A plague of locusts. That's how one could describe the advance of the combined forces of the minor sects.
Like a hurricane, they swept across the landscape, sweeping away everything around them. And the young aristocrat watched it all with a satisfied grin.
Yan Pantu watched as his hometown of Wujiang was attacked. Everything was going according to plan.
He had been working toward this for a long time. Although his status as the son of the head of the Ministry of Defense always gave him special privileges, he wanted more. His ambitions were greater than even his status as an advisor to the city mayor! He wanted to take everything into his own hands!
So he took great risks. With the help of numerous bribes and secret connections, he opened several underground organizations that engaged in various activities.
From the trade in forbidden artifacts to the trafficking of other species, humans, and even magical pills, most of which were made from human remains.
Thus, he secretly earned dirty money and collected evidence against these same organizations.
The plan was simple. By collecting a large amount of incriminating evidence and falsifying it, Yan Pantu intended to undermine the authorities in Wujiang City.
He also infiltrated followers of the demonic path and the demons themselves into government bodies.
With all this, Yan Pantu informed the capital and the righteous sects about Wujiang's entire dark side and, having secured their support, seized the city.
But that wasn't all. In case his forces were insufficient, he also recruited representatives of the demonic path and ordinary bandits. Then, he would force them to fight each other.
In this way, he planned to eliminate all those involved in the attack and remain one of the survivors, thereby earning himself a good reputation and elevating himself in the eyes of the people.
"Everything is going as I planned..." he said into the void, looking out at the chaos from his home.
A satisfied smile adorned his face as he pondered his next plan.
Turning around, his gaze met that of the other organizers of the attack.
His father, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of the Interior, the head of the city police administration, and several elders all looked at him with similar smiles.
"I had to go through so much trouble just to bribe those old farts!" Yan Pantu thought irritably, hiding his clenched teeth under his fan.
"Oh well. Once this is over, I'll get rid of you too! After all, it won't do any good for so many people to know the secret of this attack!"
"Our plan is in full swing!"
"Yes, just a little bit more and Wujiang will fall at our feet!"
Yan Pantu's accomplices laughed maliciously among themselves.
"Idiots, I came up with this plan and made so many sacrifices to carry it out!" — Yan Pantu thought to himself irritably, the veins on his forehead bulging.
"By the way, what should we do about Lei Jiangxue? That bitch won't sit idly by, and her squad of demonic masks could become a serious problem!" the Minister of Internal Affairs said, and the others became thoughtful.
Yan Pantu grinned and stepped forward.
"Don't worry. This woman won't be a problem. Among the people we hired, there are many high-level warriors. So, one woman and 21 assassins won't do anything to us~"
His words made the old men sigh with relief and grinned maliciously.
"Really?! What a relief!"
"Yan Pantu is so thoughtful!"
"I'm proud to have such a smart son!"
They laughed, while Yan Pantu snorted, looking out the window.
"Lei Jiangxue... Don't worry, you won't die~ Once this is over and you're caught as the main culprit, I'll put in a good word for you to get released~ And then I'll use the enslavement artifact on you and make you my woman..." he thought, drooling with a hungry smile and flushed cheeks, imagining the atrocities he would inflict on the city's leader.
At that moment, he noticed a small bright spot in the sky.
"Hmm? What is that?" Yan Pantu thought, taking a closer look, noticing that the spot had grown brighter and seemed to be approaching him.
"What the..." Before he could finish, the bright spot reached his house and immediately exploded...
***
Meanwhile, Bai Yunsheng and Xiao Ran were walking leisurely. Their path led them toward the city's exit.
The fox girl held Bai Yunsheng's hand and looked around.
Despite being a child, she was surprisingly calm.
"Perhaps it's because Xiao Ran is a demon that she's so calm? Because cruelty is in their blood, they actually enjoy this kind of thing," Bai Yunsheng thought to himself, looking at Xiao Ran.
