With three supreme masters, they were invincible upon descending the mountain.

The border of the Great Xia Dynasty, a hidden realm in the north!

Ye Yaocheng bowed deeply to the three elderly men in front of him.

"Masters, I am going down the mountain this time, and I don't know when it will end. Please take care."

The sound echoed through the valley. He looked up, his eyes filled with the reluctance accumulated over eight years.

The three elderly men stood as still as pine trees.

The old man in the middle, with white hair reaching his waist, sighed, a sigh that seemed to carry a thousand pounds of weight: "Good child, you are now eighteen years old. This time when you come down the mountain, you must resolve the problem of your own origin."

He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately:

"We can't delay any longer; if we do, even a miracle won't save us."

"I understand, Master," Ye Yaocheng replied in a low voice.

The scene from eight years ago instantly pierced through the passage of time.

When the human traffickers reached out their dirty hands to his older brother, the ten-year-old pounced on them, punching, kicking, and screaming.

The older brother scrambled away, but his wrist was gripped by an iron clamp and shoved into the stinking carriage.

When they were crossing the border, they were fortunate to be rescued by the master, thus escaping danger.

Later, he learned who had saved him.

The three guardians of the Great Xia border, who had been guarding the secret realm for decades, took him as their apprentice, taught him their skills, and also told him a cruel truth.

"You possess the bones of the Supreme One."

The master once pointed to his heart, saying, "But someone ripped it out of him."

Once the Supreme Bone is taken away, the source of life will leak out little by little, like a leaky bucket.

He won't live past eighteen.

His three masters used extraordinary methods to forcibly prolong his life with the essence of the secret realm, and he has survived until today, but the cracks on the bucket are still widening.

"There are still six months left." His master's voice pulled him back to reality. "If you can't resolve your own problems within six months, even a celestial being couldn't save you."

"There are only two ways to solve this problem. One is to find a spirit body created by heaven and earth, and it must be a woman. Only by harmonizing yin and yang with her can the hidden danger be eliminated."

The second method, of course, is to retrieve your Supreme Bone and reintegrate it into your body.

Ye Yaocheng nodded in silence. He had found a solution, but the world was so vast, could it really be done in half a year?

The second master on the left, who had kept his eyes closed, suddenly opened them: "Don't be discouraged. There are only a handful of people in the world who can defeat you."

The third master, with his stern face on the right, uttered only two words:

"Don't die, just live."

Ye Yaocheng's nose tingled with emotion, and he bowed again: "Disciple...I remember."

"Go on." The head master waved his hand, turned around, and said, "Live well and don't embarrass the three of us old folks."

The mist thickened, obscuring the three figures from behind.

Ye Yaocheng clenched his fists, turned around, and stepped onto the path down the mountain.

……

Linjiang City, the Ye family, one of the four major families.

Ye Xiao and his wife looked worried and their faces were clouded with sorrow.

"Three days left! How can we possibly come up with a plan in three days?" Liu Lili slammed her teacup on the table, splashing tea all over the floor. "The old man did it on purpose! He doesn't want you to take over as head of the family at all!"

Ye Xiao sat on the sofa, his hands tucked into his hair.

"That girl from the Ji family has been in a coma for a year, practically a living dead. I heard her face is all rotten, she's incredibly ugly. To send my son to marry someone like that, isn't that an insult?"

A year ago, the eldest daughter of the Ji family fell ill inexplicably, fell into a coma, and her appearance was completely ruined.

Renowned doctors from all over the country were at a loss, and all the folk remedies had been exhausted.

Finally, some fortune teller said, "Hiring a son-in-law to bring good luck might alleviate the problem."

When the news spread, everyone avoided it like the plague.

Only the Ye family took the initiative to take it on.

At the family meeting, the old man passed the buck to Ye Xiao: "If you succeed in this, the position of family head will naturally be yours; if you fail..."

The rest was left unsaid, but the meaning was clear.

"Master, Madam." The old butler suddenly pushed open the door and came in, his expression somewhat strange. "Young Master Ye is back."

The living room fell silent for a moment.

"Young Master?" Ye Xiao frowned. "Which Young Master?"

"That's right, the young master Yaocheng who was abducted eight years ago."

Ye Xiao and Liu Lili exchanged a glance.

Confused and bewildered, then, almost simultaneously, light shone in their eyes.

"The one who was abducted?" Liu Lili suddenly stood up. "Is he still alive?"

