The night was so dark it seemed like ink too thick to dissolve. The Wang Clan was unusually quiet, as if everyone had fallen asleep. The night watchmen said nothing and moved as lightly as civets. This was the rule of an Aristocratic Clan, perfectly normal under ordinary circumstances, but tonight it carried the oppressive stillness of the eve of a storm.
Meng Qi gripped the hilt of his blade with his right hand and slowly rose. After gauging the time, he opened the door and walked out of the Heavenly Secret Building. Hexiang had already disappeared without a trace. For a maid like her, who lacked any real strength, hiding far away was the only choice. All she could do was pray wholeheartedly that the Family Head's plans would succeed. Otherwise, when the nest was overturned, how could any egg remain intact?
With a single step, he passed over the pine and cypress trees, small though they were, and the restrictions could not stop him. Meng Qi appeared at the entrance to the Wang Clan Ancestral Hall.
The ancestral hall's doors were tightly shut. Their black surface was both solemn and austere, giving off an immense sense of pressure. The two black-armored guards who had originally stood watch there were nowhere to be seen. Only Wang Huaien of the Hidden Vein sat cross-legged on the ground, his black beard fluttering. Concealed by the ancestral hall's restrictions, he sat before a heavy, iron-black coffin covered in wild, disorderly patterns, their sinister nature pushed to the extreme.
Creak, creak!
A teeth-grating, ear-piercing scratching sound came from inside the coffin, as if something were clawing at the lid. Meng Qi's heart skipped a beat as he fixed his gaze on Wang Huaien.
A "Heavenly Dao Monster"?
Had the Hidden Vein somehow stolen