Xiao Zhan nodded slightly at this.
"Since you already have a plan in mind, I won't say any more."
"Oh, Father, I probably won't be staying home for very long this time.
While I'm still here, let me refine some more pills for you to stockpile. Who knows when I'll be back again?" Xiao Yan continued.
"You're leaving again? Sigh, yes, Wutan City is too small for you, after all." Xiao Zhan fell silent for a moment at Xiao Yan's words.
After a while, he said gravely, "Don't bother refining pills for the clan. You're a Fourth-Rank Alchemist now, after all. Refining those low-grade pills would lower your standing and waste time you could spend cultivating.
I've already sent people to other cities to recruit alchemists. One First-Rank Alchemist heard that our Xiao Clan had a Fourth-Rank Alchemist backing us and readily agreed to become our guest elder. He should arrive before long."
Xiao Yan nodded. That worked, too.
After all, he couldn't stay with the Xiao Clan forever.
After thinking it over, Xiao Yan said with a smile, "Then once I get back, I'll prepare a copy of my alchemy insights for you, Father, covering everything from the first rank to the fourth.
If that alchemist performs well, you can give him my alchemy insights at your discretion. That will not only strengthen his loyalty to the Xiao Clan, but also help improve his alchemy skills."
Xiao Zhan's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his rugged, forthright face.
"Haha, excellent idea!"
Seeing his father's excitement, Xiao Yan smiled faintly.
The Jia Lie Family!
A heavy atmosphere hung over the hall.
Whether it was their patriarch, Jia Lie Bi, or the other elders of the Jia Lie Family, everyone's spirits had sunk to rock bottom.
The reason was simple: they had just received word that the Ao Ba Family had unilaterally dissolved its alliance with the Jia Lie Family and sided with the Xiao Clan.
Bang!
Upon receiving the news, Jia Lie Bi ground his teeth in fury and smashed the table before him into splinters with a single palm strike.
"That old bastard Oba Pa is an absolute fool.
Does he think Xiao Zhan won't settle accounts with him later just because he's thrown himself at the Xiao Clan's feet?
Our two families have fought the Xiao Clan for so many years. Doesn't he know Xiao Zhan is a cunning old fox?"
"Sigh!" The Jia Lie Family's first elder, seated to Jia Lie Bi's left, let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"Patriarch, if you ask me, we can't really blame Oba Pa. Everyone outside is saying that Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan may already have reached the Da Dou Shi level.
He's only sixteen! With him around, what hope do our Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family have?"
The first elder's words immediately struck a chord with many of the Jia Lie Family members in the hall.
With Xiao Yan around, what could they possibly use to fight the Xiao Clan?
Everyone turned their eyes toward the grim-faced Jia Lie Bi, as though waiting for him to make a decision.
Jia Lie Bi remained silent for a long while, then drew a deep breath, seemingly having made up his mind.
He swept his gaze over everyone, his eyes deep and his expression impassioned.
"Everyone, I know you're panicking right now, but let me tell you this: our Jia Lie Family hasn't lost yet.
We may not have a genius like Xiao Yan, but we have Master Lin Hong.
With him here, even if we can't turn defeat into victory, we can still leave Wutan City and start anew."
"That's right!"
"The patriarch is right! Our Jia Lie Family hasn't lost yet!"
"We still have Master Lin Hong!"
Jia Lie Bi's impassioned speech instantly ignited the fighting spirit in his family members' hearts.
One thing he had said was absolutely right: the Jia Lie Family and the Xiao Clan had nursed a grudge for far too long.
The members of the two families could barely stand the sight of each other.
Under these circumstances, as long as they had a choice, the Jia Lie Family's members would never submit easily.
The Jia Lie Family's first elder was an old man with snowy hair and beard. As he quietly watched all this, a trace of worry flickered in his eyes. "Patriarch, I remember Master Lin Hong has been in seclusion refining pills for over two months now. Has he still not come out?"
Jia Lie Bi shook his head. "We prepared far more medicinal ingredients this time than last time. Naturally, Master Lin Hong will need longer to refine them."
While speaking of Lin Hong, Jia Lie Bi did not forget to smile at Liu Xi, who sat farther down on his left.
Liu Xi raised his chin arrogantly, his nostrils practically pointing at the sky.
Many of the Jia Lie Family's members couldn't help casting looks of disgust and disdain his way.
