Evan Yang checked the surroundings to make sure no one was around, then said, "I'm a friend of Lila Greenleaf's."
The old madam was clearly moved by these words, tears welling in her eyes. "She..."
Seeing the old madam on the verge of tears, Evan quickly said, "Please, don't cry. I'm here to bring you news."
"News?" The old madam's expression was tinged with sadness.
"Yes. She asked me to tell you she's doing well and not to worry about her," Evan said.
"She's not dead?" The old madam was visibly shaken.
"No, she's definitely alive, and she's doing just fine," Evan replied.
"It's been thousands of years. I've finally waited for this news. Where is she? Where is she? Please, tell me!" the old madam pleaded.
Evan hadn't expected her to be so emotional, so he said, "Please, calm down. I'll explain everything slowly."
At Evan's words, the old madam paused, then looked at him. Evan then recounted everything that happened on that planet. When she heard the whole story, the old madam was overjoyed. "She's alive, she's alive! I really want to see her!"
"But she's afraid it would cause trouble for the family, so she didn't come herself. She asked me to tell you she's alright, but she feels sorry for you and your husband," Evan said.
"There's nothing for her to apologize for. It's us who owe her. If not for what happened back then... sigh, things wouldn't have turned out like this," the old madam sighed.
"What exactly happened back then?" Evan asked, curious.
"We wanted someone to inherit the family, but she was smarter and more capable than her brother, so we planned for her to take over. Her brother couldn't accept it, and while he didn't dare challenge us directly, he tried to capture her and destroy her. That's how things escalated. When I heard he'd forced her onto a dead planet, I wanted to die myself, but I could only stay trapped here," the old madam sighed.
Evan glanced at the old madam and noticed a strange force restraining her. He dispelled it and discovered she was actually at the Heavenly-Immortal Realm, nothing like the servants had said. There was only one possibility: she was hiding her true strength to avoid gossip among the lower ranks.
"You? Thank you so much. I must go find my daughter!" The old madam stood up, deeply moved.
Evan finally understood why she looked mature but not truly old—her cultivation preserved her youth, giving her a mature but ageless appearance.
"But what if her brother finds out?" Evan asked worriedly.
"He's not home right now. Let's go," the old madam replied.
"What about the old master?" Evan asked, curious.
"The old master? Sigh... he's already lost the chance to see his beloved daughter again," the old madam sighed.
"Why?" Evan asked, puzzled.
"Why else? He was driven to death by that beast of a son," the old madam sighed.
"What exactly happened?" Evan asked, still confused.
The old madam explained, "Back then, the old master tried to help us escape, but that boy wouldn't listen. He locked us up, and when the old master tried to break out by force, he died in the attempt. I survived only because I refused to force my way out—I couldn't believe my daughter was really dead, so I kept holding on."
"I see..." Evan hadn't expected Lila's father to have died.
"Alright, let's not dwell on this sad topic. Let's leave here first and talk later," the old madam said.
Evan nodded.
Just as they were about to leave, a group of people appeared around them. Their strengths varied; the strongest was at the Profound-Immortal Realm, and there were also many Heavenly-Immortals.
"This is bad," the old madam exclaimed in alarm.
Just then, an angry shout rang out: "Who are you!"
"Who is he?" Evan asked, curious. The old madam glared at the man and said, "That's my unfilial son."
"Unfilial son? Mother, you're actually conspiring with an outsider to harm our Green Family?" The man was small-minded and hot-tempered, immediately snorting coldly.
"Mother? From the moment your father died, I no longer recognize you as my son! Unfilial brat!" the old madam shouted.
"Mother, how do you expect others to see me after this?" the man said angrily.
"How should they see you? You're an unfilial son—daring to act but not daring to take responsibility!" the old madam cursed.
"Mother, looks like I have no choice but to imprison you here again. And you—who are you? Why are you causing trouble in my Green Family?" the man demanded angrily.
"Who am I? That's none of your concern. Your actions are utterly shameful," Evan replied. The old madam added, "Unfilial son!"
"You two are working together? Fine, I'll take you down and see if you still dare to talk back!" the man said angrily.
He then ordered the others, "Capture them both. Don't harm the old madam, but do as you wish with the outsider."
The Profound-Immortal and Heavenly-Immortal experts moved forward, blocking every path around Evan. Facing imminent attack, Evan grabbed the old madam's hand and said, "Go!"
Before she could react, Evan pulled her away at incredible speed, breaking through the encirclement.
"Trying to run? Hmph!" The low-tier Profound-Immortals couldn't keep up, but the man himself was strong and gave chase.
