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"Xiao Yan… Xiao Zhan's son, huh…" Gu Yuan recalled the child who had unusually bright eyes even as an infant, and raised his eyebrows.
At this moment, he only felt a headache; this seemed to be the most troublesome situation.
If it were a normal situation, the Xiao Clan's brainwashing-style indoctrination of Xun Er would be easy to discern, but now it was hard to say.
His daughter had a beloved, and her elbow turning outwards seemed, possibly, probably… a normal phenomenon, right?
In short, it was hard to judge whether Xun Er was naturally like this or if it was a deliberate scheme by the Xiao Clan.
Gu Yuan was not a rigid or pedantic person; he supported Xun Er's freedom to love and pursue her happiness, but she could not place her trust in the wrong person, nor could the man be someone with ulterior motives.
He decided to stay and observe Xiao Yan for a period, which did not conflict with his original plan.
Previously, he had intended to secretly observe and see what was special about the Xiao Clan's Young Clan Leader on the surface, and whether the Xiao Clan's hidden power would manifest in him.
Gu Yuan said, "For now, don't let Xun Er know I've arrived."
"Yes," Ling Ying bowed respectfully.
Gu Yuan's powerful spirit power subtly spread out, taking in the entire Black-Corner Region without alarming anyone.
He "saw" the Soul Hall branch hall located deep within the vast mountains, "saw" Hun Xiao furtively spying on Jia Nan Academy, "saw" Xiao Yan cultivating deep in the mountains, and Xun Er sitting on the balcony, basking in the sun and staring blankly in Xiao Yan's direction…
On a pavilion not far from Xun Er's residence, at the same height, a young man was also sitting in a lounge chair, holding a book, looking leisurely.
He naturally pinched his right eye socket with his right hand, occasionally glancing at Xun Er, a smile playing on his lips.
Zhou Mingrui detected a terrifying spirit power sweeping past… As a Worm of Spirit, he was sufficiently sensitive to spirit power. As long as he became the target of someone else's spirit power observation, he would be able to discover it.
However, he couldn't determine who it was, nor could he accurately judge the opponent's spirit power realm, only having a vague estimate.
He pretended not to notice anything and continued with his own affairs.
Gu Yuan saw Zhou Mingrui seemingly spying on Xun Er, and his eyes narrowed slightly:
"That young man in the pavilion next to Xun Er's residence, have you investigated him?"
Ling Ying immediately replied, "That's a young man named Zhou Mingrui. He entered the Inner Courtyard earlier than Miss and also resided there earlier. His talent is excellent; he can be called a heaven-blessed genius."
The hidden meaning was: Zhou Mingrui didn't move next to Xun Er; rather, Xun Er moved next to Zhou Mingrui, so the other party probably wasn't specifically targeting Xun Er.
Gu Chen, however, said with a somewhat strange expression, "He also stayed in this inn for a few days before. I saw his good talent and considered taking him as a disciple, so I gave him a test.
"I asked him to find a girl with a special identity in the academy and protect her… There are many conflicts and disputes among students in the academy, which we are not very convenient to interfere with…
"I wanted to find a helper for Miss, so even if he couldn't confirm it was Miss, he would avoid major conflicts when encountering potential targets."
Gu Chen's face was sweating as he explained, as his actions seemed to imply using Xun Er as a trial tool for accepting a disciple.
Gu Yuan did not comment on this. After "looking" at Zhou Mingrui again, he focused his gaze on Xiao Yan.
…
Xiao Yan, who was practicing "Three Thousand Lightning Movement," suddenly stopped, standing on the skeleton of an unknown magical beast, looking around with a puzzled expression.
"Strange, Teacher, why did I suddenly have the illusion of being watched just now?" he asked in his heart.
Yao Chen sensed the surroundings with his spirit power, then shook his head: "Didn't find anyone, it might be your illusion."
…
Gu Yuan asked again, "What's the deal with that soul body next to Xiao Yan? Do you know?"
Ling Ying organized his words and said, "About three years ago, after Nalan Yanran broke off the engagement, Xiao Yan suddenly underwent a great change, transforming from a widely known good-for-nothing back into a genius.
"After that, he claimed that an Alchemist had taken him as a disciple… I suppose that's this soul body.
"At that time, Xiao Yan said his master was taking him for tempering, and Miss, worried about his safety, once sent me to protect him for a period."
As he spoke, Ling Ying suddenly stammered… because he remembered that his main task was to protect Miss! Going to protect Xiao Yan was clearly a dereliction of duty, even if it was Xun Er's command!
Gu Yuan didn't fuss, saying in a gentle voice, "Continue…"
Ling Ying took a deep breath: "This subordinate is incompetent; I failed to investigate the identity of this soul body, only knowing that he was probably an Alchemist of no low rank during his lifetime."
At this moment, Gu Chen took over: "I have some guesses. If I'm not mistaken, that should be Venerable Yao, Yao Chen, who was famous for a time back then."
"Yao Chen?" Gu Yuan's eyebrows twitched; he felt he might have heard this name in the Ancient Realm before.
The Gu Clan also paid attention to the movements in the Central Plains, and some clan members traveled there.
As the most prominent Alchemist in the Central Plains at that time, Yao Chen was certainly qualified to be discussed by the people of the Gu Clan.
"It's him?" Ling Ying was startled.
"Xiao Yan once used a bone-white flame, which is the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flame list. Yao Chen possessed this flame, and it is said that Yao Chen died while refining medicine, which also matches the current state of that soul body," Gu Chen analyzed.
"Died while refining medicine?" Gu Yuan repeated.
Gu Chen said, "This is the news released by his disciple Han Feng. There's also another rumor… that Han Feng colluded with the Soul Hall and murdered Venerable Yao. Venerable Feng of Starcloud Pavilion has been investigating this matter."
Gu Yuan's gaze suddenly sharpened. He said in a serious tone, "People from the Soul Hall murdered Venerable Yao, bringing him to this state?"
Gu Chen didn't know why the Clan Leader suddenly showed such a serious expression, feeling slightly nervous. He immediately nodded and replied:
"If that soul body is indeed Yao Chen, then it should be so. Otherwise, Han Feng, Yao Chen's direct disciple, wouldn't spread false news like 'Yao Chen died from backlash after failing in alchemy'."
Yao Chen was harmed by people from the Soul Hall… The soul body escaped pursuit, drifted to the Northwest of the continent, thousands of miles from the Central Plains, and took the Young Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan, who had a blood feud with the Soul Clan, as his disciple… Is this too much of a coincidence?
It's almost as if someone is pushing from behind, deliberately arranging all this… The Xiao Clan? Gu Yuan thought to himself.
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