When the clash between the Mo Family and the Mittel Auction House erupted in the western part of the city, Xiao Yan was sitting on a stone stool in his courtyard, seemingly absorbed in polishing the rusty iron sword. Sparks fell onto the flagstones with faint crackles, forming a strange echo of the distant sounds of colliding Dou Qi.
"They're making quite a racket." Yao Lao's soul form quietly appeared behind Xiao Yan, hovering as he gazed through the courtyard wall toward the west. "You led the Mo Family straight into the Misty Cloud Sect's covert operative. They must be a boiling pot of chaos by now."
Xiao Yan kept working, the sandpaper rubbing even patterns into the blade. "Chaos is good. Only in chaos can the real game stay hidden." He paused and looked up at Yao Lao. "Teacher, what do you think that Misty Cloud Sect elder will do?"
Yao Lao pondered. "A Dou Wang expert won't readily intervene in a low-level conflict. But if the Mo Family crosses his bottom line—or rather, threatens the Misty Cloud Sect's interests—he might not stand idly by. The key now is whether he already suspects you."
Xiao Yan set down the iron sword and lightly brushed the blade with his fingertips. A thin layer of Dou Qi coated it, just enough to conceal its freshly honed edge. "Suspicion is inevitable. But as long as this 'waste' shell of mine remains intact, he won't find a reason to act."
As they spoke, Xiao Ding's voice came from outside the courtyard gate. "Third Brother, Father wants you in the front hall. He says Yao Lao has some questions for you."
Something stirred in Xiao Yan's heart, and he looked up at Yao Lao's soul form. A meaningful gleam passed through Yao Lao's eyes. "Looks like it's time to see what you're made of."
Xiao Yan straightened his robes and followed Xiao Ding through the covered walkway toward the front hall. The Xiao Clan youths they passed still watched him with complicated expressions: curiosity, awe, and, more than anything, amusement at his title of "Lucky Waste." Those gazes might as well have been nothing to Xiao Yan. His mind had already settled into an ancient well, without a ripple.
Inside the front hall, Xiao Zhan sat in the seat of honor, his expression solemn. An old man in gray robes occupied a lower seat, his face withered and his eyes half closed. It was none other than Yao Lao, who resided in Xiao Yan's Storage Ring in soul form. Naturally, the identity he presented now was that of an "ordinary alchemist," a disguise meant to keep prying eyes away.
Seeing Xiao Yan enter, Yao Lao slowly opened his eyes. His cloudy gaze swept over him, carrying a faint pressure. "Xiao Yan, I hear you've had rather good luck since returning from the Magical Beast Mountain Range?"
His voice was aged and raspy, utterly unlike the tone he normally used when speaking to Xiao Yan inside the Storage Ring. It held a measure of scrutiny and indifference.
Xiao Yan lowered his head at just the right moment, looking "uneasy." "You flatter me, Senior. It was only luck."
"Luck?" Yao Lao gave a soft laugh, then abruptly raised his voice. "You escaped the Mo Family's pursuit by luck, stole the Black Iron Token from the Mittel Auction House by luck, and publicly humiliated Mo Kui, a Peak Dou Master... Isn't that rather too much 'luck'?"
His words struck like heavy hammers, pounding at the hearts of everyone present. Xiao Ding could not help wanting to defend his brother, but Xiao Zhan stopped him with a look.
Xiao Yan bowed his head even lower, nervously clutching the hem of his robes. "S-Senior, those were all accidents. I really didn't..."
"Didn't what?" Yao Lao slammed his palm onto the table. An invisible wave of soul power spread outward. Though it was not deliberately directed at Xiao Yan, it was enough to violently shake the mind of a cultivator at Dou Qi Third Stage. "Tell me, did you receive guidance from an expert in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?"
This was precisely the test Yao Lao and Xiao Yan had agreed upon beforehand. In his role as an "alchemist," he would press Xiao Yan about whether he had hidden assistance. It was both logical and a way to apply just enough pressure to observe his reaction.
Sure enough, Xiao Yan's body began "trembling slightly." His face went pale, and his lips quivered as though he had been frightened witless. "I... I didn't meet any expert... I just... just found a few damaged Dou Technique manuals and practiced them blindly..."
As he spoke, he pulled several crumpled booklets from his Storage Ring. These were the low-level Dou Technique fragments he had prepared long ago, deliberately stained with dirt and blood to make them look as though they had been dug out of a pile of corpses in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Yao Lao's gaze fell on the booklets, and a barely perceptible trace of satisfaction flashed in his eyes. His words remained stern. "Practiced blindly? What could you possibly accomplish with cultivation at Dou Qi Third Stage? Where exactly have you hidden the Mo Family's Black Iron Token?"
"I really didn't take it!" Xiao Yan raised his head, his eyes filled with "bloodshot veins," his expression aggrieved yet stubborn. "None of them believe me. Do even you refuse to believe me, Senior? I know I'm a waste, but I still have my dignity. I wouldn't stoop to stealing chickens and pilfering dogs!"
