Xiao Yan, Xue'er, Yi and Yun, the four of them kept chatting till noon.
"Young Master Yan, how did you end up here?" asked Xue'er.
"I actually don't remember, I remember being at Black Dragon Mountains but the next time I open my eyes, it was here," said Xiao Yan which was mostly truth with mixed lies.
Xue'er didn't fully believe him but there was nothing she could do if he didn't want to tell them, "Oh, are you leaving soon?" asked again with a sad face. Even she didn't know why she spoke so much with this stranger when she doesn't chat so long even with her best friends at the Academy and she was reluctant to part with him. It was as if she had known him for a long time, but she didn't have any recollection of it.
"Don't worry Miss Xue'er, I have some work in Fallen Star City, so I will stay with you till we go back," said Xiao Yan with a smile.
"I-I a-am n-not w-worrying about y-you. B-But didn't you s-say, your f-family is in t-trouble?"
"What can I do in this state? I will try to gather as much information as possible in Fallen Star City before leaving."
"There is a branch of Crystal Tower in Fallen Star City, you should be able to gather information about your family there. But you absolutely must come to my Lin family for a visit, I assure you we can definitely help you all we can," said Xue'er.
"Of course, how can I refuse Miss Xue'er's invitation, I will definitely visit your Lin family," said Xiao Yan inwardly though 'I am going there only to go to your family he-he' he thought.
Xue'er thought he also didn't want to part with them and became jubilant for some reason. But what she didn't know was Xiao Yan spoke the truth this time, he had to meet his Aunt. He had thought of asking Xue'er about her parents, but decided against it, he thought he would give her a big surprise after going back.
"Also, it's fine you can just call me Yan."
"Hmm, you are older than me by a couple of months, so how about I call you Big Brother Yan instead?" asked Xue'er expectantly. He was the first male of the same age she had met whose eyes were clear when he looked at her without any lust, she really wanted to befriend him.
Xiao Yan was shocked inwardly he thought, 'Father, you see this? Even after you erased her memory, cousin Xue'er still ended up calling me Big Brother again. Is this Fate?'
"Of course, it's fine"
"Then you cannot call me Miss again, just Xue'er would do."
"Sure, I will stay with Xue'er till I meet her family and leave for my family once I have enough information."
"Big Brother Yan, I have ordered my guards to gather the materials from all the beasts you had slain before. How do you want to deal with it?"
"Let's see, I don't have much use for it, so take it as my gift to you, you did save me back then right?" said Xiao Yan, he really didn't have any use for it, he even had meat from high tired beasts so even the meat of these beasts didn't have any use for him.
"Huh, w-what d-did you s-say? You a-are giving all o-of those t-to m-me?" Xue'er was stunned silly.
"Yes, I am giving them to you. Is there a problem with that?"
"N-no, t-thank you. These will be enough to cover Lin family expenditure for at least a year," said Xue'er.
'Uncle and Aunt seem to be hiding their strength. Even with just Uncle, a wave of his hand should be enough to kill these many, say nothing of my Aunt. Or they might have had some problems?' Xiao Yan thought inwardly.
"Not a problem, it's my thanks to you for saving me anyway."
After chatting some more with Xiao Yan, Xue'er and her maids left for their tent.
Inside Xue'er's tent.
"Miss, I received a message from Elder Song, here," said Yi and handed a sealed letter to Xue'er.
"Mmm, I thought so. Yi, you stay with me, Yun, you cover for Big brother Yan, both of you stay alert, they are making a move tonight," said Xue'er after reading the letter.
"Miss, will Young Master Yan be fine? He is seriously injured, so when the fight breaks out, I am afraid …," Yi was still worried about Xiao Yan's safety.
"Let him rest for now, we will discuss with him before nightfall."
…
Someplace far away from Moonshine lake, Yang Ping, Elder Tu, Elder Wu, and two more elders from Ma and Yang families were waiting at the entrance to their camp.
"Elder Wu, when are the Grand Elders and others arriving?" asked Yang Ping.
"They set out last night, so they should be arriving anytime …" Elder Chang Wu was still speaking when he noticed five silhouettes approaching their camp "they are here, come let's welcome our Grand Elder."
