“Behave yourself later, or I’ll smack you again!” Wang Lan’s tone became increasingly stern.

Ning Ji felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.

He couldn’t help but recall the past.

In their childhood, Ning Zhuo would play so much that he forgot to eat dinner, returning home late to find only leftovers on the table.

“Who told you to come back so late? Hehe, you’re going to be in trouble,” Ning Ji would taunt from his seat, having already eaten his fill.

Ning Zhuo would stick out his tongue, sit down, and reach for the food with his chopsticks.

Wang Lan would smack his hand with her own chopsticks, knocking his utensil to the ground.

“No manners!”

Wang Lan’s expression was cold.

“There’s dirt under your fingernails. Have you forgotten the rules I taught you? Go wash your hands.”

“Yes!”

Ning Zhuo’s face would pale. He quickly nodded, left the stool, and hurried out to wash his hands, clutching his injured hand.

That delay caused him to miss the meal entirely when the bell rang.

“It’s time! Clear the table. Oh dear, Azhuo won’t get any food,” Ning Ji would clap his hands with glee.

“Master?”

Wang Lan would look at Ning Ze with hesitation.

Ning Ze’s face was impassive as he slowly rose from his seat and left, “Rules are rules, they cannot be bent!”

“Yes, Master!” Wang Lan would reply, head lowered.

Ning Zhuo stepped back into the dining hall.

The child who once clutched his reddened hand, rushing off to wash, seemed to have transformed into a sixteen-year-old youth in the blink of an eye.

He wore white robes, his gaze serene, as he walked in.

Ning Ji and Wang Lan both felt a sense of the fleeting nature of time.

Wang Lan composed herself, immediately stood up, put on a wide smile, and beckoned, “Little Zhuo, you’re here! Quick, we were just waiting for you to start eating.”

Ning Zhuo bowed politely, “Aunt.”

Then he looked at Ning Ji and smiled slightly, “Cousin.”

Ning Ji nodded, his expression complex.

Wang Lan said, “Oh, you’re still so polite, child. No need to bow. We don’t have so many rules in our house. Come, sit, sit!”

Wang Lan led Ning Zhuo to sit next to her.

However, she did not sit in the head seat.

The head seat at the round table was empty, reserved for Ning Ze.

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo understood the reason for Wang Lan’s warm welcome.

Sure enough, not long into the meal, Wang Lan brought up Ning Ze, “Little Zhuo, your uncle was wrong in this matter, secretly keeping what was rightfully yours.”

“You’re a good, kind child, otherwise you wouldn’t have willingly forgiven your uncle.

“Your father’s brother is your uncle. We are true family.”

As she spoke these words, Wang Lan felt extremely stifled, concealing her anger and resentment.

She knew very well that it was all fabricated.

But since Ning Xiaoren had made the arrangement, Ning Ze had no choice but to cooperate.

Wang Lan’s only option was to follow her husband’s lead.

Ning Zhuo said, “Aunt, you’re right. The people closest to me in this world are still you.”

“To be honest, I was very angry when I first heard the news.”

“But as time passed, I became more understanding. After all, he is my uncle, and you are my closest relatives.

“As long as you return the embezzled money and resources.”

*Embezzled? When did we ever embezzle anything? That Ning Xiaoren is a complete villain; you believe everything he says?* Wang Lan roared inwardly, her anger twisting her smile into a grimace.

She suppressed her rage, “Yes, we will return it, but it has to be done bit by bit. After all, the amount is large, and we can’t come up with it all at once.”

“I understand completely. That’s perfectly acceptable,” Ning Zhuo nodded.

As he spoke, he observed Ning Ji and Wang Lan.

The nascent form of his divine ability was already subtly being employed.

Unlike before, the lotus seed of his Thread of Fate ability had grown a segment of root.

The nascent ability allowed him to realize that he could now conceal its fluctuations, launching it silently.

As long as the target wasn’t too powerful, he could suppress its aura to the extreme, making it undetectable.

The reason Ning Zhuo had chosen to stay at his uncle’s house was not only to escape the surveillance in Ning Xiaoren’s estate, but also to test his divine ability.

The Thread of Fate ability grew stronger with deeper understanding of its targets.

In this world, Ning Ze’s family was the one Ning Zhuo knew best.

After all, over a decade of living together was no joke.

