They All Deeply Regretted It After I Became Indifferent

Time rewinds to last night, as the junior sisters leave the inn on their way to the Ding residence.

It was the hour of the pig, and compared to the daytime, the normally bustling streets of the great city of Liang were eerily quiet at this hour.

Most people were already deep in slumber.

Xia He’s memory was commendable; she successfully led the others to a wall behind the Ding residence.

“Xia Xia, don’t you think it’s colder here than other places?” Qu Ruoyan hugged herself tightly, leaning towards Xia He.

“Lean a bit to the side; you’re too close,” Xia He pushed Qu Ruoyan slightly away, taking out a glowing red bead from her storage ring.

The light from the bead shone on them.

They all felt a warm glow, no longer so cold.

Easily scaling the wall, Xia He thought to herself; she really did have a talent for sneaking.

The next moment, Lord Ding, accompanied by several, appeared before them.

“Um, good evening?” Just as she was praising herself, she was caught red-handed, and Xia He was immediately at a loss for words.

“Ladies, sneaking into my Ding residence in the middle of the night, isn’t that a bit impolite?” Lord Ding’s voice was ominously deep.

Unable to find a suitable excuse, Xia He honestly said, “Lord Ding, we believe that the recent mysterious deaths of the ‘young talents’ in the great city of Liang are related to your daughter.”

“Ladies, I made it very clear yesterday, my daughter has been victimized; how could she be related to this matter?” Lord Ding’s voice grew even lower.

Xia He, still unaware of the anomaly, continued, “What I mean is, your daughter may have turned into a vengeful ghost after her death!”

“Is that so?” Lord Ding feigned concern, “Then, young immortals, what do you plan to do about it?”

“Of course, we will extinguish…” Realizing her words were amiss, Xia He quickly corrected herself, “We want to resolve your daughter’s grievances, to help her enter the cycle of reincarnation. You wouldn’t want your daughter to continue harming others, right?”

“From our observations, your daughter might still be in your residence.” As she spoke, Xia He’s tone was firm; “Surely, Lord Ding, you must be aware of this.”

“You really do know something!”

At that moment, a burly man approached Lord Ding, saying, “Lord Ding, I’ve confirmed it; their senior brother isn’t here.”

Qu Ruoyan pointed at the man, “Aren’t you the villain who bullied the old man buying vegetables last time?”

Xia He also realized, she hadn’t expected this Mr. Tang and Mr. Ding to be in cahoots.

The man surnamed Tang chuckled, “Lord Ding, I’ve been following these people for several days now, and I’m quite certain, all four of them are maidens!”

“I’ve always wanted to find an opportunity to act, but I was wary of their senior brother. I didn’t expect them to deliver themselves to our doorstep tonight.”

With a wave of Tang’s hand, Xia He and the others were immediately surrounded by a group of people.

Xie Zhi’an squinted his eyes, standing protectively in front of his sister, Xie Zhi’qu: “Five of them are at the peak of Qi training, the other three are inscrutable, likely at the Foundation Building stage.”

Xia He couldn’t understand why this Tang, a man who only knew some martial arts, was now followed by so many cultivators.

“Master Ding, leave these people to me. I assure you they will be dealt with properly, and no one will disturb you and your daughter again.”

Master Ding nodded, “Handle it quickly, and don’t cause too much commotion.”

With that, Master Ding turned and went back inside to rest.

The burly man named Tang licked his lips: “Without your senior brother to protect you, your fate is quite pitiable.”

“Pah!” Xia He retorted angrily: “Don’t think that hiring a few thugs means anything. I beat you once, I can beat you again, and don’t you dare mention that disgusting man to me!”

“Oh, it seems you know nothing!” The man named Tang took off his shirt, revealing a wound that had not yet healed, still slightly bleeding.

The women all frowned slightly at the sight.

Suddenly, the man named Tang said viciously: “After that day, I wanted to find people to deal with you, but who would have thought your senior brother was so meticulous, secretly following us until we entered the alley, then he struck, killing my brothers one by one.”

“If it weren’t for my special life-saving measures, I would have died at your senior brother’s hands.”

At this, the man named Tang was still visibly shaken.

The women were incredibly surprised; they thought Lin Mo had just hidden away.

They didn’t realize he had gone alone to do all this, cleaning up their mess.

The man named Tang continued: “Since I escaped, I’ve had people watching you constantly. Your senior brother really cares for you, spending the last two nights on the inn’s rooftop keeping watch, which is why my men never had the chance to strike.”

“Just when I had given up on dealing with you, you foolishly delivered yourselves to my doorstep. Having such foolish junior sisters, I truly feel sorry for your senior brother!”

As he spoke, the man named Tang’s face grew increasingly manic.

Apart from Qu Ruyan, the other three women, recalling their cold attitude towards Lin Mo, felt immense guilt.

Especially Xia He, who slowly remembered the words Lin Mo had said.

‘What if those people have backers who come back for revenge?’

‘What if their strength surpasses ours, what then?’

All these things, Lin Mo had predicted correctly.

A wave of guilt spread through her heart, eventually engulfing her entire being.

She felt she had truly made a mistake, a grave one at that.

If only she had listened to Lin Mo, none of this would have happened.

Now Qu Ruyan, Xie Zhi’an, and Xie Zhi’qu were all dragged into this danger because of her.

Seeing that the opponents were stronger than them.

Xia He prepared to stand out alone, ready to fight to the death to protect them.

She gritted her teeth: “You all go, I’ll hold them off here!”

“Ha ha!” The man named Tang laughed as if he heard the funniest joke: “Do you really think you can hold them off and let them escape?”

“Not a single one of you will escape!”

With a wave of his hand, the burly man surnamed Tang had his men swarm around the women.

Though the women felt guilty, dealing with these men was the immediate task at hand.

Fortunately, they were well-prepared with numerous protective items. The five Qi-cultivating peak masters and three Foundation-building cultivators couldn’t subdue them easily.

For a moment, Xia He even had the illusion that Foundation-building cultivators were nothing special!

“Show no mercy. A few injuries won’t affect their selling price, just avoid damaging their faces.”

As soon as the man surnamed Tang uttered these words, the women felt the pressure mount.

It only took a few rounds before they were subdued!

After being overpowered, Xia He tried to use her identity to intimidate the captors.

But upon hearing her identity, the burly man scoffed, “The Xia family of Jinling? Jinling City is thousands of miles away. Little girl, this is Daliang City!”

“Even if we kill someone, no one will trace it back to us.”

“What we want are ladies like you, from prestigious families. You high and mighty young misses are the cauldrons that many cultivators dream of possessing, and you’ll fetch a good price!”

Hearing they were to be sold as cauldrons…

Panic appeared on the women’s faces, all but Qu Ruyan, who looked puzzled.

Especially Xia He, who now felt fear in addition to guilt.

She had heard of the cauldrons’ fates, constantly abused by men, their cultivation enhanced through union.

If lucky, one would only serve as a cauldron to a single man,

But the unlucky ones faced a group of men.

Rather than being defiled repeatedly by strangers, she’d prefer death.

Qu Ruyan comforted her, “Xia Xia, our senior brother will surely come to save us. Don’t be so sad.”

Xia He choked up, looking at Qu Ruyan, Xie Zhi’an, Xie Zhiqiu, filled with shame.

Then Qu Ruyan turned into a curious baby, “Xia Xia, what’s a cauldron?”

Hearing Qu Ruyan’s question, Xia He finally broke down, bowed her head, hugged her head, and wept loudly, the words ‘I’m sorry’ repeatedly murmuring from her lips.

……..