Chapter 72: The Chaos of the He Family (Part 2)

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Xiaobei quickened his pace and then, with the speed of an Imperial Rank martial artist, directly landed in a sparsely populated corner.

Xiaobei needed to ask someone first where the He Family's residence was located.

After all, he had never been to the He Family's residence and was not clear about its location.

Taking a few light steps, Xiaobei stopped a robust young man passing by, who had a large sword on his back. "Brother, do you know where the He Family's residence is?"

The robust young man was originally in a hurry. Feeling someone pulling him from behind, his expression immediately changed, and he was about to turn around and curse whoever it was.

However, upon turning around and seeing Xiaobei, who was slightly smaller in build but gave off no martial aura, the robust young man realized that this person was definitely stronger than him. He suppressed his anger and spoke normally to the masked Xiaobei, "The He Family? The one that is allied with the Xiao Family?"

Xiaobei nodded.

The robust young man smiled and pointed in the distance, saying, "The He Family's residence is in that direction. It's a large estate. Brother, if you follow this street straight ahead, you can reach it in less than half an hour if you walk fast. The outer walls of the He Family's residence are red, and the gates are two grand vermilion doors symbolizing wealth and nobility. There are also two huge stone kirin statues at the entrance, symbolizing status. You wouldn't believe it, but when I first saw those huge kirin statues, I thought they were real. I don't know who made them, but they are so lifelike that you feel like you're facing the kirin in person. I also..."

Xiaobei didn't expect that this robust young man, who looked like he practiced external martial arts, was so talkative.

Frowning, Xiaobei said thanks and, like a gust of wind, quickly moved away just as the robust young man was about to ask for some guidance.

The robust young man's mouth dropped open, and he muttered to himself, "What a loss, I should have asked for some advice earlier. I need to become stronger. Yes, I'll set Xiao Bei of the Xiao Family as my role model. After all, this Xiao Bei, who is now considered a genius in the Wu Kingdom, is only an Eighth Rank martial artist. This goal is more achievable. I'll start with this, and I'll worry about the innate realm later. One day, I'll reach that level too. Hmph, I need to find a master."

He patted the large sword on his back and said confidently.

...

At the He Family's residence, two Third Rank innate realm martial artists stood guard at the vermilion gates.

The two huge kirin statues at the entrance, as the robust young man had said, were indeed lifelike. Each statue was seven meters tall and fifteen meters long, with their fierce and majestic appearance making one feel as if the kirin were present.

At this moment, the masked Xiaobei was quietly drinking tea on the second floor of a two-story inn not far from the He Family's residence, much like a solitary fisherman on a cold river.

The tea was the inn's best, the famous "Snow Ridge Tea" of the Wu Kingdom.

The tea's aroma filled the air. Xiaobei took a sip and realized that the "Snow Ridge Tea" was famous and valuable because it contained some essence of the elemental energy of heaven and earth.

However, for someone like Xiaobei, who absorbed elemental energy like a whale, this small amount of elemental energy was not very pure and offered no benefit to his cultivation. But Xiaobei wasn't relying on this to improve his cultivation; he was simply enjoying the normal life of a person.

The waiter, who had been watching from a distance, hoping to see the masked Xiaobei praise the "Snow Ridge Tea," was disappointed to see him still sitting calmly. He then went downstairs to attend to other guests.

Taking another sip of the "Snow Ridge Tea," Xiaobei's eyes, hidden behind his mask, continued to observe the He Family's residence.

This was because Xiaobei was waiting!

Xiaobei was waiting for the person who would bring news to the He Family.

The massacre he had just carried out, resulting in the deaths of the He Family members, was indeed a significant event. When he left, many people in the red fire army, who were part of the Zhou Family's royal army, had already arrived at the scene to investigate.

He remembered that among them was a Holy Rank martial artist who had been watching him.

They would not fail to report this incident to the He Family. After all, the He Family was a major clan, and the death of a Lord Rank martial artist and several valuable elites would certainly anger them. The red fire army, being part of the Zhou Family's royal army, would naturally need to be cautious about this.

Only when the red fire army reported the news and the He Family learned of the deaths of Lord Rank martial artists like He Ling and He Yong, and then mobilized a large force, would Xiaobei have the opportunity to quickly eliminate the He Family's traitors who had allied with the Zhou Family.

Otherwise, he would have to search for them one by one, which would be too troublesome.

As for those not on the list provided by Xiao Lie and Xiao Bing, he would have to wait for the Zhou Family to make a move and then eliminate them.

"Hopefully, the red fire army's reporting speed isn't too slow, or this wait will be boring," Xiaobei thought after ten minutes.

At this moment, he wanted to try returning to the Xiao Family to study the star stone. Over the past two days, the star stone had provided significantly more energy to the central star in the consciousness sea of the Star Palace. This phenomenon made Xiaobei uncertain whether it was a good or bad sign.

On the second floor of the inn, there were twelve tables outside the private rooms. Since it was just past noon, many people had come to drink tea, and quite a few could afford the "Snow Ridge Tea."

Behind Xiaobei's table by the window, three people were sitting at another table. From their attire, it was clear they were from a major power. Two of them were around forty years old and dressed in simple civilian clothes, while the third, clearly the leader, was a young man in his early twenties wearing elaborate robes.

However, both the simple civilian clothes and the young man's elaborate robes were cut differently from the typical clothing in the Wu Kingdom.

Xiaobei could tell that these three were not from the Wu Kingdom.

The young man, who was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, had a calm and composed demeanor, exuding a sense of grace and handsomeness, making him quite extraordinary.

These three had been sitting quietly since Xiaobei arrived, drinking tea just as quietly as he was.

What made Xiaobei slightly surprised was their martial cultivation. The two older men were Imperial Rank martial artists!

Even the young man in the elaborate robes had reached the Lord Rank in martial cultivation!