Zhou Mu watched Ye Ming weep bitterly, and after the latter gradually calmed down, he calmly said, "If I take you out, will you be able to save Xuan'er?"

Ye Ming was taken aback.

During that time, tears streamed down my face.

"I……"

Yes, even if he gets out, he can't save Xuan'er without the Ye family's help. Besides, his father clearly doesn't want Xuan'er to go out.

In a mountain stronghold teeming with powerful figures, how could a mere Dao Palace Realm martial artist, who hadn't even reached the Immortal Realm, possibly save Xuan'er?

Suddenly, he felt somewhat disheartened.

Does your father know where those bandits are?

Zhou Mu asked.

Ye Ming was about to shake his head, but then, as if he had thought of something, he nodded with a mocking smile and said, "If he didn't know, that would be fine. Unfortunately, he does know. This matter is very likely the one he orchestrated behind the scenes. If it weren't for his instructions, those people wouldn't have been able to succeed so smoothly."

“He didn’t want Xuan’er to come to our house. If I hadn’t threatened to kill myself, he probably wouldn’t have agreed.”

After saying all this in one breath, Ye Ming's face was full of sarcasm, and he became increasingly disappointed in the so-called father he mentioned.

In his eyes, his father, who had always acted with integrity and uprightness, was the only one who was so sordid in this matter.

That imposing image instantly crumbled.

"You just need to find out the location of those bandits, and leave the rest to me," Zhou Mu said.

Ye Ming's eyes immediately lit up.

It's like a drowning person grabbing onto a piece of duckweed; even if there's only a sliver of hope, it can pull them out of despair.

"However, you only have one hour. My invisibility spell can only keep me here for one hour. If it exceeds one hour, I won't be able to get out either."

Zhou Mu explained his situation.

Before he left, Lu Shan gave him several brocade pouches. He thought they contained the secrets of Zhuge Liang's emergence from seclusion, so he accepted them. But they turned out to be just pills, not brilliant plans.

Unfortunately, this elixir can make one invisible and conceal their aura.

Under a sage, almost no one would notice.

But once the effects of the drug wear off, he will enter a period of weakness, at which point even an unarmed ordinary person can kill him.

Therefore, leaving within one hour is the safest option.

Ye Ming nodded.

Once Zhou Mu was out of sight, he took out a small, dark stone from his pocket, bit his finger, and dripped a drop of blood onto it. The blood was absorbed the moment it landed on the stone.

After Ye Ming finished doing all this, he sat cross-legged on the ground, trying his best to hide his excitement. When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to his previous dejected state.

From the shadows, Zhou Mu, seeing Ye Ming's performance, exclaimed sincerely, "What an award-winning performance! What a pity. If this were our time, he would definitely be a star."

Just looking at Ye Ming's appearance alone, he is far superior to those celebrities who rely on their looks for a living.

Coupled with his phenomenal acting skills, he's simply unbeatable.

Not long after, the quiet room was suddenly filled with violent fluctuations. With the appearance of a void, a figure took a step out and appeared in the room.

The dim light did not hinder the man's observation. As soon as he saw the house, his brows furrowed, and he scolded, "What kind of behavior is this? You've ruined yourself like this for a woman. Do you even deserve to be my son, Ye Mu's son?"

When Ye Mu's gaze fell on Ye Ming, he noticed that the latter was covered in blood. At that moment, his heart clenched, and his tone softened.

However, when he saw the wooden plank that Ye Ming had protected perfectly, his brows furrowed again.

That's a portrait of Su Xuan'er.

Ye Mu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

With a wave of his hand, the candles on the pillar instantly ignited, and light once again illuminated the room.

Darkness was completely swallowed up.

The mess inside the house far exceeded Ye Mu's expectations.

Apart from the wooden board that Ye Ming was holding to his chest, there was almost nothing else intact.

Even the pillars were riddled with holes.

Ye Mu's expression turned somewhat gloomy.

"I thought you'd figured things out, but you're still the same as always, Ye Ming. You've disappointed me greatly."

As he spoke, he prepared to leave.

However, he didn't hear Ye Ming's angry roar or rebuttal. He felt that something was wrong, so he looked at Ye Ming.

Ye Ming knelt down and looked at Ye Mu with a calm gaze. When Ye Mu looked over, Ye Ming straightened up, respectfully kowtowed, and said, "Father, I have figured it out."

Ye Mu stared at Ye Ming kneeling on the ground, stunned for a moment, and said in a trembling voice, "So you've really figured it out?"

Ye Ming nodded, his voice tinged with tears, "I've figured it out, I've figured it out. Since ancient times, marriage has always been about matching social status. Xuan'er is from a beggar family and has never seen her parents since she was a child. How can she compare to a family like ours with such a large and prosperous family?"

Ye Mu smiled, finally showing some joy.

These past few days, Ye Ming's matter has been like a mountain weighing on him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

You should know that even when he was thirteen years old and first took over the Ye family, he had never felt this suffocated.

Seeing Ye Ming like this, he kept thinking to himself, "He's my own son, he's my own son." Otherwise, he would have given him a lesson because he was so disappointed in him.

However, seeing Ye Ming gradually recovering, his father also showed a relieved smile.

However, a fleeting darkness crossed Ye Ming's eyes.

In the past, such a little trick would definitely not have fooled him; as the saying goes, concern makes one confused. Now, he is completely unable to detect it.

Ye Ming continued, "However, I have a request that I hope Father can grant."

Ye Mu laughed heartily, his previous gloomy mood vanishing.

"Should we save Xuan'er?"

Ye Ming nodded. "We were in love for a time, and now she's been kidnapped by bandits because of me. I think the Ye family should do something. I can't let her down."

"In that case, I'll go talk to that bandit leader. If he wants money, that's fine..."

After Ye Mu finished speaking, he turned his back to Ye Ming and said, "You stay here for a while longer. Come out after I've finished dealing with my current matters. By the way, I've already agreed to the marriage arranged by the Prefect's Mansion. From today onwards, you are Wu Ying's fiancé. Do you understand?"

Ye Ming nodded obediently.

After Ye Mu left, he seemed to have his energy drained away in an instant, and his whole body became listless.

He lay on the ground, his pupils dilated, staring blankly at the sky.