Chapter 667: Chapter 663: Final Battle (21)
The sarcastic tone of these words caused the faces of the four people present to change. Pan Bing, who unexpectedly found himself impulsively defending his friend, quickly grabbed Bai Qi’s arm, explaining, “Please don’t take it to heart. The Tang Clan’s surprise attack was a heavy blow, causing immense losses to both the mountains of Zhenwen and Longjiao. Deputy Bai is just overly grieved and is speaking recklessly. Please don’t hold it against him.”
Wanqian was so infuriated by Bai Qi’s words that his face turned ashen. He initially wanted to retort right there and then, but considering that Bai Qi’s eldest son was also killed in this surprise attack, he suppressed his anger and uttered a cold grunt, refraining from saying anything more.
Bai Qi, who was pulled back slightly by his friend, dismissively chuckled. He crossed his arms, stood on one side with his eyes cast upwards, as if showing disdain for everyone.
Just as the atmosphere was becoming inflexible, Mi Jin stepped in to mediate, “The heavy losses the Bai and Pan families suffered are due to our Wind Media not transmitting the information about the gathering of three hundred from Fierce Realm in time. The responsibility lies mainly on us, the Mi Clan. But I promise both Brother Bai and Brother Pan that we will seek revenge for this. I’ve already done a thorough investigation of the outsiders from Fierce Realm. After dealing with the Tang Clan, I will send men to eradicate them completely and avenge Bai’s son.”
“It had better be so!” Bai Qi left coldly after throwing out these words, his solitary figure reflecting a touch of loneliness.
“I’ll go check on him.” Pan Bing bid farewell to the three men and followed his friend.
After Bai Qi’s incident, Mi Jin’s thrill at the full formation of the Mi Clan’s sect had completely faded. He shook his head helplessly and said to Xiao Jinlin, “Clan Leader Xiao and the Martial Ancestors of the Xiao Family have been fighting all night and are exhausted. I have arranged for some pavilions to be set up by the main peak of South Ridge. There are many tables laid with spiritual food for a feast, as well as a medicinal spring bath for everyone’s rest.”
“Clan Leader Mi is thoughtful.”
“Clan Leader Xiao is polite.” Mi Jin turned to a steward behind him, “Anfu, please lead Clan Leader Xiao and his comrades to the other mountain courtyard. Serve them with care, if you slight them even a bit, you will answer to me.”
“Yes, Clan Leader!” The steward called Anfu replied in a terrified manner. He then led Xiao Jinlin and his group to the courtyard that had been prepared ahead of time.
Described as a courtyard, it was actually a compound within a bamboo grove in the mountains. A waterfall was situated on the west side of the grove, and behind the mountain was the Beast Valley. The environment was extraordinary. It was only that it was very far from the Mi Clan’s domain on South Ridge, almost near the outer periphery.
Just as Mi Jin stated, the compound was fully prepared with top-notch spiritual food. Even the servants attending to them were all beautiful women. The chief cook was highly skilled, and the spiritual food banquet was mouth-watering.
After the Xiao Clan guests had taken their seats, Xiao Qi spoke to Anfu, “Ask the maidens to all retreat. We don’t require their services while eating.”
“Yes.” Knowing better, Anfu understood that this included himself. After leading all the maiden servants away, he quietly closed the banquet hall door, leaving the space solely for the Xiao Clan guests.
After making sure no one was spying around, the Xiao Clan members started eating. As Mi Jin had pointed out, they were a bit tired after their overnight ordeal.
At the dining table, Xiao Qi, while eating, covertly conveyed to Xiao Jinlin, “Father, this Mi Jin is really cautious. Even after our demonstrative closeness, the housing he arranged for us is still so remote, far from the Wind Media Tower. Behind us is the Mi Clan’s Beast Valley. It seems this man is still wary of our Clan.”
“Now that the main Mi Clan martial ancestors and offerings have yet to return, the strongest force in South Ridge is this Beast Valley. To have peace of mind, he naturally needs to have us stay by the Beast Valley,” Xiao Jinlin replied discreetly as well, even though they’d already confirmed the banquet hall was a normal one without any hidden watchers, he and Xiao Qi still used their transmission to converse, remaining absolutely alert.
“But father, would that man who Tang Clan leader mentioned, who would notify us how to behave in South Ridge, still appear? This place is so secluded, wouldn’t his appearance expose everything?”
Why Tang Zhi insisted on concealing the alliance between the Xiao and Tang clans was to hope that the Xiao Clan could infiltrate the inner part of the Beast Valley in South Ridge at the appropriate time. To gain Mi Clan’s trust, the Xiao Clan protected nearly all the sect members in Dayou Mountain and killed more than twenty warriors from Fierce Realm who came to raid.
However, clearly, they still haven’t gained Mi Jin’s complete trust. Initially, they had thought they would at least reside on South Ridge’s main peak but didn’t expect to be arranged by Mi Jin to stay on such a remote mountain. This undoubtedly posed considerable difficulty for the person who was supposed to make contact with them.
“And I just discovered, these maiden servants, at first glance, seem no different from normal maids, but each possesses cultivation. Some have even reached the peak of shedding mortality. It seems this batch must be Wind Media especially nurtured by the Mi Clan.”
If it was initially difficult for their contact to meet them, then the difficulty of meeting under the eyes of these specialized Wind Media was a nightmare. Whoever tried to appear abruptly in the courtyard would face the greatest suspicion from Mi Jin.
The ceaseless chirps in the bamboo grove were reminding them that the ears and eyes of Mi Clan’s Wind Media were everywhere in the courtyard. Xiao Qi couldn’t help but worry about the person who was supposed to contact them.
“Just wait,” Xiao Jinlin explained to Xiao Qi. “If South Ridge remains peaceful as it is now, it’s nearly impossible for the contact person to approach the courtyard. But Tang Zhi will definitely create an opportunity for him to get close to us, and I believe, this opportunity will appear soon.”
People often say that situations create heroes, but real heroes create situations that they need. Most extraordinary achievers prepare well and then take off when the time is right.
In every era, there are some exceptional individuals, who simply by flapping their wings in one place, can stir up a storm elsewhere.
…
Beast Valley of South Ridge, New City of ChengzhouMaterial © of NôvelDrama.Org.
Because of the invasion by Xiling’s seven powerful clans and other small clans, various construction projects have been emerging in South Ridge since half a year ago. The batch of refugees, who were deceived by the Mi Clan to come from Chengzhou, were temporarily assigned this work.
Mi Shen turned the food supply in the new city into a reward based on labor contribution. Apart from a few managing families, all the remaining refugees have to rely on labor to receive food.
This change came about because of several violent incidents that broke out before the flood in the new city, which gave the Mi Clan elders a very poor impression of these people. The Supreme Elder Mi Yang had repeatedly expressed his wish to clean out a group of the new city’s noble families. Only Mi Shen’s persistence to maintain the new city unexpectedly allowed it to continue existing.
Later, when the flood broke out, Mi Jin, the clan leader, even thought about abandoning half the population of the new city to save food. After selecting some obedient noble families and warriors to take away, they felt that the remaining people in the new city were not much different from slaves. And slaves were exactly what should be discarded during disasters.
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