Chapter 723: Chapter 723: Xiong Family Conspiracy (Third Update)
“Family Head, what do we do now? Gather our forces and attack that inn?” the steward asked, his face full of murderous intent.
Xiong Xi shook his head and then paced back and forth in the room.
“Young man? It seems we have all underestimated you!”
“Moreover, as a master like you, how could you not notice a mere inn servant’s prying eyes?”
“This must be deliberate on your part, isn’t it? Did you use that servant’s mouth to warn me, or are you provoking my Xiong Family?”
As Xiong Xi spoke, his facial expressions shifted unpredictably.
Finally,
he stopped pacing and said with a sinister tone, “Steward!”
“Family Head!” The steward responded solemnly.
“Order everyone to be ready. We make our move during tomorrow’s Water Ceremony. Also, let tonight’s news spread!”
However, the steward hesitated, “Family Head, is this really appropriate?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“As you said, doesn’t the Holy Maiden Croliya hold this young man in high regard? What if she intervenes during the Water Ceremony…”
Xiong Xi smiled, “You’re absolutely right! But that’s exactly the effect I’m after!”
The steward was even more perplexed.
Xiong Xi’s face twisted with bitterness and ruthlessness, “Since this young man managed to kill my son Xiong Hai, it proves that he is no ordinary opponent. Our Xiong Family alone certainly won’t be able to eliminate him!”
“So I will wait until tomorrow, during the Water Ceremony! Then I’ll claim that this young man is the murderer who decimated Black Iron City, the outsider the City Lord spoke of.”
“The Holy Maiden and the City Lord will surely be outraged. Then, without the Xiong Family having to lift a finger, he will be eradicated!”
Hearing Xiong Xi’s scheme, the steward bowed deeply, “Family Head’s insight is profound!”
Xiong Xi sighed and shed a few tears.
“Alas, my two sons…”
The steward also teared up, ready to offer some words of comfort.
But to his surprise, Xiong Xi immediately followed up with, “Go call some of my concubines over. I’ve lost my sons; I must father some more!”
Steward: “…”
“Yes!”
As Xiong Xi devoted his efforts to fathering more sons, the events of that evening were deliberately spread by the Xiong Family.
A storm was gradually brewing.
The next day.
On the square in front of the central tower in the city.
The Water Ceremony would be held here.
Even though it hadn’t officially started yet,
the place was already crowded with people eager to attend early on.
At the perimeter of the square, numerous soldiers stood guard and inspected the crowd. Only those wearing admission tickets on their chests were allowed entry.
When Xue An and Ah Tu arrived, the soldiers, upon seeing their admission tickets, immediately bowed with respect.
“Please come in, sirs!”
Their attitude was completely different from that towards ordinary people.
Then they were escorted through the crowd to a platform near the tower in the square.
It was arguably the best spot on the entire square.
But since they had arrived a bit early, there weren’t many people on the platform yet.
But soon, a diverse crowd began to enter.
The platform above became increasingly lively.
Many elegantly dressed scions of distinguished families gathered to chat and laugh, but none paid any attention to Xue An and Ah Tu; they only occasionally assessed the two with curious gazes.
“Who are those two over there? They seem unfamiliar.”
“Shh, don’t you know? That’s the young expert who the Holy Maiden encountered on the street yesterday!”
“Hiss, that’s him? He looks only about eleven or twelve years old! Hey, that’s not right! With such a young expert, why is everyone avoiding him? Why isn’t anyone trying to recruit him?”
For these prominent families, a young expert like Ah Tu who was also favored by the Holy Maiden was certainly worth recruiting.
However, this time was an anomaly, as everyone kept their distance.
“Heh, you really are out of the loop! You probably don’t even know what happened last night?”
“What happened?”
The speaker lowered their voice and whispered, “The Xiong Family’s eldest son, the Holy Maiden’s personal Guard Commander Xiong Hai, died last night!”
“Hiss! How is that possible? I know Xiong Hai; he is a Fourth Rank expert with an inscrutable talent. How could he possibly die?”
“Heh, could this be a lie? He indeed died, and it happened inside an inn. Along with him, a squad of the Xiong Family’s guards perished as well, and the one who did the deed…” The speaker gestured with their chin towards Ah Tu.
“It was this youngster!”
Hearing this statement, all those who were unaware of last night’s events had a sudden change in expression.
No wonder no one dared to approach and recruit him.
This youngster killed the Xiong Family’s eldest son. The Xiong Family would certainly not let it rest, so who would want to offend the Xiong Family for the sake of such a youngster without any significant background or foundation?
As for Xue An beside him…
Many automatically disregarded him.
Because no matter how one looked at it, this man didn’t appear to be a strong individual with any remarkable talent.
Just then, the crowd stirred, and the Xiong Family appeared on the high platform.
Upon seeing Xiong Xi, the Family Head of the Xiong Family, many from the distinguished families showed a strange expression.
After all, the Xiong Family had lost two promising young descendants in a short period of time, which was a severe blow to them.
Moreover, with the murderer standing right in their midst, many were curious to see how Xiong Xi would react upon seeing Ah Tu, and whether he would explode on the spot.
To the disappointment of the crowd, Xiong Xi merely glanced deeply at Ah Tu, then found a seat and sat down in silence.
This action left many exchanging surprised glances, with astonishment evident in their eyes.
People didn’t understand why the head of the Xiong Family was so calm.
However, their questions were soon overshadowed by the arrival of someone else.
“The Holy Maiden!”
“Greetings, Holy Maiden!”
Everyone rose to greet her in turn.
Then they saw Croliya ascend the platform, her expression as still as water.
In response to the greetings, she remained silent, her gaze briefly meeting that of the nearby Xiong Xi before focusing intently on Ah Tu.
She was, of course, aware of what had transpired the previous night.
One didn’t need to think hard to realize what Xiong Hai had intended to do by seeking out Ah Tu in the middle of the night.
This made Croliya quite angry.
After all, Ah Tu was a talent she valued, and Xiong Hai’s attempt to kill and seize that talent was a blatant defiance of her authority.
What Croliya didn’t expect was that Ah Tu’s response would be so ruthless, killing Xiong Hai outright.
Even though such retaliation was justified, it still shook Croliya.