Jun Buli’s move to seize the Xiao clan’s beast army through the Universe Poison Pouch, combined with such open provocation, was clearly meant to force the Xiao patriarch to reveal his trump card—to summon the poison corpse Shiliang.
But to everyone’s surprise, even in the face of Jun Buli’s provocation, the Xiao patriarch’s fists clenched tight enough to crack, yet he still refused to summon Shiliang!
Instead, he summoned yet another wave of ferocious beasts!
Baili Weisheng was astonished, but Jun Buli had no such patience, sweeping a hand through the air and clearing away the beasts once more!
“Patriarch Xiao, enough! This beast army alone would be more than sufficient for me to level your entire Xiao estate!”
Jun Buli spoke with arrogant, overbearing confidence, infuriating the Xiao patriarch to the point of nearly grinding his teeth to dust.
“Wretched boy, what exactly do you want? The Xiao clan has no quarrel with you—why press so hard?” the Xiao patriarch demanded furiously, though his tone had clearly softened, tinged now with an air of grievance.
“I already told you—I want the White Jade Flute!” Jun Buli said coldly. The White Jade Flute sat in his very own sleeve, yet he could say this with such righteous confidence.
“The White Jade Flute is the Xiao clan’s most treasured heirloom—how could it possibly be handed over so casually! Boy, stop dreaming!”
The White Jade Flute was, in fact, nowhere near the Xiao clan’s possession, yet the patriarch spoke with equal conviction—though compared to Jun Buli, his confidence clearly rang hollow!
The beast army was the Xiao clan’s trump card; Shiliang was their ultimate hidden weapon. Without the beast army, facing an enemy as formidable as Jun Buli, the Xiao clan would have no choice but to bring out Shiliang!
And yet, the Xiao family still hesitated, refusing to act—this alone was worth pondering carefully!
If the old patriarch continued refusing to summon Shiliang, what else did the Xiao clan have left to bargain with Jun Buli?
Baili Weisheng rubbed his chin, murmuring, “Something’s off.”
“Why don’t you go take the Xiao patriarch hostage, and see how they react?”
Jun Buli said this without lowering his voice at all, not deliberately loud either, yet plenty of people below still heard it clearly.
The Xiao patriarch’s face went deathly pale. With his beast army rendered useless, facing an enemy of such overwhelming strength meant something he understood better than anyone!
The Xiao patriarch had no choice but to change his tone. “Both of you esteemed warriors, let’s talk this through properly, properly!”
What Jun Buli despised most was exactly this kind of shameless, spineless attitude. If he weren’t worried about these people finding some vulnerability to exploit, he would have already forced his way right up to the patriarch and demanded Baili Xiaosheng directly!
No matter how powerful you were, whatever you truly wanted, you must never let your enemy know—because once they knew, it would become a weakness they could hold over you!
“Hand over the White Jade Flute, or I’ll take her life right now!” Jun Buli said, tightening his grip around the Ninth Young Lady’s throat, and he wasn’t joking in the slightest!
Without the Ninth Young Lady, he could simply capture another hostage just as easily—he didn’t believe for a moment the Xiao patriarch would dare stall any further!
“No! Please, no! Ninth Girl is innocent!” the Xiao matriarch cried out in alarm, the very picture of a mother desperate to protect her child. “Take me as the hostage instead—release Ninth Girl, and I’ll take her place!”
The Xiao patriarch quickly added, “I won’t hide it from you both—the White Jade Flute has been missing from the Xiao clan for a very long time. We’ve been searching for it ourselves, all these years!”
The moment the Xiao patriarch said this, an uproar swept through the crowd. Clearly, most of the Xiao clan members had no idea about this at all, staring at their patriarch in shock, many of them flaring with anger!
Only then did Baili Weisheng understand—so this was the real reason behind Jun Buli’s scheming insistence on the White Jade Flute all along!
He’d been using the Xiao patriarch’s own mouth to expose the truth to the entire clan!
No wonder, being Jun Beiyue’s son—truly, deeply cunning!
Facing the crowd’s uproar and the Xiao patriarch’s confession, Jun Buli remained thoroughly disdainful, saying coldly, “I don’t believe it! Since Patriarch Xiao shows so little sincerity, then don’t blame this young lord for being discourteous!”
