"You..."
Qi Yan's words pierced deep into Xiao Yan's heart.
He felt a mouthful of old blood surge right up to his throat once again.
"Puff!"
Even though he tried desperately to swallow it back down, he couldn't take it anymore and spat out another massive mouthful of blood!
He was only fifteen years old!
How was he a middle-aged uncle instead of a youth?
If anyone else had said such a thing, he would have been able to argue back.
But who made this remark? It was Qi Yan'er, a little girl of only seven years old!
To her, who present wasn't an old fogey?
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river?"
It was clear that Qi Yan'er had no intention of letting the sharp-tongued Xiao Yan off the hook just like that.
Pointing a tender, pink finger at Xiao Yan, her cheeks puffed up in anger:
"What qualifications do you have to lecture my Yanran sister with that attitude?"
"Your talent was barely passable in the past, but now you're just good-for-nothing trash!"
"Yan'er is right."
Nalan Yanran stepped to Qi Yan'er's side and said sternly:
"You want to make a comeback?"
"Fine! I, Nalan Yanran, will wait for the day you, Xiao Yan, surpass me and come looking for me for revenge!"
"However, the engagement between you and me is null and void starting from today. Because of your arrogant attitude right now, I will make this matter public. Patriarch Xiao, don't blame Yanran for being merciless!"
"Hahahahaha—good, good, good!"
The consecutive reprimands from the two young girls drove Xiao Yan into loud laughter.
Yet beneath that laughter lay endless bitterness and self-mockery!
Xiao Yan tilted his head back and cried out from the depths of his soul:
Dammit, Heavens, did you bring me to this world just to make me a laughingstock?
No matter how hard he tried, Xiao Yan could not comprehend it.
Why had he fallen from a supreme genius to a piece of trash whose dignity was trampled upon and humiliated by others today?
"Puff!"
After coughing up yet another mouthful of fresh blood, Xiao Yan's head flopped to the side and he passed out cold.
"Sigh—"
As a father, Xiao Zhan felt an incomparable heartache.
Yet at this moment, all he could do was let out a helpless sigh:
"Steward Mo, take Yan'er away to tend to his injuries first!"
"Yes!"
Steward Mo gave a respectful bow and ordered the servants to carry Xiao Yan away.
After Xiao Yan was carried out, Xiao Zhan cast his gaze toward Nalan Yanran:
"Miss Nalan, are you satisfied with this outcome?"
"Patriarch Xiao, I originally didn't want to make things turn out this badly, but your Xiao Clan's attitude has truly disappointed me too much."
A cold expression chilled Nalan Yanran's pretty face as she said coldly:
"You stood by and watched with your own eyes as Xiao Yan and Yan'er confronted each other, yet you chose to remain silent. Is this the demeanor of the Xiao Clan, once one of the four great clans of the Jia Ma Empire?"
"Once I return, I will report everything that happened today word for word to my grandfather. I believe my grandfather will make his own judgment!"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the members of the Xiao Clan were so ashamed they couldn't lift their heads.
The Xiao Clan had indeed once been one of the four great clans of the Jia Ma Empire!
That was under the premise that the previous patriarch, Xiao Lin—a Dou Wang Powerhouse—was still alive.
Today's Xiao Clan had fallen so low in this tiny Wutan City.
They were already a far cry from what they used to be!
"Uncle Ge Ye, Yan'er, let's go!"
With that, Nalan Yanran took hold of Qi Yan'er's small hand and walked angrily toward the outside of the main hall.
Ge Ye, who had been holding the jade box in his palm for a long time at the back, set it down and hurriedly followed.
An action like this could not be described as anything less than deeply humiliating.
Xiao Zhan's chest rose and fell, his expression already darkened to a terrifying degree. He raised his hand and swept it forward, sending a surge of Dou Qi bursting from his palm.
"Take the Qi Gathering Powder with you as well!"
"Xiao Zhan, what do you think you're doing!"
Seeing the jade box being hurled away, the old faces of the three elders instantly changed.
"The three elders must not forget, I am still the patriarch of the Xiao Clan!"
Xiao Zhan roared, consumed by fury.
