"Are you that obedient?" Jin Feng looked at Xiao Man suspiciously. In his understanding, Xiao Man was not the type to be persuaded, and even if she listened, she would only go through the motions.
"I've always been obedient." Xiao Man took out several bottles of elixirs and handed them to Jin Feng. "These are all elixirs I refined. Thank you, senior brother, for your righteous help today. It's a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."
Jin Feng looked at the elixir bottles in his hand, his expression incredibly complex. "Elixirs from the Alchemy Hall must be handed in. Where did you get so many elixirs?"
"How much I hand in is up to me. After all, besides me, no one knows how many elixirs come out of one batch." Xiao Man winked at Jin Feng. "This is our secret, senior brother. You can't tell anyone."
"These..."
"Quickly put them away. When you have time, see which elixirs are useful to you. I have to get back to the Alchemy Hall quickly."
"Junior brother Lan Xiao."
"Senior brother, is there something else?" Xiao Man stopped and asked.
Jin Feng was silent for a moment, his gaze falling on Xiao Man's fingers. Xiao Man's left index finger bore a seven-leaf tattoo. Outsiders might not know what it was, but he did. This was the unique communication method of the eldest young master. Even separated by a thousand miles, he could find anyone marked by the seven leaves.
"Do you know Jin Ling?"
Xiao Man smiled and shook her head. "No."
Jin Feng stared at Xiao Man's face for a long time, trying to detect any hint of abnormality. However, Xiao Man showed no signs of guilt, not even a trace of deception.
"You should go back and rest early. The manor has been uneasy lately. Try not to move around too much, lest you get caught in the crossfire."
"Thank you for the reminder, senior brother."
As night fell, everyone was fast asleep when a violent tremor shook the earth.
Jin Xu fell off his bed. He opened his eyes, looked at the bed, then at the floor, assuming he had rolled off in his sleep. He immediately got up, ready to get back into bed. However, a rumbling sound came again. This time, the ground shook even more violently, and Jin Xu fell to the ground again.
"Is it an earthquake?" Jin Xu got up, rushed out of the room, kicked open Xiao Man's door, and shouted, "It's an earthquake, junior brother! Get up quickly, it's an earthquake!"
Xiao Man rolled over and continued to sleep.
Jin Xu rushed up and pulled Xiao Man out of bed. "It's an earthquake! We can't stay indoors, or we'll be buried alive. Let's go out quickly."
Before Xiao Man could refuse, Jin Xu dragged her out of the door. The other disciples had also run out and gathered in the courtyard, many of them not even wearing their outer robes.
"What happened?"
"It seems to be an earthquake?"
"Could it be someone's alchemy furnace exploded?" someone blurted out. All eyes turned to Xiao Man, who appeared groggy and clearly hadn't been refining elixirs. "It's not junior brother."
Xiao Man was displeased. "Does a furnace explosion always have to be me?"
Everyone nodded in unison. The commotion when Xiao Man refined elixirs and caused a furnace explosion was comparable to an earthquake.
"I'll go outside to see what's going on," Jing Song said as he put on his clothes and walked out. "You all stay in the courtyard, so no one takes advantage of the chaos."
"Yes, senior brother."
Jin Xu sat down on the ground, still shaken. "Junior brother, you're too careless. The earth shook, and you were still sleeping soundly in bed. If I hadn't dragged you out, you would have been buried."
Xiao Man looked at the stable house, then at Jin Xu. "Are you sure I would have been buried inside?"
Jin Xu looked at the house, which showed no signs of collapsing, and coughed twice. "Whether the house collapses or not, when there's an earthquake, you should get out of the house as quickly as possible and go to an open area. That's common sense!"
"Okay, I'll remember." Xiao Man immediately admitted her mistake, otherwise, Jin Xu would nag her ears off.
Jing Song had been gone for a long time, and the other disciples began to worry. "What's going on? Why hasn't senior brother returned?"
"Could something have happened?" Xiao Man inquired. "Perhaps we should go out and see too."
"Senior brother told us all to stay in the courtyard. We shouldn't act rashly before senior brother returns." Jin Xu climbed onto the wall and looked out. He could hear a commotion in the distance, but he didn't know what was happening.
"It seems something has happened in the main courtyard. It's quite lively. I wonder what it is?"
"Could it be an enemy attack?"
"Who would dare to attack the Jin family so openly? Are they tired of living?" a disciple replied to Jin Xu. "Junior brother Jin Xu, could it be that the Great Elder is once again leading people to bully disciples from another hall?"
"It's possible." Jin Xu nodded seriously, his hand shading his eyes as he gazed into the distance. "However, the Great Elder is quite bold to lead people to bully the family head."
"Bully the family head?" The other disciples exchanged glances, then burst into laughter. "Junior brother Jin Xu, stop joking. Even if the Great Elder had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to provoke the family head."
"But the Great Elder did indeed lead people to the family head's courtyard."
Xiao Man lowered her gaze, a faint smile curving her lips. She had placed a lot of explosives in a certain secret prison, intending for tonight. If she could blow up the Jin family head, it would be a great gain. However, the Jin family head was, after all, a Nascent Soul stage expert. The explosives she buried could at most kill some guards; killing the Jin family head was likely impossible.
Cheng Le, who was guarding outside the Jin family, also felt the commotion from within the Jin family and quickly leaped onto the roof. "Has something happened to the Jin family?"
At this moment, Cheng Ze, chasing after a Spirit Butterfly, returned to the Jin family's gate in Fengling City. Seeing the Spirit Butterfly fly into the Jin family, his expression became extremely distorted. Indeed, she was hiding within the Jin family. But why had they not discovered her presence all this time?
Cheng Ze summoned the Spirit Butterfly back and found Cheng Le. "Is there any movement?"
"Yes, half an hour ago, there was a loud noise from the Jin family, like something had happened."
Cheng Ze frowned. "What exactly does Young Master Xiao Qin want to do? Does she intend to destroy the Jin family?"
"Destroy the Jin family?" Cheng Le was so shocked he couldn't speak. "She must be crazy!"
"She dared to join forces with the young master to scheme against a Nascent Soul expert. Destroying the Jin family is not impossible." Cheng Ze said solemnly. "However, the Jin family has many experts. Her infiltrating the Jin family alone should not be for the purpose of destroying the Jin family, but for some other objective."
"Are we just going to watch?" Cheng Le asked. "If she gets into trouble inside, we won't be able to help from the outside." Su Dan Novel Network
"No rush, let's see first. If she's exposed, she'll definitely find a way to escape, and we'll help her then. If we rush in without knowing the situation, we won't only be unable to help but will also lose our own lives."