After looking over the thin scrap of paper in his hand for the third time, inside the study, Xie Xuan finally couldn’t hold back and spoke. The fox-like eyes that usually carried a teasing half-smile were now filled with gravity:

“Miss, this formation diagram really is—”

The words trailed off, and even Xie Xuan felt a little ridiculous.

As a legitimate scion of the Xie clan and not as tied up in official duties as his elder brother, Xie Xuan prided himself on having some learning.

Although there were parts of this formation diagram he didn’t fully understand, its obvious intricacy was clear to the naked eye.

It was probably even stronger than the mountain-protecting formation the Azure Cloud Sect had preserved for a thousand years.

Unthinkable—if such a formation could be used for their own household…

“Miss, the deal you mentioned, does it concern Young Master Xiao?” After a brief flicker of excitement, Xie Xuan recovered quickly and looked up at the woman before him.

Admittedly, when she left earlier he had felt worried. But seeing Miss Shen choose to return to her sect alone, he could tell that her master, though caring toward disciples, preferred to avoid worldly entanglements.

That was normal. Someone who chose to seclude themselves for long periods tended to be indifferent by nature.

If only Miss Shen were involved, no matter how many troubles she carried, the worst-case plan would simply be to withdraw back to the mountain and never involve herself in the world again.

Young Master Xiao, however, was different.

To be frank, he would bring far more trouble.

An Ning didn’t deny this;
she only raised an almost imperceptible brow at the man opposite:

“Then, do the Xie family dare to bet on this deal?”

Her tone implied she could walk away at any time and, at worst, find another partner. Xie Xuan’s pupils tightened and he instinctively closed the folding fan in his hand.

Before he could reply, she added in a lighter voice:

“But harsh words first: this formation was created by my master. To unleash its fullest power would require not a little but a significant amount of spiritual materials.”

“Rest assured, Miss Shen, our Xie family does have that sort of backing.”

Regarding his family’s wealth, Third Young Master Xie was clearly very confident.

“Please wait a moment, Miss. I will send word to my household right away…”

***

“I didn’t expect the host would want to cooperate with the Xie family, huh!”

“And what else? Not cooperate and have me hide the Child of Destiny by myself, dodging and weaving?”

Counting the supplies at hand, An Ning shot it a withering look.

Not to mention whether a six-year-old child should live every day in fear on the run—given her current strength, she could not confront things head-on.

Challenges beyond one’s level are never as easy as imagined.

Besides, a six-year-old needs companions. If this child had survived this long, it wasn’t because of luck;
the Xie family’s educational resources were, at the very least, adequate.

Other sects and noble houses—put aside unfamiliarity—mostly hated this little one, whether they were righteous sects or demonic cults.

Why the Xie family was among the few exceptions? Oh, it wasn’t that their family values were exceptionally upright or that they were morally superior. Families enduring generation after generation like that? Honestly, unlikely.

The real reason was simple: the others just died too early.

That was why An Ning wasn’t too worried about being refused.

Sure enough, the message had barely reached the family when the Xie family head treated it with grave seriousness and immediately summoned the most capable clan elders.

“What does everyone think of the letter from Yun Gui?” the family head asked.

The elders exchanged glances. One bearded elder with white whiskers frowned:

“This… Family Head, there’s no denying Miss Shen is formidable, and her master’s depth is unfathomable. Naturally we must befriend them if possible. But that Young Master Xiao…”

At the thought of that person’s status, the elder sighed.

“The Xuanming Cult already acts tyrannically. If they learn the Xie family secretly harbors the sect leader’s child, it would be tantamount to our family’s destruction!”

The risk was simply too great.

For an array diagram whose true effects were still unknown…

“Look at you, Fourth Brother. Who doesn’t know the Xuanming Cult’s leader in recent years has nearly gone mad in his pursuit of power? Thinking we can remain untouched just because our senior elder is gone—do you really believe that?”

As soon as those words fell, Second Elder Xie couldn’t help replying angrily:

“Hah! When you want to frame someone, you can always find reasons! Look at Jue’er back then—wasn’t he the best example?”

Remembering that incident, the other elders fell silent.

They called it a dispute, but the man had been driven to such a state that his meridians were ruined—who would believe it wasn’t deliberate?

It was just another calculated provocation.

The Xie family’s later restraint had already proven too much.

Thinking of what his grandson had suffered over the years, Second Elder Xie lost his temper and sneered coldly:

“Endure, endure, endure—have you not seen they’d already put the blade to our throat? Why hide away like turtles when we could use such an opportunity to strengthen ourselves?”

“At that time we’d be nothing but fish on their chopping board.”

Having said this, Second Elder Xie swept his sleeves and left in a rage.

With the hot-tempered elder gone, the hall was left in prolonged silence.

After an unknown interval, the Xie family head spoke with solemnity: “Second Elder was a bit impassioned, but his words are not without reason.”

His commanding gaze swept the table slowly as he continued in a low voice:

“Rather than trust an enemy’s conscience, we should seize every chance to grow stronger.”

After a long pause he added:

“After all, while others may not know, the Xie family does—our previous senior elder has not been among the living for decades…”

When those words fell, the faces of the elders beneath him only grew more complicated.

That former senior elder was a figure of both love and hatred within the Xie household.

From youth he had extraordinary talent, surpassing everyone;
even many sect prodigies could not compare. Most important, he was the only person in a century to break through to half-step Golden Core, and might have continued further.

But before the Xie family could bask in triumph, an incident exposed him and the tests from various sects and clans began to pour in.

“No secret? Ridiculous. Why has only he broken through in a hundred years? Why not us?”

Even if there truly was no secret, at least share the experience for the future of cultivation—how could the Xie family be so selfish?

So questions, rumors, and accusations followed.

If not for the Xie family’s deep roots and local reputation, it would have been disastrous.

What made matters worse was that those accusations weren’t entirely baseless: the former senior elder had indeed used forbidden methods to break through.

He succeeded in forcefully accelerating his advancement, but over time his meridians became increasingly chaotic, and ultimately he exploded during his seclusion and died.

From then on, the Xie family’s last layer of deterrence vanished, leaving only endless aftershocks.

Especially now, those in the cultivation world seeking to plunge themselves into madness were not limited to the Xuanming Cult’s leader.

After careful consideration, that then-family head decided to seal off the truth and pretend the patron still lived.

But a lie is still a lie—no matter how much bluster, without confidence it would burst like a bubble.

After a long silence, and amidst the elders’ quiet, the Xie family head solemnly penned his reply.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep