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Yao Chen returned to the bone flame ring, and Xiao Yan followed Yun Meng away from the crowd.
Xiao Yan waved his hand, and a wall of flame enveloped them. He said, "What's wrong? You can speak now."
"The one who collaborated with the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Clan to attack the Xiao Family back then was actually me." As soon as Yun Meng spoke, Xiao Yan's mood, which had just barely calmed down, was stirred up again.
A surge of anger rose from Xiao Yan's heart, but he quickly controlled his emotions and said in a deep voice, "Why?"
Yun Meng revealed a smile: "I thought you wouldn't be able to resist coming to kill me directly."
"Stop the nonsense. Why are you suddenly telling me this?" Xiao Yan said coldly.
Yun Meng's expression was calm, and he responded in a gentle voice:
"Because I think you should know the truth... It was indeed my teacher who told me to do it, but he had no choice. Protector Wu came to him, saying he wanted to borrow some manpower from the Yunlan Sect to destroy the Xiao Family.
"My teacher told me to try my best to save a portion of the Xiao Family, but in front of Protector Wu, there was very little I could do.
"Originally, Protector Wu wanted his Soul Envoys and the Yunlan Sect's people to act together directly. I guessed he might have been wary of something, so he suggested finding another puppet to stand at the forefront.
"The Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Clan were chosen by me to be the knives... Compared to facing the Soul Hall and the Yunlan Sect's people directly, their two families were weaker, which could leave a glimmer of hope for the Xiao Family.
"Moreover, expanding the number of participants could also make the scene more chaotic and confuse Protector Wu.
"That night, I was also present... I misled those who were pursuing the Xiao Family... If your Xiao Family had prepared for similar crises, some of your clansmen might have survived."
Xiao Yan thought of Xiao Qing and Payne, who had escaped, and a hint of realization flashed in his eyes...
Yun Meng continued, "Protector Wu's attention was mainly focused on your father... So there was nothing I could do about that."
"After the Xiao Family's matter was concluded, I immediately rushed to Stone Desert City, found your two elder brothers, and escorted them to Jia Nan Academy.
"This was already the limit of what we could do, after all, my teacher was also constrained by Protector Wu. Cooperating with him back then was also out of necessity..."
An unspeakable complex emotion surged in Xiao Yan's heart... From this perspective, the Yunlan Sect had actually shown him kindness?
The Xiao Family's matter was also out of their hands; if they didn't do it, others would. Instead, Yun Shan had left a glimmer of hope for the Xiao Family?
He stumbled back two steps, his lips trembling. He mumbled, unable to speak.
Yun Meng said again, "You don't need to feel guilty for severely injuring my teacher, nor do you need to use excuses like 'if the Yunlan Sect didn't do it, others would' to absolve my teacher. The Yunlan Sect indeed has the blood of your Xiao Family members on its hands; there's no doubt about that.
"However, my teacher hopes that you won't implicate other members of the Yunlan Sect because of this matter, especially my senior sister. He hopes that all matters end with him... Furthermore, I haven't told my senior sister the inside story; my teacher instructed me not to...
"I've already done some psychological work with my senior sister, and I hope she can let go of her emotional burden... Finally, my teacher asked me to say something for him..."
Yun Meng cleared his throat and imitated Yun Shan's tone perfectly, saying, "Kid, Yun'er is entrusted to you. Treat her well."
Yun Meng returned to his initial calm state: "I'm done... If you insist on believing that I am the murderer of your loved ones, you can act; I will not resist."
Xiao Yan's eyes were filled with confusion, his fists clenched and then relaxed. He said dejectedly, "Thank you... You should go."
Yun Meng left.
After he had walked far away, Xiao Yan's knees suddenly buckled, and he knelt on the ground, trembling as he looked at his hands...
"What exactly have I done?
"I was the one who caused Yun Zhi's master's death...
"I was the one who caused Xiao Meng to fall into the hands of the Soul Hall..."
"Ah..." He let out a hysterical roar, slamming his head heavily against the ground, against the path paved with bluestone.
The rock shattered, and Xiao Yan's head was also bleeding, but the pain on his forehead could not calm him down at all.
Intense regret surged into his heart, along with unease, guilt, self-reproach, and a deep sense of powerlessness and exhaustion. He felt as if all the malice in the World was rushing towards him, threatening to engulf him.
Exhausted both physically and mentally, he fainted.
Yao Chen emerged from the bone flame ring and sighed, "Alas..."
...
In the sky, a black mist rapidly swept towards the Chu Yun Empire. In a deep mountain, the black mist suddenly stopped and descended to the ground.
The secret technique's duration ended, and the backlash began. Protector Wu's body convulsed as he half-knelt on the ground, and the black mist also trembled, dispersing to reveal the withered and somewhat ethereal figure beneath.
Protector Wu was also a Soul Envoy! It was just that his Soul Envoy appeared exceptionally solid, with wisps of black mist filling his body.
Clink... The metallic clang sounded, and Xiao Meng, who was tied up, fell heavily to the ground.
"Hiss... So painful." Xiao Meng gasped.
She wasn't afraid at all and said with a grin, "The act's over, isn't it time to let me go?"
Protector Wu was enduring the backlash of the secret technique, his soul body trembling, and resentful faces emerged from his body.
He endured the pain, carefully using black mist to separate the faces that had grown on him.
"Tsk, your condition doesn't look very good, huh? This is the consequence of eating indiscriminately..."
"Nah, it seems your Soul Hall's treatment isn't great. People are so dead they're only a soul body left, and they still have to come out and work..."
"I heard that your Soul Clan doesn't even let your own people go after death; you even turn them into Zombies to continue serving..."
Protector Wu only felt as if a crow was incessantly cawing in his ear. His eyes flickered with a crimson light, and he glared coldly at Xiao Meng:
"If you don't want to suffer, then shut up."
"Heh, you got the guts to kill me?" Xiao Meng showed a provocative smile.
"Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you?"
"Kill me then." Xiao Meng said, craning her neck.
"Want to die? It's not that easy. When we get to the destination, after that adult takes your flame and you're no longer useful, I will ask him for your soul and let you experience the pain of your soul being torn apart and swallowed bit by bit."
"Who is that adult you're talking about?"
Protector Wu suddenly smiled: "That adult is just that adult, you know."
Xiao Meng 'tsk'ed and said nothing more.
She knew this was probably another one of Amon's schemes.
Protector Wu dealt with the resentful faces that had emerged from his body. After removing the hidden dangers, his aura became very weak.
He took a pill, and his continuously declining aura gradually stopped falling and became stable.
He picked up the chain and continued on his way, carrying Xiao Meng.
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