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"Don’t worry, Little Sister Qiao. If things spiral out of control, our Chixiao Sect is not afraid."

"Exactly," Yi Xuan replied coldly. "Before we left, Master told us that if we couldn’t handle it, we should message him, and he would summon the ancestor from Tianyun Peak."

Tianyun Peak housed a reclusive ancestor at the Emperor Yuan Realm. When Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou entered the Chixiao Sect, that reclusive ancestor had appeared.

Wen Qiao was touched. "Eldest Senior Sister, Second Senior Brother, thank you."

Qin Hongdao reached out and patted her head, smiling. "No need to be so formal. We’re all part of the same sect; this is what we should do. Don’t stress, we’ll keep looking into the Min clan. Maybe we can find something."

After reassuring Wen Qiao, they finally returned to their rooms to rest.

Once they were alone, Ning Yuzhou hugged the visibly distressed girl, gently rubbing his chin against her head, and whispered, "It’s okay, I’m here."

Wen Qiao wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.

After a while, a muffled voice came, "Could it be that my mother was unwanted, which is why she was abandoned in Dongling? Even now, they still want us dead?"

Ning Yuzhou didn’t expect her to overthink like this. His eyes darkened, a cold glint flashing briefly.

He wouldn’t let anyone hurt the girl he’d worked so hard to protect.

She should just focus on what she loves, and those troubles shouldn’t touch her.

"Nothing like that!" His voice remained gentle. "As the Wen clan elders said, when your mother was found by the Wen clan, her clothes were made of thousand-year sea silk. If she was unwanted, why waste such expensive fabric to make her clothes? And why would they embroider her name on them? Only a child deeply cherished by her parents would have her name carefully embroidered on her robes."

Wen Qiao felt relieved and finally cheered up.

She pursed her lips, glanced up, and smiled, a bit embarrassed. "You’re right, I shouldn’t think like that. I wonder which Min clan branch my mother was from..."

The Min clan was divided into three main branches, and in this generation, there were four girls with the character "Su" in their names, plus her mother, making five. Any of the three branches could be related to her mother.

——

In the following days, Qin Hongdao and Yi Xuan continued to investigate the Min clan in Changjin District.

But they still found nothing.

The Min clan on Shangzhou Island was too low-key and mysterious. Their reputation as formation masters earned them great respect among cultivators in the Inner Sea. Even those who disliked them rarely dared to offend them directly.

To make matters worse, their frequent inquiries about the Min clan might have attracted unwanted attention.

Once, when they left the black market, Qin Hongdao keenly sensed that someone was secretly watching them. However, since they were on the island with people coming and going, it was not a good time to act. Eventually, they managed to shake off the tail with some effort.

When the others learned of this, they took it very seriously.

Ning Yuzhou asked, "Eldest Senior Sister, can you capture them?"

"It’s not easy," Qin Hongdao replied. "This is Changjin Island. If we act, it might draw the attention of the island’s Emperor Yuan Realm guardian, and then it would be hard to explain. Unless they make the first move."

"Then let’s make them act first!" Ning Yuzhou’s eyes turned cold.

Qin Hongdao and Yi Xuan seemed to understand and discussed the plan carefully with Ning Yuzhou, quickly finalizing it.

However, after Qin Hongdao and Yi Xuan lurked in the black market for a few days and then appeared openly, they found that those people were still only watching from the shadows, not making a move, as if they had some reservations.

"Could it be that they are wary of the Emperor Yuan Realm guardian of Wanjin Island?" Shi Wuming guessed, stroking his chin.

"Or maybe they think they can’t beat Eldest Senior Sister," Wen Qiao added.

"They indeed have some concerns, but it's probably not about the Emperor Yuan Realm of Wanjin Island; it should be something else," Ning Yuzhou said thoughtfully. "It seems there is indeed something hidden about my mother-in-law's abandonment back then."

The group turned to him, eager to hear his thoughts.

Ning Yuzhou looked at Wen Qiao and said softly, "Chui, perhaps the Min clan isn’t behind my mother-in-law’s situation."

Wen Qiao was stunned for a moment, her eyes lit up like stars.

Shi Wuming suddenly clapped his hands, "Right, if it were the Min clan members, they wouldn’t need to skulk in the shadows; they could just hire pirates to ambush us directly. After all, given the Min clan's status in the inner sea, as long as they deploy a king-level formation, there would be countless people willing to help them deal with us. So the mastermind must be wary of the Min clan, afraid of being exposed by them."

"Exactly," Ning Jichen also said, "After all, Chui is also of Min clan blood."

After some more analysis, everyone felt that Ning Yuzhou's speculation was eighty percent likely.

"If that's the case, then let's not have the sea beasts besiege the Min clan's territory for now," Wen Tuti said hesitantly. "Let’s wait to confirm the real culprit before acting, then we can unleash the explosive beads and the sea beasts at once."

Ning Jichen looked helplessly at this boy, so hot-headed, he wondered how his son managed to raise him.

Ning Yuzhou indicated that it had nothing to do with him; he wasn’t responsible for raising these young beasts.

As the situation had changed again, everyone held back, deciding to continue lying in wait, waiting for the person behind the scenes to make a move.

As long as the mastermind hasn't given up, they will eventually act again; it’s just a test of patience.

Just as they were waiting for the opponent to make a move, Zong Zhao, who had returned from his training, came to the inn where they were staying.

When Wen Qiao was notified that there was a guest looking for her, she walked to the inn's lobby with Ning Yuzhou and the others, and saw the two Zong brothers standing in the lobby of the inn.

Zong Zhao was tall and muscular, his powerful physique barely contained by his robes, standing next to the underage Zong Xu, like a steel giant, particularly eye-catching, indicating his identity as a body cultivator.

Compared to his older brother, Zong Xu appeared particularly slender and delicate, with a handsome face due to his youth, almost girlish in appearance.