As he spoke, his eyes turned instantly cold, and his fingernails pressed directly into the Ninth Young Lady’s throat, piercing the skin!
“No!”
The Xiao patriarch and matriarch cried out in alarm, almost simultaneously!
“Don’t hurt my daughter, this old man will take her place! Aside from the White Jade Flute, whatever else you want from the Xiao clan, it’s all yours! Even this entire estate, take it if you must!”
The Xiao patriarch was being remarkably generous, but let alone this grand Xiao estate—even if it were the entirety of the Xiao clan’s power and influence across all of Nanzhao, Jun Buli likely wouldn’t have found it particularly interesting.
Yet still, he stayed his hand, his lips curving into a cold smile as he turned his gaze directly toward the Xiao matriarch. “Lady Xiao, that even an illegitimate daughter can make you willing to risk your life to save her—you’re quite the interesting mother figure…”
Jun Buli spoke with pointed meaning, and beside him, Baili Weisheng too wore a knowing, meaningful smile.
After such a long standoff between the two sides, beyond seizing a massive portion of the Xiao clan’s beast army, their greatest gain was confirming just how important the Ninth Young Lady truly was!
This frail, sickly Ninth Young Lady was undoubtedly no ordinary figure!
Though they still couldn’t quite fathom what exactly gave this Ninth Young Lady such value that both the patriarch and matriarch would go to such lengths over her, they were now certain of one thing—they had captured exactly the right hostage!
Seeing the expressions on Jun Buli and Baili Weisheng’s faces, the Xiao patriarch and matriarch grew as anxious as ants on a hot skillet.
“Both esteemed warriors, the White Jade Flute truly isn’t with the Xiao clan. Whatever you need it for, perhaps the Xiao clan can help in other ways. Let’s discuss this properly inside, shall we?” the Xiao matriarch pleaded earnestly.
But Jun Buli ignored her entirely, coldly dropping a single line: “Bring the White Jade Flute to the mountaintop ice lake in three days to make the exchange, or you’ll never see her again!”
With that, he seized the Ninth Young Lady and turned to leave. Baili Weisheng covered their retreat. The Xiao clan members could have given chase, but they knew full well that even catching up would accomplish nothing!
Their opponent was, quite simply, the natural nemesis of the Xiao clan’s beast army!
“Father, Ninth Sister, she…” Xiao Xue, standing nearby, seemed about to say something, but a single sharp glare from the Xiao patriarch silenced her, and she could only lower her head, disgruntled.
The Xiao patriarch and matriarch exchanged a glance, saying nothing, and turned together to leave.
But just at that moment, several of the elders present voiced their objections.
“Patriarch, is the White Jade Flute truly lost?”
“When did this happen? Keeping it hidden until now hardly seems appropriate.”
“Patriarch, don’t you owe the Council of Elders an explanation for this matter?”
…
“Esteemed elders, please, no need to worry. The White Jade Flute is the Xiao clan’s ancestral heirloom—how could it possibly be lost? What you just heard was merely a ruse to deceive those two intruders,” the Xiao patriarch explained with remarkable composure.
“Then bring out the White Jade Flute and let everyone see it!” one elder said coldly, clearly not believing the patriarch.
“Ninth Girl’s life hangs in the balance, and you all still want to squabble amongst yourselves? If something happens to Ninth Girl, can any of you give her back to me?” the Xiao matriarch scoffed coldly, her sharp gaze carrying a strange edge, as though warning the elders of something—or perhaps using the Ninth Young Lady’s peril as leverage against them!
It had to be said, the Ninth Young Lady truly proved useful. With the matriarch’s pointed words, none of the elders dared say another word, forced to watch helplessly as the patriarch and matriarch walked away.
Just what secret did this Ninth Young Lady hold?
Though the agreed deadline was three days away, Jun Buli and Baili Weisheng had already secretly taken the Ninth Young Lady to the Jade Nectar Ice Lake atop the mountain well ahead of schedule, with Meng Duo’er and Situ Jing’er trailing along behind them as well.