He darkened his face, and his left palm happened to touch a big stone.

In the next instant, that unfortunate stone silently crumbled into powder.

She cried for a while and gradually calmed down. When she opened her eyes to sneak a peek, she saw him venting his anger on the stone, which scared her into gasping for air, and the trend of her tears showed no sign of stopping.

Changtian coaxed her gently for a while but found it had little effect. Instead, as she sobbed and gasped for air, her full chest brushed against him, dissipating his anger while another kind of heat quietly grew.

This wasn’t a good time. He thought for a moment and decided to divert her attention: "Don’t you want to know about the Jin Family?"

As soon as he spoke, her breathing suddenly calmed considerably. Yet she still kept her face buried in his chest, unwilling to look up.

She couldn’t be blamed for that. Her face was now all red and terribly ugly; how dare she let him see?

Changtian knew she was listening attentively, so he lightly kneaded the back of her neck and said: "When I left the Central Capital, Jin Wuhuan and Jin Manyi were already dead, with only Jin Manyan still alive. I was determined not to let this family go, but when I returned to the Hidden Stream to gather people, someone had already taken action against Jishi Building before me."

Huh? She blinked her eyes; someone acted faster than Changtian?

"Based on the information I gathered, Jishi Building is managed by the family unit within the Immortal Sect. The Jin Family has upwards of six thousand people, and when the news of Bai Yujing reached the sect, the whole Jishi Building descended into chaos."

He paused for a moment, seeing that she only inhaled without speaking, so he continued: "I isolated Bai Yujing from the outside world, and Jin Wuhuan simultaneously disappeared. The outsiders speculate he died at my hands but can’t find solid evidence, and no one dares ask me directly, leaving the Jin Family in a dilemma, can you imagine that?"

He gently shook her. Ning Xiaoxian had no choice but to nod.

In this world, Immortal Sects and Demon Sects are essentially divided into two categories: one like the Chaoyun Sect, which passes down the sect through a strict master-apprentice relationship; and another like Jishi Building and Fengtian Prefecture, which manages the sect by the family unit. Each has its pros and cons, but when an unexpected event occurs to the superior in the latter category, it reveals an inability to cope. For instance, when the old Prefecture Master of Fengtian Prefecture died, the power struggle between Qing Ji and Miluo almost split Fengtian Prefecture into two factions. Similarly, when the Sect Leader of the Jin Family suddenly died, Jishi Building immediately fell into a state with no one to lead, and its patriarchal system would instantly lead to a struggle for power.

The intriguing point is that as soon as the incident with Bai Yujing occurred, no one could confirm if Jin Wuhuan truly died in the Mirror World, since Changtian was the only eyewitness to emerge. Under these circumstances, Jin Wuhuan’s brother Jin Wuya quickly seized power, trying to take control of Jishi Building. However, his uncle Jin Quheng, with abundant finances, extensive connections, and weighty prestige, couldn’t allow him to take sole control. The two factions quickly fought like cocks in a pit, although they were somewhat polite to Jin Wuhuan’s orphaned family, wary of the day Jin Wuhuan might suddenly appear to challenge them.

"You didn’t directly seek them out for bad luck?" She buried her head, her voice muffled, with a hint of sob.

He lightly patted her back twice, helping her catch her breath, then laughed and said: "Ha, I initially intended to, but after leaving the Central Capital, I was short on personnel; upon returning to the Hidden Stream, I received the news of changes at Jishi Building, so I changed my mind... You really think I always intend to annihilate entire clans?"

"Didn’t you wipe out the Jiuxiao Sect?"

His hand paused: "Did Elder He tell you that?"

"Mm." She shifted her body, adjusting her posture, "Don’t blame him; I forced him to tell me everything that happened over the past years."

"He guards Bashe Forest and isn’t aware of the true situation." Seeing that she was listening attentively, he clandestinely moved his hand lower, grasping Xiaoman’s waist, kneading rhythmically. She indeed snuggled closer to him. Her back was painful, preventing her from sitting; half kneeling and half lying, with her pelvis slightly raised, her posture was truly alluring from his viewpoint.

She lay in his arms, not seeing the flame in his eyes. Changtian’s Adam’s apple moved: "When you scrutinized the Foreign Affairs Hall’s accounts a few days ago, didn’t you notice Fortune Gold being logged every six months?"

She indeed got distracted by the question; she pondered carefully and recited like a treasure: "Mm, every six months there’s about six hundred jin in total, and the amount is very stable. But according to the ledgers, the sellers are Guanghui Sect and Zhu Tao Palace, and the purchase price is amusingly low, almost giving it away for free. I specially checked the information; both of these Immortal Sects are quite large and located by the East Sea, not far from Jiuxiao Sect’s residence. Did these sects take over the mines after we annihilated the Jiuxiao Sect?"