As soon as she entered her study, Huang Cixi's demeanor changed drastically. Up until now, she was a little bent forward and had a weak complexion on her face as though she was still in convalescence. But she knew that no one would be able to spy on her here. With both her grandfather and Huang Liyue, if someone did, they would be found out anyway. They were among the most powerful experts in her family after the matriarch herself. After all, Huang Liyue used to be her personal bodyguard. Moreover, the traces of Void Nurtured Platinum both in her room and in the walls of her study made it very difficult to send in spiritual senses inside.

Seeing her change so suddenly surprised both Spirit Warriors, even though they knew she was faking it. Her ability to switch was capable to trick even their senses. Without spiritual senses to feel her injuries, they would have been fooled.

Nostalgia washed over Huang Cixi. Although she hadn't been gone more than a year, it felt like all this was from another life. As she walked through her study, she skimmed through some books. The emotions on her face were very subtle but Huang Yi could feel a deep sadness.

Then, she watched over a scroll that was nailed to the wall. It was a sublime painting of her second brother Huang Lixin. Many emotions coursed through her mind as the image of Cao Yun also appeared. In the end, the two young men were really alike. Had they met under other circumstances, they would have been good friends.

Would Brother hate me if he knew I didn't avenge him?

Fighting off her thoughts, Huang Cixi asked without any emotion in her voice. "Grandfather?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Did you bring back their bodies?"

Huang Yi knew that she would ask that, but he wasn't expecting it so soon. Just before leaving, she had asked him to retrieve all her family's corpses to bury them in the familial burial chamber. Usually, only members of the main branch could be buried there. Technically, Huang Cixi and her brothers were from the main branch through their mother. But as they were the children of Huang Mingze, they were deemed to belong to a mere side branch. Now that he was dead, Huang Yi had been able to officially recognize his grandchildren as part of the main branch though.

However, trying to bury Huang Mingze as well was a huge problem.

"I did. Even... Even your father. I had to deal with many criticisms but I was able to obtain the approval of most of the elders. However, I couldn't put any memorial tablet for him in the ancestral hall. And I knew you wouldn't want to honor your brothers and your father separately. So... I had a small altar built in your courtyard. Their memorial tablets are there if you want to honor them."

Huang Yi had never made any effort to hide his resentment toward her father, not even when he had met her as a kid. Despite his resentment though, he had done many efforts to have him buried with honor. In life, Huang Mingze had to be away from the coffin of his wife. In death, they had finally been reunited. In a sense, it brought solace to Huang Cixi. And the actions of her grandfather warmed her heart.

"Thank you, Grandfather. This means a lot to me." For once, she let her emotions through. And it left a bittersweet taste in Huang Mingze's mouth. He couldn't tell whether she was happy or sad, maybe both at the same time. All a sudden, she regained her composure. "I have other things to discuss with you."

"Is it about the boy?"

Suddenly, Huang Yi's face became quite severe.

"So you know..."

Of course, with his influence, it hadn't been hard for Huang Yi to find out exactly what had happened in Yinmen City. It became especially clear when Huang Cixi enrolled as his servant in the Wubei Sect.

"This boy is still alive, right? Do not worry. Despite all his connections, I'll find a way to get rid of him. Even if it's the last thing I do, he'll get what he deserves!"

"Grandfather! Don't!"

"What?!"

For the first time, Huang Cixi turned away from the portrait of her beloved brother and looked back at her grandfather.

"He did nothing wrong. We acted in a vicious way and look what it brought us... Chen Guo was innocent in the matter. I may never forget nor forgive... But Chen Guo is not to blame. I am!"

"Sweetheart?"

"I knew that First Brother and Father were making a terrible mistake. I knew that their plan was wicked. Yet, I did not stop it. I know I could have stopped it. If they're all dead, the first persons responsible were them. Then, it was me. Grandfather, if someone tried to harm an innocent and you killed them to protect that innocent, would you become a murderer?"

