Meanwhile, inside the Marquis of Jiayuan Qiao Zhongbang’s study.

  As Qiao Mu’s frigid gaze flitted across Seventh Master Mu and the white-haired elder, she flicked her sleeves and sat down in front of him.

  The white-haired elder behind Seventh Master Mu creased his brows and couldn’t resist reprimanding, “How dare you be so insolent in front of Seventh Master Mu.”


  Even so, Qiao Mu merely swept a freezing gaze over that elder. “My time is limited, you have 10 minutes.”


  “You!” The white-haired elder was incensed, but Seventh Master Mu stopped him from having a fit of anger.

  “Qiaoqiao.” Mu Jingrui looked at her calmly. “I believe that with your intelligence, you should know our purpose in coming today.”


  “I do not know.” Qiao Mu’s voice was particularly even, tinged with a bit of apathy.

  The white-haired elder promptly turned furious. “How could you not know!”


  He then turned to glare at Qiao Zhongbang and Wei Ziqin. “Didn’t we come to an understanding that day? You will tell her the truth on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony.”


  Wei Ziqin covered her face and choked with sobs, “I, I did not know how to tell her.”


  When her mother started sobbing quietly, Qiao Mu’s heart had already sunk into the pits.

  She was even afraid to contemplate why she was in such a panic.

  She stood up and coldly showed them the door. “Since you’re just hemming and hawing and don’t want to speak, then there is no need. Chunying, see the guests out!”


  Mu Jingrui stood up and looked at her frosty back with a sigh. “Qiaoqiao, haven’t you already guessed it. Qiaoqiao, you’ve never doubted your own origins when you have such excellent talisman talent?”


  “Talisman talent is passed down from generation to generation. Those who are not from the Mu Clan rarely can have such outstanding talisman talent.”


  Qiao Mu’s back, which was facing Mu Jingrui and the white-haired elder, had already stiffened completely.

  “Your surname is Mu, and your name is Mu Qiao[1]. You are a child of the Divine Province’s Mu Clan, Mu Qiao!”


  “My surname is Qiao. Having the surname Qiao for one day means having it for a lifetime.” After stating this coldly, Qiao Mu turned around to leave.

  However, the white-haired elder couldn’t hold it in and shot up as he flew into a rage. “You cannot tell good from bad! If you weren’t from the Mu Clan, do you think you would command such excellent talisman talent? Would you be able to break through to become an advanced-level talisman practitioner at such a young age? That is all because you inherited your birth father’s talisman talent. You……”


  Qiao Mu abruptly turned around. This was the first time Mu Jingrui beheld such a resolute harshness from the little lady’s face.

  “My talent never had anything to do with your Mu Clan.” She was certain that her talisman talent had stemmed from the Golden Talisman Jade Tome.

  Although she didn’t remember how it was stored in her conscious pool, she was absolutely positive that this matter had nothing at all to do with the Mu Clan of the Divine Province.

  On the side, Mu Jingrui looked at her with a complicated gaze. “Qiaoqiao, we can understand that you are unable to accept it at this moment. But this is indeed the truth.”


  “You are the child that the Divine Province’s Mu Clan has lost touch with for many years.” He took out a jade pendant that hung from a red string. “Your foster mother has also kept the other half of this jade pendant. Putting them together is sufficient to prove your identity.”


  Qiao Mu looked expressionlessly at Mu Jingrui without any ripple in her dead eyes.

  It made his heart quiver and his body chilly all of a sudden.

  This child was truly too cold. This wasn’t the gaze directed toward family; this was obviously the gaze directed toward a driveling foe.

  [1] The surname ‘Mu’ is different from the character in ‘Qiao Mu.’ The ‘Qiao’ character is the same in both names.