Qingyang City, the Liu Clan residence.
Inside a grand hall, more than a dozen people had gathered. A pale, somewhat frail-looking figure sat in a nanmu chair at the center of the hall. Liu Huabai looked at Xiao Yan, who was seated below, and asked with a smile,
"May I ask where you reside, fellow cultivator Xiao Yan?"
Xiao Yan naturally understood that Liu Huabai wanted to know the value of his wager. Otherwise, how could he answer to his clan? Liu Huabai had wagered his own clan to protect Xiao Yan. If he failed in the end, the price would be more than he could bear. Even sacrificing the entire clan might not be enough to make up for his mistake.
Xiao Yan did not answer immediately. Instead, he first swept his gaze over everyone in the hall. Most were elders of the Liu Clan and its more outstanding younger members. They had all heard that the two clans were about to go to war, and that it had all been caused by an outsider named Xiao Yan. They could also more or less guess why their clan leader had risked the entire clan to protect him, so their faces all bore a trace of expectation. After looking them over, Xiao Yan turned to Liu Huabai and replied with a smile,
"I am merely a wandering cultivator. I only gained my present strength because I happened upon a few opportunities. I have no fixed place to call home."
The moment he said this, a commotion broke out in the hall. Had they not waited here quietly in the hope that Xiao Yan would confirm he had a power backing him? Yet now it seemed the boy had nothing at all and had merely been putting on airs all along. Even Liu Huabai's expression changed slightly, but he regained his composure a moment later. He had seen the faint, confident smile at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth. It was not the first time he had seen that smile, so calm in the face of danger and full of confidence. Liu Huabai also had a persistent feeling that something lay behind it that he could not see. That was the real reason he could not see through Xiao Yan and had dared to wager the clan. Xiao Yan had worn the same smile when facing the Wu Clan leader and his companion at the inn. Yet even now, he remained utterly unruffled, a smile playing on his lips. This was no act. This young man was no ordinary person!
At that thought, Liu Huabai's heart settled. He slammed his broad palm down on the table made of fine nanmu. Wood chips flew, and a tremendous bang rang through the hall. The noisy hall fell silent in an instant. Everyone glared at Xiao Yan but dared not make a sound. As Liu Huabai looked at the silenced crowd, the bearing of a man in authority rose naturally from him, stirring everyone below and drawing their gazes involuntarily toward him.
Liu Huabai looked at the people watching him, then took another long look at Xiao Yan, who was seated below. At last, he spoke.
"Although fellow cultivator Xiao Yan is alone, he has done me a great kindness. Now the Wu Clan is intent on swallowing up our Liu Clan, and fellow cultivator Xiao Yan is also an enemy of the Wu Clan. How can our Liu Clan stand by and do nothing? Besides, even if the Wu Clan truly leaves us alone for five years, can our Liu Clan really grow strong enough in that time to contend with them? Therefore, I have decided to join forces with fellow cultivator Xiao Yan and fight the Wu Clan! If we win, our Liu Clan will endure in Qingyang City. If we lose, I will still see the Wu Clan gravely weakened and unable to maintain its foothold here! Do the men of the Liu Clan dare fight the Wu Clan alongside me, destroy them, and restore our clan's glory?"
Liu Huabai grew more excited as he spoke, until he was practically roaring. When his impassioned speech ended, everyone in the hall shouted in unison,
"Fight! Fight! Fight..."
Xiao Yan nodded, sighing inwardly. But when Liu Huabai saw him nodding repeatedly, his gaze sharpened slightly. Xiao Yan's attitude gave him the impression of an old senior praising a junior. Liu Huabai was startled. Could Xiao Yan be an old monster who had lived for hundreds of years?
There were always old seniors in this world who liked to use secret techniques to restore their youthful appearance, then play the pig to eat the tiger among the crowd, leaving people both angry and helpless. Now that the thought had suddenly occurred to Liu Huabai, he considered Xiao Yan's earlier behavior as well and grew more and more excited. If Xiao Yan truly was a senior playing the pig to eat the tiger, then Liu Huabai's effort to protect him at the risk of the entire clan would surely earn the Liu Clan his goodwill. When that time came, the Liu Clan would rise!
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a door burst open. Five gray-haired elders dressed in white strode into the hall together, and the crowd promptly parted to let them through. The five walked up to Liu Huabai. A faint light flashed in the eyes of the elder leading them as he looked at Liu Huabai and said,
"Clan leader, I must object. So long as the Wu Clan allows our Liu Clan five years to recover, your strength may yet improve. Moreover, now that you have made a strong recovery, our Liu Clan will surely still stand in Qingyang City after five years. Yet you are gambling the clan on a junior you do not know at all. Clan leader, what a gamble you are making!"
The faces of everyone in the hall changed at once. They looked at Liu Huabai with deep suspicion in their eyes. The elder narrowed his eyes as well, his gaze sharp upon Liu Huabai. But Liu Huabai ignored them and looked instead at Xiao Yan, who had been sitting below with an impassive expression. Seeing Liu Huabai look at him, Xiao Yan smiled faintly, rose, and turned to the five elders.
"Clan Leader Liu, these five are elders of your Liu Clan, aren't they?"
Liu Huabai frowned slightly, but nodded in confirmation and said to Xiao Yan,
"The one in the middle is our Liu Clan's grand elder. His strength has reached Seven Star Peak Dou Zong, making him the strongest in our clan after me. The other four are also elders of our Liu Clan. Their strength is considerable; all of them are Dou Zong experts and pillars of our clan. It is just a pity..."
