"So you want to go out...?"
Yun Lan asked as she gazed at Xiao. It had been three days since Xiao's encounter with Li Lun. The news of her tragedy had already spread, and to everyone's surprise, Xiao decided to keep the engagement intact. He was willing to marry Li Lun, even though she stayed a cripple.
After that, Xiao spent two days with Li Lun, offering her all the help he could. He was primarily there for emotional support, which proved extremely beneficial for Li Lun. However, Xiao had some matters to attend to, so he had to return home, leaving Li Lun with a sad expression.
Now, standing in front of his mother, Xiao relayed all the events that had transpired and requested permission for a trip outside. Truthfully, Xiao wanted to find someone he could trust and ally with, someone whom he would hold at his grasp, having their weakness and strength with him.
In the past months, he had spent his time planning a path for himself, trying to identify potential allies. With his knowledge, he understood the behavior of many individuals, especially those he could trust and those he could use for his own benefit. Among them, he thought of one person he might be able to bring under his wing at present.
And that person was Xia Yunbai, as he also resided in the same empire as Xiao, the Great Rexion Empire. He belonged to another prominent family of the empire, the Xia family, known for their spear-wielding prowess and fearlessness in battle. Xia Yunbai is an illegitimate child of this family.
Always treated with disdain and subjected to hatred, Xia Yunbai's life was pitiful. In the future, he would become nothing more than a minor obstacle, a villain whose existence wouldn't cause any significant waves. But his potential had the power to shake the heavens. With enough support, he could paint the lower heaven red with blood.
His story was simple. As an illegitimate child, he already faced much suppression and pain. But it worsened when he turned ten and was infected with the Hell's Cage Technique.
The technique was known only to the royal family of the Rexion Empire and was meant to be used on the most notorious criminals. It induced a coma, subjecting the person to repeated hellish deaths, with the individual experiencing each one of them. Most people either died or went insane within a week. However, Xia Yunbai survived for five years, defying the expectation that those infected with the technique would never wake up again.
As for how he contracted the technique, it was due to a petty reason. A young prince visiting his family didn't like Xia Yunbai, and that was enough for him to be subjected to a technique reserved for the worst criminals—a fate worse than death.
But what no one knew was that Hell's World presented an opportunity—a chance for a person to change their fate. It was a test set by a devil who had once challenged the Heavenly Tree and had shaken the heavens. Only the ruling emperor of the Rexion Empire was aware of this.
Xia Yunbai proved himself worthy by overcoming the trial. Sadly, despite awakening from the coma and vowing revenge, he ultimately failed. He was constantly manipulated by the Emperor of the Rexion Empire, playing Yunbai like a puppet to his will, breaking his mind again and again, while standing beside him as a helper, after all, you can never underestimate the intelligence of a man ruling an empire.
Throughout Xia Yunbai's coma, the emperor kept a watchful eye on him. As Xia Yunbai continued to survive, the emperor's interest grew. When Xia Yunbai finally awakened, the emperor's greed ignited, and every action of Xia Yunbai was under the emperor's control.
The amount of hatred and despair in Xia Yunbai's heart at the time of his death was unimaginable. Of course, some of that could be attributed to the Heavenly Immortals, the workers of the heavenly court that do the dirty work of the Heavenly Court and keep a close eye on anyone who appeared to be a "chosen."
Of course, this was not the only reason that Xiao was doing this, there exists a greater detail, the specific being that outside of the story within the Heavenly Oppoers book, Xiao knew Yunbai, he was more of a friend/boss to him, the more accurate would be that Xiao was a lackey to Yunbai.
In the past the two of them had met, it was after Xiao had taken up the path of slaughter, one that granted him the ability to break the shackles on him, in fact, Yunbai was the one that gave Xiao a great amount of detail on the ways to increase his slaughter Qi, to embrace the slaughter to become mad, the reason he was able to reach the third heaven was because of the little teachings he received from Yunbai.
Xiao was there the day Yunbai died, with all the unwillingness filling him, Yunbai passed on a portion of the ability of slaughter growth to Xiao, a last-ditch move to at least leave a sign of his presence in the world.
It did give Xiao the chance to reach to the top but just a partial of Yunbai's power meant the loss of powers along with a heightened increase in madness, in a way they had a complex relationship but the good thing about it is that outside of the book, Xiao knew more about Yunbai, making him a good choice for Xiao to begin with.
Pursuing Xia Yunbai was indeed dangerous, but Yun Xiao would not do as he pleased without having a plan.
'It seems like this will take a while,' Xiao thought as he observed his mother's furrowed expression. In the end, he had spent an hour convincing her, and she finally agreed after a heated debate about his safety. Now, he only had to convince his sister.
'Ugh... Why does that seem harder?' he sighed, feeling the weight on his heart and mind.
With a heavy heart, he entered his sister's room, where he saw Xuanyin sitting on a chair, engrossed in ancient texts. Her hair had grown longer, cascading down her back. Her emotions appeared cold and unyielding, but her beauty and aura were even more captivating.
Though Xuanyin was merely eight years old, her beauty was enough to stun anyone. She was a crystalline and unforgettable beauty—aloof, cold, and unapproachable. The passing years only enhanced her allure. Seeing her immersed in the ancient texts, Xiao inwardly sighed as he entered the room.
Over the years, Xuanyin developed a hobby of exploring various ancient records in search of a way to cultivate. While she trusted him to find a cure, she was astute and stubborn. There was a tenacious spirit within her, a refusal to be completely at the mercy of others.
As soon as Xiao entered, Xuanyin's gaze left the records, and she ran toward him. Xiao didn't resist; instead, he embraced his little sister, her soft, cold body resting in his arms as he patted her back.
"Oh?... Did you miss me so much, even though I was only gone for two days?" he asked.
Hearing his question, Xuanyin raised her head and stared deeply into his eyes.
"I see... I didn't expect you to miss me this much," he remarked.
"..."
"Yeah, I know. I'll let you know next time..."
"..."
"Um? So, you won't let me go again without you?... Well, here's a funny story..."
Sighing internally, Xiao realized it was going to be a long day.