Path to Vengence
Though Old Man Xia was far into his lifespan and didn't have many years left in this world, he was still a powerhouse at the peak of the Houtian Great Realm. So even if he were missing half his body and standing at death's door, he could still stand up by himself.
Holding and leaning against a cane while walking around didn't mean that it was his source of stability or anything. The cane was more of a symbolic gesture than anything else.
Many old men and women often used canes as a representation of their elder status. It implied that they were full of wisdom and experience and that their words meant more than those of other, younger cultivators.
Some elderly cultivators even took it a step further and also used their canes as weapons, often sealing a sword within them and using the cane as a sheath.
Still, overall, it was just another clique famous in the cultivation world. Like how youngsters loved wearing all-black or white cloaks to symbolize their personalities, older cultivators used canes.
However, even though Old Man Xia looked to be an old man on the doorstep of death, possessing a frail body that seemingly shivered in the wind, Xue Feng had no plans to be lighthearted. This old thing had caused the deaths of more people than most cultivators would even see in their entire lifetimes.
Looking down at the fossil that still had the audacity to wear a half smile, Xue Feng started to speak.
"I assume you know what you did." Xue Feng spoke coldly toward the old man. Once his words ended, an icicle manifested in his right hand. The act was random, but it easily showed Xue Feng's attitude. If Old Man Xia didn't agree or admit what he did, Xue Feng was going to turn hostile.
Even Li Huo, to his left, showed his attitude, moving his conjured wind swords closer toward Old Man Xia and the mansion formations he was hiding behind.
However, even in the face of Xue Feng and Li Huo's domineering pressure, Old Man Xia didn't cower at all but instead even widened his smile a bit. It still didn't quite reach his eyes, though, showing how insincere it was.
"Duke of Snow, please forgive this old man for asking, but pray to tell, what exactly does your excellency think this old man does?" Old Man Xia spoke with a half-smile. His words were polite and even a bit humble, but to Xue Feng, they only sounded like a sarcastic insult.
With how the old man phrased his words and the half-smile he put on, it was more than obvious to Xue Feng that the man knew what he did. However, with how many people were gathered around the mansion, Old Man Xia's motives were blatant to anyone with half a brain.
He wanted to use the power of the public to force Xue Feng's momentum to a screeching halt while also ensuring his safety.
Old Man Xia was extremely intelligent, to the point where even his opponents had to respect him. He would never enter a situation where he was at a disadvantage, and this time was no different.
Using humility and a smiling face, he wanted to make sure Xue Feng or Li Huo wouldn't act viciously so openly.
There was a saying in the world that one shouldn't smack a smiling face, but with how many wrinkles littered Old Man Xia's face and the fact that his smile didn't even reach his eyes, let alone ears, Xue Feng had a strong urge to kill the man here.
Sadly, such a move would destroy his public image in the empire while also giving Wang Yichen a righteous reason to attack his dukedom. Xue Feng was forced to repress this urge.
But with Old Man Xia playing a fool and wanting to use the public's opinion to shackle Xue Feng's options, Xue Feng knew that he had to do something unorthodox.
Killing Old Man Xia was a foolish choice, as it would just spark a war between him and the Wang Clan, and he didn't want to fight Wang Yichen just yet.
While he and Li Ruo were at the peak of the Domain Lord realm, there were more than a few people in the Wang Clan with such cultivation bases.
Moreover, there was even a Xiantian Great Realm fossil sitting within the Wang Clan as their final trump card.
Until he and Li Ruo had enough strength to suppress that old monster, they promised not to expose themselves.
Killing all of the Wang Clan would only take a matter of time, but if even one of them escaped, then they would never live in peace. Xue Feng didn't want to sacrifice his sleep for such a minor character.
Thinking about what to do next, Xue Feng eventually had an idea spark in his mind. Suddenly, Xue Feng smiled.
Descending from the skies, Xue Feng looked at the hunched-over figure with the same half smile it had on.
"Old Man Xia, you're smart. Overwhelmingly so, but you often forget one thing in your conceited arrogance. There are other people in this world, ones just as smart, if not smarter than you." Xue Feng calmly spoke as he gently landed on the ground.
"Moreover, you even forgot about the other side. You foolishly forget that on the other pole, there are extremely dumb people—people so dumb that they even forget where they are or who they're talking to. And sometimes, these dumb people, influenced by heaven knows what, go around spilling secrets that should be told to no one but their own families."
Speaking this much and noticing the distinct facial expression change in Old Man Xia, Xue Feng felt confident in himself.
