"Mother? Does she even deserve that title?" The hatred in Yun Di's eyes was nearly bursting out. If it weren't for that woman, his own mother wouldn't have suffered such a calamity. Did she think he would still hold back now? Everything that belonged to his mother, she had taken, and she would have to spit it all back out.
"You..." Yun Fan pointed at him with trembling hands, too furious to speak.
"Di'er, how can you speak to me like this? Even if I'm not your birth mother, I was your mother's close friend, sworn sisters. For you to show me such disrespect now, I'm sure your mother wouldn't want to see this from the afterlife."
Si Mingyue's eyes flickered with a hint of panic, but she quickly regained her composed demeanor as the lady of the house, turning her gaze to Ye Lanshan. "May I ask how this young gentleman is addressed? His father was just too angry and acted rashly. I apologize for the spectacle."
"What a fine show indeed." Ye Lanshan clapped her hands. From the moment Yun Di stepped through the door, she had watched this farce like an outsider. If Si Mingyue hadn't dragged her into it, she probably wouldn't have said a word.
"And who are you, to be so arrogant in my home?" Yun Fan directed all his pressure onto Ye Lanshan. If he couldn't discipline his own son, couldn't he at least teach a lesson to this lackey his son had brought back?
"I'm just an insignificant nobody. I'm truly flattered that you, Patriarch Yun, would think so highly of me." Ye Lanshan showed no fear of his oppressive aura.
Though Yun Fan was a Xuan God General, Ye Lanshan had been through it all. She had even fought against a Xuan Emperor before—why would she be afraid of his pressure?
"You, Yun Di, is this the kind of person you bring home? So crude and rude. You're getting more lawless by the day, daring to bring anyone into this house. Where are the manners and upbringing I taught you? Have you fed them all to the dogs?" Yun Fan was fuming, smoke practically rising from his head as he glared at Yun Di.
"Hah, you taught me? When did you ever teach me? After my mother died, did you ever care about me? Now you want to scold me? Too late." Yun Di showed no fear of his father's authority.
"Master, calm down. Yun Di probably didn't mean it. He must have been provoked by someone." Si Mingyue quickly soothed Yun Fan, but her words carried a subtle sting. "Yun Di is still young; it's normal for him to be led astray. Don't be too hard on him."
"Young? Yun Kong is younger than him, and look how steady he is. And you—do you act like an older brother at all?"
If Si Mingyue hadn't spoken, it might have been fine, but her words only made Yun Fan explode again.
"Him? Just a waste. You dare compare him to me?" Yun Di's attitude and temperament bore no trace of his former self.
"Yun Di, how can you talk like that? He's your younger brother. You're losing all sense of propriety." Si Mingyue spoke calmly, perfectly playing the role of the lady of the house.
"And who are you to lecture me?" Yun Di had no time to waste bickering with them. He struck directly at Si Mingyue's neck, but before he could grab the jade pendant, Yun Fan sent him crashing to the ground with a single palm strike.
"You ungrateful wretch! Someone, drag him to the woodshed!" Yun Fan trembled with rage as he called for several burly men to haul Yun Di away.
But Ye Lanshan wasn't about to let them have their way. After all, Yun Di was now her man, wasn't he? There was no reason to let him be humiliated like this.
"Hold on." Ye Lanshan called out lazily.
Yun Di, still on the ground, felt a surge of resentment. After all this training, could he still not overcome Yun Fan?
"I'm handling family matters. This doesn't concern you, does it?" Yun Fan glared coldly at Ye Lanshan, taking an instant dislike to anyone associated with his son.
"True, it's not my place to interfere. But Yun Di is now my subordinate. You can't just beat him up like that. My people aren't so easily bullied." Ye Lanshan smiled as she helped Yun Di to his feet.
"Your subordinate?" Though Yun Fan was deeply disappointed in Yun Di, he was still his son. To hear he had willingly become someone else's subordinate made Yun Fan spit blood and stagger.
"Yes, he is indeed my master." Yun Di knew Ye Lanshan was saying this to protect him, so he played along.
"You, you wretched child!" Yun Fan struggled to steady himself. "Then I'll kill this nobody who crawled out of nowhere first."
Yun Fan unleashed his Xuan power. "Green Vine Eruption."
"Three-Flavor True Fire." As the fire appeared, everyone broke out in sweat, and the green vines instantly turned to ash.
This man was too strange. Yun Fan couldn't sense any Xuan power fluctuation from the flame, and he still had no idea what level this person was.
"Take whatever you want. With me here, no one dares touch you." Ye Lanshan's flame didn't disappear but condensed into a small ball, rising slowly in her hand.
"Yeah." Yun Di nodded, deeply moved. Without Ye Lanshan, he might not have been able to reclaim his mother's belongings from Si Mingyue.
"What are you doing? Don't come near me. I'm warning you, don't come near me!" Si Mingyue watched Yun Di step closer, and a faint glimmer in his eyes instantly pulled her into an illusion.
"Ah, that's mine! Give it back!"
As Yun Di removed the necklace from her neck, Si Mingyue abandoned all pretense of being the dignified lady of the house, screaming like a madwoman.
"Yours? Since when did my mother's things become yours?" Yun Di didn't stop. He remembered that this woman had taken more than one thing after killing his mother.
"No, no..." Si Mingyue watched him take item after item, finally breaking down.
Yun Fan wanted to intervene but was held back by Ye Lanshan, unable to move.
"Tsk, tsk. My dear father really treasures you, doesn't he? I wonder if he'd still cherish you if he saw your true face?" Yun Di traced the human-skin mask on her face, peeling it off bit by bit.
Si Mingyue sat there dazed, not resisting. A closer look revealed her eyes were vacant and hollow—a result of Yun Di's illusion.
This type of illusion didn't trap her instantly but gradually drew her in. At first, she was still aware, but in the end, she would be completely lost in the fantasy.
"How... how is this possible?" Yun Fan, who had been rushing to stop Yun Di, stood frozen, staring at an unfamiliar face. Was this the woman who had been his wife all these years?
He had never even discovered his wife's true appearance.
"What's the matter, Patriarch? Weren't you so eager to save this woman? Why aren't you coming over now?" Yun Di was a stranger to him now. Yun Fan realized he had never truly understood this son.