Chapter 32: Returning Home

"Alright, enough of that. Let's get back to the matter of the Mo Clan. Have you finally thought of a solution?" the Little Fairy Doctor asked.

Xiao Yan blinked, smiled, and said, "Actually, you never needed to worry about this problem from the start. Did you forget my trump card?"

"Unless the Mo Clan can mobilize someone at the Dou Huang level, there is simply no need to fear them." There was one more thing Xiao Yan didn't say: the only Dou Huang the Mo Clan could likely find was Yun Yun of the Misty Cloud Sect, and that was even less of a concern.

The Little Fairy Doctor was stunned, then immediately realized it was indeed so. But she soon felt something was off and looked at Xiao Yan with an unfriendly expression: "Since that's the case, why didn't you say so at the beginning?"

"Uh—did I? Perhaps I forgot," Xiao Yan said, rubbing his nose, feeling a bit awkward.

But the Little Fairy Doctor clearly wasn't going to let it rest. Under her coercion, Xiao Yan finally confessed: "Alright, I admit it. I just thought you looked especially charming when you were worrying for me, and I wanted to look a little longer." This book is first published on Heavenly Reading Novels, accompanying you in your reading, 𝓉𝓉𝓀𝓈. 𝓉𝓌, providing a smooth, error-free, and orderly reading experience.

"Well, now that you've finished looking, can you get off me?" the Little Fairy Doctor said with a chuckle, her eyes narrowed.

"Hmm, I don't think it's urgent yet. How about I stay a while longer?"

"Get lost!"

"You got it."

"Young Master Xiao, Miss, how did you two rest last night?" As soon as Xiao Yan and the Little Fairy Doctor had finished dressing, the Mo Clan head, Mo Lan, came up to greet them. Clearly, just as he had said, he had truly been guarding right next door the whole time.

"Mm, it was fine," Xiao Yan replied indifferently. "By the way, have you seen that girl Qing Lian? Also, how is the compensation prepared—"

"—for?"

"Reporting to Young Master Xiao, Miss Qing Lian has already gone ahead to the main hall and is currently checking the valuables for you. The apologies from Mo Cheng and the others who previously offended you have also been prepared; we are just waiting for you to come and inspect them," Mo Lan said obsequiously.

"Good, lead the way," Xiao Yan said.

"Yes!"

They arrived at the main hall that Xiao Yan had split down the middle yesterday. It had to be said that the Mo Clan's speed was truly fast; after only one night, the hall that had been ruined yesterday had already been repaired, and there was no trace of yesterday's conflict to be seen.

"Young Master, you're here!" The first to notice Xiao Yan was Qing Lian in the center of the crowd, waving her arms toward Xiao Yan while standing on tiptoe.

Xiao Yan waved his hand back and returned a smile.

The people surrounding Qing Lian also gathered around, bowing to Xiao Yan and saying, "Greetings, Young Master Xiao."

Everyone standing here now was someone who had sided with Mo Cheng yesterday. Xiao Yan looked around, confirmed that the number of people was indeed the same as yesterday, and nodded.

"Very good, all sixteen of you are here. Alright, no need for nonsense. I reckon you don't actually like me, and likewise, I have no interest in you. You can just line up one by one, hand over the compensation to me, and then you can leave," Xiao Yan said.

Upon hearing this, the crowd first felt their hearts tighten; they hadn't expected that although Xiao Yan said he only remembered a few people, he had actually kept track of all of them. Some felt lucky they hadn't tried to play any tricks. Then, they felt a sense of relief, lamenting that this sudden disaster was finally coming to an end. Although it had only been a short two days since Xiao Yan was attacked at the inn, to many in the Mo Clan, it felt longer than two years.

Incidentally, Xiao Yan had indeed only remembered a few people, but the Little Fairy Doctor and Qing Lian had not been confronting Mo Cheng at the time, so they had kept track of them all.

Xiao Yan took the storage rings from each member of the Mo Clan in turn, and after a simple check of the valuables inside, he put them away himself. This time, he didn't leave them with the Little Fairy Doctor for safekeeping because he intended to give these items to his family, so it was better for him to hold onto them.

After all the Mo Clan members had bowed and taken their leave, Mo Lan also handed over a storage ring. Inside, there were ten Tier 4 medicinal pills alone, along with a full fifteen million gold coins; clearly, he had spent a fortune.

