Xiao Yan, Is Your Third Brother Really Cultivating in Seclusion?

After killing Jia Lie Nu, Xiao Meng did not return directly to the Xiao Clan. On his way back, he accidentally took a wrong turn and arrived at a small town. Since the townspeople were under attack by magical beasts, he stayed behind to lend them a hand.

However, he only helped in secret and did not reveal himself.

But he discovered that the magical beasts' behavior was strange—very wrong. They were not treating the townspeople as prey and killing them outright, but abducting them instead.

Thus, after noticing something amiss, Xiao Meng did not kill all the magical beasts attacking the village. He deliberately left one or two alive to return, then followed close behind to investigate.

In the end, he tracked the magical beasts to a valley far from the town. Yet while he was still some distance away, he caught the scent of blood.

Xiao Meng's heart tightened. There really was something suspicious here. He carefully slipped inside, his finger ready to pull the AK-47's trigger at any moment in case of danger.

He wanted to see who could be so utterly heartless as to control magical beasts into capturing the town's villagers—and what their purpose was.

The moment Xiao Meng stepped into the valley, he saw corpses and skeletal remains scattered across the ground. With a casual glance, he estimated there were no fewer than a thousand remains around him. The ghastly white bones were chilling.

"Fuck, which bastard could be this ruthless, slaughtering so many ordinary villagers?" Even Xiao Meng, decisive and merciless in killing, could not help but feel a surge of murderous intent at the hellish sight.

As for how these people had died, it was undoubtedly because the person behind it all was cultivating some wicked Dou Skill, using them for blood sacrifices or to absorb their vital energy.

That was how it always went in novels and television dramas.

Soon, Xiao Meng found a hidden cave. The stench of blood inside was even stronger. After considering it for a moment, he infiltrated it even more cautiously.

What he saw made him incomparably furious. His rage soared to the heavens.

There was a massive blood pool within the cave. Beside it, more than thirty young, strong men had had their throats slit, their blood slowly flowing into the pool.

Not far away, over a dozen magical beasts lay sprawled listlessly. On the other side stood seven or eight iron cages containing seventy or eighty people, but they were all dead—and had only just been killed.

It seems the person behind this had already discovered me.

Xiao Meng's pupils contracted, but then he understood. That's right. To control those magical beasts into capturing villagers, this person must have been hiding near the town. I was in the open while he was in the shadows. Naturally, every move I made would have been hard to hide from his eyes. Seeing me pursue him, he killed the witnesses before I arrived and fled in haste.

Thinking of this, Xiao Meng felt a bad premonition.

After giving it some thought, he killed all the magical beasts in the cave, destroyed the blood pool, and buried the bodies within.

After finishing everything, he left and returned straight to the Xiao Clan.

Logically speaking, using living people for cultivation was an utterly commonplace matter in the world of martial cultivators. Yet Xiao Meng felt that this was far from ordinary. It seemed some sort of crisis was hidden behind it.

Burdened with worries, Xiao Meng gradually quickened his pace back to the Xiao Clan.

Xiao Clan.

Outside Xiao Yan's door, a servant knocked. After hearing Xiao Yan's response, he said, "Young Master Xiao Yan, the Clan Leader has summoned you to the council hall. It seems there is some urgent matter."

"Got it. I'll go over immediately."

Xiao Yan answered. Only after the servant left did he look at Yao Lao and say, "It seems my father and the others have most likely received news of Jia Lie Nu's death. They are calling me over now because they probably want to ask who killed him."

"Jia Lie Nu's death is no small matter. Jia Lie Bi cannot keep it hidden for long. Sooner or later, your father and the others will find out."

After thinking for a moment, Yao Lao said, "And with Jia Lie Nu being killed at such a critical time, your father and the others will surely suspect that either I took action or that little brat of a third brother did it."

"Then what should I say?"

Xiao Yan looked troubled. "These past few days, my father has repeatedly asked me to invite you to visit our Xiao Clan. If I say you did it, they will definitely pressure me to invite you here again, so they can thank you in person or something. What am I supposed to do? Refusing once or twice is nothing, but making excuses every time isn't a solution."

"From the sound of it, you plan to push me out to take the blame for your third brother?"

Yao Lao cursed with a dark expression, "Why did I ever take in such a wretched disciple?"

Xiao Yan tugged at the corner of his mouth, looking miserable. "But I can't say my third brother did it either. Otherwise, if they find out he isn't home right now, they'll probably be too worried to sit still."

"That's your problem. It has nothing to do with me."

Yao Lao rolled his eyes and vanished directly into the ring, leaving Xiao Yan to suffer the headache alone.

"That bastard. After killing someone, couldn't you hurry back already?" Xiao Yan cursed under his breath, then pushed open the door and headed for the Xiao Clan's hall.

"Pah! Jia Lie Bi, you useless old fool! Fuck you! You can't even keep a bit of news under wraps. Fucking worthless!" Unable to think of a good solution, Xiao Yan could not help but curse viciously.

"Father, did you summon me for something?" When Xiao Yan arrived at the council hall, only his father and a few elders were discussing matters. The other elders were all in seclusion, improving their cultivation.

"Yan'er, do you know about Jia Lie Nu being killed?" After Xiao Yan sat down to one side, Xiao Zhan spoke.

"Jia Lie Nu was killed?" Xiao Yan looked utterly stunned and shocked.

To keep the Xiao Clan from falling into panic again, and to avoid Xiao Zhan and the others asking him to invite Yao Chen to the Xiao Clan as a guest, Xiao Yan had no choice but to play dumb.

In truth, he had learned of Jia Lie Nu's death through the Mittel Auction House long ago. He had simply never mentioned it, fearing Xiao Zhan and the others would question him.

"Uh..."

Xiao Yan's reaction was somewhat unexpected. Xiao Zhan and the elders were all stunned for a moment.

"Yan'er, wasn't Jia Lie Nu killed by your teacher?" Xiao Zhan asked with a frown.

Xiao Yan shook his head. "Although my teacher left Wutan City a few days ago, he went to Gama Holy City on business. So Jia Lie Nu definitely wasn't killed by him."

"If it wasn't your teacher, then who did it?" Xiao Zhan's brows knitted tightly, his face full of confusion. The other elders stroked their beards and fell into deep thought.

"Yan'er, is your third brother really cultivating in seclusion in his room?" Xiao Zhan abruptly raised his head to look at Xiao Yan, wearing an expression that clearly said, Don't lie to your old man.

"Father, why would I lie to you about that? Xun'er can testify for me," Xiao Yan said, somewhat guiltily.

After Xiao Meng left the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan had lied that Xiao Meng was in seclusion and that no one was allowed to disturb him during that time. Xiao Zhan and the others had not been suspicious these past days, but now Xiao Zhan felt something was off. As for exactly what was wrong, he could not say.

After all, that little girl Xiao Xun'er should not lie to him.

Just then, a fully armed middle-aged man walked in.

This man was named Xiao Po, the commander of the Xiao Clan's guards. He could enter and leave the council hall freely.

The moment he saw Xiao Po, Xiao Yan suddenly had a bad feeling.