Why did you provoke that old man? He's a reincarnation of a deity!

Xiao Nian smiled and said, "Uncle Ye, you don't need to worry about this. I will find out the truth."

Ye Jingtang took a deep breath: "I know you have concerns. I, Ye Jingtang, never act based on personal relationships. If she is truly connected to foreign forces and harms you and the Xiao family, then she doesn't deserve the Ye surname."

Xiao Nian looked at him and finally just nodded.

"And what about your parents?" Ye Jingtang's voice turned somber.

"After news of your death spread last year, your father and mother disappeared. We also couldn't contact your younger sister, Lingyi. I sent people to search for them for over half a year. I asked the neighbors, and all I heard them say was that someone from the Li family came, someone in charge. After that, no one has seen them again."

Xiao Nian gripped her cane tightly, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Some say they're dead, some say they were taken away. I'm more inclined to believe the latter. They hid them; they might be useful. It could be leverage, or it could be for some other reason."

Xiao Nian naturally knew the reason. His family had a rare bloodline that cultivated both magic and martial arts. The extraterrestrial forces kidnapped his father and stabbed him countless times. The extraterrestrial magic scholars studied his father and won countless awards and honors.

Xiao Nian stood up, leaning on her cane.

He stood by the stone pavilion, looking at the distant mountain ridgeline. The sun had completely set, leaving only a dark red afterglow on the horizon.

His back was hunched and thin, yet it exuded such strength and confidence.

"Who dares to touch my parents and sister?" Xiao Nian muttered to herself, "I'll make them regret ever being born."

In my past life, I left to cultivate immortality. In this life, all those forces that bullied my family will be skinned alive!

He turned around and looked at Ye Jingtang:

"Uncle Ye, there are three leads now: Xunmei, the Shi family, and the Li family. I'll investigate the Shi and Li families; you help me find my father's whereabouts. Within half a month, send any news you have to the Mizhou City Martial Arts Academy, and come find me directly!"

"But your goalkeeper..."

Ye Jingtang recalled the arrogant goalkeeper Sun Tiezhu, who almost jumped up and belittled people when he heard that they were looking for Old Man Meng.

"Him? He wouldn't dare utter another fart." Xiao Nian had already given him a good scolding.

Ye Jingtang stood up and nodded solemnly in the twilight.

"By the way, Xunmei told me that she and Shi Junhao are planning to get married in March. You can come and ask them about it then."

"I understand." Xiao Nian turned and left. He had no complaints about this uncle, but he had no expectations of his former love interest.

Looking at that hunched back, Ye Jingtang knew that it was probably all done by his daughter, Ye Xunmei. The Ye family and the Xiao family could never reconcile. His heart ached as if it were being torn apart.

……

Xiao Nian rode the black cloud back to the Martial Arts Academy.

Goalkeeper Sun Tiezhu saw an old man with white hair riding a tall, jet-black horse. He looked as if he had seen a plague god, shrinking his neck and trying to force a kind smile.

Sun Tiezhu also went to speak to his uncle, Dean Chen Daoming, and told him about his miserable situation. However, this time Chen Daoming surprisingly did not protect him and said that he had "brought it upon himself."

Xiao Nian tied Hei Yun to the sycamore tree at the dormitory entrance, patted its neck, and pushed open the door to go inside.

As soon as the door closed, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside.

"Mr. Meng? Mr. Meng, I heard you're back?"

The voice was rough and loud, carrying a sense of urgency.

It's almost as if they're singing, "Finally, I've waited for you; thankfully, I didn't give up."

Xiao Nian saw a towering figure standing in the courtyard through the crack in the door; it was Xiao Fei.

He was clutching a letter in his hand.

Xiao Nian opened the door.

When Xiao Fei saw him, his eyes lit up, and he took two big steps forward before suddenly stopping.

He remembered how the hunched old man in front of him had suppressed most of the poison in Zeng Yuanqiao's body, so he didn't dare to get too close.

"Mr. Meng! You're finally back! Master Zeng has been making me wait for you for almost half a month!"

Xiao Nian frowned: "Your master has relapsed again? That shouldn't be the case. The treatment I gave him should have kept it under control for at least six months."

Xiao Fei scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed.

"It wasn't a relapse; it was Master's own doing. When the news of the Great Xia's defeat in the Yellow Sea reached us, Master was so angry that he smashed three tables in his study and cursed Xia Ting for incompetence all night long."

"The next day he started packing his bags, saying he wanted to go to the front lines to fight the enemy himself. His sons couldn't stop him, and he drew his sword and said he would cut down anyone who dared to stop him."

"I sent someone to secretly follow him. The master walked fifty kilometers outside the city and then the poison took effect." Xiao Fei's voice lowered.

"He was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep all night, and the next day he insisted on continuing to walk, but he collapsed by the roadside after walking less than 30 kilometers. Luckily, the people I had arranged in advance carried him back. After he came back, he calmed down for a few days, and then he started making a fuss about going out again. This went on for almost ten days, and the fire poison that you had suppressed for him started to come out again."

"Oh, is Great Xia anime for old people with a shonen (adult) theme?" Xiao Nian joked, then continued, "Have you collected all the items?"

Xiao Fei nodded vigorously, then his expression became complicated again:

"Most of them are gathered. There are over a hundred low-grade spirit stones and five mid-grade ones. As for the medicinal herbs, everything on your list is complete except for the last one."

He paused for a moment, then said, "We've found the last ingredient, but it's a bit troublesome."

Xiao Nian was secretly surprised: The Zeng family's influence is still considerable; they managed to gather over a hundred low-grade spirit stones, five mid-grade spirit stones, and medicinal herbs so quickly.

"Okay, let's go." Xiao Nian turned around and picked up her cane. "Let's go see him."

Xiao Fei was overjoyed and led Xiao Nian out of the side gate of the academy, where a carriage was already waiting.

Xiao Nian boarded the carriage, and Xiao Fei drove it himself, heading towards the provincial capital of Jiangbei.

The horse galloped swiftly, its wheels churning over the cobblestones in the night with a dull thud.

When we arrived at the Zeng family mansion, it was still dark.

Xiao Fei led Xiao Nian through three doors, and before they even reached Zeng Yuanqiao's bedroom, they heard a powerful roar coming from inside.

"I can still move! I told you, give me a horse and a knife, and I'll still slaughter those Japanese pirates until rivers of blood flow! Why are you stopping me!"

Then came the words of comfort from several young voices, their chatter making it difficult to discern what they were saying, but their tone was mostly one of helplessness.

Xiao Fei pushed open the door, and the sounds inside the room abruptly stopped.

Zeng Yuanqiao was sitting on the edge of the bed, barefoot, holding an unsheathed sword in his hand, his face flushed, and the hem of his Tai Chi uniform was rising and falling slightly.

When he saw Xiao Nian walk in, the sword in his hand fell to the ground.

"Sir! You've arrived just in time! I'm going to fight! I'm going to chop down those Japanese devils!" Zeng Yuanqiao suddenly stood up.