The next couple of days passed in a relaxed manner. Like Ming Ren had said, Mu Chen didn't encounter any further troubles in the city. However, when Xiao Xue didn't wake up, Mu Chen became troubled and decided to call Xia Ping.

When Mu Chen went downstairs to meet him, Xia Ping, Su He, and Li Kun were already there.

Mu Chen was surprised to see Li Kun. "You also came?"

"Su Rong called," Li Kun said.

Mu Chen was curious why Su Rong called him, but when he saw Xia Ping, he was reminded of Xiao Xue. Mu Chen placed the sleeping Xiao Xue on the table. "Xia Ping, take a look at Xiao Xue."

"Ah? Brother Chen, is something wrong?" Xia Ping hurried to take a look at Xiao Xue.

"She ate some spiritual herbs," Mu Chen said, while Xia Ping examined. "but I don't know which."

Xia Ping inspected Xiao Xue for a bit. He measured her breath, her temperature. He lifted her eyelids and used a bright stone to check her eyes. He even pulled out a few herbs and let Xiao Xue sniff. After a while, he looked at Mu Chen. "Her vitals are strong. I think she is fine, but I don't know if she will wake up in the next few days or months."

Mu Chen raised his brow. "What do you mean?" Xiao Xue was fine? Then why wasn't she waking up?

"I think she might be hibernating," Xia Ping said. "Some beasts with special bloodlines will hibernate when they are about to break through."

Mu Chen was pleasantly surprised. "Xiao Xue's about to break through?" He scooped up Xiao Xue into his arms to see if there was anything different about her. But she looked the same as he had first met her.

Xia Ping shook his head. "I'm not completely sure. The way the beasts cultivate is very different from us. This is the first time I've seen it."

"As long as she is fine, it doesn't matter." Mu Chen didn't have any extravagant hopes, but after hearing Xia Ping's words, he relaxed a lot. He placed Xiao Xue back in her bed.

"You, are you a beast tamer?" Su He, who had been quiet, couldn't help but speak.

"Surprised?" Mu Chen chuckled. "Xia Ping is indeed a beast tamer―but he doesn't like to fight too much. If you want to fight him, it will be hard to convince him."

Su He looked relieved. "Really? That's good then..." he muttered under his breath, but it was loud enough for all to hear.

Mu Chen wanted to kick Su He. However, Li Kun beat him to it and glared at Su He, "You were so eager to fight against me. Why are you acting like a chicken now?"

Su He's face turned a bit red. "I don't want to get ganged upon."

"Now I doubt if any of your exploits you bragged about are real. Are you sure you weren't making them up?" Mu Chen teased, but the truth was he had a similar opinion. Nobody dared to underestimate a beast tamer. A one versus one fight could easily turn into a mob fight when facing a beast tamer.

"Brother He, don't worry," Xia Ping said, "You are Sister Rong's little brother… I will warn you before..."

Su He almost choked on hearing Xia Ping, making them laugh.

The four of them were chatting when a group of girls entered the courtyard. Su Rong, Liu Fengying, and Zhou Mei came in, followed by Liu Ru and Yi Hanying.

Su Rong looked at them and greeted them. "Gao Ren didn't come?"

Li Kun shrugged. "We haven't seen him for days. Did you call everyone?"

"Indeed," Su Rong frowned. "Lanlan also didn't come. Are those two together?"

Mu Chen opened his mouth to say something but then decided against it. He didn't know about Ye Lanlan, but Ming Ren was busy. From the looks of it, Ming Ren's identity was still a secret from everyone. Mu Chen wasn't sure if he was the right person to tell them about it.

"Everyone, since you are already here, take a seat," Liu Fengying said.

They all sat around a table.

"If you guys have something, share it first," Liu Fengying said.

"What are you talking about?" Mu Chen asked.

Liu Fengying raised her brow. "What have you guys been doing? You didn't discuss anything?"

Mu Chen, Li Kun, Xia Ping, and Su He's faces turned blank.

"Discuss?" Mu Chen said. "Discuss what?"

"Discuss how to handle the trials in the secret realm," Liu Fengying snorted.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Oh, that?" Mu Chen shrugged. He had thought Su Rong had only wanted to let Su He get acquainted with everyone.

"Then what have you guys been doing?" Yi Hanying said.

The guys were speechless. What should they say? Making friends? Breaking the ice? Planning battles?

Liu Fengying waved her hand. "Forget it, I've got something for you." She took out several jade slips and handed them to Li Kun, and Xia Ping.

Zhou Mei took out a booklet and gave it to Mu Chen.

"This is?" Mu Chen flipped through the book. The handwriting was familiar, it was written by Zhou Mei.

"Information about the secret realms," Liu Fengying said, "The Su Family got it from the auction. Su Rong made copies for us."

Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Xia Ping looked at Su Rong in surprise, who gave a slight nod.

Mu Chen skimmed through the contents of the book. Li Kun and Xia Ping were also excited and used their divine senses to examine the contents of the jade slip. After skimming through the contents, the three of them couldn't help but look at each other, their expression dignified.

"We thank Young Lady Su for the gift." Li Kun was the first to express gratitude.

"Indeed," Mu Chen sighed, while Xia Ping nodded.

What was in the jade slips was indeed valuable and would save them a lot of effort and trouble, making their expedition a lot safer.

"Everyone here is my friend," Su Rong said. "It's the least I can do. Since everyone is now on the same page, it's convenient to formulate strategies..."

