Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

"In the martial world, strength is fundamental. Master was indeed right!"

Recalling Hou Yuxiao's instructions before he left, Wan Xiaolou sighed inwardly, feeling a sense of defeat.

Now that Tongling County was becoming the center of a looming storm and the Qinglong Association had become the target of all, he, as a disciple, wanted to share his master's worries but could only stand by helplessly.

"I'm not strong enough, and there's no use in being anxious. It's exactly as Master said before he left, instructing me to keep an eye on any shifts in the situation within Wanyang County. I must come here every day to see if I can gather some useful information for Master!"

Wan Xiaolou pondered and realized that the only thing he could do at the moment was to eavesdrop on others' conversations through lip reading and obtain some important information.

After all, the Golden Wind and Drizzle Building was still the top inn in Wanyang County. The number of martial artists who passed through to eat and stay each day was countless, and among them were many powerful experts with significant backgrounds. It would be great if he could inadvertently overhear something useful.

It's just...

Wan Xiaolou looked up at the second floor, his eyes revealing a trace of helplessness.

The Golden Wind and Drizzle Building had its rules; one needed to be at least at the Gang Qi Realm to go up to the second floor. He was currently only at the Opening of the Four Gates and naturally could not go up.

Every day on the first floor, he could only come into contact with Martial Artists of the Open Body Realm. If he could go up to the second floor and meet more formidable people, the information he would gather would certainly be more crucial. Perhaps then, he could find something that would be helpful to Master Hou.

Master Hou, the Family Head of the Hou Clan, had considerable strength in his family, yet he deliberately kept it hidden. Moreover, he covertly supported the Qinglong Association to step into the limelight. Disguised under the identity of Fang Jinghong, he had captured people like Chen Yuhe and Liu Fufeng, declaring they would be executed publicly in Tongling, and now used the matter of the Qinglong Token to attract many experts from two provinces and four counties to converge at Tongling...

Wan Xiaolou's experience in the martial world couldn't be said to be rich, but he was certainly no novice. From what he had gathered so far, he could see the vast ambition of the Hou Clan, or rather, of Master Hou Yuxiao.

Alas, with insufficient strength, even gathering information was an obstacle. Wan Xiaolou mocked himself inwardly, shook his head, and left the inn with Wan XiaoJin and Wan Xiaofeng.

The three of them exited the inn and prepared to return to the small courtyard Hou Yuxiao had bought for them.

"Brother Xiaolou, trouble's coming!"

Wan Xiaolou was preoccupied and had been walking with his head down thinking. His thoughts were interrupted by Wan XiaoJin's words. He looked up and immediately frowned.

Up ahead, a group of seven or eight people appeared, both men and women, all fairly young. The leader was a girl about seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in a light yellow silk dress. Although she was attractive, her eyes held a thick arrogance when she looked at Wan Xiaolou.

Wan Xiaolou didn't want to get involved with this group and tried to take Wan XiaoJin and the others to bypass them and leave, but to his surprise, the girl stepped in front of them to block their way.

"Young Master Wan, why do you avoid us when you see us?"

Hearing the girl's unfriendly tone, Wan Xiaolou was about to respond when the people behind her suddenly spoke up.

"Isn't it obvious? Without his backing, he has to keep a low profile, doesn't he?"

"He's been so arrogant. Sister Yue Rong even invited him to a banquet, and he didn't give her face."

"Hahahaha, this kid was so proud before, now he's probably panicking!"

"Hehe, his master Ren Feng got caught by the Qinglong Association, and they're going to execute him publicly in Tongling County in two days. Let's see if he dares to be arrogant now."

...

Listening to the group of youngsters mock him, Wan Xiaolou felt a bit helpless and wanted to laugh. However, he worried about offending them since their Cultivation was higher than his and he didn't dare show his emotions.

When Hou Yuxiao was disguised as Ren Feng, after all, he was a Grandmaster. He had stayed in Wanyang County for a while and gained quite a reputation. As his only Disciple, Wan Xiaolou was naturally recognized by many.

Actually, no one would have known him if it weren't for the many who wanted to curry favor with Hou Yuxiao, who was a formidable Grandmaster with no sect or family ties. Almost every third-rate force in the county wanted to win over Hou Yuxiao in some way.

But regardless of what they offered, Hou Yuxiao simply ignored them. Thus, many turned their attention to Wan Xiaolou; unfortunately, being only at the Opening of the Four Gates, the heads of these third-rate forces couldn't possibly condescend to seek out a Martial Artist of his level, so they all sent their juniors instead.

The seven or eight people in front of him, aside from the leading girl, were all direct Sect Members of third-rate forces in Wanyang County. When Hou Yuxiao was still around, they would come to Wan Xiaolou for no particular reason, trying to get closer to him.

As for the leading girl named Duan Yuerong, Wan Xiaolou knew her too. Among this group, she had the most substantial background. Her father, Duan Hu, was the Commander of the Wanyang Army, subordinate to the Sword Executor Lu Guanqing, and himself a Dan Embracing Phase expert.

Wan Xiaolou had mixed among the common folk early on and knew that these people sought to ingratiate themselves with him only because of Hou Yuxiao, so he intentionally kept his distance from them. Duan Yuerong had indeed invited him to a banquet, but he had declined.

Now, it seemed his actions had left these people with the impression that he was quite arrogant, hence their current mockery.

Feeling helpless, but because he was not strong enough, Wan Xiaolou dared not offend those present. He could only offer a fist and palm salute with a wry smile, "If I have offended in the past, it was entirely unintentional. I hope all young masters and misses can be forgiving. Today I have urgent matters to attend to, but next time, I will certainly host a banquet personally to offer my apologies and make amends. How does that sound?"