Chapter 69: Chapter 69 - The Severance Package and the God-Tier Network

The atmosphere inside the ruined hut grew heavy and quiet.

Tang Yuyan knelt on the floorboards. Her sharp, authoritative aura had entirely vanished. It was replaced by the tender, desperate pleading of an aunt trying to reclaim her family.

She gently explained to Ziyan that the Tang Clan had the resources, the manuals, and the poison-masters necessary to stabilize her chaotic constitution. She promised that if Ziyan came back with them, she would never have to suffer the agonizing burning in her veins ever again.

Ziyan was completely silent. Her face was highly complicated.

She looked at the beautiful, powerful woman claiming to be her aunt. Then, she looked down at her own hands.

’If we are truly family...’ Ziyan thought. Her heart clenched with a lifetime of bitter loneliness. ’Why didn’t you look for me until now? Why did my father have to die? Why did I have to rot in this forest for twenty years?’

Tang Yuyan, with the terrifying intuition of a Nascent Soul expert, seemed to read the girl’s mind perfectly.

"We never stopped looking," Tang Yuyan said softly. She showed a rare, deeply melancholic expression. "Twenty years ago, my younger sister... your mother... ran away from the Clan. We have been searching the mortal kingdoms for her ever since. That is why Sisi and I were in this remote region in the first place."

Tang Yuyan let out a bitter, self-deprecating sigh. "Who would have thought that by pausing to follow this flirty kid, I wouldn’t find my sister... but I would find you instead. You must have suffered so much, Ziyan."

Beside her, Tang Sisi’s eyes welled up with tears. She was Ziyan’s cousin, and confirming that the aunt she had idolized as a child was truly dead brought a crushing wave of grief to her.

Standing quietly near the door, Su Bai fell silent. His corporate logic perfectly understood the situation.

In this vast, boundless cultivation world, if someone actively wanted to hide, finding them was like finding a specific grain of sand in a desert. Besides, with their primary target already dead, all of their remaining leads had come to a sudden halt. He couldn’t blame the Tang Clan for being late.

"Please, my niece," Tang Yuyan asked once more. "Come home with us."

Ziyan bit her lip. She didn’t answer her aunt.

Instead, she slowly turned her head and stared directly at Su Bai.

She had known this man for less than two hours, but he was the only person in her entire life who had touched her without fear, who had eased her pain, and who had looked at her like a human being instead of a monster. She subconsciously sought his approval.

Su Bai met her gaze and gave a firm, reassuring nod.

It was the most optimal career move for her. The Tang Clan was the only faction in the world equipped to handle a poison-based Heavenly Root.

Seeing Su Bai’s nod, Ziyan finally took a deep breath. She turned back to Tang Yuyan and gave a small, hesitant nod of agreement.

Watching this exact sequence of events play out, Tang Yuyan suddenly felt a massive, throbbing headache building behind her eyes.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. ’The women of the Tang Clan are truly cursed to suffer tribulations with smooth-talking men,’ Yuyan thought bitterly.

Her sister had run away for a man. She herself had spent decades conflicted over that stubborn fool, Lu Canghai. And now, her newly found niece was clearly emotionally tethered to this flirty, shameless junior!

If it were anyone else, Tang Yuyan would have casually assassinated the boy to sever her niece’s worldly attachments. But she couldn’t bring herself to be angry at Su Bai.

First, killing him would permanently alienate Ziyan. It might repeat the same mistake the Clan made with her sister.

Second, he was Lu Canghai’s direct disciple.

Third, his bizarre immunity to poison made him a highly valuable asset to the Tang Clan.

And finally... without Su Bai’s accidental philanthropy, they never would have found Ziyan in time.

Tang Yuyan let out a long, heavy sigh.

She reached into her robes and produced a sleek, silver storage ring. With a flick of her spiritual sense, she transferred several items into it, then casually tossed it to Su Bai.

Su Bai caught it out of the air.

"Take this as gratitude for helping the Tang Clan," Tang Yuyan said as her tone returned to its usual cool, authoritative cadence, though she looked slightly hesitant. "You will be welcomed as a VIP guest when you come to visit."

Su Bai’s heart practically exploded with corporate joy.