"It's absolutely true, right outside the door."

"Ha!" Ye Xiao slapped his thigh, his worried expression vanishing. "It's like a godsend! Quick, quick, invite them in!"

Liu Lili quickly walked to the mirror and started fixing her hair and expression.

A meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"No rush." ​​Ye Xiao picked up his phone. "Let me check."

He dialed a number and turned to walk to the window.

At that moment, the butler led the people in.

Ye Yaocheng stood at the entrance of the living room, dressed in faded old clothes, his canvas shoes with the edges coming unglued. Eight years of living in the secret realm had made his skin fairer than that of ordinary people, his facial features were strong, but his eyes were as calm as a deep pool.

Liu Lili's gaze swept over his clothes, and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

But she managed to suppress that hint of disdain, and instead put on a look of heartache.

"Oh! My child! My child!" She rushed forward, trying to hug Ye Yaocheng, but he dodged to the side.

Her hand froze in mid-air, and Liu Lili, with her eyes welling up with tears, said dramatically, "You're finally back! We've missed you so much!"

Ye Xiao hung up the phone and walked over, his face full of "kindness": "What happened back then was our fault, but the world is so big, we've searched! We really have! And with so many family matters to attend to, we really..."

"There's nothing we can do," Ye Yaocheng said for him, his voice very calm.

Ye Xiao choked.

Ye Yaocheng looked at the "parents" and could only sneer inwardly.

Eight years ago, he was the least favored illegitimate son in the Ye family. His mother died early, his father ignored him, and his eldest brother, Ye Lingtian, led the bullying against him.

The reason I rushed to save him that time wasn't out of brotherly affection.

Rather, he knew clearly that if he saved her, perhaps life would be better in the future.

If we don't save him, he won't survive.

As for Ye Xiao's promise back then, "I will save you at all costs"?

Looking back now, it all seems ironic.

He didn't want to go back to this house.

But he was too young when the Supreme Bone was dug out, and his memory is hazy.

The only people who might know a clue are the Ye family.

Whether his mother is still alive or where she is is unknown.

And, is Ye Xiao really his biological father?

He needs answers to these questions.

"You guys chat, I'll cook a feast to welcome the kids back!" Liu Lili gave Ye Xiao a look and turned to go into the kitchen.

"My child..." Ye Xiao covered his face, heartbroken, "Every time I think of that day, my heart aches..."

"Alright."

Ye Yaocheng interrupted him, sat down on the old sofa, and looked up:

"Stop acting, just spit it out."

"You!" Ye Xiao's expression changed, and he was about to lash out when his phone rang again.

He glanced at the caller ID and quickly answered.

After a few whispered words, when she turned around again, a warm smile had spread across her face: "Child, you've suffered these past years. Don't worry, we'll make it up to you!"

Ye Yaocheng remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"You know the Ji family, right? The most powerful family in Linjiang, and the same as everyone else in Tianhai Province!" Ye Xiao gave a thumbs up. "We want you to become the husband of the eldest daughter of the Ji family. This is a blessing that others would kill for!"

Ye Xiao tempted him, his expression exaggerated to the extreme.

Ye Yaocheng raised an eyebrow.

The eldest daughter of the Ji family, a living dead, a son-in-law brought in for good luck?

It's true that he stayed in the secret realm for eight years, but that doesn't mean he was out of touch with the outside world. It's not difficult to find out this information.

"Oh?" Ye Yaocheng looked at Ye Xiao with a half-smile. "Why doesn't Big Brother take this 'good job'?"

Ye Xiao's expression froze.

"Ling Tian... he's been busy lately." He stopped mid-sentence, realizing his words were forced, and changed his tone, "Yaocheng, you just got back, you might not know, but although the Ji family proposed a son-in-law marriage, the dowry they're offering is this much..."

He held up five fingers.

"Five million?" Ye Yaocheng asked.

"Fifty million!" Ye Xiao lowered his voice, "Moreover, as long as you agree, the family will immediately restore your status, and you'll receive all the resources you're entitled to!"

From the kitchen came the sound of Liu Lili deliberately increasing the volume of her chopping.

Boom, boom, boom!

Ye Yaocheng leaned back on the sofa, his gaze sweeping over the luxurious yet cold villa, and over the calculating look that Ye Xiao couldn't hide in his eyes.

Then, he chuckled softly.

"Actually, it's not impossible...!"