He wore a slightly worn, dark gray, narrow-sleeved robe, looking as if he had traveled a long, dusty road. He hadn’t even had time to clean the bloodstains that had somehow gotten on his sleeves.

Looking at the anxious-looking cultivator in black robes before her, An Ning had to admit that at this moment, she actually had the illusion that this was indeed happening as expected.

Really… not a single bit surprising?

She casually set down the freshly brewed spirit tea. It seemed enjoying some of the new pastries today was out of the question.

Sure enough, the next moment, she heard the other party hurriedly speak:

“Miss Shen, it’s terrible! Not long ago, I and several friends were pursuing a Scarlet Flame Beast and passed by the Northern Nether Mountain. Who would have thought that in less than half a quarter of an hour, Brother Zhu, who was perfectly fine before, suddenly lost his mind, he actually… he actually…”

A pained expression involuntarily appeared on Yan Xing’s originally handsome and upright face. His eyes, still bloodshot, closed heavily.

“He actually started attacking us all madly.”

“And surprisingly, Brother Zhu’s original cultivation was not as high as ours, but he was able to kill three people in an instant, and each move was ruthless and merciless…”

At this point, Yan Xing’s eyes grew even dimmer. Among their group, he was the one with the highest cultivation. Not only did he fail to notice something was wrong immediately, but if he had been more decisive from the start, less hesitant to hold back, perhaps those few people…

Thinking of this, Yan Xing couldn’t help but cover his eyes in sorrow.

However, An Ning’s focus was a bit different. Her gaze paused on the other’s bloodstained robe for a moment.

“And what about that last cultivator who went berserk?”

The man before her said with deep pain:

“Before he could go on a rampage and attack the villagers, I killed him with my own hands!”

Oh! That’s not surprising.

Raising her hand to stop A-Yi who was about to speak beside her, An Ning responded indifferently upon hearing this. She lowered her head to take a sip of clear tea before lifting her eyes.

Her clear, slightly cool gaze looked directly at the other party:

“So, what is the purpose of Sir Yan’s visit this time?”

Being looked at with such eyes, Yan Xing felt a moment of discomfort. But thinking of the previous scene, he continued:

“To be honest with you, Miss Shen, after settling the remaining companions, I specifically went to search the nearby area. Sure enough, on one of the large boulders, I found traces of a formation.

Thinking that you, Miss Shen, are outstanding in the formation path, if you could…” He hurriedly added at the end,

“And afterwards, I specifically inquired at the foot of the mountain. Indeed, there have been many more quarrels and even fatal incidents occurring nearby recently.”

“Even the few friends who were originally recuperating from injuries have been arguing frequently lately.”

At this point, Yan Xing couldn’t help but frown, his tone urgent, clearly already aware of the seriousness of the situation.

It must be said, for someone who is hunted all over the place yet manages to escape safely every time, besides luck, this man’s observational skills are not weak either.

An Ning glanced at the other’s empty waist. As expected, she didn’t see the protective jade pendant A-Yi had given him earlier.

Probably given to someone in need again!

But…

“Such a major event, I wonder if Sir Yan intends to notify the leaders of the major sects?”

Not directly meeting the anxious gaze of the person before her, An Ning slightly raised her eyes, speaking meaningfully:

“Especially Northern Mountain, if I remember correctly, is one of the territories of the Ling Shu Sect.”

“It’s also not far from the neighboring Xuanming Sect.”

One could say, no matter which place, it was much closer than her location here.

As her words fell, Yan Xing couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment. His first reaction was:

But in terms of cultivation and formation ability, isn’t Miss Shen more powerful?

Early in the first month, a touch of frost had already appeared outside.

However, at this moment, within the small courtyard filled with large patches of roses, it was like spring all year round. Not only was the humidity comfortable, but colorful bees, butterflies, and birds stopped by from time to time.

It was clearly an extremely powerful formation.

So powerful and rare, it was enough to see that this person’s skill in the formation path was probably unparalleled in the current world.

For a moment, no one spoke before the small sandalwood table.

After a brief silence.

As if understanding her meaning, Yan Xing quickly raised his hand.

“Thank you for the reminder, Miss Shen. I will go notify the several sect leaders shortly.”

Hearing this, An Ning then nodded faintly.

The Xuanming Sect was domineering by nature, that was another matter. But elsewhere, as Yan Xing was a rather famous knight-errant in the cultivation world with first-rate combat power, there was no possibility of him being turned away.

However, before leaving, Yan Xing still specifically left behind a diagram he had carved earlier based on that broken formation.

