Chapter 96

Finding One's Place

Confusion, bewilderment, absurdity—no word could adequately describe the feelings of Shuradoji at that moment. Despite making thorough preparations and launching a full-scale attack, he found that the enemy had long since fled.

"What has happened here?"

The people who received the question were equally bewildered. However, they felt less of the weight of responsibility compared to Shuradoji, so they managed to regain their composure to some extent. One of them, a man in his mid-50s wearing a rather elegant light blue robe, with patches of dried, dark red blood, quickly responded.

"It seems we have fallen into the enemy's trap, Lord. Make a decision quickly. We might be surrounded by them."

Shuradoji, with a sense of regret, shouted to an elderly warrior in black with a sharp expression.

"You, lead the Demon-Breaking Squad and thoroughly search within a hundred li radius."

"Understood!"

"And you, lead the Evil-Breaking Squad and search up to a three-hundred li radius."

"Understood!"

The Evil-Breaking Squad and the Demon-Breaking Squad, each consisting of about 200 warriors, were among the best elites of the Ximen Clan, along with the Demon-Slaying Squad. If the evil sect had set a trap here and retreated to the outskirts before pressing in again, they could suffer significant damage.

"And you, inform the various sects to prepare for the enemy's attack."

"Yes."

"The thoroughness of their preparation... I never expected this..."

The self-reproach in the patriarch's mutterings left the elderly ministers at a loss. But the water had already been spilled. No matter how the enemy acted, they had to prevent being caught off guard.

Following Shuradoji's orders, they prepared thoroughly for the enemy's external attack. To avoid any internal traps, such as poison, they quickly withdrew all the warriors who had entered and sent a few outstanding experts to conduct a thorough search.

They even tried Yunqi Liaoshang (a technique to heal injuries by circulating qi) to guard against poison, but it soon became clear that there was no poison. They also discovered that there were no mechanisms for spreading poison. With the relief that there were no internal threats, a messenger from the Demon-Breaking Squad, who had been scouting the outskirts, arrived.

"We found no traces of the evil sect anywhere."

Shuradoji furrowed his brow.

"What is their plan? This is even more perplexing."

"Perhaps the battle at the Shaanxi branch was a decoy for something bigger?"

"A decoy? It's possible. Send a message to the丐帮 (Beggars' Gang). They might have attacked the alliance, or perhaps..."

Ximen Jilie stopped speaking. Although it was just a thought, he couldn't bring himself to say it. After all, words can become reality, as the saying goes.

But the hardened expression on Ximen Jilie's face made the elderly ministers realize what he was about to say, and their faces turned pale. There were only a few things that could make a patriarch at the Hua Jing level have such a rigid expression.

"Send a messenger bird to the main house immediately."

Before the elderly minister's booming voice had even finished, Ximen Jilie muttered softly.

"If they took advantage of my absence to target the main house, I will wipe out the evil sect."

"That is a wise decision, Lord."

"I've been away for too long. We've achieved our first goal, so let's return. Inform the various sects that I am leaving."

"Understood, Lord."

For Ximen Jilie, this was the best choice. If the Ximen Clan had enough strength to defend the main house, given their powerful single organization, he would never have made this decision. Even if he were just a high-ranking elder and not the patriarch, he would have done the same. But he was the patriarch of the Ximen Clan, and he had brought almost all of the clan's elite forces to the battlefield, so he couldn't ignore the risk of an empty house being plundered.

Later, Ximen Jilie learned about the power struggles within the evil sect and realized that deploying several hundred experts to the Shaanxi branch was a very risky move. At that moment, he felt like pounding the ground in grief. But it was too late.

If Ximen Jilie had known about the evil sect's situation at that time, he could have completely eradicated all their forces in Shaanxi. However, the old woman from Wuying Gate deliberately withheld this information, only revealing it after the opportunity had passed, which only irritated Ximen Jilie. "Now you understand the importance of intelligence, don't you? Hohoho," she laughed mockingly.