Everyone fell silent.
He's an elder in a large family, how could he treat his own juniors like this?
They fooled people with just a few pancakes.
The children, who had never met Ning Shaoyuan, were quite curious about this grandfather they had never met before.
After a long pause, Ning Wenyi said, "Alright, now that Aheng has found us, we'll have to go back sooner or later, but we'll have to wait until Lele gives birth."
"Not many people know about this, except for our family and a few others from the Yunxiang clan. It is absolutely forbidden to flaunt this in public. Our Ning family has remained hidden for so long, and nothing has ever happened that would damage our reputation. I don't want our family's name to end here, do you understand?"
Everyone said in unison, "We understand!"
As night fell, the group left Shian Garden, and Ning Yao led Ning Zhiheng to the guest courtyard.
Ning Zhiheng hesitated for a long time before asking, "Cousin, the Holy Maiden fainted in the forbidden area that day, and I was also corrupted by the turbid energy. Grandfather said that this thing cannot be broken, but now I am perfectly fine. May I ask how you did it?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Yao replied, "Grandfather said it couldn't be solved, but he just didn't tell you the truth."
Ning Zhiheng didn't understand.
Ning Yao continued, "Think about it, which of the Ning family heads throughout history wasn't a formidable figure? All those secrets of the Ning family, only the family head could know, right?"
Ning Zhiheng nodded: "That's true. There is a stone lotus in the forbidden area of the Yunxiang Clan, and there is also a golden lotus in the main hall of the Ning family. As far back as I can remember, the golden lotus has been in very bad condition. Two years ago, the golden lotus suddenly got much better. I came down the mountain this time because the golden lotus suddenly had a strong vitality."
"That's when my grandfather told me to come and find my second uncle."
Ning Yao checked the timeline and guessed that it was during the cocoon formation in the secret realm that the Ning family's golden lotus sensed something.
If that's the case, the golden lotus in the Ning family and the one in the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm should be from the same root.
"The environment in which the Golden Lotus grows is extremely harsh, requiring a large amount of spiritual energy for it to survive. Does the Ning family have such a place?"
Ning Zhiheng shook his head: "The Ning family doesn't have any. The Golden Lotus is placed in the pool in the middle of the main hall. My grandfather planted all kinds of rare medicinal herbs and precious flowers around the pool to keep the Golden Lotus alive."
Ning Yao frowned. This didn't make sense either. The rare medicinal herbs and flowers in the world weren't enough to produce the spiritual energy needed for the Golden Lotus.
Sure enough, she heard Ning Zhiheng continue, "The Ning family has a family heirloom. I once saw my grandfather drip that thing into the pool, and after that, the golden lotus could maintain that state for a long time."
Ning Yao suddenly remembered the small gourd she had snatched from Chen Sheng.
Is this the thing?
Ning Zhiheng's pupils widened in shock upon seeing the small gourd that Ning Yao suddenly took out.
How did you get this?
Ning Yao said, "It was stolen!"
Ning Zhiheng was visibly excited, even somewhat losing his composure: "This is the Ning family heirloom. It has always been kept in the Treasure Pavilion and guarded closely."
"However, I only discovered it was missing a while ago, and I don't even know when it was lost."
"Besides looking for my second uncle, the other reason I went down the mountain was because I failed to guard it properly and lost the Ning family's heirloom."
Ning Yao asked, "Do you know Chen Sheng? He's a Taoist priest, about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with a very fair complexion, and he usually looks quite ethereal and otherworldly."
The unfamiliar name made Ning Zhiheng subconsciously shake his head, but Ning Yao's description brought a figure to mind.
“I don’t know Mr. Chen, but I have an elder in my family who is similar to the one you described.”
"who?"
"Fourth Uncle, Ning Wensheng."
Ning Yao suddenly realized that if Chen Sheng was also a member of the Ning family, then everything made sense.
She asked, "Do you know how long this little gourd has been missing? Or when was the last time you saw it?"
Ning Zhiheng answered without hesitation, "I remember, it was ten years ago! I was just seven years old then, and my grandfather had just given me the key to the Treasure Pavilion, so that I could take charge of it from that time on."
“Before that, my grandfather had just used the family heirloom on Jinlian, so I remember it very clearly.”
Ten years ago, it was still there, but Chen Sheng, or rather, his fourth uncle Ning Wensheng, married Yun Xiangnanshan at least seventeen years ago.
Moreover, according to Ning Zhiheng, he was seven years old ten years ago, which means he is seventeen years old now.
So, Ning Zhiheng was either not born or had just been born before Ning Wensheng came down the mountain.
In other words, Ning Zhiheng could not possibly have any impression of him.
The timing doesn't quite match up.
Ning Yao continued, "Have you seen this Fourth Uncle in the past few years? Or did you see him when you first took over the Treasure Pavilion?"
Ning Zhiheng shook his head: "Since I can remember, I have only met my fourth uncle three times."
“Once, when my grandfather handed over the Treasure Pavilion to me, my fourth uncle was very dissatisfied with my grandfather’s decision and stormed off on the spot.”
“Once, when I was thirteen, he was dressed in a Taoist robe, which made my grandfather very angry.”
“The last time was when I was sixteen, which was last year. He tried to break into the hall where the golden lotus was kept, and was beaten and thrown out by my grandfather. I have never seen him since then.”
Hearing this, Ning Yao was a little surprised. This fourth uncle had a lot of ideas about the Ning family!
First he stole the spirit spring water, then he coveted the golden lotus, and even made a move against Yun Xiangshi. What exactly does he want to do?
My father said that the Ning family has lived in seclusion for thousands of years, and no one outside has ever damaged the Ning family's reputation.
If word gets out about what Ning Wensheng did to Yun Xiangshi, won't that incite conflict between the Ning family and Yun Xiangshi?
Moreover, in these sixteen years, besides targeting the Yunxiang clan, has he targeted anyone else?
If so, what did he do?
Ning Yao felt that the Ning family had really been living in seclusion for far too long, so long that even the people in her own family were starting to become restless.
"Cousin Aheng, I'll introduce you to someone another day. Can you help me recognize him?"
Ning Zhiheng readily agreed.
"Cousin, you still haven't told me how you cured those turbid energies."
Ning Yao smiled and replied, "Have you heard of the Lotus Heart Pill?"
Ning Zhiheng's eyes lit up: "A top-grade healing elixir!" It was obvious that he knew about it.
"That's the one."
Ning Zhiheng asked in surprise, "Legend has it that the ingredients required for this Lotus Heart Pill are extremely demanding, especially one of the main ingredients, which is the lotus seed of the Golden Lotus. The Golden Lotus in the Ning Family Hall has not even opened yet, let alone the lotus seed. How did you manage to get it, cousin?"
"Moreover, as far as I know, even if all the medicinal herbs were found, the art of alchemy has long been lost. Even if it exists, it only exists in books. I never expected that you would know it!"
"This is a secret. Now that Cousin Aheng knows, you have to keep it a secret for me!"
Ning Zhiheng's expression was serious: "Of course, the Ning family's secrets are never revealed to outsiders!"
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