Edited by RED

“Xiaoxiao, I, erm..” Xu Qi was at a loss for words.

Seeing Xu Qi acting in this way, Cai Xiaoxiao’s tears gushed out like a fountain, watching him silently.

Xu Qi knew that he could no longer keep the news under wraps. He steeled his heart, deciding to tell her the truth. “Alright, Xiaoxiao. Brother Qi will tell you. But, promise Brother Qi, you have to keep calm no matter what you hear next. Remember, you have Brother Qi by your side, okay?” Xu Qi said.

Cai Xiaoxiao nodded slightly and wiped off the tears on her face, waiting for Xu Qi to spill the truth.

“Xiaoxiao, it’s true that something had happened in your clan. I’m afraid you won’t be able to return for now,” Xu Qi said, albeit in a roundabout way. He understood very well it wasn’t that she couldn’t return temporarily, but it was that she could no longer return to her home.

“Brother Qi, what happened in my clan? What about my father?” Cai Xiaoxiao asked.

“Patriarch Cai.. Patriarch Cai he..” Xu Qi hesitated. He truly didn’t want to say that Patriarch Cai was dead.

“Ai, forget it. The Cai Clan was attacked, and the entire clan, except for you, was caught in it. Everyone died. Patriarch Cai, too, was met with misfortune and lost his life,” Xu Qi said and lowered his head. He didn’t dare to look her in the eyes, only holding her tightly in his arms.

Unexpectedly, Cai Xiaoxiao didn’t let out a heart-wrenching scream. Xu Qi only felt the girl in his arms trembling uncontrollably.

“Brother Qi, bring me back to the Cai Clan, will you?” Cai Xiaoxiao asked in a trembling voice.

“Xiaoxiao, this..” Xu Qi didn’t know how to answer Cai Xiaoxiao. Not a hint of his usual wits could be found in him at this moment.

“I’m fine, Brother Qi. I only wish to return home to see them off. You’ll agree to this, won’t you, Brother Qi?” Cai Xiaoxiao assured Xu Qi, looking at him intently.

Xu Qi nodded weakly. He supported Cai Xiaoxiao up and brought her out of the room.

Just as he went out to the courtyard, he heard yellings from another room, “Who are you?! I’m going to kill you! I’ll kill you! Return me my father! Return my family!”

“Fengshu?” “Brother Qin?” Cai Xiaoxiao and Xu Qi said at the same time.

“Brother Qi, why is Fengshu here? What happened to him?” Cai Xiaoxiao asked, enduring the pain, showing a calm front.

“Xiaoxiao, let’s go take a look at Fengshu first. Otherwise, he might do something to hurt himself. Truth be told, the Qin Clan was massacred, too. Patriarch Qin was met with misfortune, as well. I discovered Fengshu unintentionally in the Qin Clan as he came staggering out of their hidden room, and I brought him here,” Xu Qi explained helplessly.

“Uncle Qin too? Pu!” Cai Xiaoxiao exclaimed in shock. She could no longer suppress the pain and spat out a mouthful of blood on the floor.

“Xiaoxiao! Xiaoxiao! How are you, are you alright!?” Xu Qi asked, all flustered. He laid his hand on her back and injected energy into her.

“I’m fine, Brother Qi. Go take a look at Brother Qin,” Cai Xiaoxiao said weakly.

Left without a choice, Xu Qi supported Cai Xiaoxiao and went into the room. Just as they entered, they saw Qin Fengshu flailing about on the bed like a lunatic, complete with a dishevelled hairdo.

“Stop acting like that, Fengshu!” Xu Qi roared.

The crazy Qin Fengshu calmed down at hearing this voice. He slowly raised his head and saw Xu Qi and Cai Xiaoxiao. He fell on his knees and said blankly, “Brother Qi, Xiaoxiao, it’s gone. Everyone is gone! Ah! Ahhh!”

Cai Xiaoxiao shook free from Xu Qi’s support and staggered over to the dispirited Qin Fengshu. She lifted her only arm and slapped him thrice consecutively.

Xu Qi was caught surprised by Cai Xiaoxiao’s sudden actions. Everytime Cai Xiaoxiao slapped Qin Fengshu, Xu Qi couldn’t help but blink his eyes.

“Haha, even Xiaoxiao is hitting me. Come on, just beat me to death!” Qin Fengshu roared. Cai Xiaoxiao’s slaps were so heavy that Qin Fengshu was bleeding from his mouth, but he didn’t seem to mind it at all.

Pa! Cai Xiaoxiao slapped him once more, then said with her trembling voice, “Qin Fengshu, do you think you’re the only one in pain?! You’re the only one suffering?! Are you the only one who lost his family?! Then let me tell you this! My Cai Clan is gone too! My father is gone as well!”

After saying this, Cai Xiaoxiao fell weakly on the bedside, as if strength was slipping away from her. Seeing this, Xu Qi hurriedly stepped forward and helped her up, not knowing what to say.

On the other hand, Qin Fengshu’s eyes opened even wider at the news. He quickly went up to the supported Cai Xiaoxiao and asked, “Xiaoxiao, are you all right?”

“Ai, Fengshu, I know you’re feeling terrible for the loss of your family, but I have to tell you that what Xiaoxiao experienced in the past few days was far worse than you! Much more dreadful than what you experienced! Even a pitiful girl like her has come to console you. I hope you won’t disappoint us, or I’ll regret bringing you back here otherwise!” Xu Qi said.