Seeing that Mo Lan seemed to have something else to say, Xiao Yan told him to speak plainly.

"Yes, thank you, Young Master. It's like this, Young Master Xiao: if possible, this humble one would like to know how to contact you in the future, so that I may handle some trivial matters for you." As he spoke, Mo Lan looked up with some trepidation, observing Xiao Yan's expression.

Hmm, although he wouldn't be afraid even if the Mo Clan made some small moves later, being able to recruit them was clearly better, and he did indeed need a few people to handle miscellaneous tasks.

"Since that's the case, I will be attending Canaan Academy in a while; just send a few people from your clan over then."

"Ah! Thank you, Young Master Xiao! From this day forward, our Mo Clan will surely serve you faithfully and do your bidding, even at the cost of our lives!" Mo Lan said excitedly, clearly very satisfied with Xiao Yan's willingness to take them on as dogs.

"Mm, that's all then. If there's nothing else, this young master will be leaving now." With the pleasantries over, Xiao Yan didn't intend to pay attention to Mo Lan's response and walked away, taking the Little Fairy Doctor and Qing Lian with him.

"Yes, have a safe journey, Young Master."

The flying magical beast was very fast. Only three hours or so after the three of them left the Mo Clan, the outline of a city appeared before them, looming in the distance.

Unlike when he entered the city, the flying magical beast flew directly into the city. Looking at the bustling crowd within the city walls and the Xiao family's courtyards and pavilions visible in the distance, Xiao Yan murmured, "Wu Tan City, I, Xiao Yan, have returned."

After getting off the flying magical beast, Xiao Yan hadn't even had a chance to leave the station before he heard someone calling him.

"Xiao Yan, is that Cousin Xiao Yan?" A young, still somewhat immature voice rang out.

Xiao Yan turned his head and saw a youth in fine clothes standing at the entrance of the flying magical beast station, waving his hand toward them, followed by several people who looked like servants.

The youth in fine clothes was about seventeen years old, quite handsome, and his cultivation was not bad for a Xiao family disciple of that age, having reached the 8th Duan of Dou Qi. Of course, this level of cultivation was naturally not worth mentioning to Xiao Yan.

Not to mention comparing him to Xiao Yan, he didn't even have an advantage over Qing Lian, who had just started cultivating. Due to the nature of the Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, which could absorb the cultivation of snake-type magical beasts, Qing Lian's cultivation had already reached the 7th Stage of Fighting Energy. At this rate, she would likely break through to the Fighter realm in a month or two.

Of course, this didn't mean the youth before him was incompetent; in fact, in Wu Tan City, one could count on two hands the number of people who could have such cultivation at this age.

"You are? Cousin Xiao Ning?" Xiao Yan looked left and right several times before finally recognizing the youth.

"Why are you here?"

"Ah, it's like this: the Clan Head received letters from Xiao Ding and Xiao Zhan, knowing you were coming back, so he has sent people to wait for you here for the past few days. Today, it just happened to be my turn," Xiao Ning replied, his eyes shifting to the Little Fairy Doctor and Qing Lian behind Xiao Yan.

It was fine when he looked at Qing Lian; although he found her stunning, she was still young, so it didn't matter much. But when he saw the Little Fairy Doctor, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

By now, the Little Fairy Doctor had fully blossomed, and having been nourished by Xiao Yan for such a long time, even though she consciously tried to hide it, she would still occasionally reveal the unique allure of a young woman. Along the way, Xiao Yan didn't know how many people he had dealt with because of this.

"Ahem! Xiao Ning, I've finally returned after such a long time; you aren't going to just let me stand here, are you?"

Reminded by Xiao Yan, Xiao Ning finally came back to his senses. He then remembered that this was the wife Xiao Yan had brought back, and he hurriedly averted his eyes, not daring to look again.

"Ahem, ah, Cousin Xiao Yan is right. Let's go, let's go, the Clan Head has been waiting anxiously for a long time." As he spoke, Xiao Ning signaled the servants behind him to step forward and clear the way.

Without the obstruction of passersby, the three of them soon arrived at the gates of the Xiao family.

On the Xiao family's gate, beneath a plaque with the gold-leafed characters "Xiao Mansion," a middle-aged man was pacing back and forth.

When Xiao Yan saw this person from afar, his whole body trembled. He walked up quickly and said:

"Father."