But no sooner had he spoken than he realized he still had important matters to attend to. He said in a deep voice, "Old Seventh, take him inside first. Where is Second Uncle? I'll go meet him."
"Brother, Second Uncle is here," Old Qi quickly replied upon hearing him.
"Where?"
"Here," Old Qi pointed to the urn in Ming Yi's hand. "He's right here."
He looked at the urn in his son's hand. He was silent for a moment, then looked at him. "This is Second Uncle's ashes?"
"Yes, Second Uncle is dead. The Blissful Cult dealt with him." Ming Yi nodded. "I thought, since Second Uncle is already dead, I'd bring his ashes back. For him to return to his roots, and for his past deeds to be repaid with his life."
He handed the urn to his father.
His father held the urn and looked at his son, whom he hadn't seen in years, with disbelief. "How... how did he die? Did you kill him?"
After asking, he shook his head himself. It was unlikely. He had just appraised his son. Although they hadn't seen each other for some years and his son's cultivation had improved, that progress wasn't enough to contend with Second Uncle.
He wasn't even sure if he himself could be Second Uncle's match.
However, who would have thought that at this moment, his son would bring back Second Uncle's ashes.
"It wasn't me," Ming Yi shook his head. "I don't have that ability."
"That's true." Hearing this, his father finally felt relieved, otherwise it would have been too shocking.
"It was Brother Xiao who did it," Ming Yi said.
"Brother Xiao? Who?"
The name was very unfamiliar to them.
"The Dragon King of the Northern Frontier."
When this name was spoken, they finally understood and fell silent.
"Ai! You old scoundrel, your son is back, why are you standing here? You haven't seen your son in so long, don't you miss me? Come inside quickly!" An displeased voice interrupted their silence. Ming Yi's mother walked over, complaining as she approached.
"Mom."
Seeing his mother, whom he hadn't seen in years, Ming Yi grinned, uncharacteristically happy.
"My little Bao, I've missed you terribly! I remember you said you were serving in the Northern Frontier. That place is so dangerous. Every time I saw news about them arresting someone there, I was afraid you might have run into trouble while on duty. Thankfully, thankfully, it's good that you're back." His mother embraced him tightly, calling him by his childhood nickname.
The nickname "Little Bao" felt a bit strange, as he hadn't heard it in many years, but it also brought a sense of nostalgia. Only his mother would still call him that.
Now that everyone knew Second Uncle was dead, the tense atmosphere gradually eased. Then, several voices chimed in, "Brother Bao is back, shouldn't we give him a proper welcome?"
"Yeah, we haven't seen Brother Bao in years. Shouldn't we have a good drink tonight?"
"That's right, that's right! Little Bao is back, this is truly a joyous occasion!"
"Let's go, let's go, let's talk inside!" His mother directly ushered them in, calling for the father and son to enter the house.
This kind of atmosphere...
He hadn't experienced it for years.
Before returning, he had indeed felt a bit apprehensive. Now, that apprehension was gone, and he felt as though he was enjoying himself.