The Dramatic Changes in the Xu Family (Part 3)

"That evil cultivator Long Tian is far too ruthless. Not only did he use the Soul Searching Technique on a 13-year-old mortal girl, but he also used the method of creating a puppet. Could it be that he thinks this girl has good spiritual roots and wants to turn her into a puppet for his own use?" Before Lin Shi regained consciousness, she clearly heard this sentence in her ear. It was the voice of a young man.

Lin Shi felt intense pain all over her body, and her mouth tasted bitter from the pills. Her eyelids seemed glued shut, and she couldn't open them. She tried many times before finally managing to open them a tiny crack, and then blinding light slowly entered her eyes. She struggled desperately, and finally opened her eyes completely.

Once the initial dizziness subsided, Lin Shi was able to see clearly the people surrounding her.

There were six people in total, all dressed in matching blue and white clothing, regardless of gender. They all wore jade crowns and had delicate features, looking at her with concern and curiosity. Among them were four men, who looked like young men; and two women, one with the appearance of a young man and the other with the appearance of a young girl.

Lin Shi was lying in the young woman's arms. The young man she was facing had long, beautiful phoenix eyes, deep brown pupils, a narrow face, pale skin, and a cold expression, but his gaze was warm, and he had a faint scent of sandalwood about him.

"Young Master?" Lin Shi saw the man's face clearly and couldn't help but struggle to sit up halfway. She sat on the ground and looked at the young man who resembled Xu Xinghao, the young master of the Xu family, the Xu family head and his wife, and the eldest daughter, Xu Yuxian, and called out tentatively.

The young man, Xu Xingran, nodded: "It's me. You're alright now, don't be afraid! Let's talk after you've calmed down. Let's settle everyone in the manor first."

After Xu Xingran finished speaking, he looked at Lin Shi seriously, then asked his youngest junior sister Huo Linglong to accompany her, while the others went to help deal with the corpses of the people from Xu Family Village.

The sky was beginning to lighten. The black haze and bloody stench above had completely dissipated, revealing a pale, fish-belly-white sky. The morning air carried the fresh scent of evaporating dew, but the cool breeze still faintly clung to the stench of blood and fish.

Once Lin Shi regained her strength, she slowly got up and went to look at the people in the Xu family mansion. She first saw the corpses of the Xu family head and his wife. Their faces were filled with terror, but their wide-open eyes had been closed, and the blood on their faces and bodies had been cleaned. Beside them was Xu Xinghao, whose face was relatively calm but filled with resentment. Besides them, in order of appearance, were the corpses of the mansion's guards, servants, maids, and others. Lin Shi looked at them one by one, and also saw the corpses of her second uncle and aunt's family of five, lying silently on the cold floor.

Looking at the familiar people in the manor, remembering how they were so vibrant and full of life just a few days ago, and now turned into cold corpses, unable to speak or interact with her anymore, Lin Shi's eyes welled up with tears, which streamed down her face. Even though each person in the manor might have their own hidden agendas and malice, she hadn't expected them to die immediately. No matter how many personal grudges they held, once they were dead, nothing remained.

Lin Shi looked at the faces of her second uncle's family for a while, then returned to Xu Xinghao's side.

Lin Shi knelt beside the boy's body, tears dripping onto the floor beside her. Ignoring the faint stench emanating from him, she reached out and touched his cold, stiff face. A moment later, Lin Shi took Xu Xinghao's already stiff and lifeless hand in hers, then sat beside him and silently wailed.

Lin Shi and Xu Xinghao weren't exactly mutually in love, but humans aren't inanimate objects; how could they be without feelings? Xu Xinghao had been kind to her since childhood, and if their social status weren't considered, they could even be considered childhood sweethearts. As she grew older, Xu Xinghao openly expressed his affection for her, showering her with kindness countless times and expressing his desire to marry her on numerous occasions. Almost everything Xu Xinghao had, whether food, drink, or clothing, included for Lin Shi. Although Lin Shi came from a servant family, she was practically a young lady in the Xu household.

Huo Linglong squatted down next to Lin Shi, watching her cry with a heavy heart, and couldn't help but shed tears as well.

After searching the entire Xu residence, Xu Xingran directed his fellow disciples to help move the corpses of everyone in Xu Family Village to the most open space outside the residence. When he returned to the residence, he saw Lin Shi sitting beside his younger brother's corpse, weeping bitterly, with Huo Linglong beside her also crying incessantly.

Xu Xingran couldn't help but feel his eyes redden, but he forced himself to suppress his grief and methodically handled the aftermath. Only after everything was settled, with the final burial of the nearly one thousand corpses of Xu Family Village remaining, did he approach Lin Shi.

Xu Xingran said softly to Lin Shi, "A few days ago, my mother sent me a letter informing me that my younger brother wants to marry you. However, because of your status, my parents were initially unsure whether it would be more appropriate for you to be my brother's wife or a concubine, or for you to marry into a wealthy family in the next village and become their legal wife. A few days ago, my mother saw that my brother really liked you, and that you were honest, so she relented and is preparing to find an auspicious day for you two to get engaged. In a few years, when you are both older, you will officially become husband and wife." After Xu Xingran finished speaking, he remained silent for a while, his expression and eyes filled with sorrow.

After a while, he spoke again: "I never expected fate to be so cruel. In just a few days, such a tragedy of annihilating a village has occurred, and it was all retribution for my soft-heartedness, mishandling of the situation, and failure to promptly eliminate the evildoers. Last night, while you were being tortured, I directly killed Long Tian. Don't be afraid, I will take care of you on behalf of my brother. You happen to have the potential for cultivation, and after we've dealt with things here, I will take you back to the sect and have my sect accept you as a disciple."

Lin Shi didn't speak for a moment, only her tears flowed even more, as if she were going to cry all the tears she had in her life on this one day. After a while, when she had calmed down a bit, she said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, Young Master! I will follow your arrangements and return to the sect with you. In the future, when my cultivation is complete, I will definitely wipe out all the evil cultivators in the world!"

"good!"

...

A few days later, Xu Xingran finished dealing with the affairs of Xu Family Village, bid farewell to Xu Yuxian, and led his 12 fellow disciples and brothers, along with Lin Shi, back to their sect's location, Qifeng Mountain.

The bodies of the Xu family villagers were buried in the mountains behind the village, and Xu Xingran set up a protective array to prevent their remains from being stolen. However, from that time on, Xu family village in Qiupu Town truly became a deserted wasteland, rarely visited by anyone. Related strange tales, however, circulated in Qiupu Town for many, many years.