It was a dark and windy night.
The twilight on the horizon had completely turned from yellowish - brown to darkness.
The two men in the pavilion waved their hands, and their subordinates immediately lit lanterns and torches.
The flickering torches illuminated the area around the pavilion in a bright red glow.
They were waiting, waiting for the people of Qinghui Town to come out and beg for mercy on their own initiative.
Zhao Shuning was also waiting. She was waiting for Zhang Zhi and the others to remove the isolation shield so that they could start their attack.
For now, the only thing she could do was conserve her strength so that she could fight with all her might later.
I don't know how much time had passed. When the night wind had turned a bit chilly, there was suddenly a glimmer of light in the once - quiet Qinghui Town.
Then, the lights grew more numerous and larger.
Zhang Zhi grinned and slowly uttered two words: "Here they come."
Finally, they were coming out.
At the very front was an old man. His temples had turned quite gray. Leaning on a walking stick, he walked step by step on the market street, heading in the direction of Zhang Zhi and the others.
Following behind him were Zhao Zheng, Zhao Xue, Zhao Chao, Zhao Xiangxiang, and many other villagers of Qinghui Town.
As they walked, their steps were firm and steady.
"These ignorant villagers have held out for quite a while."
"It's just a last - ditch struggle. The saying 'the ignorant fear nothing' probably applies to these bumpkins."
There was a hint of playfulness on Fei Yang's face.
At that moment, the advancing procession stopped. Their gazes were fixed on the two men who were sipping tea.
"Uncle Zhang, please remove the sound - proof wall of the isolation shield. I want to hear what they have to say."
Zhang Zhi nodded, and the spiritual pharmacists surrounding Qinghui Town on all sides eased their efforts a bit, allowing the voices of the people inside to be heard.
"Zhang Zhi, why are you targeting our Zhao family like this?"
"A reason? There isn't one. I just simply don't like your Zhao family. I thought it would be great if you guys didn't exist in this world. It's that simple."
Zhang Zhi was arrogant and venomous, without any sense of morality.
Zhao Shuning looked at her grandfather, whose face was full of wrinkles, and her heart ached.
Grandfather had always been in good health. Why did he now have to rely on a walking stick to barely walk?
These people had pushed them too hard.
Moreover, her father was still in his prime, but there were already a few strands of white hair peeping out from his temples. This must be due to anxiety.
By the way, where was her mother?
Zhao Shuning's heart tightened, and her hands clenched a bit more.
The old man seemed to be tired of all this. Zhao Shuning never expected that the lofty Old Master Zhao would speak the following words in such a humble manner.
"Zhang Zhi, I've heard of your reputation. Our Zhao family has never offended your Zhang family. Your Zhang family is powerful, but don't you think that hegemonism will eventually come to an end one day?"
Zhang Zhi didn't say a word. Watching the old man struggling desperately and trying to persuade him to do good, he seemed to find it quite laughable.
"Zhang Zhi, what do you want?"
"Do you think you can give me your life if I want it?"
Old Master Zhao's face remained calm, but in fact, he didn't have the extra energy to care about Zhang Zhi's rudeness.
According to seniority, Zhang Zhi was more than twenty years younger than him. According to the rules of the Dongze Wilderness, he should call him uncle. But Zhang Zhi was extremely arrogant. From the very beginning, he didn't care about any morality.
Hearing what Zhang Zhi said, the Zhao family's younger generation was about to rush forward.
But Old Master Zhao roared: "All of you, go back!"
These kids were still young. Old Master Zhao didn't want them to die in this baseless fight.
"Father!"
"Old Master Zhao!"
"Grandfather, don't worry. Let me go and deal with them!"
"Xiangxiang, step back."
"Grandfather!"
"Step back."
Zhao Xiangxiang had good talent, but this was an isolation shield set up by a large family and four - stage spiritual pharmacists. It was different from an ordinary protective shield. Not only Zhao Xiangxiang but even Old Master Zhao couldn't break it. If Zhao Xiangxiang rushed forward, it would be like seeking death.
"Old fellow, there are still a few tough - minded people in your Zhao family."
"Zhang Zhi, Young Master Fei Yang, if I, an old and useless man, am willing to commit suicide in front of you, would you spare the people of Qinghui Town?"
"Spare them? Well, not necessarily. Why don't you commit suicide first? Maybe I'll consider what to do next."
Now, the villagers of Qinghui Town were like fish in an urn. Their lives and deaths were completely in the hands of Zhang Zhi and Fei Yang.
"Don't go too far! When Huai'er comes back, all of you here will be buried with the villagers of Qinghui Town!"
When Fei Yang heard the name "Huai'er", his eyes narrowed slightly.
He came from the capital city of Chang'an. He had also heard of a newly - emerged figure named Zhao Huai. Presumably, he was a child of the Zhao family.
However, even so, Fei Yang didn't take it to heart.
Because they had no intention of leaving any survivors.
"If we kill all of you, who will know that it was us who wiped out Qinghui Town?"
"Even if that Zhao Huai comes back, the only thing he can think of is the Li family, who had a feud with your Zhao family. Our Zhang family and the Extreme Cold Palace have no grudges against you. How could we be the murderers?"
The Li family in Yanqing City? Could it be that the Li family's night raid on Old Master Zhao's birthday banquet last time was also part of their plan?
The purpose was to find a scapegoat for their act of killing the Zhao family today.
"I heard that the young man named Zhao Huai will officially enter the Clan Assembly in a few days. Here, we'd like to congratulate your Zhao family in advance."
The Clan Assembly?
How could this be?
Why would Huai'er be involved with the Clan Assembly in the capital city of Chang'an? Such an important court meeting was something that people from a small family like theirs didn't dare to even dream of.
"Since you know that Huai'er has entered the Clan Assembly, how dare you—"
When Zhao Zheng said this, he suddenly stopped, as if he had thought of something important.
Zhao Huai wasn't an alchemist. He didn't see what happened that night with his own eyes, but he heard from Min'er later that a pair of transparent sky - covering wings had appeared behind Huai'er. Such a situation had never occurred in the Dongze Wilderness.
He wasn't a spiritual pharmacist or an alchemist. How could he possess such powerful strength?
Moreover, wasn't the Clan Assembly only open to alchemists of at least the fourth - grade level?
Zhao Huai had no spiritual power, but since childhood, he had been able to get along well with all kinds of animals.
Now that he was entering the Clan Assembly, the next step would be to train the monsters in the beast world. Before that, he had to break through a certain level of spiritual power infusion. This step was extremely crucial and allowed no room for any mistakes.
Did they... want to use the lives of all the people in Qinghui Town to hinder Huai'er's growth?
"Seems like you've already guessed it."