"Anyway, the both of us should leave what happened in the past behind. However, if you want to pursue this matter further than necessary, I'll entertain you," Su Yang said to Sect Master Qian with an overbearing smile on his face.

"You dare to threaten me before His Majesty's presence?! Even if you are Su Yang from the Profound Blossom Sect, you cannot act like there are no responsibilities behind your actions!"

Sect Master Qian then turned to look at Lord Xie and bowed to him, "Your Majesty! This subordinate seeks justice!"

Lord Xie sighed inwardly after seeing this. What does Sect Master Qian want him to do? Punish Su Yang? An Immortal who can overtake the Xie Family and conquer the entire world by himself if he desired?

"If you need someone to apologize to you, I'll do it in their stead, Senior Qian," Another voice suddenly resounded in the room, causing everyone there to look at the entrance again.

"Y-Your Highness!"

The people there were dumbfounded by her sudden appearance. Why did Xie Xingfang suddenly show up? And she was even in such an odd appearance, looking like she'd just gotten out of bed and still had her blankets wrapped around her body.

"W-What did you mean by your words just now, Your Highness?" Sect Master Qian asked her after snapping out of his dazed state. "Why would you apologize to me? You didn't do anything wrong!"

"If my partner did something wrong, I also share the blame. Therefore, if Su Yang had mistreated you, Senior Qian, I'll lower my head and apologize to you if that's what you want." Xie Xingfang said in a calm voice.

"N-No! That wouldn't be necessary, Your Highness! This subordinate would never ask you to lower your head…" Sect Master Qian quickly rejected her suggestion, as that was akin to courting death even if Xie Xingfang didn't mind it.

"Then will you forgive Su Yang for his mistake?" Xie Xingfang then continued.

"I will! I will forgive him!" Sect Master Qian immediately nodded his head with a stiff smile on his face.

"Thank you, Sect Master Qian." Xie Xingfang said with a smile on her face.

"B-By the way, what do you mean by 'partner'?" Someone there suddenly asked a moment later.

"Hm? It means exactly as it sounds, Senior Ruan. Su Yang is my partner." Xie Xingfang responded calmly.

"W-What?!"

Everybody in the room except Lord Xie cried out loud, as this is their first time hearing of such a thing.

Su Yang then wrapped his arms around Xie Xingfang's shoulders and said, "That's right. We're partners."

"B-B-B-B-But you're… You're a dual cultivator!" One of them spoke in a stuttering voice.

"So what if I am a dual cultivator? I can't be with Xing'er because I am a dual cultivator? That doesn't make any sense." Su Yang raised his eyebrows.

"I mean…" The person who just spoke was speechless.

"Anyways, what do you want from me now, Su Yang? I am in the middle of an important meeting if you somehow still haven't realized by now." Lord Xie said to him a moment later.

"Me? I don't need anything from now, nor am I here for you." Su Yang said.

"Then why are you here, interrupting my meeting?" Lord Xie said with a frown.

"Because I am the one who has business here, father. However, since you're busy, we can do this later." Xie Xingfang said to him.

"Xing'er… You just came out of secluded cultivation, right? What do you need from me?" Lord Xie asked her.

"I am here to apologize to you, father, because I have been lying to you for a while now," she said before lowering her head and apologizing, "I am sorry, father, for lying to you."

Lord Xie was baffled. What on earth is happening? What kind of situation is this? What did Xing'er lie to him about?

"I wouldn't call it lying, though." Su Yang suddenly said, and he continued, "She merely kept it a secret from you, so I don't consider that as lying."

Lord Xie frowned, and he turned to look at the other people in the room.

The experts understood the meaning behind Lord Xie's gaze and began walking out of the room, giving them some privacy.

Once the door was closed and they were alone, Lord Xie stood up and walked to stand in front of them.

"Well? What have you been keeping a secret from me?" Lord Xie asked them, his heart beating nervously for some reason.

Xie Xingfang took a deep breath, and she released her grasp on the blanket, allowing it to fall on the ground and revealing her bloated stomach to Lord Xie.

"T-T-That's!!!"

Lord Xie stumbled backward with a terrified look on his face, looking as though he'd just witnessed a ghost.

"I am sorry for keeping it a secret from you, father. I am pregnant with Su Yang's child, and you'll be a grandfather soon…"

*Plop*

Lord Xie fell on his butt after tripping on nothing, nearly hitting the table with the back of his head, and he stared at Xie Xingfang's bloated stomach with his eyes popping out of its sockets.

"Are you okay… father?" Xie Xingfang was speechless after seeing Lord Xie's exaggerated reaction.

However, Lord Xie did not respond and continued to stare at her with a gawking look on his face.

"W-When? How long have you been pregnant? When did it begin?" Lord Xie asked her in a trembling voice after a long moment of silence.

"Right before we returned from the Abandoned Forest with the Purple Qilin's blood…" Xie Xingfang said. "It's been a few months since I've been pregnant."

"Heavens! Does my father know about this?!" Lord Xie then asked.

"Yes… Grandfather has known about it since the very beginning…"

"Then why did you keep it from me?" Lord Xie said.

"Look at how you're reacting. There's your answer," Su Yang said while shaking his head.

"I saw how you'd reacted previously, so I thought it would be for the best to give you some more time before telling you…" Xie Xingfang said, feeling a little guilty about the whole thing now.