“So the two of you are here to redeem a Servant Disciple. That is indeed a matter so trivial it could hardly be smaller.”

Chi Lian smiled knowingly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“May I ask the name of the Servant Disciple City Lord Han wishes to redeem? I will have my subordinates look into it and give you a result as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing this, Han Zhentian and Li Susu’s eyes both lit up. It seemed there was hope!

“Reporting to the Grand Elder, his name is Han Lie. He should have been sold to your esteemed sect one hundred and eight years ago!” Li Susu spoke first, her voice trembling with anticipation.

“Who?” Chi Lian tilted her head, acting as if she hadn’t heard clearly.

“Han Lie! ‘Han’ as in forest, ‘Lie’ as in the paths between fields!” Li Susu emphasized the characters of his name, desperate to be understood.

“City Lord’s wife, I believe you are likely mistaken.”

Chi Lian corrected her, a hint of mockery curling her lips. “Not the ‘Lie’ for paths between fields, but the ‘Lie’ for stranger.”

“Uh…”

Han Zhentian and Li Susu exchanged glances, confusion flickering across their faces before realization dawned. The blood drained from their cheeks. They both understood the implied meaning in Grand Elder Chi Lian’s words.

Stranger.

“Grand Elder, forgive this humble one and my foolish wife for our dullness. We do not understand your meaning…?” Han Zhentian steeled himself, pretending ignorance.

“Don’t understand? That’s fine. Then let someone else speak with you.”

Immediately, Chi Lian stood up and walked out of the reception hall without looking back.

Not knowing who awaited them, Han Zhentian and Li Susu hesitated for a moment before hurriedly following.

Following behind Chi Lian, the couple arrived at a side chamber of the reception hall.

After they entered, Chi Lian lightly waved her sleeve.

Bang!

The heavy doors to the side chamber slammed shut, sealing them inside.

Han Zhentian and Li Susu’s hearts nearly stopped. A heavy, suffocating sense of foreboding instantly enveloped them.

They instinctively looked toward the seat of honor in the dim chamber. There, seated upon a throne of dark wood, was a woman dressed in purple gauze robes.

Her face was stunningly beautiful, like an ice sculpture carved by the heavens, yet she exuded an aura of danger and oppression that seemed to look down upon the entire world. Even Chi Lian, the terrifying Grand Elder, stood respectfully by her side like a mere attendant.

“Pa… paying respects to Sect Leader!”

Realizing this person was likely the Sect Leader of the Heavenly Void Sect—the infamous female demon Ye Qingxuan—Han Zhentian and Li Susu trembled uncontrollably. They fell to their knees, prostrating themselves on the cold stone floor.

They couldn’t understand. They were only here to redeem a lowly Servant Disciple. Was it necessary to disturb a titan like Ye Qingxuan?

“Chi Lian, what is the request of these two?” Ye Qingxuan asked, her voice cool and detached.

“Reporting to Sect Leader, City Lord Han and his wife seem to wish to redeem Han Lie from the Servant Disciple department.”

After performing this little duet with Chi Lian, Ye Qingxuan finally turned her gaze to the kneeling couple.

Han Zhentian and Li Susu kept their heads deeply bowed, their bodies rigid with fear, not daring to meet her eyes.

“Hah, the world is never short of parents who pay no attention when their child is young but rush to claim a relationship once he has grown up. You two are living examples.”

Ye Qingxuan’s mockery was sharp, cutting through their defenses without sparing any face.

“Sect Leader, it’s not like that… it’s… it’s just that this humble one was busy with cultivation and forgot.” Han Zhentian wiped cold sweat from his forehead, offering a pale and feeble defense.

Li Susu pleaded bitterly, tears streaming down her face. “Sect Leader, I know that no matter what we say, it cannot make up for the grievances Han Lie has suffered over these hundred years. So… we also beg Sect Leader to give us a chance! A chance to make it up to him!”

“Make it up? Hahaha!”

Ye Qingxuan laughed scornfully, the sound echoing in the chamber.

“How can a shattered heart be mended? How can confidence in parents be regained after a century of disappointment? If you truly cared so much about Han Lie, you should have thought of redeeming him the moment you rose to prominence.”

She leaned forward, her gaze piercing. “Why wait until Han Lie appeared before you, fully grown and capable, to hypocritically talk about making amends?”

“……”

Han Zhentian and Li Susu fell silent, ashamed beyond words.

They did not know how to respond because she was right. At the beginning of their rise to power, amidst the sudden wealth and glory, they had not thought of Han Lie, who was rotting away in the Heavenly Void Sect. Having been impoverished for half their lives, the intoxication of sudden success had blinded them.

“Look up.”

After a long, agonizing silence, Ye Qingxuan’s commanding tone sounded.

Han Zhentian and Li Susu slowly raised their heads.

There, standing directly in front of them, was Han Lie.

“Lie’er?!”

“Lie’er!”

Overcome with emotion, the couple tried to scramble to their feet to embrace him.

Boom!

A terrifying pressure instantly swept over them like a falling mountain, slamming them back onto their knees. They couldn’t move a muscle.

“Did This Seat permit you to rise?” Ye Qingxuan’s voice was ice-cold.

“Sect Leader, please allow them to rise,” Han Lie interjected calmly.

Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a moment, glancing at Han Lie, before withdrawing the crushing pressure.

Immediately after, Han Lie stretched out his hand, signaling them to stop.

“Lie’er, your father wronged you. Come back with me; whatever you want, your father will compensate you!” Han Zhentian cried, his face full of remorse.

Han Lie shook his head calmly. “No need.”

“If you had come to redeem me eighty years ago, perhaps I would have gone back with you. But now? There is no need for that.”

“Lie’er, I know you hate us.” Li Susu pleaded, her eyes red and swollen. “Your father and I truly wronged you. But why won’t you even give your mother a chance to make amends?”

“The words ‘make amends’ are easy to say but hard to do.”

Han Lie looked down at them, his expression unreadable.

“Moreover, I have already told you that I owe nothing to either of you. Therefore, you need not compensate me for anything.”

“Your actual action of coming to redeem me was decades late, but it ultimately came.”

He sighed softly. “Perhaps there were human factors involved; at least it proves you had this intention eventually.”

“I am doing well in the Heavenly Void Sect. There is no need to worry about me. In the future, if you two elders do not disturb me again, I am still willing to acknowledge you as my father and mother.”

Han Lie made everything clear at once.

What child in this world does not think of their parents? In his heart, Han Lie knew that back then, selling him was an act of desperation for survival. Otherwise, facing the parents who personally sent him into ‘hell’, he would not have been this civil.

It was just that… after rising to power, they forgot him. That was the thorn in his heart.

He could have avoided decades of suffering. Though, paradoxically, if he had left early, he might not have activated the Pure Yang Sacred Body.

But if given the choice? He would still have chosen to be redeemed eighty years ago. To escape this hell.

But there are no ‘ifs’ in this world.

Han Zhentian exchanged a glance with Li Susu. Finally, she choked back a sob and nodded.

“Alright… alright! Lie’er, as long as you are willing to forgive us, your father and I will not disturb you again!”

“But… when you have time… can you please come back to see your mother?”

“Mother really has many things she wants to say to you!”