"One will not allow such a power to be beyond one’s grasp. What do you think, how would a heroic figure with the ambition and strength to pacify the world treat our branch?"
Li Guanyi said, "Does senior Gongsun have some concerns?"
Gongsun Wuyue replied, "How could I not be worried?"
"In a unified world, the attitude towards those with mastery of Mechanical Techniques has been proven by our ancestors; and the road to preserving our family by relying on Martial Artists of the Martial World has also exacted a heavy price from my elder brother."
"Grandmother, elder cousin, have you been talking pleasantly? I saw some fine fruit delivered to the manor, so I brought some for you."
At this moment, Gongsun Feixue had already settled her friends and then came here to pay respects to her grandmother. Gongsun Wuyue invited Gongsun Feixue in. With a light smile on her face, she looked at the two swords on the table, then at Li Guanyi, and said:
"It seems that grandmother and Pharmacist elder cousin have had a good talk."
Li Guanyi asked how she could tell.
Gongsun Feixue pointed to the mystical weapon, Snow Branch, on the table and said with a smile:
"This sword of grandmother’s is extremely precious."
"Normally, she wouldn’t allow anyone to touch it, let alone leave it casually on the table ."
Gongsun Wuyue was helpless, while Gongsun Feixue, smiling, nestled next to her grandmother, stretching out her arm and affectionately embracing Gongsun Wuyue’s arm. Gongsun Wuyue patted her head and, looking at Li Guanyi, said gently:
"Pharmacist might not know."
"Emperor Chen of Chen Country has rushed to Central State, and it seems a thousand-man army has been dispatched here, likely with ill intentions; Sky-reaching Sect wants to dominate the Martial World of Central Plains, becoming the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch, and is also on the way here."
"The world is turning to chaos, and even the Martial World cannot remain stable."
"Caught between the tides of the Martial World and the Court, the Gongsun Family seems bustling, but in reality, it’s uncertain when we might be overturned. That’s why I’ve had Feixue connect with various Martial World aristocratic families and young heirs to powerful clans."
"I have a suggestion."
This woman, known as the most astute and intelligent of her combined group, smiled and said unhurriedly, "I must find a haven for my family, and a safe place for my family’s children."
She picked up her tea and spoke lightly:
"I shall marry off Feixue to you."
"The Mechanical Techniques of Piaomiao Pavilion and the Gongsun lineage as her dowry, how’s that?"
Li Guanyi was stunned.
Gongsun Feixue immediately sat upright, incredulously looking at her grandmother and instinctively exclaimed, "Grandmother?!!"
Even though she was composed and easy-going in her dealings, even full of laughter and ease among the Martial World, Gongsun Feixue’s temples turned crimson at this moment, looking at her grandmother with a mixture of shyness and annoyance. However, Gongsun Wuyue appeared not to be joking and said softly:
"The world is undergoing great change; the Gongsun Family is like flax in boiling oil, with no room to retreat. Though it seems flourishing, neither the Martial World nor the world beyond offers our family a foothold. But, with your arrival, you’ve given me three parts hope."
"How should I address you? How ought I to address you..."
"As disciple of Zu Wenyuan, Pharmacist Li."
The woman, once mentioned alongside Chen Chengbi, the living Buddha, the ancestor of the Zhou Family, and Zu Wenyuan, looked at the young Taoist sitting there, and whispered:
Gongsun Feixue suddenly looked up, at the young Taoist sitting there, his back straight, a simple wooden hairpin in his hair, a bamboo flute hanging at his waist, and his washed-out blue Taoist robe falling freely, while he held tea. The originally gentle air about him seemed to shift with these three words.
Like a heavy sword without a sharp edge.
His presence was fierce.