"That Chen Xiao was quite the character."
In a private room on the third floor of Heaven's Abode, a young man in blue couldn't help laughing. "The number one wastrel in Moon-Gazing City doesn't seem entirely useless after all. If it were our guy, he'd probably have started shouting for everyone to clear out and give up their seats by now, wouldn't he?"
"Fifth Brother, that's not quite right." Sitting opposite the young man in blue was a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy. He had fair skin and a slender build, giving the impression that a gust of wind could blow him over.
"Oh? Little Seven, why don't you tell me what you think?" Fifth Brother raised an eyebrow and gave the boy a faintly amused look.
"Because of Nangong Wenyue, Chen Xiao is clearly at odds with the Nangong Family. How could he so generously send them Heavenly Mystery Stones? I think the Nangong Family won't even get a single low-grade stone this time."
Little Seven smiled faintly and spoke unhurriedly.
"Haha, that's true." Hearing Little Seven's words, Fifth Brother laughed. "Still, the Nangong Family is known as the 'Southern Overlord' of Glazed Heaven. A few Heavenly Mystery Stones are nothing to them."
"Fifth Brother, don't be so quick to decide." Little Seven shook his head. "If this had happened to our family, and Second Brother and the others happened to hear about it, what do you think they'd do?"
Fifth Brother didn't answer Little Seven, but a hint of approval showed on his face.
"I'll have to find a chance to befriend this Chen Xiao."
"Third Young Master, that was a brilliant move!"
As they reached the third floor, Li Changqi couldn't help giving Chen Xiao a thumbs-up.
"This is only the beginning. Once that useless guy from the Nangong Family hears about it, he'll probably come running over to clear everyone out, right?"
Chen Xiao grumbled.
Bei Yu Xian's attendants had been settled in the second-floor hall. Chen Xiao and the others each brought a personal guard of considerable cultivation with them up to the private rooms on the third floor. Of course, Mengmeng was Chen Xiao's personal guard.
"Third Young Master, what do you mean?"
Bei Yu Xian and the other two looked slightly puzzled at Chen Xiao's words.
The private rooms were all protected by formations that blocked out sound. With only the four young masters and their trusted aides present, Chen Xiao simply laid everything out.
Chen Xiao's expression turned serious. "Moon-Gazing City hasn't been peaceful these past few days. Quite a few important figures have arrived in secret. Don't say I didn't warn you, brothers: causing trouble is our lot in life, but for the next few days, keep your eyes peeled. Don't provoke anyone you shouldn't."
When Chen Xiao said, "Causing trouble is our lot in life," the three guards behind Bei Yu Xian, Canghai Chengkong, and Li Changqi couldn't help rolling their eyes.
This Third Young Master of the City Lord's Mansion certainly had a personality.
But when they heard what Chen Xiao said next, they couldn't help thinking more highly of him. They knew exactly what their own young masters were like, and Chen Xiao was the cream of Moon-Gazing City's wastelords. Who would have thought he had such a keen mind?
Their own young masters might be wastrels, but surely they were still ten times better than this good-for-nothing with cultivation only at the Qi Refining Realm? Yet Bei Yu Xian and the others hadn't noticed a thing changing in the city—or, more precisely, they hadn't thought it worth their attention.
Instead, the number one wastrel of Moon-Gazing City had noticed everything.
But these three guards were loyal not to their respective families, but to the young masters before them. They were unlike the attendants on the second floor. They were the true confidants of their family's young masters. When their masters grew up and became family elders, or were fortunate enough to prevail in the struggle and become family heads, the guards would rise with them as their direct retainers.
Of course, only the legitimate sons of great families received such treatment. Put another way, if they weren't the family head's sons and legitimate heirs, why would their guards be allowed to roam the streets, acting as they pleased?
That was why Chen Xiao trusted the three of them completely. At the very least, the Bei Yu and Canghai families had already joined forces with the Chen Clan. Although the Li Family was an affiliate of the Nangong Family, in his previous life, it had been Li Changqi who first got the news and joined forces with several others to go warn them. Li Changqi's trusted aide had died in that incident.
"Third Young Master, our families are the biggest around for a thousand li of Moon-Gazing City. Who would dare offend us?"
Canghai Chengkong was a little confused. At that moment, he was secretly sighing over Mengmeng's graceful figure. What a pity that such a lovely body came with a terrifying birthmark on her face.
"Three days ago, two Mahayana Realm cultivators fought in the city. One of them was an envoy from the Glazed Heaven Palace, while the other dared to risk offending the Glazed Heaven Palace by fighting him anyway. When other cultivators heard about it, what would they think?"
"Something's fishy!" Bei Yu Xian was the first to speak. "A Void Immortal at the Mahayana Realm first sought out Moon-Gazing City's lord, then went straight into a fight with a Glazed Heaven Palace powerhouse after seeing him. Without some benefit at stake, who would risk offending the Glazed Heaven Palace? So there must be something in Moon-Gazing City that a Mahayana Realm powerhouse wants badly enough to risk offending the Glazed Heaven Palace for it."
The other two immediately understood.
"Exactly. That alone is enough to draw the attention of all kinds of forces," Chen Xiao said with a nod. "You have to remember, Moon-Gazing City may be fairly large, but across the whole Xuhe Realm, or even Glazed Heaven, it's no more than a backwater city."
"If that's the case, aren't we in danger? What about our families..." Canghai Chengkong said worriedly.
"Relax. It's only two Mahayana Realm cultivators fighting. That's not enough to make the major powers send experts here," Chen Xiao said, shaking his head. "Those who've come to Moon-Gazing City so far are probably just peripheral members. We'll be fine as long as we're careful and don't provoke them."
Chen Xiao was exactly right. Apart from a few exceptional figures, most of those who had come to Moon-Gazing City were merely peripheral members. Although quite a few people had already guessed Nangong Xiangyan's identity, if there really were great benefits to be had, the Nangong Family wouldn't have sent only a Mahayana Realm Nangong Xiangyan. They would have sent an immortal.
So the major powers of Glazed Heaven hadn't paid much attention. They had merely sent a few cultivators to investigate. After all, the Nangong Family was one of the most prominent great families in Glazed Heaven.
Hearing Chen Xiao's words, Li Changqi, Canghai Chengkong, and Bei Yu Xian finally breathed a little easier. The three of them were wastrels with little promise to begin with, and their thinking naturally followed Chen Xiao's lead.
More precisely, they had always treated Chen Xiao as their center. Though he was a wastrel, he was still more cunning than the other three. In the past, Chen Xiao had played the role of the group's scheming adviser, thanks to his bellyful of wicked tricks.
"Let the Nangong Family handle the business of making enemies."
Chen Xiao leaned back comfortably against the soft fur cushion. "Nangong Wenyang should be here soon. Heh, once he arrives, he'll offend every cultivator in this restaurant. The forces behind them alone will give the Nangong Family more than they can handle."
Chen Xiao's eyes darted to and fro. This was an open move. Behind the scenes, he had also sent Ao Xie and the other two to assassinate members of the Nangong Family. If Nangong Wenyang barged in at a time like this, Moon-Gazing City would be thrown into chaos for sure.
Seeing the look in Chen Xiao's eyes, Canghai Chengkong and the others shuddered. For the first time, they realized that their like-minded friend, the City Lord's Third Young Master, was so sinister. Thank goodness they were on his side; otherwise, they wouldn't even know how he'd conned them to death.