Dean Yu Qing and Grand Mentor Shui Bailan had already guessed that Yan Zhen possessed a Spatial Secret Treasure when they saw him pass unscathed through the mystic power assault earlier. Elder Yu Yan and the Family Head Yu Lu had also carefully reviewed Yan Zhen’s file, so it was easy for them to deduce that he had slipped into that Spatial Secret Treasure, thereby evading the tracking of the Mystic Force Rain Swallow.
Thus, they played along with his ploy. Pretending to depart from the White Jade Spring with their foolish niece, they circled back quietly and caught him red-handed.
With Xuan’er absent, they could properly deal with this unruly live-in son-in-law.
“Ah!”
Little Aunt Dean’s bare foot slammed into Yan Zhen’s face. He tumbled back into the water just as he was clambering ashore, sending up a spray of milky white waves.
Yan Zhen scrambled out of the water again, rubbing his poor nose and gazing resentfully at Little Aunt Dean.
There was an old saying about not slapping someone in the face, but this menopausal spitfire of a little aunt had no qualms about kicking him square in the mug with her dainty foot. Was that fair?
Sure, he’d messed up first, but was this really okay?
—No, it sure as hell wasn’t.
“Little Aunt, what was that for? Hitting me out of nowhere~”
“You had it coming.”
Little Aunt Dean crossed her arms over her chest, which thrust forward in a most impressive display.
Standing beside her, Shui Bailan adjusted her glasses and asked sharply, “Yan Zhen, do you know what this place is?”
Yan Zhen blinked with feigned innocence.
“I have no idea~ I couldn’t find Mentor Yu Xuan in her courtyard, and she didn’t reply to my message. I figured she might be cultivating in the back hills. Next thing I knew, I was here. The water in this pool looked so unusual—like milk—and brimming with rich energy. Since I was already here, I thought I’d take a soak before heading back. I was just climbing out when you all showed up.”
—Keep spinning your tales.
The four beautiful elders regarded Yan Zhen with a range of expressions. Little Aunt Dean sneered coldly, while Aunt Mentor rolled her eyes. Mother-in-Law Family Head remained impassive, but Great-Aunt Elder kept her amiable smile.
“Little Yan Zhen,” Great-Aunt Elder said, “this is the Yu Family Forbidden Ground—the White Jade Spring. Only the four of us, along with Xuan’er and the Chief Manager, can come and go freely. Other clansmen must submit an advance application for approval, and even then, they get just one chance per month~”
Yan Zhen wiped away a bead of cold sweat in his mind and replied with exaggerated cuteness, “Since Mentor Yu Xuan can enter freely, surely I can too, right?”
“You haven’t officially become a live-in son-in-law of the Yu Family yet, so of course not.” Great-Aunt Elder shook her head with mock regret. “In other words, Little Yan Zhen, you’ve trespassed into the Yu Family Forbidden Ground. Per family rules, that’s grounds for severe punishment!”
“Severe punishment? What kind?”
“Let Xiao Lu explain.”
Mother-in-Law Family Head picked up seamlessly. “Trespassers into the Yu Family Forbidden Ground face different fates. Outsiders get chopped up and fed to the fish. Clansmen receive punishment scaled to the offense’s severity—the mildest being a good caning.”
—That’s terrifying!
Yan Zhen shriveled up like a deflated ball and pleaded weakly, “Any chance for leniency, Mother-in-Law? I didn’t mean to intrude.”
Mother-in-Law Family Head replied flatly, “No.”
Little Aunt Dean planted her hands on her hips and said excitedly, “Enough stalling—get up here and surrender!”
Yan Zhen clutched the Dragon Pattern Great Vessel hidden beneath the water’s surface and said shyly, “Could you all turn around first? Let me get dressed?”
Little Aunt Dean scoffed. “Trying to trick us into looking away so you can bolt? Fat chance! Hurry up—who’d want to see that little worm of yours?”
Yan Zhen bristled at the insult. Little worm? He was plenty confident in his endowment—dragon patterns coiled around it, no less, making it majestic and imposing. Besides Beautiful Female Master, every woman he’d been with had begged for mercy and submitted completely.
Whatever. No sense arguing with a menopausal old maid. She clearly had no frame of reference.
“—Look, something in the air!”
Yan Zhen jabbed a finger toward the spot behind the four women and shouted. But they weren’t fooled. They didn’t turn a hair, just kept staring him down.
“…”
Yan Zhen felt his face heat with embarrassment. He promptly activated the Star Shifting Fire Seal, hoping to slip away again.
But ripples shuddered through the surrounding space, disrupting the teleportation.
—Damn it, a space lockdown?
Yan Zhen stared in shock at the four beautiful elders.
Aunt Mentor was a Nine-Star Mystic King, Little Aunt Dean a Two-Star Mystic Ancestor, Mother-in-Law Family Head a Three-Star Mystic Ancestor, and Great-Aunt Elder the strongest at Six-Star Mystic Ancestor… How could they wield a space lockdown, an ability reserved for high-star Mystic Ancestors?
—Right, the array formation. This place had the Peach Blossom Maze, capable of trapping even Mystic Lords. It wasn’t some ordinary illusion array but a bizarre spatial distortion array!
They must have tapped into its power—and prepared it ahead of time.
—I’m screwed.
Little Aunt Dean crowed triumphantly. “Still planning to duck into your Spatial Secret Treasure? How naive! Since you’re not coming up, don’t blame me for getting rough!”
She’d been itching to give Yan Zhen a thrashing to settle old scores.
With her two elder sisters on hand to oversee things, she’d beat the crap out of him or die trying!
Little Aunt Dean let out a wicked cackle as powerful Water Mystic Force erupted around her. Her fingers wove intricate seals, and the milky hot spring water surged into towering waves that engulfed Yan Zhen.
The torrent subsided, leaving a massive, semitransparent water orb hovering in midair.
The orb hung empty—no sign of Yan Zhen.
Where’d he go? Little Aunt Dean blinked in surprise, then spotted a splash behind the rockery. She realized at once, “You won’t get away!”
She leaped into the pool and dashed across the surface in pursuit.
Shui Bailan hurried after her.
They only meant to take Yan Zhen down a peg, not truly torment him. But if Yu Qing lost her temper and things escalated into a real fight, that would spell trouble.
Elder Yu Yan smiled lightly. “Young people have so much vigor~”
The Family Head Yu Lu watched her sister’s aggressive silhouette with a flicker of concern beneath her impassive facade. “Yu Qing’s never fixated on a man like this before. What’s gotten into her?”
“Who can say with matters of the heart~” Elder Yu Yan replied, cracking her eyes open just a sliver. “Whether it turns out well or ill is up to them.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions rocked the pool, sending sprays of water that soaked the rockery—and Dean Yu Qing’s dress. The superior-grade, lightweight fabric clung transparently to her skin, perfectly tracing her lithe curves.
Oblivious, Dean Yu Qing relentlessly chased Yan Zhen as he darted through the water, pummeling him at every chance. Midway through, she suddenly lost track of him.
She halted barefoot atop a blooming water flower, scanning the milky surface warily.
“Quit hiding! Show yourself so I can give you a proper thrashing!”
In that instant, a mischievous hand shot from the water near her feet, clamped around Dean Yu Qing’s ankle, and yanked her forcefully underwater.
