In the blink of an eye, another month has passed.
Inside the Huo Clan, Huo Ting sat in the main seat of a large hall with a gloomy face. Because of the previous incident, he, the third elder of the family, had been confined to his quarters for a month, and the confinement had only been lifted now.
In the hall at this moment, besides Huo Ting with a gloomy face, there were quite a few other people, all of whom were stewards from various parts of the Huo Clan. They all held some power within the family, and they were also the people Huo Ting had sent to search for Xiao Yan's whereabouts a month ago.
"Hmph, it's been a month, how have you all been?"
Huo Ting's cold gaze swept over everyone present. Every family has its own factions, and even within the same family, not everyone works together. Those present were on Huo Ting's side, and the family's First Elder and Second Elder also had their own powerful backers. Of course, regardless of these factions within the family, when it comes to matters concerning the family's interests, these people usually unite immediately.
Upon hearing Huo Ting's words, many people present exchanged glances, their expressions turning awkward. They were all from the same faction, yet they remained indifferent while Huo Ting was under house arrest. This was indeed disheartening.
"Hmph, I don't want to concern myself with these matters now. I only ask you this: with so many of you, plus the numerous family members I later dispatched, why haven't you found Xiao Yan yet! You must give me an answer to this!"
He slammed his hand heavily on the table beneath him, the terrifying force causing the wooden table to Huo Ting instantly. The expressions on the faces of everyone present changed abruptly at that moment.
"Third Elder, we did search the entire mountain range, and we searched it four or five times, but we never found any trace of Xiao Yan. Perhaps... perhaps he had already left that mountain range long ago."
Among the crowd sitting below the stage, someone mustered up the courage to express their opinion to Huo Ting. The moment the words left his mouth, Huo Ting immediately turned his chilling gaze to the speaker. His extremely cold eyes seemed to freeze people in place. Everyone in the audience who witnessed this scene shrank back in fear.
"Are you implying that I failed to investigate and that I made you come all this way for nothing?"
"Gurgle..."
As soon as Huo Ting uttered these words, an invisible aura of pressure emanated from him, quickly enveloping the entire hall. Everyone felt as if they were carrying a mountain on their backs, especially the man who had just spoken. The pressure above his head was incredibly strong, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably. Cold sweat poured out of his body, quickly soaking his clothes.
"Hmph, since I entrusted you with the search, I naturally had absolute certainty. Given the circumstances, even if that kid wasn't seriously injured, he couldn't have left that mountain range so easily. But since you can't find him, it means you didn't search carefully enough. There must be places you missed in that mountain range!"
Huo Ting's sharp gaze slowly swept over everyone present. Most of them looked around suspiciously after meeting Huo Ting's gaze, seemingly confused. Others were deep in thought, as if recalling whether they had really missed anything in that mountain range a month ago.
Just as Huo Ting's gaze swept over a certain person, his eyes, which had been about to look away, suddenly stopped. He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at a slender middle-aged man in the hall. Huo Ting frowned and asked in a deep voice:
" Huo Feng, is there something you haven't told me?"
"Uh... uh... no... no..."
The middle-aged man called Huo Feng quickly stood up, his expression showing some panic.
"Hmph, you're incredibly audacious! You dare to try anything funny in front of me? I think you're tired of living a peaceful life!"
After being coldly rebuked by Huo Ting, the middle-aged man's face turned pale with fear, and his eyes involuntarily looked around. Finally, when he saw Huo Yun, his eyes suddenly lit up. At the same time, Huo Ting noticed the change in the latter's expression and immediately turned his sharp gaze to Huo Yun.
" Huo Yun, tell me what happened! If you don't tell me, you can forget about your position as steward!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Yun, whose face was already pale, suddenly became frightened. He knew what Huo Feng meant by that look; he was referring to the A Bao Cave. After all, it was the only place they hadn't searched.
Under Huo Ting's constant pressure, Huo Yun had no choice but to recount the events of that day in detail.
"What did you say! A mere Nine-Star Half-Emperor actually stopped my Huo Clan's steward, and you even brought two Seven-Star Half-Emperor with you! You... you really are..."
Upon hearing Huo Yun's account, Huo Ting was filled with even greater rage. His gaze swept over the three people from that day with a murderous intensity. After a long while, he took a deep breath, closed his old eyes slightly, and said weakly:
"Give the order: Huo Yun dismissed from his position as steward today, fined ten Spirit Stone, and given three months' salary. The other two will receive the same punishment. In addition, they will be confined to their quarters for one month and are not allowed to leave their homes for the rest of the month."
Amidst the horrified gazes of Huo Yun and the other two, Huo Clan guards entered from outside the door. They first led the two men out, but when they reached Huo Yun, the latter knelt down, trembling all over, and kowtowed to Huo Ting, begging for mercy with bloodshot eyes.
"Get out! You better never see me again, unless you want to die!"
Huo Ting showed no mercy. With a wave of his sleeve, a terrifying force surged forth, sending Huo Yun flying with a single blow. Huo Yun crashed through several walls in the courtyard and landed nearly seriously injured.
It has to be said that this time, allowing Xiao Yan to escape unscathed has indeed angered Huo Ting. As the third elder of the Huo Clan, he holds a high position and great power, yet he has been made to look so foolish by a mere brat. Not only did he fail to catch the culprit, but he was also confined to his quarters for a month. As the leader of the family, this incident has caused him to lose face!
"Now, immediately, send someone to Xuan City to inform that bastard Lin Zehong to go and bring back that Nine-Star Half-Emperor guy. I want to 'learn from' him personally!"