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The last day!!
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Jun Wu Yi gave a small, tired smile.
"I can understand your problem, Brother. And I can understand Qing Han's heart too," He said softly, the calmness in his tone a stark contrast to the thunder of emotions that had rolled through the room minutes before. "Your decision was wise, and I believe that even the Emperor would have made the same choice in this matter."
Guan Dong Liu exhaled heavily, the burdens on his shoulders evident in the way his back curved just slightly now, a once-imperious man bent by politics and time.
"No one will ever say you're wrong," Jun Wu Yi continued, setting down his teacup with a gentle clink. "But everyoneā¦ has a different position."
The statement hung in the air like a blade.
The elder general's voice grew sterner, his eyes sharp beneath silver brows. "In fact, such matters have always been the sharpest contradiction between the military and the polity. Polity seeks peace, even at the cost of pride. The military? The military must always prepare for war. This conflict will never be truly resolved. If the politics seeks war, the country fractures. If the military seeks peace... the country is ripe for ruin."
Guan Dong Liu remained silent, but his lips thinned into a grim line. He knew it too well.
Jun Wu Yi then leaned back and offered a confident smirk, the kind that came from surviving a thousand battles, both on the field and in the court.
"And since Mo Xie has said that he would take care of this matter," He said casually, "I suggest you relax. Let the Jun Family handle this."
There was a beat of silence before Guan Dong Liu let out a sigh. It wasn't frustration, it was weariness.
He stood, his robes flowing behind him like a fading storm cloud. He reached the doorway and paused, casting a long look back over his shoulder.
"Li Jia only gave us two months," He said, voice low but sharp as a blade sheathed in silk. "So please, Brother Junā¦ resolve this as early as possible."
Jun Wu Yi nodded solemnly.
"Rest assured, Brother. Mo Xie might seemā¦ unconventional," He allowed himself a chuckle, "but that kid has never made a move he wasn't absolutely certain would result in a win."
As Guan Dong Liu departed, the heavy door closed with a quiet thud.
Jun Wu Yi's demeanor shifted, his smile fading as his eyes turned sharp. He glanced sideways at the young man reclining on the nearby wooden bench, a sly grin playing across his face as if he had been waiting for his cue.
"All right, Mo Xie," Jun Wu Yi said, voice dropping low. "The man's gone. Now stop playing games with that dumb grin of yours and tell me what's really going on."
Jun Mo Xie stretched lazily, lacing his fingers behind his head as he leaned back further, balancing on the back legs of the chair in a way that made his uncle twitch with disapproval.
"Wellā¦" He began, dragging the word like a mischievous cat playing with its prey. "Actually, I want to use this opportunity to fulfill the old oath of the Dongfang Family."
Jun Wu Yi blinked.
For a moment, even time stood still, and the atmosphere turned solemn.
That nameā¦ Dongfang.
His elder brother's wife, and Jun Mo Xie's mother.
His own sister-in-law.
A woman of grace, beauty, warmthā¦ and tragedy.
Jun Wu Yi's expression softened, his fingers trembling ever so slightly as they clenched over the armrest. Memories of the past surged unbidden.
"The Dongfang Familyā¦" Jun Wu Yi whispered, the pain in his voice raw and exposed. "So that's what this is about."
But before he could spiral deeper into memory, Mo Xie snapped, eyes hard.
"Stop looking like that, Old Man. What? You think I'd cry about it? Have you ever seen me cry about the past?" He barked.
Startled, Wu Yi blinked.
"You think pain makes me weak?" Mo Xie's aura shifted suddenly, and a terrifying pressure burst from his body, like an unseen tide crashing against the walls of the room.
The wooden floor beneath him creaked ominously as if buckling under invisible weight. "She's gone. But I will never spare anyone responsible for our loss."
His voice turned ice-cold. "All those years agoā¦ Li Jue Tian, Xue Han Manor... they were also involved in the suppression of the Jun Family, and the Dongfang family... It was a calculated purge."
Jun Wu Yi's hand clenched the edge of his chair.