They walked, oblivious to the chaos around them, leisurely heading toward the gate. When someone tried to attack them, Bai Yunsheng effortlessly defeated them and moved on.
After a few minutes of silence, Xiao Ran looked at him thoughtfully.
Feeling her gaze on him, Bai Yunsheng sighed and looked at her. His dark, disinterested eyes met her two large ones.
"Do you want to ask something?" he asked in a quiet voice, looking at her. Xiao Ran tilted her head and asked her question.
"Aren't we going to help them?"
Bai Yunsheng considered his answer, then looked at her, seeing her tails swaying gently behind her back, her ear tilted slightly to the side.
The boy sighed and picked her up.
"That's not necessary... Right now, we need to think about escaping!" Bai Yunsheng replied in his indifferent voice, carrying her toward the city's exit.
The girl nodded and hugged him around the neck. Her tails gently wrapped around his arm as he carried her in his arms.
After a while, they reached the city's main gate.
There were no guards nearby to guard the gates, although that's not surprising, considering Wujiang had already been infiltrated. Everyone was busy fighting and protecting the civilians.
"How convenient when they don't waste your time with document checks and such," Bai Yunsheng chuckled to himself and walked through the gates.
Carrying Xiao Ran in his arms, Bai Yunsheng left Wujiang City, where he had been living for almost four months.
"Hmm... It's a shame to leave this place... I could have just used my status as the mayor's husband and lived life to the fullest!" Bai Yunsheng sighed with disappointment and turned to continue walking, but stopped after a few steps.
"Come to think of it, I could have warned Lei Jiangxue about Yan Pantu's plans long ago, and none of this would have happened..."
While Bai Yunsheng was thinking to himself, he slowly turned and looked back at Wujiang City.
For a moment, something flickered in his lifeless eyes... Something like regret. But it vanished as quickly as your mother at the store, leaving you standing in line.
"Strange... Why did I even have to tell anyone?" flashed through his mind, and his gaze once again lost the life it had momentarily displayed. "Why should I care what happens to this city and its people?!" he said aloud in a cold voice.
Xiao Ran looked at him in surprise, noticing the change in his demeanor.
"What difference does it make to me who gets hurt in this mess? Why should I worry about that loser Zhou Yulong?" His body tensed, emitting a warm aura.
"Who even cares about the actions of that scum Yan Pantu?" His palms ignited, covering themselves in scarlet flames.
Bai Yunsheng extended his left hand forward, and the flames on his hand transformed into a small pole. With his other hand, he touched the top of the pole with his index and middle fingers and smoothly made a crescent shape. Then he pulled his right elbow back, transforming the pole into a bow made of fire.
Necking the bowstring, he created a fiery arrow and aimed his bow toward the city.
Xiao Ran was astonished by the sight.
"What do I care what happens to Lei Jiangxue because of that bastard Yan Pantu?" flashed through his mind before he released the bowstring.
[Phoenix Embrace: Blazing Spear]
As soon as the shot was fired, the fiery arrow shot into the sky and then began to descend toward the center of the city.
As it flew, the arrow began to twist and expand, transforming into a fiery projectile.
The demon fox's sensitive ears helped Xiao Ran catch the sound of the explosion.
Amazed by what she saw, she looked at her master with new eyes filled with delight.
"Although this technique is called a flaming spear, it's actually a fire arrow. A technique learned in the cultivator's diary. It's a shame it only includes two long-range techniques, but I think I can figure something out with this..." Bai Yunsheng thought to himself and chuckled faintly.
"It's not that I'm worried about Lei Jiangxue. The destruction of the city and the subsequent accusations will motivate her to become stronger. But Yan Pantu needs to be disposed of as soon as possible, so he doesn't cause even more trouble later than he did in the novel..."
Taking a deep breath and calming his energy, Bai Yunsheng picked up Xiao Ran and began to walk away, leaving behind everything that connected him to Wujiang City...
To be continued...