Liu Huabai had grown more animated as he spoke, but by the end his voice had fallen, carrying a hint of dejection. Xiao Yan thought nothing of it and looked at the five elders. One of them snorted when Xiao Yan's gaze fell on him and said mockingly,
"Where did this ignorant junior come from? I advise you to leave our Liu Clan sooner rather than later and stop bringing trouble upon us. Otherwise, I will kill you where you stand this instant! Hmph!" As he finished, the elder cast a deeply displeased look at Liu Huabai, who sat in the seat of honor.
Xiao Yan took it all in, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile. He suddenly said to Liu Huabai in a mocking tone,
"Clan Leader Liu, these elders of yours seem rather dissatisfied with you as their clan leader. In that case, I'll discipline them for you." Xiao Yan spoke with perfect calm, but to Liu Huabai, his words sounded like thunder from the ninth heaven. Shocked, he was just about to act when the elders burst into laughter. His expression changed slightly, and he cursed inwardly,
You old bastards, can't you see the truth even now? If Xiao Yan were really an ordinary person, would I have gone to such lengths to befriend him? What a bunch of stupid pigs!
"Boom!"
As soon as Liu Huabai's words ended, the five elders' laughter abruptly vanished, replaced by a crash that shook the hall. Everyone stared at Xiao Yan in shock, their eyes full of disbelief. Just now, Xiao Yan had merely waved his sleeve, and the five experts, among the strongest in Qingyang City, had been sent flying, slamming hard into the pillars of the hall. The sudden scene made the Liu Clan members realize that this young man, who appeared to be about their age, was actually an exceedingly powerful expert, at least as strong as a Dou Zun. Liu Huabai looked at Xiao Yan, both shocked and helpless. He had expected Xiao Yan to be extraordinary, but he had not imagined him to be this strong. Fortunately, he had not provoked him like those old fellows. Otherwise, the Liu Clan might have been destroyed today, without even lasting until tomorrow.
Xiao Yan looked indifferently at the five Liu Clan elders and gave a cold snort. With a thought, he bound them in midair, then reached out, his hand forming a claw as he prepared to strike.
"Senior, wait!"
Seeing that Xiao Yan was about to kill his clan's five elders, Liu Huabai grew alarmed and hurriedly called out to him. Xiao Yan frowned slightly, then snorted coldly and threw the five Liu Clan elders out of the hall like torn sacks. Liu Huabai breathed a sigh of relief. He stood, turned to Xiao Yan, and bowed.
"Thank you, Senior, for sparing their lives. I will certainly punish them severely according to clan rules afterward." Liu Huabai spoke without the slightest hesitation and summoned people to carry the five elders to the clan prison, where they would await his judgment. As they were being carried away, he made a particular point of angrily ordering the servants to hurry, saying he did not want the elders to offend Senior Xiao Yan's eyes. Everyone who heard him merely curled their lips and said nothing. The Liu Clan leader's old face reddened slightly, but for the sake of the five elders' lives, Liu Huabai endured it, red-faced.
"Are you satisfied with how I have handled this, Senior? If not, I will have the servants carry them back at once and leave them to your judgment." Seeing that Xiao Yan was still expressionless, Liu Huabai bowed and asked.
"It's fine. I only hope that Clan Leader Liu will manage his clan properly in the future and stop bringing trouble upon it. I hope nothing like today's incident happens again. Otherwise, I trust you know what the consequences would be, Clan Leader Liu. Things might not end as they did today."
Xiao Yan's words were calm, but Liu Huabai's heart trembled. Xiao Yan was right. By letting the Liu Clan's five elders off like this, he had already shown considerable magnanimity. Had it been someone else, the entire Liu Clan might have been finished by now. At the thought, Liu Huabai cursed inwardly, but in the end he only sighed softly and murmured,
"It seems the clan does need to be put in order."
His voice was quiet, but everyone present possessed strength. That much was enough for them to hear. After hearing his words, the people in the hall grew restless. A storm within the clan had become inevitable.
Xiao Yan paid no attention to their changing expressions. He turned and headed out of the hall. Liu Huabai hurried after him and came to his side, intending to lead the way, but Xiao Yan did not seem to want him to do so. He walked on by himself, as though strolling about the Liu residence. Liu Huabai's heart gave a slight jolt. Xiao Yan was heading toward his bedroom. Could Xiao Yan...? Liu Huabai grew somewhat angry. Even if Xiao Yan was a senior and an expert who thought nothing of a small clan like his, he was still a clan leader, yet Xiao Yan would behave like this. Even Liu Huabai found it hard to accept. Had he not still been unaware of Xiao Yan's ultimate purpose, he might already have fought him to the death.
"Bang!"
Xiao Yan waved his sleeve, and an invisible burst of force blasted open Liu Huabai's tightly shut door, revealing several pieces of furniture and a bed. Xiao Yan entered first, with Liu Huabai close behind, his face dark. As soon as Liu Huabai stepped inside, the wooden door, also made of fine nanmu, slammed shut, enclosing the two of them. His expression changed slightly as he looked at Xiao Yan. But Xiao Yan sat down beside the tea table without so much as looking at him. He filled a jade cup on the table with tea, took a small sip, and only then addressed the dark-faced Liu Huabai.
"Just now, I noticed that your breathing was uneven and your blood Qi unstable. You also have a hidden injury inside you. Liu Xiang already found medicinal ingredients for you, so I assume your clan's alchemist lacked the skill to completely remove the lingering effects?"
Liu Huabai was taken aback at first. Then he looked at Xiao Yan with a sigh and nodded. Xiao Yan nodded slightly in turn and said,
"For Liu Xiang's sake, go and sit on the bed. Take off your upper robe, and I'll remove the hidden danger inside you myself."
Liu Huabai hurriedly did as he was told. Xiao Yan smiled faintly, then walked over to treat his injuries.
(I hope all my fellow readers enjoy it. If there are any problems, please say so directly in the comments, and I'll correct them. And then there are recommendation votes-please! Thank you!)