Yao Lin was courteous as he seated the five from Jian Dan's group, then asked,"Liuli, why is the marriage pact between our two clans suddenly voided? Can you explain? I believe my Yao clan at least has the right to know the reason."
Jin Liuli and her aunt were prepared for this question. Anyone would be displeased to have a marriage canceled unilaterally.
Only because the Jin Ancestor had sent a formal visiting card and offered compensation had the Yao clan refrained from starting a scene. Asking for an explanation was reasonable.
Jin Ai stepped forward, saluted, and faced the Patriarch with a soft, hoarse voice. "I came today to explain this matter to Patriarch Yao in person. I hope this will not harm the friendship between our clans."
Yao Lin had recognized Jin Ai the moment they entered the hall. After all, she was the intended pair for their young master.
"Speak."
"Pairing with the Yao young master was not my intention. It was the Jin clan's former Patriarch, Jin De, who forced me under the banner of the clan. He even placed me under a form of house arrest in my courtyard."
Hearing this, Yao Lin lowered his gaze. Seven parts of it rang true. "If you were unwilling, you could have appealed to your Ancestor, or reached out to my Yao clan. We would not force such a union."
He spoke, but his tone showed he was not satisfied with the explanation.
Jin Ai lifted her head and met his eyes. Her voice sank a fraction. "How would Jin De let me disturb the Ancestor in seclusion? And how does Patriarch Yao know I did not contact the Yao clan in private? I was the last lifeline for your young master. Would you really allow that lifeline to be given up without even attempting it?"
Listening, Jian Dan curved her lips. Jin Ai's words struck the heart of the matter.
If she were Yao clan herself, she would not abandon the only one who might save her child, even knowing it was a transaction and that the other party was unwilling. One could always pretend not to know.
When Jin Ai finished, the hall fell quiet. A faint shadow crossed Yao Lin's eyes.
Jian Jing and the other two maintained the poise of honored guests. They neither joined the talk nor offered opinions. Seniors needed only to be seniors.
"Just now you said 'former' Patriarch Jin De. What do you mean by that?"
Yao Lin shifted the topic, seizing on the other message hidden in Jin Ai's words.
"Because of his selfish handling of this affair and his violation of clan precepts, he was discovered by the Ancestor and stripped of the Patriarch position. He is now under punishment for reflection. The Ancestor has temporarily taken over clan affairs and therefore could not come personally today. We ask Patriarch Yao's indulgence."
Hearing this, Yao Lin knew the marriage was finished with no room for reversal. He coughed lightly. "Since this is internal to the Jin clan, I will not pry. As for the detoxification the Jin Ancestor promised..."
As he spoke, his gaze slid to the three who had sat like a painted screen.
Jin Liuli stepped out and bowed. "Please forgive my forwardness, Patriarch Yao. I invited Heavenly Sword Sect's Jian Jing Zūnshàng, Jian Lu Zūnshàng, and Jian Po Zūnzhě to purge the poison in the young master."
Yao Lin's eyelid twitched. He stood at once and saluted. "I did not realize seniors of Heavenly Sword Sect had arrived. Yao has been discourteous."
His heart drummed. The Jin Ancestor's card had only said they would invite seniors. It had not mentioned high-level cultivators of Heavenly Sword Sect. That surprised him.
"Patriarch Yao is too polite. We came in a personal capacity to help Xiao Liuli."
Jian Dan smiled with restrained courtesy and explained.
"To be frank, we also came to ask Jin Xiaoyou's help with a matter. The purpose of your pact with the Jin clan was to cure the young master. In that area, I have some confidence and am willing to try."
She spoke with tact and assurance. In truth, her medical knowledge was limited.
In her previous life, there had been a medical cultivator beside Du Yanfan, but his only aim had been the high-grade spirit flora in her space.
Now, because they wished to bring Jin Ai into Heavenly Sword Sect, they had decided to satisfy the Yao clan's request as best they could.
Jian Dan had a plan. If it was within her capabilities, she would not decline. If it exceeded them, she would lean on authority. She would take Jin Ai regardless, and if needed, petition a Zhēnzūn in the sect to have Dan Sect's Dan Yang Zhēnzūn step in.
In short, the script was set. She would follow it.
"In that case, I will inform our Ancestor. Please wait a moment."
"Please go ahead, Patriarch."
Once Yao Lin hurried out, Jin Liuli and Jin Ai both let out a breath. Jian Dan's trio exchanged silent transmissions.
"Junior Sister, I did not expect you to have studied the medical path," Jian Jing teased through a voice transmission.
"Please do not laugh at me, Senior Sister. I truly have not."
"Then why promise so readily?" Jian Jing's eyes gleamed as she asked.
"Let us take a look first. With Senior Sister here, we can always find a thread."
"You are bold. I know nothing of toxicology."
Sitting just below the two Zūnshàngs, Jian Po felt her ink pendant tremble. She swept it with her Primordial Soul, the corner of her lips hooking upward. Then she said aloud,
"Kong Xingkun has called for help. The Kong clan is sending people to Tianquan City."
"Cherishes his life, does he. What a pity." Jian Dan's tone was unconcerned.
"A pity what?"
"A pity we cannot crush him outright."
At the side, Jin Liuli and Jin Ai blinked. They had no idea which unlucky soul had offended these seniors.
Yao Lin left the reception hall and hurried to the place of densest spiritual energy in the Yao estate. It was the Ancestor's courtyard. He had been in seclusion, and only came out because of Yao Bin's condition, stabilizing it with his own hand.
After opening the restriction, Yao Lin repeated everything from the meeting in the reception hall.
"Ancestor, Jin Liuli likely inserted herself into the matter. That is why Jin De fell from the Patriarch's seat. None of that matters. What matters is whether they can heal Bin.
I felt Jian Lu Zūnshàng spoke with confidence," Yao Lin said, glancing at the Ancestor seated on a meditation cushion.
"Jian Lu has only risen to fame in the last hundred years. She is known for her fierce combat strength. I did not know she had medical skill."
The Yao Ancestor opened clear eyes, half speaking to himself and half to Yao Lin.
"This..."
Yao Lin was stumped and could only reply, "They came so suddenly that I have not yet gathered full information. Ancestor, shall we let them see Bin?"
"Since they are here, let them try. Most importantly, we lack the capital to refuse." The Ancestor sighed lightly and spoke the truth.
Yao Lin fell silent as well. From the moment the five had stepped into the estate, the spirit plants had reacted, almost as if afraid, sending him a message of danger.
The clan's guardian plant, the ten-thousand-year hibiscus gardenia, had conveyed only four words. Not an equal. Withdraw.