After being thoroughly 'disciplined' by Vesa, Feng Xue became docile and tried her best to help Mingyue.
This wasn't just because of the horror she had experienced but also due to the promise that they would give her a body to use.
"Hmph, uncle, what uncle?
He always made my life hard on purpose because he was jealous of my talent, always finding fault in anything.
And then he used the elder card.
A hateful person.
I am sure if my family really plots against me, he is one of the masterminds."
"Why would they plot against their own?
If you can't trust your own family, who can you trust then?"
[Don't worry about it.
The Queen has me and the king.
Feng Xue, you just need to worry about your task.]
Mingyue ignored their remarks and instead asked,
"Vesa, can you show me Jian Feng's status?
Or do I need to see him directly?"
Vesa didn't answer; instead, it directly showed the status in front of Mingyue.
______________________________
Name: Jian Feng Xueqi
Power Level: 8.5
Life force: 105/210
Cultivation Level: Core Formation Stage - Late Level
[The target is frustrated and feels afraid of his situation.
Has hostile intentions.]
_______________________________
Mingyue wasn't surprised by the information.
"Vesa, can you make a similar map to the one in the secret realm?"
[If it's only for the area, then it's possible, but I think the Queen wants a map to see the location of all cultivators in the area?]
"Yes, is it possible?"
[For now, no, but if the Queen is curious, I can try to detect the strongest cultivator in your family.]
Mingyue told Vesa to do it; she had always been curious about who the strongest in her family was.
She knew the patriarch should be at the Nascent Soul stage, but they should have had an ancestor figure secretly protecting the family.
After a moment, Vesa's message appeared in front of Mingyue.
[The strongest I could sense is at the Nascent Soul stage, Queen, but I can sense a strong formation in the area ahead.
If you can get close, I can break it.]
"Is it near the center area?
That should be our family treasury."
[No, I could sense a formation there, too, Queen, but it's not as strong.]
[The one I mean is in the northeast area of the city.]
Mingyue knew that area; it was the ancestor's grave.
Every year, the family would gather there to pay respects.
But she had never gone deep inside since the area was banned except for the patriarch.
"Forget it.
Maybe I will check it later."
Her eyes then glinted with mischief.
She gave some orders to Zan Lu and made Feng Xue threaten her uncle again.
Outside the carriage, Zan Lu walked close, approaching Jian Feng.
He took out the photo from before and showed it to Jian Feng.
Zan Lu then crumpled the paper, and at the same time, Jian Feng could feel his soul being crushed.
This quickly made him panic.
"What... What do you want to do?"
Zan Lu smiled,
"You? Know your place.
I may just be an attendant, but a weakling like you has no place to talk to me like that.
Or do you want me to burn this paper?"
His other hand took out a match, and he ignited it.
Jian Feng could feel qi but only for a moment, making him even more certain these people were not just normal cultivators.
He even had suspicions they were from some ancient family; normally, as long as the flame was ignited, he should have been able to feel the qi being consumed continuously.
Seeing Zan Lu start moving the ember closer to his photo, Jian Feng could feel his soul starting to feel the heat.
Feeling the danger, he quickly bowed and asked for forgiveness.
Inside the carriage, Mingyue was laughing to herself.
"I can only do soul attacks three times a day, and you really spent it to prank your uncle?"
Feng Xue complained.
"It's worth it.
You don't know how much I suffered under him when I lived here.
And it's not only for a prank."
Outside, Zan Lu's eyes began to fill with pride, this time not acting but real.
How could he not?
The arrogant cultivator from a prominent family was now acting so servile in front of him, a commoner.
'I knew following Lady Mingyue was the right choice.'
Looking down at Jian Feng, he then said,
"I can return this to you.
Even better, I can give you this artifact.
Are you interested?"
In the Xueqi Family, Jian Feng had a low position; he wasn't that talented.
Even his son was good for nothing, just spending his days lazing around at home.
Looking at the artifact, greed started festering in his heart.
If he had it, he was sure he could secure a better place in the family and more resources to cultivate his newborn granddaughter.
He had spread rumors on purpose that his granddaughter was talented when she was born.
He wasn't lying; he saw the phenomenon that happened at her birth, but because his family was the only witness, the patriarch and others didn't trust him.
They preferred to wait until her talent could be confirmed.
"Of course, Sir, what can I do for you?"
"It's nothing hard; tell me what happened.
I heard rumors outside saying one of the family heirs had an accident.
But why is there a need to close the whole city?"
Jian Feng's eyes turned sharp.
"I am sorry, sir, but I can only tell you this much: our family is grieving, and some bastard took the opportunity to steal an important artifact, so we closed down the whole city."
Zan Lu received another instruction from Mingyue and continued asking.
"I have no ulterior motive; we are just merchants selling some of our artifacts.
I just want to know if your family can purchase our item.
If it has internal strife, it will just become a problem for our miss."