Su Rong insisted that she didn't mind, but it only made Mu Chen sigh. She must have worked hard to convince her family to share the information. Mu Chen felt even more guilty of causing a ruckus a few days back.

Once everyone was familiar with the contents, they began to brainstorm. However, they had barely begun when a maid came in.

"Young Lady, the Patriarch has summoned you," the maid said.

"Now?" Su Rong was surprised. Her father knew she was with her friends, so he wouldn't disturb her without reason. "Did he mention the reason?"

The maid bowed. "Apologies, but the Patriarch didn't say anything."

"Must be something you did." Yi Hanying looked at Su He with an annoyed look.

Su He coughed and his face turned a bit red.

"Don't fight," Su Rong said. "You guys continue with the discussion," Su Rong said and left with the maid.

Su Rong's departure didn't make much difference. They didn't know what was waiting for them in the realm. The information inside the realm was certainly useful, but the specific situation inside each realm was different. Even after wasting over an hour, in the end, they could only come up with a few general strategies.

Su Rong returned at this point.

"Sister Rong, you finally came" Liu Fenying heaved a sigh of relief on seeing her. She was already frustrated with their lack of progress and hoped Su Rong had more ideas. But one look at Su Rong and she froze.

Su Rong's eyes were a bit red, it looked like she had cried.

"Sister Rong!" Yi Hanying exclaimed.

Seeing Su Rong's state, the girls quickly surrounded her.

"Elder Sis!" Su He jumped off his seat and ran towards Su Rong. "Did something happen? Why are you―"

Su Rong shook her head. "It's n-nothing." But her eyes instead became redder. She was trying to hold back her tears.

"Damn it!" Su He cursed, "It must be Father. He must have said something." Su He turned and took a step towards the door.

But Su Rong held Su He's hand. "D-don't! You will make things worse!"

"You guys should go," Liu Fengying said in a low voice. "If you stay here, it will only embarrass her. Leave her to us."

Yi Hanying and Liu Ru had already wrapped their arms around Su Rong and were consoling her. Both of them gave them a stare that said none of them were welcome.

Su He hesitated. He looked at Su Rong who had now covered her face with her hands.

"Come on," Mu Chen had to drag Su He away. Before leaving, he gave Liu Fengying and Zhou Mei a look. Both of them gave him a curt nod, assuring him.

One other person had to be dragged out. It was Li Kun who looked to be in a bit of a daze and he kept glancing at Su Rong. Xia Ping had to help him out.

They came into a hall outside.

Su He couldn't still and began to pace around the hall throwing occasional glances towards the door. "Father called her and she became like this―I will go ask him."

Su He took a few steps toward the door but Mu Chen blocked him. Su He saw it and became angry. "Brother Chen, step aside!"

Mu Chen shook his head. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Like I care!" Su He roared at Mu Chen. "She is my sister, my sister! I have to know what happened."

"Su Rong can explain once she has calmed down," Mu Chen said. He didn't know what was wrong with Su Rong, but it was clear she didn't want Su He to go and make a ruckus.

"Y-you." Su He was so furious he couldn't speak for a while. His expression turned fierce. "If you don't move, I―"

Sensing Su He's spiritual qi surging, Mu Chen dashed forward and striked with his palm. At such a close distance, Su He couldn't even react and was knocked out. Mu Chen grabbed Su He and placed him on a sofa.

"Ah, Brother Chen, did you have to do that?" Xia Ping rubbed his neck. "My neck hurt just watching it."

Mu Chen looked at Su He, who was unconscious and he sighed. "He is not in the right state of mind."

"It shows how much he cares for his sister." Li Kun looked at the door to the room. "I wonder what happened." After Su He, he was the one who was most worried about Su Rong.

"We will know soon. But I think," Mu Chen patted Li Kun's shoulder. "You need to be prepared."

"Brother Chen, what are you saying?" Li Kun became anxious. "Did you hear something?"

"We will know soon," Mu Chen said. Just now, he had heard a few words from the conversation the girls were having. He didn't have any intentions of eavesdropping, but he couldn't just shut off his hearing.

"Damn!" Li Kun's mood turned sour and he became restless. He looked at Su He who looked asleep and wondered. If he had knocked himself out, would it help him calm down?

Fifteen minutes later, the door of the room opened. Liu Fengying and Zhou Mei came out.

Liu Fengying saw Su He was lying on the couch and looked at Mu Chen quizzically. "What's up with him?"

Mu Chen shrugged. "I knocked him out. Do you want to wake him up?"

Liu Fengying waved her hand. "It doesn't matter, he will know soon," she paused. "Su Rong's marriage was decided."

"What?" Li Kun trembled and he almost lost his balance. "H-how could this be?"

Xia Ping held Li Kun steady. "Brother Kun, are you okay?"

Mu Chen looked at Li Kun's aggrieved state and sighed. His friend's romance wasn't even budding, but it was going to be crushed.

"W-what about Su Rong?" Li Kun asked, "She agreed?"

"She is reluctant, but she won't oppose," Liu Fengying sighed. This was how it was in affluent families, they had little control over such matters. She was quite lucky that her own family was matriarchal. "But that's not the reason why she was so shocked."

"Then what?" Li Kun groaned. There was more?

"Do you know who the groom is?" As she spoke, Liu Fengying's anger rose and her chest heaved. The temperature in the room escalated by several degrees.

Mu Chen had a bad feeling. "Who?"

"Qin Huang."