our comprehension."

He also had more than twenty terrestrial immortals under his command, and a swordsman who was half a celestial immortal.

Do you know what this means? It means that he alone could plow Dongli three times from top to bottom.

Yagyu Genpei's expression changed, but he remained defiant:

"So what? We have the support of the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect—"

"The Yin-Yang Harmony Sect?" Yagyu Jubei interrupted him, his tone tinged with disdain.

"Uncle Yuanping, the Yin-Yang Union Sect is quite powerful in the Southern Wilderness."

But in Dongli, they only have a few strongholds and a few hundred people. The highest-ranking among them is only an early-stage Land Immortal. How can they possibly fight the King of Zhenbei?

Yagyu Genpei opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found himself speechless and closed it again.

Yagyu Jubei turned to Yagyu Yu, his tone sincere:

"Your Majesty, I suggest that we hand over the people of the Yin-Yang Union Sect."

Liu Shengxiong frowned deeply. "Hand it over? What about the Yin Yang Hehuan Sect...?"

Yagyu Jubei interrupted him, his voice lowered, but his tone was more forceful:

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Zhenbei is not someone we can afford to offend. Dongli's resources are not enough to defeat him alone."

Rather than confronting them head-on, it's better to make a drastic decision and hand over the Yin-Yang Union Sect members.

At least it shows our attitude: we are not with them, or rather, we were forced into this situation.

Perhaps out of consideration for the two princesses, the Prince of Zhenbei will not pursue the matter further.

Yagyu Yu fell silent.

Miyamoto Takeshi whispered, "But what about the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect... if they find out we betrayed them, what will happen to them later..."

Yagyu Jubei glanced at him, his eyes turning colder:

"We'll deal with the future later. Let's get through this hurdle first. If we can't get through this hurdle, there will be no future."

Miyamoto Takeshi shut up, lowered his head, and dared not speak again.

Yagyu sighed, a sigh filled with exhaustion and helplessness.

He stood up, walked to the wall, and pressed his hand against it.

A crack appeared in the wall, revealing a dark room.

The dark room was small, only about the height of a person, and contained a statue of a deity.

The statue was ferocious and terrifying, its entire body blood-red, as if it had been soaked in blood.

It has six arms, each holding a different magical artifact.

There was a sword, a knife, a hammer, a hook, and an arm holding a skull.

Its eyes were two red gems, gleaming eerily in the candlelight, and seemed to be staring at you from any angle.

Liu Shengxiong stared at the statue for a long time in silence, then turned around, his face devoid of any emotion.

"Miyamoto, go find the people from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect and tell them to evacuate Dongli first. Be quick and leave no trace."

Miyamoto Takeshi stood up, bowed, and said, "Yes."

He turned to leave, but was stopped by Yagyu Osamu.

"etc."

Miyamoto Takeshi stopped.

After thinking for a moment, Yagyu Yu added:

"Tell them that it's not that we want to drive them away, but that the Prince of Zhenbei has come and we have no choice but to ask them to understand."

Miyamoto Takeshi nodded, then turned and left.

The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor and eventually disappeared.

Yagyu turned around and glanced at the blood-red statue again.

Then I pressed a mechanism on the wall, and the wall closed perfectly, as if nothing had happened.

He walked back to his seat, picked up the now-cold tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Let's call it a day."

The elderly men stood up, bowed, and filed out.

Yagyu Jubei was the last to leave. As he reached the door, he turned back and glanced at Yagyu Yu.

Yagyu sat there, motionless, like a statue.

The candlelight flickered on his face, casting an unpredictable shadow over his expression.

Yagyu Jubei quietly closed the door and left.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Side hall.

Lin Chen lay on the bed with his eyes closed, unable to fall asleep.

Yagyu Yuki lay beside him, her face flushed, her breathing even, her eyelashes fluttering slightly; she was already asleep.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling, Jing Ke's report still swirling in his mind.

The Yin-Yang Union Sect has seven strongholds in Dongli, distributed throughout the country.

The Dongli royal family not only knew about it, but also cooperated with them.

Each year, women with primordial yin bodies are provided in exchange for instruction and support from the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect.

Yagyu Osamu may look all smiles, but he's ruthless to the core.

Lin Chen sneered inwardly, closed his eyes, turned over, and pulled Liu Shengxue closer to his chest.

Liu Shengxue rubbed her face against Lin Chen's chest, finding a comfortable position.

Lin Chen put his arm around her, his hand on her waist, feeling the warmth of her body and her soft curves.

But for some reason, the image of Yamarei Sora suddenly flashed through my mind.

Those eyes, that charm, that posture of kneeling in the hall with a slightly bowed head.

The patch of fair, smooth skin peeking out from the neckline of the kimono.

The moment my knees buckled and my body swayed slightly when I stood up.

Lin Chen's body reacted in some ways.

Liu Shengxue was held too tightly by him, and shifted uncomfortably before groggily opening her eyes.

"Husband..." Liu Shengxue murmured, her voice tinged with sleepiness and shyness, "I'm still alright."

Lin Chen was stunned for a moment, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face.

How embarrassing it would be if Yagyu Yuki found out that she was thinking about her mother.

Lin Chen forced himself to remain calm, coughed to cover his embarrassment, and said, "No need, go to sleep."

Liu Shengxue looked at Lin Chen with a puzzled look in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then didn't.

Finally, she just hummed in agreement, buried her head in Lin Chen's arms, and closed her eyes.

Lin Chen cursed himself in his heart, then closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.