Chapter 209: Grandmaster

When Yun Miao uttered those words, whether it was Yang Chen, Hui Lin, or Lin Zhiguo, all three of them were stunned, completely dumbfounded.

The atmosphere in the tent was frozen for a moment, and no one spoke.

After a long while, Yang Chen was the first to come to his senses. He rubbed his forehead and, trying to gauge the truth of the statement, said, "Reverend, you don't need to joke like that, we have a low sense of humor."

Yun Miao said solemnly, "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"Yun Er, Yang Chen is already married to Ruoxi, I've told you before!" Lin Zhiguo said firmly.

Yun Miao replied with a smile that was not quite a smile, "So what if they're married? It's just a piece of paper. They are together only because that girl listens to her grandmother and follows the rules of the Lin family. Their marriage has no emotional foundation whatsoever."

Hui Lin's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and urgency. She glared at Yang Chen and pleaded with Reverend Yun Miao, "Grandma, how can you say that? He's already married. How can I marry him? And besides, this is the first time I've met him! You said Yang Chen and his wife have no emotional foundation. How am I any different from them? I'm even less than his current wife!"

Hearing Hui Lin's words, Yun Miao unexpectedly smiled with joy and turned to Yang Chen, asking, "Did you hear that? Hui Lin said she's only met you for the first time and there's no emotional foundation."

Yang Chen didn't understand what this meant and could only nod.

"Don't you understand?" Yun Miao said displeased.

Yang Chen smiled bitterly, "What can I understand?"

"It seems you don't understand girls' thoughts well enough. Hui Lin didn't say she doesn't like you. She just said it's the first time she's met you and there's not enough emotional depth. This indicates that the little girl is still thinking about meeting more in the future and seeing how things develop," Reverend Yun Miao explained.

Not only Yang Chen, even Hui Lin was dumbfounded. A straightforward refusal turned into an ambiguous signal with endless implications, all because of Reverend Yun Miao's elaboration!

"Grandma, it's not like that," Hui Lin was on the verge of tears.

Lin Zhiguo's face turned grim. "Yun Er, why would you do this? Although Ruoxi and Hui Lin have different parents, they are both my granddaughters! They are blood-related sisters. Are you trying to make them stand on opposite sides for the sake of one man?!"

"Exactly!" Reverend Yun Miao looked at Lin Zhiguo with anger in her eyes. "I was blind back then, I misjudged you. It was because of you that my flesh and blood, along with my daughter-in-law, died in battle overseas, without a trace left! If it weren't for Hui Lin being with me all this time, where would she be now? Probably dispatched to god-knows-where by you! I won't let Hui Lin suffer the same fate as her parents. Now that Senior Song is in heaven, and Yang Chen has appeared before me, I won't hand over my granddaughter's happiness to that woman's granddaughter!"

Lin Zhiguo sighed deeply in pain. "It's my fault, the sin I have wrought. Is this heaven's way of punishing me?"

Hui Lin, hearing Yun Miao and Lin Zhiguo's exchange, showed a shocked expression, then grabbed Yun Miao's sleeve, sobbing, "Grandma, you said my mom and dad, they... they were..."

Yun Miao lovingly stroked Hui Lin's smooth cheek, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "Hui Lin, Grandma didn't tell you all this because I was afraid you couldn't bear it. But today, I can't hide it anymore. You're grown up now and deserve to know about your past and move forward in your life. Grandma will tell you the whole story in front of you and Yang Chen, so you can see for yourself what kind of person your so-called 'grandfather' is."

With that, Yun Miao cast a cold glance at Lin Zhiguo and began recounting the events of the past.

More than forty years ago, Yun Miao and Song Tianxing were both outstanding descendants of prestigious families in Shu Mountain, while Lin Zhiguo was a military giant, a hero of the founding generation after the revolution, and the pride of the Lin family.

After being recruited into the Yan Huang Iron Brigade, the three became elite comrades-in-arms through layers of selection and became the most elite members of the Dragon Group. During numerous missions, Yun Miao fell in love with Lin Zhiguo.

However, Song Tianxing, who had secretly admired and cared for Yun Miao, began to feel tormented. But out of love and concern for his comrades-in-arms and junior sister, he silently blessed them.

Because Yun Miao came from a prestigious family, the elders of the Lin family supported her relationship with Lin Zhiguo. Not to mention Yun Miao's beauty, coupled with the many life and death moments they experienced together, their relationship progressed rapidly.

But at that time, during a mission in the Kingdom of Fa, where Lin Zhiguo was involved, they were ambushed. Severely injured, he took refuge in the apartment of a female exchange student.

The female exchange student, though from a completely different world than Yun Miao, shared one thing in common with her—they were both beautiful.

The month Lin Zhiguo spent under the care of the female exchange student made him unable to forget her. He even decided that upon returning to the country, he would tell the elders of the Lin family that he intended to marry the female exchange student.

But things don't always go as planned. The female exchange student came from an ordinary merchant family background, and even in her grandfather's generation, there were individuals with reactionary tendencies. Such a woman was not even considered by the Lin family, who prided themselves on their noble bloodline and revolutionary heritage.

For the heir of the Lin family, and the designated future leader of the Yan Huang Iron Brigade, the choice between these two great temptations and choosing that woman was a dismal one, and Lin Zhiguo chose the former.