Ever since this fellow had arrived, he had ridden roughshod over the Jia Lie Family, throwing his weight around and ordering its members about.
They had long since had enough of him.
Liu Xi naturally noticed their reactions, but rather than becoming angry or afraid, he smiled smugly, letting those opposite him clearly see the contempt and sneer on his face.
Not happy?
Then come hit me!
Just then, a guard suddenly rushed in through the door, terror written all over his face.
Jia Lie Bi frowned and snapped at him.
"What are you panicking for?"
"Has no one taught you any manners?"
Despite Jia Lie Bi's reprimand, the guard hurriedly spoke as though he hadn't heard a word.
"Patriarch, something terrible has happened!"
"The fourth and fifth elders guarding Master Lin Hong's door are dead!"
Bang!
The moment those words fell, Jia Lie Bi and everyone else in the hall shot to their feet.
"What did you say? Who's dead?!"
A terrifying aura erupted from Jia Lie Bi as he stared at the guard who had brought the news, his gaze like that of a malevolent ghost.
The sudden eruption of Jia Lie Bi's aura made the guard's legs tremble, but he continued, his face filled with fear. "The fourth and fifth elders were murdered outside Master Lin Hong's Alchemy Room. The killer... appears to have been Master Lin Hong."
At those words, Liu Xi became even more agitated than the Jia Lie Family members. He shouted, "What did you say? You dare accuse my master of murder? I'll kill you!"
As he spoke, Liu Xi prepared to attack.
Damn it, I'm still here! If Master is the killer, won't I be in deep trouble?
"Stop!"
Jia Lie Bi bellowed, casting an icy glance at Liu Xi, his voice full of menace.
"Let him finish."
Startled by Jia Lie Bi's ghostly, vicious gaze, Liu Xi sheepishly stayed his hand, but panic and unease seeped into his eyes.
If the killer really is Master, I'm finished!
The guard gave Jia Lie Bi a somewhat grateful look and continued, "The fourth and fifth elders were killed in a surprise attack while completely off guard. Master Lin Hong has also vanished, along with all the pills he refined over the past two months."
Thump!
The first elder's aged body slumped weakly back into his chair. At that moment, every member of the Jia Lie Family felt as though the heavens had collapsed.
Blood surged up Jia Lie Bi's throat and sprayed from his mouth, his aura withering in an instant.
His face twisted with resentment and hatred, and his voice grew much hoarser.
"That damned scoundrel Lin Hong has ruined me! He's ruined the entire Jia Lie Family!"
"He deserves to die!"
To stake everything on a final struggle against the Xiao Clan, Jia Lie Bi had poured in everything the family possessed and even borrowed a considerable sum of gold coins just to scrape together enough money for the medicinal ingredients.
He had never imagined that the scoundrel Lin Hong would run off with every pill the Jia Lie Family had been counting on to turn the tables.
No wonder he had been so eager to urge Jia Lie Bi to go all in two months ago. He had already been planning for this day back then.
At that thought, Jia Lie Bi abruptly turned his gaze toward Liu Xi, who was trembling and no longer dared to speak. A savage gleam flashed through his bloodshot eyes.
"Guards, drag this worthless wretch outside and slice him into a thousand pieces!"
Liu Xi's legs immediately went weak. He hurriedly cried, "Patriarch Jia Lie, perhaps there's some misunderstanding! Otherwise, why would my teacher leave me here?"
Jia Lie Bi snorted contemptuously. "Perhaps even your teacher thought that taking a fool like you along would create too many risks, so he left you here. Drag him away and slice him into a thousand pieces!"
As he spoke, Jia Lie Bi casually thrust out a finger, crippling both of Liu Xi's legs.
Two members of the Jia Lie Family scrambled forward at once, their expressions suggesting they wished they could skin Liu Xi alive and devour him whole.
"Patriarch, we'll do it!"
Jia Lie Bi nodded. A vicious gleam immediately appeared in their eyes as they advanced on Liu Xi step by step. Watching the two close in, Liu Xi braced his hands against the floor and kept backing away, his face filled with terror.
"No, no! Don't come any closer!"
"Patriarch Jia Lie, I was wrong! I really was wrong!"
"Spare my life! From now on, I'll devote myself wholeheartedly to refining pills for the Jia Lie Family!"
Before you continue