Lin Qian had already moved into the bedroom arranged for them with Ye Xin, where the Array had been modified to keep out the seawater.
The group from the Carefree Sect were staying in the large courtyard next door, which was quite logical since there were many of them.
"Little Qian, can’t you figure out what’s going on either?" Ye Xin, sitting in the bedroom, asked Lin Qian in front of her, feeling a chill in her heart.
For some reason, she always felt an eerie sense of unease about this situation.
"Now, Zhang Tianxin and Senior Zhou Yian have gone to demand an explanation from the Black Blade Fish Clan and the Eight Mysterious Hall. We’ll see the outcome when they return," Lin Qian said, shaking his head gently. The level of strangeness in the situation befuddled him as well.
The Huaxia Empire had no records of such a situation in the books they had obtained, so Zhuge Ming could not offer any conclusion either.
This world was foreign and mysterious to the Huaxia Empire; the knowledge they depended on was entirely based on Lin Qian’s expertise and the books they had acquired.
At least, among the books Lin Qian had obtained thus far, there were none that recorded any such situation.
Suddenly, a humming sound emerged from the Array barrier enveloping their courtyard.
With a thought, Lin Qian opened the door of the bedroom; a gap had appeared in the Array barrier on the main gate of the opposite courtyard, and the door was opened by someone.
Through the main gate, Li Yunfeng, Zhang Zide, Zhang Qi, and Zhang Wenxuan, four people, entered from outside the courtyard, heading towards his room.
After entering the bedroom, the four people sat down unceremoniously at the table in front of Lin Qian and Ye Xin. They picked up the teacups, poured themselves some Spiritual Tea, and began to drink leisurely.
Seeing the four arriving, Lin Qian didn’t need to think much to know that there must be a result.
"The issue has been resolved, and quite smoothly at that," said Li Yunfeng, playing with the teacup in his hand. After removing his water-attribute Soul Device, he downed the tea in one gulp, "Smoothly—to an unnatural extent."
"Smoothly to an unnatural extent?" Lin Qian also picked up a teacup and lightly caressed it, his tone full of confusion.
Zhang Zide nodded, describing the situation. "I was the only one who went with them to demand an explanation from the Black Blade Fish Clan and the Eight Mysterious Hall. Originally, I thought a conflict would arise, and there would be some dispute. Who would have thought that as soon as we got there, they immediately admitted their wrongs and apologized."
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"Immediately admitted their wrongs and apologized?" Lin Qian was somewhat surprised; the Black Blade Fish Clan, assuming they had brazenly come to snatch things, didn’t seem like the kind of Sea Clan that would readily speak kindly.
"At first, when we got there, the Eight Mysterious Hall looked ready to start a fight with me, but they were stopped by the Black Blade Fish Clan," Zhang Zide continued, his expression peculiar. "The Black Blade Fish Clan just apologized outright and compensated us with a hundred million top-quality Soul Crystals!"
Lin Qian’s eyebrows raised slight; after all, the other party had only injured people and not taken any lives—compensating a hundred million top-quality Soul Crystals was not a small sum.
And their attitude was just too strange.
"What’s more surprising is not just that," he continued. "The Clan Leader of the Black Blade Fish Clan handed over the one-armed clan member and let my grandfather strike him down, to appease our anger."
"Proactively compensating with Soul Crystals, and surrendering the culprit who injured people, allowing us to enact revenge by killing him—there was nothing else we could do but to return."
After Zhang Zide finished speaking, Lin Qian and Ye Xin exchanged glances, full of surprise in their eyes.
"What on earth is the Black Blade Fish Clan playing at?" Lin Qian frowned slightly, always feeling something odd about the affair.
Ye Xin’s eyes shone brightly as she suddenly said, "Brother Zhang, have the snatched items been retrieved?"
At Ye Xin’s question, Zhang Zide was taken aback, then shook his head, "They compensated with Soul Crystals and handed over a person. Considering the stolen item was just a broken stone, it didn’t seem appropriate to ask for it back."
"What if the Black Blade Fish Clan’s sincere apologies, Soul Crystals compensation, and surrendering the person were all to prevent us from asking for the broken stone and stop pursuing them?" Ye Xin continued.
As Ye Xin’s words fell, a look of realization dawned on everyone’s faces.
"The younger sister-in-law is right, this could explain the Black Blade Fish Clan’s mysterious attitude," Li Yunfeng acknowledged, tapping the table in agreement.
"If we had demanded our stolen items back, maybe the other party would have turned hostile," Lin Qian’s eyes revealed a clarity of understanding.
Zhang Qi hastily suggested, "In that case, should we quickly tell everyone and go demand the stolen item from the Black Blade Fish Clan?"
"No more!" Zhang Wenxuan slapped Zhang Qi’s arm and shook her head, "With the situation already causing such a stir, everyone knows we’ve accepted the Black Blade Fish Clan’s apology; asking them for the item now would attract critical opinions."
Lin Qian was silent for a moment before continuing, "Let’s set aside this matter for now. The South Meeting doesn’t officially start for another month. Until then, we should all focus on adjusting our state."
Originally, the South Meeting wasn’t scheduled to begin a month later, but an anomaly had occurred in the entrance to the Small World, and it would take a month to stabilize fully.
"This South Meeting is likely not going to be so straightforward," said Zhang Zide, his brow furrowed. "The Black Blade Fish Clan is almost on par with our Eight-Armed Sea Clan, but the talent they sent this time likely has a Heart Realm within the Life and Death Realm!"
"I haven’t seen the prodigy from the Eight Mysterious Hall, so I’m unsure about their specific Realm."
"I originally thought that with Brother Lin’s help, our Realms would surely surpass the Black Blade Fish Clan. But to my surprise, their strength is by no means weaker."
At this, a hint of frustration crossed Zhang Zide’s face.
He had firmly believed that the Black Blade Fish Clan’s prodigy would be at least a level below.
"Focus on solidifying your Realm and adjusting your condition. After all, what we face is a position within a Small World, and no one knows what might occur there," said Lin Qian, taking out a golden Token strung on a golden cord.
He distributed these golden Tokens to the four before him, reminding them, "In case we end up in different places upon entering, you’ll have these, and I will be able to accurately locate you."
After looking at the golden Token in her hand, Ye Xin immediately asked, "What about Zhang Zhan and Zhang Ziqi? Don’t they need one as well?"
"They declined my invitation to act together earlier," Lin Qian chuckled upon hearing Ye Xin’s question. "They said something about how facing it alone was the mark of a true warrior."
"There’s a saying, ’strength in numbers, unity is power.’"
"What they’ll do, I have no right to meddle, nor do I have any interest. I just need to take care of you guys," Lin Qian said, his eyes brimming with a profound interest, "If possible, I would like to take this Small World for myself."
Ye Xin could see the gleam in Lin Qian’s eyes—an avid longing for dominion.