Chapter 1067: Is someone attempting to harm them in secret?
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
The greatest danger was something unseen. Xia Fei’s soul array was very effective, and after the ghost incident, no one wanted to stay in the Aurora Clan. The entire compound got caught up in a storm of movement, as everyone rushed to pack their belongings and move out.
Xia Fei, Little Schott, and Vistview stood next to one another as they watched these moochers leave. A slight smile was on Xia Fei’s face, while Little Schott and Vistview were doing what they could to persuade them to stay. Of course, this was just a superficial request on their part when, really, they could
not wait to see these people gone for good.
Little Schott’s eyes were filled with immense grat.i.tude as he looked at Xia Fei. His method of causing ghosts to appear had managed to get this big problem off the Aurora Clan’s back without them having to pull out their weapons. Furthermore, he had even managed to throw off this burden straight back
at their enemy!
Xia Fei smiled and gestured for Little Schott not to say a word about what had transpired. The latter quickly nodded, indicating that he would never betray the former.
“Actually, it’s not that the Aurora Clan is without merits. At the very least, the people of this clan can be trusted. It’s just that I don’t see eye to eye with them regarding the way we do things. In this day and age, the fact that I’m not plotting against others is me being merciful enough,” Xia Fei shrugged as
he said this to Radix.
Radix actually agreed with Xia Fei’s view of avenging every minor grievance. It was just that he did not wish to speak ill of his own clan, so he could only pretend that he had not heard him.
That was when Northgaze came hurrying over all anxiously. “They’re staying just fine; why did they get up and leave, and why aren’t you doing your best to make them stay?”
Little Schott replied, “We tried, but the more we asked them to stay, the faster they hurried to leave.”
Northgaze sighed and did not say a word.
Xia Fei did not wish to get involved with his Mr. Good Guy of a great-grandfather, so he turned to leave, preparing to stroll about while he had the time. He was in a new place, after all, so Xia Fei’s curiosity was piqued.
“Young friend, what’s your name? Where are you from and where are you going?” Wistful Northgaze reached out to stop him. Xia Fei was mildly taken aback. They were very close, so he could sense energy fluctuations coming from the other. Was he injured?!
Xia Fei bowed with a smile. “This junior is called Xia Fei and lives in this compound.”
“Oh, are you planning to leave, too?”
“I don’t see the need. I’m living fine here, so there’s no reason for me to move out. Besides, those people claimed that there are ghosts haunting this compound, but I don’t feel anything wrong with the place. Perhaps they’re just imagining things,” said Xia Fei offhandedly.
Old Man Wistview added, “I feel the same as Xia Fei. There have been no strange incidents at all, so maybe these people are…”
Northgaze froze. He could understand what Wistview was implying. He suspected that these people were intentionally moving away to spread rumors about the Aurora Clan’s external compound being haunted. With that, this place will fall into disuse, and no one will dare to come any longer.
“Old View, don’t talk nonsense. We have no animosity with them; why would they seek to be against us?”
Xia Fei was somewhat speechless. It seemed like his great-grandfather was not the usual naive. With how the situation had played out before him, he still could not see that these people were all in it together.
Frowning, after careful examination, Xia Fei realized that there was indeed something different in Northgaze’s body. It was almost as if someone had injured his soul. Though it was nothing severe, it could still become an old wound if it was left untreated for too long.
With this thought in mind, Xia Fei asked, “Elder, are you stopping me from leaving because you’ve got something you require me for?”
An awkward smile appeared on Northgaze’s face. He had no idea why, but he thought that Xia Fei looked very similar to his son, who had been exiled from the clan, so he had this favorable impression of this young man. Was something the matter? No, not really.
“Nothing at all. I just think that you look like that someone I knew in the past, and seeing you moved me. Ah, well. Since you’ve decided to stay in this compound, it means that we’ll have another chance of meeting again. Old View, now that we have a lot of empty rooms, be sure to arrange somewhere
better for Xia Fei to stay in, and make sure not to treat him poorly,” instructed Northgaze softly.
Wistview had a favorable impression of Xia Fei, too, so he readily agreed.
This was when those few people overseeing other aspects of the Wist family came by to check on things. Several of them went to the side to talk; Xia Fei, who originally wanted to leave, ended up staying, observing those people, his gaze gradually turning cold.
“What’s the matter?” asked Radix curiously.
“These Aurorean all seem to have indiscernible injuries, and they’re all slow-acting, too” Xia Fei informed somberly.
“What? Indiscernible, slow-acting injuries?” The color drained from Radix’s face. He was not a Spiritualist, so he could not see this peculiarity, but he completely trusted Xia Fei’s judgment.
“Tm not too sure, but Little Schott and Wistview are fine, so this is strange,” Xia Fei mumbled.
Waving his hand, he called Little Schott over to his side.
“Where do you usually stay?” asked Xia Fei.
Little Schott was momentarily stunned. His face went red as he stammered awkwardly, “I-I have a girlfriend. Recently, there hasn’t been anyone in her place, so…”
Xia Fei chuckled. “There’s nothing wrong with having a girlfriend, so you don’t need to feel so shy. If there’s time, do bring her out so that we can all share a meal.”
Little Schott nodded and felt a deeper sense of kins.h.i.+p toward Xia Fei. The rules of the Aurora Clan were strict, and it was a severe taboo for an unmarried young man like Little Schott to cohabit with his girlfriend, but Xia Fei had not reprimanded him over it and, instead, encouraged him, which quite
delighted the young man.
