Best Young Master
Chapter 296 - 262: [Everything is arranged by fate]

Chapter 296: Chapter 262: [Everything is arranged by fate]

"Saint, who do you know?" Murong Gu asked curiously.

"Senior Brother Zhang, I need to discuss something with my father. Please step out for a moment," Murong Sheng didn’t immediately answer Murong Gu, instead turning to speak to Zhang Qian.

"Yes, Junior Brother," Zhang Qian nodded in response at once, respectfully withdrawing.

Murong Sheng, holding Ye Fan’s information, stood up and walked over to Murong Gu, saying, "Dad, I know her."

"What’s the matter?"

Murong Gu was puzzled. His son had grown up on Wudang Mountain since childhood, rarely staying in the secular world; it made no sense that he would know someone from Ye Fan’s circle.

"This girl is named Su Liuli," Murong Sheng explained. "She visited Wudang Mountain this past summer and we had a brief encounter."

"Oh?"

Murong Gu’s brow furrowed slightly; he vaguely sensed that Murong Sheng was hinting at something.

As if to confirm Murong Gu’s suspicion, Murong Sheng soon became lost in his memories, his face radiating a brilliant smile, "That day, I happened to go to the front courtyard and saw her kneeling devoutly on the ground, burning incense, and she captivated me. I felt she was different from the secular girls who come to the mountain to offer incense, very compelling, so I couldn’t refrain from approaching her and talking to her, and that’s how I learned her name. She mentioned she was there to pray for her sister’s blessings."

"That day, she left the mountain, but I couldn’t forget that scene of her devoutly kneeling and praying—it haunted my dreams."

By the end, Murong Sheng’s expression held a subtle excitement. "Originally, I planned to use this opportunity of the secular experience to find her, but I didn’t expect to receive news of her as soon as I came to the Dong Hai."

"You mean?"

Murong Gu’s brows furrowed deeper; he sensed something from his son’s tone and expression and also realized that his son had repeatedly requested to come down the mountain for experience, mostly because he wanted to find this girl named Su Liuli.

Murong Sheng met his father’s gaze fearlessly, stating word by word, "I fell in love with her at first sight."

"Uh..."

Seeing Murong Sheng’s love for Su Liuli but witnessing him admitting it so straightforwardly, Murong Gu was somewhat astonished. Besides being astounded, his brows were tightly knit as he pondered deeply.

"Dad, I plan to find her," Murong Sheng said seeing that Murong Gu wasn’t speaking.

"You want to pursue her?" Murong Gu’s heart stirred.

"Yes, every time I think of her, I silently tell myself that I should leave the mountain to find her and make her my wife," Murong Sheng nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hiss~"

Murong Gu sucked in a breath of cold air, his expression slightly bizarre, "Saint, considering she appears in the dossier, it proves she has a close relationship with Ye Wenhao’s illegitimate child. According to our plan to come down the mountain, you’re supposed to engage in a life-and-death duel with Ye Wenhao’s illegitimate child. Given this, do you think you can win her over?"

"Dad, the reason I asked Senior Brother Zhang to leave was that I wanted to discuss this matter with you,"

Murong Sheng spoke clearly, "As you mentioned, according to the dossier, she and Ye Wenhao’s illegitimate child are on good terms; if I kill Ye Wenhao’s illegitimate child, she will certainly blame me, despise me, and would not respond to my advances."

"Are you proposing to give up this life-and-death duel?" Murong Gu’s expression changed, speaking decisively, "Absolutely not!"

"Dad, you misunderstand; I never considered giving up the life-and-death duel," Murong Sheng shook his head.

Murong Gu was somewhat puzzled, "Then what do you mean?"

"Dad, you have been secluded in Wudang Mountain for years with the aim of finding Ye Wenhao after coming out and avenging the humiliation of that battle years ago. Now, you have reached the Half-step Gang Qi realm and are fully confident of defeating him, but since Ye Wenhao has abandoned martial arts for politics, worried that he won’t accept your challenge, you planned this indirect approach—letting me challenge Ye Wenhao’s illegitimate child, kill him in a duel and thus provoke Ye Wenhao into accepting your challenge,"

Murong Sheng replied irrelevantly, "You planned accordingly because the various channels informed you that Ye Wenhao places high importance on his illegitimate child. Considering this, I actually don’t have to kill him—just crippling him during the duel should be enough to enrage Ye Wenhao, and your goal would be achieved just the same."

Murong Gu remained silent, apparently considering the possibility Murong Sheng had presented.

"Dad, in these past few months, my martial arts cultivation has stalled largely because I’ve been distracted by this girl named Su Liuli; it’s almost become a mental block for me,"

Seeing this, Murong Sheng reminded him, "If I can be with her, the mental block will naturally dissolve, which would greatly benefit my training, and I would be able to increase my strength more quickly, competing in the Qingbang competition next year to bring glory to you and Wudang."

"Alright, we’ll do as you suggest,"

Hearing this, Murong Gu’s heart was moved, recognizing that what Murong Sheng said was true, adding, "However, Saint, I must remind you. Matters of the heart cannot be forced. Everything must follow fate. If the girl named Su Liuli rejects you, I hope you won’t be devastated, as that would have an even greater impact on your cultivation."

