Old man Tian's hometown was in a place called River Town. It was the wealthiest and most beautiful town under Stone Sky City's jurisdiction.
The town was surrounded by mountains and rivers. It was verdant and lush, with many exotic flowers and grasses adorning it. The scenery was delightful, and anyone who looked at it would feel refreshed.
According to old man Tian, he had offended the Green Moon Palace in Stone Sky City.
At that time, old man Tian had brought the Tian family's direct descendants to Stone Sky City to develop.
However, one day, an inner disciple of the Green Moon Palace had taken a fancy to old man Tian's daughter, Tian Jiayi, and wanted to take her as his personal maid.
Although the Green Moon Palace had a great reputation, Tian Jiayi looked down on that disciple, so she was naturally unwilling.
However, the inner disciple of the Green Moon Palace had taken advantage of the situation to take her captive.
Old man Tian had been hot-blooded at that time. His wife had died young, and his daughter was his lifeblood. Thus, he had kicked the inner disciple's balls until they burst.
After old man Tian had calmed down, he knew that he had gotten into big trouble. Thus, he sent his daughter and some of his family back to their hometown.
Not long after his daughter left, the people of the Green Moon Palace came knocking.
The powerful members of the Tian family had all been killed, and old man Tian's dantian had been crippled. He had been sent to the mines to spend the New Year mining, and he had been ordered to be treated well.
At first, old man Tian had been tortured to the point of death by many people in the mines. However, those people had grown tired of him and were too lazy to bother him. Thus, he had lived until now.
Now, he was only worried about whether his daughter and family had been found by the people of the Green Moon Palace.
"Old Tian, your daughter must be beautiful, right? Otherwise, how could she have caught the eyes of those disciples of the Green Moon Palace?" Ling Xiao asked jokingly.
Old man Tian revealed a bashful expression. "Hehe, my daughter is a bit of a beauty."
To be honest, old man Tian was most proud of having such a beautiful daughter.
Back in Jiangshui Town, his Tian Family was the number one family, and there was an endless stream of people coming to propose marriage. Unfortunately, his daughter's standards were quite high, and she still couldn't find her Mr. Right before he got into trouble.
"I can tell you're being humble just by looking at you," Ling Xiao said. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Old Tian, I'll say it again. The Cyan Moon Palace must have forgotten about your existence. If you want to return to your old days, it's not impossible. There's no need for you to follow me!"
Old Man Tian immediately replied seriously, "Palace Master, there's no need to persuade me anymore. I've seen through all sorts of ups and downs over the past hundred years. If it weren't for Palace Master, I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to see the light of day again. Furthermore, I believe that Palace Master will definitely be able to make a name for himself in the Heaven Realm in the future.
Ling Xiao saw Old Man Tian's insistence and didn't say anything else.
After a few days of travelling, Ling Xiao and Old Man Tian finally arrived at River Town.
Old Man Tian's eyes welled up with tears when he saw the familiar scenery.
Back in the day, he was also the famous Holy Emperor, one of the top experts in the town. He was revered by everyone in the town.
Ling Xiao couldn't help but sigh when he saw the bustling and beautiful town, 'This town is even more prosperous than the big cities in the stronghold. This Heaven Realm is truly worthy of being called the Realm of Gods.'
Ling Xiao and Old Man Tian walked into the town, and Old Man Tian couldn't wait to make his way to the Tian Family.
"Old Tian, don't be in such a hurry. You haven't returned in over a hundred years, so there's no need to rush. Why don't we find a place to ask about the situation first?" Ling Xiao pulled Old Man Tian aside.
He was afraid that the Tian Family would be destroyed by the Cyan Moon Palace, which was why he said this. He didn't want Old Man Tian to rejoice for nothing.
He wanted to find someone to ask about the Tian Family first so that Old Man Tian could have some time to calm down.
Old Man Tian understood Ling Xiao's intentions and immediately followed Ling Xiao into a restaurant.
A beautiful woman's fan appeared in Ling Xiao's hand. It exuded an oppressive air of nobility, giving off the feeling of a noble young master.
He tipped the waiter a piece of top-grade Glazed Crystal and asked, "Waiter, do you know the Tian Family in this town?"
The waiter happily put away the Glazed Crystal, but when he heard Ling Xiao's question, he immediately revealed a look of fear and returned the Glazed Crystal to Ling Xiao, "My apologies, Young Master. This town no longer … no longer has the Tian Family!"
"Impossible! How can there not be a Tian Family?!" Old Man Tian immediately stood up and shouted.
In an instant, everyone's gazes gathered on Old Man Tian. Their gazes were filled with ridicule.
The waiter didn't dare to reply, as if he was afraid of drawing fire onto himself. He immediately turned around to do something else.
"Palace Master, let me catch someone for questioning!" Old Man Tian said impatiently. He was afraid to face the fact that the Tian Family had been destroyed.
"Old Man Tian, don't panic. Your emotions are not stable now. I will make my decision later!" Ling Xiao smiled faintly.
Old Man Tian could only suppress his anger and gulp down several jugs of wine.
If not for the fact that Ling Xiao was not moving, he would have flown back to the Tian Family to find out what had happened.
The daughter that he cared about the most was his lifeline!
