The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

"Get up and close the door tightly."

Xu Changqing's expression remained unchanged; he was not moved by Xu Xining's sudden and grand gesture. He simply walked behind the jade table with his hands behind his back, lifted his robe, and slowly sat down.

Xu Xining hurriedly got up from the ground, slammed the two carved wooden doors shut, and bolted them shut.

After doing all this, he turned around, head down, his hands nervously twisting the hem of his clothes in front of him. There was no trace of the mischievous devil he used to be on Cangwu Island, stealing birds and catching fish.

Xu Changqing lowered his eyelids slightly, his gaze sweeping over the young man, his mind already clear as day.

Sects are as vast as the sea, but human lives are as insignificant as grass.

The poor child by the great marshland eventually had his rough edges smoothed by the majestic sacred mountain, and developed a sense of awe.

Knowing fear is a good thing; only by knowing fear can one survive.

"The sect rules are strict. Newly promoted outer disciples are not allowed to leave the mountain without a valid reason. Returning home late at night, disheveled, could it be that you have run away from home?"

Xu Changqing picked up the purple clay teapot on the table and poured half a cup of cold tea.

"I...I filed a false complaint."

Xu Xining swallowed.

"I told them it was a family elder's birthday, and the steward of the errand office took two spirit stones from me and granted me three days off."

"Why are you running back like a thief? What terrible trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

Xu Changqing went straight to the point.

If he hadn't gotten himself into an uncontrollable disaster, this money-grubbing brat would never have been willing to waste those two spirit stones, much less run back to Cangwu Island under the cover of night.

Xu Xining dared not hide anything, and poured out everything he had seen and heard over the past half month, from reselling spirit beast supplements on Hundred Beast Peak to being forced to steal "Frosty Ants" from the Cold Pool.

"Clan leader, although Senior Sister Xiao is a direct disciple, I saw it clearly that day; her wrist was wrapped with a blood-soaked bandage."

Xu Xining lowered his voice, afraid that someone might overhear him.

"Those fifty spirit stones are too hot to handle. I thought about it and realized this matter is very strange. What can't a personal disciple like her have?"

"Does she really want me, a lowly outer disciple, to steal the Frost Ants? I'm afraid she'll find some excuse to kill me just to silence me..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture, his face turning ashen.

The study was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the only sound was the soft rustling of the early spring rain pattering on the banana leaves outside the window.

Xu Changqing did not answer immediately, but tapped his fingers lightly on the jade table.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"The Cold-blooded Ant is extremely cold in nature and is specifically effective against fire poison. The Netherfire Lion is frenzied and has an injury on its wrist..."

A glint of malice flashed in Xu Changqing's eyes, and thoughts raced through his mind.

There are no unearned blessings in this world, nor is there any windfall from heaven.

Within the sect, there is intense infighting among the direct disciples.

Xiao Hanyi was injured, most likely from a backlash of fire poison, but dared not make a sound, and even had to keep it a secret from his master.

Why hide it?

Either the injury was acquired improperly, or she has made many enemies within the sect and has no one she can fully entrust with her life.

Either she is practicing some kind of insidious secret technique that defies common sense and may even steal the essence of that high-level spirit beast.

Neither of these is something a lowly outer disciple should know.

Xu Xining was nothing more than a handcloth she casually picked up, to be used and discarded.

"You were quick-witted for once."

"But in the immortal sects, the most frightening thing is not being used by others, but having no value to be used at all."

Xu Changqing stood up, walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a local history book, and casually flipped through it, his tone indifferent.

"Since she gave you fifty spirit stones, it means that your life, plus your tightly shut mouth, is worth that price."

Those in positions of power devise strategies, while those in lower positions risk their lives.

"If she truly intended to kill you to silence you, you would have been a corpse the day you handed over the pottery jar. Why go through all that trouble and bestow such a windfall?"

Xu Xining stood there, stunned, his mind a jumbled mess.

"Does the chieftain mean... she won't kill me?"

"Not only will I not kill you, but I might even need your help in the future."

Xu Changqing closed the book, turned around, and his gaze pierced Xu Xining's heart.

"Those inner sect prodigies are high and mighty, and they cherish their reputation. They are clean and untainted, but they always have some shady things to do in the dark, which require rats in the gutter to do them."

"Now that she has chosen you, just be a good mouse, find medicine for her, and run errands for her. As long as you don't ask why or try to find out the truth, she will tolerate you."

Xu Changqing slowly walked back to the desk.

"My Xu family is like a rootless duckweed, with shallow roots. Within this Qinghe Sword Sect, we have no elders to protect us above, and no stewards to look after us below. The Zhang family has a bastard daughter with three spiritual roots who has entered the inner sect and can run rampant without restraint. What about my Xu family?"

Xu Changqing pointed at Xu Xining.

"You are the opportunity."

"What you need to do is not hide, but face it head-on."

"Be her spies, be her eyes and ears. As long as you are useful to her, your position as an outer disciple will be as secure as Mount Tai. You can even use her influence to gain a foothold in Hundred Beasts Peak and even the entire outer sect."

"We don't ask her to protect the Xu family from the wind and rain, we only ask that when the sect assigns tasks or arranges the list, someone at the top can let slip a little something or gently tug at the pen."

Xu Changqing walked up to Xu Xining and patted his thin shoulder.

Xu Xining swallowed hard, and asked incredulously, "The clan leader means... that I should curry favor with that... Senior Sister Xiao?"

He never imagined that the clan chief would push him back into that vortex, even asking him to willingly become the tiger's accomplice.

But Xu Xining is not stupid.

Looking into the clan chief's cold yet resolute eyes, he recalled the day he had sworn never to be a burden again during the spirit test.

He recalled the hardships that dozens of people on Cangwu Island had endured to support the four outer disciples by scrimping and saving.

Xu Xining slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I have remembered the clan chief's teachings."

"Tomorrow morning, I'll go back to Hundred Beasts Peak. From now on, if Senior Sister Xiao wants to kill someone, I'll hand her the knife; if she wants to set a fire, I'll pour oil on it."

Xu Changqing nodded slightly, his expression softening.

"Be careful in everything you do. Xiao Hanyi is no good person. Dealing with her is like asking a tiger for its skin. Don't believe her words easily, and don't expose the secrets of my Xu family."

"Just remember, you are a greedy scoundrel who would risk his life for spirit stones. Because you are greedy, she can easily manipulate you."

"Yes."

Xu Xining bowed and took his leave, closing the door behind him.

As night deepened, the spring rain began to fall again, pattering on the green tiles and creating a soft, rustling sound.

Xu Changqing sat alone in the hall, his gaze fixed on the flickering candlelight, his expression neither sad nor happy.

Using his clansmen to take risks was not his wish, but rather a necessity forced upon him by the circumstances.

If this connection is established, the Xu family may have more room to maneuver in the future.

The path of cultivation is a one-way street, a path of no return, where one climbs upwards stepping on countless corpses and schemes.

The wind rises from the tip of a blade of grass; this is all the Xu family can do.