# Chapter 325: Kicking the Door Open
As the wealthiest family in Liu Yun City, the Xia Mansion had two to three hundred servants and attendants coming and going on a daily basis, giving the place a lively atmosphere. But after Yun Che entered, the empty courtyard held only a single young servant in blue clothes listlessly sweeping the ground. Most of the hundred or so rooms and pavilions had their doors tightly shut, exuding a dead, lifeless air. Only the still-blooming, verdant rare flowers and trees seemed to provide the only signs of vitality.
Yun Che's heart tightened.
*What happened? Why is it so quiet and still here? Where are the Xia family members? Where are Uncle Xia and the others?*
Yun Che had sneaked in hoping to directly find Xia Hongyi and ask him if Xia Yuanba had ever returned. But he never expected to see such a desolate scene. Startled, he stopped bothering to conceal his presence. The sweeper turned around and saw him, immediately crying out in alarm: "You... who are you? When did you get in..."
Halfway through his shout, he got a clear look at Yun Che's face. He paused, then said hesitantly: "You... aren't you that... that one from the Xiao family..."
Although three years had passed, Yun Che's appearance hadn't changed much aside from a few more traces of cold determination in his brow. After all, the higher one's profound cultivation, the slower age left marks on the body. With several supreme techniques, as well as the blood of the Phoenix and Dragon God, Yun Che now had at least a thousand years of lifespan.
Yun Che stepped forward and said directly: "I am exactly that Xiao Che who was driven out of the Xiao Sect three years ago! Tell me, what happened to the Xia family? Where is your master? Has your young master returned in these past two years? Why has the Xia family become like this?"
The young servant stared at Yun Che for a moment, then his face collapsed into misery: "The master... the master left... he left a year ago..."
"Left?" Yun Che frowned. "Where did he go? Why did he leave?"
The servant's voice began to choke with tears: "The master didn't want to leave either, but he was suffering too much... I've served the master for over twenty years. On the surface, he was gentle and kind, never showing distress, but I always knew his pain... Over a decade ago, the madam passed away. After that, the master often wept alone at night. For over ten years, he never remarried. Later... later, the young lady entered the Bing Yun Fairy Palace and became half a person of the outside world, but the master still had the young master... Then the young master disappeared—no one found him alive, no one found his body. No one knew where he had gone or if he was still alive... The madam was gone, the young lady had become a member of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, and the master's only son had vanished, his fate unknown. Even though the master had weathered half a lifetime of storms, he couldn't bear it!"
"...Then where did he go? Could he have gone to search for your young master?" Yun Che asked, his heart tightening.
"Yes." The servant nodded. "The master said, if the young master was truly gone, what use was ten times more property? A year ago, the master sold off the estate, dismissed the servants, and left alone, leaving only Old Liu and me to guard this empty, enormous compound..."
"Did he ever say where he was going?" Yun Che asked urgently. Xia Hongyi had only one son, Xia Yuanba. For him, Xia Yuanba's complete disappearance with no news, his life or death unknown, was indeed an unbearable blow.
The servant thought for a long while, then said: "When the master left, I also asked him where he was going, but he didn't say. However, when I was helping the master pack his luggage, he held a sandalwood token and touched it for a long time. I secretly noticed that token—it had no words on it, just a carved... black crescent-shaped pattern."
Black... crescent...
Black Moon!
The Black Moon Merchant Guild!
As the largest merchant guild on the Tian Xuan Continent, the Black Moon Merchant Guild had branches in every city and town, large and small—it was truly ubiquitous. Its strength lay not only in being the continent's greatest commercial empire but also in controlling the densest intelligence network. The Black Moon Merchant Guild's annual income from selling intelligence was an astronomical figure beyond imagination.
Xia Hongyi had a token from the Black Moon Merchant Guild, which meant he might have some connection with them. If he wanted to find Xia Yuanba, relying on the Black Moon Merchant Guild's information network was undoubtedly the most reliable method.
However, even though the Xia family was the wealthiest in Liu Yun City, in the eyes of the Black Moon Merchant Guild—even just a branch of a branch—they were utterly insignificant. How could they have any connection with the Black Moon Merchant Guild? Could he have a friend there, or had he done some favor for them?
"Don't worry, your young master will be fine. Uncle Xia is a cautious man, so nothing will happen to him either. They should soon be reunited as father and son," Yun Che said to comfort him, and also to comfort himself. He didn't know where Xia Yuanba had gone—even Princess Cang Yue had mobilized the imperial clan's power to search for so long without any news of him.
"The master was kind his whole life, treating us servants like family. Why did he end up with his wife separated from him and his children scattered? Sigh, heaven is truly unfair. I don't know when the master will return." The servant said, tears in his eyes.
Yun Che said nothing more. He turned and left the Xia Mansion, his mood growing slightly heavy.
"Yuanba, where did you go? If you've already heard that I'm still alive, come back soon... I didn't die saving you. Instead, I met my first family member and had a great stroke of luck. You no longer need to blame yourself." Yun Che walked down the street, muttering to himself.
Before long, the gates of the Xiao Sect appeared before him. The words "Xiao Sect" were written in bold, flying calligraphy, exactly as he remembered—unchanged, as if the "blessings" from the Xiao Sect three years ago had brought no qualitative difference.
