Chapter 229: Witty Conversation
Xiao Sui's gaze flickered, his face turning gray, and the veins on his clenched hand stood out.
Although his rationality told him that Qiao Wan was intentionally trying to separate them as brothers, the memories all seemed to support her words.
This made Xiao Sui unable to help but think of a past event.
Big Brother's birth mother didn't die from illness, she was slowly poisoned by Xiao Jingzhou, who is the head of the Xiao family. He put the poison in the food, drinks, clothes, and furniture. She died slowly day by day.
He wasn't supposed to know about this, but when he was thirteen years old, he accidentally overheard a conversation outside his father's study. His intention was to have his mother welcomed into the family, not only out of love, but also because he saw the power behind her family.
Since then, he felt unworthy to face Xiao Huan, and tried his best to win his affection.
Xiao Sui, who is very smart, must have known about this. He looked at the mess in the room for a long time, his previous arrogant self now looking defeated. He turned his gaze towards Qiao Wan, his eyes no longer filled with resentment or hostility.
"Qiao Wan, if I try to kill you, will Big Brother definitely come to save you?"
Using the last bit of strength left, Xiao Sui pulled out his sword and threw it to the other person, Qiao Wan , saying, "Taoist friend, you can give it a try."
Looking at the sword in his hand, Xiao Sui didn't say a word for a while, and then coldly sneered, "Okay... okay... okay, I'll give it a try."
With the sword in hand, it swiftly descended like a flash of lightning, instantly illuminating the dark alley.
"By instigating a rift between us brothers, you're asking for death--"
At the moment when the sword was about to pierce Qiao Wan's throat, Xiao Huan's warm and icy voice suddenly resounded in the alley.
Qiao Wan's heart skipped a beat: He came!
She had counted correctly!!
"Little Sui! Stop!"
Could it be true?! Big brother really came?!
The reflection of the sword light revealed Xiao Sui's wide-eyed, disheveled expression. His wrist was twisted by someone, and the sword in his hand fell with a clang at Qiao Wan's feet.
"Bi... big brother..."
Xiao Sui stared blankly at Xiao Huan standing in front of Qiao Wan , stammering for half a second.
Xiao Huan was quite cunning. He saw Xiao Sui avoiding his gaze and noticed Qiao Wan approaching with a bow. Suddenly, everything became clear to him and a smile formed on his lips.
"Taoist Friend Qiao," Qiao Wan greeted, without any sign of embarrassment.
The girl before him had clear eyes, graceful movements, and a high ponytail. She looked beautiful with her pink butterfly hairpin. The wings of the butterfly shimmered in the moonlight, giving off a cold glimmer. It seemed like a sharp blade that could end someone's life within ten steps.
Xiao Huan felt a mix of emotions for the first time.
He realized that he had underestimated the girl in front of him, and it was the first time that Xiao Huan truly looked at Qiao Wan.
Her smiling eyes revealed a hint of coldness, but then quickly softened into a warm smile.
"Young lady," the young man laughed bitterly from the heart, "How many times have you caused trouble for me?"
"Not troublesome." Qiao Wan's eyebrows didn't even twitch. "The more troublesome things are still to come."
Even more troublesome... still ahead?
Suddenly, a familiar and old male voice rang in Xiao Sui's ear, making him feel uneasy.
"Xiao Huan, Little Sui."
Wide-eyed, Xiao Sui looked over incredulously. "Father... Father!!"
At some point, a group of warriors had already gathered at the end of the alley, surrounding an elderly man who led the way.
Qiao Wan calmly turned around to look at the sudden appearance of this group at the alley's entrance, then suddenly kneeled down.
"I am Qiao Wan, a disciple of the Shadows Sect, sent by Wenshi Hall's master, Ma Huaizhen, to welcome the head of the Xiao family."
This old man is none other than the current head of the Xiao family, Xiao Jingzhou!!!
In an instant, the once bustling Minghe Lane inexplicably quieted down.
Xiao Huan's expression changed slightly.
This is Xiao Jingzhou, a man who looks like a ordinary, energetic old man. However, his eyes are gloomy. The warriors and disciples of the Xiao family stand silently in the dark night.
Without looking at his two sons, Xiao Jingzhou calmly focuses his gaze on Qiao Wan, a woman.
Seemingly annoyed by the baskets blocking the alley ahead, the old man's inner power surges when he swings his sleeve. The bamboo basket in front of him breaks apart, and the bamboo pieces shoot towards Qiao Wan like a rain of arrows.
Qiao Wan quickly retreats, but she is still a step too slow. One of the bamboo pieces brushes against her skin.
It leaves a faint red mark, but no blood is drawn.
This is not Xiao Jingzhou showing mercy. It is the result of refining his skin and bones.
The disciples of the Xiao family accompanying him can't help but take another look.
This strike from Xiao Jingzhou can easily penetrate through an inch-thick iron plate. This means... it's because of Qiao Wan? She actually has this ability?
Calculate their ages, the head of the Xiao family, Xiao Jingzhou, is over 800 years old. He has been stuck at the late stage of the Yuan Ying realm and hasn't made any progress. If he doesn't advance further, he might only have about 20 years left to live.
Because of this, several years ago, Xiao Jingzhou started planning for his successor.
Unlike anyone Qiao Wan had met before, Xiao Jingzhou was a cunning old fox deeply immersed in power.
After all, she had previously stabbed some of Xiao Jingzhou's family members with her sword, so even now, Qiao Wan felt a bit nervous and sweaty when facing him.
After receiving the message from Xiao Sui inviting her to meet, instead of replying immediately, she went to visit the secret department, all for this matter.
