Let Tie Jun and Hei Gouzi disperse the crowd; as Lan Tian stepped in, she saw many people sitting in the courtyard. The entire Fourth Grandpa’s family was there, surrounded by several uncles and aunts from Fourth Grandpa’s side, as well as their cousins.
Pushing through the crowd, Lan Tian saw Grandma Sun, Mo Yuanle, Zhao Li, and Fourth Grandpa gathered under the camphor tree around an elder dressed in a black Sun Yat-sen suit. The old man had frosty temples and wore his Sun Yat-sen suit neatly, with his white hair combed tidily, exuding vitality—a sure sign of a disciplined life. Several village elders with seniority were also present, even the village head ca. A young man in his twenties followed behind the old man, wearing a white shirt, a black vest, and black trousers, with good looks and a scholarly air about him that caught most of the young won’s eyes.
Grandma Sun and Zhao Li were wiping away tears of laughter while listening to sothing funny the old man had said. Lan Tian overheard a bit; it seed to be an amusing incident about maintaining a sense of humor even amid the frequent shelling during the war.
It had nothing to do with her, so she turned to leave and head back to her room.
"Girl, co here." Just as Lan Tian turned, she heard Mo Yuanle calling her from behind. The old man paused his conversation upon hearing Mo Yuanle summon soone and looked towards the younger generation encircling them.
The elder and the young man behind him were taken aback by a glimpse of Lan Tian amidst the crowd—an astonishing beauty!
Among the dusky villagers, the fair-skinned Lan Tian stood out like a swan among ducks, an unmissable presence.
In six years, Lan Tian had transford from a chubby girl into a slender young lady, with long, silky, jet-black hair styled into a flowing fairy bun, adorned with a slender peach branch. Her features were picturesque, her deanor cool and aloof, her large, intelligent eyes were dark as deep pools, and her lips were lightly pursed. Her black and white checkered dress further accentuated her ethereal air.
Truly a breathtaking beauty with an air of aloofness!
Lan Tian glanced in Mo Yuanle’s direction and stepped forward.
The crowd parted to let her pass. The villagers had watched her grow up and, seeing her every day, had grown accustod to Lan Tian’s looks and thought nothing particular of it. Once boisterous as a child, she had naturally beco much more subdued as she grew up.
Lan Tian’s dical skills were well recognized in the village, although she seldom treated people.
"This is your great-grandpa," Mo Yuanle said to Lan Tian, pointing to the old man beside him. Lan Tian greeted him with a cool "Hello, Great Grandpa Mo", her gaze casually sweeping over the young man behind and then settling on Great Grandpa Mo.
She wondered to herself, where did this great-grandpa co from?
Weren’t all of her grandpa’s brothers except for Fourth Grandpa deceased? Where did this one pop up from?
Of course, such thoughts were offensive, and Lan Tian only dared to mutter them in her mind, maintaining her composure.
It wasn’t the place for the younger generation to interrupt their elders’ conversation.
After greeting, Lan Tian slowly made her way to where Grandma Sun and Zhao Li were. Seeing Fourth Grandpa’s ingratiating smile, she could hardly bear to look directly and turned her head away, afraid soone would catch her rolling her eyes, only to resu her cool deanor when she turned back.
For Fourth Grandpa to beam so fetchingly, the man must indeed be a rich and respected family elder. She imagined Fourth Grandpa pondering how to wheedle out so benefit from him.
Zhao Li whispered to Lan Tian that the old man was Mo Yuanle’s real great uncle. He had visited once before when he thought none of the family was around. At that ti, Mo Yuanle was still enlisted and had not returned, and Grandma Sun wasn’t ho—Fourth Grandpa had received him. Later, when Mo Yuanle ca back, Fourth Grandpa never ntioned the visit, and Mo Yuanle also believed his great uncle had died in the war, thus he never thought to look for him.
This ti, the old man had returned to visit the family graves—now that he was getting on in years, he wanted to co while he still could, before the day ca when he’d no longer be able to do so.
So the misunderstanding arose.
Lan Tian reflected for a mont; it seed that in her previous life, soone had co looking for Mo Yuanle, too, but during that ti, Mo Yuanle was away seeking dical treatnt with his aunt and not at ho. He only returned when Lan Tian was about to get married.
Upon their return, Zhao Li was able to stand and walk, though she couldn’t do heavy work, not even lifting water.
It seed that they were guests invited by Fourth Grandpa as well. That day, Grandma Sun had also visited Fourth Grandpa’s ho to see the brothers who had returned. Lan Tian had not been to Fourth Grandpa’s place in her previous life, so she had no idea what Great Grandpa Mo looked like, or what happened after.
"Uncle, how can you be sure this person is truly Great Grandpa? What if he’s a fraudster, here to trick our family?" Mo Guai suspected Lan Tian of having a suspicious mind. There was nothing valuable at ho worth the attention of others. This would be the case for ordinary people, but the dical books of the Mo Family were valuable. What if the fraudster ca for the Mo Family’s dical books?
