Xia Fei brought Xiu Fengnian into the Unrestricted Pavilion, but they just so happened to bump into Grand Ancestor Xia Gucheng inside. It seemed like what Xia Guanghai had said about their Grand Ancestor recently finding company with the two custodian slaves was no lie.
Glancing at Xiu Fengnian, Xia Gucheng said, “Those two are still very unhappy. You should go take a look as well, since you’re the one who invited them over in the first place.”
The Grand Ancestor was acting abnormally today, speaking very formally. Xia Fei understood that XIa Gucheng was a very careful man, and he did not trust anyone from the Xiu Family, so he did not wish to speak too much in front of Xiu Fengnian.
Nodding, Xia Fei replied, “Grand Ancestor, this man here is Xiu Fengnian, an expert from the White Qilin Clan, attached to the Xiu Family, with the bravery of a thousand men…”
Xia Fei flattered Xiu Fengnian right up to the heavens. The expression on the Grand Ancestor’s face was expectant, reading with a single glance what Xia Fei was up to. He acted accordingly and feigned shock, showering praises upon Xiu Fengnian as well. The old and young worked in tandem, paying an absurd amount of compliments to the warrior until even he began to blush.
Bidding Xia Gucheng farewell, Xia Fei continued to lead Xiu Fengnian deeper into the premises. Ss the saying went: Out of all possible methods, flattery was one that everyone welcomed. Though Xiu Fengnian did not expressly say anything about it, he was of course still happy to receive such adoration, feeling like he had been shown great respect.
The two custodian slaves were sitting in a corner of the Unrestricted Pavilion, looking like nothing more than withered corpses, or more like two stone sculptures with their pure physical cultivation. There was not even a hint of dark energy fluctuation in them, such that Xiu Fengnian nearly missed them entirely..
By the time he could make out their faces, Xiu Fengnian’s flushed face instantly turned white.
The two custodian slaves looked frightening, with ashen skin that lacked any blood beneath. Their eyes were just empty sockets, and if Xia Fei were not around, Xiu Fengnian would have pulled his sword out and stabbed these creatures without a second thought!
Xia Fei did not seem to mind that at all, sitting down and lighting a cigarette as he started a conversation with the two.
The custodian slaves did not speak, nor did they look at Xia Fei. The custodian slaves were already very accustomed to the people of the Skywing Clan, but it was obvious they harbored a sliver of animosity toward Xiu Fengnian, as neither made any sort of movement in front of Xia Fei.
Chatting was of course nothing nourishing, and in front of Xiu Fengnian Xia Fei definitely could not talk too much. What mattered was his attitude!
Xia Fei treated these two living corpses like they were friends, and it was highly likely that Xia Gucheng had done the same just now.
Xiu Fengnian was speechless. These were walking cadavers, such that he wanted to vomit from just a glance at them, so why were Xia Fei and the others treating them like equals? Furthermore, the entire clan was really bold, and their actions sufficiently strange. They could befriend corpses, but was it not said that those who were not of one’s kind would surely not be of the same mind? Could they not care about that notion at all?
Thankfully, Xia Fei did not spend too much time chatting with the custodian slaves, bidding them farewell after a short conversation.
That was when both custodians suddenly reached their hand out to hold onto Xia Fei in unison, though their gaze was trained on Xiu Fengnian. They were clearly trying to signal for Xia Fei to be careful of the person he was with, because he was very strong.
Xia Fei felt grateful deep down. Who said that these living corpses were heartless? The hearts of these two were like a mirror; they knew full well who treated them well, and who were friends.
It was just that they had been utterly disheartened by those b*st*rd disciples of Fuchen’s, and they lacked any souls to speak of. Their minds were inherently dull, and they had momentarily stuck to their roots and chosen to be buried by their worries.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll be back to see you two again,” Xia Fei smiled as he patted the two on their shoulders. The armor that the custodian slaves wore was probably hundreds of generations old, and a layer of dust was liberated with his pat. Xia Fei took out a cleaning cloth, and carefully gave them a wipe down before leaving.
—
After leaving the Unrestricted Pavilion, Xiu Fengnian finally asked, “You said those two are your friends?”
“Why? Is there a problem?” Xia Fei asked back.
“No, of course not. It’s just that they are both…” XIu Fengnian’s voice trailed off.