…
Night finally came. The forest started to cool down as if even the last bit of warmth was sucked away by an unknown creature.
"Yi, Yun get ready, its finally starting," said Xue'er, Yi and Yun were preparing themselves for battle.
Outside the camp, close to a hundred figures silently approached them as a predator approaching its prey.
At the center of these figures, Yang Ping stood aloofly, "After we finish this mission, your Blazing Wolf Gang can join our Yang family. Don't worry about rewards, you will gain wealth more than you can dream of," to the figure on his right.
"Don't worry Young Master, we will not disappoint you," said the leader of Blazing Wolf Gang, Kang Shui. Blazing Wolf Gang was a group of bandits operating in the area of Fallen Star Mountains. Their leader Kang Shui was a 2nd stage Qi Sea realm expert. But a few weeks ago, they robbed the Young Master of a certain family which caused that family to retaliate in full force. The fight caused them to lose a lot their gang members, even their vice leader was seriously injured. Left with no choice, Kang Shui went to Yang family for help. Since the Yang family was planning this operation, they thought Kang Shui and his gang that had a better knowledge of Fallen Star Mountains would be a great aid, so they agreed to help them in exchange for the gang's help in capturing Lin Xue'er, which resulted in the current scene.
"Great! Let's go," said Yang Ping.
…
"Xue'er come out!" Yang Ping shouted as he led the group to the Lin family camp's entrance.
Xue'er led her team of thirty-odd people which included both Lin family guards and mercenaries.
When Yang Ping saw Xue'er, his eyes began to shine. He stared lustfully at her which caused Xue'er to snort in disgust. 'Act all you want you will be mine shortly' thought Yang Ping.
When the mercenaries saw a hundred silhouettes in front of them, all of them had only one thought 'flee'.
"Xue'er long time no see," smiled Yang Ping as if meeting a long-lost friend, which caused the disgust in Xue'er's eyes to grow to an unprecedented height.
"Our only intention here is to capture Lin Xue'er. There's no need for unnecessary bloodshed," said Yang Ping, "I will now count to ten, anyone who surrenders will be a treated as a friend of both Yang and Ma families. If you resist your only option is death. Now decide."
"ten … nine …"
The first one to defect was Zeng Cai. He slowly left the Lin family camp and joined Yang Ping and stood to his left and shouted, "My brothers there is no reason to lose our lives for a lost cause, even if we fight we will not last long and die a gruesome death. Are you really willing to let go of your lives for Lin family that has no relation with you? The Yang and Ma family have proposed generous rewards, let's leave with them and enjoy our lives. Riches, beauty, authority, everything awaits you, you just have to step forward to take it."
Most of the mercenaries were swayed by this carrot and stick tactic. They saw no gain staying with the Lin family.
"Anyone who stays will have their rearwards increased tenfold and will be an eternal friend of Lin family," shouted Xue'er.
"ha-ha-ha" Yang Ping suddenly starts laughing loudly.
"What are you laughing at?" asked Xue'er as a bad premonition starts to appear in her heart.
"Well your naïve thinking of course, do you think your Lin family can hold its ground against combined forces of Ma and Yang families?" said Yang Ping sarcastically, "If you agree to marry me, I can assure you my Yang family will not meddle with Lin family anymore."
"Yang Ping, do you think I am a nine-year-old? How can I fall for your tricks?"
"Well anyway, eight … seven … " Yang Ping resumed counting.
"Six … five … four"
By the time he reached four about ninety percent of mercenaries had already defected. Even some Lin family guards had defected. Seeing this, Xue'er, Guo Gang and other Lin family people's faces showed unsightly expressions.
"One … Zero, I don't know why the rest of you didn't surrender, but since you have refused my goodwill, all of you can now regret in hell."
"Thank you all for staying on my Lin family's side. I will definitely rem …" before she could finish her words, a dagger was plunged into her back and blood started gushing like a fountain. When she turned to look, she could see Yun holding the other end of the dagger with a deathly grin.
Before anyone could figure out what happened, Yun's figure flashed and appeared beside Yang Ping.
"Why?" Xue'er's face had gone deathly pale, despair was written all over her face. She couldn't understand why someone so close to her, someone she thought to be her best friend had betrayed her.