The Dust Settled

When Nalan Yanran woke again, the first thing she saw was a pair of shapely, slender legs.

"You're awake? Don't move. You're badly hurt." Xiao Yu, who had already stood up to leave, hurriedly sat back down when she saw Nalan Yanran open her eyes. Pleasantly surprised, she said, "Mr. Yun asked me to look after you for a few days. You don't need to worry..."

"Are you thirsty? Hungry? I'll have someone make you something to eat..." Xiao Yu said warmly.

"There's no need to trouble yourself..." Nalan Yanran said weakly. "May I ask who you are..."

"Oh, my name is Xiao Yu. I'm Mr. Yun's... friend."

Grandmaster's friend? Grandmaster made friends with a Dou Shi?

Having only just woken up, Nalan Yanran looked utterly bewildered. If the pain in her body hadn't reminded her that she was awake, she would have been certain she was still dreaming.

"It's no trouble. Could you tell me where we are now?" Nalan Yanran asked, coming back to her senses.

"Us? We're in Black Flame City now."

"Black Flame City... why am I here? I clearly remember being in..." Nalan Yanran rubbed her aching head. Her last memories were still of that bitter battle in Wutan City. She only vaguely remembered someone scooping her up; beyond that, she had no idea what had happened.

"Mr. Yun brought you back," Xiao Yu explained, noticing Nalan Yanran's confusion.

After mentioning Yun Congxin, Xiao Yu furtively watched Nalan Yanran's expression. That bitter smile of hers seemed to carry a hint of relief as well.

"What's your relationship with Mr. Yun...?" Without thinking, Xiao Yu voiced the question on her mind, and her heart rose into her throat. "I'm... I'm just curious, that's all... Mr. Yun seemed quite worried about you..."

"Huh? Me?" Nalan Yanran blinked. After giving it some serious thought, she answered quite sincerely, "I'm Grandmaster's... Handmaid..."

She had actually wanted to say she was Yun Congxin's grand-disciple. But remembering how disappointed he had been in her on Misty Cloud Mountain, she feared he would refuse to acknowledge a grand-disciple who had disgraced the Misty Cloud Sect.

So she could only settle for the next best thing and name a position Yun Congxin would certainly not deny.

"A Handmaid..." Xiao Yu's smile became rather strained, and her expression dimmed.

Such a lovely, enchanting girl, one whose very appearance stirred tenderness, was a beauty bestowed by heaven. Had it been the men of Wutan City, they would probably have long since taken her into their chambers as a concubine.

To be a Da Dou Shi at such a young age showed extraordinary talent. In Xiao Yu's eyes, someone with gifts like hers could easily become the successor to any faction, yet she was merely a Handmaid...

If even someone as perfect as her could only be that, what right did I have...?

Nalan Yanran knew nothing of Xiao Yu's tangled, conflicted feelings. Gazing at the unfamiliar ceiling, she asked, "How are things in Wutan City?"

"Don't worry. Nothing will go wrong there. Mr. Yun had that fellow Xiao Yan recruit quite a few helpers in Black Flame City. Those people won't be turning the world upside down."

Just as Xiao Yu had said, Xiao Yan had used his status as an Alchemist to recruit quite a few helpers in Black Flame City. Besides the several high-star Dou Shi out in the open, several Da Dou Shi had remained hidden to prevent Jia Lie Bi and Oba Padun from escaping.

This time, the Xiao Clan had a voracious appetite. They meant to wrap one enormous dumpling and swallow both their sworn enemies in a single bite!

That night, only Oba Padun's breakthrough to Seven-Star Great Dou Master had exceeded the Xiao Clan's expectations. It had forced the Da Dou Shi hidden nearby to reveal themselves, causing the Xiao Clan a little trouble.

The chaotic battle lasted all night. Only when the morning sun rose was the outcome finally settled.

The Xiao Family Market was a wasteland of shattered walls and corpses. Every Da Dou Shi and elite guard from the Ao Ba Family and the Jia Lie Family had perished there.

Oba Padun died with his eyes wide open, unable to accept his fate. Before that night, everything had looked so promising. The Jia Lie Family had been gravely weakened and could no longer put up a fight, while the Xiao Clan had closed its doors to visitors as though it, too, had suffered a crippling blow. He even had the help of a Third-Grade Alchemist. At the time, he had believed this was his chance to rule Wutan City, the opportunity for the Ao Ba Family to stand supreme.

He had even glimpsed the first light of the Ao Ba Family's rise.

But after a single night, it had all burst like a bubble.

Who knew whether, in his final moment before death, Oba Padun had regretted his choice?

The sun rose. Xiao Zhan stood before Oba Padun's corpse, looking at the savage, unwilling expression on his old rival's face. He frowned and sighed.

"Alas, if you'd known it would end like this, why do it in the first place...?"

Xiao Zhan removed the Storage Ring from Oba Padun's finger and closed his eyes for him.

The time of reckoning had come!

Compared with the two families' aggressive attacks, which had dragged innocent bystanders into the disaster, the Xiao Clan's retaliation was far more restrained.

They did not storm the two families' establishments to smash, loot, and burn. Instead, Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan's elders led groups to notify those now in charge of the two families to come collect the bodies of their patriarchs and elite guards.

To collect their dead from the Xiao Clan.

This was an act of grace, but even more so a naked threat. It was as though they had handed the two families nine feet of white silk with which to hang themselves, then kindly reminded them:

"You are respectable people."

Everything their families had previously done to the Xiao Clan had long since cut off any chance of appealing to sentiment, delivering both the moral high ground and every justification into the Xiao Clan's hands.

Now the others held the knife and chopping block, while they were the fish laid upon it. However unwilling they felt, they could only swallow their shattered teeth, "respectably" offer everything up with both hands, and humbly thank the Xiao Clan for not exterminating them to the last.

Two days later, the old men of both families arrived at the Xiao Clan, and the Xiao Clan Grand Elder received them.

This time, there were no verbal swords or spears, nor any scheming and deception. The old men of the three families chatted merrily like friends reunited after many years apart. Bursts of laughter even rang out from the hall.

The laughter drifted out of the room and echoed through the courtyard where the bodies lay, lingering long afterward.

It was strangely desolate.

In the end, the two families carried their younger kin home, and more than half of Wutan City was draped in mourning white.

Every household wore mourning clothes, yet little weeping could be heard. Even the funerals of the two patriarchs were kept simple and hurried.

Meanwhile, the Xiao Clan had obtained what it wanted. It seized almost all the wealth of Wutan City's Three Great Families, then sold all three families' Marketplace businesses and establishments to others, earning enough to fill every pot and bowl to the brim.

Xiao Yan took no part in any of this. He was busy refining medicine to pay the helpers from Black Flame City...

Only after the dust had settled did he come to the Xiao Clan's Council Hall, just in time to see the elders clutching one another and crying—howling their hearts out.

The Xiao Clan's long-cherished wish had finally come true that day.

They had crushed the great enemies of generations, obtained unprecedented wealth, and were about to rise!

Xiao Yan smiled helplessly. In the past, he would certainly have burst out laughing at these elders' ridiculous display.

But after everything he had experienced lately, he had matured. He could now face sudden upheaval without flinching or letting his expression change!

He kept a straight face!