"Don’t worry, Dad, my will isn’t that weak. Moreover, I’m thinking that by sparing Ye Wenhao’s son on her behalf, she’ll be grateful to me,"

Murong Sheng confidently smiled, feeling as if he had already seen the tearfully grateful expression of Su Liuli towards him. Ye Fan, in his view, represented no threat at all and could be easily defeated.

"Ye Wenhao, I just hope you won’t turn out to be a coward."

At the same time, Murong Gu quietly clenched his fists, feeling an intense desire to immediately trample Ye Wenhao underfoot and harshly humiliate him, reclaiming the upper hand from their past encounters.

Unaware of all this, Ye Wenhao was at his residence, Villa No. 1 in the Jiangnan Provincial Committee Family Courtyard.

As usual, after returning from work to the villa, Ye Wenhao stayed alone in his study, flipping through a stack of documents, organizing his thoughts on recent work.

Suddenly, Ye Wenhao’s mobile phone, placed on the desk, began to vibrate, making the rosewood desk buzz loudly.

Hmm?

Ye Wenhao, hearing the noise, paused momentarily, then set aside the documents in his hand and picked up the private mobile phone—its number known only to a very few. Immediately, he saw it was a call from Ye Family Patriarch Ye Zhen.

"Dad."

Once the call connected, Ye Wenhao greeted him first, suspecting that Ye Zhen’s late call was mostly related to Ye Fan having sent Bai Luo to prison.

"Wenhao, I just went to your grandfather’s place and talked about Xiao Fan,"

As Ye Wenhao had guessed, Ye Zhen directly brought up Ye Fan, "We were all wrong about him in the past. He is nothing like the reckless and impulsive man the rumors describe. Instead, he’s cunning as a fox, fierce as a wolf, and forceful as a tiger. He managed to send the Bai Family’s young man to jail with a mere gesture and almost caused the Bai Family to be implicated as well. This maneuver is truly astonishing. Compared to him, whether it’s the Bai Family’s young man or our own youngsters, they fall far short."

Without responding, Ye Wenhao had a face full of proud smiles.

No parent dislikes hearing others praise their child.

Moreover, in Ye Wenhao’s memory, Ye Zhen had never given such high praise — ’cunning as a fox, fierce as a wolf, forceful as a tiger’ — to any young person before.

"Wenhao, how is your relationship with him now? Have the rifts between you been mended?" Ye Zhen asked after the praise.

"Not yet."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wenhao’s proud expression slowly faded, and he cursed himself internally—Ye Zhen’s late-night call was definitely not just to praise Ye Fan.

"Wenhao, the last time Xiao Yan went to Dong Hai to find Xiao Fan, you slapped her. Not only did your grandfather not blame you, but he also asked you to bring Xiao Fan to the Ye Family,"

Ye Zhen pondered for a few seconds, then added, "Today, I went to see your grandfather and he brought up the past issue again. In his words, with Xiao Fan’s capability, if he rejoins Ye Family, it will be our Old Ye Family’s fortune; losing him, however, would be our loss."

Ye Wenhao remained silent, well aware that Old Master Ye’s insistence on having Ye Fan return to the Ye Family, apart from Ye Fan’s remarkable performance, was much attributed to the backing of Chu Xuanji.

"The reason I’m calling you is partly to tell you that your son is quite exceptional, and partly to encourage you to quickly resolve any misunderstandings with him and to bring him back to the Ye Family,"

Seeing that Ye Wenhao didn’t respond, Ye Zhen instructed, "Your grandfather said he wants him back in the Ye Family by this year’s spring festival at the latest."

"Dad, you know very well that the rift between him and me is due to me choosing to pursue a political career as arranged by the family, abandoning Ling Yun — he hates me because of that."

Ye Wenhao sighed, saying, "Under such circumstances, asking him to willingly return to the Ye Family will be difficult. Even trying to earn his forgiveness is a tough task."

"He has your blood in his veins, and that of the Ye Family, and he is also a man of deep loyalty and righteousness. I believe if you and the Ye Family treat him with sincerity, he will choose to accept you as his father, and this family, too," Ye Zhen said.

Hmm?

Hearing Ye Zhen’s words again, Ye Wenhao vaguely guessed another motive behind Old Master Ye’s actions, but he wasn’t sure.

"Wenhao, I suggest you go and have a good talk with him soon," Ye Zhen advised: "You are father and son, and the ties that bind you are not easily broken. Once you talk things out, everything else can be put behind."

"Dad, I can only do my best, but I can’t guarantee the outcome."

Perhaps due to a deep desire to be forgiven by Ye Fan, or perhaps because of the arrangements by Old Master Ye and Ye Zhen, Ye Wenhao pondered for a moment and then agreed, but he prefaced with a warning, "I won’t force him to do anything, and with his temperament, he’s unlikely to be forced into doing anything."

"I understand," Ye Zhen was not bothered and instead asked, "When do you plan to go?"

"I’ll go in the next few days; otherwise, it will have to wait until the end of the year. There’s too much to do."

Ye Wenhao thought for a while, then gave his reply, unaware that his old enemy was waiting for him in Dong Hai!

...

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PS: The first update!

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