Chapter Eighty-Four: Hidden Currents Surging

Seeing the puzzled look on Ouyang Ye’s face, Ouyang Zijing nodded. It had indeed been a girl in her early teens who had tipped them off.

Ouyang Ye fell into thought, looking somewhat tense. “Something isn’t right. That little girl was incredibly strong. We couldn’t see through her, and we couldn’t catch her. She appeared out of nowhere and told us to come here and save someone. When we heard it was the park, we guessed something had happened to you, so we rushed over at once. But…”

As she spoke, she glanced at Jiang Xiaotian, who was hiding off to the side.

Though Ouyang Zijing had also been injured, Ouyang Ye knew very well how powerful the masked man was. If he had intended to kill, Zijing would not have survived until now.

So while she felt relieved, she also understood that the masked man’s target might have been this young man.

Could it be that the mysterious little girl had wanted her to save… him?

Otherwise, if she had clearly warned Ouyang Zijing and then come looking for her, what was the point?

Ouyang Ye studied Jiang Xiaotian from head to toe, but saw nothing particularly unusual about him. And yet, to reach the peak of the external strength stage at his age was remarkable enough; more than that, he had actually been able to contend with Li Qing at that level, something no ordinary person could have done.

Perhaps his background was not simple.

“I understand the situation now. Child, thank you for saving my family. Our Ouyang family will remember this kindness. But why not show us your true face? At the very least, let us know whom we ought to thank, shouldn’t you agree? You needn’t worry about anything; we will provide you with all the protection we can.” Ouyang Ye offered a gentle smile.

But Jiang Xiaotian shook his head. Not now, at least not yet.

Ouyang Zijing and Zijian both showed disappointed expressions at once, but Ouyang Ye did not press the matter. She simply nodded. “Very well. Everyone has their reasons. Still, the Zhao family and the Li family certainly had some nerve to do something so contemptible!”

At the thought of it, veins bulged at her temple, and her anger was plain to see.

This time they had been lucky, blessed with help from a benefactor; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Ouyang Ye’s fury surged like a storm. If she had known, Ouyang Zijing was the lifeblood of their family. In order to ensure that she could grow up safely, they had endured for so many years, only to come within a hair’s breadth of seeing everything ruined at the last moment.

Ouyang Zijing, however, felt little toward those two families. What did unsettle her was seeing the masked man escape with her own eyes, and that lingering fear quickly made her speak up. “Auntie! Why didn’t you go after that man? Didn’t he harm a lot of people?”

But Ouyang Ye only shook her head. “There was no point in chasing him. We can’t kill him, and pressing too far would be extremely dangerous. So long as you’re safe, that’s enough. His target isn’t you, so he won’t come looking for trouble again.”

Ouyang Zijing froze, her expression turning complicated.

How could she not know that the man had been coming for the one who had saved her? But since her aunt said this, it also meant that even they were powerless against the masked man, and could not possibly risk everything to protect him.

In truth, Ouyang Ye understood very well. That mysterious person had not really made a move at all. He was wary not of her, but of the Ouyang family’s founder.

As one of the three great families of Dragon City, the Ouyang family had long been weakened, but the other two families were still unable to do anything about them. The main reason was that each had its own deep foundations, not to be shaken lightly.

But unless it was absolutely necessary, the family founder would never reveal herself. That was why Ouyang Ye could act without restraint: because she was protecting someone of the Ouyang family.

As for an outsider, she would not use the family’s true foundation to protect him.

More importantly, Jiang Xiaotian was also of unknown origin to them. Ouyang Ye had lived so many years that she naturally possessed some measure of shrewdness, and thus she gave him only the most basic respect and goodwill.

Jiang Xiaotian was a clever man as well. Hearing this elder sister say such things, he knew he could not count on the Ouyang family to protect him. But from the very beginning, he had not expected them to.

It was not wise to linger here. He did not want to become too entangled with them. Now that he had learned the truth about the fairy-like sister, and since she truly was of the Ouyang family, he needed to keep his distance.

“If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. Thank you, Miss Zijian, for treating my wounds.” Jiang Xiaotian cupped his hands and turned to go.

