Reborn as a Hatrack in the Mystical Land-Chapter 724 - 181: Long Ao Reveals Himself

An hour ago.

Within the National Guardian General Residence, Long Rui, who had been imprisoned for many days, appeared listless and leaned against the bedstead.

The maid opened the window for her. In the late autumn season, the flowers and trees outside the window had begun to wither.

After causing a fuss and shedding tears, ever since Long Jiuzun’s death, Long Rui had been confined by Long Fang.

They had set up a multitude of Arrays outside her room and threatened her with the life of Nurse Yu, who had raised her since she was a child, forcing her not to leave the Mansion on her own accord.

Long Rui had a strong personality, but her heart was as soft as tofu. She had known loneliness since childhood; besides Long Ao, only Nurse Yu had been closest and dearest to her.

About the matters of Long Fang and his son’s betrothal rejection, she had learned it all from the maid; even the scandalous rumors spreading throughout Wo Hua Imperial City these past days regarding her loss of chastity were well known to her.

In response to this, Long Rui exhibited an unusual calmness.

Outside the room, the Dark Array suddenly overflowed with Dark Power, as if it had been intruded upon.

Long Rui stood up in alarm, her eyes wide open as she bit her lips fiercely, almost drawing blood. Could it be him? Had he come?

The girl’s thoughts were conflicted; she deeply hoped that the person breaking through the Array was indeed Yue Minzhi, yet she also hoped it wasn’t him. She was fearful that Yue Minzhi might get injured by the furious Long Fang.

The guards in charge of surveillance within the Mansion also hurried over upon hearing the commotion, and even Long Fang, who had returned from the morning court, came swinging his weapon, killing his way through.

"Bang---"

A loud crash; the multiple Dark Arrays outside Long Rui’s room shattered into pieces, and a tall figure gradually became clear.

"Yue Minzhi, how dare you intrude into the General Mansion," Long Fang, wielding a tension-filled Sea Suppressing Thirteen Lang Bow, cursed at the figure emerging from the Dark Array.

"Insolence," came a thunderous rebuke from within the Array, and upon hearing that voice, Long Fang on the outside turned pale with shock.

The numbness on Long Rui’s face within the room was replaced by a mix of sorrow and joy, and all parties knelt down in unison.

"Father, grandfather, master, General."

Inside the Array, the figure that was revealed was but the phantasmal body of Long Ao.

Although Long Ao was trapped in the Middle City of the Four Symbols Chess, he was among the first to receive the news of Long Jiuzun’s demise.

Long Ao held Long Jiuzun in high regard, and in his earlier years, when Long Jiuzun reached adulthood at the age of sixteen, Long Ao personally placed his ancestral teachings and used treasures into a Storage Ring called "Fang Yuan."

On "Fang Yuan," there was also a Spiritual Imprint left by Long Ao.

After Long Jiuzun’s death, that imprint of spiritual consciousness immediately feedback to Long Ao. Regretfully, Long Ao and Long Jiuzun were separated by a thousand li, and through that Spiritual Imprint, he could only vaguely know that Long Jiuzun was killed in an ambush, but he was clueless whether it was by humans or a Sea Beast.

In the midst of his grief, Long Ao also received a decree sent from Princess Long Xue, informing him about the matters of the Long Family and Duke Mansion.

His love for Long Jiuzun was due to his talent, but his love for Long Rui was because she greatly resembled his dearly departed mother.

Although Long Ao was born into the Royal Family Shrine of the Dragon War Empire, he was neglected in his early years because his father was a concubine-born son, and was raised solely by his mother.

After achieving success and fame, he lamented that his children did not stay by his side to be nurtured. Having later welcomed his granddaughter, Long Rui, and seeing she resembled her mother in both appearance and temper, he showed her great affection. The people of General Mansion took advantage of his absence to give Long Rui a hard time, unbeknownst to him.

