Morning reckoning

Xiao Yan quickly weighed things up. Having a powerful expert who might be "Venerable Yao" as his teacher was a bargain no matter how he looked at it! Better yet, he could shake off the label of "trash" and make everyone who had mocked him see him in a whole new light!

"All right, Senior! I agree!" Excitement flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes as he nodded solemnly. "As long as it makes me stronger, I won't so much as furrow my brow, even if you send me through mountains of blades and seas of fire! I'll keep your existence sealed behind my lips, too!"

Seeing Xiao Yan agree so readily, Yao Chen nodded in satisfaction. At last, he had sorted one of them out. Then he glanced at Xiao Yi, who was still squirming faintly on the floor and muttering, "...octopus... throat lock..." His spectral form rippled again.

Xiao Yan followed his gaze and felt his scalp prickle. He asked hesitantly, "Then... Senior, what... do we do with this guy?"

Yao Chen pondered for a moment. As he looked at Xiao Yi, who refused to settle down even after being dosed with Tendon-Softening Powder, a complicated expression crossed his aged face.

"This boy... certainly behaves outrageously. He is difficult to fathom. Still, I did absorb his Dou Qi earlier, so I do owe him something. Besides, have you considered this? Without any Dou Qi whatsoever, he beat those youngsters of your Xiao Clan with their few stages of Dou Qi until they were scattered like fallen petals and flowing water. That alone proves he is not entirely without ability. His methods are simply... a little wild."

Yao Chen looked at Xiao Yan, a hint of admonition in his voice. "Better to untie a knot of enmity than tighten it. He now lives under another's roof, while you are the Xiao Clan's Third Young Master. If you can resolve your earlier conflict, he might yet become an ally. After all, one more friend is better than one more enemy who is constantly dreaming up strange ways to deal with you."

Before Xiao Yan could think it through, Yao Chen's illusory figure turned into a streak of light and slipped back into the plain, ancient ring on Xiao Yan's finger, leaving only his words lingering behind. "Dawn is almost here. Conduct yourself wisely. Remember, keep this secret."

The room fell utterly quiet, save for Xiao Yi's barely audible sleep-muttering on the floor and the faint morning light gradually filtering through the window. Xiao Yan stood rooted to the spot, looking at the ring on his finger, then at Xiao Yi, who lay limp on the floor yet still exuded an eerie air. His emotions tangled together. Everything that had happened that night felt even stranger and more fantastical than his transmigration into this world. Dawn had come, but the new troubles and opportunities seemed only just to have begun.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside. With a creak, someone pushed the door open. Several Xiao Clan guards appeared in the doorway, led by a man who looked like a steward. He first glanced at the wreckage inside, then fixed his gaze on Xiao Yan, who was holding his head, and Xiao Yi, who lay limp on the floor. His brows knitted tightly.

"Third Young Master, the clan leader and the elders have ordered you and... this gentleman to proceed immediately to the Council Hall for the morning meeting." The steward's tone was stern and brooked no argument. Clearly, last night's commotion had been loud enough to alert the clan's entire leadership.

Xiao Yan nodded, understanding perfectly. This so-called "morning meeting" was probably a "reckoning" aimed at Xiao Yi. He turned to look at Xiao Yi on the floor again and felt a headache coming on. How was he supposed to get the fellow there in this state?

Seemingly noticing Xiao Yan's difficulty, the steward signaled the guards behind him with a glance. Two guards stepped forward and looked with some distaste at Xiao Yi, who was still squirming faintly on the floor and occasionally mumbling indistinct syllables such as "...coil... lock..." Then they each took one of his limp arms and practically dragged him out of the room.

Xiao Yan followed behind. Watching Xiao Yi being dragged away like a sack of flour, he felt all five flavors mingle in his heart.

Inside the Council Hall, the atmosphere was exceptionally grim. Almost all the Xiao Clan's core members had gathered. The clan head, Xiao Zhan, sat in the seat of honor with a dark expression. Several elders sat on either side, their expressions varied but their gazes equally scrutinizing. Xiao Yi and Xiao Yan's clash the previous night, along with those unheard-of claims about "cult rituals," "Body possession," and "usurping his position," had already stirred towering waves within the clan. Some even whispered that Xiao Yi might have been possessed by some evil spirit. Why else would he have attacked the Third Young Master?

Xiao Zhan felt this particularly keenly. He had taken Xiao Yi as his adopted son because he valued what was "special" about him, never imagining that the boy would cause such an enormous mess immediately upon arriving and leave him humiliated.

The instant Xiao Yan and the supported Xiao Yi entered the hall, every gaze converged on them. The guards dumped Xiao Yi on the floor. He remained as limp as a puddle of mud, though he seemed to have stopped squirming and no longer made a sound, as if he had passed out completely.

The Second Elder was the first to launch an attack, sharply demanding an account of the previous night. His words were full of condemnation and suspicion toward Xiao Yi's behavior, portraying him as a dangerous individual who had tried to harm Xiao Yan and coveted status within the clan. A chorus of agreement rose around him, accusing Xiao Yi of repaying kindness with ingratitude and behaving bizarrely.

Just as this barrage of denunciations reached its peak and everyone demanded severe punishment for Xiao Yi, no one noticed that exactly a quarter of an hour had passed since Yao Chen scattered the Tendon-Softening Powder. Yao Chen's control over its potency was precise to the extreme.

Xiao Yi, who had been lying motionless on the floor, suddenly twitched an eyelid, then snapped his eyes open! His gaze was still somewhat dazed, but his body shot up from the floor as though someone had pressed a spring!

"Who? Who's bad-mouthing me?!" Xiao Yi shook his still somewhat groggy head and looked around. Faced with a roomful of wide-eyed, stunned people and his unfamiliar surroundings, he seemed not to have fully grasped the situation yet.

His sudden movement gave everyone a tremendous fright! The Second Elder, who had just been reprimanding him so fiercely, was particularly startled by this corpse-like resurrection. He stumbled back a step and pointed at Xiao Yi, unable to utter a word for a long while.

Standing to one side, Xiao Yan watched this theatrical scene and could not help pressing a hand to his forehead with a sigh. This guy... never gives anyone a moment's peace. But on second thought, no matter how he looked at it, the fellow was a "compatriot" of his in this world. He had even studied abroad, so his knowledge ought to be out of the ordinary. Although his behavior was a little outrageous, he did seem capable of becoming an ally.

At that thought, Xiao Yan let out a deep sigh. Fine, fine. Since we're both transmigrators, I'll give him a hand. Otherwise, with that temperament of his, these old fossils might swallow him alive and strip him to the bone. Or this oddball might stir up some other, even bigger disaster...

Everyone stared at Xiao Yi, who had abruptly sprung up and was now looking around with a bewildered expression yet an aggressive air. An eerie silence settled over the Council Hall. The sudden turn of events had stunned everyone speechless, and even the air seemed to have frozen.