The group advanced along the underground passage, crushing loose gravel beneath their feet. Everyone kept their footsteps as quiet as possible, even breathing slowly and evenly. The rock walls on either side were damp and rough, with a dimly glowing ore embedded every dozen steps or so.
The murky yellow light illuminated only a small patch beneath their feet. Farther ahead lay darkness so thick it seemed impossible to dissolve. Their shadows stretched long across the rock walls, swaying gently with each step.
Nie Li led the group at a slow but steady pace, placing every step precisely. The Shadow Demon's fine threads spread from beneath his feet, forming an invisible net that hugged the ground and relayed every movement within several dozen yards.
After walking for roughly the time it took half an incense stick to burn, he suddenly slowed and moved beside Shen Fei, walking shoulder to shoulder with him.
"There's something I want to tell you." Nie Li kept his voice low, letting it blend into the wind blowing through the passage so that only the two of them could hear.
Shen Fei turned to look at him, his gaze calm and entirely unsurprised. He had already noticed Nie Li glancing his way from time to time. Clearly, Nie Li had something to say and simply hadn't found the right moment.
He said nothing, merely signaling with his eyes for Nie Li to continue.
"Don't entertain any notion of saving the Sacred Family."
Nie Li spoke evenly, without beating around the bush, his eyes fixed on the passage ahead. "They're rotten to the bone. From top to bottom, hardly any of them are clean. Shen Hong has never cared about defending the city. All he sees is the family's interests. For those scraps of profit, he's even willing to make connections with the Dark Guild."
"I hope you can distinguish between blood ties and the greater good. You have strength and brains. You shouldn't let a family like that bind your hands and feet and hold you back."
Nie Li hadn't said this on a whim.
He had been observing Shen Fei for some time, from fighting together in the Gulan Ruins to their later covert clashes with the Dark Guild. Shen Fei acted with composure and struck decisively, nothing like the mediocre, unfavored eldest legitimate son described in the rumors.
He could tell Shen Fei felt little attachment to the Sacred Family, but blood ties were all too capable of tripping people up. How many people understood right from wrong, only to have family affection bind their hands and feet in the end? Worried that Shen Fei might soften at a crucial moment, he had deliberately sounded a warning ahead of time.
Shen Fei kept walking and gave only a slight nod, his voice betraying not the slightest ripple of emotion. "I know."
Those two words carried an unquestionable certainty. Nie Li glanced sideways at him. Seeing his calm expression and the complete absence of hesitation or conflict in his eyes, he knew it wasn't a perfunctory answer and said no more.
He quickened his pace slightly and returned to the front of the group, the Shadow Demon's fine threads extending ahead once more.
Watching his retreating figure, Shen Fei's gaze sharpened slightly. Emotion surged through him for an instant before he forcibly pressed it down.
He knew better than anyone that the Sacred Family had no need to be saved. That conviction had been carved into his heart since the day he returned through rebirth.
He still remembered the makeshift infirmary beneath the city walls, where dozens of young soldiers had suffered inflamed, festering wounds for lack of medicine and died in agony. Among them were recruits who had only just entered battle and veterans with families. They should have lived to see the city's defense succeed.
That was to say nothing of Shen Hong's secret dealings with the Dark Guild. The coordinates of weak points in the city's defenses, the City Guard's rotation schedule, the locations of grain stores, even the distribution of high-level cultivators within the city-he had secretly passed it all along.
Every last deed traded the lives of the city's people for the family's interests. No one knew better than Shen Fei how much blood stained the foundations that had allowed the Sacred Family to secure its place among the Three Great Families and amass ever greater wealth.
In this life, he had used the opportunity to organize the accounts to check every suspicious expenditure. Every amount and every shop involved corresponded to an operation by the Dark Guild. Every payment was stained with human lives.
Colluding with the Dark Guild, selling out the coordinates of the city's defenses, using all the people of Glory City as bargaining chips, and the old debt from his previous life, when they had fled in the face of battle and abandoned every life in the city-all those deeds were laid out before him. He had no reason to protect such a family.
Blood ties weighed too little to mention against hundreds of thousands of lives. He had never considered himself a true member of the Shen family. From the day he transmigrated here, he had known that he, Shen Hong, and Shen Yue had never walked the same path.
Shen Fei drew his thoughts back and returned his gaze to the passage ahead. The wind carried a faint earthy smell and felt cool against his face.
He suppressed the emotions churning within him and continued following the group, his steps as steady as ever, showing no sign that anything was amiss.
After they traveled a little farther, the passage gradually widened. Faint voices drifted from the distance, along with flickering lamplight too far away to make out clearly.