Xia Fei shot back righteously, “All men are brothers! I’ve never been one that thinks race, clan, background or other such circumstantial things matter. As long as I, Xia Fei, see them as a friend, then they will forever be that!”
Xiu Fengnian nodded his head repeatedly, his gaze twinged with a measure of admiration. He figured that since Xia Fei could even become friends with two living corpses, he would probably not treat other beings too poorly. Unfortunately for him, while it was true that Xia Fei treated his friends very well, it was very difficult to be seen as a friend by Xia Fei in the first place.
The custodian slaves still remembered him, and had even cautioned Xia Fei to be wary of the person he had been with. Xia Fei was very happy about that.
Xia Fei was truly fond of those custodian slaves, and it was definitely not an act. It was simple to befriend people that were pure of heart like them, seeing as they were not the sort to ever betray their own, and that was more than enough in Xia Fei’s books.
Besides, the two had also given Xia Fei the Chilled Ligament Ghost Valley manual. The moment Xia Fei had complete mastery of the Law of Speed, he could begin his training for that. It would surely be a good thing if there came a day when Xia Fei could cultivate that sturdy body of theirs!
Xia Fei was the only Spiritualist in the Skywing Clan, otherwise he really wanted to have his comrades train in the apex body art!
—
Xia Fei arrived at the Xiu Family’s temporary residence as he pondered those thoughts. Xia Fei had arranged for them to take up a place far away from the base, a house that had been retrofitted from an old-fashioned warship, and the facilities made available tot hem were of course first rate as well.
“Is Xiu Yiyi sleeping?” Xia Fei asked after he met Xiu QIan.
“She just fell asleep.”
“That’s good. All of you, stay outside. I’ll go inside by myself,” Xia Fei said as he made his way into Xiu Yiyi’s bedroom.
Xiu Qian hesitated. “There’s no rush. Let Yiyi sleep first.”
Xia Fei shook his head, “I won’t be disturbing her sleep. Your granddaughter dislikes me, and her being asleep is the best time for me to act. Let’s make this stipulation from here on out: I’ll come to mend Xiu Yiyi’s brain region after she falls asleep. While she’s awake, don’t come bothering me. We’re all very busy.”
Xiu Qian of course agreed.
Xia Fei entered Xiu Yiyi’s room, and found the girl sleeping soundly. It was just that she was not sleeping in a lady-like manner, with her bedcovers wedged between her legs, and her mouth agape and drooling.
The room was very hot. Xiu Yiyi was only dressed in thin pajamas, which was most likely the reason why Xiu Qian did not want Xia Fei to treat Xiu Yiyi while she was asleep.
Actually, Xiu Qian was thinking too much. Xia Fei had never seen Xiu Yiyi as a woman, her skinny and frail self hardly interesting.
Closing the door behind him, Xia Fei carefully examined her present condition. Radix was around, and commented, “This girl is recuperating quite fast. The color of her cheeks is no longer as poor as before, and her skin has paled quite a lot. Actually, she’s not exactly ugly, though it is a pity that the Evil Spirit has dragged her down. Give her another two years, and maybe things will be different.”
“Her?” Xia Fei shook his head. “She’s stick thin, and with a fiery temper. It’d be a miracle if she could even marry!”
With that said, Xia Fei ignored Radix and began his treatment mending Xiu Yiyi’s brain region.
*Swoosh*
Countless threads of spirit energy that no one could see were being streamed into Xiu Yiyi’s brain. They were Xia Fei’s scalpel, and trying to control them was extremely difficult. Only a speed warrior like Xia Fei could achieve this.
Speedsters were not only fast, but they also had an extraordinary neural response time. A person’s seventh brain region was no bigger than a needlepoint, and trying to conduct surgery on such a narrow spot was not possible without superhuman control of spirit power and neural responses.
Spiritualist of Healing, speedster, a superhuman neural response, and Serpent Swallowing Whale; all those added up and were what gave Xia Fei the ability to repair brain regions.
—
*Whoosh!*
After about ten minutes, the breathing of the sleeping Xiu Yiyi quickened, which was the sign for Xia Fei to stop. Without another word, he took his leave from the room.
“So soon?!” Xiu Qian was astonished. “Is Xiu Yiyi fine already?!”
