Wan-Er frowned and thought for a while.
[However, there may be a small mistake in what I just said. This guy may not be as strong as we imagine. If he was really that strong, he wouldn't have left marks on the grass. But if he really wasn't that strong, it's terrifying that our enemy has such decisiveness.]
They all understood that a stronger cultivator had a stronger determination; naturally, he had more experience, and it was truly terrifying that a cultivator who wasn't strong actually had such a decisive attitude.
Wan-Er spoke slowly with a soft voice as her clothes fluttered in the wind, "This guy is not very strong, but he may cause some unpredictable troubles in the future. If he is from the Ye Clan, then the unpredictable troubles are coming to us for sure."
All the men in black lowered their heads with shame.
Then they all left.
There was only Wan-Er still standing there. She was lost in her thoughts.
The man in white didn't show any response to what had happened. When Hei-Yi apologized, the man in white only replied, "Doesn't such an enemy make the battle more interesting?"
And he continued, "About the Ye Clan, do what you have to do. Next time, if you are tracked again, bring the culprit to me."
There was actually a sense of longing in his eyes.
A nervous excitement had invaded his heart, [I have finally found someone to fight against and I hope he could be a formidable rival.]
What he was worried about was that he would be disappointed if Ye Xiao wasn't good enough.
…
Ye Xiao ran off the mountain like a wild wind and then snuck back into the Ye Clan's manor. He found that his whole body was sweating!
The sense of crisis had really given him a huge shock!
He had never known that there was such a horrible place with such terrifying people so close to him!
He hadn't calmed down in spite of reaching his home. He still felt scared. He felt that a poisonous snake had marked him.
He remembered the bamboo forest and its vastness.
He couldn't forget that he had clearly sensed a sharp gaze looking and aiming at him!
The one who had noticed him was absolutely not a common expert cultivator.
An expert cultivator like this shouldn't exist in the mortal world; instead, he should be in the Qing-Yun Realm!
Ye Xiao was very sure about that, because he knew that a mortal world would never be able to contain such a person!
However, it was the truth that this guy existed here.
Why?
…
"My lord, we are framed. We are in huge trouble right now." Right after Ye Xiao stepped inside the house, the steward spoke to him. The steward seemed very dissatisfied and worried.
"Trouble?" Ye Xiao frowned, "I don't think so."
"Errh?" The steward was surprised.
He couldn't understand how killing eight expert cultivators of the Mu Clan was not a huge trouble?
"Even if we weren't framed… the Mu Clan would never make peace with us. This time, there is obviously someone who wants to stir up a disturbance. No matter what they are up to, for now, such actions are actually good for us."
Ye Xiao smiled.
The steward felt relieved and said, "Yes." He increasingly felt that his young master was scheming something…
Ye Xiao stopped for a while and continued, "However, there is also something bad for us. Things are fine for us at the moment, but the force that wants to stir the mess up must not be a friend of ours.
It is a powerful enemy - an enemy that is impossible to deal with at the moment!"
When he was speaking, he thought of that mountain and that forest again.
"Well, sometimes enemies help us. As long as we keep being the secondary enemy of every force, we could actually remain safe if the cards are played right! We need to work with them and deal with their primary enemies together! That is an unchanged and useful strategy! In fact, we may not work with them, but instead, we could just use them!"
The steward lowered his head without saying a word.
Ye Xiao thought bitterly, [It turns out that to be regarded as a secondary enemy is also a self-perpetuating method.] He felt kind of sad about it.
The Xiao Monarch had never been looked down upon in his prior life. He had always been the primary target, no matter who the enemy was.
But now he needed to make use of his enemies' disdain to protect himself. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
[You can despise me today, but sooner or later, I will be too high for you to reach!] Ye Xiao took a deep breath and he thought, [Someday I will show you that it takes a huge amount of hard work to qualify to be my enemy!]
Ye Xiao stepped into the house, "I need to rest."
"The Mu Clan would never make peace with us…" The steward murmured and then was suddenly enlightened.
Ye Xiao was about to enter his room, but he turned around and asked, "Uncle Song, I just got to know that there is a bamboo forest in the center of the capital. Do you know anything about it?"
