Upon returning to the Bai family estate, the courtyard had been rebuilt, and Bai Hong had even found his way there.
"Where is Bai Ran! Tell her to get out!" Bai Hong erupted with the spiritual energy of a Golden Core stage two cultivator and struck Qing Feng fiercely.
During this period, Bai Luohan's visible injuries had healed, but her meridians were shattered and her dantian destroyed, rendering her unable to cultivate. She had a breakdown and spent her days confined to her room, refusing to come out.
Even the second prince, Murong Jin, who had always doted on her, had not visited Luohan even once.
Bai Hong saw this and felt the pain in his heart. And the culprit behind all this! It was Bai Ran!
He wanted her to pay with her life! He wanted her to suffer a terrible death!
The gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was a significant one. Qing Feng was no match for Bai Hong and was sent flying with a single palm strike, spitting blood and collapsing onto the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
"Suffering the consequences of your own actions and blaming others."
Qing Feng slowly stood up, leaning on his sword, and glared at Bai Hong.
Foundation Establishment stage five! Bai Hong was shocked. Just a few months ago, he was still in the Qi Refining stage. Such rapid growth in three months!
Bai Hong then looked at the three angry individuals around him and realized that they, like him, had progressed at an astonishing rate.
How was this possible! How could this happen!
The growth of one person could be attributed to talent. But four people growing together could only mean they had a secret treasure or guidance from an expert.
In an instant, he dismissed the latter possibility. Four mere children, barely out of their infancy, whom no one would bother to pay attention to.
Bai Hong's eyes were filled with greed and calculation.
"Then I will kill you all and seize the treasure," Bai Hong said with ill intent.
This way, he could obtain the treasure and cripple Bai Ran simultaneously. It was a win-win situation!
"Third Uncle, I'm afraid you don't have the ability," a clear female voice called out.
Bai Hong looked up and saw a stunning woman in red sitting on the courtyard wall, looking at him with a radiant smile.
"Who are you? How can an outsider interfere in my Bai family's affairs!" Bai Hong shouted at the woman.
The woman in red leaped, landing softly, and walked in front of Qing Feng.
"Third Uncle, have your eyes failed you? You can't even recognize the person you've been searching for for three months," Bai Ran's eyes were full of mockery and amusement.
Searching for three months?
Could she be Bai Ran!
"You! You're Bai Ran!" Bai Hong looked at the beautiful young woman before him in disbelief.
"You guessed right, but there's no reward," Bai Ran moved her hand, summoning the Phoenix Cry Sword.
With the Phoenix Cry Sword drawn, Bai Ran launched a fierce assault, slashing at Bai Hong.
Bai Hong snapped back to reality and quickly defended himself. After one round of combat, Bai Hong was knocked back by the impact, falling to the ground. Bai Ran, however, stood steadily in place, arms crossed, looking at him.
No! How could this be! Impossible!
Bai Hong sat on the ground, looking at his trembling hands, his face filled with disbelief. How could he not defeat Bai Ran! He was Golden Core stage two! Bai Ran was so young! It was impossible for her to possess such strength!
Bai Ran walked towards Bai Hong step by step, raising her sword and pressing it against his neck.
"You! You can't kill me! You'll be punished for patricide!" At this moment, Bai Hong finally felt the terror of death.
Did Luohan experience this feeling before?
The bone-chilling coldness in her eyes formed a fatal contrast with her fiery red dress.
Provoking her would be the most foolish decision he had ever made.
She would truly kill him!
No! He wanted to live! He wanted to live!
Bai Ran flicked her wrist, and Bai Hong's head fell off, rolling across the ground.
His eyes were wide open in death.
She sheathed her sword, her aura returning to its calm state. She stretched lazily and then slowly walked over to Qing Feng.
"Thump." She flicked Qing Feng's forehead.
"I told you to run if you couldn't win, yet you still fought head-on?" Bai Ran looked at Qing Feng.
Qing Feng rubbed his forehead where he had been flicked, averted his gaze, and was too guilty to meet Bai Ran's eyes.
"And you three," Bai Ran glanced at the three people snickering beside them, "all of you, go train."
"Yes!"
The three disappeared in a flash, dragging Qing Feng along with them.
Just then, Bai Zhantian entered the courtyard and saw the dead Bai Hong on the ground. His eyes were filled with grief, but he was helpless.
Alas, one reaps what one sows.
"Ran Ran, you weren't injured these past few days, were you?" Bai Zhantian asked as he sat down.
"Grandpa, Ran Ran is not injured."
Bai Ran poured him a cup of tea and sat down.
Bai Zhantian looked at Bai Ran, then at Bai Hong on the ground, and asked, "Ran Ran, this Bai Hong..."
"I killed him."
Bai Ran's fingers tapped idly on the table.
Receiving the answer, Bai Zhantian sighed again, looking at Bai Ran for a long time.
"Ran Ran, you've grown up, become stronger, and it's time you knew some things."
Bai Ran looked up at Bai Zhantian, puzzled, "Grandpa, what do you mean?"
Bai Zhantian turned his gaze to the four people cultivating in the courtyard, his expression complex, and slowly said, "Ran Ran, you are not actually of our Bai family bloodline."
Bai Ran's hand, which was tapping the table, froze in mid-air. Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock and confusion.
He looked at Bai Ran's exceptionally beautiful face, showing no surprise at the change in her appearance. His eyes welled up with emotion.
"So alike, so very alike."
Bai Ran looked at Bai Zhantian's loving face and understood that her grandfather was looking at someone else through her.
After a long pause, Bai Ran spoke, "Grandpa, please tell me what you know."
After another long silence, Bai Zhantian lowered his head and began to recount the past.
At that time, Bai Zhantian was still young and strong. He had four children. However, unfortunately, their fourth child died shortly after birth.
The couple was grief-stricken, and his wife wept daily.
Perhaps fate favored them, for one day Bai Zhantian was out and found a lively little girl in the forest.
His wife's sorrow subsided, and the couple began to take good care of their four children, showering the adopted child with extra affection.
Year after year, the four children grew up healthy.
But the fourth child was indeed extraordinary. Her cultivation speed was exceptionally fast. Before the age of twelve, she had already reached the Nascent Soul stage and ascended to the Middle Realm.
From then on, the couple never saw their fourth child again, but they constantly thought of her, worrying that she might be bullied.
Eight years later, on a rainy night, the fourth child returned. She was covered in wounds but tightly embraced a baby. She knelt before the couple, tears streaming down her face, "My child! I beg you, Father and Mother, to take in my child!"
The couple had no idea what their fourth child had endured, nor who the father of the child was.
Their most beloved child, covered in injuries, kneeling before them and crying, was enough to break their hearts completely.
Bai Zhantian and his wife took in the child, but the fourth child disappeared.
From then on, until his wife's death, they never saw their fourth child again.
After finishing his story, Bai Zhantian hunched over. Tears flowed freely down his face, etched with the passage of time, and he sobbed uncontrollably.
Bai Ran clenched her fists, her heart a complex turmoil, unsure of how to speak.
She took a breath and reached out, gently stroking Bai Zhantian's back.
"Grandpa, Ran Ran and Mother will always be part of the Bai family. It's not about blood, but about kinship."