As the Xiao Clan briefly regained its calm amid silent undercurrents, at the other end of Wutan City, true chaos and panic were only just beginning to unfold.
Unlike the Xiao Clan's tight defenses, the Jia Lie Family, the Ao Ba Family, and the city's wealthy merchants were more than a step behind in their response. By the time they sensed the danger, the dust had already settled.
Several carriages carrying iron cages raced along a secluded road outside the city, escorted by dozens of fierce-looking men in black wielding sharp blades.
Inside the iron cages, sobs, whimpers, and frightened whispers mingled in an air of despair. These were the children of prominent families in Wutan City. Once accustomed to fine clothes and rich food, they were now crammed into these cramped, jolting spaces like lambs awaiting slaughter.
Among the shivering boys and girls, one particularly tall figure stood out awkwardly. It was Jia Lie Ao of the Jia Lie Family. His hands were bound behind his back with coarse hemp rope, and his face alternated between red and pale, betraying both fury at his abduction and a trace of unspeakable shame.
He was almost twenty, long past the age of being abducted as a "child," yet several Dou Shi had brought him down through underhanded means on his way home. When he woke up, he was here.
Beside him, an equally bound, round-faced boy-Oba Dun of the Ao Ba Family-was studying him curiously with his small eyes. Seemingly oblivious to the situation, he lowered his voice and asked.
"Hey, Brother Jia Lie Ao, how come you're here too? Aren't you almost twenty and already a Dou Zhe? How did you get caught?"
Jia Lie Ao's face twitched violently at those words. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped