Chapter 1451 — A Mysterious Letter

"I... I..." Guan Xin's face flushed, and she suddenly grew embarrassed. "When did I ever...? I was just a little surprised..."

"Ha ha, I was only joking. Well then, Xinxin, have you thought over that matter I mentioned to you? Today you must have gone to talk it over with Xiaoyi, no?" Guan Xuemin waved a hand. He knew his granddaughter was bashful, so he let it go at that. "Any result?"

"Grandfather... I discussed it with Wei Zhaodian, and this is what we decided..." Guan Xin related Wei Zhaodian's suggestion to Guan Xuemin.

With Guan Xuemin's intelligence, it was easy enough for him to grasp his granddaughter's intent: if she studied pharmacology, then in the future she would surely be able to join Wei Zhaodian's company and help him. Her thinking left him somewhat helpless, yet even so it was far better than being nothing but a nurse.

"Very well. Then so it is decided." Guan Xuemin nodded. "I will speak to my old friend about it later. Before he enters that place, he wants to take on a disciple to inherit his mantle. As it happens, my old friend's specialty lies in pharmacology as well, so Xinxin's request fits in quite well."

Though Guan Xuemin's old friend was skilled in pharmacology, his arts in diagnosis and acupuncture were formidable as well — but plainly Guan Xin would not be able to learn those.

"Yes. Thank you, Grandfather." Guan Xin was overjoyed to hear her grandfather agree.

Wei Zhaodian, however, asked in some puzzlement, "That place? What place?"

"I am not too clear on the specifics myself. This old friend of mine is a recluse of the common world. It is said that a sect specializing in pill refinement has taken a fancy to him and wishes to recruit him. The details are kept secret, so I did not press him on it," Guan Xuemin said.

"I see..." Since it was secret, Wei Zhaodian decided not to ask further — after all, Guan Xuemin did not know the details either.

The two of them chatted a while longer about medical matters, and then Wei Zhaodian rose to take his leave. It was already very late, and he could hardly keep staying there; the Young Miss had already sent him several messages asking when he would be back...

Even as the great clans prepared to convene the Great Clan Assembly, every hidden clan, sect, and gang that qualified to do so received a letter in aqua-blue, stamped with the mark of an 'Ice Flower'!

For a time, all the hidden clans, sects, and gangs were set in motion!

In the Hidden Yu Family, Patriarch Yu Xiaochen held the letter in his hand, his expression grave, and said to Yu Liu, who had brought it: "I must go and see my father at once. This matter must be decided by him."

"Ah!" Yu Liu was taken aback. The Yu family's Old Ancestor had been in seclusion year in and year out — this was known to everyone in the Hidden Yu Family. Even the patriarch Yu Xiaochen would not disturb him over trifles, unless something momentous had happened!

And now, clearly, something momentous had happened. Though Yu Liu did not understand the significance of the letter in the patriarch's hand, its contents were certainly no small matter!

"What are you standing there for? Get the car ready, quickly!" Yu Xiaochen said.

"Yes, sir!" Yu Liu nodded hurriedly and went off to prepare the car.

The place where the Yu family's Old Ancestor was in seclusion stood at the summit of a peak beyond the Yu family's castle estate. The road leading up was a winding mountain road the Yu family had built themselves; a cultivator like Yu Xiaochen could have climbed it without a car, but a car was more convenient.

Yu Liu soon had the car ready and drove Yu Xiaochen up the mountain.

"How is Yu Huoxing? Any signs of activity?" Yu Xiaochen asked.

"No, none. Yu Qi, Yu Ba, and I take turns keeping watch, and we have found nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing unusual has turned up in Yu Huoxing's room either," Yu Liu said.

"Could it be that he truly returned empty-handed?" Yu Xiaochen did not trust Yu Huoxing, but he did trust men like Yu Liu — loyal disciples of the Yu family, born and raised within it, who had long since come to regard themselves as part of the family.

"That is hard to say. We mean to keep watching for a few more days before deciding," Yu Liu said.

With a car, they reached the mountaintop quickly enough; but the moment they arrived, a black-clad figure appeared out of nowhere and barred their way! With a casual flick of one hand, he brought the speeding SUV to a halt before him, as easily as if he were shoving a toy car.

"Senior Brother Yu Yi, the patriarch has come!" Yu Liu hastily stopped the car and got out to speak to the man who had blocked them.

This man was Yu Yi, the mightiest of the Yu family's disciples — the second Heaven-rank expert in the family after the Old Ancestor himself! Though only at the early Heaven rank, he was still among the very finest.

Even so, when he heard that Yu Xiaochen was in the car, his expression immediately turned solemn, and he cupped his fists toward the car: "So it is the patriarch who has come. I have been greatly discourteous — I beg the patriarch not to take offense!"

"Think nothing of it. You guard my father's safety and do your duty with all your heart; that pleases me," Yu Xiaochen said, having stepped down from the car, and nodded to Yu Yi.

From this alone one could see how utterly different the Hidden Yu Family was from the Hidden Zhao Family. Yu Xiaochen's position in the Hidden Yu Family had reached the point of complete control; since the Old Ancestor's seclusion, he had for the most part ceased to concern himself with family affairs, and even an expert like Yu Yi was exceedingly deferential toward Yu Xiaochen.

"It is only my duty," Yu Yi said at once.

"Is my father in seclusion? I have something important to see him about," Yu Xiaochen said.

"The Old Ancestor came out of seclusion only yesterday and has not yet gone back in. Please, patriarch!" Yu Yi made a gesture of invitation.

"Patriarch, I will wait here," Yu Liu said, knowing the rules. On the peak where the Yu Old Ancestor cultivated, apart from the Yu family's direct descendants, only Yu Yi was permitted to draw near; naturally he would not follow.

Yu Xiaochen nodded and followed Yu Yi onward, into something resembling a cave — though what barred the way was a stone door controlled by a fingerprint lock.

As the Yu family's patriarch, Yu Xiaochen naturally knew the code. He entered it and walked in with practiced ease. The cave looked unremarkable from the outside, but within, there was another world entirely!

The interior was built with great refinement and care, with something of an antique flavor about it.

With practiced ease he made his way to the innermost room — the dwelling of Yu Xiaochen's father, the Yu family's Old Ancestor.

The Old Ancestor had long since heard the commotion outside. A Heaven-rank expert was hardly comparable to ordinary men; from the sound of the footsteps alone, the Old Ancestor could tell that his son Yu Xiaochen had come.

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