“How long has it been since the two of you have been cohabiting?” asked Xia Fei.
*Zing*
The face of Little Schott turned purple as he protested loudly, “We’re not cohabiting! I sleep on the couch!”
Xia Fei was somewhat speechless. At the end of the day, he was still an obedient child and had run to her place just to take care of her. Seeing how fl.u.s.tered he got from the insinuation alone, Xia Fei suspected that he had not even held the girl’s hands.
“I started staying there on the fourth of this month, and it’s been five days since today,” Little Schott admitted quietly. “Please don’t tell my mother.”
Xia Fei was no longer in the mood to take a stroll on the streets after he learned more about the situation. Instead, he took a trip to the Aurora Clan’s main residence.
A clan with a deep heritage like the Aurora did not just have a single compound, and the one he was seeing before him now was where all the important figures and clan members in the direct line lived. It played a vital role in the day-to-day operation of the clan.
Xia Fei walked around the place. He would occasionally step close to the wall, lightly stomp on the dirt under his feet, and even disturb the soil for inspection.
“So, what’s your conclusion?” asked Radix anxiously.
Xia Fei nodded. “The enemy is a Spiritualist, and that person laid out a very sinister Shuttle Flying Soul Array. This array isn’t that powerful, but it’s very sinister. As days turn into months, it’ll gradually sap the victim’s soul. Wistful Northgaze and the others’ minor injuries originated from this array. It’s a
good thing that I discovered it early; if this carried on for several more months, and the soul damage seeped into their bones, then they would be in real trouble.”
Radix blurted out, “Since you know now that someone has set a clandestine trick here, what’re you still standing around for? Hurry up and break the array!”
Xia Fei shook his head. “It’s easy to evade an attack done in the open but difficult to defend against a sneak attack. If I don’t kill that naughty Spiritualist that’s doing harm to the clan, it’ll only be a matter of time before they do something worse. It’s best if I don’t touch this array in the meantime, to avoid
startling the snake hiding in the gra.s.s.
“Besides, the other Spiritualist already melted the soul vessels, so breaking the array will be a very difficult endeavor,” Xia Fei pointed down to his feet and said.
Radix looked. It was evident that the soil had been disturbed. However, there was no soul vessel to be found on the spot, which meant that this was already made into a death array! The Spiritualist did not have any intention of retrieving the soul vessels but directly merged them to the ground!
“A death array! What do we do?” Radix was worried.
Xia Fei remained unperturbed. “Don’t panic. As long as I have the right tools, I can invert this death array, then the person who created it will have to come and check again. That’s when we’ll make our move and capture them alive!”
Xia Fei suddenly realized that the situation was a lot more complicated. Another Spiritualist had actually secretly been making their move on the clan.
This was precisely why Spiritualists were so scary. Many of those who died without ever knowing why had likely offended Spiritualists. Compared to a warriors attack, a Spiritualist could resort to a myriad of tricks to kill their enemy, and it was very hard for anyone to defend against their attack.
Fortunately, it had not been two days since this array was activated, so the people of the Aurora Clan had not been harmed much by it. What Xia Fei should do right now was alter this array a bit, turning this death array into a life array.
“I wonder… Given the Auroreans’ personality, just how have they managed to survive this long in such a cutthroat universe?” Xia Fei, who was currently on his way to the Heavenly Treasure Firm, sighed.
In Xia Fei’s eyes, survival meant resorting to any means necessary. Just like how the Skywings were ruthless characters that had managed to survive for so long, it was simply a miracle that a group of kind-hearted Aurorean could last for generations in the vicious Alpha Universe.
This was his second visit to Heavenly Treasure Firm, so Xia Fei already knew his way around the place, but this time, he was brought to the very serene and quiet backyard.
Xia Fei sat down, and soon, Suzu Treasure and Kira made their way over.
She heard about what happened this morning in the Aurora Clan’s external compound, and since the incident happened today after Xia Fei bought several basic soul vessels yesterday, anyone could guess that the two things were related.
Suzu was well aware of a Spiritualist’s value, and to her who was in the middle of a struggle for control within her family, having the backing of a Spiritualist would greatly aid her prospects.
Just as Suzu had been fretting over how she could build a rapport with Xia Fei, he came right to her doorstep of his accord. This young missus of a mercantile family had never been pretentious and also knew about the trade-off of interest. This was why she decided to appear in person, in hopes of
probing Xia Fei to see if he was the real deal.
After they were done with the introductions, Kira asked, “Brother Xia, I didn’t expect for us to meet each other so soon. I wonder if there’s anything you require this time?”
Xia Fei, who had already prepared a list of items, handed it over to Kira. He took a glimpse and frowned slightly before proceeding to pa.s.s it over to Suzu.
Suzu finished reading through the list and smiled. “Prepare the things on the list as stated.”
“Understood. I’ll get it done right away.”
Kira then went off to prepare the items Xia Fei requested, giving Suzu and Xia Fei a chance to be alone together.
Xia Fei lit a cigarette and did not bother to engage the girl in a conversation. He was certain that this was the Treasure family’s lady who had given him her name card last time, and he was not at all interested in her. Hence, he occupied himself with his thoughts of how he should launch his counterattack.
After all, this was the first time Xia Fei would be facing off against a Spiritualist. If a fight between warriors could be considered appalling, then a fight between Spiritualists, with both truly having it out, would not simply be appalling but also fraught with danger!
“My name is Suzu Treasure, and here’s my name card.” The lady was being rather generous, returning the business card that Xia Fei had thrown away the last time, with stains and all still on it..