Behind the wall covered with green vines stood a giant stone pillar. Beneath the pillar was chained a huge demonic beast.
The beast's eyes were gray, with its eyelids drooping. Its body was covered in wounds. It was evident that it had been through a brutal battle and was severely injured in the process.
"Senior, this is the spiritual beast."
"Boss, the spiritual beast belongs to our Xie family. It has been following my father around for years and has accompanied the Xie family for fifteen years."
The red fur stuck to its wounds, making the sight extremely shocking.
Normally, a demonic beast that guarded a family would show excitement when its master approached. However, this spiritual beast remained motionless except for its breathing.
"Remove the chain that's binding it."
"Remove it? But senior, the spiritual beast has gone berserk. I'm afraid it might hurt innocent clan members."
"It won't."
"Senior—"
"Master Xie, if you don't trust me, why did you invite me here?"
Xie Yuan held back his retort and waved his hand, signaling Xie Yu to remove the chain.
Without the restraint of the chain, the spiritual beast's limbs became more flexible. It managed to get up slightly but, overwhelmed by its numerous wounds, fell heavily to the ground.
Zhao Shuning stepped forward slowly.
The Xie father - son duo warned worriedly, "Senior, once the spiritual beast gets aggressive, it might hurt you."
Zhao Shuning didn't turn back. Instead, she walked more determinedly towards the spiritual beast.
Xie Yuan didn't know that the world of demonic beasts was not much different from that of humans. If you treated it as a companion, it wouldn't be as despairing as it was now.
When Zhao Shuning got closer, the spiritual beast let out a roar.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."
At this moment, Zhao Shuning's expression was extremely gentle. Her movements were as if she was approaching a rare treasure.
As an alchemist, she could understand the thoughts of the demonic beast. Its roar was just an attempt to scare away the humans who had hurt it.
"Senior, it's dangerous!"
"Boss, be careful!"
Zhao Shuning ignored the voices behind her. Instead, she gently placed her hand on the spiritual beast's fur. At that moment, the once - violent spiritual beast began to calm down, emitting continuous whimpers.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here."
Zhao Shuning slowly injected her spiritual power into the spiritual beast's body to check the circulation of its bloodline. The spiritual beast, feeling the long - awaited nourishment of spiritual power, slowly closed its eyes.
The two people present didn't dare to make a sound.
It wasn't until Zhao Shuning took her hand away and turned back towards them that they dared to ask, "Senior, how is it? Can the spiritual beast be saved?"
If it couldn't be saved, how should they handle its corpse? Without the spiritual beast, how could the Xie family maintain their footing south of the Huai River?
Zhao Shuning didn't answer. Instead, she walked straight behind the green - vine wall. Seeing this, the Xie father - son duo quickly followed.
When the green - vine wall slowly closed, Zhao Shuning let out a sigh of relief.
"Senior, how is it?"
"Master Xie, what do you consider the spiritual beast to be in your family? An item? A decoration? Or a facade?"
"I don't understand what you mean, senior."
Zhao Shuning suppressed her anger and then said, "Master Xie, the spiritual beast has accompanied the Xie family for so many years. But when it was severely injured in the battle, instead of seeking an alchemist to treat it, you were thinking about its after - affairs. Master Xie, the spiritual beast is no less than a companion to you. Over the years, it has been more like an old friend. But the way you treat your old friend is rather special."
Xie Yuan lowered his head.
In fact, he wasn't sad? A spiritual beast was half of the Xie family's strength. But as the family head, he had to weigh the pros and cons. After all, it was just a beast. He couldn't let more innocent people die for the sake of this beast.
"Senior, I'm afraid it will hurt people. After all, demonic beasts are not the same as humans."
"Master Xie, your words don't make sense. It's because you didn't give it enough attention and care that it became violent. If you were seriously injured in bed and chained up, how would you feel?"
Zhao Shuning was an alchemist. Alchemists had a spiritual connection with the animals in the beast world. Seeing the spiritual beast's wounds all over its body, her heart ached.
"Senior, is there a way?"
"Boss, please forgive my father. As the family head, he has to consider too many things."
"Okay."
If Zhao Shuning didn't want to help them, she wouldn't have said so much. After all, the spiritual beast wasn't her contracted spiritual beast. By saying so much, she really wanted to save this demonic beast.
"The spiritual beast wasn't injured by humans. It should have been injured by a higher - level demonic beast, right?"
"Yes, it was the Four - Image Stone White Tiger of Nan Feng."
The claws of the Four - Image Stone White Tiger were extremely sharp. Every time it attacked, it would stab its sharp claws into the opponent's flesh and then tear it in the opposite direction.
Animals and humans attacked by it would usually have their intestines pierced and die. If it weren't for the spiritual beast's huge size, it might not even be able to breathe at this moment.
"Xie Yu, go and get the healing spiritual herbs of the Xie family. I'll refine some pills for it."
"Yes, boss."
Zhao Shuning then turned to the worried Xie Yuan and said, "Master Xie, stay here. I have a lot to talk to you about alone."
Xie Yuan nodded and walked into the cloud pavilion with Zhao Shuning.
After they were seated, Zhao Shuning comforted him, "Master Xie, don't worry too much. With me here, the spiritual beast will be fine. However, it has developed a grudge against your Xie family. In the future, you may need to take better care of it to soothe its emotions and let it know that it is your companion, not your tool."
Xie Yuan felt ashamed and quickly said, "I understand. Thank you for your guidance, senior."
"Nan Feng, the lord of the Xuanguang Mansion, is just a thirteen - year - old boy. Why is he so cruel? Isn't he afraid that your Xie family will rise up against the Wang family after he injured your family's demonic beast?"
"Sigh—Senior, you don't know. The Dongze Great Wilderness now is not the same as it was eight years ago. Now the four major families have absolute say. Our small families can only survive in the cracks. Nan Feng is just an inner - sect disciple of the Wang family, but his power is greater than that of our Xie family. It would be difficult for him to wipe out our family single - handedly, but he can make the Xie family have a hard time, and we can't even resist."
Is it that they can't resist, or they dare not?
Under the oppression of the four major families, countless small families were living in dire straits.
The Xie family seemed to be glorious on the surface, but when facing the inner - sect disciples of the four major families, they had to bow their heads.
"Why don't you resist? Why do you prefer to be humiliated under others' feet rather than resist?"