The sincerity in Huang Cixi's voice made Huang Yi falter. Concerning Huang Mingze's death, he honestly didn't give a damn. However, he cared about his two grandsons. Contrary to Huang Cixi, he couldn't let go of his rage that easily. Intellectually, he had to admit that she was right. And Cao Yun was now very difficult to kill considering all his relations. From now on, the Wubei Sect would surely value him more and more. He had the protection of Xiao Xuefeng, and he was an alchemist at that. Even the Imperial City would protect him against the Huang family.

Huang Cixi wasn't stupid and she knew she couldn't convince her grandfather that easily. After all, it had taken a lot of time for her to come to grip with the facts. But she also knew what could help to convince him. For a while, the words got stuck in her throat, but she got over it.

"Grandfather, he even buried Huang Lixin's body with respect." These words shocked Huang Yi. She was defending the killer of her beloved brother. "Moreover, he petitioned Spirit Master Xiao for me to obtain the Life Boiling Cradle pill."

"But he was the cause of your Qi deviation, wasn't he?"

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"Not directly, no. My own feelings brought forth this deviation. The fault is mine. Grandfather, this Chen Guo is not a bad man at all. And he gave me a new life. Can't you respect my choice?"

"I..."

Huang Yi looked deeply in her eyes. All he saw was sincerity. Faced with her gaze, he couldn't stand it.

"Fine... I won't pursue the matter. But don't ask me to forget about what he did."

The atmosphere was extremely tensed. On the side, Huang Liyue felt quite strange, but as a bodyguard she was used to witness very personal conversations.

"Come on! It's the day you return to your family! It should be joyous! Let's stop this gloom! I'll have a banquet prepared for you!"

"No."

"What?!"

"Grandfather, you should have understood. Many people are vying for the position of matriarch and I'm an eyesore for them."

"If someone dares bully you..."

"Remember your status. As family head, you can't act favorably to me just because I'm your granddaughter. If you do, you'll receive more than criticisms. And it could also become an obstacle for me."

"Wait? Do you mean that you want..."

"Indeed." For an instant, there was an ancient ferocity in Huang Cixi's eyes. "I will become the next matriarch. Grandfather, let me pave my own way. Unless you believe I can't?"

"Don't talk nonsense! Apart from you, no one is more talented to become our matriarch."

All of a sudden, Huang Yi was completely excited. As a grandfather he was blind when it came to Huang Cixi, but he was also really clear on her talent. Huang Cixi's blood was the purest among the young generation. Compared with the current matriarch, it was maybe a bit lacking. But she still had the time to cultivate 'Nine Chambers of Life Fire' to new heights. With her talent, he was sure she would be able to achieve great results.

"By the way, Grandfather. Could you examine my blood once more? The medicinal essence I absorbed pushed me to condense a second True Fiery Drop."

"What?!"

Without waiting a single moment, Huang Yi took her wrist and injected his Qi in her body. Inspecting someone's bloodline required more than just normal spiritual senses. Maybe Xiao Xuefeng could have done so, but probably no one else. Thus Huang Yi sent a few surges of Qi in his granddaughter's bloodstream. They went into her heart and allowed him to perfectly sense her True Fiery Drops.

"You... you... Your blood is even purer than the matriarch's..."

This time, even Huang Liyue got shaken. She knew that Huang Cixi's breakthrough had been extraordinary, but she didn't believe it was to this extent. No wonder her cultivation had become so fast. The more True Fiery Drops she could condense, the purer her blood would become. On the other hand, each new drop would become harder to condense. Thus, when she condensed a new one, she had to do so in the best possible way in order to enhance the purity of her bloodline. That way, the next one wouldn't become too hard to condense. But if Huang Cixi had already a purity equal to the matriarch's, it was incredible. The matriarch had condensed eight True Fiery Drops with great results each time.

Only Huang Cixi was not surprised. During her breakthrough, she had vividly sensed that her blood was entirely different. This result was still beyond her expectations, but was not that surprising. However, the purity of the True Fiery Fenghuang blood was important but it wasn't everything either. Other aspects were essential, and maybe more. But Huang Cixi was even more confident in these other aspects.

