More than a dozen Nine Tripod Commerce's branches were under brutal siege. Like Huang Xiaolong, those present at the wedding banquet easily guessed the masterminds being the Yao Family and Deities Templar. Everyone in the hall remained quiet as no one dared to interrupt Huang Xiaolong's contemplation.
It was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
"Young Lord, should I make a trip to the branches?" Seconds ticked and Zhang Fu suddenly stood up saying.
Huang Xiaolong shook his head instead at his question, "No need."
There were more than ten Nine Tripod Commerce branches being sieged, Zhang Fu alone, even if he knew how to split himself into a dozen body clones and went there, he might fall into the enemy's well-laid trap. The Yao Family and Deities Templar's purpose in attacking the Nine Tripod Commerce branches may be to draw Zhao Shu and Zhang Fu away from his side.
"How are the casualties for each branch?" Huang Xiaolong turned around, directing the question to the Huang Family guard.
"Replying to Young Lord, the disciples of these several Nine Tripod Commerce are, are…" The Huang Family guard hesitated at this point.
"Say it!" Huang Xiaolong raised his voice.
"Are almost all dead. Only a few disciples managed to escape from each branch." The Huang Family guard blurted everything out.
Almost all dead! Huang Xiaolong's face darkened.
Every Nine Tripod Commerce branch had at least three to four hundred disciples, a dozen branches amounted to four, five thousand disciples!
"Pass the order down, all disciples are to return and assemble back here." Huang Xiaolong's solemn voice sounded.
This debt, Huang Xiaolong jotted it down to be settled with the Yao Family and Deities Templar in the future!
"Yes Young Lord!" The Huang Family guard respectfully replied.
Huang Xiaolong waved the guard away. Today was his sister's wedding, an important day for her.
Exactly at this moment, in a dilapidated abandoned courtyard on the north section of Duanren Imperial City, space fluctuated. Li Molin, Yao Family's Ancestor Yao Shan, and the two other Deities Templar Elders emerged from the void. And together with them were Yao Fei and Ao Baixue.
Six people appeared in total. Li Molin scoffed, "I didn't expect Huang Xiaolong, that little brat, to endure it so well, foiling our plan!"
Ao Baixue frowned deeply, "With Zhao Shu and Zhang Fu around, it'll be difficult for us to act."
Yao Fei snorted, "It doesn't matter even if Zhao Shu and Zhang Fu are present, my Formless Poison is undetectable even by a high-level Saint realm expert!" As Yao Fei said this, his hand took out a dark purple jade bottle out from his spatial ring.
"Formless Poison!" The five with Yao Fei paled slightly, including the high-level Saint realm Li Molin.
The Formless Poison's toxicity superseded all other poisons, being heralded as the king of poison. Rumor has it, the Formless Poison has neither color, taste, nor form. Totally invisible to the naked eye and senses, even high-level Saint realm experts could not detect its presence. Once someone is poisoned, other than Saint realm experts, who could suppress and gradually force out the poison with their Saint power, those of lower realms died without exception.
And the victim would be subjected to a pain like the bites from millions of ants, like the sharp fangs of millions of snakes piercing them, like the wrenching of the soul by millions of ghouls, tortured to the very last moments of death.
However, the Formless Poison was said to have been lost more than two hundred years ago, no one imagined that Yao Fei would have something like it in his possession, not even the Yao Family's Ancestor Yao Shan.
"That's right, Formless Poison!" Yao Fei nodded proudly, "This Formless Poison was something I got one year ago from a cave in the Raven Hills. I've already instructed one of the Guo Mansion's wine servers to mix this poison into the celebration wine being served today at the banquet!"
A cruel light flashed across Yao Fei's eyes, "When Huang Xiaolong, that punk, drinks the wine, hehe..!"
In fact, he could already imagine Huang Xiaolong's face distorting with pain and misery. Li Molin and the rest inhaled sharply. If everything went according to what Yao Fei said, today, the Guo Manor's wedding would be turned into a mass funeral!