His words sounded so heartfelt that even Xiao Zhan could not help frowning, a hint of displeasure in his gaze toward Yao Lao. Even an alchemist had no right to pressure a junior like this.
Yao Lao seemed not to notice Xiao Zhan's expression and continued pressing him. "You didn't take it? Then why was the Black Iron Token stolen as soon as the Mo Family came looking for you? Why is your luck always so good?"
"I don't know!" Xiao Yan abruptly stepped backward and struck the pillar behind him with a dull thud. "If only I knew what was going on! I don't want the Mo Family hunting me down, and I don't want the whole city laughing at me! But what can I do? I'm weak. All I can do is let people bully me!"
His voice carried a sob, and his eyes reddened slightly. That helpless, stifled appearance instantly won the sympathy of many servants in the front hall.
"Yao Lao," Xiao Zhan finally spoke, his tone somewhat stiff. "Xiao Yan is still young. Perhaps this truly is a misunderstanding. We'll investigate the matter with the Mo Family ourselves. There's no need for you to trouble yourself over it."
Watching Xiao Yan appear to be "on the verge of collapse," Yao Lao slowly withdrew his soul power. The sternness faded from his face, replaced by a trace of indifference. "Very well. Believe what you will. I merely wish to remind you, Clan Leader Xiao, that Wutan City is not peaceful. Some people and some matters are not as simple as they appear."
With that, he stood and gave Xiao Zhan a slight nod. "I have other matters to attend to. I'll take my leave."
Xiao Zhan did not ask him to stay and had Xiao Ding escort Yao Lao out. Only father and son remained in the front hall. Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Yan with complicated eyes. "Just now... you were put through a great deal."
Xiao Yan lowered his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, his voice still a little choked. "Father, I'm fine. Senior Yao Lao was thinking of the Xiao Clan's interests too. I don't blame him."
The more understanding he was, the guiltier Xiao Zhan felt. He patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll get to the bottom of the Black Iron Token affair. I won't let you suffer unjustly. Go back and rest. Don't dwell on it."
Xiao Yan nodded and left the front hall. The instant he stepped through the doorway, the hurt expression and choked emotion vanished. His eyes regained their calm, even carrying a barely perceptible smile.
He had performed that scene with perfect precision: the cowardice befitting a "waste," the stubbornness expected of a young man, and just the right touch of an "emotional breakdown." It was enough to dispel anyone's suspicions, including... Yao Lao's.
When he returned to the courtyard, Yao Lao's soul form was already waiting on the stone stool. Seeing Xiao Yan enter, he could not help laughing. "Not bad, boy. With acting like that, you'd be wasting your talent if you didn't become a storyteller."
Xiao Yan sat opposite him and poured himself a cup of cold tea. "It isn't that my acting is good. This 'waste' identity is simply too useful. The more I fit their expectations, the less they suspect me."
Yao Lao nodded. "You handled my soul-power probing well just now. Your aura remained steady without leaking, and you didn't reveal even a trace of Dou Ling fluctuations. It seems your secluded training lately hasn't gone to waste."
Xiao Yan lifted his cup and took a small sip. "That Misty Cloud Sect elder should have been nearby just now, right?"
"Yes." A trace of gravity flashed in Yao Lao's eyes. "My soul power sensed him hiding on the front hall's roof. While I was questioning you, his soul power kept circling around you. Clearly, he wanted to find a flaw."
"And did he?"
"No." Yao Lao shook his head. "Your performance was too 'perfect'—so perfect he couldn't find fault with any of it. A frightened youth, a lucky but weak waste: everything you did made sense. Even if he suspects you, he can't find a reason to act."
Xiao Yan set down his cup and gazed out the window. "Not having a reason doesn't mean he'll give up. The Black Iron Token affair isn't over, and he still hasn't uncovered the jade pendant's secret. He'll keep watching me."
"That's inevitable." Yao Lao stood. "What do you plan to do next? Stay on the defensive like this?"
"On the defensive?" A cold curve formed at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth. "I never sit passively and take a beating. It's time to draw in the net on the Mo Family."
He took the Black Iron Token from his Storage Ring. Intricate patterns covered the pitch-black token, which gave off a faint metallic chill. From the very beginning, this token had been bait he had cast out. Now it was time for that bait to serve its final purpose.
"Tonight, I'll 'return' the Black Iron Token to the Mo Family." Xiao Yan lightly tapped the token with a fingertip. "But I won't deliver it directly. I'll have it appear somewhere 'unexpected.'"
Curiosity flashed in Yao Lao's eyes. "Where?"
"The residence where the Misty Cloud Sect elder is hiding." Xiao Yan's voice carried a playful edge. "I'll make the Mo Family think someone from the Misty Cloud Sect stole the token. And I'll make the elder think the Mo Family deliberately sent it to him to frame him."
