“You failed again!?” An old man with a long beard slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair, shattering it in the process. “How can you fail!?”

“First off, let me remind you that you said we were only dealing with a little girl, not a monster! The men we sent out were skinned alive and tortured for days. The flying boat they were on was dyed red in their blood. I do not care how powerful your family is. But you have lied to us. Not only did my master say that if you want us to continue the job, you must pay more, you must also pay an extra fee for lying.” The man in black who was hiding in the shadows replied. He was not scared of the old man in the slightest. In fact, he was smiling at the old man mockingly beneath his mask.

“You!” The old man shook, but for his granddaughter, he could only pay up. She had been wronged. No matter how he saw it, it was that little bitches fault for ruining their rising star. He fished out a bag of spirit stones and tossed them over. “This should cover it. I want the job done!”

“Heh. Don’t worry. Now that we know what we are dealing with, we can easily deal with her.” The man in black waved his hand, sucking the bag of spirit stones into his hand before disappearing. 

The old man was furious that he was being laughed at like this. But there was nothing he could do. “Grandfather….” A soft voice came from the door. The old man looked over to see Yuko standing there with her head bowed. She looked like a rabbit who was about to be eaten. 

“Yuko, I will get revenge for you, but you understand that in order for you to live a decent life, you will still have to marry into the Tang family.” The old man’s voice was firm, causing Yuko to shiver. She bit her lip and cursed Yuki with everything she had. She was being forced to marry an old man who was almost eighty years old. She was still so young, but now, in the name of living a decent life, she was being forced to marry a geezer who was on his deathbed. 

If it was before, she would fight against this decision no matter what. But she couldn’t do that now. Her cultivation was gone. She was nothing but a cripple. She was not even pure anymore. She was used goods and only had one option left. Follow the family’s arrangements or die. She was not worth much of anything. The only upside about the marriage arrangement was that the old man she was being married to was rich. 

“I understand grandfather…” Yuko replied, keeping her head low. Her hands, which were hidden in her sleeves, clenched tightly.

“I am glad you understand. Do not worry. Once that old man dies, you will be able to live a good life. So just put up with it for a while.” The old man smiled warmly at Yuko as if he was doing what was best for her. But to Yuko, who was going to be forced to bed an old man a second time, she couldn’t help but feel shame and anger. She wanted nothing more than to kill Yuki, who caused all of this.

- - -

The flying boat landed just outside the sect, and everyone got off. There were many disciples waiting out at the gates to welcome them back. “Hmm? This young lady….” Yuki’s sect master looked at the young woman who was standing not too far away. She had a big smile on her face as she looked at the group walking towards her. 

“Yuki!” The young woman ran forward straight towards Yuki. Before anyone could even react, she was already hugging Yuki.

“Delia!” Yuki smiled as she hugged Delia tightly. That same familiar sensation swept over her, causing Yuki to relax.

“Yuki, this is?” Elder Nishikawa looked at the young woman with a bit of shock in her eyes. She could tell this young woman was very powerful. Maybe even more powerful than herself.

“This is Delia. She is a friend.” Yuki replied as she smiled sweetly. 

Just seeing Yuki’s reaction, Elder Nishikawa knew that Delia was not a threat but she still decided to keep her guard up just in case. But from how Nana and Silvia were reacting as if this was normal, Elder Nishikawa couldn’t help but be slightly confused. “When did you two meet?”

“Umm, a while ago.” Yuki did not dare say that Delia broke into the myriad pools. She wanted to keep that part a secret.

“I see..” Elder Nishikawa frowned slightly. She knew Yuki was not telling her everything, but she was not going to pry anymore. Since it looked like Delia was currently of no harm to Yuki, she would leave things be. “Since you are Yuki’s friend, then that means you are a friend of the sect. You can follow us if you would like. I also have something important to tell you three girls. So let’s head home for now.”

“Okay. But before that, Master, can I say hi to a few people?” Yuki asked as she motioned with her head. Fatty, Ai, Maiko, and Ami were all standing not too far away.

“Yes. Just try to be on the peak in a few hours.”