Ye Xuan, however, wore a solemn expression. "Perhaps, we need to leave this town."
"Ah? We just got here, and we’re leaving again? Why? Is it because there’s even bigger trouble coming?"
"Patriarch, why does it feel like we’re always moving?"
Ever since Ye Xuan’s return, the Ye Family had relocated several times. Every time they barely settled down, the entire clan would have to migrate once more. When they came to the Three-Star Main Town this time, they thought they would put down roots here for a long time. Unexpectedly, they still had to move.
Ye Xuan nodded. "Staying here makes us sitting ducks. Starting today, we might have nowhere to call a permanent home."
"Ah, no fixed home?"
The Ye Family members furrowed their brows, but then, someone laughed. "So what if we don’t have a fixed home? As long as we are all together, that is our home."
"Exactly! From now on, the entire world is our home. We’ll be like the wind, free and unconstrained!"
"You guys... don’t blame me?"
"Patriarch, how could we blame you? We’re all proud of you!"
"That’s right, Patriarch! You are our guiding light!"
Ye Xuan smiled. Then, he turned and walked toward Sun Juguang. "Now, it’s your turn."
Sun Juguang asked in shock, "I am a member of the Celestial Secret Pavilion! Do you still intend to kill me?"
The Celestial Secret Pavilion. The most powerful sect in the Moyue Kingdom. Even the Moyue Royal Family had to act subserviently and dared not provoke them. This was because the members of the Celestial Secret Pavilion were not only proficient in Arrays but also mastered various Abnormal Techniques. Its influence spanned all the neighboring nations, with many powerhouses from other countries traveling thousands of miles just to seek their guidance.
Ye Xuan’s eyes were icy. "If I don’t kill you, am I supposed to keep you around as a souvenir?"
"You... I am from the Celestial Secret Pavilion!"
"So what?" Ye Xuan was going to become the public enemy of the entire kingdom anyway. What did one more Celestial Secret Pavilion matter? When you had offended too many people, you wouldn’t fear offending one more.
As Ye Xuan spoke, he prepared to strike. Suddenly, the storyteller, who had been watching from afar, appeared merely ten meters in front of him.
"Ye Xuan, I advise you not to kill him. Even the Moyue Royal Family must treat the Celestial Secret Pavilion with courtesy."
"Sir, it’s you." Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, not expecting to see the storyteller here. Did this mean the man had been here the whole time? Yet, even now, he hadn’t sensed his presence at all.
"Is the Celestial Secret Pavilion really that strong? So much so that the royal family has to treat them with courtesy?" Ye Xuan’s voice dripped with suspicion.
The royal family reigned supreme over the kingdom. Under the heavens, no one dared to offend them. If the royal family wanted to kill someone, they simply did. In the Moyue Kingdom, only the royal family could do whatever they pleased! But the storyteller actually said that the royal family had to treat the Celestial Secret Pavilion with respect. Didn’t that imply that the pavilion’s status was above even the royal family’s?
"Indeed. The Celestial Secret Pavilion was established four thousand and one hundred years ago by its founding ancestor, the Celestial Secret Master. You’ve heard the name ’Celestial Secret Master’ before, right?"
"I have." Everyone in the Moyue Kingdom knew of the Celestial Secret Master. He was hailed as the divine diviner of heavenly secrets, a man whose calculations never missed a single detail. He was a Demon-level existence.
"Then do you know that the ancestors of the Moyue Royal Family actually succeeded in changing the dynasty and establishing the Moyue Kingdom only with the assistance of the Celestial Secret Master?"
"Such a thing happened?" Ye Xuan was somewhat surprised.
Beside them, Sun Juguang asked in astonishment, "How do you know about our founding ancestor’s affairs?"
The affairs of the founding ancestor were solely recorded in the Celestial Secret Pavilion’s "Ancestral Master Chronicles". It was impossible for outsiders to know such details.
The storyteller stroked his beard and said calmly, "I have been telling stories for a hundred years, so I naturally know many tales. Little brother Ye Xuan, you’d best let this member of the Celestial Secret Pavilion go. If you can avoid offending them, do so."