Seeing his progeny and grandchildren huddled on the ground, not even daring to breathe loudly, and then looking at Long Rui, who had become thinner than a wilted flower after a few months’ absence, Long Ao could hardly contain his anger and snorted, "Do you still have any regard for me as your father, as your grandfather? Such significant things happened in the mansion, and not one of you told me. In the end, it was Princess Long Xue herself who had to write and inform me. Do you wish for one Jiuzun’s death not to be enough, and now you want to drive Ruru to her death as well?"

Currently at a critical juncture in his cultivation, Long Ao had to expend a great deal of Yuan Qi to create a Primordial Spirit avatar, which was quite the drain on him, especially since the General Mansion was now in such disarray, causing him much concern.

"Grandfather, Ruru will not marry those degenerate sons of nobility. If they push me any further, on the day of the wedding, I will destroy my Dantian and take my life in front of the ancestral shrine," Long Rui said upon seeing Long Ao, not caring whether he was a Primordial Spirit avatar or not. Months of pent-up grievances instantly turned into tears, and she sobbed unabashedly.

Her declaration shocked everyone, including Long Fang and the others; they had not expected Long Rui to be so stubborn.

"Don’t speak such foolish words again. Since Grandfather is back, I will make decisions on your behalf. Ruru, I have to ask you, are the rumors spreading in the Imperial City about you and that Yue Family boy true?" Long Ao scolded with a serious face, giving Long Fang, who was kneeling on the grounds, an ominous glare.

Frightened, the latter shrank his neck and did not dare to let out even a breath.

At this question, Long Rui’s face turned instantly flushed with embarrassment, her cheeks reddening as though they were dyed with bright red cloth. After a moment’s thought, she stomped her foot, "It’s true, we have already become husband and wife in deed."

Long Rui was bold, knowing that her grandfather had come to ensure justice for her. Since there were all sorts of rumors outside, she decided to break the pot by admitting it outright.

"Young Miss, what you said is..." Long Fang and the others almost fainted upon hearing her words.

"This Yue Minzhi, he took advantage of my granddaughter and kept quiet about it. Just you wait, I am going to the Duke Mansion right now to settle this matter with him," Long Ao, with fire bristling in his beard and eyes, saw his Primordial Spirit avatar vanish in an instant.

With her head bowed, Long Rui felt ashamed of her bold words, not expecting Long Ao to confront Yue Minzhi at Duke Mansion. She was so alarmed that she wanted to stop Long Ao.

But what kind of person was Long Ao? Above the Dan Realm, apart from that formidable personage in the All Gods Temple, he likely had no equals in the world. Even his Primordial Spirit avatar moved like the wind, beyond Long Rui’s ability to stop.

At this moment, Long Rui could only hope that Yue Minzhi would be careful and not provoke Long Ao further.

Having left the General Mansion, Long Ao went straight to the Duke Mansion.

His Primordial Spirit’s spiritual power was indeed very strong; with a single sweep, he could see through the entire Duke Mansion.

Upon his observation, he discovered Yue Minzhi was in Yue Jinghua’s courtyard, and immediately set out to confront him.

However, at that moment, Yue Minzhi had just left, and the only one in the courtyard was Yue Jinghua tending to the Shura Fire Roses.

When Long Ao probed with his Divine Sense, it was detected by Yue Jinghua.

Feeling the overwhelming wave of Dark Power, Yue Jinghua immediately became vigilant, "Who goes there, daring to intrude upon the Duke Mansion without permission?"

Long Ao was there to find Yue Minzhi and had no interest in tangling with a junior like Yue Jinghua. He ignored her and released his Spiritual Sense, attempting to find out where Yue Minzhi had gone after leaving the courtyard.

"General Long Ao, I respect you as an elder, but such brazen prying into another’s residence seems unbecoming of one with your stature," Yue Jinghua identified the intruder’s identity from the immense and seemingly endless spiritual power. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Even if it was Long Ao, what of it? Anyone who dared to disrespect the Duke Mansion deserved a lesson.