In the distance, he could faintly see the outline of the Xiao Sect's back mountain. Three years ago, Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi had been confined there. Because of the "crime of stealing important gifts from the Xiao Sect," they were to be sealed away for a full fifteen years. And since it involved the Xiao Sect, the Xiao family would never let them leave early. But all this was a despicable frame-up orchestrated by Xiao Yunhai, Xiao Yulong, and others in collusion with Xiao Kuangyun. If Chu Yueli, Xia Qingyue's master, hadn't been present then, Xiao Lingxi's fate would have been countless times more miserable than mere confinement. At that time, no matter how furious and resentful he was, he had no power to stop it.
So, during these three years, he had craved power with insane desperation.
And for their own benefit, Xiao Yunhai and his ilk had not hesitated to frame and persecute their own clan members... *Unforgivable!* This resentment had been buried deep in his heart since the day he was driven out of the Xiao Sect, never fading.
His gaze fixed on the direction of the back mountain, Yun Che whispered again: "Grandfather, Little Aunt, I'm back... I'm back..."
He desperately wanted to rush to the back mountain at full speed, to embrace the two people he had missed for three years, who haunted his dreams. But remembering his vow that the entire Xiao Sect would have to kneel and beg them to leave the back mountain, he suppressed the excitement in his heart, walked up to the Xiao Sect's main gate, and kicked the door.
The door wasn't tightly shut. With one kick from Yun Che, it swung open with a bang...
Today was a lively day at the Xiao Sect. Because today was the annual competition day for the younger generation of the Xiao Sect! The competition venue was in the central square of the Xiao Sect. In the center of the square, a group of disciples were engaged in fierce competition. On both sides were several rows of seats, where Sect Master Xiao Yunhai, Grand Elder Xiao Li, Second Elder Xiao Bo, Third Elder Xiao Ze, and Fourth Elder Xiao Cheng were all seated.
When the door was kicked open, all eyes turned cold and instantly focused on the entrance.
"Bold! Who dares to provoke our Xiao Sect!" Grand Elder Xiao Li stood up and roared angrily.
Yun Che swept his gaze across the crowd. He hadn't expected that on his return, all these people would be gathered so completely—as if they had specifically assembled to welcome him. He walked in slowly, a cold smile on his face, and said in a low voice: "Old dogs of the Xiao Sect, it's only been three years, and you've already forgotten your young master!"
Xiao Yunhai, Xiao Li, Xiao Bo, Xiao Ze, Xiao Cheng... all these people were in his sight, not one missing! Back then, they had constantly joined forces to oppress Xiao Lie, who had the highest strength in the sect. Three years ago, they had colluded to frame him in order to curry favor with Xiao Kuangyun and let him take Xiao Lingxi away. Even after Yun Che had openly exposed their frame-up, they still shamelessly forced the crime upon him...
*The debts must be repaid. None of you can escape!*
"Xiao Che?" Xiao Li was momentarily startled, then burst into loud laughter: "I thought who was being so arrogant, but it's actually you, the bastard who was driven out three years ago! Tsk tsk, I thought after you, the waste, left the Xiao Sect, you'd either become a beggar or be beaten to death by someone. I never thought you'd actually come back alive, still looking human... and you've even grown the balls to provoke us!"
Within the Xiao Sect, the highest profound strength was only at the Spirit Xuan Realm. In terms of profound rank alone, Yun Che already completely overwhelmed the entire Xiao Sect. No one could sense the profound aura on Yun Che... of course, they couldn't possibly believe that this waste they had once dismissed had surpassed them in profound strength. They would only think that his crippled profound vein meant he had no profound aura at all.
"Xiao Che, I said three years ago that you were expelled from the Xiao Sect, never to set foot in it again!" Xiao Yunhai stood up. Being called an "old dog" by a waste certainly didn't sit well with him. "Now you not only trespass into our Xiao Sect but also insult its members... Have you reached a dead end out there and come back to seek death?"
"No!" Yun Che grinned coldly. "I've come to collect debts from you old dogs! Xiao old dog, how is your blind, deaf, mute, crippled, and eunuch son Xiao Yulong doing these past few years... Oh no, no, no, I should ask—is your son, who turned into a pile of rotten meat three years ago, still alive?"
Yun Che's words stabbed like a poisoned thorn into Xiao Yunhai's most painful nerve. His whole body trembled, and he flew into a rage: "Xiao Yang! Seize him... break his limbs!"
"Yes, Sect Master!"
Xiao Yang had just broken through to the fourth level of the Xuan Entry Realm. In today's competition, he had also placed in the top thirty, strutting proudly. Dealing with a crippled profound vein trash who didn't even have a trace of profound aura was as easy as playing.
"Hehe..." Xiao Yang smirked as he approached Yun Che, casually rotating his wrist: "Xiao Che, I kind of admire you. You've been out there alone, a waste, for three whole years and still managed to survive. Not only did you survive, but your balls have also grown fat. You actually dare to come back and provoke our Xiao Sect. Today, let your granddaddy here teach you a proper lesson! Last time, you walked out of the Xiao Sect. This time, I'll make you crawl out like a miserable turtle!"
Xiao Yang finished speaking and casually reached for Yun Che's throat, a moderate-sized profound force whirlpool forming in his palm.