"The Dongfang Family," Jun Mo Xie continued, his voice steady but burning with fury, "was forced to accept two impossible oaths. Oaths made not from honorā¦ but from desperation. One of those oathsā"
He stood up now, pacing around the room. "...was to allow half of the Tian Fa Forest's sacred beasts to leave their sanctuary and walk across the continentā¦"
Jun Wu Yi's eyes widened, heart hammering at the implications.
"And now," Mo Xie said, with a sudden grin that sent shivers down Wu Yi's spine, "I'm going to fulfill that oath... in our way."
The elder general raised a brow, struggling to follow this sudden tangent. "And how exactlyā¦ do you plan to do that?"
Jun Mo Xie turned around with a gleam in his eye, his tone deceptively light.
"Simple," he said, smirking. "Your second daughter-in-law is from the Tian Fa Forest."
Jun Wu Yi choked.
"ā¦WHAT?"
Mo Xie merely shrugged, as if he had said something as trivial as 'it's sunny outside.'
"Yup. Tian Fa. You know, the forbidden forest that gives even the proud Supreme experts nightmares? That one."
Jun Wu Yi's brain screeched to a halt. "You mean that mythical jungle where Xuan Beasts roam, untamed beyond the laws of men like kings of the natural order?! That Tian Fa?!"
"The very same." Mo Xie grinned.
"Youā¦ You're telling me that my future daughter-in-law is from there?" Jun Wu Yi nearly stood up again.
"Not from there," Mo Xie corrected with a twinkle in his eye. "She is one of them. She was born and raised. You could say she's practically the queen of the forest."
Jun Wu Yi's eye twitched. "Don't you dare tell meā¦ You want to marry a Xuan Beast."
"Why not?" Jun Mo Xie shrugged nonchalantly. "You think they're not beautiful just because they can rip a man in half?"
"Youā You reckless brat! Have you finally lost all sanity? You tamed a beast and made her a bride!?"
"I wooed a proud woman of Tian Fa," Jun Mo Xie replied, with mock dignity. "There's a difference."
Jun Wu Yi stared, mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for sanity.
Jun Mo Xie patted his uncle's shoulder. "Relax, old man. You'll understand once you meet her. She's a beauty and has a fiery temper. She is also strong as hell. You'll love her."
"You're insane," Jun Wu Yi muttered, slumping into his seat. "You seduced a beastā"
"She seduced me!" Jun Mo Xie retorted, indignant. "It was mutual!"
Jun Wu Yi buried his face in his hands, muttering prayers to whatever gods still listened to generals with brash nephews.
"And what will the world say," He asked, "when they find out the heir to the Jun Family is married to a woman of the wild?"
Jun Mo Xie snorted. "You say that because you haven't seen her. If those bastard laid their eyes on her, even they'll fall in love with her... Anyway, it's entertainment."
Despite himself, Jun Wu Yi chuckled.
"You've grown up," He said quietly. "More than I could've expected."
Mo Xie looked away, pretending not to be affected. "Yeah, wellā¦ someone had to. Can't let the family legacy go stale."
There was silence for a while, only broken by the wind rustling through the courtyard trees outside.
"ā¦Tell me," Wu Yi said suddenly, looking up, "this girl of yoursā¦ what's her name?"
Mo Xie's eyes softened. "ā¦Her name is Mei Xue Yan. But you might have heard of her as Venerable Mei. Of the Skyshadow lineage."
Jun Wu Yi nodded slowly, repeating the name to himself. "Xue Yanā¦ Venerable Meiā¦ Don't tell me..."
"She's so beautiful and cute that I want her to lock her up in my room to keep staring at her," Jun Mo Xie added. "But don't tell her I said that. She didn't like being called or thought like that... she thinks it was somehow insulting to her."
"Oh?" Wu Yi chuckled. "I'll make sure to tell her the moment we meet."
Jun Mo Xie paled. "You wouldn't dare!"
"I would," Jun Wu Yi grinned. "I need some leverage over you. Maybe then you'll stop calling me old man in front of the palace guards."
Jun Mo Xie grumbled a little before he laughed, which washed away the tension like spring rain.
--- ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ ---
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