Yun Che remained silent.

  Beside him, Yun Han let out a soft sneer—quiet, yet clear enough for everyone nearby to hear.

  “I said it long ago. Rotten wood from the mountains—how could it ever touch immortal qi? A wasted spot, nothing more than a joke. I was personally selected by Master Dao Xu during the initial trial. As for his later tests…” Yun Han snorted. “Repeated failures. Not a single result worth mentioning. Had we known it would end like this, Fourth Uncle might as well have sent that dull but sturdy Yun Hu instead. I daresay even he would’ve done better.”

  Yun Qingmo, Yun Che’s fourth uncle, darkened instantly and barked, “Yun Han! Even if you’ve entered an Immortal Sect, you should still know respect for your elders! How my Yun Hu is is none of your concern!”

  A flicker of cold light passed through Yun Han’s eyes. He snorted and turned away, though the mockery at the corner of his mouth never faded.

  Yun Chengshan, Yun Che’s father, seemed to lose all strength at once. He staggered, collapsing onto a chair behind him, his body visibly shrinking, aging in a single breath.

  Yun Che’s mother stared blankly at her son, unable to accept reality. Her voice trembled.

  “Che’er… what Han’er said… It isn’t true, is it?”

  Yun Che bit down hard on his lower lip until the taste of iron filled his mouth. Blood trickled down the corner of his lips.

  With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees before his parents, his forehead striking the cold floor. His voice was hoarse and hollow, as if stripped of all hope.

  “Father… Mother… your son is unfilial… I… I was not kept by the Immortal Sect… I’m sorry… I’ve disappointed you… In my next life… I will repay your kindness…”

  The despair in his voice made his mother shudder violently. She lunged forward, clutching him tightly in her arms as tears poured freely.

  “My child! Foolish child, what nonsense are you saying! If you failed, then so be it—we don’t need it! Next year… next year we’ll prepare properly and take the county academy exam. You can still succeed! Cheer up; you must not think of doing anything foolish! Your father and I still depend on you…”

  Yun Chengshan snapped back to his senses. Seeing the dead-gray look in his son’s eyes, his heart trembled violently. He hurriedly crouched down, using his rough hands to wipe the blood and dirt from Yun Che’s face.

  “Shitou! Listen to Father! It’s fine! The sky hasn’t fallen! We’ll go home! I’ll teach you herbal medicine and preparation—our family’s craft won’t let us starve! If you want to study, I’ll sell everything I own to support you! Just don’t do anything stupid!”

  The relatives who had moments ago surrounded them with smiles and flattery now withdrew as if tidewater receding. One by one, they stepped back, as though Yun Che’s family were tainted with something unclean. Whispered glances turned quickly into open ridicule.

  “Tsk tsk. What did I say? What kind of true dragon could come from a place like Xitou Village? Just a loach dreaming of becoming a dragon,” sneered the potbellied Sixth Uncle.

  “Exactly! If this was the result, why make such a fuss earlier? Acting like a true immortal child—now he’s lost face right outside the Immortal Sect’s gates. Second Brother, not to criticize you, but you’re just too honest. You always dream too big,” said the squint-eyed Third Uncle Elder, his former kindness nowhere to be found.

  “Talent? Keen observation? Sounds more like Second Brother projecting his own frustrations onto his son. Now the boasting’s burst, and his true colors are revealed,” the Fifth Uncle added coldly, switching faces the fastest.

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  “Three children went together, yet only he came back—empty-handed, and the worst of them. He’s really disgraced our Yun family. Second Sister-in-law, I just said you’d enjoy good fortune—but it seems this is all fate allows you,” a shrill female voice chimed in.

  “Indeed! I saw him spacing out by the river days ago—wooden, dull. How could he ever compare to Young Master Han or Feng? No wonder he’s useless,” another woman echoed disdainfully.

  “I knew this child was no good. Look at his parents—so plain and meek. What exceptional seed could they produce? The Yun family’s future glory rests with Big Brother’s and Third Brother’s lines. Yun Che? Even his name sounds foolish,” someone muttered viciously from the crowd.

