The moment Meng Wanyue grabbed hold of him like this, the already frigid air seemed to drop several degrees further.

Baili Weisheng immediately shot Ziqing a look, signaling her not to speak and to step back beside him.

Ziqing, of course, knew her own husband’s moods better than anyone. She shot Baili Weisheng a sideways glance, but still retreated to the side, holding Xiong Xiaobao.

Jun Beiyue slowly turned his head to look back — and remained silent still, his gaze cold, fixed on the hand gripping his arm so tightly.

It was precisely this silence that was so impossible to read, so unsettling.

Ziqing and Baili Weisheng exchanged glances, forced to admit that even they had no idea what Jun Beiyue intended to do.

“Beiyue, Mother… Mother… Mother forbids you to go.”

Meng Wanyue’s voice had grown timid — for the first time in her life, she felt afraid, and never had she imagined she would feel afraid of her own son.

Yet Jun Beiyue still said nothing, his eyes growing colder and colder, deeper and deeper — no one knew what might happen once those deep, unfathomable eyes reached their absolute depths.

A chill ran down Meng Wanyue’s spine. Knowing she couldn’t push things any further, she found herself slowly… slowly, unconsciously loosening her grip.

“Beiyue, Mother… Mother truly doesn’t want to see that heartless man. Let’s… let’s not go, alright?”

“Beiyue, have some understanding for your mother. After all, it was he who cruelly abandoned me back then.”

…

Her command had turned into pleading, but helplessly, the moment she released him, Jun Beiyue turned and walked away, reaching back so naturally to take Ziqing’s hand.

Even in the depths of his fury, he never forgot his wife and child.

Seeing Han Ziqing’s hand held so tightly, Meng Wanyue’s anger reached its absolute peak. She drew several deep breaths, taking a long, long while to calm herself down.

Her own flesh and blood — and yet there truly wasn’t even the smallest place for her in his heart, only that woman, entirely!

“Beiyue, wait for your mother. Since you insist on going, then Mother will go with you — I want to properly ask the Gu Family Head exactly why he treated us the way he did!”

Words, as it turned out, could always be twisted and turned however one pleased. Meng Wanyue was practically talking to herself, giving herself an excuse to climb down from her stance, and immediately hurried to catch up again.

Since there was no stopping them, she naturally had to chase after them.

If she didn’t catch up, she knew, she would never be able to keep pace with them again, would never be able to find them again!

This group — they meant to shake her off!

They soon reached the mountainside. The moment the guards saw who had arrived, they were both startled and delighted, immediately leading the way and rushing to report to the Gu Family Head.

Nominally, Liuxian Island had been won for the Gu Family by Jun Beiyue. In truth, the entire island had long been saturated with Jun Beiyue’s power — strictly speaking, the Gu Family was merely Jun Beiyue’s representative on Liuxian Island.

The true master here was Jun Beiyue himself.

The Gu Family Head and his wife both came out through the main gate together to receive them — but the instant they saw Meng Wanyue, the Gu Family Head sucked in a sharp breath of shock!

Though Meng Wanyue had aged, her appearance had changed very little; anyone who had known her would recognize her at a single glance.

The Gu Family Head froze, and his wife froze as well. Seeing this woman who bore such a striking resemblance to Jun Beiyue, if she hadn’t figured out something by now, then her fifty-some years of life would have been lived for nothing.

This woman had to be Consort Wan of Great Zhou — Jun Beiyue’s birth mother, Meng Wanyue!

The Gu Family Head and his wife stood frozen at the gate, and Meng Wanyue, too, came to a halt, coldly regarding the Gu couple. In truth, there was no hatred in her eyes at all — only cold indifference.

She had never loved Gu Jun. What had drawn her to him back then had been his martial arts prowess, far surpassing the internal cultivation of the Situ clan on the Longyuan continent.

As for the Gu Family Head’s wife, she felt nothing but disdain for her — this woman had never had the qualifications to compete with her over a man in the first place!

And yet, in the end, she had actually lost.

Gu Jun had abandoned her, choosing to return to Liuxian Island.

Very well then — since she was here, they might as well settle that old debt from years past. She wanted to see for herself, exactly where she had ever fallen short compared to this Madam Gu.

