What kind of person was Meng Wanyue, truly?

It had to be said — amid all the joy, Jun Beiyue kept watching her closely, and so did Ziqing. But the secret of the isolated island, the “no choice” that Meng Wanyue kept referring to, the “grave injustice done to the isolated island,” the “founding ancestor’s dying instructions” — all of it had overturned their previous assumptions entirely, leaving their hearts suspended in midair, anxious, and without realizing it, they’d set aside their doubts about Meng Wanyue herself.

And it had to be admitted — as her son and daughter-in-law, this bond of kinship had robbed them of a good measure of their usual clear-headedness.

As for little Xiong Bao — with a grandmother who apparently blamed him for nothing at all, he was practically beside himself with delight, utterly lost in the moment.

Baili Weisheng, however, that heartless, carefree fellow, was entirely different. He’d been studying Meng Wanyue closely the whole time, his clear black eyes constantly rolling, clearly turning something over in his mind.

And the sharp-witted Baili Xiaosheng kept shooting little Xiong Bao looks of pure disdain, as if to say, this little brat — now that he’s got a grandmother, has he already forgotten his own mother?

Of course, studying her was one thing — after all, master and disciple, like everyone else, cared most about the secret of the isolated island.

Also worth mentioning was Meng Duo’er. This girl genuinely didn’t have the nerve to doubt her fourth aunt, but being someone who was always honest, who neither deceived others nor herself, the more she listened to Meng Wanyue speak, the more she found herself thinking back to that faint, sharp warning voice she’d heard inside the Xuyu Tower barrier — a voice that had sounded genuinely fierce.

Throughout the journey, Meng Wanyue remained warm and gentle, holding little Xiong Bao close the entire way. Xiong Bao, for his part, made himself right at home — familiar after just once, he snuggled up against his grandmother, all the while scheming in his little mind. He figured that if Grandmother wasn’t holding it against him, she surely wouldn’t try to take the Qiankun Poison Pouch away from him either.

And besides, Grandmother clearly knew a great deal about the Qiankun Poison Pouch — surely she’d teach him all sorts of things about how to master it.

Little Xiong Bao pondered how best to flatter his grandmother, to back her into a corner so thoroughly that she’d have no choice but to publicly, formally declare — in front of everyone — that she wouldn’t compete with him for the Qiankun Poison Pouch!

Otherwise, Grandmother would have plenty of excuses to try and take it from him later — saying he was too young, or that he wasn’t strong enough yet!

After all, Grandmother had given up even his father, given up her own best years, all for the sake of this very treasure!

He also thought to himself — if he could make the Qiankun Poison Pouch grow enormously large, he wouldn’t have to fear Nanzhao’s Beast Clan at all anymore.

With him handling Nanzhao’s Beast Clan, Mommy and Uncle Baili — immune to all poisons — handling Nanzhao’s Medicine Clan, and Father’s army on top of that, Nanzhao wouldn’t be able to act so high and mighty for much longer!

The more little Xiong Bao thought about it, the more wonderful it all seemed. He couldn’t help but look up at Meng Wanyue, smiling sweetly, eyes narrowed in pure contentment.

Meng Wanyue stroked his bangs, smiling back at him warmly, gently. “What’s my good grandson smiling so foolishly about?”

“Nothing, just happy to see Grandmother,” Xiong Bao answered cheerfully, which only delighted Meng Wanyue further.

Amid laughter and cheerful chatter the whole way, the group soon arrived at the Xuyu Hall halfway down the mountain.

The Dream Clan leader gave Jun Beiyue a brief rundown of the situation with the Jiao people. After all, he himself, as clan leader, had personally handled the matter, offering a perfectly plausible explanation. And since the Jiao people had arrived to find nothing at all — only that the sea serpents had entirely vanished — even with injuries or deaths among them, there would surely have been some trace left behind. The Jiao people, unable to fathom the involvement of the Qiankun Poison Pouch, had gone off to notify the Xiao family, still thoroughly confused.

Jun Beiyue nodded. He understood full well that they needed to leave the Dream Clan before the Xiao family arrived.