Even though he had prepared for the worst, he still couldn't handle it when it came time to face it.
After about an hour, Ling Xiao finally walked out of the restaurant in a leisurely manner.
Old Man Tian said impatiently, "Palace Master, we …"
Before he could finish, Ling Xiao made a hand gesture to stop him from speaking. Then, he called out softly in a direction, "Follow us!"
As he spoke, Ling Xiao turned around and walked towards a corner of a small alley.
Old Man Tian didn't know what was going on and could only follow.
When they reached the small alley, someone chased after them.
This person was actually the waiter from the restaurant just now.
"Speak. Tell me everything you know about the Tian Family." Ling Xiao asked the waiter.
Old Man Tian didn't understand. He thought that the waiter had been bribed by his Palace Master.
Without any hesitation, the waiter told him everything he knew.
It turned out that the Tian Family still existed in Jiangshui Town. However, something big had happened in the past few days.
The Tian Family had been the overlord of Jiangshui Town for many years and was the largest family.
However, a hundred years ago, the Tian Family had wanted to move to Stone Sky City to develop. Unfortunately, an accident happened.
Later on, the people of the town gradually learned that the three elders of the Tian Family, the Holy Emperor, had died in Stone Sky City.
It was also from then on that the Tian Family's prestige in Jiangshui Town declined day by day. Other families also seized the opportunity to replace the Tian Family's position.
Fortunately, the Tian Family's foundation was strong enough that it didn't collapse for a while.
However, more than a hundred years had passed. Many families had risen, but the Tian Family had gradually declined. The number of Holy Emperor guarding the family was even fewer. It was no longer qualified to be the first family in Jiangshui Town.
Now, the Xiao Family, the most powerful family in Jiangshui Town, had replaced the Tian Family and become the first family in Jiangshui Town.
Originally, the Tian Family could have continued to survive even after retreating. However, the Tian Family had a stunning beauty, Tian Jiayi, the first beauty of the town.
However, this title of hers had caused a lot of trouble for the family.
In the early years, the eldest son of the Xiao Family, Xiao Zijian, had taken a liking to her and wanted to marry her.
At the same time, it was a marriage between the Xiao Family and the Tian Family. It was a beautiful story.
However, Tian Jiayi rejected Xiao Zijian.
Now that the Xiao Family was powerful, they announced that they would destroy the Tian Family in a few days and remove the Tian Family from Jiangshui Town.
Because of this, everything about the Tian Family in Jiangshui Town temporarily became a topic that no one dared to mention.
After hearing all this, tears streamed down Old Man Tian's face.
"Damn the Xiao Family! How dare they do this! I'm going to fight it out with them!" Old Man Tian said angrily.
At the same time, he was about to rush to the Tian Family.
"Old Tian, don't be anxious. With your current strength, what's the point of rushing back?" Ling Xiao grabbed Old Man Tian's hand.
"But … but even if I die, I want to be with them!" Old Man Tian replied.
Ling Xiao said, "Don't worry. Since I've accompanied you back, I won't turn a blind eye. I'll help you resolve this matter. No matter what, you're one of my people."
Old Man Tian's face was filled with gratitude, but he refused, "Palace Lord, there's no need for you to take this risk. Since the Xiao Family dares to dominate the town, they have at least a few Holy Emperor's. Don't bother yourself with this matter. Go back to the Zhang Family. This old servant has let you down, Palace Lord!"
"Old Tian, are you saying that you don't trust me?" Ling Xiao asked.
"This old servant has no such intentions!" Old Man Tian said.
"Let's go and take a look at the Tian Family first. With me around, you can rest assured." Ling Xiao patted Old Man Tian's shoulder.
Old Man Tian wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't. His gratitude towards Ling Xiao deepened.
… …
The Tian Family was once the number one family in Jiangshui Town. The land they built was incomparably spacious, with many towering pavilions. The eaves were made of jade, the pillars carved with dragons and paintings, the pavilions and terraces, the little bridges and flowing water … it had the air of an imperial palace.
In one of the pavilions, a woman sat facing a lotus in a pond, playing the pipa and composing.
Waves of sorrow and resentment caused those who heard it to feel melancholy.
Suddenly, a wave of hurried voices resounded, and it interrupted this sorrowful tune.
The woman turned her head to look. Her lovely face actually caused the tender red, pure white, elegant and indifferent lotus water in the pond to pale in comparison.
The woman's facial features were as exquisite as a sculpture. Her hair was tied up in a bun with silver needles and gold twigs, making her look especially luxurious and graceful. Her eyes, which carried a hint of sadness, rippled like a pond of spring water, carrying an incomparable allure. The green satin she wore accentuated her exquisite and graceful figure.
Although this woman couldn't compare to Yurou Fei's bewitching beauty, she exuded a kind of delicateness that made one feel pity for her.
This kind of temperament was especially similar to Ji Beixin's.
However, her delicate face carried a kind of unswerving determination that was rarely seen in other women. From this, one could see that she was an extremely opinionated and principled woman.
"Miss … Miss, it's bad! The Xiao Family has come again!" A servant girl hurried over and cried out anxiously.
The woman frowned slightly and murmured, "What will come will come. It looks like I have no other choice!"