Chapter 124: None of Them Are Easy to Deal With

Jin Ling was also quite impressive.

With Yu Yan standing by to distract the Whirlwind Leopards, it managed to ambush and drag away a Rank 5 Whirlwind Leopard in a single encounter. Despite the cost of having its vine body torn up by the leopard's claws and fangs, it succeeded in draining the creature of all its blood.

Relying on its superior regenerative abilities as a vine-type spirit plant and the nutrient-rich blood of the Rank 5 beast, it rapidly mended its wounds. By the time Yu Yan had finished off a second leopard, Jin Ling was already full of energy and launching an assault on its next target.

The rest was simply a matter of repeating the process.

Once Yu Yan had collected enough Rank 5 beast parts to satisfy the requirements for Yu Lei and the others' departure, she stopped competing with Jin Ling for kills. Instead, she took on the role of luring and dragging monsters whenever Jin Ling’s combat strength flagged, waiting until it had recovered enough to continue the fight.

Jin Ling drained the blood of each Whirlwind Leopard one by one. Initially, finishing off a single Rank 5 leopard cost it most of its vine body, but by the end, even after draining a full Rank 6 leopard, it only suffered a few torn leaves.

After the battles, it entered a dormant state of evolution.

Since it was only a minor breakthrough, Yu Yan felt that Jin Ling was on the verge of waking up the moment she stepped out of the "Firefly Soul-Devouring Sea." Once clear of the area, she found an excuse to spend the night apart from her family.

That night, she and Yun Duo’er were not the only ones cultivating. Jin Ling also awoke in the middle of the night, having successfully advanced to a Rank 5 Spirit Vine.

As it stood, Jin Ling was, aside from the newly acquired Little Blue, the most formidable member of Yu Yan’s core combat team in terms of rank. Even if Yun Duo’er didn't want to do the dirty work herself, a simple command would suffice; it wouldn't take long for Jin Ling to toss those people aside.

At most, it would take two minutes to clear the villagers from the doorway.

Yun Duo’er pouted. "I want to toss them out too, but Grandpa is among them, and he keeps speaking up for them! And there’s that annoying woman who claims to be my new grandmother, telling me to ignore my real grandma and go home with her."

As Yun Duo’er continued to chatter on, Yu Yan raised a finger to her lips. "Shh." Seeing that Yun Duo’er had stopped complaining, she took her hand and walked toward the group. "Duo’er, tell your Little Gold to throw everyone except Grandpa out. Let's see... at this distance, just toss them over to the pond."

Yu Yan pointed casually to the other side of the pond, located about three hundred meters from their house.

A look of excitement flashed in Yun Duo’er’s eyes. "You got it! Little Gold, go!"

Although Jin Ling had bonded with her long ago and she could issue commands mentally, she loved the feeling of interacting with it. Unless they were in the heat of battle, she preferred to speak her commands aloud.

After advancing to Rank 5, Jin Ling’s intelligence had increased, and it could now understand more complex instructions. In this situation, sharing a mental link with its little master, it quickly understood her intent. Its vine body slithered from her side onto the ground and darted toward the dense crowd of villagers. A series of shrieks erupted: "Ah, ah, ah!"

Chen Biqin, who had been surrounded by the villagers, finally felt a sense of relief. She noticed Yu Yan and the others. "Yan’er, you're back?"

Her joy lasted only a moment before she seemed to realize something, her expression turning fierce. She lunged at Yu Yongde, who was standing there in a daze, clearly still trying to process what had happened. "You heartless wretch! Even after the divorce, you won't let me be!"

"You bring all these people to block my door, forcing my eldest daughter to hand over spirit beast meat."

"The meat my daughter hunted—why should I share it with you?"

"To share it with you so you can go back and enjoy it with that vixen you found? Keep dreaming, Yu Yongde!"

"Even if I had to throw it to the dogs, I wouldn't give a single scrap of the meat my daughter hunted to you!"

"Ah... you shrew!"

Yu Yongde dodged Chen Biqin’s scratching while casting a desperate look toward Yu Wan—he still hadn't noticed that Yu Yan and the others had returned. A flash of golden light blurred his vision as villagers were flung through the air, and just as he turned to see what was happening, Chen Biqin went berserk. He could only hope his tough younger daughter would stop her mother.

"Yu Wan, I’m your father, after all. Are you just going to watch your mother beat me like this?"

"If you don't pull her off, I’m going to fight back. Don't blame me if I, a grown man, end up bullying your mother... she’s acting like a wild tiger, a complete shrew!"

Yu Wan frowned. She was just about to do something to incapacitate this man who was threatening to hit her mother, sparing her mom from taking any hidden blows, when she saw Yu Yan leading Yun Duo’er forward, followed by Yu Lei and the others.

Yu Wan immediately lowered her raised hand and wandered behind Yu Yan as if nothing had happened. With her big sister here, she didn't need to lift a finger.

Yu Yan was slightly speechless at her sister’s behavior but accepted it. She was twelve years older than the twins—a full cycle—and often felt more like their half-mother than a sister; taking care of them had become a habit.

"Mom, Dad, there are so many people watching. Isn't this fighting a bit unsightly?"

Though she said this, Yu Yan was in no rush to separate them. Neither Chen Biqin nor Yu Yongde were easy to deal with. If she pulled Chen Biqin away too quickly, her mother’s pent-up anger would likely turn toward her. As for Yu Yongde, he looked like a nice guy on the surface, but he was a staunch egoist. To put it bluntly, he was quite deserving of a beating.

It wasn't enough that he failed to hold his ground and gave away all the spirit beast meat she had "verbally" promised him. Did he think she didn't know his intentions, bringing this crowd to surround their home? He was hoping she would step in to play the villain and secure his share for him! Not to mention that she hadn't actually intended to give him that much meat in the first place.

Even if she had, if he couldn't protect his own share, why should she step in to do it for him?

"Alright, alright, that’s enough."

Seeing that Yu Yongde’s face was scratched up and he had sustained various injuries, she knew he still had some sense left. He knew that while the three siblings treated him and Chen Biqin equally on the surface, they were all secretly on their mother’s side. If he dared to retaliate and hurt Chen Biqin now, he wouldn't even be able to withstand one of Yu Wan’s Rank 2 Explosive Fireballs, let alone with Yu Yan and Yu Lei watching.

Thus, he took the beating without fighting back, looking utterly disheveled under Chen Biqin’s assault.

Yu Yan grabbed her father and mother, pulling them apart. "Dad, you're an adult, why are you bringing people to block Mom’s door? And Mom, even if Dad is wrong, don't you care about your image?"

"Look at you, your hair is a mess."

"All my subordinates are watching!"

Yu Yan knew exactly what her mother cared about. Sure enough, Chen Biqin, who had been ready to keep brawling, froze. She glanced at Lou Yuhui and the others, then spat out, "I’ll settle this with you later," before rushing off to the washroom to fix her appearance.