Not only would Huang Xiaolong die in torment, every member of the Huang Family, all of Guo Family and its disciples, the guests that came to congratulate the Guo Family, from nobles to big and small forces' Patriarchs, all will meet their end.
Only Guo Family's Ancestor Guo Chen, Zhao Shu, Zhang Fu, and Emperor Duanren could survive!
"Isn't it a bit too much this way?" Old Ancestor Yao Shan said with his brows scrunched together. "Duan Wuhen and Imperial Consort Fei are inside the Guo Mansion too."
Duan Wuhen was Emperor Duanren's most favored son, the successor to Duanren Empire, whereas Imperial Consort Fei was Emperor Duanren's beloved concubine, also Duan Wuhen's birth mother. If both of them died tragically in the Guo Mansion under the Formless Poison, their hatred would turn into a blood feud, forged into eternity!
If it came to that, the Yao Family could not be rebuilt on Duanren Empire's land any longer!
Yao Fei knew what his family ancestor was worried about, saying: "Ancestor, Duan Ren wouldn't let us be even if we do not kill Duan Wuhen. Since it is so, why should we need to care about a mere Duan Wuhen? Moreover, we're going to destroy Dunren Empire sooner or later, killing Duan Wuhen now is like pulling out one of that old guy's arms. Isn't that much more favorable to us?"
Hearing this, Yao Shan nodded his head in agreement.
…
At this time, the Guo Manor was once again filled with a joyous mood. Mostly, it was due to Huang Xiaolong suppressing the matters related to the attack on Nine Tripod Commerce branches that the wedding banquet wasn't affected much.
Approaching the wu hour1, Guo Tai and Huang Min, dressed in brilliant red wedding garbs, came out to bow to heaven and earth and pay their respects to parents and elders under the ritual officer's guidance.
"First bow to Heaven and Earth!" The ritual officer cried at the top of his lungs.
After Guo Tai and Huang Min had done so, the ritual officer continued, "Second bow to parents!"
Watching the two youngsters, Huang Peng and Su Yan, Guo Shiyuan, and the elders, including Huang Xiaolong were full of cheers.
Finished performing their bows to the parents, Guo Tai and Huang Min made the third and final bow towards each other as husband and wife.
Thus, the ceremony was completed.
"Wonderful! Let us move to the seats and begin the banquet." Moments later, Guo Family's Ancestor Guo Chen announced. Huang Xiaolong nodded.
Seeing Huang Xiaolong nodding, everyone made their way to the tables, including the guests waiting in the outer hall, consisting of Patriarch from all over Duanren Empire's kingdoms.
Guo Shiyuan instructed Chief Steward Zhang Yue to serve the wine and dishes after getting the nod of approval from his father, Guo Chen.
"Yes!" Zhang Yue acknowledged with respect. He turned around and bellowed: "Serve the wine and dishes!"
"Serve the wine and dishes!"
The Guo Family's servants kicked into a flurry of actions, plates after plates of dishes and jugs of wine were brought to the guests' tables. It did not take long for them to laden the tables with fragrant, colorful dishes. There were sixteen types of dishes on every table, every delicacy from the land and sea that one could think of, cheerful laughter filled the air.
However, when Guo Tai stood up with a wine cup in his hands to toast with Huang Peng, Huang Xiaolong, and the others, Huang Xiaolong's voice rang sharply: "Wait!"
It was too sudden that the guests were startled, all turning around to look at Huang Xiaolong.
In front of everyone, Huang Xiaolong sucked a wine urn to his hand with a single hand: "There's something wrong with the wine!"
"What?! Something wrong with the wine?" All present were taken aback.
"This…?!" Guo Chen, Emperor Duanren, Zhao Shu, Zhang Fu exchanged a baffled glance.
Before they could say anything, a dazzling black and blue light shot out like lightning from Huang Xiaolong's body, revealing his twin dragon martial spirits behind him. Both the black and blue dragons sucked at the wine urn, drawing strands of dark purple lights from the urn of wine, gathering in the air above, turning into a vague demonic shadow, shrieking shrilly, making everyone shudder.