Fox Demon Crossing

Perhaps there is such a factor, but obviously, this reason is not sufficient in an urban environment.

The reason is nothing more than the competition between the wealthy families, and the Xiao family is the first to bear the brunt of the pressure.

In a bustling city, where there are people, there is competition. In order to survive, many small families have united to fight against the big families, and the Xiao family is the leader.

In order for a large family to maintain prosperity and not be eliminated by the times, it is crucial to expand in all aspects. For example, the pharmacy opened by Jin Renfeng squeezed out many small families that relied on refining medicine for a living. Many businesses were affected, and some even transformed and sought a way out in other industries.

Development is accompanied by competition, and competition naturally has winners and losers.

Xiao Wancheng stood up, not to act as a pioneer, but to lay out the future of the Xiao family. Xiao Tianhao didn't understand these, and even the curly-haired fat man only knew a little bit.

But this did not prevent him from acting like a superior in front of Xiao Tianhao.

"Third brother, it's time for you to grow up. When I was your age, I had already started to help father share the pressure."

"Brother, you know me." Xiao Tianhao smiled bitterly and replied, "I'm really not interested in those."

"Humph, not doing your job properly."

Despite saying this, the curly-haired fat man's expression visibly softened.

Xiao Tianhao's attitude made him satisfied.

This left his only competitor to be their eldest brother.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Xiao Tianhao was about to ask about Li Muchen's news, but he saw his second brother's face suddenly change, and his eyes were fixed on his back.

Xiao Tianhao turned his head and saw a figure striding towards them.

"Cousin Xiao Yan?"

"Shut up!" The curly-haired fat man growled, and reprimanded with an unhappy look on his face: "He is not your cousin. I have told you many times that he is no longer a member of our Xiao family. His whole family is a sinner of the Xiao family."

"But..." Xiao Tianhao opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the curly-haired fat man: "No buts, remember my words, don't have anything to do with him again, otherwise my father will not forgive you if he finds out."

Xiao Yan was wearing a loose white shirt, with long hair draped over his shoulders, looking like an urban hipster. No one would have thought that, judging from his appearance, the body beneath his clothes was actually a strong physical practitioner.

"Xiao Yan, you are not welcome here."

"Are you the head of the Xiao family?" Xiao Yan glanced at him indifferently, and that indifferent look made the curly-haired fat man feel cold in his heart.

As for what happened back then, he knew clearly how his father came to power, so he would not be surprised if Xiao Yan's eyes were filled with anger, because if it were him, he would also be furious.

However, the calmer Xiao Yan was, the deeper the fear in his heart.

A biting dog does not bark.

This is the truth his father Xiao Wancheng taught him.

Xiao Yan shut him up with just one sentence. If this were to get to his father, who knows what his father would think.

He recently found his father suspicious.

Even if he intended to compete for the position of patriarch, he would not dare to show it now.

His father is in his prime, how dare he covet the position of head of the family.

Moreover, his father had clearly told him to develop in the Black Jade Supervisory Agency. His intention was obvious: one day in the future, he would succeed his father and become the new chief of the Black Jade Supervisory Agency.

As for the position of head of the family, that belongs to the eldest brother.

"Little Fatty, you are becoming more and more cowardly. You are only gaining weight, but your courage has become smaller."

"Xiao Yan, don't push your luck." Facing Xiao Yan's ridicule, the curly-haired fat man gritted his teeth and said, "I don't want to waste my time talking to you. Son of a sinner, do you know how much of an impact you have caused to the Xiao family? You actually came back shamelessly, humph."

"It's thanks to my father's mercy, otherwise you, the son of a sinner, wouldn't even be able to enter the Xiao family."

After saying that, the curly-haired fat man strode forward.

Xiao Yan remained calm, but his fists in his sleeves were clenched tightly. It was foreseeable that his heart was not as calm as he appeared to be.

He really wanted to take action.

But in the end he held back.

He understood that even if he completely destroyed Xiao Wancheng's lineage, it would not be as important as clearing his father's name, clearing his deceased father of the charge of colluding with foreign enemies, and restoring his father's innocence.

"Just wait, this day won't be too long..."

After the curly-haired fat man left, only Xiao Yan and Xiao Tianhao were left.

