Chapter 264: Self Blame

In a single night, the house of Sun was completely wiped off the face of Curopia City!!

Like a hurricane, news of their annihilation tore through the city in massive waves. Struck with this information, everyone in Curopia City turned their attention to the suspect, the house of Xiao.

Though the ones responsible for the destruction of the Sun had left no traces behind, the rivalry between the Xiao and the Sun was known to everyone, so it wasn’t strange for everyone to suspect them.

Even the lord mayor of Curopia City took a wait-and-see approach to their rivalry. It was the soul cultivator’s equivalent to the impenetrable shield and the all piercing spear between two households. Since the officials of the empire wanted to avoid a major conflict, they turned a blind eye toward many conflicts.

The complete genocide of the house of Sun was not something they could sit by the sidelines for. An order from the lord mayor issued for an investigation to be done while he went to meet with a representative of the Xiao himself.

The lord mayor of Curopia City was a disciple of the Heavenly Soul School and was a late-stage Soul Exalt.

By no means was the lord mayor an easy target to bully with him being from the Heavenly Soul School, so when Xiao Rang heard that the lord mayor was coming, the very first thing he did was to seek out Xiao Binzi and the others to testify that the destruction of the Sun was not a crime perpetrated by the Xiao.

What really happened was that the Xiao household was far too busy taking care of Bai Yunfei and Tang Xinyun when Xiao Binzi and the others returned that night. The two wounded people were of the utmost importance to both Xiao Rang and Xiao Xin. They had spent the entire night ordering their men to accommodate the needs of the Crafting School. Other than that, neither of the two gave any other orders besides to keep a tighter watch—just in case the Sun was preparing to do anything that night.

To be even more honest, the Xiao had no means to completely destroy the house of Sun in a single night without anyone knowing.

Xiao Binzi and the others were equally surprised to hear that the house of Sun was destroyed, but the reason for such wasn’t hard to imagine.

This was without a doubt done so that the Beast Taming School and the Soul Refining School could wipe their hands clean of the house of Sun. What was alarming was their efficiency; the Sun wasn’t weak house, but in the end, they were destroyed at a moment’s notice.

Both Jiang Fan and Song Lin went with Xiao Rang to testify to the lord mayor while Xiao Binzi went to the ruins of the Sun to see if he could find any traces.

Bai Yunfei returned to his room to recuperate, and his room was now right next to Tang Xinyun’s.

…………

Later that afternoon, Bai Yunfei found himself seated on top of a banister with his back to the stone pillar. His head was lifted high to the sky, but the expression on his face was vacant.

Just thinking about what had happened yesterday was enough for Bai Yunfei to clench his fingers so tightly that blood was drawn from his fingernails. Self-loathing and regret filled his mind with increasing amounts rather than lessening like he originally thought.

“It was my fault. All my fault… if I wasn’t so confident in myself, Xinyun wouldn’t have been in that battle. She wouldn’t have been in danger. She would’ve been safe! It’s my fault…” Now that he could think about yesterday, Bai Yunfei could finally see how laughable and overconfident he was.

Shaking his head, Bai Yunfei turned his head back to the cloud-filled sky, “I’ve some strength and the Upgrade Technique, but when did I become so arrogant?

“Finding trouble for myself was enough. Why’d I have to go and involve Xinyun in this?

“Why do I always need someone else to save me?

“Why did I promise that she’d be fine and then lead her straight into danger?

“Why isn’t it me that’s lying there instead of Xinyun?

“Why wasn’t I the one to die!!!!”

“Bang!!”

A furious hand came up to slap his face.

Following a mouthful of blood, Bai Yunfei looked down at his own hand in stunned silence.

“Hero, this is my last warning to you. Be sure to avoid trouble and keep those you care about close, else you will find regret to be the only thing left in your embrace!!”

For some strange reason, the voice of the one known as Nalan Yin, from when Bai Yunfei went to Redfire City, popped up in his head. In accordance to what the fortune teller told him, the regret and confusion he was feeling intensified.

“I… I really will regret this for my entire life…”

He turned to the wall that separated his and Tang Xinyun’s room. Her faint aura could still be felt, but it pained Bai Yunfei to feel it so faint. Each time he sensed her, Bai Yunfei could feel her soulforce grow weaker, and that realization was like a sharp blade that continued to push into his heart deeper and deeper.

“Xinyun will… she’ll be fine!” The self-loathing and regret slowly bled away from Bai Yunfei’s eyes as determination and grit replaced it. “I can’t let her get worse. I won’t let her get worse!

“Even if I can’t find the Soul Refining School and force a way out of them, I’ll find a way myself! I’ll do it! I must do it!!

“Increase her soulforce regeneration rate? I’ve the Upgrade Technique, I’ll just make some myself!!”

Renewed hope roared to life within his heart as Bai Yunfei walked out of his room without hesitation.

“Eh? Brother Bai, where are you going?”

No sooner did he make it into the courtyards than a short-haired young male in rich purple robes appeared. Right behind him were several maids with platters of food in their hands.

“Lord Xiao…” Bai Yunfei nodded his head to the young man in front of him. This was the fourth grandchild to the head of the Xiao, Xiao Er.

“Where is brother Bai going? If something needs to be done, please ask our men. Brother Bai’s body isn’t fully healed yet, you should head back and rest.” Xiao Er nodded back to Bai Yunfei, “Father instructed me to bring brother Bai some rare medicines in hopes that brother Bai will be able to heal…”

Surprised by the gesture, Bai Yunfei cupped his hands in gratitude, “I… thank brother Xiao for your troubles. I do not believe I require these medicines, but please thank your father and his kindness for me.”

“Brother Bai is an honored guest of our Xiao; this much should be expected.” Xiao Er shook his hands with a smile, “These medicines are of rather normal make, but they have good effects on the body. Give them a try, brother Bai. Although it won’t help with soulforce, your body will definitely feel itself recovering faster.”

“Then… I’ll take these to my room.” Bai Yunfei relented. He didn’t want to bother with refusing them.

A thought popped up in his mind after that, “Brother Xiao. If I may ask a request from you…”

“Oh?” Xiao Er was confused at first, but then he smiled. “All brother Bai needs to do is ask! No matter what it is, as long as I can do it, I will! And if I can’t, then the Xiao will. I’ll have grandfather send someone to do it if you want.”

“No, there’s no need to disturb the elders.” Bai Yunfei shook his head, “I need a lot of accessories. I hope that brother Xiao will help me in purchasing some.”

“Wha—accessories!?” Xiao Er had been under the impression that Bai Yunfei would ask for some sort of precious treasure, but hearing that he wanted accessories instead made him feel as if he had misheard him.

“Correct, accessories. I hope that you’ll help me purchase some in the city. The more precious, the better, but I only need accessories. It doesn’t matter how many, I need them all!”

He wanted to take out some gold coins from his space ring, but Bai Yunfei remembered that the one with all his gold coins was the one that was helping Xinyun recover her soulforce. Shaking his right arm instead, Bai Yunfei took out a greenish sword about a meter long and handed it over to Xiao Er.

“Brother Xiao, I give this soul armament to you as a token of my thanks. I hope that you’ll bring me as many accessories as you can!”