Anduin family head looked hale and hearty, with no sign of having suffered any injury at all. He was simply overcome with emotion upon seeing Danni, and it took quite a while before he calmed down. With Danni’s support, he sat down at the dining table nearby.
He looked Danni up and down, reached out to wipe the tears from her face, and asked, “Danni, weren’t you supposed to have been kidnapped by them? I sent people to Ganglu City and even put up a reward, but unfortunately, we found no trace of you. You… what exactly is going on with you now?” As he spoke, his eyes turned towards Ye Dui and the others. He clearly recognised Ye Dui and the group, especially Debbie. When he saw Debbie, he revealed a rather peculiar expression, one mixed with shock and excitement.
“Father, I wasn’t kidnapped at all. The Ninth Prince died in Clown Town, and I was there at the time too. If word of that got out, the family might be blamed, so Brother Ye Dui pretended to abduct me to keep our house from being targeted by the other families.” Danni explained. Her eyes were full of tears too. It was as if she had only just remembered in that moment, and she introduced the identities of Ye Dui and the others.
Jacob was introduced last. When it came to Jacob, he walked up to the Anduin family head with a look of trepidation on his face, cradling a small bundle in his arms. He said somewhat nervously, “Uncle, this is the gift I brought for you.”
Having Jacob present the blood snake beast to the Anduin family head was Ye Dui’s idea, all to help Jacob make a good impression in front of him.
“What is this thing?” The Anduin family head was taken aback. He reached out and opened the bundle. He let out an “ah” of surprise from his mouth right after, and hurriedly stood up from his seat. He stared in stunned silence at the red snake corpse inside the bundle. “This is… that blood snake beast!?”
A month ago, this blood snake beast had appeared at the Hot Spring Manor, and he had led people to try to capture it, so he had seen what it looked like. But he absolutely never expected that the savagely ferocious blood snake beast from back then would end up in this state now. He looked up. “You killed the blood snake beast?”
“We just killed it. We heard you were badly injured, so we specially brought it over. I heard that the gallbladders of snake-type magical beasts are a panacea for healing wounds…” After saying a few words like that, Jacob suddenly trailed off. This was not what they had agreed on at all. The Anduin family head was not injured in the slightest.
“What is the situation at the Hot Spring Manor now?” The Anduin family head asked hurriedly.
“It blew up.” Debbie answered.
Anduin family head: “?”
Debbie hurriedly explained, “We were originally going to sneakily bring this dead snake over after killing it, but we ran into Snake-Haired Yuren and ended up fighting him. We accidentally blew up the Hot Spring Manor in the process, but Snake-Haired Yuren didn’t get off easy either. Even if he’s not dead, he’s badly wounded.”
Having Debbie do the explaining was Ye Dui’s intention. After all, she was an ancestor of the Anduin family too. She surely would not be blamed for destroying the Hot Spring Manor.
The Anduin family head thought of something. “Those two explosions just now, were they caused by you lot!?”
“Oh dear, you heard them?” Debbie was stunned.
“… The room shook a little. I thought something had happened.” The Anduin family head replied. The place was not close to the Hot Spring Manor at all, yet the explosions there had reached all the way here. How much trouble could this group cause… He steadied himself against the table and stood up again, walking over to Debbie.
Debbie immediately put on a vigilant expression. “You’re not going to make us pay for it, are you…”
“Debbie… er, Aunt.” The Anduin family head said somewhat awkwardly. “The entire family is yours. How could I make you pay? I am the head of this generation of the Anduin family, Hoyn Anduin. I saw your portrait in the relics left by my father. To be honest, when I first heard you had reappeared, I did not believe it. Only now, seeing you like this, do I believe it. In the entire continent, I am probably the only one left who still knows what you look like. You really travelled through from sixty-four years ago to now.”
After saying these words, Hoyn suddenly turned his head to look at Ye Dui again. “You are the guild master of the Name-Your-Own Magic Guild, are you not? Ye Dui…” He paused, then said somewhat awkwardly, “Uncle.”
“Hee hee~~” Debbie laughed smugly. It seemed her influence still carried weight. She winked at Ye Dui. The Hot Spring Manor business would not require them to pay. But then Debbie thought of something off, and she hurriedly said to Hoyn, “Wait a minute. Why are you calling me aunt and him uncle?”
Hoyn said with some confusion, “Are you not together?”
“Nonsense!” Debbie immediately said angrily. She hurriedly shifted to the side, as if deliberately trying to distance herself from any association with Ye Dui. “Debbie and Ye Dui are not in that kind of relationship at all. Hoyn, do not say such rubbish!”
Ye Dui: “…”
Young lady, our nephew meant well. Did you really need to get so worked up?
Hoyn was momentarily stunned. He hurriedly shook his head. “I see. I did not know about these matters. I only heard about your affairs. Aunt Debbie, please do not take it to heart.”
“Forget it, it is fine. And do not call me aunt either. It sounds so odd. You should just call me Debbie.” Debbie said. She did not like being addressed with elder titles. Prince Geller called her sister out of habit, and Danni called her grandma with a bit of teasing intent. But now, with Hoyn, a middle-aged man of forty or fifty, calling her that too, she found it a bit unbearable.
