Chapter 645 - 644: The Heartfelt Thoughts of the Yun Family Members

Old Island Master Yun’s face was very somber, so dark it seemed like it could drip water.

"It’s nothing. I just recalled a despicable brat from outside who abducted my daughter!"

As Old Island Master Yun spoke, he gritted his teeth, looking as if he wished he could eat the brat’s flesh and drink his blood!

"The Old Island Master’s daughter..."

The Emperor feigned puzzlement.

Ji Youzhi’s heart pounded, and he pricked up his ears.

"Sigh... let’s not talk about it. It’s all in the past!"

Old Island Master Yun waved his hand and called for someone to set the table and serve the guests.

During the meal, Old Island Master Yun’s three sons returned, along with several daughters-in-law and grandchildren.

Old Island Master Yun introduced each of them one by one.

"This is my eldest, Yun Cang."

"Greetings, Uncle Yun!"

Ji Youzhi really wanted to call out "Maternal Uncle"!

But he remembered Old Madam Yun’s words and had to keep his identity secret.

So he addressed him as "Uncle" instead.

"Young Master Ji! You are too kind!"

Ji Youzhi quickly cupped his hands in return. "You are too kind, Uncle Yun!"

"This is my second son, Yun Hao!"

"This is my fifth son!"

"This is..."

Old Island Master Yun introduced a large group of people, leaving Ji Youzhi’s head spinning.

The Emperor chuckled. "Your Yun Family is truly flourishing! The Old Island Master has such a large family! These are all direct grandchildren, I presume? The Old Island Master must have daughters who have married out as well, right? If we were to add in the grandsons-in-law, granddaughters-in-law, and great-grandchildren, I’m afraid this Flower Hall wouldn’t be able to hold everyone."

The Emperor spoke deliberately, naturally probing why Old Madam Ji had left Yunzhou Island all those years ago. And why had she never returned, not to mention specifically instructing Ji Youzhi not to reveal his identity to the people of Yunzhou Island?

The Emperor guessed there must be a valid reason.

"Sigh! My unfilial daughter... She was the eldest of my children. If she hadn’t left Yunzhou Island, if she had properly found a good man here and lived a peaceful life, she too would have a house full of children and grandchildren by now."

"Listening to the Old Island Master, it sounds like there’s quite a story behind this."

The Emperor raised his cup, subtly glancing at Ji Youzhi. He saw Ji Youzhi kneeling tensely on the rush cushion, his hands tightly gripping the hem of his robes.

"It’s not much of a story. It’s just that we people of Yunzhou Island have a particular trait: our women are very fertile. Bearing two children in three years is considered slow for them. Think about my unfilial daughter. She would be fifty this year. She left when she was about fifteen or sixteen. If she and that wretched boy had a good relationship, they would surely have a house full of children and grandchildren by now!"

When Old Island Master Yun said this, the corner of the Emperor’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

He finally understood why General Ji and Old Madam Ji had so many children.

Considering the ages of the Ji Family children, Old Madam Ji had children far more frequently than just two in three years!

If General Ji hadn’t died in battle, there would probably have been several more younger brothers and sisters for the eighth child of the Ji Family!

So that’s why! It was because Old Madam Ji came from Yunzhou Island, where the women are very fertile!

"I have another question!"

The Emperor had another thought and, raising his cup again, posed another question to Old Island Master Yun.

"Just now, the Old Island Master introduced a room full of Young Island Masters and young gentlemen. But why is it that among all of them, there wasn’t a single young lady?"

Mentioning this, Old Island Master Yun couldn’t help but stroke his beard and said helplessly, "To tell you the truth, the women of our Yunzhou Island are very fertile, but very, very few of them can give birth to daughters. If a family manages to have a daughter, she’s considered a treasure by the entire Yunzhou Island!"

"This... is there such a thing? If what the Old Island Master says is true, then there should be hardly any women native to Yunzhou Island. Yet, as we walked here today, we saw quite a few women on Yunzhou Island!"

At the Emperor’s words, Ji Youzhi immediately became alert.

His gaze shot towards the several aunts in the room.

The women had somewhat sorrowful expressions.

Old Island Master Yun didn’t answer for a moment.

Xiaosuisui suddenly concentrated. Her telepathy picked up the thoughts of everyone present, and her expression changed drastically. She declared loudly, "So, you are pirates! You’ve plundered many cargo ships and abducted the women on board! You forced them to stay on the island and compelled them to submit to your men!"