Ouyang Zijian smiled and nodded. Though she was truly curious about who he was, she did not show it.

Her sister, however, was not nearly so restrained. “Hey! What are you leaving for? You idiot! If you walk out now, you’re just courting death! You’re no match for him! My goodness, you really are fearless!”

Of course, Jiang Xiaotian paid her no mind and left on his own. The three prodigies of the Ouyang family watched him go and did not try to keep him.

Once he was out of earshot, Ouyang Ye let out a sigh. “That little girl who warned you and me—her strength is far beyond anything we can imagine. When she appeared, I felt my connection to the family founder being severed. I’m afraid even the founder may not be her match, and the one she told me to save was not you, but that boy.”

Ouyang Zijing was stunned at once.

She had known the little girl was formidable, but she had never imagined that even their own founder was no match for her. How could that be possible?

“Now that you mention it, he really was a bit strange. It seemed like he knew how to use the power here.”

Ouyang Ye was startled, but soon calmed again. “Forget it. That girl is not someone we can hope to befriend. Anyone connected to her, we should avoid if we can. He saved your life, and we saved his. We’re even.”

She had to think not only of herself, but of the entire family behind her.

Dragon City had already fallen into a turbulent mire ever since that murderous rat appeared, and matters were only growing worse. Her Ouyang family was only a women’s household and did not want to be drawn into these disputes.

“Enough, let’s head back. So long as nothing happened, that’s what matters. As for justice, we’ll surely get it back. Oh, and Zijing, speaking off the record, you’re not a child anymore. You ought to act more like a lady. That brat just now looked at you very differently from the way he looked at Zijian. Tsk tsk.” Ouyang Ye wore a playful expression.

“Ha? He’s asking for death!” Ouyang Zijing clenched her fists and swore.

The group departed with smiles, while the two sisters walked behind them, talking nonstop.

The elder sister remained her hot-tempered self, regretting that she had not simply yanked Jiang Xiaotian’s face aside and seen what he looked like. Now, if she wanted to find him, she had no idea where to begin.

But the usually gentle younger sister suddenly flashed a sly smile. “Hee hee, when I massaged him, I left a mark. As long as I touch him, I’ll know who he is!”

Ouyang Zijing looked at her in disbelief and gave her a thumbs-up. “Well now, little sis, that’s impressive. I never thought you could be so devious.”

“Hey! I’m not! It’s just that I’m really curious! His voice sounds so familiar to me. I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere before!”

Ouyang Zijian’s cheeks were flushed, and it was hard to tell whether it was from excitement or embarrassment.

That night, unseen currents churned through all of Dragon City.

Not only the three top families, but even the ordinary minor martial clans had all heard about what had just happened.

It turned out that Ouyang Zijing had stepped into the inner strength stage, and the Zhao family had gone to deal with her, only to come away disgraced.

This was the message released by the Ouyang family, and they had deliberately left the Li family out of it.

Though they hated Li Qing as well, they did not have the ability to take on two families at once, so they could only pin all their anger on the Zhao family.

Naturally, the Zhao family was no easy mark either. They immediately steered public opinion, portraying Ouyang Zijing as a fraud and claiming that all the martial artists of Dragon City had been deceived by the Ouyang family.

The Li family, as expected, simply maintained a neutral stance. This stab in the back infuriated the Zhao family, but there was nothing they could do. They could hardly announce to the world that they had secretly joined forces with Li Qing, and worse, that they had failed. They could not afford such humiliation.

By the next day, the matter had spread throughout all of Dragon City, and even many martial artists from other regions had heard of it. Everyone had a foreboding sense that Dragon City was likely to know no peace for some time.

As for Jiang Xiaotian, who stood at the lowest rung, he knew nothing of any of this.

He had quietly slipped back last night, rested properly, and then, before dawn, reported everything that had happened.

When not in use, this was the only function of the action tablet.

As an intelligence officer, Yan Min would gather all the team members’ reports at a designated location, condense them, and then send them back. In this way, intelligence could be exchanged without direct contact.

Jiang Xiaotian was waiting to see how the other members had infiltrated.

Before long, the action tablet lit up again.