Chapter 1197 - 1197: Ya Fei's True Intentions

Yafei's tone was full of blame. No matter what Liu Zixuan's purpose in coming here was, he was her friend, and could even be called her benefactor. After all, during the battle at the Willow Association, Liu Zixuan had nearly lost his life to protect them.

Hearing Yafei's anger, the White Clan Leader's face turned even uglier, and he revealed a bitter smile. "Actually, just now I…"

"Just now what?" Yafei's tone was extremely cold.

"I also treated Brother Liu as an honored guest. But after all, the matter of the key involves the greatest secret of our Four Symbols Sect. We didn't want him to know, so my tone was a bit heavy." The White Clan Leader spoke in a fluster.

"Everyone says the people of the White Tiger Clan are all hot‑headed and short‑tempered, but I didn't expect you to be such a sly and crafty old thing."

Yafei sneered. "I think I should go talk to the Black Tortoise Clan or the Cyan Dragon Clan, instead of talking to you and the Vermilion Bird Clan."

"Don't."

This matter concerned whether their White Tiger Clan and Vermilion Bird Clan could stand at the Peak of the Four Symbols Sect. If she went to the Black Tortoise Clan or the Cyan Dragon Clan, then the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger clans would never see a day of turning things around.

Bai Hongtu suddenly stepped forward, bowing to Liu Zixuan with extreme respect. "I'm sorry, everything just now was my fault!"

Liu Zixuan raised his brows slightly. "If Sister Yafei didn't know me, would you still apologize like this?"

"I…" Bai Hongtu's face flushed red on the spot.

To put it bluntly, he was just a snob. If Yafei didn't know Liu Zixuan, then Liu Zixuan would merely be a Martial Artist with decent talent. He absolutely wouldn't apologize, and might even throw him out of the White Tiger Clan.

Liu Zixuan snorted coldly. "White Clan Leader, to think I just treated you as an elder. Now that I think about it, I really misjudged you."

"Brother Liu, I hope you can forgive me."

"You think that because I said 'take shelter with you,' it means I have to become a servant of your clan? When I came from the Black Tortoise Clan just now, Senior Wu promised me that if I'm not comfortable staying here, I can go straight to him and become an elder there!"

As Liu Zixuan's words fell, Bai Hongtu's body trembled fiercely. This was a true slap in the face.

Dragging out Yafei wasn't enough; now there was Wu Zheng's invitation on top of it.

In other words, the two scolding lines Bai Hongtu had just thrown at Liu Zixuan would cause them to lose Yafei, this powerful presence, and would also indirectly offend the Black Tortoise Clan once.

You had to know, right now even with the White Tiger and Vermilion Bird working together they couldn't beat the Cyan Dragon Clan, and were still trying to rope in the Black Tortoise Clan. If they offended Liu Zixuan, Wu Zheng of the Black Tortoise Clan might directly cooperate with the Cyan Dragon Clan.

By then, the White Tiger Clan and Vermilion Bird Clan would become the bottom rung in the Four Symbols Sect, without the slightest right to speak.

He truly hadn't expected that Liu Zixuan, someone with "just some talent," would turn out to be the key point in this chaotic situation!

Bai Hongtu's expression shifted, then he lifted his head and said to Yafei, "Everything before was my fault. I hope the two of you won't stay angry."

"This isn't just a matter of whether we're angry or not!" Yafei said in a deep voice.

"You asked me about the key earlier. I can now answer you on behalf of the White Tiger Clan and the Vermilion Bird Clan." Bai Hongtu said through gritted teeth.

"I'd like to hear it." Yafei said with a smile.

"Tomorrow, no matter which clan wins, the key will end up in your hands." Bai Hongtu said, his words firm and ringing.

"From what I know, both the Cyan Dragon Clan and the Black Tortoise Clan are quite strong, faintly above you. What makes you so confident?" Yafei asked.

Bai Hongtu lifted his head, wearing the crafty look of an old fox. "We have an absolutely foolproof method prepared for the Cyan Dragon Clan. As for the Black Tortoise Clan, there's no need to take them into account. When the time comes, our three clans will jointly pressure the Black Tortoise Clan, and they'll definitely agree as well!"

"Then I'll give you one more chance." Yafei glanced at Liu Zixuan, who looked like he wanted to speak but held back, then said, "Right now, I'd like to talk with my little brother. You all can withdraw first."

"Alright!"

Bai Hongtu secretly let out a breath of relief, and left with his people.

Yafei waved her hand at the few beauties beside her. "You all withdraw as well for now."

Once everyone had left and only Liu Zixuan, Qiqi, and Yafei remained—just the three of them—

Yafei was the first to speak. "I could tell that you wanted to say something just now, but you were hesitating over something and didn't say it."

"If I say I was hesitating for your sake, would you believe me?" Liu Zixuan said with a playful smile.

"I believe you."

Yafei let out a sigh. "You're here to stop them from selling the key to us, aren't you?"

"I'm really curious: what exactly does the power behind you want with this key?" Liu Zixuan asked.

Standing before the pavilion, Yafei overlapped her jade‑white hands, slowly turning her gaze to Liu Zixuan. "Do you know what the power behind me is?"

"I don't, but it probably doesn't belong to any country's Martial Realm, right?" Liu Zixuan spread his hands.

"You could say it doesn't belong to any country, but it has a deep connection with the Star Sea Martial Realm."

Yafei explained with a smile, "The force backing me is actually also a Sect, but it's not a clan‑inheritance system, nor is it like the Four Symbols Sect, founded and continued by certain specific people. It's more like a small‑scale Martial Alliance."

"Martial Alliance?" Liu Zixuan was surprised.

"That's right. It's an organization formed by many originally unrelated Martial Artists banding together for some shared goal." Yafei said.

"I don't really get it." Liu Zixuan pinched his forehead.

"It's similar to the former Medical Immortal Sect, except they were formed by scattered Healers from all over the world, whereas we're Martial Artists. The Martial Artists in our organization mostly come from wild, unofficial backgrounds—nothing like famous orthodox sects. There are even some fiends among them, though they've all mended their ways now."

"So what do you guys actually do?" Liu Zixuan asked.

"We do everything—take commissions from employers to help them obtain treasures, or help an employer kill an enemy, that sort of thing." Yafei shrugged slightly. "Just like when we helped the Medical Immortal Sect obtain the Nether Fire Stone."

"So like an assassin group?" Liu Zixuan raised a brow.

"You can think of it that way, but we do sort tasks when we take them on. Especially in the Star Sea, we absolutely do not take jobs that are harmful or outrageous." Yafei said with a smile. "Because most of the Martial Artists in our organization are from the Star Sea."

Liu Zixuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Then this time, coming here for the key—who are you working with?"

In truth, after hearing Yafei's explanation, Liu Zixuan had a feeling they were helping foreign Martial Artists obtain the key. If that was really the case, things would get even more complicated.

Honestly speaking, he didn't want to become enemies with Yafei.

Seeing his serious expression, Yafei asked, "Are you thinking that we're helping foreign Martial Artists get the key, and then letting them come take the Star Sea's treasure?"

"Isn't that exactly it?"

"I just said, we won't do anything that harms the Star Sea." Yafei poked Liu Zixuan's forehead. "This time, our goal is the same as yours—it's all for the Star Sea Martial Realm!"