The little girl pierced her hand with a dagger, then pressed the injured finger onto Zhou Yan's wound.
A peculiar sensation reached Zhou Yan's mind, surprising him greatly. He truly hadn't expected the little girl to possess such a method.
"Quick, swear an oath. I can't hold on much longer," the little girl said, her face flushed, clearly lacking strength.
Thus, Zhou Yan recited the oath as previously requested.
After he finished, a wondrous feeling informed him that breaking the oath would have significant consequences, though not fatal.
Zhou Yan was very curious about who this little girl was, to possess such an uncanny ability.
"Let's go," the little girl wiped her sweat and looked at Zhou Yan.
"I'll take you," Zhou Yan grabbed the little girl's hand, then tore open space, arriving directly before the barrier outside the Xiao Manor.
The little girl opened her eyes and found herself outside. She was greatly astonished, "So powerful! What is this method?"
"Just a small trick," Zhou Yan replied casually.
With a spell, he broke through the barrier, and Zhou Yan silently led the little girl away from the Xiao Manor, returning to the inn.
Seeing Zhou Yan return so quickly, and with a little girl, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lord, was it smooth?" they asked.
"Very smooth. Those people didn't notice anything," Zhou Yan replied.
The little girl saw the people around her and immediately said, "I remember you. I saw you in the inn before."
"Of course. If you hadn't claimed to have a secret, we wouldn't have bothered," Zhou Yan stated a harsh truth.
The little girl seemed to understand that the world was this cruel; without her value, no one would save her.
"Alright, since you're here, don't say such things," Diao Chan approached the little girl.
"Let's leave for now. Let her take a bath and change," Zhou Yan suggested.
Everyone else left, leaving only Diao Chan in the room with the little girl, asking her many questions.
After a long while, the little girl was transformed. She was not only neatly dressed, like a little princess, but also well-fed.
Zhou Yan and the others re-entered and looked at the little girl.
"Is this the little beggar from before?" Dian Wei asked in surprise.
"Dian Wei, less said," Hou Jun Ji quickly interjected.
"Such a big change," everyone else was surprised.
Zhou Yan sat opposite the little girl and looked at her. In her new clothes, she was indeed quite cute, but her thin frame clearly showed she had suffered a lot.
"My name is Ning Shui Qing..." the little girl began to briefly introduce her family background. Zhou Yan and the others listened without interruption.
The story was simple: the Ning family was once a prominent clan but had fallen into decline. They possessed a great secret, but the Ning family no longer had the strength to retrieve it.
Xiao Yan learned of this and brought his men to pressure the Ning family for information. However, the Ning family refused to yield, even unto death, enraging Xiao Yan. A fierce battle ensued. The Ning family fought with all their might to carve out an escape route for Ning Shui Qing, and her entire family perished.
Ning Shui Qing had been on the run for three years but was still discovered by Xiao Yan. She was captured a few days prior and only escaped today, intending to seek out that secret.
"What exactly is that secret?" Zhou Yan inquired.
Everyone was very curious.
Ning Shui Qing looked around at the people present, a little hesitant.
"Don't worry. They are all people I trust implicitly. You can speak freely," Zhou Yan reassured her.
"I only know it's supposed to be a pseudo-artifact, and I know its location. Only those with the Ning family bloodline can retrieve it. My parents also said that place is extremely dangerous."
"Furthermore, our Ning family's ancient teachings warn that a malevolent beast is suppressed there. It's best not to attempt to retrieve the item," Ning Shui Qing revealed the secret.
"A pseudo-artifact!" Zhou Yan was truly surprised.
"Something that surpasses Holy Artifacts! No wonder Xiao Yan put so much effort into obtaining it. This is indeed a treasure. Anyone who learned of this would be tempted," he mused.
After listening, everyone understood why Xiao Yan had wanted to destroy the Ning family.
A Holy Artifact alone was incredibly powerful, let alone something surpassing it. This was enough to incite fierce competition among countless Lords.
"I must tell you, the beast there is truly strong. My ancestors said that unless one reaches the Demigod realm, it's best not to go there. The place is full of traps and extremely perilous," Ning Shui Qing said.
She was very worried that Zhou Yan and his companions would casually go there. While there was a pseudo-artifact, it wasn't easy to obtain, especially with the suppressed beast. If it were to appear, it would bring devastation.
"A beast that can be suppressed by a pseudo-artifact must be very powerful. However, a Demigod realm expert should be able to handle it, right?" Zhou Yan thought of Li Chun Gang and Zhao Xuan Su.
"Have you already reached the Demigod realm?" Ning Shui Qing looked at Zhou Yan in astonishment, then pondered, "That's unlikely. You shouldn't have reached that level yet."
"I haven't reached that level, but I have people of that caliber," Zhou Yan said.
Everyone thought of the two individuals in their territory and chuckled.
"In that case, we can make a trip. I only know the location, but not the traps. So, you must be prepared," Ning Shui Qing added again.
"Rest assured, I won't act rashly," Zhou Yan replied.
"You must remember your promise to me: kill Xiao Yan and avenge my entire family," Ning Shui Qing reminded him.
"Don't worry, I promise you. He won't live to see tonight," Zhou Yan replied with great confidence.
"So soon!" Ning Shui Qing was truly surprised.
Subsequently, Zhou Yan activated his communicator, looked at the screen, and said, "That Xiao Yan is currently at the Ming Yan Pavilion. It seems I need to make a trip."
"Ming Yan Pavilion? Isn't that a brothel!" Ning Shui Qing blurted out.
At that moment, Diao Chan and the others turned to look at Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan quickly said, "I have all of you, how could I possibly go there? I'll be back after I've killed him."
"I didn't say you were going there to play. Why is the Lord so nervous?" Zhao Min said sarcastically.
"Exactly. Is the Lord worried about us sisters?" Xiao Zhao also smiled.
"How dare you tease your Lord! Be careful, or you'll face the family discipline," Zhou Yan quickly declared.
"Lord, if you're fine, I'll take my leave first," Hou Jun Ji said immediately, taking his leave.
"Lord, I'm leaving too," Zhang Xiu and Wen Pin also departed.
"Why is everyone leaving? Lord, do you need me to accompany you this time?" Dian Wei didn't understand why they were leaving.
"Go, go, go! Don't cause trouble!"
Meng Tian pulled away Dian Wei and the bewildered Wu Song.
Meng Wu also pulled away Yang Zai Xing.
Only Zhou Yan's women and Ning Shui Qing remained in the room.