24: The Transformation of a Girl

"Th-this, this..." Shen Yue's lips trembled. Looking at the ravaged battlefield, she even suspected she was dreaming.

Did... did her younger brother really do all this alone?

She knew that Effeminate Youth; he was a descendant of a large Family in Beihai City, accustomed to arrogance and tyranny, often abusing his Family background to throw his weight around the city.

The combined firepower of the fifty men under him was comparable to a Fourth Ring Spirit Ancestor, yet her younger brother had dealt with them all by himself.

Shen Yue couldn't help but look up at her grandfather, only to find Old Master Shen equally shocked, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

At this moment, a huge wave was surging in Old Master Shen's heart. When he first saw his grandson use Hidden Weapons, he thought Shen Guyan had secretly joined the Tang Sect behind the Family's back. He never expected the subsequent Moves his grandson used to be even more bizarre.

He could guarantee that the unique skills Shen Guyan displayed tonight were definitely not included in any of the Tang Sect Unique Techniques he had ever seen.

Everything that happened tonight seemed to cast an impenetrable shadow over his usually well-behaved grandson.

"All information regarding what happened tonight must be strictly sealed."

Old Master Shen took a deep breath and instructed. He ultimately decided to keep the secret for his own grandson to prevent external targeting.

"Yes, Grandfather. Then, Xiao Yu..." Shen Yue replied, then hesitantly asked, "Should we try to probe something out of Xiao Yu?"

Old Master Shen merely shook his head upon hearing this. "If he doesn't want to say, there's no need for us to ask. As long as he remains a grandson of the Shen Family, I will cover for him no matter what he does. The more secrets he holds, the more beneficial it will be for the future of our Shen Family."

"Xiao Yu has endured for many years; his ambitions must be great. If our Shen Family wants to rely on him in the future, we must find a way to make him feel a sense of belonging to the Family."

"Even if..." Old Master Shen slowly turned his gaze toward Shen Yue beside him, "the price is the happiness of you sisters."

Shen Yue's beautiful eyes dimmed, and she lowered her head: "Yes, Grandfather."

Old Master Shen said no more, his cloudy eyes gazing into the distance, his heart unable to calm down for a long time...—

After Shen Guyan carried Ouyang Zixin and Hong Ying back into the house, his legs immediately went soft, and he collapsed onto the floor.

Given his current physical fitness and total Soul Power, engaging in such high-intensity combat was still a bit too taxing.

Moreover, his losses in this battle were significant. His Puppet alone was severely damaged under the baptism of the soul tool cannon fire, and there was no way he could carry it back with him.

"Thousand Refinements materials are still insufficient after all." Shen Guyan looked at the Thousand Mechanism Puppet in the corner and sighed, shaking his head.

What surprised him the most was the public security management in the suburbs of Beihai City. Why had no one come to deal with such a massive disturbance?

Could it be... "It seems my previous life's way of thinking was at fault, and I didn't consider things thoroughly."

Shen Guyan was very smart. Now that he had enough time to calm down and think, it was normal for him to guess what was happening.

It wouldn't be long before his older sister, Shen Yue, would probably come to pick him up.

Just then, Ouyang Zixin was the first to open her beautiful eyes and abruptly sat up on the sofa.

"Mom!"

"She's fine, she should have just been beaten up by that group of people," Shen Guyan immediately reassured her.

"Little Brother Xiao Yu!" Ouyang Zixin exclaimed and stood up, looking at the scorched area on Shen Guyan's clothes, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you... are you okay?"

Before losing consciousness, she only remembered that just as she was about to rush toward those bastards, everything inexplicably went black, and she knew nothing after that.

"I'm fine. You should look after Teacher Hong first. I think ambulance personnel will arrive soon," Shen Guyan said, standing up and patting her shoulder.

Hearing this, Ouyang Zixin finally turned her gaze to Hong Ying, who was breathing steadily on the bed, and her tears began to fall uncontrollably.

Although Shen Guyan was not a Healing Soul Masters, he had a slight understanding of some Heavenly Fragrance Cultivation Techniques, so stabilizing Hong Ying's Qi was not difficult.

"Your mother is fine, but your father..."

As he spoke, he didn't forget to glance outside the house.

The charred corpse on the ground was clearly Ouyang Lantian. That unlucky fellow seemed to have been caught in the crossfire and was utterly dead.

Ouyang Zixin followed his gaze but only lingered for a moment before retracting her eyes.

"He brought it upon himself..."

Hearing Ouyang Zixin's somewhat heartless words, Shen Guyan was stunned, but he didn't say much. Other people's Family matters were none of his business.

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Did you know, Xiao Yu..." Ouyang Zixin's beautiful eyes shimmered with starlight of recollection as she slowly began, "When I was very young, Mom worked at the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, and Dad constantly relied on Mom's connections to invest in businesses, but none of them ever took off."

Shen Guyan's eyes flickered. He knew that at this moment, he could only choose to be a listener.

"Dad quickly squandered the Family fortune and caused Mom to owe a lot of money..." Ouyang Zixin wiped the corners of her eyes as she spoke. "The creditors came knocking one after another, forcing Mom to be transferred to a local branch." Ouyang Zixin continued to pour out her heart while wiping away tears; once her floodgates opened, it was like a torrent breaking through a dam.

"He had no business sense, nor the fate for it, yet he was always fantasizing, signing contracts with some large Families behind Mom's back... Eventually, he went completely bankrupt and implicated Mom and me, often bringing those large Family descendants to collect debts..."

Shen Guyan simply listened without offering any comment.

"Xiao Yu, I envy you so much for being born into a large Family like the Shen Family..." Ouyang Zixin gave a desolate smile, her face stained with tears as she looked back at Shen Guyan.

"What are you going to do from now on?"

Shen Guyan wisely did not take up the conversational thread; a listener must know their place. Besides, he had already saved the mother and daughter, even if Ouyang Zixin didn't know it.

Ouyang Zixin stretched out her hand and gently stroked her mother's face. "So, I definitely can't follow Mom's old path. My future partner must be a man who is rich, has background, and can give me happiness..."

"Then... I wish you success," Shen Guyan could only offer his blessing.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Yu, I shouldn't have told you all this." Ouyang Zixin sniffled, trying to force a smile.

Shen Guyan just shook his head: "It's fine. You talk, I'll listen."

Ouyang Zixin couldn't hold back anymore. Her small mouth drooped, and she suddenly threw herself into Shen Guyan's arms, bursting into tears.

Shen Guyan sighed deeply, reached out, and patted the girl's back, letting the tears soak his clothes.