Upon Xiaosuisui’s statement, the faces of everyone at the banquet changed. Old Island Master Yun remained silent, but the younger members of the Yun Family couldn’t hold their temper and questioned her sharply, "How do you know?"

Several Young Island Masters of the Yun Family abruptly stood up, surrounding them menacingly.

Xiaosuisui felt very nervous.

Xie Pan’Er was even more nervous. She was sitting next to Xiaosuisui, holding her in her arms.

Li Yanyan was terribly frightened. She stuttered, speaking softly to the National Master sitting beside her, "Master! Has Li Suisui caused trouble? Are... are we going to die here?"

The National Master patted her little head and said softly, "Yanyan, don’t be afraid! With Master here, I won’t let anything happen to you."

"I... I heard your thoughts. Your hearts told me everything about the process of how you marry and have children. And your wives’ hearts told me how they recalled the reasons they came to Yunzhou Island."

Looking at the combative stance of these Young Island Masters and young gentlemen of Yunzhou Island, Xiaosuisui couldn’t help but frown. Nevertheless, she stated the reason.

"You have Telepathy!"

This was a statement from Old Island Master Yun Yi; his face was devoid of any expression, unlike the nervous anger of his sons.

"Hmm! I learned it!" Xiaosuisui admitted with a nod, not hiding anything.

"Then why didn’t you learn the Vow of Silence? Telepathy allows one to know others’ minds, but knowing doesn’t mean one must speak it. Therefore, those who cultivate telepathy must also cultivate the Vow of Silence."

"I have a friend, Ah Ling, she told me that learning telepathy enhanced my intelligence. As long as I can understand what can be said and what cannot, that’s enough."

This made Old Island Master Yun frown. "This telepathy is a Buddhist cultivation technique. Why did you learn it?"

"I have learned cultivation techniques from the Buddhist Sect, Daoist Sect, and Illusion Sect. Great-grandfather, your heart tells me you’re curious. My friend already told me what should be said and what shouldn’t. Yet, I still revealed the thoughts of the grandfathers and uncles here. Why is that? Is that correct?"

Upon hearing Xiaosuisui’s words, a satisfied expression appeared on Old Island Master Yun’s face. "That’s right. That is indeed my thought. I do want to know the reason."

Xiaosuisui glanced at everyone present and said, "That’s because we came here looking for a place called Wangwu Mountain. Furthermore, it’s for the residents from both sides of the Yunhang Coast of Great Han who disappeared many years ago. And I sense that you, Great-grandfather, know something, don’t you? Yet you have concerns and won’t say it. I figured, if your concern is that the people of Yunzhou Island are pirates, then I would just bring it out into the open. Whether you want to kill us or help us, everything is negotiable!"

When Xiaosuisui said this, never mind Ji Youzhi and His Majesty the Emperor, even everyone else in this Flower Hall couldn’t help but twitch their lips fiercely.

This girl was certainly direct, but that wasn’t the way to say it, nor the way to do it. They knew that if this went wrong, it could cost them their lives!

Ji Youzhi pressed his forehead hard, his hand already secretly reaching for the soft sword at his waist.

"Little girl, you are indeed clever. But do you know that while the people of Yunzhou Island were indeed pirates, we haven’t engaged in piracy for many years? In recent years, we’ve often sent people out to sea, also searching for the location of the Great Han Country’s borders. However, our people can’t advance more than fifty li once they go out to sea. Later, we heard that a black flood dragon guards Black Water Ridge. A dense fog there blocks the only passage between the lands beyond the sea and the Central Plains."

They haven’t engaged in piracy for many years?

Xiaosuisui blinked and turned to look at the Emperor and Ji Youzhi. At this moment, Ji Youzhi and the Emperor were also looking at her.

She nodded and said to them, "Great-grandfather’s heart tells me he hasn’t lied!"

"Old Island Master Yun, Young Island Masters, sirs, and madams, please don’t be so nervous," the Emperor said quickly after hearing Old Island Master Yun’s words, clarifying his stance. "As we just said, we came here to find the residents who disappeared from both sides of the Yunhang Coast years ago. Our purpose in finding them is merely to understand why they disappeared. The pirates at sea haven’t affected the common people of Great Han in these recent years, so we will not pursue that matter."

This place was no longer within the jurisdiction of Great Han; their current identities represented the imperial court of Great Han. Moreover, the main reason they wanted to find the residents from both sides of the Yunhang Coast was to clarify the issues with Yunhang County.

Because he had a hunch that if the problems of Yunhang County were not clarified, this would inevitably become a major internal threat for the Great Han Dynasty!