Cautiously averting his gaze from his angered son, Zhu Zhang focused on the interrogation, trying to ease the pair into a conversation. "Describe the beginning to the end of everything that happened between you and senior disciples."

Li Meirong reluctantly explained, for the third time, all that had transpired along her journey, including her encounter with Sheng Jing Wu, the strange obsession he had for her during the last few years, her meeting with Chou in the forest and the seniors requesting her assistance in finding a herb. She avoided mentioning anything about falling into the volcano, the dimension, or Feng Huang. Instead, she told Grandmaster Zhu Zhang that Sheng Jing Wu disappeared after she found Snowball near the volcano.

Bai Qingyue's face blackened, the more he heard her speak, the more he raged. He had to find the appropriate time to get rid of that Sheng Jing Wu person.

He regretted not wringing that ugly man's neck!

Zhu Zhang stayed silent until Li Meirong finished speaking and said, "And your aura, how did you obtain it?"

Li Meirong's face paled as she remembered the way Grandmaster Zhu Zhang had asked her the very same question all those years ago, causing her legs to quiver.

Bai Qingyue's ears twitched while he inspected Li Meirong's subtle reactions.

"I-I told you last time, I really don't know. I just have it somehow. I have no idea about this aura you speak of." Li Meirong answered quietly.

Zhu Zhang contemplated her words, if she really didn't know anything about her aura, it could only mean that the Foxfire was placed on her involuntarily. Eyeing his son and seeing him blink innocently, Zhu Zhang knew that he was purposefully hiding information from the girl.

He decided to play along.

"Since you were only defending yourself, then the fault cannot be sided with you. I hereby clear you of all charges." He said casually as if her verdict didn't matter to him one way or another.

Li Meirong's eyes widened in surprise. That was it?! Now she is innocent?? She wasn't certain of it before but she was now sure, her Grandmaster is mad!

She had no doubt that he was going to continue to interrogate her until she bled. Li Meirong clenched her fists under her sleeves. After the emotional rollercoaster she's gone through in the last hour, his abrupt conclusion of the case was stupefying.

Before she had the opportunity to speak, Zhu Zhang already fished out a teleportation stone from his sleeve and handed the small blue pebble to Li Meirong.

"I heard your skills in brewing tea are most excellent, why don't you go back and fetch me a cup of tea before we continue our discussion?" Zhu Zhang asked in a tone filled with unexpected fondness.

It was difficult to fathom what thoughts passed through her crazy Grandmaster's mind, he changed his behaviour all too rapidly. Zhu Zhang's pleasant way of speaking to her now made her even more alarmed.

Nevertheless, serving Grandmasters with meals and beverages was within her job description, so perhaps she was just overthinking the issue at hand. Although, this was the first time she was given a teleportation stone simply to hand in drinks. Those stones cost a small fortune, they weren't often used for such casual purposes.

Li Meirong nodded her head and said, "I'll be right back."

She hugged Snowball and raised the stone in preparation.

The Grandmaster immediately rose from his seat and said, "No need to trouble yourself with the fox, since you will be back right away, just leave him here."

"No, I don't think so." Li Meirong didn't leave any room for disagreement.

She felt Snowball's furry paw tap on her arm before he said, "It's alright, I'll stay put. You come right back, if anything happens, I will let you know." He spoke in an extremely cute manner, eliciting a positive response to any of his demands.

Li Meirong felt ill at ease leaving her precious bundle with Zhu Zhang, but she was given the teleportation stone, which meant she could instantly return should anything happen and was close enough to Snowball for him to communicate with her in case of danger.

"I'll be right back." She stared at Zhu Zhang as she said, silently warning him.

Bai Qingyue saw her fade away as the stone teleported her out, wiggling his little fingers as he waved goodbye.

An uncomfortable silence lingered in the exquisitely crafted chamber. Bai Qingyue was perched comfortably on the chair Li Meirong sat on moments ago as he nonchalantly licked his paw. His pupils turned to slits and the air around him turned freezing chill.

Feeling at a loss for words, Zhu Zhang was clueless as to how to begin conversing with his newly discovered, awfully displeased son.

He chose to delve into the irrefutable facts.

"You're the Bai clan Sovereign Lord now…?" Zhu Zhang asked, leaving the end of the sentence a lingering question.

"Naturally." Replied Bai Qingyue, utterly unperturbed, meanwhile, Zhu Zhang felt like he needed a cold shower!

It was time to let out the truth. Zhu Zhang tapped his fingers repeatedly on the wooden table in front of him as he told his boy, "I am Bai Zhang. As a matter of fact, I am-"

"My parent."

Zhu Zhang held back his words as Bai Qingyue cut through his sentence.

"Y-you knew?" He ended up stammering as he asked.

"Obviously, I'm aware of everyone in my Bai family's whereabouts except yours and your scent already gave you away, not to mention the poorly made mask you put on. Any competent person with a discerning sight would be able to see through your disguise."

There were so many words to be said between them, but now that they have finally met, where would either of them start?

As a person grows older, it becomes harder for them to admit their mistakes, perhaps even more so with gods. Living for eons, having phenomenal powers and being part of a prestigious elite clan made Zhu Zhang, better known as Bai Zhang abase himself very few times in his life.

What made it all worse was the complete lack of emotion from his child. He could deal with anger, even hatred, but the aloofness he was met with only left him remorseful.

"I have wronged you for leaving the clan but I have my own reasons for doing so. I am aware there is no excuse for it." His tone grew heavier as he continued," There was a...slight misunderstanding between Li Meirong and I. At first I jumped to conclusions and thought she harmed one of the Bai Foxes, absorbing their magic as her own, so I want to offer my apologies."

For the first time in his life, Bai Zhang apologized.

Bai Qingyue scoffed, flashing his small fangs as a growl of disdain escaped him.

Bai Zhang, his father, deserted his sacred duties as leader, let his wife go mad, accused Li Meirong of murder and now he though a simple apology would wipe the slate clean…

"I'm afraid it will not be so simple to let bygones be bygones. First, tell me why does my woman fear you so badly? She shivered the moment you walked into the hall!"