Xia Fei frowned, “The mending of a person’s brain region is by no means any simple surgery, so how could I be done so soon? Right now, Xiu Yiyi’s condition is stable, there’s no urgency here. I’m choosing to treat her slowly so as to ensure a safe and stable recovery. Surely you do not want anything unexpected to befall Xiu Yiyi, right?”
Xiu Qian nodded quickly and repeatedly. A person’s brain region was tied to their very life, and the risk of mending it in one go would surely be a greater risk than a slow treatment. This was a good thing!
Thinking for a bit, XIa Fei asked, “Was Xiu Yiyi born with an open seventh brain region?”
Xiu Qian nodded, sighing regretfully, “That’s right. If Yiyi had not been sick, she would surely have become a first-rate genius!”
Xia Fei was somewhat surprised. “Your granddaughter has a very powerful hereditary gene, to actually have been born with an open brain region. That means that your son and daughter-in-law were rather powerful, too. It’s just too bad that Xiu Yiyi might not make any great achievements. At best I can guarantee her life, and while it is not impossible for her to make progress on the path of cultivation, it is just that she’ll have a decreased chance of success. After all, her childhood injury has negatively affected her future.”
Xiu Qian invited Xia Fei to take a seat as he said with a smile, “That’s no problem. Her survival is more important than anything else. To have achieved something like this, our entire family owes you our utmost gratitude as is.”
Xia Fei lit a cigarette and asked, “You’ve said before that Xiu Yiyi was born in some distant ancient battlefield, and was discovered to be sick after returning from that place. Might I ask what’s so special about that battlefield? Could it be because of the environment that Xiu Yiyi was infected by something unsanitary?”
Xiu Qian was startled, wrinkling his brow, “I don’t really know much about this matter. My son and daughter-in-law died after their return as well, which was a huge loss to our family. It is also the biggest sorrow in my life, which is why I hope that Xiu Yiyi can accompany me forever. Having no ability would also mean no risk, after all.”
Xiu Qian did not wish to talk about the matter, and Xia Fei was in no hurry to pester him about it, either. However, it was not hard to determine from Xiu Qian’s words that Xiu Yiyi’s parents were anything but average. They might have been very powerful, something Xia Fei could tell from the genes Xiu Yiyi had inherited. To be born with an open seventh brain region, and fighting against the Evil Spirit for thirteen years; this was not something most people could do!
——
Xia Fei managed to experience a rare period of peace over the next few days. He would spend his days doing drills of the Soul Array with his brothers, help Xiu Yiyi mend her brain region at night, and foster a relationship with the Xiu Family’s bodyguard, Xiu Fengnian. Avril and Xiao Yu also came over, and he of course spent his nights with Avril, blissful and loving.
People have a hard time parting with happy times, but Xia Fei knew very well that this was nothing more than the calm before the storm.
The Dark Spiritualists had been far too quiet recently, abnormally so! This was the opposite of the grand entrance they had made after they busted their way out of The Collapsed Expanse of Founders, almost as if they had all disappeared from the face of the universe.
Something had to be afoot when things were out of the ordinary. Xia Fei refused to believe that those people would just fold their cards after having gathered crazy amounts of Spirit Energy from the Undercurrent Universe, and even the Dragoons had been implicated amid their scheming. All these signs indicated that they were making preparations with some secret goal in mind.
Rely on the Annihilators?
No, it had never been Xia Fei’s habit to put his fate in the hands of others. The experts of the Annihilation Universe had yet to come up with any countermeasures, which was a clear demonstration that they were in a mess of their own. It was just too bad that Xia Fei still had no idea just what was troubling the Annihilators, such that they would end up giving the Dark Spiritualists free reign here in Alpha like they were.
The Skywing Information organization headed by Xia Geng had filtered across the entire Alpha Universe, and even Undercurrent, sifting through any news and rumors in hope of picking up on any trace or clues anywhere, but they had presently come up empty-handed.
As Xiu Yiyi’s condition began to near full recovery, Xia Fei was also beginning to get anxious.
Xia Fei subscribed to the price theory, and as someone that had never been able to settle down all his life, always getting into trouble, Xia Fei could not help feeling that this period of peace he had been granted might mean that great danger was just ahead of him…
