For three days, the various Lineages had been making the worst-case preparations. Many had secretly sent away their outstanding young successors.
There were five great Lineages in the city. Besides the City Lord's Mansion and the Fang Family, there were the Wang Family, the Su Family, and the Li Family. These three were roughly equal in strength. Though they could not match the Mo and Fang Families, whenever they did anything, they stood shoulder to shoulder and advanced or retreated together. That was why the Fang Family had never been able to swallow them up. Of course, the Mo Family had secretly helped them along the way!
Ever since the Fang Family had come to pressure her into marriage and left, Grand Princess Mo Ruxue had not shown herself again. For all this time, her mother had been bearing the pressure, preparing for Zhang Jingyi's wedding and handling the city's day-to-day affairs.
A bright-red bridal gown embroidered with phoenixes was delivered to Zhang Jingyi that morning. Looking at the brilliant red wedding dress in her hands, Zhang Jingyi drifted into a daze, wondering:
Will I look beautiful in my wedding dress? Who will lift my red veil? Will it be Brother Ye Wen?
Today was the final day of the three-day deadline. By custom, the Fang Family would come to fetch the bride first thing tomorrow morning. Mo Ruxue's disappearance had left the people of Demon Suppressing City in a state of panic, and all kinds of rumors had sprung up. Some claimed that the Grand Princess had already fled with the family's wealth, and that the Mo Family had abandoned Demon Suppressing City.
A great many Houtian Martial Artists had formed an army in the city. They were already fully armed, waiting for the City Lord's orders. They had sent extra men to patrol every corner of the city and had put down quite a few malicious rumor-mongers.
At last, that evening, Mo Ruxue appeared on the city wall once more. The rumors collapsed on their own! She skillfully directed the troops as they took up their positions, and the entire city entered a state of readiness for battle.
Mo Ruxue had conscripted every Xiantian Master in the city into the Innate Mansion. That evening, when she entered the Innate Mansion again, Ye Wen was astonished. With a great battle on the brink, Mo Ruxue showed not the slightest trace of tension. Instead, she was brimming with confidence.
Once she arrived at the Innate Mansion, she calmly assigned tasks to all the Xiantian Masters. Ye Wen was assigned to the inner quarters of the City Lord's Mansion, where he was to protect the officials and members of the Mo Family. He would not need to fight unless the enemy broke into the inner quarters. What he hadn't expected was that his partner would be that Old Ghost Wu.
After assigning everyone their tasks, Mo Ruxue used the second-rank mage spell, Magic Levitation Technique, to rise into the air and address the crowd with fervor.
"Tomorrow, after the Fang Family's wedding procession arrives, if they are willing to send Xiantian Masters, we will follow my original plan. I'll take their people with me to reinforce Xingyuan City. But if anything changes with the Fang Family this time, we'll wipe them out completely!"
Mo Ruxue delivered her final words with unwavering resolve. Ye Wen had no idea where she had found such confidence. It had to be connected to the two days she had been gone. It seemed the City Lord's Mansion held quite a few secrets.
After assigning the tasks, Mo Ruxue left. Once she was gone, the Innate Mansion was completely sealed off. Several squads of soldiers arrived. Every squad leader was at the Xiantian Realm, and now they were guarding the entrance to the Innate Mansion.
Ye Wen looked them over. There were ten squad leaders. Rather than protecting the Innate Mansion, they seemed more like they were keeping watch over everyone inside. Was this to stop anyone from leaking information, or to keep anyone from fleeing before the battle?
Ye Wen made a rough comparison based on the number and strength of the Fang Family's people who had come last time. If they fought the Fang Family this time and he didn't join in, they might still win—but how much strength would they have left to go rescue Xingyuan afterward?
In the end, it was because his father, Lord Mo, had taken most of their Third Rank Xiantian Masters with him when he left. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in such a passive position. With the three Lineages joining forces alongside the Mo Family, they could easily deal with the Fang Family.
The Mo Family surely still had some hidden Xiantian Masters. Now it came down to whose foundations ran deeper. After all, the Mo Family wasn't the only one with hidden strength; the other Lineages had their own reserves too!
That night, very few people were likely to sleep soundly—but Ye Wen wasn't one of them. As long as no Xiantian Fifth Rank Master appeared, he was invincible. If things really got too tough, he could always run.
But he didn't want to run. He wanted to see how practitioners of different disciplines fought. More than that, he wanted to find energy—energy that could make his Pre-cancerous Cells continue dividing.
The next morning, not long after daybreak, the people in the Innate Mansion began rubbing their hands together, eager for action. Then, from far away, came the sounds of firecrackers and drums.
They were here! The Fang Family's wedding procession had arrived!
Just then, a squad leader outside the Innate Mansion suddenly shouted:
"Follow the Grand Princess's orders from last night. Everyone, take your posts. Move out! All of you, now!"
With that, he opened the gates of the Innate Mansion and let everyone file out. Then, from behind Ye Wen, that familiar stench of a corpse drifted over once more.
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