The Xiao family’s treasure had gone missing — there was no way to conceal that from them easily for long.

As for the White Jade Demon Flute — Jun Beiyue genuinely had no intention whatsoever of returning it.

The moment they entered Xuyu Hall, the Dream Clan leader gave his disciples strict instructions — no one, under any circumstances, was to disturb them — and personally shut the great doors himself.

“Thud” — the heavy doors closed with a resounding weight, and instantly the atmosphere turned solemn, heavy.

The Dream Clan leader sat gravely in the seat of honor, with Jun Beiyue and Ziqing to his right, and Old Meng Five to his left. Meng Duo’er sat behind her father, not daring to take a seat of her own. Baili Weisheng and Baili Xiaosheng, master and disciple, sat comfortably behind Ziqing.

Only Meng Wanyue remained standing, not daring to sit, glancing timidly at the Dream Clan leader.

“Sit,” the Dream Clan leader said flatly. “Let’s have this matter made clear first.” Even though he took great pride in his daughter’s extraordinary gifts, and cherished her deeply, the wrongs she’d committed still had to be addressed. Whatever the secret of the isolated island might be, her choice to abandon her family and leave without a word still demanded a full accounting!

In everyone’s impression, Meng Wanyue was, at the very least, a formidably strong-willed woman — but in front of the Dream Clan leader, she still understood proper decorum.

Only now did she dare to sit.

The moment she sat down, the entire hall fell silent.

“Back then, it was you who took the Liuguang Dagger?” The Dream Clan leader needed a definitive answer.

“Yes.” Meng Wanyue admitted immediately. “Back then, I only meant to study the forbidden techniques first. But when I made my way to the second level of Xuyu Tower, what I discovered there… it made me…”

Meng Wanyue hesitated, glancing up at Jun Beiyue before continuing, “That secret left me with no choice but to leave, and no choice, after I gave birth to Beiyue… but to abandon him.”

Meng Wanyue didn’t look away, keeping her gaze fixed steadily on Jun Beiyue throughout, and Jun Beiyue, in turn, didn’t look away either, holding her gaze directly.

Though everyone present was burning with impatience, by unspoken agreement, no one spoke up, waiting instead for Meng Wanyue to continue in her own time.

Yet Meng Wanyue hesitated once more.

“Father, this matter… it’s a secret of the Dream Clan. The reason I left so suddenly, without a word, back then wasn’t truly about the marriage — I merely used the marriage as an excuse to leave,” Meng Wanyue said.

These words…

Suddenly, Baili Weisheng spoke up, raising an eyebrow. “What Fourth Elder means to say is… this secret cannot be spoken aloud? The rest of us should withdraw?”

Meng Wanyue immediately explained, “It’s not that I consider you all outsiders — and besides, this matter is indeed connected to the isolated island. It’s simply that the founding ancestor left strict instructions that this secret could not be casually revealed, so at the time, I left without even informing Father myself.”

The moment Meng Wanyue finished speaking, a flicker of confusion crossed Ziqing’s eyes. She glanced at Jun Beiyue but said nothing.

Jun Beiyue, meanwhile, continued watching his mother in silence, his expression giving nothing away.

The corner of Baili Weisheng’s mouth curled into a cold smile. At a moment like this, she suddenly claimed she couldn’t say any more? How interesting.

Meng Wanyue didn’t strike him as someone who was particularly bound by rules or ancestral instructions.

She’d surely tell them eventually — she was probably just trying to emphasize, one more time, why she’d left without saying goodbye all those years ago. Looking for some noble, high-minded justification for that unexplained departure.

Compared to Meng Wanyue’s hesitation, the Dream Clan leader was remarkably forthright by comparison. “This matter concerns a great deal. Now that the Qiankun Poison Pouch has been obtained, and the orphan of the isolated island is present as well — even if the founding ancestor left such instructions, you may… speak freely, without concern.”

Yet Meng Wanyue didn’t refuse either, smiling faintly as she said, “With the clan leader’s word, I feel at ease. On the second level of Xuyu Tower, I saw…”