At the front, Nie Li suddenly raised a hand to signal a halt. The entire group stopped at once. Everyone held their breath and watched their surroundings warily, their hands instinctively settling on the weapons at their waists.
"There's a village up ahead." Nie Li looked toward the end of the passage, his brow slightly furrowed.
"There are plenty of guards inside, and they've set up quite a few restrictive formations. Their leader is a five-star Gold-rank expert. They've probably already detected our auras, so trying to hide would only put us at a disadvantage. I'll go negotiate first. Stay here and wait for my signal. Du Ze, watch our surroundings. Give a warning immediately if anything happens."
Du Ze nodded at once and answered in a low voice, "Understood."
With that, Nie Li made no attempt to conceal himself. Instead, he suppressed the fluctuations of his spiritual power and walked openly toward the passage's exit.
The group waited where they were, and everything suddenly fell quiet. Only the occasional drip of water from deep within the passage could be heard clearly. Lu Piao looked around and, seeing no danger, relaxed his tense body slightly. He sidled up to Xiao Xue and lightly nudged her arm.
"Hey, do you think Nie Li can talk them around?" He lowered his voice but couldn't suppress his curiosity. "What sort of people would live in a place that never sees the light of day?"
Xiao Xue gave him a sidelong look and gently swatted his arm away, keeping her own voice low, with a hint of warning. "Why do you care who they are? Whatever Nie Li does, we just follow his lead.
"Besides, how could a family that's hidden underground for so many years be easy to deal with? Don't go touching things when we get inside. If you trigger a restrictive formation, no one will be able to save you."
"I'm not an idiot. Why would I go touching things?" Lu Piao looked indignant, stiffening his neck as he muttered his protest.
"That's because Nie Li scouted the whole route beforehand. Did you think it was your good luck?" Xiao Xue pursed her lips, looking thoroughly unconvinced. "If you had to go on your own, you wouldn't even find the ruins' entrance. You might wander straight into a demon beast's den."
The two traded quiet barbs, their hands busy with restrained nudges and shoves that made little noise.
They were used to working together, and even their bickering didn't interfere with the task at hand. Their eyes remained on the passage entrance, ready to react at the first stir of wind or grass.
Du Ze didn't join in their antics. He surveyed the surrounding terrain and, after confirming there were no concealed blind spots, found a flat stone to sit on. He closed his eyes and began meditating to regulate his breathing.
He knew his talent fell short of Nie Li's and his combat experience fell short of Shen Fei's. He could only make up for his shortcomings through diligence, seizing every spare moment to refine his spiritual power.
He held a Low-Tier Demon Crystal between his fingertips. Gentle spiritual power flowed through them into his body, circulating methodically along his meridians. He sat utterly motionless, like a solid, steady stone.
Xiao Ning'er stood where she was and first glanced toward the passage's exit. After confirming there was no movement, she turned to look at Shen Fei.
She had noticed that Shen Fei had barely spoken since Nie Li said those words. His face looked calm, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something weighed on his mind. After a moment's hesitation, she walked over to stand beside him and spoke softly.
"That's just how Nie Li talks. He's too blunt, but he means no harm. Don't take it to heart."
Shen Fei turned to look at her, a trace of puzzlement in his eyes, as though he hadn't expected her to come over specifically to comfort him.
"I know giving up on your own blood relatives isn't easy."
Xiao Ning'er spoke very gently, understanding in her eyes.
"After all, you come from the same family. Even when the bones are broken, the tendons still bind them together. When the time really comes to choose, you can follow your own heart. No one can force you. Even if lingering affection makes you want to leave some room for mercy in the end, no one can fault you."
She had spent considerable time with Shen Fei lately. Most people in her own clan were also driven by self-interest, but even so, blood ties and family affection weren't things that could simply be severed at will. No one would feel at ease watching their family perish before their eyes.
She worried that Nie Li's words had upset Shen Fei, and that he might find himself in a difficult position when facing his family in the future. That was why she had come over to offer a few words of reassurance.
Looking into her earnest eyes, Shen Fei felt something stir within him. Then he gently shook his head, his voice steady and filled with unquestionable certainty. "Don't worry. I know what I should do."
He had never been someone who couldn't distinguish right from wrong. He remembered those who treated him well, whether it was the steward's occasional care or Xiao Ning'er's kindness before him now. But he wouldn't forget those who had harmed others, either.
The Sacred Family's deeds couldn't be wiped clean by invoking blood ties. When the day of decision truly arrived, he wouldn't hesitate for an instant.
Seeing his clear gaze and firm tone, Xiao Ning'er felt reassured that he wasn't merely putting on a brave face. She nodded and said no more, remaining beside him as they watched the passage entrance together.
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