"Fine..."
The three elders gritted their teeth with hatred, forced to swallow their anger and endure.
Feeling the aura coming from behind, Ge Ye reached his hand back, steadily caught the jade box, and shook his head with a smile.
True to the saying, like father, like son—this pair of father and son from the Xiao Clan really didn't know what was good for them!
"Please wait a moment!"
Just as Nalan Yanran and Qi Yan'er were about to step out of the Xiao Clan's main hall, a crisp, delicate voice suddenly rang out.
The three of them paused in their tracks.
Their gazes followed and landed on the young girl in a green dress standing in the corner.
Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the doors and windows, enveloping the girl entirely. Seen from afar, she looked like a lotus flower blooming in the mortal world—pure, graceful, and unstained by even a speck of dust.
Qi Yan'er's large eyes flashed with curiosity as she spoke:
"Pretty big sister, is there something you need?"
"I have a few questions I'd like to ask you. I wonder if little younger sister has the time?"
Xiao Xun'er slowly stood up, a sweet smile blooming across her pretty face.
"Of course I do!"
Qi Yan'er tilted her little head, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
The only reason she had acted so domineeringly in the Xiao Clan's main hall was none other than to catch a big fish!
And look—the big fish had taken the bait all on its own!
Daddy, you can rest assured and leave Yan'er's happiness entirely to me~
"Yan'er, you..."
Nalan Yanran was in a rush to leave the Xiao Clan.
She didn't want to stay in the Xiao Clan for even a single second longer, but now she had no choice but to stay.
After all, she certainly couldn't feel at ease leaving Yan'er here all by herself.
"Miss Nalan, would you mind relocating to the city for a chat?"
Xiao Xun'er moved with lotus-like steps, arriving before Nalan Yanran to ask.
"Very well."
Unable to bear refusing Qi Yan'er's wish, Nalan Yanran nodded.
Amidst the bewildered gazes of the Xiao Clan members, the group quickly vanished from sight.
By this time, the expressions of the three elders had unexpectedly shifted from their previous rage to a calm indifference.
They looked back at Xiao Zhan and said respectfully:
"Patriarch, for her to take the initiative to seek them out is hardly a good thing for us."
Xiao Zhan nodded:
"Even so, there's nothing we can do about it. We can only let nature take its course... Sigh—"
The people in the Xiao Clan's main hall looked at one another in blank dismay, utterly bewildered.
What was going on?
Didn't the patriarch and the three elders always lock horns?
How come now...
On the other side, Xiao Yan, who had been carried to his room to recover from his injuries, suddenly opened both eyes.
After glancing around to confirm that there was no one else in the room, his bloodless face was filled with utter desolation:
"Strength!"
"In this world, without strength you're worth even less than a piece of dog shit—at least dog shit is something people actually dare to step on!"
Burying his ten fingers into his jet-black hair, a trace of blood already stained the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth.
Without reaching out to wipe it away, Xiao Yan let the fresh blood flow down and drip into the palm of his hand:
"Today's humiliation, I will never suffer a second time!"
"Hehehehe—little brat, it seems you are in dire need of help!"
Just as Xiao Yan carved that vow deep into his heart, a bizarre, elderly laugh suddenly transmitted directly into his ears!
"Who is it?"
Xiao Yan's small face shifted, and he abruptly looked around the room.
That pair of pitch-black eyes swept across the space with sharp intensity, yet they failed to discover even half a human figure.
A ghost?
"Hehehehe—stop looking, I'm right on your finger!"
Just as Xiao Yan began to think it was all an illusion, the eerie laughter sounded once more.
"My finger?"
Xiao Yan lowered his head and looked down, his pupils instantly constricting.
This was... his mother's legacy?
Staring fixedly at the pitch-black ring on his finger, Xiao Yan suppressed the terror in his heart and said calmly:
"You're the one talking?"
"This little brat has pretty good composure; he didn't get scared enough to leap right off the bed."
A bantering chuckle echoed from within the ring.
Xiao Yan felt a bitter ache in his heart.
What good composure?
Dammit, if I hadn't been beaten half to death by that little brat, I would have bolted right off this bed long ago!