The steward was shocked.
The bamboo forest didn't shock him; he was shocked because of the 'Uncle Song' which he hadn't been called for a long time.
He was suddenly thrilled. His young master hadn't called him Uncle Song since he was six years old!
Now he was being called that again.
Instantly, the old times were recalled in his mind! He felt like the kid who often cuddled him and sweetly called him uncle was now hugging him again.
He felt like weeping.
He then came back to himself and calmed down, and then he smiled, "There is this place in the capital. It is a restricted zone. No one is allowed to enter it, not even the people from the noble clans or royal clans."
"Restricted zone? Is it really that important?" Ye Xiao was surprised, "I happened to see it when I was hanging around the other day. I didn't expect such a quiet place in the capital. I was thinking about buying a piece of land so that we could build a villa in it. I wonder who made this place. It is actually a restricted zone!"
Steward Song remained thrilled for quite a while. If only he knew what Ye Xiao was thinking right now.
Who on earth could have the luck to be called uncle by the Xiao Monarch in this mortal world?
It was just that Ye Xiao had realized how he should live in this second life.
He was the Xiao Monarch, but at the same time, he was also the foppish lord Ye Xiao. Since he was the foppish lord, he had to start over to become the person who would eclipse what he once was.
He needed to go through all trifles and emotions of a mortal, so as to achieve ultimate success!
He had to experience everything in a mortal life, and most importantly, as Ye Xiao, the young lord.
He should especially change his mindset; he had to let go of the past and embrace the present.
The steward smiled and said, "I am not sure about the details. But I heard that the owner of that area is an exceptional man…"
"An exceptional man…" Ye Xiao thought for a while and nodded.
He then turned around to go into his room, but the steward spoke, "My lord, are you still thinking about doing something with that bamboo forest? You must not do that. Even the king doesn't dare plan anything against that place…"
Ye Xiao was surprised, and then he replied, "Okay, I got it."
…
It was in the Crown Prince Palace.
The envoy of the Mu Clan had settled here. Although there were about 45 of them, the Crown Prince Palace didn't seem crowded at all.
The eight, who had perished after attacking the General's House the other day, were only the vanguard of their forces.
The Crown Prince hadn't shown his face since the start. In fact, he had even gone to the Imperial Palace and hadn't come out even once.
The Crown Princess and the Mu Clan clearly knew why the Crown Prince did so - he was unpleased because they had used their military force just to kill a brat, Ye Xiao!
The Crown Prince was fighting against the other princes under the table, and none of them were easy to deal with.
He would be utterly isolated and would bite the dust if he wasn't careful enough. If he lost the throne, his life would be more miserable than a civilian's!
At this crucial moment for him, the others, including his wife, had actually shown little consideration for his situation.
Therefore, the Crown Prince was pissed; he was very angry. He had already told them his plan, but no one listened to him.
However, the current situation wasn't just about him; it was about the whole clan. Hence, the Crown Prince could do nothing but hold his rage inside his mind.
So he hid away from home.
Since he had decided to hide, he surely needed to choose a secure location; the Imperial Palace was a really good place for him.
In fact, it was his only choice and it was the perfect choice.
To live with his father, the king, was not a comfortable thing to do for him, and he might even get into some trouble, but it allowed him to have some amount of control over everything!
After all, it did more good than harm to his ambition!
For the Mu Clan, they didn't care whether the Crown Prince was or wasn't with them. It wouldn't make any difference to what they had planned, because they had everything they needed for this battle.
The people from the Mu Clan were waiting for a long time for response from their vanguard. They kept waiting till the late hours.
"Why have they not yet returned?" Said the leader - an old man. When he just finished asking, information about the eight men was finally sent back to them.
A man in black, about 30 years old, entered the palace while scratching his head. He stuttered out a few words, "B-Bad news…" He was quivering and his face was pale and filled with fear.
"What is it? What happened?" Seeing the terrified look on this man's face, people instantly felt nervous.
They stood up at the same time.
"The eight vanguards… who went to the house of Ye… died in the General's House! None of them lived. It seems that their heads were all cut off…" The man was quivering, "Furthermore, they were all killed by just one strike each; they were instantly killed!"