“Gu Jun. It’s been a long time.” Meng Wanyue’s voice was icy cold, sounding nothing like a greeting — more like the prelude to a reckoning.

“Wan… Wanyue…” Gu Jun stared at Meng Wanyue in disbelief. But the moment the words left his mouth, the Gu Family’s wife suddenly let out a “Waaah!” and burst into loud, wailing tears. “Gu Jun, you… how wonderful, mother and son have finally come to our door together! Gu Jun, have you no shame before me? Have you no shame at all?”

Women — this was simply how it was.

If Jun Beiyue had come alone, the Gu Family’s wife would never have dared to make such a scene — she still regretted, to this day, the fate that had befallen her two daughters.

But with Meng Wanyue here, everything was different!

There wasn’t a single woman in the world who could remain calm and composed in the face of the very mistress who had come knocking on her door in person.

Once the wife started crying like this, the Gu Family Head finally came back to his senses — but who could have known, at that very moment, his wife suddenly lunged straight at Meng Wanyue with startling speed, so fast and so sudden that everyone present was caught completely off guard!

“Smack!” A sharp, ringing slap landed squarely across Meng Wanyue’s face. “You shameless hussy! You dare show your face here, you slut who’s been passed around by every man in sight!”

Meng Wanyue truly hadn’t seen that slap coming at all. She had been far too confident — so confident that now, with her face burning and stinging, she was still too stunned to react.

But the Gu Family’s wife, like some crazed beast, seized a fistful of Meng Wanyue’s hair and yanked hard. Only then did Meng Wanyue snap out of it and immediately strike back!

The two women were pressed too close together, and with her hair still gripped tight, Meng Wanyue couldn’t bring her martial arts to bear at all. In an instant, the two women were locked in a full-on brawl, grappling with their bare hands.

The Gu Family Head, alarmed, moved to intervene, to pull them apart —

But who could have known, Jun Beiyue, his expression utterly blank, spoke up instead. “Gu Family Head, fetch your best physician here immediately. I have a child who’s badly injured.”

“This…” The Gu Family Head glanced at the two women grappling with each other, then back at Jun Beiyue, at a complete loss, utterly bewildered. “Beiyue, this…”

“Now!” Jun Beiyue’s voice suddenly turned sharp and severe, fierce enough that even Xiong Xiaobao jumped in fright. The Gu Family Head instantly fell silent and immediately turned to hurry off!

Meanwhile, the two women continued their brawl, scratching and cursing with unrelenting ferocity.

“Slut! You’re the slut here! Let go of my hair, or I won’t hold back any longer!”

“Look who’s talking about being a slut — twenty-some years ago you threw yourself into his arms of your own accord, and now that you’re lonely you want to come knocking again! Let me tell you something — if you want a man that badly, I’ll arrange one for you, just stay away from my husband! You whore!”

“Shut up! I will absolutely not let this go!”

…

Meng Wanyue was formidable, but she was no match for a woman like the Gu Family’s wife, who had thrown all caution to the wind, risking even her own life. The wife clung stubbornly to her hair, refusing to let go no matter how much Meng Wanyue clawed and scratched at her face and body, leaving her covered in wounds.

She had truly given everything up now — even her most beloved daughter had left her, and she had nothing left to hope for. Today, even if it cost her life, even if she brought the entire Gu household crashing down with her, she would absolutely not let Meng Wanyue off the hook.

Off to the side, Baili Weisheng was watching the whole scene, nearly bursting into laughter — he finally understood what Jun Beiyue was up to!

Oh, Meng Wanyue, Meng Wanyue — once you climb up this mountain, don’t even think about coming back down.

Jun Beiyue didn’t even spare the scene a single glance, carrying Xiong Bao straight through the gate. Ziqing followed silently behind, watching his retreating back with a mixture of relief and heartache.

She knew that after his fury faded, what remained underneath was mostly grief.

Years ago, it had been right here, in this very place, that Jun Beiyue had personally carried Consort Wan’s funerary urn into the Gu family’s ancestral hall. And now, here he was, about to personally trap Meng Wanyue in this same place.

If he had known it would come to this, why bother having a mother like this at all!

Better to simply let that beautiful memory of the late Consort Wan remain forever untouched, preserved just as it had always been.

Thinking of this, Ziqing couldn’t help but think of her own parents…