Midnight Conspiracy

She truly had never expected that Xiao Yan, who had once relied on brute force to make his way through the world, would learn such scheming after several months under her influence.

Logically, that should not have been his personality.

After considering it carefully, the only possible reason was that his cultivation was currently insufficient, leaving him no choice but to rely on strategy and planning to win.

If he possessed strength capable of contending with those Alchemists, Hun Ruoruo was certain Xiao Yan would not spend so much effort on people like them.

With that thought in mind, Hun Ruoruo's eyes shifted as she asked casually, "Third Young Master, if you wish, I can help with this."

By now, she had basically stopped hesitating whenever she helped Xiao Yan. She felt that lending a small hand in a matter like this would not be a problem.

Avoiding those cockroaches from the Ancient Clan was merely because they were troublesome; it did not mean she truly feared them.

Yet to her surprise, he refused—

"I've already accepted too much of your help during this time. I'll handle what lies ahead myself."

A shadow passed over Xiao Yan's face as he said slowly, "I'm far too weak right now. Once this is over, I'll have to accelerate my cultivation progress again."

Now that she knew what he wanted, Hun Ruoruo did not ask further. In any case, the Jia Lie Family would never be able to stir up any trouble in her hands.

Since Xiao Yan wanted to settle it himself, that saved her the trouble of wasting her effort.

After their brief exchange, Xiao Yan left the Jia Lie Family alone. Taking advantage of the fact that the Disguise Dou Technique had not yet worn off, he hurried back to the Xiao Family and headed straight for the Patriarch's residence.

The Xiao Family was destined not to have a peaceful night.

"Third Elder, Third Elder!"

A hurried yet cautious voice rang out, startling awake the old man who had been sleeping soundly after days of exhaustion. He rubbed his eyes, glanced at the pitch-black window, and immediately flew into a rage.

"Who is it? Have you gone mad?"

"Third Elder, the Patriarch summons you." The person outside spoke with a slight tremble in his voice, clearly deeply dissatisfied with this miserable assignment.

Coming in the middle of the night to drag someone out of bed to work, and that someone being the notoriously hot-tempered Third Elder—he truly could not have been more unlucky.

Sure enough, the Third Elder was ablaze with fury as he shouted toward the outside, "What kind of madness has Xiao Zhan gotten into? Does he not even know what hour it is?"

Though he said that, the Third Elder instinctively sensed that something was wrong. Given Xiao Zhan's usual steadiness, he would hardly act without reason.

Half angry and half suspicious, he could only throw a robe over himself, shove the door open with a smack, and stare coldly at the attendant outside.

"Are you sure this order came directly from the Clan Leader?"

"Third Elder, how would this lowly one dare falsely relay the Patriarch's orders? He said this matter is of great importance and must be resolved before sunrise."

"How strange. Lead the way!"

"Yes!"

Following the attendant ahead, the Third Elder wore an extremely unpleasant expression.

From the sound of it, Xiao Zhan seemed to intend to make these old men stay up all night.

How peculiar.

He crossed the paths running through the residential district, and after turning down another road, he arrived at the Patriarch's residence. Only a few candles seemed to be lit inside, leaving the place dark and silent from outside.

As he slowly entered the Patriarch's residence, the Third Elder swept his gaze over those continually arriving, and shock could not help flashing through his heart—

Including himself, who had just arrived, all Three Elders of the Xiao Family were present. Beyond that, there was also a small number of highly ranked Xiao Family elders with considerable authority.

He was not particularly surprised by such a gathering. After all, if someone of his status had been summoned in the middle of the night, the others were likely no different. But...

Hmph. If he can't give us a reasonable explanation, then don't blame me and the other two Elders for showing no mercy.

Just as he was about to make an issue of it, Xiao Zhan in the distance suddenly broke into a grin. Though it was deep in the night, he showed not the slightest trace of fatigue. Instead, he looked downright radiant.

"The Third Elder is here. Come, sit, sit."

Hearing this, the Third Elder forcibly suppressed the urge in his heart. With a cold snort, he found a seat neither too near nor too far away and sat down, quietly waiting for what Xiao Zhan had to say next.

Xiao Zhan was not at all surprised by the Third Elder's lukewarm attitude. The smile at the corners of his mouth only widened.

He glanced out at the night beyond the window before slowly speaking. "Everyone here is a core member of the Xiao Family. I assume you have all been furious for some time over the Jia Lie Family's recent large-scale theft of our customers?"

At those words, the hot-tempered Third Elder slammed his palm against his chair, smashing the hardwood armrest to pieces.

He roared, "Damn it, the Jia Lie Family has gone too far! In just a few days, our Xiao Family's profits have fallen by at least fifty or sixty percent. If this continues, all our Marketplaces will go out of business, and the financial lifeline of the Xiao Family will be gone!"

Though those seated in the Patriarch's residence did not speak, their grim expressions made it clear that they wholeheartedly agreed with the Third Elder.

After a long while, the First Elder slowly said, "This truly cannot be delayed any longer. I once asked Master Guni of the Mittel Auction House, but he claimed neutrality and has no intention of favoring either side. As for our Xiao Family, we have no other connections to any Alchemists."

For a moment, the atmosphere became silent and oppressive.

Seeing this, the Third Elder said coldly, "Clan Leader, you did not summon us here simply to air your grievances, did you? If that is all, then forgive this old man for not keeping you company."

"Of course not."

Xiao Zhan shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I summoned everyone here tonight to tell you that the Xiao Family can still be saved. Not only can we be saved, we can even bite the Jia Lie Family back and make them spit out every last resource they swallowed before!"

The moment those words were spoken, the many core members of the Xiao Family seated below could no longer remain calm. Questions came flooding forth—

"Patriarch, surely you are joking. With the Xiao Family's connections, I fear we cannot invite any Alchemist to assist us."

"Yes, Patriarch. Even Master Guni intends to stand by and watch. We truly cannot imagine what other help there could be."

"The Marketplaces can still barely operate through other goods for now. Please do not act rashly."

Listening to their chattering discussions, Xiao Zhan sighed. He knew that his position as Patriarch was becoming increasingly unstable.

The Three Elders were one thing, but now even several senior members of the upper ranks with somewhat less authority had begun questioning his decisions.

But fortunately...

Xiao Zhan recalled the earlier scene with gratification. He no longer hesitated and immediately shouted, "The Xiao Family may indeed be unable to invite an Alchemist—but what if the Jia Lie Family's Alchemist is already dead?!"