24 Dreams (1/2)
Xue Wei was incredibly overbearing, and everyone was surprised when they saw his carefree attitude. Had it not been for Shen Mu and the witnesses who could say that these three girls had indeed been mistreated by Li Jian and his friends, then today's matter would not have ended in as peaceful a way.
This kingdom heavily relied on the power of their geniuses to stand against the Primordial and Fierce Beasts. To walk around killing or even crippling geniuses who had still not served in the military was simply akin to sentencing oneself to the same fate, yet Xue Wei had emerged unscathed from it.
Xue Wei had a cold smile on his lips as he looked at Li Jian. The only thing he regretted was that Li Jian was not among the two, the young masters of the two families He and Jia, he had crippled.
”You won't get through it so easily next time!” Li Jian sneered at Xue Wei, and the Li faction got ready to leave the Xiao Lei mansion. They simply dared not stay for long, as they had already lost enough face.
Li Fang had not come. He was just too important a figure; and just as Shen Bingwen did not come either but sent his son, Li Fang had also sent guards and two Elders from the Li family to accompany Li Jian.
The Elders were deeply embarrassed and wished that they could hide themselves underneath a rock. They had come in flair to get vengeance for their supporters' sons, only to find that the whole incident had been started by an order given by their descendant.
He was the one who had ordered his followers to stop those three girls, and he had tried to exploit them against their will. They were aware that this was something he had done before, but the commoners would usually never rise against the noble houses, especially not against a noble with a Heavenly Warrior in their household.
Unfortunately, these witnesses had gained the protection of Shen Bingwen. With him shielding them, they dared to tell the truth.
Usually, murder would not cause too much of a problem. As long as the family was compensated with some silver or even gold, then they would be able to accept their loss. However, it was different when it came to the geniuses of the younger generation. Every single action they made affected the situation between the Li and then Shen family, who were both fighting tooth and nail to extinguish the other while keeping within the boundaries of the law that had been placed by the Kingdom of Heping.
If one of the members did something inappropriate, then the other side would blame them – and the worse their actions the better it was for the opposition. Because of this, the Shen family secretly gloated at their enemy's misfortune now that they had the witnesses in their hands.
They had taken a small victory against the Li family, and they secretly celebrated for Xue Wei crippling two of their geniuses as they would become less of a threat in later generations the fewer they had.
Xue Wei had no actual reason to place himself in the midst of this battle for power. He was initially on the neutral side as his uncle was not interested in becoming the next City Lord of Tiankong City. However, because Xiao Lei was a friend of Shen Bingwen, and because of the apparent hostility that Li Jian felt towards Xue Wei, he had been pushed towards the Shen family's camp.
Slowly, everyone who had gathered in front of the mansion scattered. Some were feeling excited and happy, others dejected and angry.
Especially the He and Jia families had a belly full of anger but nowhere to vent it. They knew that if they were to do something to Xue Wei now, they would get blamed for it, whether or not there was any evidence, and thus they could not risk taking vengeance just yet.
”Just you wait until you enter the army,” He Tong sneered sinisterly. ”My other sons are still in the army, and they have managed to make a name for themselves. I will have them ensure that you do not return home, and this way your uncle can never blame it on us!”
Having reached this conclusion, He Tong grinned to himself with a manic expression on his face. His other sons had done well in the army, and although they had not managed to become generals or anything too outstanding, they were still capable of making a new green member of the army encounter quite some troubles.
The leader of the Jia family was thinking the same thing. He did not have as many sons as the He family, but he still had a few, and these sons were capable of causing enough problems for Xue Wei.
These two men were both of the Sky Warrior rank. They had a lifespan of five hundred years and had only lived around two hundred and fifty of it each. They were from the same generation, and they had taken many wives throughout their lifetime, producing multiple sons and daughters.
But the ones who had been following Li Jian had been some of the more accomplished ones, and seeing them suddenly turned into trash was a slap on their faces.
The moment the last people vanished, Xue Wei also returned to the back of the mansion where he continued to train. He was not going to waste his time sleeping, and although it was already dark, he ended up training the entire night.
Xue Wei stood up as the sun sent its first rays of sunlight down from the sky and stretched his body. He had completely emptied himself of Qi earlier and had just finished absorbing and refining enough Qi to once more fill the pearl-like dantian that he had.
He quickly went to wash before dressing and rushing into the central marketplace where the Wayfarers had parked their caravan.
Xue Wei saw how the city was waking up. Shops were opening, and people were going about doing their morning business. A few people were out buying food; others were out delivering messages. Everyone was busy, and the morning air was alive with the hustle and bustle of the city.
As Xue Wei reached the Wayfarer's caravan, he saw that they too had awakened and were starting to open up their shops. The group of seniors was sitting and eating soup that had been brought to them by smaller children, while they were busy chatting with one another.