"Thank you, Grandfather. I have much to do. I'll come visit you again as soon as I can. I'm very sorry, but can you leave me alone for now?"

"Uh... Of course, of course." His mind was completely chaotic. Before he even realized what he was doing, Huang Yi was outside of the room and back in his own study with Huang Liyue.

Then, he heard her voice and suddenly snapped out of it.

"What?"

For a while, he looked around and tried to figure out where he was. Just like in a daze, he had walked all the way here and did not remember a single thing.

"Family Head, excuse me. I have a humble request."

This surprised Huang Yi as his bodyguard had never expressed any desire whatsoever. He had no idea of what she could want at such a time. But then, it hit him.

"You want to guard Huang Cixi, right?"

Even though the woman barely spoke, Huang Yi had been able to know her character since she had been appointed as his bodyguard. For hundreds of years she had guarded the matriarch. And the reason for her presence was not just to guard Huang Yi, but also to be the eyes of the matriarch and help her choose her successor. She was the only woman the matriarch trusted completely. Without her by his side, Huang Yi could have maybe attempted to use his influence and guide the choice of the new matriarch toward his direct relative.

However, after seeing Huang Cixi in person, Huang Liyue was more than intrigued. Indeed, she had a talent and blood cultivation worthy of a future matriarch. But purity of blood and cultivation were not the main factors. Other young women from the Huang family also had impressive bloodline and talent, not quite as impressive as Huang Cixi's though. From the little Huang Liyue had seen, her character seemed to also be good to govern the family.

"I have no reason to oppose this request. Quite the opposite. But if you do so publicly, it will bring a lot of attention on my granddaughter. Some may even think that I coerced you somehow. The best thing would be for you to watch her from a distance. No one can know you're with her except for me and her of course."

This was indeed for the best. Clearly Huang Cixi wanted to be low-key for the time being. As long as she didn't understand everything that was going on within the family and the various factions battling for influence and power, it was best to lie low.

"Thank you, Family Head."

Just as she spoke, Huang Liyue disappeared.

-

A few moments later, she was back inside the study of Huang Cixi but the girl wasn't there. Many books had been scattered over her desk. Most of them were related to bloodline and cultivation. But others talked about mind cultivation, philosophy, religion, economics, politics, history, ... So many subjects were mixed on this desk. And Huang Liyue didn't know what to make of it.

After sifting through the contents, Huang Liyue decided not to fret about it. She looked for Huang Cixi in the room but she wasn't there. Then a thought came to her and she focused her senses. From the courtyard she heard the faint sound of her voice. Even with her sharp senses, Huang Liyue couldn't make out what was being said. Huang Cixi seemed to be muttering some words inside a building of some kind. And the new bodyguard knew exactly what she was doing.

At first she was hesitant to disturb her but she approached the small altar in the courtyard.

Huang Cixi was burning some incense sticks in front of three wooden tablets. On each of the tablets, names were carved, 'Huang Mingze', 'Huang Lixin' and 'Huang Longwei'.

"So you decided to be my bodyguard instead of Grandfather's ?"

The way she talked, Huang Cixi gave off the impression that she had known it would turn out this way from the very start. In fact, she wasn't sure, but she had a hunch that Huang Liyue would be intrigued enough to follow her.

"Young Mistress, this humble one vows to protect you. And..."

Before she could finish her next sentence, Huang Cixi interrupted her. Her voice was still very low as though she didn't want to disturb someone's sleep.

"Thank you. But could you please wait in my quarters for now? I really want to be alone. Please wait a bit and I'll come back."

"Of course, Young Mistress."

Huang Liyue had no objection because she could easily observe Huang Cixi from her room. There was nothing in the courtyard to block her spiritual senses. Even though there was no danger, now that she had become her guard, she had to be as careful as possible. She always took her role very seriously.