Hoyn quickly nodded in agreement.
Ye Dui asked at this point, “Mr. Hoyn, the rumours say you were injured by Snake-Haired Yuren, but you look perfectly fine now. What exactly is going on?” Was it because his injury had not been serious to begin with and had now healed?
“At the time, I discovered that the Jores family had put a blood snake beast into the hot springs, so I went to reason with them. Then that lad Yuren stepped forward and prepared to teach me a lesson…”
Hoyn recounted gravely. He sat back down in his seat, a profound and inscrutable expression on the corners of his mouth. He continued, “But before he even touched me, I took the initiative to fall flat on my backside on the ground. In the end, they had to carry me out from the Jores family manor, and I wailed miserably all the way. So the rumours spread outside that I had been beaten and injured by Snake-Haired Yuren. Hmph, it is not so easy for them to seize the Anduin family assets. I deliberately created this false impression on purpose. It has been a whole month now, and outside they are all saying I am gravely ill and beyond saving. The lesser nobles and commoners in the capital are all condemning the Jores family’s overbearing ways. The Jores family does not dare to do anything too outrageous now, and even the imperial family members friendly with them cannot intervene easily. Hmph, if I cannot beat them, I will not let them have it easy either! In the future, I will demand justice and make the Jores family compensate me with a fortune in gold to call it even!”
Everyone in the stone chamber: “…”
Ye Dui’s face twitched. He felt genuine admiration for Hoyn: You have truly mastered the art of extortion…
Now that they knew Hoyn was unharmed, there would be some losses at the Hot Spring Manor, but considering that the Jores family had lost a blood snake beast, and perhaps even Snake-Haired Yuren had lost his life in the bargain, this exchange was hardly a loss. As for the blood snake beast’s corpse, Hoyn accepted it without ceremony. Though it no longer had its magic core, the body alone was worth several thousand gold coins.
Since Hoyn was fine, Ye Dui prepared to take his leave.
“Mr. Ye Dui, the Anduin family will firmly support you. We will support your ascension to the throne.” Hoyn said solemnly to Ye Dui at this moment.
“Er, alright, thank you for your kind intentions.” Ye Dui replied. He was no prince, but seeing Hoyn pledge loyalty like this, he could only accept it for now. Then he thought of something else and said to Danni and Jacob, “You two should stay here. Do not join the operation the day after tomorrow.”
“Brother Ye Dui, why?” Danni asked in immediate surprise.
Jacob looked equally puzzled.
“Your strength is not enough for self-protection. Things are extremely dangerous for us right now. It is not wise for you to stay by our side. Moreover, Danni, your summoned beast has already been seen by Yuren. If he is not dead, then seeing your summoned beast at the Second Prince’s naming day banquet would not that expose your identity?” Ye Dui explained. “As for Jacob, in the circus you just sold snacks and had no performance role. You would not be able to appear at the banquet anyway, so you might as well stay here and keep Danni company.”
“Guild master, I, I want to adventure with you all…” Jacob insisted.
“Jacob, just stay behind. You are the weakest among us. If we run into a major situation, you might even become a burden. Staying here is for the best.” Grin advised. Then he quietly winked at Jacob and whispered, “This way you can bond a bit with your future father-in-law.”
Jacob’s face immediately flushed red. After stealing a glance at Danni, he finally nodded.
Then, after Hoyn solemnly reaffirmed to Ye Dui once more that “the Anduin family will firmly support Ye Dui,” Ye Dui, Debbie, Lessa, and Grin successively left the secret chamber.
Once they had gone, the Anduin family head gazed at the pitch-black passageway and suddenly let out a sly, calculating chuckle.
“Father, what are you laughing about?” Danni was startled and hurriedly asked.
“Nothing much. This illegitimate son of the old emperor seems quite promising. Though he is down and out now, who knows, he might still have a chance at becoming emperor in the future.” Hoyn said with a smile. “It looks like the Anduin family is about to rise.”
“Father, did you not always say we should try to avoid getting involved in imperial family struggles as much as possible? How come you are so bold now and decided to support Brother Ye Dui?” Danni asked, somewhat puzzled. “Is it because of Miss Debbie…?”
“Partly because of Debbie, and partly because of you, Danni.” Hoyn turned to look at his daughter.
“Because of me?” Danni was stunned.
Hoyn nodded with a smile. “Exactly. Heh, Danni, you have taken off your veil. That means you must have someone in your heart already, right? Seeing how much that Ye Dui cares for you, the one in your heart must be him. Nothing escapes these eyes of mine!”
At Hoyn’s words, both Danni and Jacob were stunned.
“Father.” Danni said softly, head lowered in explanation. “The first one to see my face was not Brother Ye Dui. It was Jacob.” After saying that, she quietly took Jacob’s hand, indicating where her heart truly lay now.
Hoyn’s body jolted.
Jacob: “Uncle…”
Hoyn: “…”
