Chapter 10: Mu Household (4)

"Hah!" Wuzhi suddenly chuckled. He then proceeded to cup his hands and performed a sincere bow. "World Sovereign Mu must forgive this Wuzhi for not showing his face. It is this one's first time travelling the world and had rigorously adhered to his teacher's words to being cautious. I mean no offence to Lord Sovereign or his family."

Turning in the direction of the various fairies, Wuzhi continued with his apology. "Wuzhi begs forgiveness from Respected Madams too. It was not my intention to deceive all of you. To hide myself from the world is but simple instinct ingrained into my very bones by my teacher."

He stopped there. He had said his piece and talking anymore or creating other excuses would only have a negative effect. Since his concealment had been revealed, there was no point hiding anymore.

Clap! Clap! Turning his head, Wuzhi saw Patriarch Mu clapping his hands. A warm smile continued to hang on his face as he spoke. "I must say, your skills in concealment are so great that even this Sovereign had to do a look over before I managed to see through it. Had it been a passing glance, even I would've not noticed your concealment."

"Well done. Your skills have surprised even this Sovereign."

Patriarch Mu's words were so sudden and surprising that it felt like a bomb had exploded within the tea room. Everyone, including the immortal fairies and children, looked at their patriarch with poorly concealed shock on their faces.

The reason behind this exaggerated reaction was due to the scarcity of Patriarch Mu's praises. Seldom, if ever, had they heard Patriarch Mu sincerely praising someone from the bottom of his heart. Even his own son, Mu Yuelong, the heaven-blessed 'Son of the Heavens' had been praised exactly two times in the entirety of his twenty years of life!

If their previous impression of Wuzhi had been nothing but 'a talented mortal with some skills.' It was now 'a genius with the recognition of a Sovereign!'

The difference between these two statuses was as wide as heaven and earth!

Even Wuzhi seemed surprised by this sudden praise. Smiling humbly, he thanked the Sovereign. "Wuzhi shall etch Sovereign's words in my mind."

"Think nothing of it," Patriarch Mu shook his hand. "And remove that hat of yours. It's getting annoying seeing that blurred face of yours."

Another shocking revelation!

As it turned out, even with Patriarch Mu, a World Sovereign of the Rank 9, unequalled under heaven and earth, directly staring at Wuzhi, he was still unable to completely see through the scholarly youth's concealment!

If the spectators were previously shocked to the point of widening their eyes. They were now shocked to the point of their hearts collectively skipping a beat.

"This Wuzhi complies," replied Wuzhi with a bow.

Raising his right hand, Wuzhi grabbed the top of his bamboo hat and removed it from his head. This was his first time removing his hat in front of others ever since he started on his journey. With the strange, shadowy shade of the bamboo hat finally removed, Wuzhi's features were revealed before the main members of the Mu Household for the first time.

And once again, they were shocked for the third time.

To describe Wuzhi in two words, he was 'exquisitely handsome.'

Snow-white skin, reminiscent of the first snowfall of winter, covered every inch of his body. Features which were sharp yet soft occupied his elaborately crafted face, giving him an ethereal, almost doll-like appearance. Three-thousand strands of royal indigo-coloured hair rested quietly in a ponytail. His exquisitely cut eyebrows and eyelashes, coloured in the same shade as his hair, outlined the most mesmerizing feature of his divinely-crafted face.

His pair of bright argent eyes.

Two gems cut from the purest, most holistic form of silver sat within a sea of whiteness. The set of mystifying, gem-like eyes was so mesmerizing that staring into them for too long will result in the spectator losing themselves amidst its resplendence.

And so, they did. The eyes of the main members of the Mu Household were immediately drawn to Wuzhi's argent pair the very instant they were revealed. Its glowing resplendence caused a faint longing to appear in their hearts and thoughts to appear in their minds. The thought that such a pure pair of eyes could not belong to any mortal youth.

"So pretty…" A daughter of the Mu Household unconsciously muttered. The instant she did so, she managed to break out of her immersion and the weight of the words that she had just uttered hit her. Unable to control herself, she furiously blushed.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, her voice managed to free the others who found themselves enthralled in Wuzhi's eyes. Realising that they had been staring too long into the eyes of a man, the lot of them blushed in unison. Some out of shyness and others out of shame.

The children, in the innocence of their youth, immediately began to chatter amongst themselves.

"Wah! So pretty! He's even prettier than mom!"

"Idiot! You don't use 'pretty' to describe a boy. 'Handsome' is the correct word!"

"He's even more handsome than Eldest Brother. No, wait! That's not right. Eldest Brother has a more roguish, heroic handsomeness while Wuzhi has a more friendly, intellectual-like handsomeness. The two of them are on a similar level!"

"I prefer Wuzhi's looks more."

"Eldest Brother is more in tune with my personal preference!"

"Wuzhi's eyes are even more beautiful than Third Mother's eyes."

"Right! Right!"

While the children chattered as such, the chatter amongst the mothers headed in a different direction.

"Look at his skin. It's whiter than fresh snow and fresher than the morning dew! What does he do to keep in such a state!? Is it a 'Path Technique'?"

"Path Technique? I don't think so. The boy's body does not have the slightest whiff of Energy. He must have never cultivated making it impossible for him to use any Path Techniques."

"Aiyo! Look at his hair. It is so silky and rich! What is his haircare routine!?"

"Most of his features are soft in nature. He must have heavily inherited his mother's beauty. Ai! To birth such a beautiful boy. His mother must have been a big beauty herself!"

"To have such a look without ever having cultivated. Is this the power of genetics!? What a frightening inheritance!"