  “Oh dear, I must have been blind earlier, even thinking of a marriage alliance! Thank heavens the Immortal Masters saw through him. Otherwise, wouldn’t my daughter have jumped straight into a pit of fire? Second Sister-in-law, don’t take those earlier jokes seriously. Since your Che’er can’t become an immortal, this marriage… naturally ends here,” said the woman who had proposed marriage, distancing herself hastily.

  Cold mockery and malicious gloating rained down like hailstones upon the already shattered family. Compared to the earlier fawning scene, the contrast was nothing short of grotesque.

  Some even shamelessly demanded the return of previously given congratulatory gifts, causing Yun Chengshan and his wife to turn pale, their bodies trembling.

  Yun Che clenched his fists so tightly his nails dug into his palms—yet he felt no pain. Each word was a poisoned ice spike, stabbing deeper into his already torn heart. Dizziness overtook him, as though the world were spinning, collapsing, leaving only endless malicious noise.

  At that moment, Yun Tianhai—Yun Che’s uncle—strolled over leisurely. His face bore condescending pity mixed with open smugness.

  “Second Brother, didn’t I warn you before? Immortal fate depends on talent and destiny. Only someone like Han’er, born with spiritual perception, qualifies. You refused to listen and insisted on forcing it. Now look—you’ve pushed the child to this point. Why suffer so needlessly?”

  Yun Chengshan finally snapped. He whipped his head around, eyes bloodshot, glaring at his longtime rival.

  “Yun Tianhai! Shut your mouth! Father clearly left the southern city apothecary to me before he died! It was you—colluding with the clan elders—who stole it while I was young and away! And today, when my son suffers, you show no brotherly feeling, only mockery. Are you even human?!”

  He turned toward the surrounding relatives, his voice trembling with rage and sorrow.

  “And you! Just moments ago, your faces were full of warmth! Now you’re this cruel! My son is already like this—must you kick him while he’s down? Have you all lost your conscience?!”

  Yun Tianhai flushed red and green, humiliated and enraged.

  “Why bring up old matters?! Your son is useless—how is that my fault? I offered advice, and you rejected it. Now you dare shout at an elder? Like father, like son—both worthless!”

  The surrounding snickers and malicious whispers cut into Yun Che’s nerves like serrated blades. He stood rigid, carving those greedy, cold, mocking faces deep into his memory.

  “I’ll kill you!!” Yun Chengshan roared, grabbing a long bench and charging forward.

  Yun Qingmo rushed in immediately, restraining his furious brother.

  “Second Brother! Calm down! They outnumber us—violence won’t end well. Leave it to me!”

  He turned sharply, eyes like lightning, staring at Yun Tianhai. His voice was low and cold, carrying the killing aura of a seasoned wanderer.

  “Big Brother. Aren’t your words a bit too heartless? Insult my second brother again, and don’t blame me for abandoning blood ties. The Yun family may be powerful, but I’ve traveled the world for years. I have friends, brothers of the Jianghu. If we truly tear our faces off, no one will look good.”

  Yun Tianhai’s expression shifted. He was clearly wary of this fourth brother who lived outside the clan’s reach. Swallowing, he refrained from provoking further.

  The highest-ranking Third Uncle Elder coughed displeasedly.

  “Fourth, that’s improper. The child truly lacks ability. As elders, correcting him—is that wrong? If a child fails, should elders not scold him? Where’s the fault in that?”

  Yun Qingmo was about to retort—

  When Yun Che moved.

  Slowly. Painfully slowly.

  He freed himself from his mother’s arms and stood upright. Tears and blood still marked his face, yet within those once lifeless eyes burned a faint, cold flame.

  He wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve, calmly sweeping his gaze over Yun Tianhai, the Third Uncle Elder, the Sixth and Fifth Uncles, and every mocking, indifferent, gloating face.

  He did not shout.

  He did not argue.

  He did not weep further.

  In a tone so flat it chilled the heart, he spoke each word clearly:

  “Everything said today… I, Yun Che… will remember.”

  Then he turned to his parents, whose faces were soaked with tears, and said softly,

  “Father. Mother. Let’s go home.