A smile immediately blossomed on Lan Xinzi's face as soon as she entered the Spiritual Site.
"Master Zhang, guess who I just encountered."
"Hmm?" Zhang Xinxiong had no home to return to, so he could only stay here temporarily. "Who did you meet?"
"Xu! Xiao! Shou!" Lan Xinzi enunciated each syllable.
"Xu Xiaoshou?" Zhang Xinxiong was surprised. "He's in the Inner Yard now?"
If any Outer Yard disciple trespassed into the Inner Yard, those caught redhanded would be sent to the execution podium, and the Inner Yard 33 would be allowed to execute them in-lieu of the master...
Countless ways of killing Xu Xiaoshou instantly flashed through his mind, but he managed to suppress the thought. After all, He Yuxing's experience was still fresh in everyone's mind.
"Have you dealt with him?" Zhang Xinxiong got up and asked.
He didn't believe that Lan Xinzi would be so reckless as to ignore He Yuxing's end, but he was still scared that she would deal with Xu Xiaoshou recklessly.
"I didn't!" Lan Xinzi glanced at him unhappily as she murmured, "God knows what that boy did to you. Why are you so protective of him...
"Is he prettier than me?"
Zhang Xinxiong was speechless.
"Me protective of him?" he thought. "I'm just scared that you'll mess up my grand scheme!"
Lan Xinzi took the wine cup but couldn't find the wine pot, so she unwillingly put down the cup again.
"Eh. That boy seems to be really close to Xiao Qixiu. He's only an Outer Yard disciple but can already enter the Inner Yard site. This enforcing elder...
"Tsk, what an abuse of power for one's personal agenda!
Zhang Xinxiong lightly knocked his hand against the table and replied, "I've investigated. This boy has nothing to do with Xiao Qixiu, but he's really close to Su Qianqian. I suppose this was Su Qianqian's assistance...
"Hmm, that's wrong. Regardless of how powerful Su Qianqian is, there's no way she could change the rule of the Spirit Palace.
"Who could it be?
"Elder Sang?"
Zhang Xinxiong was shocked by his thoughts, thinking his guess absurd.
It was pretty nice of that unsociable old man to save Xu Xiaoluo that night. How could he think that those two were actually close? He must be having a stroke.
Lan Xinzi, on the other hand, had clearly gone down a different line of thought. She played with her fingers as she said, "Nevermind the Inner Yard site. Xu Xiaoshou was actually trying to go to the Back Mountain. What was he thinking..."
Zhang Xinxiong was puzzled and slowly turned to face her. "Where?"
"The Back Mountain."
Lan Xinzi seemed to recall something, and her jaw dropped in suprise. "Oh my, isn't the Back Mountain Rao Yinyin's turf? Which happens to be a place you've always wanted to go but never succeeded in doing so. What a coincidence!"
Zhang Xinxiong's eyes flared with anger. "Did you persuade him to go?"
"I merely gave him advice out of kindness." Lan Xinzi smiled graciously.
"That boy dared to trespass into the Back Mountain. Rao Yinyin will definitely kick his *ss. We don't have to do anything. Murdering someone with a borrowed knife. Isn't this perfect?
"And if he's really powerful enough to stay on the Back Mountain, then he could develop a relationship with Rao Yinyin over time. This is helping one to realize a dream too."
Lan Xinzi stuck out her tongue, her eyes dancing with stars. "That boy is indeed tall and handsome. He's pretty dreamy..."
Bang!
Zhang Xinxiong slammed his palm against the table, causing wooden debris to scatter into the air.
"You're testing my limits!"
Lan Xinzi retorted pridefully, "This is my table. Who gave you the right to break it!?"
"You..."
"What are you saying? This is my Spiritual Site. Get out if you don't want to stay here!" Lan Xinzi announced loudly. It felt good to say this.
"I..."
Needless to say, Zhang Xinxiong had no choice but to remain silent, as this wasn't his place.
And he actually gave up on fighting back.
He tried to compose himself and sat on the chair again, then grabbed the wine cup...