"Two birds with one stone, making them bite each other like dogs?" Yao Lao clapped his hands and laughed. "That's a nasty trick. I like it."
Xiao Yan smiled and put the Black Iron Token back into his Storage Ring. "That's not all. I'll also add a little extra 'seasoning' to the token."
He did not explain what this "seasoning" was, but Yao Lao caught a fleeting sharpness in his eyes: the confidence of a master hunter who had laid his trap and was waiting for his prey to take the bait.
Night fell once more. Wutan City's clamor gradually subsided, but it could not conceal the undercurrents surging in the dark.
Inside the Mo Family's base, Mo Feng was raging at his subordinates. Their clash with the Mittel Auction House that day had gained them nothing. Instead, a mysterious expert who suddenly appeared had disrupted everything. Not only had they lost men, but their lead on the Black Iron Token had also gone cold.
"Useless! Every last one of you!" Mo Feng kicked the table over. "You can't even find out who's pulling the strings! What's the point of keeping you rice buckets around?"
Just then, a subordinate rushed inside in a panic. "Elder Mo! We found it! We found the Black Iron Token!"
Mo Feng spun around. "Where?"
"In... in that empty residence in the west! The place where someone saw people from the Misty Cloud Sect before!" The subordinate handed over a pitch-black token.
Mo Feng snatched it from him. It was indeed the Mo Family's Black Iron Token! He examined it carefully, and once he confirmed it was genuine, fury instantly blazed in his eyes. "So it really was the Misty Cloud Sect! They actually dared to steal from our Mo Family!"
He failed to notice the faintest trace of white powder clinging to a corner of the token, almost invisible in the candlelight.
"Prepare the carriage! We're going west!" Mo Feng roared. "I'll show them the Mo Family isn't to be trifled with!"
Meanwhile, inside the empty residence in the west, the Misty Cloud Sect elder was meditating cross-legged. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked out the window.
A black shadow tossed a token into the courtyard like a phantom, then swiftly vanished.
The elder frowned slightly and flicked a finger. A stream of Dou Qi swept the token back to him. It was the Mo Family's Black Iron Token.
"Hmm?" He picked it up, confusion flashing in his eyes. Then his expression abruptly changed. The token was stained with traces of Calming Heart Powder unique to the Misty Cloud Sect!
This was a soothing medicinal powder commonly used by Misty Cloud Sect disciples. How could it have appeared here?
Before he could think further, hurried footsteps sounded outside the courtyard, accompanied by Mo Feng's furious roar. "You rats of the Misty Cloud Sect! Get out here!"
The elder understood at once: he had been set up! Someone had deliberately placed the Black Iron Token here and stained it with Calming Heart Powder, all to make the Mo Family think he had stolen it!
"Clever." A cold gleam flashed in the elder's eyes. With a slight movement, he quietly slipped into the shadows. He would not be foolish enough to confront the Mo Family head-on, but making him carry this black pot of blame would not be so easy either.
A new clash erupted within the empty residence.
And the architect of it all, Xiao Yan, stood on a distant rooftop, quietly watching the chaos below. He could clearly sense the fierce clash between the Mo Family and the Misty Cloud Sect elder. He could also "see" the fury on Mo Feng's face and the sinister look in the elder's eyes.
"The first step is complete," Xiao Yan murmured, then turned and disappeared into the night.
The "seasoning" he had left behind was not merely Calming Heart Powder. It also included an extremely faint trace of his own "Dou Qi Third Stage" fluctuation. This trace was deeply concealed and would only be released when the Black Iron Token suffered a violent impact.
He wanted that Misty Cloud Sect elder to know that the hand pulling the strings behind all this might belong to him, this "waste."
Yet he had deliberately left a flaw: how could a waste at Dou Qi Third Stage possibly have the ability to scheme against a Dou Wang expert?
This contradiction would plunge the elder into deeper confusion. He would not dare strike at Xiao Yan rashly, yet he would be unable to resist probing and watching him.
And that was precisely what Xiao Yan wanted.
Back in his courtyard, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged and began circulating his Dou Qi. Within his dantian, the Green Lotus Core Flame floated quietly. Its deep-blue flames had grown more condensed than before and seemed faintly synchronized with his breathing.
Yao Lao's voice sounded in his mind. "The Mo Family and the Misty Cloud Sect have now firmly planted a beam of enmity between them. No one will be watching you for a while. What do you plan to do with this time?"
Xiao Yan opened his eyes, a trace of resolve flashing within them. "Unravel the final mystery Mother left behind."
He took the ancient ring and half of the Flame Jade Pendant from his Storage Ring.
Tonight, he would uncover once and for all exactly what secrets lay behind these two objects.
Moonlight passed through the window lattice, illuminating the youth's resolute face and the two tokens in his hands that carried both the past and the future. The turmoil in Wutan City had yet to settle, while Xiao Yan's journey had only just begun to lift a deeper veil of mist.
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