Chapter 114: Which Path to Choose

“I will contact Feiyan as soon as possible; the people she sent to escort them should be fine.” After reassuring everyone, Yu Youwei recounted the situations in both the capital and Dongling, filling the hall with stifled sobs.

“Brother Shiyu is safe in the imperial city, right?” Mu Yuyan asked, rubbing her reddened nose.

“A troublemaker for a thousand years, he’s no good anyway. Nothing will happen to him,” Yu Youwei said with a slight lift of her brow, deliberately joking to ease the heavy atmosphere. Not only did Mu Yuyan manage a smile through her tears, but the sorrow on everyone’s faces also lessened considerably.

The matriarch’s eyes were complex as she looked at Yu Youwei, hesitating to speak, finally letting out a low sigh.

The three clan elders grew increasingly fond of Yu Youwei. The eldest great-grandfather sighed, “Good child, it’s rare to see you running about on behalf of the Yu family. I came in a hurry and have nothing worthy as a gift for you.”

“No matter what, my surname is Yu. If the Yu family is destroyed, I’ll bear the shame. Besides, with the Qingshuang Sword in hand, the affairs of the Yu family are my responsibility.” She gracefully raised her slender wrist, and the Qingshuang Sword appeared straight in her hand. She deliberately observed the elders’ expressions; even the grandmother seemed indifferent to the sword. Could it be that the Qingshuang Sword was not the Yu family’s heirloom after all?

The second great-grandfather wiped his tears and said, “That’s your father’s Qingshuang Sword, isn’t it? Seeing this sword reminds me of Tianming. If he hadn’t been a prodigy taken too soon, with Tianming around, the Wu family wouldn’t dare to touch our Yu family.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Yu Youwei thought silently: In terms of foundation, the Yu family is not even in the same league as the Wu family. Even if Father were alive, his strength would be no match for the Wu family’s patriarch. Father must have many secrets.

“Enough idle talk. Let’s decide whether to return to Dongling or go to the imperial city.” The taciturn fifth great-grandfather spoke.

The third great-grandfather, without sharing his own view, asked Yu Youwei directly, “What do you think?”

Yu Youwei answered calmly, “Those above the Foundation Establishment stage and uninjured should go to the imperial city. Dongling is Yu family territory; no one dares to occupy it, so it’s less urgent than the imperial city. The rest would just be a burden; I will take them to Yunhuang Marsh for resettlement.”

The third great-grandfather assumed Yunhuang Mountain was under the protection of the Ning family, who commanded the Yunhuang Army, and sighed, “It’s good that the old, weak, and sick have somewhere to go without worries. But relatives help in emergencies, not in poverty. You are still a new bride; bringing so many Yu family members to rely on your husband’s family might cause the Ning family to look down on you.”

The matriarch gently embraced Yu Youwei, her voice choked with emotion, “I share that view. Ninth Miss, don’t burden yourself. You have done so much for the Yu family; it is the Yu family who owes you too much.”

From Yu Youwei’s earlier account, everyone understood the courage it took for her to fight alongside the Yu family in such perilous times, not to mention how she cleverly used words to intimidate the Qian Emperor, turning the tide and giving the Yu family a breathing space. Though she spoke of it briefly, the debt of gratitude was deeply etched in everyone’s hearts.

In their eyes, the blood ties shone unmistakably. Yu Youwei’s brow lifted slightly, a warm smile gathering at the corners of her eyes. “It’s not about owing or not. After all, you can’t write two Yu characters with a single stroke. Besides, I’m not asking the Ning family for help. A friend is assisting me in sending people to Yunhuang Marsh, a hidden place where they must be self-sufficient.”

“That’s a good bond!” The usually calm fifth great-grandfather decisively made the decision. Neither the two elder great-grandfathers nor the matriarch objected, settling the matter.

Next was to decide who would go to the imperial city and who to Yunhuang Marsh.

Mu Yuyan was eager to go to the imperial city, but since entering Yunhuang Marsh required the guidance of the little white bear, and Yu Youwei had to go to the Sword Sect without exposing the little white bear’s secret, plus not wanting her cousin to go to the volatile imperial city, she entrusted the little thunder eagle to her cousin, letting the little white bear secretly guide them through the eagle.

“Everyone will follow the little eagle. I don’t need to go to Yunhuang Marsh,” Mu Yuyan pouted, clinging to her cousin.

“The little eagle only recognizes you and me. If I leave and you don’t go, it might not recognize you,” Yu Youwei said, holding her cousin’s soft, delicate hand, feigning reluctance.

“You’re not coming with us?” Mu Yuyan suddenly panicked.

“Your sister is going back to the Ning family,” the matriarch quickly explained.

“Oh, Mo Fei came with me to Mu family estate. I won’t return to the Ning family for now.” Her beautiful eyes chilled slightly as Yu Youwei said calmly, “I have to visit the Sword Sect.”

Everyone fell silent.

The special status of the fourth lady in the Yu family made it unthinkable that she would stand aside in the family’s dire straits. After all, Yu Ruoshuang was a bloodline of the Yu family, cherished and protected like a star by the elders. How could she bear to see the Yu family exterminated?

“Better not go,” the fifth great-grandfather muttered.

The third great-grandfather disagreed as well, “The situation at the Sword Sect is uncertain; it’s too dangerous for you.”

“At least I’m the Ning family’s daughter-in-law. Going to see my elder sister, the Sword Sect won’t harm me.” Another reason for returning to the Mu family estate was to get poison from her sworn sister. With those poisons and the twin swords Chiqing in hand, Yu Youwei believed she could escape the Sword Sect unharmed. Instead, she worried about those going to the imperial city. After some thought, she added, “Bring Mo Fei with those going to the imperial city. With him there, the Wu family won’t dare act rashly.”

The matriarch worriedly said, “If you use him as a shield and something happens, how will you explain to the Ning family?”

Without denying using Ning Mo Fei as a shield, a pang of guilt stirred in her heart. Considering the Yu family’s situation, Yu Youwei could only steel herself and say, “If they can kill Ning Mo Fei without hesitation, or if the Qian Emperor can watch him die within the Sword Sect, then the Yu family’s extinction is truly near. What the Ning family thinks won’t matter.”

“Good child, I won’t say more. Take care,” the matriarch wiped away tears.

Handing her cousin over to the eldest aunt, Yu Youwei smiled, “Please take good care of Yuyan. Don’t let my second brother, that flirtatious scoundrel, bully her out of pity for me.”

The matriarch replied without hesitation, “As long as I’m here, I won’t allow your second brother to harm Yuyan.”

The usually silent eldest lady spoke up, “Yuyan is loyal and righteous. If Shiyu betrays her, this old woman won’t forgive him.”

“This girl understands duty and takes responsibility. She is worthy to be the matriarch of our Yu family,” the fifth great-grandfather declared firmly, with no one dissenting.

Mu Yuyan blushed and lowered her head, uneasy, “I took it upon myself to send over a dozen children with Feiyan’s people, but I still don’t know how they are.”

“You underestimate Feiyan too much,” Yu Youwei said tenderly, pinching her cousin’s sharp chin. “Don’t worry, no one under her protection will be harmed. Otherwise, she’d have come charging here already. But to get them back, your sister will be extorted again. Leave them there for now. If she doesn’t mention it, you shouldn’t ask.”