"Chasing me?" Evan laughed. The man's speed was nowhere near his own, and Evan quickly left him far behind.
Once they were safely away and the pursuer was out of sight, Evan found a place to sit and asked, "Are you alright?"
"Your speed is amazing. At least we've shaken off that unfilial son," the old madam said with delight.
"Barely managed to escape," Evan said with a smile.
"Now that we're out, I want to go find my daughter. Please tell me where she is?" the old madam asked.
Evan hesitated. The planet was enormous, and if she really went, it would be hard for the old madam to find Lila Greenleaf. This made Evan worry, so he said, "That planet is huge. If you go, you'll face real danger."
"Don't worry. Just tell me which planet. Once I arrive, I'll naturally be able to find her," the old madam assured him.
"Oh?" Evan asked, curious.
"Look." The old madam took out a jade pendant and said, "This is a Yin-Yang Jade Pendant. I have one, my daughter has the other. When the two pendants are close enough, they'll resonate. So once I arrive, she'll sense me."
Evan understood. "I see. That makes sense."
"I'm going now. Just tell me where the planet is," the old madam said.
Evan gave her the route to the planet. The old madam thanked him and left. Watching her go, Evan sighed, "This family... why must things be this way?"
Thinking about their family made Evan reflect on his own. Would he face something similar someday? But right now, his goal was to find his father, heal him if possible, and search for his mother's whereabouts. It seemed a distant hope, but he would never give up.
Just as Evan was lost in thought, the man caught up, seeing Evan alone and shouting, "Kid, I finally found you! Where's my mother?"
"Your mother? You have the nerve to ask?" Evan retorted.
"I'm asking about my mother. What's it to you?" the man said. "If it weren't for your sister, I'd have killed you already," Evan replied.
"My sister? Who are you, really?" the man asked in shock.
"So you're not completely clueless. Now you dare to ask?" Evan snorted coldly.
"Tell me, what happened to my sister? Is she still alive?" the man asked suspiciously.
"What, are you scared?" Evan said coldly.
"Scared? What do you mean scared? I'll deal with you first, then ask questions later," the man snorted.
Suddenly, the man summoned a ball of fire. Seeing it, Evan laughed. "You're challenging me with fire? You're out of your league!"
With a wave of his hand, Evan unleashed an even greater blaze, engulfing the man. The man's screams echoed, and when the fire faded, he was left badly burned.
"You... you!" The man realized he was no match for Evan and could only seek help.
He took out a wooden token and crushed it, then glared at Evan. "You're dead meat now."
"What are you doing?" Evan asked, curious.
"It's our sect's transmission token. Soon, my fellow disciples will arrive. Just wait—once I've trapped you, you won't escape!" the man snorted.
"A sect? I didn't expect you to belong to a sect. I wonder what kind of sect would take someone like you," Evan said disdainfully.
"Fire God Palace! You don't even know Fire God Palace? Idiot!" the man boasted.
"Fire God Palace?" Evan felt the name was familiar. After thinking for a moment, he remembered a woman named Xiao Ying he'd met at a mountain stronghold when he first arrived in the Immortal Realm. She later joined Fire God Palace.
"So that's it—Fire God Palace, famous for fire. But how did they end up recruiting you?" Evan mocked.
"Because my fire attribute is powerful!" the man snorted.
"You? Powerful? That's a joke. Anyway, someone's coming, so I'm done playing with you." Evan smiled, then vanished in a flash of speed.
Someone appeared beside the man.
"Senior brother, you're here!" the man called out.
"Green Junior Brother, what's going on?" the newcomer asked curiously.
"Don't ask. Something happened at home—someone came to cause trouble in the clan. I'm chasing him, but he's too fast and his fire attribute is stronger than mine. I can't beat him," the man explained.
"You couldn't catch him? What's his cultivation?" the newcomer asked.
"Fifth-tier Heavenly-Immortal," the man replied.
"Only Heavenly-Immortal? Green Junior Brother, are you joking?" the newcomer said, incredulous.
"Senior Brother Bai, why would I lie to you? It's true! His fire is even stronger than mine!" the Green Family member insisted.
"Let's go after him and see for ourselves," Senior Brother Bai said.
Colin Green—Lila's brother—nodded. "Alright."
Bai Xin, his senior brother, happened to be passing by and saw Colin Green's message, so he came over.
He hadn't expected to encounter such a remarkable person here. As a fellow sect member, he decided to help Colin Green. Bai Xin's speed was much faster than Colin Green's.
"Immortal Lord-level speed?" Evan realized the person behind him was closing in quickly.