Han Yu blinked feeling a bit confused.
"A bet?"
Daoist Snake Face finally explained calmly.
"We suspected sothing strange regarding that child so years ago. Blood Pool insisted the examination results could not be wrong. Swamp Leech disagreed."
Master Swamp Leech nodded vigorously.
"The child looked wrong."
Mistress Love Wine looked horrified.
"What does that even an?"
"The ears," Swamp Leech said seriously.
Everyone stared at him.
"The ears were suspicious."
Han Yu genuinely almost laughed.
This horrifying man apparently solved bloodline conspiracies through ear shape.
Still...
The important part remained.
Lady Rot Rose narrowed her eyes.
"So how exactly was the examination deceived?"
Han Yu calmly answered.
"The bloodline still belonged to the Patriarch."
That made them pause.
Then realization slowly began appearing.
Mistress Love Wine suddenly covered her mouth dramatically.
"No..."
Han Yu nodded.
"One generation difference."
Daoist Blood Pool’s eyes widened.
"You an..."
"The child belongs to one of the Patriarch’s sons," Han Yu confird calmly.
The pavilion erupted instantly.
Mistress Love Wine gasped so loudly she nearly dropped her wine cup.
Daoist Blood Pool barked out disbelieving laughter.
Even Daoist Snake Face looked genuinely surprised now.
Lady Rot Rose herself stared silently at Han Yu for several monts.
Because if true...
This was enormous.
The child still carried the Patriarch’s bloodline.
Which explained why the tests passed.
Yet technically...
The father was another mber of the Patriarch’s lineage.
Mistress Love Wine leaned forward excitedly.
"Which son?!"
Han Yu calmly gave the answer.
"The Fourth."
The reactions beca even louder.
"No wonder!" Mistress Love Wine exclaid. "That woman always lingered around his palace!"
Daoist Blood Pool slamd the table laughing.
"The Patriarch truly raised his grandson personally without knowing!"
Master Swamp Leech made strange choking noises that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
Even Lady Rot Rose covered part of her smile behind her sleeve now.
Han Yu continued calmly.
"The conception occurred roughly Eight years ago during the Mid Autumn Blood Feast while the Patriarch remained in closed cultivation."
Mistress Love Wine stared at him.
"You even know the exact timing?"
Han Yu rely shrugged lightly.
"The details were available."
In reality...
The guard Jiangshi outside the concubine’s chambers had witnessed absolutely everything.
Including the timing.
The etings.
The secret visits.
And the panic afterward.
Han Yu inwardly thanked his hidden surveillance network once again.
Though outwardly he maintained complete calm while everyone around him descended fully into scandal fueled discussion.
Mistress Love Wine was practically glowing with excitent now.
"Oh this is wonderful."
Daoist Blood Pool laughed loudly.
"If this ever leaks publicly the Patriarch might personally slaughter half the palace."
Master Swamp Leech suddenly looked thoughtful.
"Should we blackmail them?"
Lady Rot Rose imdiately smacked his idea down.
"No."
Swamp Leech visibly deflated.
"Not yet." Lady Rot Rose added which made Swamp Leech content.
Han Yu silently drank more wine while listening to them continue discussing the matter excitedly.
And for the first ti since arriving here...
He truly began understanding how terrifying these gatherings actually were.
Because the people here did not rely discuss rumors.
They discussed weapons.
And information...
Was perhaps the sharpest weapon of all.
The gathering continued long after the explosive gossip regarding the Patriarch’s concubine had settled down. Though even after the topic changed, the atmosphere within the pavilion remained noticeably more relaxed than before.
Han Yu could tell that after openly choosing Lady Rot Rose’s side, the others no longer viewed him as an outsider standing near the threshold. He was still new to the inner circle, that much was obvious, but the invisible barrier between him and the others had lessened considerably.
As the hours passed, the discussions shifted repeatedly between serious matters and absurd nonsense.
At one mont they were discussing political pressure from certain High Elders. The next mont Mistress Love Wine was drunkenly insisting Daoist Blood Pool’s muscles had beco even larger since the last gathering and asking whether he secretly cultivated so kind of swelling technique.
The massive body cultivator nearly tore his robes again trying to flex in response.
Han Yu eventually realized that despite how terrifying these people appeared publicly, gatherings like this were probably one of the only places within the sect where they could lower their guard slightly.
No one here needed to constantly posture.
No one needed to hide every word behind layers of calculation.
Of course sches still existed even here, but there was at least so level of mutual understanding.
Even Master Swamp Leech, who initially looked like a creature that crawled out from a cursed swamp pit, turned out to possess a surprisingly emotional and sensitive personality beneath his horrifying appearance.
Han Yu still had not fully recovered from hearing the man cry earlier.
At one point Mistress Love Wine began teasing Swamp Leech again by asking whether he secretly wrote poetry about her while hiding in caves.
To everyone’s horror, the man admitted he actually did.
Mistress Love Wine imdiately regretted asking.
Lady Rot Rose laughed harder than Han Yu had seen her laugh the entire evening.
The gathering only finally began winding down several hours later. One by one the Legacy Disciples began leaving the pavilion.
Daoist Blood Pool departed first, loudly complaining that he had neglected his cultivation schedule because of this eting. Though Han Yu highly doubted the man followed schedules properly in the first place.
Mistress Love Wine left after that, though not before attempting to cling onto Han Yu’s arm again while dramatically asking whether he truly planned on abandoning her emotionally after "their unforgettable night together."
Han Yu imdiately stepped away from her with enough caution one would normally reserve for poisonous beasts.
Unfortunately for him, Mistress Love Wine only found his reactions more amusing.
"You wound my heart," she sighed theatrically while placing a hand against her chest.
"You do not have one," Han Yu replied imdiately.
Lady Rot Rose nearly spat wine hearing that.
Even Daoist Snake Face’s eyes curved slightly upward in amusent.
Mistress Love Wine gasped in fake shock before finally departing while blowing Han Yu a kiss that made him feel genuine danger.
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