Xiao Tianhao hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, cousin, don't take it to heart. Second brother is just being straightforward and he didn't mean it. I think there must be a misunderstanding here, and I don't believe that uncle would do such a thing."

Xiao Yan looked at him and chuckled with a sarcastic smile on his face, "My little cousin, should I say you are naive or stupid? It seems that old guy Xiao Wancheng protects you too well. I have to say that you are really a freak living in the Xiao family."

As he spoke, Xiao Yan shook his head.

He ignored him and walked straight past Xiao Tianhao.

Xiao Tianhao slowly lowered his head, his eyes a little absent-minded, with mixed feelings. He was not a fool, and although he was still very young, it did not mean that he really knew nothing about what happened back then.

But what could he do?

That was his father. Maybe to others, this father might not be a good one, but to him, there was nothing to complain about.

In the Xiao family, he never fights for anything.

Everything was left to the eldest and second brothers because he valued the family affection between them more than power and material things.

However, he found that even though he acted non-competitive, his second brother was still worried and would test him from time to time.

Xiao Tianhao felt that his heart was so tired.

Everyone knows that he likes Li Muchen, the third daughter of the Li family, but no one knows that compared to Li Muchen's lovely appearance, he likes her personality more.

That kind of character that never gives up.

He knew that Li Muchen, like him, longed for the care and recognition of his family.

But the difference between him is that Li Muchen will fight for it, but he won’t. This may be the reason why he gradually falls deeply in love with Li Muchen.

"Forget it. What can I do about this kind of thing?" Xiao Tianhao whispered to himself, looking at his cousin Xiao Yan's departing back and walking towards his own courtyard.

He still had to find a way to get the information Chen Mei wanted as soon as possible.

Walking on familiar streets.

When the people passing by saw Xiao Yan, their faces changed. They recognized him, but they didn't say a word and just lowered their heads and walked away quickly.

Xiao Yan sneered. It was just like what his senior brother said. The world is fickle. When you are in a good position, people will approach you actively. But once you lose power, if they don't take advantage of you, they would be considered good people.

There was no ripple in his heart...

He came back this time with two purposes.

First, he wanted to pay tribute to his late grandparents, who had doted on him when they were alive, but unfortunately, they passed away one after another when he was a child.

His grandfather fought for the Xiao family all his life. Only one year after his grandmother passed away, he fought a fierce battle with a demon leader and won the current Black Jade Supervisory Bureau for the Xiao family.

He will always remember his grandfather's serious yet loving eyes. If his grandfather were still alive, how could Xiao Wancheng dare to do such a heartless thing.

Secondly, he came here to provoke Xiao Wancheng and dangle in front of him, just to make him uncomfortable. If he can't bear it anymore, it will be exactly what he wants.

Unfortunately, Xiao Yan knew that this was impossible. With Xiao Wancheng's cunning character, how could he be fooled?

He passed through the winding path, left the Xiao family manor, walked along the long mountain road, and came to the hill behind the Xiao family manor.

There is a continuous cemetery on the hill.

At the foot of the mountain, there is a wooden house. A skinny old man sits in front of the door, basking in the sun, half-closing his eyes, as if taking a nap.

At this time, a dark shadow blocked the sunlight. The old man opened his eyes and saw the person coming. He couldn't see his face clearly, so he asked, "It's a child. Which branch are you from? What are you doing in the back mountain at this time?"

"Xiao Zhan's lineage." Xiao Yan replied.

Xiao Zhan is his grandfather’s name.

"From the old patriarch's lineage?" The old man looked at Xiao Yan carefully and felt that he looked familiar. "Are you the third son of the second patriarch's family?"

Xiao Yan said: "No, my father is Xiao Ziqing."

"Xiao Ziqing..." The old man was silent for a moment, then asked uncertainly: "Xiao Yan?"

"Yes, Grandpa Kidnapping, it's me."

"Boy, what are you doing back here?"

"Do you also believe that my father would collude with the Tushan demon tribe?" Xiao Yan clenched his fists and spoke in a low voice.

"Is it important?" The old man smiled bitterly: "Even if I believe your father was wronged, how many outsiders will believe it?"

"Unless you can find the key evidence."

"..." Xiao Yan. If he could find evidence, would he still be doing nothing here?

