Chapter 304: Snow Flower Seed
After settling Zaizai down, Yu An asked Han Li curiously, "A li, what did you say to that man?"
The moment she saw Patriarch Feng, she guessed that the person who had been staring at Han Li might be his father from a past life.
"Nothing much," Han Li said with an innocent look. "I just mentioned my mother’s name."
The Han Family Master and his mother had been childhood sweethearts. They were a loving couple, and no third party ever came between them.
But in the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation of power. When the Tian Family came to demand her, he handed her over with his own hands.
Later, to quell his guilt and remorse, he took many concubines and fathered many children. Yet, the position of the main wife always remained vacant, leading everyone to say he was a man of deep feeling.
Yu An’s lips twitched. "That’s outrageous. He felt guilty toward your mother, but then turned right around to take concubines and have more children."
’How is that deep feeling? It’s just his true scumbag nature showing through!’
After all these years, Han Li had managed to stir up the guilt lingering in the Han Family Master’s heart. However, Yu An guessed it wouldn’t last long.
His guilt might even curdle into resentment.
Patriarch Feng didn’t last long. He stopped breathing and died in the middle of the night. As he was dying, he kept muttering something, and only Feng Qi, who was closest to him, could hear.
"Did Brother Feng have any last words? Feng Qi, don’t be too heartbroken. You still have your uncles here."
Seeing Feng Qi shedding tears of grief, the Mo Family Head and Master Lan both offered words of comfort. Only the Han Family Master remained out of sorts, his expression dazed.
Feng Qi hung his head, seemingly fighting back tears. He said in a hoarse voice, "Uncle Mo, Uncle Lan, my father said... he hopes I will restore the family’s fortunes..."
But that wasn’t it at all.
Patriarch Feng had been muttering a single name over and over—Feng Zhi.
He also said things like "I’m sorry." As Feng Qi listened, aside from feeling indignant on his mother’s behalf and a hint of resentment, he felt nothing at all about the death of the man who was his father.
’He nearly cast aside my mother for a peasant girl, only to then abandon that girl and her child for the sake of the family.’
Though he was Patriarch Feng’s son, he was ashamed to have such a fickle and heartless father.
’No matter. A person’s death is like a lamp being extinguished.’
Where no one could see, a look of indifference crossed Feng Qi’s face.
On the pretext of not delaying the four families’ search for the Snow Flower, he had the body cremated on the spot.
He wrapped the ashes in the first piece of cloth he could find. If he didn’t have to keep up appearances, Feng Qi would have just scattered them on the ground right then and there.
With the Snow Flower being mentioned so often, Yu An’s curiosity was piqued, but unfortunately, Han Li knew nothing about it.
Neither of them knew what the Snow Flower looked like or in what kind of environment it grew. Their search was even more aimless than that of the Mo Family Head and his group. So, they decided to just leave it to fate, digging up any rare or unusual plants they happened to find along the way.
And as it turned out, Yu An really did encounter several plants she had never seen before. She took a shovel and carefully dug them out, transplanting them into her space.
’With my superpower and the Divine Spring Water, the survival rate is one hundred percent!’
While Yu An’s family was having a grand time digging up plants, the Mo Family Head and his men were being chased by bears, mauled by tigers, and...
In any case, after enduring countless trials and tribulations, they hadn’t seen so much as a shadow of the Snow Flower.
"This can’t be right," Master Lan said, his brow deeply furrowed. "Logically, we’ve searched every place a Snow Flower could possibly grow. It’s impossible that we can’t find it."
"Unless..."
"Unless someone has already beaten us to it!"
The Mo Family Head mused, "Many people have flooded this area for the search. It’s inevitable that some would be faster than us, to say nothing of the people from the Yu and Tian Families."
In truth, they had considered this possibility after coming up empty several times. It was just that their desire to restore their families’ fortunes was so strong they couldn’t let go of even the slightest chance.
The Tian Family holds deep grudges. For years, they have been targeting the four families intermittently.
As long as the Tian Family held this grudge, their four families would never know a day of peace.
All told, the top powers in the Upper Realm were the Tian Family of Tianhuan City, the Yu Family of Earth Geography City, and the Five Great Divine Palaces of the Heaven and Earth Illusion Realm.
The Five Great Divine Palaces don’t meddle in worldly affairs, and the four families had no quarrel with the Yu Family.
If they could find the Snow Flower for the Tian Family, then in their delight, the Tian Family would surely forgive the four families. They might even grant them some resources and lend them a helping hand.
But alas...
The Mo Family Head gazed at the barren ground, a wave of disappointment washing over him.
"Forget it. It seems we were not fated to find the Snow Flower. We haven’t run into anyone from the Tian or Yu Families this entire time. They’ve probably already picked it."
"Let’s go back."
They had set out in high spirits, but now they were returning in dejection, their morale at an all-time low.
Feng Qi walked at the rear of the group. He had only taken a few steps when a tiny, almost invisible fleck of white appeared in his line of sight.
He paused, and on the pretense of brushing dirt from his trousers, he snatched the object and concealed it in his palm.
The smooth, gentle texture sent a tremor through his entire body.
He was trembling with excitement.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this was a seed from the Snow Flower... left behind after the plant was picked.
Although its medicinal properties couldn’t compare to a mature Snow Flower, if the Yu Family was the one who picked the flower, then by presenting the seed to the Tian Family first, he could still earn a reward.
’The Feng family’s decline began with my father. Its rise will begin with me!’
Along the way, Yu An and Han Li encountered many other people. After a few inquiries, they learned everyone was there for the same reason.
She also learned from a few of them that the Tian Family was offering a hefty reward for the Snow Flower. The first reason was to obtain the rare herb, and the second was to spite the Yu Family.
The Yu Family Master was critically ill and desperately needed the Snow Flower for a remedy.
"The Tian Family is a bunch of freaks. It seems doing evil deeds is a family tradition."
Yu An grumbled quietly to Han Li. He couldn’t have agreed more. However, the Tian Family was in for a disappointment.
Yu Yao had already taken the Snow Flower back to Earth Geography City. The Yu Family Master’s illness would soon be cured.
"The exit is just ahead."
Just as the entrance had been a cave, so was the exit. The signs of flowers and trees grew scarcer until they vanished completely, leaving only cold stone. That meant they were approaching the Upper Realm.
Ahead was a large rock with the word "Exit" carved into it. Many people were resting there, some even roasting jerky.
After looking around for a bit, Yu An realized this place was quite peculiar. The path to enter was short, but the path to exit grew longer.
The journey out was exceptionally long. They would need to rest and conserve their energy, as well as prepare plenty of water and rations.
There was no food or water on the path ahead. Without sufficient preparation, one could starve to death before ever reaching the exit.
Seeing it was their first time here, some kind-hearted people showed them how to roast jerky and store water.
Yu An thanked them and, following their example, began preparing food and water with Han Li.
As the saying goes, enemies are bound to cross paths. While gathering firewood, Han Li ran into the Han Family Master and his party, who were also headed for the exit.
It seemed they were also planning to leave.
Han Li cursed his bad luck under his breath. Clutching the firewood, he turned to leave, but the Han Family Master spotted him and hurried forward to stop him.
"Li’er, don’t go. I... I want to talk to you."
Hearing the Han Family Master’s words, the Mo Family Head and the others finally understood. No wonder the Han Family Master had been so distracted all this time. So this was the reason.
The Mo Family Head led his men toward the exit, while the Han Family Master caught up to Han Li, his old face a mixture of awkwardness and fatherly affection.
"Li’er, seeing that you’re still alive... I can finally rest easy."