In the end, Lin Zhiguo married Yun Miao, but his heart always lingered on that female exchange student. Even after marriage, he met her clandestinely multiple times in Zhonghai.

This was also why Lin Ruoxi's grandmother remained unmarried for life, yet had a son and a daughter-in-law, and had a granddaughter like Lin Ruoxi.

When Lin Ruoxi's grandmother became pregnant, Lin Zhiguo had to reveal the fact that he was already married. It was only then that Yun Miao, through various channels, learned why Lin Zhiguo was no longer as affectionate towards her as before.

Yun Miao was very upset upon discovering Lin Zhiguo's betrayal. She once went to Song Tianxing and cried out her grievances, but when Song Tianxing angrily wanted to kill Lin Zhiguo, Yun Miao stopped him.

It was only then that Song Tianxing realized that no matter how hard he tried, Yun Miao's heart belonged only to Lin Zhiguo. Even though Lin Zhiguo had done such despicable things, Yun Miao still considered him her husband and Song Tianxing her elder brother.

Since then, Song Tianxing disappeared without a word. Yun Miao and Lin Zhiguo, though saddened, could do nothing.

As time passed, Yun Miao found that her attempts to win back Lin Zhiguo's heart were becoming increasingly unrealistic. Lin Zhiguo secretly continued to protect the family business of that woman's family, allowing them to thrive and making some of the old relics of the Lin family hesitant to confront them. Meanwhile, the gap between Lin Zhiguo and her grew larger.

Until more than twenty years later, a year after Yun Miao and Lin Zhiguo's only son's wedding, and just three months after the birth of their granddaughter Lin Hui, now Hui Lin, Lin Zhiguo dispatched his son and daughter-in-law, who were also in the Dragon Group, to the Kashmir region to complete an assassination mission.

Lin Zhiguo was known for his selflessness, so members of the Lin family were often at the forefront of the battlefront.

But that time, this young couple from the Lin family never returned.

Afterwards, the once black-haired Yun Miao was overwhelmed with grief. Her dissatisfaction and resentment towards Lin Zhiguo over the years finally erupted in full force after losing her son and daughter-in-law.

Lin Zhiguo knew he was in the wrong and could only silently endure it. Underneath his despondency, Yun Miao resolutely took her granddaughter, Lin Hui, back to Shu Mountain, and had her granddaughter change her name to Hui Lin. From childhood to adulthood, they addressed each other as master and disciple when they were outside.

In these twenty-plus years, although Lin Zhiguo occasionally went to the mountains to visit them, Hui Lin knew that this man was her grandfather, but Yun Miao basically never saw him again, always secluded in meditation whenever he came.

It was precisely these many years of seclusion that made Yun Miao gradually miss the goodness of Song Tianxing in the past, and the many debts she owed to him.

Unfortunately, after twenty years of fleeting time, even if she wanted to apologize, it was already too late.

As Yun Miao's master's narration faded, Yang Chen and Hui Lin in the room were both stunned and entranced. Yang Chen finally understood why Lin Ruoxi hated Lin Zhiguo so much. From a man's perspective, Yang Chen also looked down on Lin Zhiguo. No matter how much he had done for the country, he truly did not deserve to face these two women who had once loved him deeply. Of course, because of consideration for the family's reputation, he had always provided some help in secret in their career development, but he remained indifferent during his granddaughter's growth. This was indeed too unfair for Lin Ruoxi.

As for Hui Lin, the fact that her parents' deaths were indirectly caused by her grandfather was too painful. Moreover, her grandfather had always liked another woman. For Hui Lin, who had followed her grandmother since childhood and regarded her as the most cherished family member, it was enough to make her hate Lin Zhiguo!

"Hui Lin, Grandma wants you to marry Yang Chen, not just to repay the guilt towards Brother Song. You saw today that Yang Chen's talent and strength are unmatched by most young people in the world. Moreover, what's important is that he doesn't have the arrogance and conceit typical of young people today. Although he can be eloquent, it's precisely because of this that he won't mistreat a woman he genuinely likes," Yun Miao earnestly explained.

Yang Chen felt a bit amused. It seemed that this master was indeed insightful; she had mentioned just one percent of all his good points!

Blushing, Hui Lin muttered, "Grandma, I know you're doing this for my own good, but he's already married. I can't possibly ask him to divorce, and besides, he may not even like me." As she spoke, Hui Lin stole a glance at Yang Chen.

Yun Miao smiled and turned to ask, "Yang Chen, have you had a wedding with Lin Ruoxi?"

"Uh, no," Yang Chen scratched his nose and honestly replied.

"Hmph," Yun Miao sneered, "I knew it. How could such a marriage be made public? It means that only a handful of people know about your marriage. In that case, Hui Lin and I can compete fairly. You don't think that Hui Lin is inferior to Lin Ruoxi, do you?"

Glancing at Lin Zhiguo, who was lost in thought and didn't seem to intend to speak, Yang Chen smiled slyly, "Of course not. Hui Lin is very kind, very pure, and very beautiful. I think any normal man would like her."

Yun Miao nodded in satisfaction and said to the now bashful Hui Lin, "Hui Lin, listen, he mentioned your kindness and purity first before mentioning your beauty. It shows that he values your inner qualities more. What else do you have to worry about?"

Huh?! This works?!

This time, Yang Chen felt like crying. Yun Miao's martial arts might not be at the grandmaster level, but her matchmaking skills were definitely of grandmaster level!