Heart in Turmoil

That old fellow Jia Xingtian left. In his words, since the patriarchs of the Gale Family and Opa Family had already been killed, there was no need for the rest of their clans to continue existing. He was going to uproot them completely, lest the remnants seek revenge against the Xiao Clan afterward.

It had to be said that old fellow Jia Xingtian truly deserved to be someone who had lived for centuries. He was cunning and shrewd, knowing when to curry favor and when to grovel. He was utterly practiced at it.

In less than half an hour, raging flames rose from the territories belonging to the two families in Wutan City. From far away, one could hear wave after wave of screams coming from within the blaze, countless people letting out dying wails.

An hour later, aside from the towering flames, there was not a single living person left in the two great families. Everyone had been cleanly slaughtered by the City Guard, and even the servants of both families had not been spared.

The struggle for power was this bloody. Either you died or I perished. Failure meant death and the extermination of one's clan; there was no one else to blame.

It could only be said that the two families lacked luck. From the moment they chose to oppose the Xiao Clan, their destruction had already been inevitable. It was only a matter of sooner or later.

The Xiao Clan had suffered a great calamity. Several clansmen had died on the spot, while most of the survivors were wounded. Their most urgent task now was not taking over the two families' territories, but cleaning up the aftermath and arranging for the wounded and disabled as best they could before discussing anything else.

The three elders were now as obedient as quails. They no longer dared to pay lip service to Xiao Zhan's orders while defying him behind his back.

They had finally understood that as long as Xiao Xian remained, Xiao Zhan's position as clan leader would be unshakable. If they still dared covet the position, they would simply be courting death.

Did they not see that even Ling Ying, a Dou Huang Expert, had to listen to Xiao Xian? They were merely Dou Shi, still impossibly far from becoming Dou Huang Experts—let alone compared to Xiao Xian, who was even stronger than a Dou Huang Expert.

What they needed to do now was make amends. Since there was no longer any hope of becoming clan leader, they might as well ingratiate themselves with Xiao Zhan. If he rose to glory, they could at least follow behind and get a share of the benefits.

Having figured this out, the three elders bustled about like lackeys, carrying out Xiao Zhan's orders with meticulous precision. Their attitude was completely different from before. If the three elders had not remained in everyone's sight the entire time, the other members of the Xiao Clan might have thought they had been possessed by demons.

No matter what, after enduring this disaster, the Xiao Clan had gained a blessing in disguise. Not only had they resolved the clan's internal crisis, but they had also brought the three elders to heel. Though their strength had temporarily suffered some losses, they would soon recover.

Once everything had been dealt with, the Xiao Clan members were already exhausted beyond measure. With a wave of his hand, Xiao Zhan told everyone to go rest and leave anything else until tomorrow.

The exhausted crowd felt as though they had been pardoned. They hurried back to their rooms and buried themselves under the covers to sleep.

They were truly too tired. The night had been far too thrilling and perilous, leaving them utterly drained. They desperately needed a good night's sleep to recover their spirits.

Dragging his exhausted body along, Xiao Zhan glanced at the two people still chasing each other around, utterly unaware of the meaning of fatigue. He shook his head with a helpless smile before returning to his room as well.

At this point, only two solitary figures remained in the entire meeting hall. Even Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er had run off with the others.

"Stop!"

Xiao Xian had finally grown tired of this game of cat and mouse. He turned around and hurriedly called out to Yun Yun.

Yun Yun caught her breath before glaring viciously at Xiao Xian. "Just let me catch you. Then I'll make you regret it."

A beauty was a beauty. Even when she was angry, she had a unique charm. Xiao Xian was instantly dumbstruck.

Seeing Xiao Xian staring at her foolishly, Yun Yun felt a surge of pride, though her face showed disgust. "Lecher, what are you staring at? Keep looking, and I'll gouge your eyes out."

"Honestly, isn't being pretty meant for others to look at?" Xiao Xian shuddered and muttered under his breath.

However, he did not dare say it loudly, because he was not sure whether Yun Yun would immediately rush over and chop him into eight pieces if she heard it.

Though he was not afraid of her, Xiao Xian had always prided himself on being a good man. As the saying went, a good man did not fight with women. Generous Lord Xiao should not lower himself to argue with the fairer sex.

"Ahem. Look, you've been chasing me for three hours already. You've vented enough, so how about we call this matter even? We'll each go home. What do you think?" Xiao Xian suggested in a timid tone.

What?

Yun Yun's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief, and ten thousand alpacas stampeded through her heart.

You made it sound so simple. This was a girl's purity—how could it simply be forgotten? Did he think this was a supermarket, where one could come and go as one pleased?

Of course, Yun Yun did not know what a supermarket was, but that was the general idea.

"In your dreams! If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll perish with you!" Yun Yun shouted furiously.

"What explanation do you want? Let's make one thing clear first: taking my life is impossible." Xiao Xian spread his hands and put on a helpless expression.

"You... I..."

Yun Yun was stumped. Before, she had only thought of seeking revenge on Xiao Xian. She had never considered what she would do after finding him.

"Since you haven't thought of anything, how about I make a suggestion? What do you think?" Xiao Xian suddenly moved closer, grinning shamelessly at Yun Yun.

"Stay away from me." Yun Yun looked at him with utter disdain.

"Hehe!" Xiao Xian chuckled smugly. Not only did he not move away, he edged even closer. "Look, I've already ruined your purity. It'll probably be difficult for you to marry anyone else now. I'm not bad-looking myself, so why don't you marry me instead?"

Yun Yun was instantly stunned. She had never encountered such a blunt confession before, and she stood frozen on the spot.

"Y-you... are you proposing to me?" Yun Yun's mind went blank as she asked stupidly.

Poor girl. Although she was a Dou Huang Expert, no one had ever pursued her. Even now, she did not know what love felt like. Caught off guard by such a sudden confession, she immediately lost her composure.

"That's right. If you agree, we can hold the wedding right now," Xiao Xian confirmed without hesitation.

"W-who wants to marry you? Y-you can forget about it!" Yun Yun finally snapped out of it and immediately blushed as she retorted coyly.

The man before her had no sense of romance at all. Did he not know that he should be more subtle when courting a girl? How could he be so direct? At the very least, he should have given her a bouquet of flowers to show his sincerity.

Idiot!

Yun Yun was furious.

"Hmph, just forget about it. I will never marry you." After saying that, Yun Yun was so embarrassed that she wished the ground would swallow her up. Without waiting for Xiao Xian to say another word, she immediately soared into the sky.

She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, Xiao Xian would say something else that made her blush. And then, should she agree... or agree?

"I say, Xiao Yun'er, are you agreeing or not?" Xiao Xian hurriedly shouted toward the sky.

"That depends on your performance." Yun Yun's cheerful voice drifted back.

She was very happy.