This she didn’t refuse either. Without even glancing at the restless, anxious expression of the red-robed youth beside her, she waited until the man left, brewed another pot of clear tea, and then casually picked up the formation diagram to examine it quietly.

For a moment, the originally vibrant small courtyard was exceptionally quiet and silent, save for the chirping of birds.

“Aunt, I was wrong!”

“Little Aunt, Yi’er was really wrong…”

“Yi’er was really wrong, I shouldn’t hide anything from you in the future, and I shouldn’t think about investigating and telling you in a couple of days…”

In less than a moment, Xiao Yi, not far away, could no longer hold back. He hurriedly circled around An Ning, chattering and begging for forgiveness. As he spoke, he didn’t forget to raise both hands high.

He then proceeded to recount his previous discovery in detail without missing a thing.

However, An Ning after hearing it: “???”

“Huh, so you were high in the air, several miles away, and you could still detect it, kid.”

Glancing at the increasingly handsome and tall youth before her in recent years, An Ning couldn’t help but give him a strange look for a moment.

With years of tacit understanding, Xiao Yi quickly understood her meaning and immediately frowned:

Was the person behind it targeting him, or his aunt?

If it was him, fine. But if it was Little Aunt…

An Ning didn’t speak, only nodded with an expression that said ‘the pupil is teachable’.

Sure enough, the next moment, the red-robed youth grew even more furious. He was so angry now that even the unruly hair on his head couldn’t help but stick up.

And he firmly believed it himself:

“Hmph, no wonder! The ones who had an incident just happened to be that troublesome Fu Family, and I just happened to notice something was wrong!”

“And Master Yan…”

Ha! The mastermind behind this has quite a few tricks!

What a pity, that monster, it still couldn’t escape my Old Xiao’s sharp eyes.

The more he thought about it, the more Xiao Yi felt there was a conspiracy, and he grew much more cautious, carefully recalling the events of that day.

And the more he thought, the more problematic it seemed.

Turns out, a while ago, he, Xie Yu, and a few newly acquainted friends were out playing. On the way back, a strange aura suddenly appeared in the sky.

Young people are curious after all. Plus, he had just broken through recently, and he had a rare treasure on him. One could say, currently, only two people could pose a threat to him. So he didn’t have too many reservations. After properly disguising himself and preparing his defenses, he directly rode his longsword down to investigate.

“Who would have thought that aura was indeed coming from that Madam Fu. But by then, the Fu Family was already in complete chaos.”

The youth couldn’t help but stroke his chin:

“I heard the Fu Family Head was killed, and his body was made into…” Tsk, Xiao Yi silently complained.

Who knows what deep-seated hatred that was!

But speaking of grudges…

Good thing he specifically used a talisman to blur his appearance before going down, otherwise this blame might have been pinned on his head.

“By the way, Aunt, although she looked normal on the outside, I always felt something was off, especially that Madam Fu. She had a strange, sinister feeling about her.”

“I originally wanted to inquire more carefully, but I didn’t expect that by evening, this aura had grown much stronger.”

“And then, you found a broken formation just like the one your master encountered?”

“And you still went to check it out personally, knowing it was dangerous…”

In the morning breeze, An Ning’s tone was faintly somber. Xiao Yi beside her instantly dropped to his knees in a smooth motion, continuously promising there wouldn’t be a next time:

With a light, scoffing glance at him, An Ning then withdrew her gaze.

This point she believed. Cultivators had sharp senses in this regard. It’s just…

“Yi’er, remember the question Little Aunt asked you before?” After a moment, An Ning suddenly spoke.

“If one day a flash flood suddenly breaks out, and not far away is a small village with hundreds of people.

A choice presents itself. If you follow the original path, these hundred-plus people will inevitably suffer disaster.

But if you use your power to forcibly change its course, the other riverbank is home to a hunter’s family who could have originally escaped unscathed.

If today, the one making this choice is you, Yi’er, what would you choose?”

“All lives are equal, how can you measure their value by numbers!”

Back then, the red-robed youth, just over ten years old, said without hesitation.

Now, twenty-year-old Xiao Yi remained the same.

“That’s right! Life cannot be measured by numbers!” In the rose-filled small courtyard, An Ning said casually:

“But what if, Yi’er, the other side isn’t a hundred people, but tens of thousands, or even millions?”

Because there are more people on the other side, must that originally innocent person be, and deserve to be, sacrificed for the greater good? To bear a calamity that shouldn’t belong to them?

Millions… Xiao Yi was instinctively stunned for a moment. Coming back to his senses, he smiled and leaned closer again:

“Then what do you think, Aunt?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep