Chapter 2498

"Grandmaster Ouyang, please stop. If you keep talking, I’ll be the first person to choke on my own saliva," Zhu Yanyi said, looking at Ouyang Tianyun with dissatisfaction. She had only made a casual remark, so why had someone suddenly become her ancestor?

Ouyang Tianyun snorted. "I just feel that you’ve been acting a bit spoiled since getting pregnant."

"It can’t be helped. It’s a pregnant woman’s privilege," Zhu Yanyi said, puffing up her chest with pride. "If you have the ability, you can try exercising that privilege too."

Ouyang Tianyun knew she could never win a verbal battle against Zhu Yanyi. So, she just smiled and admitted defeat. "Alright, let’s say it’s my fault."

"It really is your fault," Zhu Yanyi said, looking at her seriously.

Ouyang Tianyun quickly raised his hands. "Okay, okay, it’s my fault. But seriously, you have become quite proud. I think it’s because Uncle Yan spoils you." To avoid revealing Yan Aohan’s true identity, Ouyang Tianyun referred to him as Uncle Yan.

Given Yan Aohan’s friendship with the Immortal Emperor, calling him Uncle Yan was indeed appropriate.

Hearing this, Zhu Yanyi said again, "Being proud is better than being rigid like you. Think about it. In the mortal realm, you are my senior brother. Yet, you have to call my husband Uncle. The hierarchy is a mess. I don’t know how you get used to it."

Ouyang Tianyun laughed heartily. "This kind of thing is normal in the Immortal Realm. Sometimes, due to compatibility, a grandmaster and a grand-disciple become partners. How do they address each other? Usually, they just follow their own lines of respect."

Zhu Yanyi knew Ouyang Tianyun was telling the truth. Partnerships were based on fate, which was often unpredictable. In the cultivation world, everyone followed their own lineage for titles. Over time, people got used to this practice and found it convenient.

"So, living forever isn’t always a good thing," Zhu Yanyi said with a smile.

Indeed, immortality often led to complicated hierarchy issues. Fortunately, Zhu Yanyi was not a rigid person.

"You two are having fun."

As he spoke, another person appeared on the flying vessel.

Zhu Yanyi smiled at the newcomer. "Silver Fox? You’re here. Are you coming to fight with my Fire Flame?"

Fire Flame rarely came out, but his cultivation was now quite good. He could even take human form—a very cute and adorable young man. When Fire Flame first transformed, Yan Aohan had even felt a bit jealous, as Fire Flame was a male fox and looked incredibly charming in human form.

Silver Fox smiled lightly. "I’m here to support you."

Yan Aohan looked at Silver Fox. "It seems you haven’t wasted your efforts these years." Yan Aohan could see that Silver Fox’s cultivation was very stable.

Silver Fox nodded. "I came out this time to gain experience. Staying cooped up in Ice City forever isn’t a solution. Knowing you would pass by, I decided to wait for you here."

"Wait for us, and then appear suddenly? What if you cause me to go into premature labor?" Zhu Yanyi looked at Silver Fox, ready to settle the score.

Silver Fox glanced at Zhu Yanyi’s belly. "Why haven’t you given birth yet?" His tone was full of disdain.

"Obviously. Do you think being a pregnant woman is easy?" Zhu Yanyi looked at Silver Fox with equal disdain. "People who will never be pregnant can’t understand the happiness of pregnancy." She picked up a walnut kernel from a crystal bowl nearby and ate it.

Silver Fox paused and looked at Yan Aohan. "I feel her temper is getting worse. How do you stand it?"

Yan Aohan gave Silver Fox a sidelong glance. "Don’t speak carelessly. If trouble comes from your mouth, don’t blame me."

Silver Fox paused again. "Do you two bully me because you can’t help it?"

"It can’t be helped. There are fewer and fewer people we can bully now. We take whoever we can find," Zhu Yanyi said with a sigh.

Although it was a joking remark, there was a hint of loneliness in it. Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan both knew this. As their cultivation grew higher, fewer people could speak to them as equals. Even if they tried to lower their status and talk nicely, others didn’t always reciprocate. Reality was sometimes that cruel.

Silver Fox understood the desolation in Zhu Yanyi’s words. He was similar. Although his cultivation wasn’t the highest, demons, especially Heavenly Foxes, had a sense of aloofness due to their high status. They were even more aloof than ordinary demon immortals. Thus, true friends were hard to come by.

Silver Fox felt a kinship. That was why he liked to visit Yan Aohan and Zhu Yanyi. From enemies to friends, he had very few people he could connect with. Among these few, Yan Aohan and Zhu Yanyi were the best and most trustworthy.

Yes, trust. Foxes were naturally suspicious and didn’t easily trust anyone. But to Silver Fox, both Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan were rare people he could trust. It was this trust that brought him to them now.

Zhu Yanyi looked at Silver Fox. "By the way, how did you know we were taking this route?"

Silver Fox spoke slowly. "It’s an instinct of our foxes, a talent that human cultivators don’t have."

"Show off," Zhu Yanyi snorted. "It’s just your beastly instinct."

Silver Fox was speechless again. He looked at Yan Aohan. "Is she always this sharp these days?"

"Just get used to it. Medical records say pregnant women’s moods are unpredictable. So, please be tolerant," Yan Aohan said without any apology. His meaning was clear: My wife’s mood swings are due to pregnancy. If you’re uncomfortable, you must tolerate it. Otherwise, if my wife is unhappy, I’ll make you unhappy too.

If anyone else said this, Silver Fox might have argued. But coming from Yan Aohan, what could he say? Besides, Silver Fox had come to ask for a favor. Causing a rift over small talk would be counterproductive.

"Fine. Say whatever you want. I feel like I came here to be abused," Silver Fox said with a helpless expression, which made Zhu Yanyi quite happy.