"Hey, Xiao Yan, go back." The old man leaned back in his chair, looked at Xiao Yan's blurry face with blurry eyes, and said, "Man does what he does, God sees what he does. Now that things have come to this, the Xiao family can no longer withstand internal strife. Although Xiao Lao Er is not a good uncle, he is doing a good patriarch."

"He doesn't care about his reputation. As long as it can help the Xiao family develop, he can sacrifice his life, because the master and your father are watching from below."

"He doesn't dare. He's afraid that he will lose face after going down. Cough cough cough..." As he said this, the old man suddenly started coughing violently.

It took a while to recover.

"Grandpa Guai, do you want me to let go of the hatred for the murder of my father and mother?" Xiao Yan asked in a low voice.

"Ahem... I didn't say that. Who can let go of such deep hatred so easily?"

The old man said: "Since you call me grandpa, I will not hide the truth from you. What happened back then was actually not as simple as you think."

Xiao Yan did not interrupt and listened quietly.

"Back then, there were some problems with the Black Jade Supervisory Bureau, which resulted in the position of Chief Inspector becoming vacant. The old patriarch took a fancy to that position and thought it might be an opportunity for our Xiao family to rise."

“But our Xiao family is just a small family. How can we compete with other families? Not to mention that those big families will not watch that special position fall into the hands of a small family.”

"At that time, your grandfather, the old patriarch, made up his mind and persuaded some small families to go to the leader of the Kingship Alliance at that time. Your grandfather used his life to fight a demon king and won that position, leaving those families speechless."

“Haha… After all, they don’t have the courage to risk their lives to fight the demon king.”

The old man smiled, his face full of pride for the old patriarch, and continued, "Your grandfather originally planned to let your father take charge of the Black Jade Supervisory Bureau and unite those small families. With their support, we in the Dao Alliance will have a certain say."

"But who would have thought that your father actually thought that the Black Jade Supervisory Bureau had offended too many people and was not suitable for the development of the Xiao family. He even thought that this position would ruin the future of the Xiao family." The old man looked at Xiao Yan, shook his head and sighed: "Your father is good in other aspects, but his personality is too upright. There are some things he refuses to do, which makes many small families that originally supported him feel dissatisfied."

"Later, as you saw, Xiao Lao Er did that thing..."

"Child, even if you kill Xiao Lao Er, it's his own fault. But if you kill him, you have to consider the Xiao family that your grandfather has fought for his whole life. The Xiao family cannot collapse. If one day you decide to take up the banner of the Xiao family, then go kill him and throw his head in front of the old patriarch's grave."

The old man's words were full of murderous intent.

After saying that, he picked up the crutch beside him and slowly stood up with the support of the crutch.

The old man followed Xiao Yan's grandfather all his life.

Although he was just a servant of the Xiao family, no one in the Xiao family dared to really treat him as a servant. Even if Xiao Wancheng was here, he would respectfully call him uncle. Because the old man had accompanied the old patriarch Xiao to the battlefield many times, and the last time, when the old patriarch Xiao fought against the demon king, the old man also participated.

In the end, he returned to the Taoist Alliance, carrying the body of Xiao Yan's grandfather and the head of the Demon King in his hand, following the bloodstained footprints.

Because of this, he even became disabled in one leg.

Xiao Yan lowered his head. He understood that in the old man's eyes, Xiao Wancheng was not important. This old man valued the Xiao family more than his own life.

The choice is already before him.

However, Xiao Yan did not dare to take over because he did not have the time and ability to carry the banner of the Xiao family.

His life is counting down every day.

He could feel that behind the power was the disappearance of life...

Chapter 244: Cunning Xiao Wancheng

"Come with me. It's rare to see you back. I don't think you are here to visit an old man like me." The old man limped in front with a cane. Xiao Yan followed silently behind the old man.

"Old Man Guai" is what other people in the village call the old man, because his weapon is the inconspicuous walking stick in his hand, which is said to be a sinister mechanical device.

It looks ordinary, but in fact, many monsters have lost their lives because of underestimating it.

The two of them walked one in front and one behind, and didn't walk for long.

They came to a well-repaired tomb. Cremation was not popular in this era. The ancients believed that after death, the body should be buried in the ground so that the soul can ascend to heaven...