"You want me to meet your family? Why?" Yuan looked at Lan Yingying with wide eyes.
"Because I want to confirm something. Perhaps it might even have something to do with you being here," she said in a calm voice.
"Really?" Yuan's eyes flickered with excitement. Since she's the guardian of this place, and her family used to serve the swordmaster who marked this stone tablet, they might know something about the voice that beckoned him, perhaps even the faceless individual he saw outside the Mystic Realm.
Lan Yingying nodded and said, "It's only half an hour away from this place. Follow me."
She then turned around and walked out of the temple in a casual manner, acting as though her clothes weren't in such a shabby state.
Yuan didn't linger around and proceeded to follow her outside the temple.
After some time, he could no longer hold his curiosity and decided to ask her, "What happened to your clothes? Did you encounter a powerful magical beast on your way here?"
Lan Yingying looked at him without stopping her legs, and she said, "There are no magical beasts in this area. As for why my clothes are in this state—"
Lan Yingying raised her hand and pointed her finger at him.
"You're the one who made my clothes like this— your Sword Aura, to be exact."
"W-What! I am terribly sorry! I didn't mean to…" Yuan was shocked to hear that he was the cause of her ridiculous appearance.
"I know… You don't have to say anything. It was my fault for being so nosy and getting too close, anyways." Lan Yingying shrugged it off casually.
"Thank you, Miss Lan!" Yuan said to her, feeling relieved that she didn't blame him.
Half an hour later, they arrived at this spacious land in the middle of the dead forest, and at the center of this place was a large wooden cabin alongside a couple of smaller buildings.
"You live here?" Yuan raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect a young girl like Lan Yingying to live in a place like this, especially since she looked so noble and graceful, almost like a noble in a big family.
"Yes, and my grandparents," she said.
"Oho? What a surprise." An old man with long white hair and a medium white beard came out of the cabin before they could even approach it.
"Grandma, come look at this— look at what Ying'er brought home. It's a man! And our dear granddaughter even looks like a mess!" The old man suddenly began shouting out loud in a voice full of excitement.
"What?! A man?! Impossible!" Another voice quickly resounded, and a few seconds later, an old lady also came out of the house and stood beside the old man.
"Heavens! Look at her appearance! Looks like they had plenty of fun before coming back here!"
"I'm back, grandfather, grandmother." Lan Yingying said to them, acting like she didn't hear their loud words just now.
"Hey, boy. Are you my granddaughter's boyfriend? Where did you two meet? How long have you been dating? Have ya done 'that' yet?" The old man suddenly began bombarding Yuan with questions.
"Calm down, you old fool. What if you scare him away? This is the first time she brought home a man, too! I'll skin you alive, old fool." The old lady even smacked the old man's butt as she scolded him.
"Hello, young man. You can ignore this old fart. With that being said, when can we expect a child from you two?" The old lady spoke with a grin on her face.
Meanwhile, Yuan was left speechless by their weird questions.
"Grandfather, grandmother, stop joking around. This is a serious matter regarding the Lord's stone tablet." Lan Yingying said to them with a slight frown on her face.
"The Lord's stone tablet?"
Her grandparents' face suddenly became serious upon hearing her words.
"What about the Lord's stone tablet? Did something happen?" The old man then asked with a frown on his face.
Lan Yingying nodded her head before pointing at Yuan and speaking, "The Lord's stone tablet reacted to him, allowing him to absorb the Sword Aura left behind by the Lord."
"WHAT?!"
The both of them exclaimed in a shocked voice.
"D-Don't tell me he's the Lord's descendant?!" The old lady spoke in a trembling voice.
"I brought him here to see if that is the case or not." Lan Yingying said.
"Hmmm…"
After a moment of silence, the old man said, "Come inside first. We'll talk once we are feeling more comfortable."
The grandparents then entered the house.
"Let's go, Yuan." Lan Yingying said to him before going inside the house.
"..."
Although it felt weird to enter a stranger's home, Yuan didn't feel any malevolence from them and decided to trust them.
Once they were inside, Yuan sat around a large table with the others.
"Give me more context." The old man then said.
Lan Yingying nodded and proceeded to recall everything she knew— from her first meeting with Yuan two days ago to their second meeting today.
"I see… Can you tell me a little bit more about yourself, young man?" The old man then turned to look at Yuan.
Yuan nodded and said, "I came here with my fellow disciples, but we got separated on our way here, and before I knew it, I was in the forest. Then I heard this voice that beckoned me, so I followed it, and the voice led me to the temple."
"Hmmm…"
The grandparents pondered for a moment before speaking, "If you don't mind me asking… What is your purpose for coming to this place?"
"To be completely honest with you, I have no clue." Yuan shrugged.
The grandparents exchanged looks with each other, and the old lady asked him a moment later, "Young man… Did you perhaps come from the outside world?"
"Eh?" Yuan's eyes widened.
The people here are aware of the outside world? That they're currently inside the Mystic Realm? Just what is this place?