Several days ago, when Qiao Wan heard that Xiao Jingzhou would arrive today, she made a plan with Xiao Huan. They used Xiao Sui to interrupt Mu Xiaoxiao's confession to Zhou Yan. After Xiao Sui issued an invitation, they followed him to the secret place, determined the exact time of Xiao Jingzhou's arrival in Kunshan, guessed the time and the route he would take, and finally made an agreement with Xiao Sui.
In the secret place, Qiao Wan found Ma Huaizhen. She identified herself as a victim manipulated by Xiao Sui in Tingyun Mountain and made a request to Ma Huaizhen.
"As long as the Xiao family stops pursuing me, I will not hold Xiao Sui accountable for his actions against me in Tingyun Mountain."
The man smiled mockingly, "Are you so sure that the Xiao family will agree to this deal?"
Without hesitation, Qiao Wan replied, "Considering the pros and cons, the Xiao family will."
Ma Huaizhen agreed to her request and asked her to go to Minghe Lane to meet Xiao Jingzhou.
Making her, the awkward character, go to meet Xiao Jingzhou was a warning from Kunshan to the Xiao family. And Xiao Jingzhou's recent actions were likely a response to "Kunshan."
But in the midst of all this back and forth, the Xiao family and Kunshan did indeed reach some kind of agreement.
Qiao Wan speculated that there might be some secrets between the Xiao family and Kunshan, which led to the unbreakable alliance between the two. Even though things had developed to this point, both families silently closed their doors and downplayed the matter.
"Dad!"
As soon as Xiao Jingzhou appeared, Xiao Sui's eyes lit up and he instinctively took a step forward.
Xiao Jingzhou's arrival meant that both Qiao Wan and Mu Xiaoxiao would eventually…
After exchanging warnings and pleasantries, Xiao Jingzhou looked at Qiao Wan and suddenly flashed a somewhat friendly smile. "So, you must be Qiao Wan?"
Qiao Wan bowed politely. "I, Qiao Wan, greet the head of the Xiao family."
The harmonious atmosphere froze Xiao Sui in an instant.
The look in his eyes seemed to say, "You... you're not..."
At this moment, Xiao Huan had a completely bewildered expression on his face, as if he had seen a ghost.
"You're not here for the appointment?! Why did you come to pick up my dad?!"
Qiao Wan signaled with her eyes: "Who says you can't go to two, or even three, appointments at the same time?"
"Alright." Xiao Jingzhou laughed, pausing his gaze on Qiao Wan, and said with a smile, "That move just now... truly a hero's move."
"Xiao Zongyuan was defeated by you." The old man's tone was light as he sighed with an unclear meaning, "It's not a complete loss."
But with just this sentence, a chill quickly ran up Qiao Wan's spine.
They didn't know about the hidden currents beneath Kunshan and the Xiao family these past few days, and the other disciples of the Xiao family had different expressions on their faces.
Even before they set off, they had thought about how the old head of the family would deal with this golden pill that had caused a loss of face for the Xiao family, but they hadn't expected it to be in this current situation.
Xiao Jingzhou and Qiao Wan remained calm and composed, as if completely unaware of the astonishment on the faces of their fellow Xiao disciples.
Xiao Sui was completely bewildered, knowing how difficult his father usually was to deal with.
This... How is this possible?! How could his father be so kind to Qiao Wan?! Did he approach it the wrong way?!
Xiao Jingzhou had accumulated great power in the Xiao family, and even though he now appeared kind and gentle, he was actually a ruthless character who had killed his own brother and poisoned his own wife, and had firmly held the position of head of the Xiao family for hundreds of years.
Although Xiao Sui was confused, his eyes flickered slightly and he lowered his head, not daring to meet Xiao Jingzhou's gaze, let alone calmly and confidently converse with him like Qiao Wan.
Xiao Huan glanced sideways at Qiao Wan, his eyes showing a hint of surprise, but immediately his attention was drawn back by Xiao Jingzhou's gaze on his face, causing his heart to tremble slightly.
This gaze didn't resemble a father's gaze towards his son, Xiao Huan chuckled lightly.
Now, he finally understood the hidden meaning behind this young girl's actions.
It's not just to separate the two brothers, but also to punish him.
With Xiao Jingzhou's cautious and suspicious nature, what his father wants is clear to him, just like a mirror reflecting his thoughts.
Before, you could control your brother, but you chose not to. Your intention was to ruin Little Sui's relationship with Kunshan, and you sat back and watched the conflict, adding leverage for your own benefit. And now, when I came to save your brother, isn't it obvious that you're just putting on a show for me?
Xiao Jingzhou doesn't like him, because he knows that his son is cunning and hypocritical, but he still pretends to be kind and calm.
It's strange that he dislikes his son for having the same personality as himself.
But ultimately, it's because he's afraid. He only has about 20 years left to live, and as long as he doesn't willingly step down, even his own son can't become the head of the family.
Xiao Huan doesn't think highly of Mu Xiaoxiao, and he can't really say that he respects Qiao Wan either. It's a time when he truly wants to laugh bitterly.
But at least he's not the most miserable one.
Xiao Huan, with his head slightly lowered, glanced down.
Mu Xiaoxiao had just planned something against her younger martial sister. Both the Xiao family and Kunshan wanted to expose this, so they could explain that Xiao Sui was deceived by Mu Xiaoxiao. As for Mu Xiaoxiao, she was the one who confessed her feelings first and intentionally tried to get close to her martial arts teacher. This confirmed that Xiao Sui was deceived by her.
At that time, both Kunshan and the Xiao family, who were originally supporting Mu Xiaoxiao, would definitely turn against her and push her out to take the blame.
Xiao Jingzhou would not forgive Little Sui and definitely wouldn't go easy on him.
Unexpectedly, in the end, Qiao Wan was the one who benefited from this farce.
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