Everyone had returned back to the Ma clan. Si Yu went back to the rented house and Yang Zhai went back to his house.
On the other hand, the third elder was investigating the man caught by elder Yu Ene.
"Tell me already, and you can be free from the torture." The third elder was torturing the man to reveal the reason for attacking them. He was hoping that the man would say the name of the Ma clan.
"I told…you already. Someone from the Bai clan hired me. That man hid his face. Also, my target was Feng Qi, not someone else." The man was being tortured by the third elder again and again. The third elder would heal the man and torture him again.
"If Feng Qi was targeted, then what's the reason? Tell me, or, you will not die easily."
"I, I don't don't…know the…reason. I was just hired and that's all. Otherwise, why would I… value the life of someone…over myself?"
He is not saying anything else besides this, there can only be two reasons: first, he is telling the truth and second is that he can't say the name for some reason, such as determination, love for his close ones, and many more: Zihao De contemplated about the current situation.
He had already done what he could, but the man kept on saying the same things again and again. He had thought that this man was sent by the Ma clan and if it was true, then it would have benefited him, but it was not.
"Let's inform brother Tai." Zihao De exited the room and went to the clan leader.
…..
"What did you discover?"
A man asked Zihao De. This man had a normal build and had short gray hair. His eyes were calm and prideful. He was wearing a beautiful black robe with red patterns. And Zihao De was very respectful to the man. This man's name was Tai Qi and was the clan leader of the Bai clan.
"Something very important. At first, I thought that the man was not telling me the truth, but after thinking it through, I realized that the information given by the one captured by Yu Ene was far more important than the information about the Ma clan."Zihao De said with a serious expression.
"Oh, what do you mean by that?"Tai Qi's interest was piqued after listening to Zihao De.
"What I mean is that there is a traitor in our clan. Not just that, but Feng Qi's life is in danger."
"What?!"Tai Qi's eyes narrowed after hearing that. He lost the calm that was present in his eyes before.
"That man said that someone from the Bai clan had hired him, but he doesn't know who that was. Not just that, he said that his target was Feng Qi, not one of the three Bai clan participants."Zihao De began to explain,
"At first, I thought that the man was trying to distract us by saying the name of the Bai clan and was saving the Ma clan. However…," Zihao De stopped after saying this.
"However?"
"However, he said that he wanted to kill Feng Qi. At first, I thought that he was just saying Feng Qi's name to not let the name of the Ma clan out: But, after thinking, "Zihao De was still speaking when the clan leader continued,
"But, after thinking, why did he take the name of Feng Qi instead of someone else, right?"
"Right, why Feng Qi? If I am not wrong, someone already knows that Feng Qi is your son and wants to eliminate him. And there can only be one reason for that. Do you know what that can be?" Zihao De asked Tai Qi instead of answering.
"If I am not mistaken, it can only be to eliminate my future inheritor."
"Yes, otherwise, what reason can there be to kill Feng Qi? No outsider will get any benefits by killing Feng Qi: after all, you are still alive and what can an outsider achieve if you are still alive and ruling the Bai clan? Only someone from the inside will benefit if you have no inheritor to inherit the clan leader's position. So, thinking about all of this, I think the man is telling the truth."Zihao De looked at Tai Qi.
Zihao De knew who Feng Qi was and also knew what was going to happen if the clan leader had no heir. Linking everything together, Zihao De came to the conclusion that the man was telling the truth.
"I was thinking the same. Nobody besides you and me knows that Feng Qi is my son. If someone already knows this, then that person has to be extremely close to us, no outsider can know this crucial information. If we link all these, the traitor is among the elders. This means that someone from the elders wants to eliminate Feng Qi for their son to be the future clan leader." Tai Qi contemplated for a moment and spoke after that.
"Right, Feng Qi will never be safe in this clan. And there is no place outside the clan that can be safe for him. So, we have three choices, first, we send him on a journey to the outside world, which is dangerous and he might not return."
"Second, we announce that he is your son and keep him under the strict watch of a few elders, but as we don't know who the traitor is, this choice is dangerous."
"Third, we find the one who wants to kill Feng Qi and get rid of him: otherwise," the third elder Zihao De stopped after saying this.
"Otherwise?"
"Otherwise, we must kill every elder's son secretly in a way that nobody realizes that it was a schemed massacre." The third elder looked at Tai Qi and wanted to see how the clan leader Tai Qi would respond.
"But, there's a flaw in this. If we can hide the identity of Feng Qi, then others can also hide the identities of their sons. If we kill everyone and that secret inheritor remains, then Feng Qi's life would be in danger even more: after all, Feng Qi would be the only person left on their way to the clan leader's position." Tai Qi didn't get angry at Zihao De but stated his worries instead.
It could be seen how much these two trusted each other. Not just that, both of them were even ready to kill their future talents for only their interest.
"You are right."
"Let's do it like this, ask his master Yu Ene to protect Feng Qi. After all, we know how strong he is, and as Feng Qi is his disciple, he would give his all to protect Feng Qi. Until then, I will find another way. Also, you should also personally keep an eye on Feng Qi. We can't trust anyone. In secret, you will protect Feng Qi, and in the open, Yu Ene." Tai Qi made up a plan.
He could trust nobody, but Yu Ene was the one that could be trusted more than everyone after the third elder. Yu Ene will protect Feng Qi in the open, and in secret, the third elder will do it. After all, by any chance, even if Yu Ene wanted to kill Feng Qi, he could not do that in the open. And the third elder will always keep an eye on Feng Qi in secret.
…..
At night,
Yang Zhai was just going back to his house when he heard a voice coming from behind.
"Brother Yang,"
Yang Zhai turned around and saw that it was Ci An who had called him from behind.
Yang Zhai stopped and waited for her. He saw that she was not wearing the clothes that Yang Zhai had ordered his whole class to wear before he left the Bai Clan four months ago.
"Why are you not wearing the clothes I had given everyone in the class?" Yang Zhai felt strange. Where did she get the courage to reject his orders and then arrive in front of him?
"Oh, about that, the clan leader allowed us to wear normal clothes a month ago. Anyway, how was the competition? I heard that you won."Ci An said with a smile. She was excited when talking about the competition.
Yang Zhai did not say anything and looked at Ci An. He felt strange.
Something is not right here. She is speaking so enthusiastically with me, which is not possible for her. Not just that, she only wanted to ask me about the competition, which she could also do tomorrow in the class. Could it be…:These were all the thoughts that Yang Zhai was having right now.
Yang Zhai was just pondering when Ci An suddenly jumped at him with a poisoned knife. It was impossible for Yang Zhai to dodge from this distance.
!*****!*****!