When those words came out of Liu Xiaodan's mouth, the man knew that these two people didn't really know who he was. However, they knew exactly that he was from the Qiao family. What was the last thing that his Qiao family had done? It was to assign spirits to assassinate the young master of the Li family—which could be the same young master standing right in front of him right now.
He didn't know how to respond to these words, but he knew that perhaps he was safe only because they were in the open. If he decided to deny being part of the Qiao family, he might escape death for real. Yet, he knew that they were so sure as if they could track the blood in his body. At this point, he had forgotten that he was wearing a brooch with the Qiao family's emblem on it.
"I am not really part of that family. I'm not even a shaman like everyone else. I don't have anything to do with what they were doing to you guys! So please spare me! I have a wife and a kid at home." He had also forgotten that knowing meant involvement in some way.
Liu Xiaodan knew that the person was telling the truth, not counting the pinches of denial that he smeared his words with. For some reason, Liu Xiaodan could tell that the man was not lying about having an immediate family. However, he would rather not say it out loud and risk being interrogated by Li Feng.
"So you're only here to visit a grave that doesn't exist?" Li Feng huffed. If he wasn't coming here to visit someone, then why did he have flowers?
"I was… well, I didn't think it would turn out like this." This man wasn't really a good disciple. His strength was too weak to even qualify as a trainee. "I want to apologize to my little brother. However, I feel like it's too late."
"Not really, he could still hear you." Liu Xiaodan received a few thoughts from Guangru. "You don't have to feel so bad. He was in the midst of evolving his power that surpassed what could be destroyed by the wave. He might reform himself, but it would be strange to speak of it like he's some legendary menace. Let's try to communicate with him again some other time."
"All right, if that's what you think is going to happen soon enough."
The man didn't contest the words of Liu Xiaodan. He just knew that no matter what the father said, he was going to agree to whatever it was.
They didn't have any reason to stay gathered anymore, but Li Feng was still feeling mad. He was furious; he wasn't appeased at all. However, he just decided to let it go. Not every problem in the world could be solved by him. He was just a lesser god, unlike his Daddy who could own the world as if he was the only ruler it had.
The meeting was so bizarre. Liu Xiaodan didn't know why it felt strange, but that man was simply a small person in the Qiao family. He probably wasn't part of those people in black, or else he would have done something when he saw that ghost evolving. Then again, Liu Xiaodan didn't want to sound like a jerk who generalized an entire family just because he was hunted—no, that was too much—bothered by them.
He got home by dinner, and his future wife was the one who cooked dinner for that evening. They were already seated at the table when he came to the dining room. Chuan Nayi chuckled as she was the first one to talk to him after the greetings. "You're late. I thought you were just going to take an exam."
"I thought so, too, but things happened, and the card took so long to be processed. I did get it in the end," Liu Xiaodan responded with a slight smile. After that, he reached into his bag and took out a few packets. "That's also why I had the time to buy candies for you. I hope you like them."
"You shouldn't have bothered. The peaches are still in the fridge." Chuan Nayi's eyes lit up when she saw her favorite kinds among the ones that he had placed on the table. There were simply so many stores around the driving center for those who wanted to wait for their cards.
"Oh… no… don't eat those peaches—well, maybe some of them but not all." His brows lifted as he realized that they were still eating the peaches. "Guangru actually likes it, and everyone else does as well. Don't push yourselves to eat everything I took home."
"Alright, so sit down. We're about to eat."
It was a nice dinner, and yet he kept on thinking about some other stuff. It ended up occupying the rest of his evening. Tonight, Chuan Nayi wasn't going to sleep next to him. He was alone in the bed, even if there was a big black bear stuffie by the headboard. He was playing with its toes while thinking.
Perhaps it was too reckless to just jump in and attack without restraint… because, at the end of the day, there were still innocent people living in the Qiao family. Could he bear the burden of getting them all killed just because he wanted to exact his revenge?
"Are you hesitating now, Baba?" Guangru came out of nowhere, but the father didn't think much of it. This child was a demon, and he had been all over the place recently—unlike before when all he knew was to sit around where his father was. It was as if the more Liu Xiaodan accepted the fact that the child was a demon, the more Guangru took the liberty to actually behave naturally as he would if he had no prospective father.
Liu Xiaodan just accepted him in his arms and took a look at those big round eyes of pure black. Within those eyes were possibilities that only Guangru would be able to realize. However, Liu Xiaodan was using it to stare at his reflection on it. "Is it wrong to hesitate now? Then again, I'm not really hesitating…
"I'm just thinking… maybe, we shouldn't attack that actual residence since there might be innocent people in there." His thoughts quickly returned to that man from earlier. Even if he felt pity for the boy, he was still not moved enough to actually kill. Moreover, he was actually thinking that the guy was one of the innocent people who might be implicated if he grew relentless.
"It's okay, you don't have to push yourself." Guangru only hummed. He was actually not on the same side as his father in this one. "They will all come to you as long as you show that you are not scared of them."
Liu Xiaodan was supposed to answer when Chuan Nayi opened the door in a hurry. "Xiaodan! My mom! She's not home! She supposed to be home!"