“Brother Qi, what about the Cai Clan? What happened to them?” Qin Fengshu asked.

"The Cai Clan were massacred, and even Patriarch Cai was killed!” Xu Qi squeezed out the words from his mouth deliberately.

Qin Fengshu’s body went limp at getting Xu Qi’s confirmation, his gaze turned a little lifeless.

“Bring me home, Brother Qi!” Cai Xiaoxiao asked softly in Xu Qi’s arms.

Xu Qi felt as if his heart was bleeding internally as he heard this. He stopped supporting Cai Xiaoxiao and carried her in his arms instead. He exited the room with Cai Xiaoxiao in his arms, leaving Qin Fengshu alone in his room staring blankly into space.

Xu Qi knew that Qin Fengshu had to overcome his depression alone, or nobody would be able to help him.

---

As Xu Qi headed to the Cai Clan with Cai Xiaoxiao, he immediately discovered that Xu Xiaomei and Wen Xiang were tailing him. He felt a warmth in his heart, understanding that they were worried about him, and thus didn’t stop them.

Returning to the courtyard outside the Cai Clan’s main hall once again, the Constellation Guards had arranged the corpses neatly in a row, with a white cloth covering each of them.

The moment they arrived at Cai Clan, Cai Xiaoxiao broke free from Xu Qi’s arms. Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw the desolate scene and the numerous corpses covered in white cloth. However, she forcefully held her tears in, unwilling to let them fall.

“Where is my father?” Cai XIaoxiao asked weakly.

The Constellation Guards looked at Xu Qi awkwardly on hearing this. Xu Qi nodded, and Xu Zi walked over to the row of corpses, stopping in front of a corpse laid in the middle.

Cai Xiaoxiao understood what Xu Zi meant and walked over to him unsteadily, while Xu Qi followed behind her silently. She came to the corpse covered in white cloth in front of Xu Zi, and knelt on the ground.

Cai Xiaoxiao extended her trembling hand and pulled the white cloth down. Cai Wubo’s decapitated head had been reattached to his body by Xu Zi and the others.

Cai Xiaoxiao could no longer suppress the bitterness in her at the sight of her father’s face. She looked to the sky and screamed out “Father!” and spat out a mouthful of blood before fainting.

Fortunately, Xu Qi was quick to react and caught Cai Xiaoxiao with his arms before she fell to the ground. He waved his hand to Xu Zi, who then proceeded to cover Cai Wubo’s corpse with the white cloth. However, the cloth was now dyed partly in red from the blood spat out by Cai Xiaoxiao, extremely eye-catching.

Xu Xiaomei, following behind Xu Qi as he went back to the Cai Clan, was feeling terrible after seeing Xu Qi feeling so hurt. She wanted to go console him, but was pulled back by Wen Xiang.

“Xiaomei, Qi’er is feeling terrible right now. Don’t interrupt him no matter what he does,” Wen Xiang instructed in a whisper.

A fog of tears welled up in Xu Xiaomei’s eyes. For some unknown reason, she too, felt sorrowful seeing her Young Master acting this way.

Xu Qi carried Cai Xiaoxiao in his arms and flew off into the distance. In any case, the Cai Clan’s burial matters were left to the Constellation Guards. He didn’t have any worries about them.

---

They returned to the institution, and saw Qin Fengshu kneeling in the courtyard. Qian Yin and Qian Yun were standing next to him, along with Di Ke’er, who hadn’t been seen for quite some time.

“Don’t make me look down on you, Fengshu! Get lost if you’re going to continue acting like this!” Xu Qi said as he walked past Qin Fengshu, not even stopping to speak.

Qian Yin and Qian Yun hurriedly walked up to Xu Qi after seeing his ugly expression and Cai Xiaoxiao. There was blood seeping out from the corner of Cai Xiaoxiao’s mouth, and the twins took her and helped her into her room.

This time, Xu Qi didn’t follow them into the room. He shifted his attention to the two remaining in the courtyard, Qin Fengshu and Di Ke’er. He had many questions for them.

Qin Fengshu was kneeling on the ground, and he was about to shuffle towards Xu Qi when he heard the latter reprimanding him, “Qin Fengshu! Did you not hear what your daddy here said!? Get lost if you’re going to continue acting this way! I don’t have the mood to ask you anything now. Get the hell back to your room and come find me after you have thought things through!”

There wasn’t any change to Qin Fengshu’s spiritless eyes after hearing this. He stood up blankly and returned to his room.

“Young Master, could you spare me a minute to talk?” Di Ke’er suddenly asked from where she stood underneath a tree.

Xu Qi slowly walked in front of Di Ke’er and said plainly, “Speak; what is it?”

“Young Master, an update of information came from Firesoul. The four Nightwatchers are stuck in a dire predicament. I wonder when Young Master will head over to Firesoul to help them?” Di Ke’er asked seriously.

“Oh? In a dire predicament? How so?” Xu Qi asked plainly.

Di Ke’er felt something was amiss at hearing this. Usually, her Young Master cared for the Constellation Guards and the four Nightwatchers very much. Why wasn’t there any hint of anxiety from him?

Xu Qi was doubtful of Di Ke’er, whom he had saved many years ago. She had gone missing for several days, and now she appeared before him, saying that the four Nightwatchers were stuck in a predicament. It looked as if she was hoping he would quickly bring some men over to Firesoul to save them. Could it truly be as Qian Yin said, that Di Ke’er had betrayed them?