"D*mn it!" he thought. "This broken place doesn't even have a wine pot!"
He put down the wine cup and said slowly, "Didn't Yuan Tou intend to join my Zhang clan? Did he make it into the Inner Yard thirty-three?"
He'd changed the topic so abruptly that it made Lan Xinzi pause for a moment, then she nodded. "He made it, but why are you bringing him up?"
"Xu Xiaoshou trespassed into the Inner Yard. Yuan Tou, one of the newly appointed Inner Yard thirty-three, will enforce the rule in-lieu of us!"
Lan Xinzi raised an eyebrow. This was a vicious move. It seemed like he wasn't going to allow Xu Xiaoshou and Rao Yinyin a chance to get together.
However, whether Xu Xiaoshou could walk out of the Back Mountain alive was another issue!
Indeed, this dude became totally different because of that little b*tch Rao Yinyin whenever her name was mentioned.
He was only looking out for his own interests, as always.
But...
She'd won this time!
Lan Xinzi's beautiful eyes were full of disdain. "Didn't someone say he wouldn't lay a finger on Xu Xiaoshou unless he stepped outside of the Spirit Palace?"
"He's asking for it. Why can't I capitalize on the opportunity?"
"What makes you think Yuan Tou would do it? He's just become part of the Inner Yard thirty-three and has a bright future ahead of him."
Zhang Xinxiong laughed. "The likes of him are just a bunch of poor fawning dogs. If he doesn't want to do it, there are many more people who would gladly replace him.
"Tell him that if he wants to join the Zhang clan to bring Xu Xiaoshou's skull to me before this time tomorrow as proof of his allegiance!
"If he doesn't want to do it, there are plenty of others who will!
"If he's scared of executing someone...
"As long as he can stay alive for three months, I can fetch him out!"
He was finally going to do it!
Indeed, the only person that could induce this man into action was none other than Rao Yinyin.
Lan Xinzi was propping her face up in her hands, looking like she was worshipping him.
"Master Zhang, you're absolutely impressive!"
"Shut up!"
...
"Hachoo!"
Xu Xiaoshou pulled his clothes tighter around him.
Although the night had lowered the surrounding temperature, his [Innate Body] couldn't be invaded by the cold wind. So, the only possibility was that Lan Xinzi was planning to backstab him again.
However, he was backed by Elder Sang now, so those people shouldn't look for trouble with him so blatantly!
And if they were looking for trouble with him, it'd only been a day since the assassination, so tonight should be absolutely safe.
"Hmm, I better find a Spiritual Site soon and rest well for the night!" he thought.
"After I enter the Tianxuan Gate three days later, I won't need to be scared of anyone anymore.
"Hang in there, Xu Xiaoshou!"
...
Lan Xinzi hadn't fooled him. After making a turn and continuing down the dirt path, he arrived at an Arcadia.
There was a river by the mountain, and he could faintly hear the sound of a crashing waterfall.
There were numerous Spiritual Sites here, but none of them were occupied.
"Could this be a scam..."
Xu Xiaoshou felt slightly uneasy, but when he thought that assassinations would happen anyway no matter where he stayed, he became more relaxed.
"Not this, not this either..."
He had rejected a few desirable ones only for one reason: the deeper the location of the Spiritual Site, the richer the spiritual energy.
He could feel his cultivation level rising just by standing still.
At the end of the Back Mountain, the crashing waterfall sounded like thunder.
A grand court was beside the waterfall, occupying an area that was at least triple the size of his outer yard. The protecting barrier was even more magnificent and was able to hide the interior decoration.
Xu Xiaoshou held his token and came to the brushwood door, then entered the place with the token.
The gate was wide open, and the moonlight had filled up the entire space.
He looked high-spirited.
Yesterday, he'd been fraught with dangers, but today he'd pushed open the gate of an Inner Yard Spiritual Site.
He strode in with one big leap!
"This step is a small step to turn over a new leaf and also a major step for me, Xu Xiaoshou, on my road to success!"