"Well, not directly after you left, but sometime after that, I saw many people come from other families.
I don't know what they talked about, but afterward, Mom spent more time at home.
She even cooked food for me.
MingYue sighed; this was another reason she had disliked her brother in the past; she felt her mom always showed more bias toward him.
MingHao then continued, "But one day, we had dinner together with Dad.
They talked about something and told me this:
'We are sorry for not being good parents to you and your sister.
Tell her we are sorry if you meet her again.'
The next day, they disappeared."
'Uncle told me the patriarch killed Dad, and Mom left with the tablet.
It seems he only heard a second-hand story.
But doesn't this mean they know I am alive?' MingYue thought to herself.
"You said Dad acted weird, too.
"You know he always spent time doing something in the basement, but lately, he went outside the city often.
Oh yeah, Sis, they also gave me this.
They told me to give it to you."
MingHao took out two amulets; they were like a set separated into two parts—one carved in the form of a fiery phoenix and the other as a flood dragon.
Looking at it, she frowned.
Is my family somehow connected to the upper world or something like that?'
She then shook her head.
I've read too many novels.
I've never even heard about the upper world other than in those novels.
I should really stop linking it with my reality.'
Seeing his sister looking at the amulet seriously, MingHao thought she was thinking about their parents.
"Sis, I know Uncle told you Mom left and betrayed the family, even sold you for an elixir..."
MingHao hesitated, then continued, "I know I am not in a position to talk about this, but I am sure they had a reason."
MingYue's gaze turned cold, and then she looked at MingHao.
"You brat, tell me, what reason can a parent have to justify abandoning their kids?
Stop talking for them."
MingYue then gestured for MingHao to stay silent, and she took both pendants from his hand.
The Fiery Phoenix pendant was carved from red crystal, resembling a ruby but with an orange hue to it.
The flood dragon was made from a crystal that looked like blue sapphire, with a similar hue to the fiery phoenix.
The chains themselves were made from jade, with many formations carved into them.
"Why did you not tell Uncle this?"
Or the story?" MingHao asked.
"Mom and Dad made me swear never to tell any soul other than you about this."
He then put a finger on his chin as he remembered something.
"Oh yeah, they also told me to hide the pendant away and never take it out in front of other people."
"Is one of the pendants for you?" MingYue asked.
MingHao shook his head, "No, Mom said both are for you."
This made MingYue feel confused.
'Vesa, there seem to be formations here.
Can you tell what they are?'
[It works similarly to a storage ring, Queen, but there are protections set into it.]
[I can tell it's set to break on itself when it detects your qi is at the Heavenly Ascension stage.]
That stage was too far away for MingYue; she didn't want to wait that long.
[I can, but it will take a long time, Queen, with the risk of the item inside being destroyed.]
[I detect there are protections if someone tries to tamper with it in the wrong way.]
[But I have a solution: just gather enough of a life force.
I can then enhance a wisp of your qi to one from a Heavenly Ascension stage cultivator.]
[That should be enough to trick it.]
'How much life force do I need?'
[We need ten thousand life force.]
MingYue felt that the energy spent by the life force was too much just to enhance a wisp of qi.
Can't you do it for five thousand life force?
This is not a flea market...]
[Actually, I could have done it for less time before, but I cannot now.
For this reason, you should ask King about it later.]
MingYue wanted to ask Alex directly, but she knew it wasn't a good time now.
"Brat, don't tell Uncle I am MingYue."
MingHao wanted to ask why, but looking at his sister's glare, he didn't dare and just nodded reluctantly.
MingYue then stood up and walked toward the window, looking at the bustling city.
"MingHao, what do you think about the Xueqi family?"
"Other than Uncle's family, I don't care about the rest," MingHao answered as he walked to her side.
"Do you know where they are now?
I haven't seen any of our family except both of you," she asked as she looked toward the family mansion in the center of the city.
"I remember hearing some of the cousins saying they are at the ancestral ground."
MingHao's answer confirmed MingYue's suspicions.
She had asked Vesa to locate her family, but Vesa failed to detect most of them, like the patriarch, who should be the only one here with Nascent Soul cultivation.
Even if they had ancestor-level cultivators, it should be at the Golden Core or Spiritual Transformation at best, considering they were only a middle-class family on the outskirts.
'If they are inside the ancestral ground, it's not weird then.'
Remembering her family was on the outskirts of their continent made MingYue chuckle.
She remembered that the protagonists from the novels she read usually came from the smallest families, smallest countries, continents, and planets.
Seeing his sister laugh, MingHao felt confused, especially since they were discussing something serious just moments ago.
Realizing her little brother's gaze, MingYue coughed, "You brat, why are you staring at me like that?"
Her expression then turned solemn.
"I've decided, MingHao, I will destroy this family.
You will follow me starting today; no need to return to Uncle's side."