Twelfth Sister, a brunette-haired fairy, who had a brattish nature amongst Patriarch Mu's wives, could not help but peek near her husband's ears and softly tease him in a whisper. "Seeing this boy's looks, his mother must be a beauty no less than Eldest Sister. Dear husband, how did you miss such a beauty?" She then broke into bell-like laughter.

Patriarch Mu, however, was strangely silent. In fact, his body had stiffened in posture while a lost look appeared within his eyes. His heart thumped in a chaotic manner as blood throughout his body. Strangely, however, his face remained pale.

While his odd reaction went unnoticed at first, it was soon noticed by his wives who stood closest to him.

"What's wrong, husband?" Second Sister asked, noting the strange look within her husband's eyes.

Her cool voice seemed to snap him out of his daze as he subconsciously shook his gaze and replied, "It's nothing." The chaotic beating of his heart, however, refused to calm down.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask something, a servant entered the tea room and informed the family.

"Masters. Eldest Madam instructs everyone to head to the Dining Hall. Dinner is being served."

Patriarch Mu lost his chance to ask his question. He then looked away, shook his head, and tried his hardest to calm his turbulent heart. A thought and a memory kept popping up in his mind. However, his stubborn heart firmly refused to acknowledge it. It wasn't that he found the thought to be evil but rather…

…Patriarch Mu did not have the courage to accept that thought. He, as one of the strongest existences within the current world, found himself endlessly afraid!

The azure-haired fairy was no mind-reader. She wasn't privy to the thoughts of her significant other. Upon seeing colour return to her husband's face, she figured that whatever were his thoughts, they must have settled. However, seeing as how he wasn't speaking up, she took the initiative to instruct the others as she was the most senior in this room.

"You heard the maid. Let us head to the Dining Hall, everyone." She then turned to look at the divinely-handsome youth and said, "Wuzhi. You can join us too."

Wuzhi's argent gems trembled. He immediately lowered his head and cautiously spoke, "This lowly scholar appreciates Second Madam's concern. However, this Wuzhi has already accomplished his goal of meeting the Sovereign. I must simply hand over the pendant to his venerated self before leaving."

"Nonsense. How can you simply leave without receiving the fruits of your efforts for today? If the outside world were to learn about this matter, wouldn't they consider my Mu Household to be unappreciative and selfish? This cannot be allowed to happen." Second Sister strongly said. "You will join us for dinner, receive your rewards, and only then will you be allowed to leave."

Inwardly, she thought to herself. 'If I allowed such a talented youth to simply run away, it would be equivalent to spitting on Heaven's bestowal!'

"Ah! Second Madam's thought itself is the greatest reward that this Wuzhi could hope to receive. I really do not think it is appropriate for me to stay and intrude upon your family. Please allow me to—"

"Stay," Patriarch Mu curtly mandated.

Wuzhi immediately halted his words. Bowing in obedience, he replied, "This humble scholar obeys World Sovereign's order."

With the issue of Wuzhi's participation solved, the family members turned to head towards the Dining Hall. During the journey, Wuzhi found himself bombarded by a multitude of questions and compliments. Having resigned himself to fate, Wuzhi actively participated in the conversations and answered the questions that he could and subtly evaded those that he could not.

The children, who had no previous interaction with Wuzhi, quickly found themselves warming up to his character. The uniquely 'friendly' aura surrounding Wuzhi and his endlessly fascinating knowledge caused the children to find him endlessly interesting.

Even the older children, such as Yuelong and Xinyi, Patriarch Mu's eldest daughter and second child, found themselves actively talking with Wuzhi. His wealth of knowledge on topics such as literature, poetry, music, tea, chess, Go, flower arrangement, sculpting, and many, many more left them feeling great admiration for the young scholarly youth.

And the most remarkable aspect of Wuzhi was that even when he was talking at length about a specific topic to a particular individual, he spoke in a manner that involved everyone and made everyone feel interested and invested!

Had they not known any better, they would think that Wuzhi was using a Path Technique from the [Speech Path] during this conversation!

"Brother Wuzhi's knowledge leaves me in endless fascination," Yuelong, eldest of the siblings and the direct heir of the Mu Household, genuinely admired the young scholar.

Were someone from the outside to hear Yuelong's words, they would have been stunned to the point of losing their souls.

Who was Yuelong?

He was none other than the publicly acknowledged 'Son of the Heavens!' If he were to claim himself as the second brightest star of the current generation, none would claim first!

He was the brightest, most densely shining 'Genius' of the current world! Not to mention peers, but even some of the older generation would not dare claim themselves to be equal to Mu Yuelong.

And for such a person to call someone 'brother' and that too out of genuine admiration for the latter's talent… such a thing was better off staying in the realm of fantasy.

"Wuzhi does not dare accept Young Master Yuelong's praise. This lowly scholar is undeserving of such honour." With a kind smile, Wuzhi quietly deflected the praise. He then immediately shifted the topic subtly to not stay on this matter.

Yuelong recognised the change but did not comment on it. He wasn't like the other arrogant and high-standing young masters but was instead a good-natured and easy-going youth. Seeing that Wuzhi did not look too comfortable with praise, he stopped causing the other party any discomfort.

Wuzhi was his household's esteemed guest. And he would not allow his guest to feel uncomfortable.

After a few dozen steps of walking later, the group arrived at the vast Dining Hall. There, on the seat closest to the head of the table, sat an otherworldly beauty with snow-coloured hair, quietly reading a book.

Seeing her family arrive, she looked up and welcomed them.

"You have all arrived. Take your seats."

She was Bai Xiulan, Sect Master of the Sacred Snow Heart Sect, Rank 8 Powerhouse of the [Ice Path], and the first wife of Sovereign Mu Wudi.

She was also the mother of 'Son of the Heavens' Mu Yuelong.