Chapter 676: 494 Chapter Breakdown

Qingdu Mountain.

The once empty hall now finally had a master. The young man in white carefully read through a stack of letters, while Li Yuexiang sat beside him, occasionally adding a comment or two.

Li Xijun had just had a breakthrough and spent several days stabilizing his cultivation level. Once he left his cave mansion to take care of family matters, he began by closely examining the letters that had been delivered, to get an update on home affairs. Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he said,

"Yuan Hudu, this person does have some substance."

According to the information gathered, the Yuan Family had settled down under the control of the second elder, Yuan Hudu. This was not surprising, but what was strange was that Yuan Hudu had released all the enemies from within their ranks involved in the coup, reassigning them back to their respective branches. Aside from a few people that he had injured himself, he had spared everyone else – not a single head had fallen.

"How dare he!"

This move had indeed preserved the strength of the Yuan Family, but the dirty stain of snatching away the position of Family Head, righteously belonging to Yuan Huyuan, could not be erased. With few of his own people among the family ranks, if he did not take this opportunity to purge the dissenters, wouldn't he be digging his own grave? Even though he had the support of the Chi Family, he shouldn't be so overconfident.

The situation had completely blindsided everyone, probably even Yuan Chengdun and Yuan Huyuan themselves, not to mention the surrounding families. After the Yuan Family's internal struggle, only Yuan Huyuan seemed to have disappeared. It looked suspicious, leading others to doubt.

"Nine out of ten times... it's the Chi Family's doing. Just look and don't interfere."

Li Xijun's face showed a look of suspicion, as if he had guessed something unpleasant. After silently pondering for a while, Li Xuanxuan watched silently from the side, a cryptic expression emerging on his aged face:

"I remember meeting Yuan Huyuan once when I was younger. At that time, the old ancestor had just achieved Foundation Establishment, and he came to congratulate, saying a few words."

"He said… he wanted to be a guest at the Green Pond feast, not just a mere piece of meat… But now it seems, even if one is a guest at the feast, in the eyes of a Chi Family Member, you're nothing but a chess piece, let alone through a marriage alliance..."

Li Xijun said,

"There's no such thing as a guest at the feast. In the end, it's all about whether one has a Zifu, or any favor left by Zifu… Xiang'er, continue."

Li Yuexiang nodded and continued explaining the recent events, all the way up to the affairs of Yuan Fuyao. Li Xijun frowned as he listened to her until the end, then suddenly raised his hand to stop her from continuing, whispering,

"Have you observed carefully? Does Yuan Fuyao really know nothing? Didn't Yuan Huyuan send someone loyal to follow him?"

"He didn't."

Li Yuexiang replied, then hesitantly said,

"It's not like he knows nothing. It's like he knows bits and pieces, yet is missing a lot."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanxuan paused slightly, a look of surprise on his face. He couldn't help but ask Li Xijun,

"I didn't know what to think about this person before, and I thought Yuan Chengdun not sending someone to follow this child was one thing, but why didn't Yuan Huyuan understand to send a reliable person to watch over him? Leaving him here to act on his own, he's just a young man, what could he know about these matters..."

"Oh?"

Li Xijun bowed his head and noted a few words on the paper. After a brief pause, he said warmly,

"Yuan Chengdun trusted the wrong person, falling into the schemes of Yuan Huyuan and Yuan Hudu!"

"What?"

As soon as he said this, both Li Yuexiang and Li Xuanxuan were greatly shocked and fell silent in contemplation. Li Xijun had his own speculations and whispered,

"I'm afraid Yuan Tuan is beyond saving as well."

Before he could speak further, someone approached from the lower end of the hall, whispering a few words into his ear. Li Xijun's expression darkened as he said,

"He left?"

"Reporting to the master, this young master claimed to be in closed-door cultivation, but in reality, he left the boundary at night and headed south. Our men shadowed him silently for a while but didn't dare to stop him and could only let him go," the man replied.

"He must have returned to the Yuan Family."

As a practitioner at the Qi Cultivating Late Stage, Li Xuanxuan obviously heard these muttered exchanges. With a displeased look, he spoke out,

"Such a way to act! Doesn't he fear offending our family? Luckily, this matter was a private agreement between the two families; otherwise, if it got out, people might think he fled the marriage!"

Li Xijun, however, put down the letter in his hand, leaned back in the wooden chair, and lowered his eyebrows in thought, saying,

"If you ask me, as long as Yuan Chengdun isn't confirmed dead, the Yuan Family boy offending our family might actually lead to another way out for him. It's possible Yuan Huyuan is hedging his bets, playing some trick to get an edge."

Li Xuanxuan was somewhat confused. He pondered carefully but then saw Li Xijun sipping his tea nonchalantly and answering,

"Wait and see. If Yuan Huyuan and Yuan Hudu are united as one, and Yuan Chengdun has trusted the wrong person, then Yuan Huyuan will soon be coming to our territory."

Li Yuexiang thoughtfully whispered,

"Could it be that the chaos in the Yuan Family was intentional?"

As soon as her words fell, there was a commotion from below, and a Jade Courtyard Guard approached, his armor clanking. He bowed respectfully and said,

"Reporting to the master, Yuan Huyuan of the Yuan Family requests an audience."

Li Xijun chuckled, glanced at Li Xuanxuan, and coldly said,

"It turns out the direct lineage is putting on a show with an extravagant fight, sacrificing this father and son, Yuan Chengdun, to maintain the big picture! The Yuan Family intends to cleanse itself between our family, Qing Sui, and Yuan Tuan, to be a good dog under the Chi Family!"

Although the Yuan Family had been declining day by day in the Green Pond Sect, it still maintained significant autonomy and had once been a great power, with the late Yuan Licheng as a disciple of Chi Buzi, which contributed to the Yuan Family's prosperity for many years.

But now, with Yuan Licheng having passed away and Chi Buzi missing, it just so happens that the Yuan Family has become the battleground for a clash between two sects – they are about to become vassals of the Chi Family.

"Looks like Yuan Chengdun might have left someone or a letter to remind his son, which were all intercepted by Yuan Huyuan."