Having the upper hand, he even dispelled the icicle sword in his hand into the wind and started to walk toward the hunched-over old man holding onto his cane.
"Now, using this example, what would happen if four idiots, influenced by outside circumstances, started to speak about their family's secrets, or maybe! Perhaps even the secret that their bosses have? What would happen?" Xue Feng grandiosely spoke, using his arms as a conductor in an orchestra would.
His words were vague, extremely so. The only people who even had so much as a clue as to what he was saying were him, Li Huo, and Old Man Xia. But that was enough.
Once Xue Feng finished speaking his words, a shiver went down the injured spine of Old Man Xia, and a hundred different futures flashed in his brain. After his imagination took a turn for the worse, a horrified look appeared on his face.
"What do you know?" Old Man Xia shakily asked as he looked at Xue Feng with an entirely different gaze. Different from before, where he didn't truly place Xue Feng in his eyes, now he looked at Xue Feng not only as a person of equal status but as an enigma he couldn't see through.
Xue Feng didn't dignify the old man's question with a response, but instead, he asked his question, "Will you obediently follow me to the dukedom, or are you forcing me to say more things? Things that shouldn't see the daylight."
Over the years, Xue Bai had told Xue Feng and Li Rou a decent amount of things relating to the Wang Clan and their deeds. And in those stores, the Xia and Huang clans weren't excluded. In fact, more often than not, they were the main spear for their misdeeds.
The Xia and Huang clans would commit horrific deeds for the Wang Clan in exchange for a myriad of things, from cultivation resources unavailable on the Southern Continent to getting the Domain Lord realm cultivators of the Wang Clan to take action. The two clans would serve as good mercenaries for the Wang Clan.
It was also through the two clans that the Wang Clan was able to avoid gaining the Duan Imperial Family's ire. After all, even though the Wang Clan had the backing of the Blood Saber Sect, it was only recently that they gained this powerful patron.
Without time to slowly increase in power and foundation, they were still much weaker than the Duan Imperial Family. They still needed a few more decades to truly become more powerful than the rulers of the continent.
By using the Xia and Huang Clans as spears, they were able to dodge many of the Duan Imperial Family's eyes.
But this fact was only known to a very select number of people, even in the Wang Clan. When talking about outsiders, other than Old Man Xia, the only person who knew about this was most likely the patriarch of the Huang Clan.
Yet now, for some reason, Xue Feng, a person who was supposed to know nothing about this, indirectly mentioned it.
Of course, Xue Feng's words were extremely vague, but with how much Old Man Xia knew, how could he not know where Xue Feng's words were leading? It was just that it was near impossible for Xue Feng to know the Wang Clan's true nature. Thus, the old man was both horrified and confused.
However, Xue Feng didn't even bother to explain himself and simply stared at the walking corpse, disdaining to even repeat his words. He had already given this fossil too much face just by saying these words. Any more of it, and he would throw up.
Seconds soon passed with Old Man Xia staring Xue Feng in the eyes, hoping he would say something, but eventually, the old man sighed.
"You win this time. This old man concedes. However, Duke Wang won't let this go!" Old Man Xia hatefully spoke as he gave up on the stalemate. He could tell from the glint in Xue Feng's eyes that there were only two choices for him to take today, but for someone with just as much fear of death as he had, there was really only one choice he could realistically take.
"Even if Wang Yichen didn't let it go, I wouldn't." Xue Feng snorted. Wang Yichen nearly destroyed his son's life and had been plotting against him for decades. How could he simply let such a person get away with their sins?
Xue Feng didn't believe in karma, or that good people were rewarded while bad people were punished. All of that was nonsense. He had seen far too many horrible people rise and good people fall to believe in that childish nonsense.
He only believed in his sword.
And with Xue Bai transforming his talent and giving him treasures he had never seen before, it was only a matter of time before he slew Wang Yichen. This Old Man Xia was just another stone on his path to vengeance.
Old Man Xia was obedient and, after being motioned to, followed Xue Feng into the air and out of the city, leaving behind both his clan and a crowd full of confused citizens.
Xue Feng wasn't quiet with his ambiguous words previously, and as a result, many people heard him. However, with how vague they were, no one really understood him other than Old Man Xia.
But he did manage to birth a seed of doubt in the hearts of the Yuan City citizens. All he needed to do was wait for it to germinate.
'Wang Yichen, oh Wang Yichen, you started this game, but I'll be the one to end it.' Xue Feng inwardly laughed as he led Old Man Xia toward his dukedom.
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