In Ning Zhuo’s vision, a Thread of Fate gradually formed above Ning Ji’s head.

Unlike the Threads of Fate used during the soul extraction in the Lava Immortal Palace, the one Ning Zhuo controlled was very thin and semi-transparent.

Soon, a Thread of Fate also appeared above Wang Lan’s head.

Neither mother nor son noticed anything.

Ning Zhuo attempted to manipulate them.

Ning Ji suddenly grabbed his neck, making cracking sounds.

“What’s wrong?” Wang Lan was about to speak to Ning Zhuo when Ning Ji’s sudden outburst interrupted her.

Ning Ji’s face flushed red as he said, “I ate fish, and a fish bone got stuck in my throat!”

Wang Lan snorted and ignored him.

She continued, “Little Zhuo, look, your uncle has been in the private prison for so many days. You know what the conditions are like there. It’s no place for a human being.”

“I’ve tried to request an audience with the young clan leader, but he won’t see us.

“Little Zhuo, I just want you—cough, cough, cough!”

Wang Lan suddenly started coughing.

Ning Zhuo quickly handed her a cup, “Aunt, take your time, don’t get so worked up!”

Wang Lan thanked him, took the cup, and drank some water.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

This time, her coughing was even worse.

Because she had choked on the water.

“You must be laughing at me! Little Zhuo!”

It took Wang Lan a long time to recover. All the emotions she had built up were gone.

Of course, Ning Zhuo wouldn’t tell her that her reactions were the result of his testing his divine ability.

Wang Lan pondered for a moment, then opened her mouth. Before she could say much, Ning Ji grabbed his neck again, opened his mouth wide, and made strange noises.

“What’s wrong with you again?” Wang Lan frowned.

Ning Ji said pitifully, “I, I got another fish bone stuck in my throat.”

“You’re so old, and you can’t even eat a fish properly. You’re something else,” Wang Lan glared at Ning Ji.

Ning Ji quickly lowered his head, pretending to be obedient and accept the scolding.

Wang Lan criticized him for a few sentences, and Ning Ji’s face became increasingly red, making him restless.

“What’s wrong with you now?”

Wang Lan demanded.

“Mother, I need to relieve myself!” Ning Ji said. The urgent need to urinate made him wish he could resolve it immediately.

“Go, hurry!”

Wang Lan couldn’t bear to look at Ning Ji any longer.

Ning Ji immediately got up and quickly walked out of the dining hall.

His posture was awkward, and as he stepped through the door, he accidentally farted.

Ning Zhuo manipulated the Thread of Fate, causing Ning Ji to trip over his own left foot. Having only taken a few steps past the threshold, he fell headfirst to the ground.

Wang Lan glared, about to shout, but she choked on her own saliva and coughed for a long time.

Ning Zhuo smiled slightly, stopping Wang Lan from continuing, “Aunt, I think I know what you wanted to say.”

“Don’t worry, I will beg the young clan leader for leniency.”

“I will try to get my uncle released as soon as possible.”

Hearing these words, Wang Lan clapped her thigh in excitement, “Oh, Little Zhuo, you’re such a good child, you’re so wonderful!”

“Aunt thanks you, thank you so much!”

Ning Zhuo said, “Let’s eat first!”

Wang Lan proactively used serving chopsticks to put food on Ning Zhuo’s plate.

But halfway through, the food fell onto the table.

Wang Lan was embarrassed.

“Aunt, there’s no need for you to do these things. I can do it myself.”

Ning Zhuo used his own chopsticks, picking out a fish eye and putting it in his mouth.

It was only a small taste, but Ning Zhuo was already deeply fascinated by the sensation.

The Thread of Fate, as long as it was used, as long as someone was touched by it, a part of their cultivation and actions would be controlled.

Take Ning Zhuo’s recent experiment. Wang Lan and Ning Ji had both made small movements and made multiple mistakes.

*This feeling, this feeling is truly wonderful!*

As if everything could be easily influenced by him, as if everything was within his control.

Ning Zhuo was deeply infatuated with it.

“How is it?”

Wang Lan asked with concern, “I made this fish myself.”

Ning Zhuo chewed the fish eyeball unhurriedly, nodding, his pupils gleaming with a slight cold light, and sincerely praised, “This taste is truly excellent.”

End of chapter.