’VIP Access?!’ Su Bai screamed internally. ’That means I can legally visit the Tang Clan and harvest premium poison from Ziyan! I just secured a Tier-1 networking connection!’

"Senior Tang is too generous!" Su Bai bowed deeply.

He sent a sliver of Qi into the ring to scan his severance package.

His jaw nearly dropped.

Inside the spatial space sat a small mountain of mid-grade spirit stones. Next to the wealth were several wooden lockboxes radiating terrifying, lethal Qi... Premium Tang Clan poisons!

There was also a sleek, obsidian token engraved with the character for ’Tang’, and beside it was a set of high-grade, silver acupuncture needles resting atop a leather-bound manual.

Seeing his thinly veiled shock, Tang Yuyan smirked.

"The Tang Clan possesses the greatest hidden weapon and needle techniques in the world," she boasted proudly. "Study that manual. With your spatial footwork and our needle arts, you might actually be able to pierce a Golden Core’s defenses at your current cultivation level, just like your master used to do. And if you still can’t pierce their Qi barrier..."

Her smirk turned delightfully wicked. "...Then just coat the needles in the poison I gave you and let them rot to death."

Su Bai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The woman was terrifyingly practical. But he bowed again, offering his sincerest thanks. She was absolutely right. His current needle-throwing technique was too straightforward and easy to dodge. This was a massive upgrade to his combat portfolio.

"We must depart immediately," Tang Yuyan announced, standing up. "Ziyan’s mortal meridians are too fragile. The sooner we bring her to the Clan’s ancestral medicinal pools, the sooner she can begin cultivating and controlling her toxins."

Before they walked out the door, Su Bai called out.

"Ziyan."

The girl paused, then looked back at him.

Su Bai smiled and shook his head. "No... Tang Ziyan. Let’s meet again soon. I hope by then, we can sit down and talk freely, without you having to worry about hurting anyone."

At those words, the lingering anxiety in Ziyan’s eyes completely melted away. A beautiful, breathtaking smile bloomed on her face.

"Come visit me sometime," she replied softly.

"Enough of this," Tang Yuyan cut in. She rolled her eyes as she stepped between them to block Su Bai’s view.

Tang Sisi giggled softly. She offered Su Bai a polite wave goodbye before she gently supported Ziyan by the arm.

Su Bai followed them out of the ruined hut and watched them off. Tang Yuyan summoned a massive flying sword that effortlessly carried all three of them.

As they shot into the evening sky, Ziyan looked back down at the village one last time, then let out a soft, complicated sigh before they disappeared into the clouds.

Su Bai stood alone in the clearing.

The moment they were completely out of view, the warm, polite smile vanished from Su Bai’s face. His expression turned incredibly serious.

He had just secured a phenomenal connection, but the Ancient Tang Clan was absolutely terrifying.

Tang Yuyan had acted casual, maybe even a little tsundere regarding his master, but Su Bai wasn’t fooled. Throughout their entire interaction, her Nascent Soul aura had been micro-auditing his every breath, heartbeat, and muscle twitch.

Her scrutinizing gaze felt exactly like standing in front of the most oppressive, ruthless CEO in his past life. If he had lied to her even once, he would have been in trouble.

The lady his master had fallen for was no ordinary woman.

But what chilled Su Bai the most was a retroactive realization.

When he had told Tang Yuyan that he was Su Qingshan’s biological son... she hadn’t been surprised that Su Qingshan had a son. More importantly, she hadn’t spoken about Su Qingshan in the past tense.

’She knows he’s alive,’ Su Bai realized. ’The Righteous Factions think my father is dead or missing, but the Tang Clan’s intelligence network is so godly that a Nascent Soul executive casually reacted to his name like he was just an annoying guy she saw last week.’

They might even know exactly where Su Qingshan was.

Su Bai let out a long, heavy breath. The waters of the cultivation world were far deeper and darker than he had anticipated.

"I need to return to the Radiant Sky Sect," Su Bai muttered to himself as he summoned his own flying sword.

It was time to clock back in. He needed to report his findings on the Demonic Sect’s operations to the higher-ups.

And more importantly, he needed to interrogate his master about his terrifying crush, and ask what exactly happened to Ziyan’s mother twenty years ago.