Sean, Nothing to Do With Romance (Part Five)

Sean Xuan grew up in Skyvault Palace. Though his feelings for his father had faded more and more because of Irene Lu, he never came to hate Skyvault Palace itself.

Sean didn’t care about Skyvault Palace’s power, but that didn’t mean he would give it up or let that woman and her son have it.

After five or six years roaming the jianghu, Sean’s reputation kept growing. More and more martial women declared they would marry no one but him, and naturally, even more people admired him.

In terms of fame, Sean now surpassed his father. However, when it came to influence, he was still far behind.

Of course, this wasn’t just his father’s personal strength, but the power that came from Skyvault Palace itself.

Sean’s father, after all, was the Skyvault Palace Master. Everyone in the jianghu understood Skyvault Palace’s deep roots—few dared disrespect it.

In nearly six years, Sean had done all he could and all he should. If he kept drifting in the jianghu, he wouldn’t achieve more or develop further.

Deep down, Sean was someone who longed for home. He was tired of wandering. If not for that woman in Skyvault Palace, he would have returned long ago and never spent so many years adrift in the jianghu.

"Keep searching for Aunt Mo. If there’s any news about her, let me know immediately." Sean was about to return to Skyvault Palace, but he wasn’t abandoning his foundation in the jianghu.

Those street urchins from back then had all grown up. Their martial skills weren’t top-notch, but they were loyal. Sean kept them here to keep collecting news from the jianghu—especially any word about Emma Lu.

In Sean’s view, even if Aunt Mo married late, her daughter should already be old enough for the coming-of-age hairpin ceremony. If he still couldn’t find Aunt Mo and her daughter, maybe Aunt Mo would think his promise all those years ago was just a child’s joke, not to be taken seriously, and would marry her daughter off to someone else.

A girl’s youth is limited—Sean understood that perfectly. So he had to find Aunt Mo as soon as possible; otherwise, in three or five years, his future wife might already be a mother, and the child’s father wouldn’t be him.

After settling everything, Sean headed back to Skyvault Palace. He hadn’t returned in over a decade, but he didn’t feel nervous about coming home. Instead, he was thinking...

What kind of expressions would that family show when they saw him return?

Forgive Sean’s wicked sense of humor—he hadn’t told anyone to notify his father in advance. Aside from himself and his close followers, no one knew he was coming back to Skyvault Palace.

So...

When Sean appeared at Skyvault Palace, everyone acted as if they’d seen a ghost. The elders were especially moved—tears streaming down their faces, full of emotion, praising the Young Palace Lord for his success and saying he’d brought honor to Skyvault Palace.

They didn’t care what Sean’s father was doing; they hurried to drag Sean to meet the Palace Master. As for the Palace Master’s Lady?

The older generation never truly accepted Irene Lu, but they did acknowledge her son—after all, he was the Palace Master’s blood.

Maybe Sean just picked the wrong time to arrive—his father and Irene Lu were out. Sean didn’t mind; he volunteered to wait here for them to return. But the elders couldn’t sit still, insisting that the Palace Master had always hoped for Sean’s return and would be delighted to hear the news.

After asking where Sean’s father and Irene Lu were, the group dragged Sean along to chase after them...

These elders had all served under Sean’s grandfather and held unusual status and authority in Skyvault Palace—even Sean’s father wouldn’t dare show them disrespect lightly.

In Skyvault Palace, aside from the Palace Master’s private quarters, there was nowhere these elders couldn’t go if they wished.

When they learned the Palace Master had taken the step-madam to the back mountain, the elders brought Sean along too, peppering him with questions about how he’d been and teasing him with stories and rumors from the jianghu.

Sean smiled shyly and acted modest, but his lowered eyes sparkled with a sharp, dazzling light.

Father, and... my dear stepmother, I’ve come bearing a congratulatory gift. I hope you’ll like it.

Sean chatted with the elders all the way, but when they reached the back mountain, he found an excuse to break the conversation: "Sixth Elder, Seventh Elder, aren’t Father and the Lady supposed to be here? Why is it so quiet—there’s not a single person in sight?"

Not only that, Sean glanced around in surprise, his face showing genuine puzzlement.

The elders, who’d been focused on Sean, now sensed something was wrong too. "That’s right, weren’t the Palace Master and step-madam supposed to be here? Where are they?"

"Could something have happened? Let’s search everywhere." The elders’ faces turned serious at once. After glancing at Sean, they each fanned out to look for the Palace Master and step-madam.

Sean couldn’t be the exception, so he went along with the search too—but he certainly wasn’t putting in any real effort, and as for that 'dangerous' spot, he definitely wasn’t going to go there himself...

That’s right!

Sean’s father and Irene Lu really were there, but they weren’t just out for a stroll—or rather, while strolling, they’d started doing indecent things...

“Outrageous! Absolutely disgraceful—utterly disgraceful!”

Sean heard Second Elder’s booming voice, along with the sound of a staff hitting flesh. And of course...

There was no shortage of his father’s pleas for mercy and Irene Lu’s shrill screams.

The whole back mountain was in chaos. Sean stood off to the side, unable to hold back a laugh...

What a beautiful day.

Father, do you like the gift I’ve given you?

In my mother’s favorite garden, doing disgraceful things with that woman, only to be caught by the palace elders—how does it feel?

Of course, Sean never got the chance to ask these questions, nor did he get to see his father’s humiliation firsthand, because...

Fifth Elder, Sixth Elder, and Seventh Elder kindly stepped forward to persuade him to leave: "Young Palace Lord, it’s fine for us old fellows to know about this—your father wouldn’t dare do anything to us. But you’re different. If the Palace Master finds out you were here, he’ll definitely hold it against you."

"Yes, Young Palace Lord, you should go back. We’ll cover for you and say you were never here."

Sean wanted to tell the three elders that even if he left, his father would still blame him, because...

If he hadn’t suddenly returned, the Seven Elders wouldn’t have come out searching for him. His father and that woman had done this kind of thing here plenty of times before—if not, Sean wouldn’t have caught them so easily...

Still, Sean didn’t want to let the elders’ kindness go to waste. He knew they meant well, so he cooperated obediently, making sure the Seven Elders had nothing to worry about...