Ye Xuan smiled playfully, his eyes turning frigid. "It is he who borrowed the power of the Celestial Secret Pavilion to wipe out my maternal grandfather’s clan. This blood feud is deeper than the sea—I must have my revenge!"
With those words, Ye Xuan raised his sword. He didn’t care what pavilion this man belonged to. Kill!
Ye Xuan never acted with hesitation. Moreover, if the Celestial Secret Pavilion was truly that powerful, there was even less reason to let Sun Juguang return. Wouldn’t that be letting a tiger return to the wild?
"You... you truly dare to kill me?" Sun Juguang collapsed onto his rear, his eyes filled with absolute despair.
Ye Xuan didn’t speak. The sword in his hand brought forth a cold gleam. Just as this cold gleam was about to descend, it abruptly stopped. The storyteller had suddenly stepped in to block for Sun Juguang. Ye Xuan’s sword was a mere fraction of a centimeter away from him.
"Senior, are you taking the blade for him? Do you know him?" Ye Xuan’s expression grew solemn. He knew that this storyteller was definitely a hidden expert.
"I don’t know him, but I have some ties to the Celestial Secret Pavilion. I once promised an old friend to watch over the descendants of the pavilion. How about this: you let him go, and I’ll carve out a path of survival for your Ye Family."
"A path of survival? What do you mean?" Ye Xuan’s interest was piqued.
"You should be well aware of the consequences of killing a City Lord. Let me ask you: what are your plans?"
"My plans..." Ye Xuan hesitated for a moment before answering, "I plan to take the Ye Family and become wandering bandits."
"Wandering bandits?"
"Are we going to rob other people’s belongings?"
Ye Xuan’s words left the entire Ye Family stunned, but the younger generation of the family found the idea incredibly fascinating.
Ye Shanhan murmured to himself, "When I was a kid, I truly fantasized about being a bandit leader. After every big heist, we’d change locations. We’d be completely free and unrestrained, bowing to no one and paying tribute to no faction.
"Most importantly, we’d be entirely lawless!"
The storyteller chuckled lightly. "Wandering bandits? Do you really think that just because you’re constantly on the move, the City Lords won’t be able to find you? If you truly think so, you are gravely mistaken. Even if you move as stealthily as ghosts without any predictable patterns, the City Lords will still know exactly where you’ll appear next."
"Don’t be an alarmist. How would they know?"
"Because the Celestial Secret Pavilion is full of capable people and Abnormal Warriors who can divine the future."
As soon as the storyteller finished, Sun Juguang’s voice immediately rang out. "That’s right! The Elders of my Celestial Secret Pavilion are proficient in Inference Techniques. They can absolutely deduce exactly where you will appear next. Ye Xuan, you have no way out!"
"Divine the future..." Ye Xuan furrowed his brows. This was a point he hadn’t considered. The Celestial Secret Pavilion was indeed troublesome.
"If you let him go, I can ensure that the Celestial Secret Pavilion won’t interfere," the storyteller spoke again.
Ye Xuan looked at the storyteller in surprise. "Can you really do that?"
"I wouldn’t offer it if I couldn’t. Furthermore, I will also help you settle your clansmen."
After the storyteller finished, Sun Juguang sneered, "Impossible. My Celestial Secret Pavilion never lets anyone dictate our actions. Even when the Moyue Kingdom asks us for a favor, they have to pay in resources."
The storyteller glanced at Sun Juguang and said indifferently, "I am an exception."
"You’re an exception?"
"Yes, I am an exception. Little brother Ye Xuan, you are a smart man. How will you choose?"
Ye Xuan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "He has a grudge against me. If I let him go and he decides to go against me later, then what?"
"He won’t. If he truly goes against you again, you can kill him then, and I will not protect him."
"Alright." With that, Ye Xuan withdrew his sword.
But suddenly, his right hand squeezed into a fist.
"Ah!"
A miserable shriek rang out.