Jun Buli was about to make his move when the rarely-seen Xiao family patriarch appeared, walking in from outside the courtyard.
Seeing this, Baili Weisheng pressed down on Jun Buli’s hand, whispering, “Wait.”
From what they understood, the Xiao family’s success in destroying the Baili clan had relied entirely on the patriarch’s collusion with the Baili family’s Sheng Zimo. Now that even Sheng Zimo’s whereabouts remained unknown, if they wanted any leads, they’d have to start with the patriarch himself!
Shiliang was in his hands, and Baili Xiaosheng was certainly in his hands too.
Jun Buli said nothing, settling down on the rooftop, watching coldly.
Compared to ten years ago, the Xiao patriarch had aged considerably, yet his spirit seemed even more vigorous than before, his stride commanding and powerful.
Seeing him approach, the Ninth Young Lady immediately came forward to greet him. “Father!”
“What are you doing out here? The sun’s brutal outside—get back inside at once!” the Xiao patriarch said, appearing stern on the surface, yet his manner carried an unmistakable warmth, the doting affection of a father for his daughter.
Watching father and daughter head back inside, Baili Weisheng and Jun Buli both shifted position simultaneously, moving to the rooftop of the main hall.
Inside, however, the Xiao patriarch and the Ninth Young Lady discussed nothing of importance—merely the patriarch checking in on his daughter’s frail health, having even sent along a number of precious medicinal herbs!
A father showing concern for his sickly daughter was, in truth, the most ordinary thing in the world. But to Jun Buli and Baili Weisheng, this seemed distinctly out of place!
After all, whether in prestigious noble houses or vast, complicated clans, the head of the family was invariably consumed with countless pressing matters. Aside from a select few sons being deliberately groomed for succession, most rarely paid much attention to their other children.
The upbringing of children typically fell to their mothers.
The Ninth Young Lady, so frail and sickly, contributed nothing of value to the Xiao clan, and wasn’t even born of the primary wife. For the patriarch to visit and show such concern personally—unless there was some other secret involved—suggested he genuinely, deeply cared for this daughter.
Listening to the father and daughter’s conversation trail off, Jun Buli had stopped paying close attention, lounging lazily on the rooftop, fingers idly tapping against the tiles, seemingly lost in thought about something.
Finally, seeing the Xiao patriarch step out, Baili Weisheng nudged him, whispering, “He’s leaving!”
To his surprise, without a word, Jun Buli’s hand, which had been idly tapping the roof tiles, suddenly clenched into a fist and slammed down viciously. “Crack!”
“What are you doing!” Baili Weisheng jumped, startled, and at that same instant, the Xiao patriarch below turned to look up.
Baili Weisheng immediately pulled his mask up, not wanting to be recognized by the patriarch—after all, with the situation still unclear, it was best not to reveal their identities so easily.
Jun Buli didn’t answer him, instead leaping down through the shattered roof. Seeing this, the Xiao patriarch immediately rushed into the building while summoning both flying and land beasts, launching an intercept from above and below!
Baili Weisheng, looking up at the swarms of flying beasts converging from every direction, was thoroughly displeased. “You wretched brat, what’s the meaning of this, making a move without even telling me!”
But before he’d even finished speaking, Jun Buli had already broken free of the Xiao patriarch and his land beasts, soaring upward with the unconscious Ninth Young Lady in tow.
“You wretched brat, this is too much, you scared the life out of me!” Baili Weisheng continued grumbling.
“Enough complaining. I already told you—if you didn’t come, I’d act anyway.”
As Jun Buli spoke, he gazed at the sky filled with beasts, and at that moment, the Xiao patriarch too came soaring up, sword pointed directly at them, shouting furiously, “Who are you people? Release my daughter at once, or I won’t be merciful!”
Jun Buli completely ignored him, treating the current greatest beast-king of Nanzhao as though he were empty air, while Baili Weisheng looked at the patriarch’s sword with a helpless expression, offering earnest advice. “Patriarch Xiao, your swordsmanship isn’t great. Take my advice, better not use it.”
“You!” The Xiao patriarch was choked with fury. “Who exactly are you people?”
The various clans and tribes of Nanzhao generally weren’t strong in martial arts but excelled in exotic techniques; the Xiao clan’s specialty was beast-taming, and that long sword was really just meant to intimidate!
“We know each other, heh heh, Patriarch Xiao, think carefully.” The damnable scholar’s posture and tone suggested he was practically settling in for a friendly chat.
Jun Buli, meanwhile, paid no attention at all, watching the ever-growing, ever-more-ferocious swarm of flying beasts with barely any expression, as if waiting for something.
“Know each other? Heh, we have no quarrel between us—why torment a sickly, weak woman? If you’ve got the guts, let her go!” The Xiao patriarch, no fool himself, tried probing at Baili Weisheng’s earlier words.
Baili Weisheng, of course, knew exactly what he was really asking, and told him plainly, “Patriarch Xiao, you killed his father, killed his mother—and you think you have ‘no quarrel’ with him?”
At these words, Jun Buli finally turned to look over, his deep, dark eyes cold enough to kill Baili Weisheng on the spot for running his mouth like that!
This damnable scholar—if he had the guts, why not say it in front of the Xiao patriarch, or better yet, in front of his own father!
At this point, the Xiao patriarch’s attention finally fixed on Jun Buli. The Jun Buli of today was completely unrecognizable from the child he’d once known—the patriarch had no way of placing him at all.
“Wretched boy, give me your parents’ names!” the Xiao patriarch snorted coldly, even as he continued the standoff, summoning even more beasts, while numerous members of the Xiao clan gathered around from every direction.
Soon, Jun Buli and Baili Weisheng found themselves surrounded on all sides, three layers deep.
Situ Jing’er and Meng Duo’er, rushing to catch up, watched anxiously from the outer perimeter, unable to get any closer, forced to simply wait.
They too had never expected Jun Buli to suddenly escalate things to this degree.
The Xiao clan members didn’t recognize them, but they recognized Xiao Yu and Xiao Xue standing behind the patriarch—undoubtedly the two people the patriarch valued most, the new generation’s main strike force for the Xiao clan. Each had brought a contingent of land beasts—tigers, giant serpents, bears, all massive creatures.
The scene resembled something straight out of a world of beasts—the Xiao clan’s guards were few, but the beasts numbered in the thousands upon thousands!
“I don’t care who you are—release my daughter immediately, or you won’t be leaving here today!” the Xiao patriarch roared furiously. With his beast army fully assembled, he no longer feared these two escaping, and his voice had turned distinctly harsher.
At this, Jun Buli finally spoke coldly. “Seems like the Ninth Young Lady matters a great deal, doesn’t she!”
A flicker of panic clearly crossed the Xiao patriarch’s eyes, though he quickly concealed it well, roaring back, “Never mind Ninth Girl—even if you tried to take a single servant from my Xiao household today, it wouldn’t be possible! Wretched boy, this old man will give you one final chance—release her, or not!”
“If I release her, will you let the two of us leave?” Jun Buli asked again, casually shoving the unconscious Ninth Young Lady over to Baili Weisheng.
Baili Weisheng, though not particularly pleased about it, had no choice but to catch her, holding her gently.
Regardless of why the Xiao patriarch was going to such extraordinary lengths, mobilizing the entire clan’s strength to save one frail, sickly daughter—so long as he clearly cared this much, it confirmed Jun Buli hadn’t grabbed the wrong hostage!
The Xiao clan held Baili Xiaosheng as their bargaining chip; naturally, they too needed a valuable bargaining chip of their own!