"What's all the commotion?"
The voices of the two were quite loud, quickly disturbing those inside. Several impatient sounds came from the room, and then someone emerged, scolding Ning Jun.
Midway through his scolding, the man's voice abruptly stopped. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Ming Yi in disbelief.
"You... you're back?"
"Seventh Uncle, I'm back."
Ming Yi offered a smile.
Seventh Uncle was only a few years older than him. They had a good relationship when they were young, and because Seventh Uncle often spoke up for him in front of his father, and because Seventh Uncle was of the same generation as his father, his father was often in no position to reprimand him.
"It's good that you're back! Have you told Second Brother? And Second Sister-in-law... Second Sister-in-law has been mentioning you constantly these past few years. Sometimes she'd complain a bit, call you an ungrateful child for leaving when you came of age without a word." Seventh Uncle sighed. "Also..."
He glanced stealthily inside as he spoke. "Your father's attitude towards you has improved a lot too."
"Improved a lot?"
Upon hearing this, Ming Yi finally perked up. If his father's attitude had improved, then there might be a possibility of reconciliation.
It was at this moment that Seventh Uncle noticed the urn in his hand, his brow furrowing. "What is this? By the aura, it feels a bit..."
He wasn't sure. It felt similar to an urn, but generally, people wouldn't bring something like an urn home when they returned... Hadn't Ming Yi left home to wander the world alone? How could he be bringing back an urn?
"An urn."
Ming Yi stated.
"Really? Whose?" Seventh Uncle's breathing hitched. Could it be one of Ming Yi's companions or... a wife?
As for whether it was auspicious or not, they didn't care about such things.
"Second Granduncle's."
"Oh, Second Uncle's, I thought... What?! Second Uncle?!"
Seventh Uncle's voice instantly rose threefold, his shout reverberating throughout the entire Ning family compound.
Almost simultaneously, everyone in the courtyard heard Seventh Uncle's voice and came out impatiently.
"What are you shouting about, Old Seven? Always making a fuss, it's just Second Uncle! Really..."
"What, Second Uncle?!"
"Second Uncle is here?!"
"It's over! Eldest Brother! Something's happened!"
With these exclamations, the atmosphere in the entire Ning family compound grew heavy. Their movements were swift, not panicked, only orderly. Then, an extremely powerful aura emerged from the main house.
Sensing this aura, Ming Yi felt a slight pang of emotion. This... was his father's aura.
"Second Uncle, where?"
A figure appeared beside Seventh Uncle, who had been the first to speak. His voice was grave, his body surrounded by innate true qi.
He was now the Ning family's top expert, ranked sixty on the Earthly Ranking.
But after he finished speaking, his gaze landed on Ming Yi.
"Father."
Ming Yi lowered his head slightly, cupping his hands in his palms, a custom passed down by the Ning family. "Are you well?"
"You... you're back?!"
When he had heard about Second Uncle earlier, his voice had been completely steady, but when facing his own son, his voice trembled.