"The past is in the past; let’s not bring it up again," Zhang Xiaohao said.
"I’m so sorry, Zhang Xiaohao! It’s all my fault!" Murong Yu Yan said with guilt.
As she spoke, she solemnly bowed down to Zhang Xiaohao to apologize.
Zhang Xiaohao sat calmly in his chair, accepting Murong Yu Yan’s gesture.
Both were astute and understood what this bow represented.
"Now, can you tell me why your father wanted to slap you?" Zhang Xiaohao asked with a shrug.
"Yes," Murong Yu Yan nodded.
She pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Recently, the spy I had planted close to my uncle finally figured out all of his strength. In order to get the message out, she stayed there forever! According to the information she sent out, my uncle, before the evil days, had already broken through to the Late-stage Void Transformation Realm, and moreover, his cultivation had completely stabilized at that level!"
"Meanwhile, my father is still at the Mid-stage Void Transformation Realm. Soon, the sacred sanctuary guarded by the Murong Family for generations will open. Once inside, life-and-death battles are out of the question, meaning, in the sanctuary, even if my uncle kills him, the family will not punish him one bit!"
"Furthermore, my grandfather’s health has been getting worse lately, and he could give out at any moment. Some of the elders who were on the fence have started to side with my uncle. He knew that if he didn’t make a change, he might be eliminated by my uncle even before the battle for the sanctuary begins. So, he searched high and low for various methods to strengthen himself."
"Fortune favors the diligent, and one day, he found a dark art! By practicing according to this art, he could break through two minor bottlenecks and reach the Peak of Void Transformation Realm!" Murong Yu Yan said this with deep disappointment etched on her delicate face.
"The problem wouldn’t happen to be with this dark art, would it?" Zhang Xiaohao inquired.
"Yes, the problem is with this dark art!" Murong Yu Yan confirmed.
"To practice this dark art, one must use one’s own relatives as a crucible, the closer the blood relation, the more powerful the effect of the cultivation!"
"And how did you come to know this information?" Zhang Xiaohao asked again.
"I overheard it by chance. But his cultivation is just too powerful. Even though I had already concealed my aura, he discovered me. It’s only thanks to the loyalty of some Death Guards that I managed to escape all the way here from within the country. Little did I expect, in the end, to silence me, he would conspire with the M Country’s John Sharo family to try to shut me up!" Murong Yu Yan said angrily.
"The John family?" Zhang Xiaohao said, frowning.
"Yes! What about it? Is there something wrong?" Murong Yu Yan asked.
"Nothing," Zhang Xiaohao shook his head.
"Thank you! Speaking these words out loud has eased my mind a lot," Murong Yu Yan said.
"It was just a small effort," Zhang Xiaohao replied with a shrug.
"Well, I won’t disturb you any longer. Thank you for saving me tonight! I should leave now," Murong Yu Yan said.
"Are you sure you can walk out of here in your current state?" Zhang Xiaohao asked in return.
"What do you mean?" Murong Yu Yan asked, puzzled.
"If I’m not mistaken, that White Dog must have laid a Heaven and Earth Net outside, just waiting for you to step into it," Zhang Xiaohao said.
"What? Weren’t they gone?" Murong Yu Yan exclaimed in shock.
Now having sustained serious injuries, she wouldn’t be a match for White Dog and her gang, even if she had been uninjured.
"What is that?" Zhang Xiaohao asked, pointing to the bloodstains on the ground at the doorway.
"Ah! Have they found out already?" Murong Yu Yan exclaimed.
"A dog’s nose is very sensitive; what do you think, have they noticed yet?" Zhang Xiaohao asked rhetorically.
Thump, thump, thump...
Murong Yu Yan took a step back, lost her balance, and fell onto a chair.
"Could it be that I, Murong Yu Yan, truly can’t escape his clutches?" Murong Yu Yan said with a deathly pale face.
Having said that, her eyes brightened as she looked at Zhang Xiaohao, much like seeing the light of hope itself.
Rushing over, she grabbed Zhang Xiaohao’s hands.
"Zhang Xiaohao, please, will you help me?" Murong Yu Yan pleaded.
"Why should I help you when we are neither relatives nor friends?" Zhang Xiaohao countered.
"But we are friends! Shouldn’t friends help each other out?" Murong Yu Yan said.
"Friends are not to be used, and I certainly can’t afford to be your friend!" Zhang Xiaohao said with a playful smile.
"Do you really intend to stand by and do nothing?" Murong Yu Yan said anxiously.
"Sorry! I’m powerless to help," Zhang Xiaohao replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Do you really want to stand by and do nothing? Do you really want to see me get taken away by him?" Murong Yu Yan asked back.
"Everyone has their own mission! Honestly, I do feel sympathy for you, and I’d really like to help! But I truly am busy, please forgive me for being unable to assist," Zhang Xiaohao said earnestly.
Murong Yu Yan looked at Zhang Xiaohao unwillingly, her bright and sparkling eyes tightly knitted together.
She just stared at him like that, without uttering a word.
After quite a while, Murong Yu Yan finally made up her mind.
"Humph! Rather than letting a brute tarnish my body, I’d rather give it to Zhang Xiaohao! At least he doesn’t look repulsive."
With this thought, Murong Yu Yan’s beautiful eyes shifted as she looked at the Black Dragon Saint.
"Can you step outside for a bit? I have some private matters to discuss with your brother!" Murong Yu Yan said with her red lips slightly parting.
"No!" the Black Dragon Saint Heir said.
"Why not?" Murong Yu Yan asked, puzzled.
"I haven’t had my fill yet!" the Black Dragon Saint Heir said truthfully.
That reason was so compelling that Murong Yu Yan found herself at a loss for words.
"I really have an urgent matter to discuss privately with your brother. If you agree to step out, I’ll treat you to a big meal later!" Murong Yu Yan said.
"No!" the Black Dragon Saint Heir continued to shake his head.
"Why not?" Murong Yu Yan asked again.
"I’m afraid you’ll harm my brother, so I must stay to protect him!" the Black Dragon Saint Heir said.
Well! That reason was also quite compelling.
"Zhang Xiaohao, can you let him step out? I have a secret to tell you!" Murong Yu Yan said.
"Little Black is not a stranger, you can say whatever you have to say!" Zhang Xiaohao said.
"No! This matter can only be known between the two of us! We can’t let a third person know!" Murong Yu Yan stated firmly.
"Are you sure?" Zhang Xiaohao asked. Orıginal content can be found at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
"Mm-hmm," Murong Yu Yan nodded vigorously.
"Alright! I’ll trust you one more time," Zhang Xiaohao said.
"Little Black, go out for a while and stay by the door, don’t go anywhere else!" Zhang Xiaohao said.
"Mmm." The Black Dragon Saint Heir nodded and turned to walk outside.
Murong Yu Yan quickly locked the door and then stared straight at Zhang Xiaohao.