Suddenly, Lan Tian’s voice echoed in his mind, and Mo Yuanle, who had grown accustod to the girl’s various mysterious occurrences, was still startled. Just as he was about to speak, Lan Tian spoke again, "Uncle, you don’t need to say it out loud; just think it, and I can hear you."
Lan Tian winked mischievously at Mo Yuanle. Cultivation had its advantages, one being able to whisper without anyone hearing. With a blink, Lan Tian’s ethereal and aloof temperant vanished, and she was once again a mischievous little girl.
Mo Yuanle looked at her helplessly, "You don’t know, but I heard from your grandma that your Great Grandpa and your grandpa look very much alike. When he left years ago, he took the family heirloom with him, and he brought it back the last ti he visited. Last ti Great Grandpa returned, your grandma saw him once, and many old uncles in the village agreed it was your Great Grandpa. So this ti, people have recognized him."
Lan Tian rolled her eyes upon hearing this. Such a hasty recognition of kinship! In ancient tis, there was blood testing for verifying relations, but here they were taking soone’s word for it based on resemblance and an heirloom. With billions of people in Dragon Country, finding a few look-alikes wouldn’t be difficult. As for the heirloom changing hands, well, that’s hard to say given the tis of turmoil.
Co to think of it, was there even a family heirloom? Why didn’t she know about it?
Mo Yuanle also realized the dubiousness of the kinship claim and coughed awkwardly, "Moreover, he knows all about my father’s childhood, as well as many details about the village. Our Fourth Grandpa and the old uncles asked him questions and he answered all of them, which is how they ca to believe he’s our runaway uncle."
Not knowing what to say, Lan Tian scratched her head in frustration, grabbed a few hairs from Mo Yuanle’s head, and stored them in her Sleeve Universe.
Great Grandpa Mo gazed benevolently, looking at Lan Tian with affectionate eyes.
He had heard from Fourth Mo about Mo Yuanle and his wife living with Grandma Sun, vaguely understanding the reasons behind it. As for the adoption of a granddaughter by his second younger sister, Fourth Mo had explained it all very clearly and in great detail, mostly expressing complaints about how she turned her elbows outwards, among other things.
"Girl, co here." Great Grandpa Mo waved Lan Tian over, his old face beaming like a blooming chrysanthemum. Not only was the little girl lovely and pleasing with her sparkling, clear eyes, but her spirited expression made her seem untouched by the mundane world. His fondness for her was imdiate upon seeing her ethereal deanor.
One can judge a person’s character by their eyes. A girl with such clear eyes couldn’t possibly be all that bad.
Fourth Mo’s description of a scheming young lady was worlds apart from the girl before him. Great Grandpa Mo had traveled far and wide, t extraordinary people, mingling with those whom ordinary folks could hardly dream of - the wealthy and the noble.
Being kin, he had also found his descendants, so he felt it wasn’t necessary to hold Fourth Mo’s petty thoughts against him.
Lan Tian looked towards Grandma Sun and then at Mo Yuanle, seeing them nod, indicating for her to go over. She wasn’t too fond of high-profile attention, being the center of everyone’s gaze, but she couldn’t refuse an elder’s request. Showing even a hint of reluctance would invite criticism from others, so she had no choice but to slowly make her way forward.
Indeed, there were many in the courtyard who didn’t take kindly to Lan Tian, their gazes filled with various degrees of envy and jealousy. Great Grandpa had returned and hadn’t summoned anyone except Lan Tian, causing quite a few to feel indignant, especially those who had grown up with her as sisters.
What kind of person their own grandpa was, all his grandchildren and granddaughters knew too well. Looking at Great Grandpa’s hearty laughter, it was clear that there was more to Great Grandpa Mo’s family.
Great Grandpa Mo hadn’t expected to have descendants at ho and didn’t bring gifts. After patting himself down, he found nothing of value and took off a pen that was attached to his upper pocket. His gaze lingered on the pen, filled with nostalgia and reluctance, then handed it to Lan Tian, "I ca back in a hurry and didn’t bring a gift. This pen is for you, and I will make it up with another gift later."
The young man standing behind Great Grandpa Mo saw the elderly man give the pen to a young girl, his pupils contracted, and his look at Lan Tian was quite peculiar.
A pen carried with oneself indicates either frequent use or special significance. And the look Great Grandpa Mo gave the pen indeed suggested the latter.
A true gentleman does not take what others cherish. Lan Tian pushed the pen back, her expression indifferent, "This pen is too valuable, I cannot accept it."
With everyone watching, she didn’t want to embarrass the elderly by refusing his kindness. After thinking for a mont, she added, "A true gentleman does not take what others cherish, I’ll wait for the gift you promised."
While still holding Great Grandpa Mo’s pen, her fingers stirred subtly, and a breeze brushed by Great Grandpa Mo’s temples. With a sleight of hand, Lan Tian collected a few strands of frosty white hair into her Sleeve Universe.
Great Grandpa Mo was taken aback, then burst into hearty laughter, patting Lan Tian’s hand and repeatedly exclaid "Good!" three tis. He then affixed the pen back onto his pocket, "I will surely give you a grand gift later."
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