After An Xiaoran finished speaking, both of them fell into a long silence. The heavy atmosphere persisted for a while before Meng Zhang finally reacted. He invited An Xiaoran to sit in the room and prepared to have a serious conversation with her. Given the situation with the An Family, Meng Zhang considered An Lei’s face, and if he could lend a hand, he wouldn’t hesitate.
Once they were seated, Meng Zhang asked, "After the An Family encountered trouble, didn’t anyone from your clan seek help from the Flying Swan Sect?"
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Since it was confirmed that An Xiaoran was indeed a descendant of An Lei and she wasn’t lying, Meng Zhang refrained from prying into her thoughts further. As a grown man, he felt a bit embarrassed about reading the mind of a young girl, and out of respect for the deceased, he decided to hold back.
"Zeng Jiexiong’s younger brother, Zeng Jiantang, holds a considerable position within the Flying Swan Sect. With his protection, Zeng Jiexiong doesn’t have to worry about the Flying Swan Sect interfering," An Xiaoran explained.
"And also, as long as the matter isn’t excessively severe, the Flying Swan Sect won’t actively meddle in the internal affairs of vassal families. Thanks to Zeng Jiantang’s connections, Zeng Jiexiong has already taken care of the relevant cultivators within the Flying Swan Sect. It’s challenging for information about the An Family’s internal affairs to leak out, and even if it does, there’s no evidence."
Though An Xiaoran was young, she spoke in a logical manner and clearly explained the various advantages and disadvantages.
"Sect Master Meng, could you tell me about your Taiyi Sect?" An Xiaoran made a request. Since they had time, Meng Zhang proceeded to share information about the Taiyi Sect, excluding any classified details.
During the conversation, An Xiaoran asked many questions, inquiring about the Taiyi Sect’s internal situation and the surrounding circumstances. Meng Zhang was surprised that such a young girl as An Xiaoran could pose such pertinent questions, hitting the key points accurately. He talked for quite some time before finally concluding his explanation.
After listening attentively to Meng Zhang, An Xiaoran fell into deep thought. Meng Zhang didn’t rush her and patiently waited.
After a long while, An Xiaoran stood up and said seriously, "Sect Master Meng, based on the affection my grandfather held for you, may I make a request?"
"You can tell me. As long as it’s within my capability, I will definitely not refuse," Meng Zhang responded, equally solemn. He didn’t underestimate An Xiaoran just because she was a young girl; he treated her with respect and sincerity.
"Sect Master Meng, I want to live in Taiyi Sect together with my younger brother. Can you accommodate us?" An Xiaoran earnestly made her request.
"It’s not a problem; it’s just a minor matter," Meng Zhang readily agreed to An Xiaoran’s request.
"By the way, may I ask you something? Are you unhappy living here, and have you faced any bullying? Of course, if you don’t want to answer, that’s okay," Meng Zhang asked casually.
An Xiaoran remained silent for a moment before responding, "My grandfather once told me that Sect Master Meng is a man of great integrity and loyalty. You gave up the opportunity to advance further and joined the An Family out of gratitude to your sect. Can I trust you?"
With such a question from the young girl, Meng Zhang could only smile. Despite having engaged in deceitful and manipulative activities in the cutthroat world of Cultivation, at his core, he was still a good person. At least at this moment, Meng Zhang was more sincere than ever before.
"You can rest assured. Even if it’s not for the sake of your grandfather, I won’t deceive a young girl like you. Although I, Meng Zhang, am not exceptionally talented, I still care about my reputation."
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After obtaining Meng Zhang’s assurance, An Xiaoran finally revealed the true reason. It turned out that during her time with the An Family, due to her young age, nobody was particularly wary of her. An Xiaoran had accidentally discovered that Zeng Jiexiong’s subordinates had colluded with some bandits.
When White Sand Pirates suddenly attacked the Osmanthus Green Oasis, An Xiaoran keenly realized that it might have been orchestrated by Zeng Jiexiong. The ultimate goal was to capture her and her younger brother, An Moran. As for why Zeng Jiexiong wanted to capture them, An Xiaoran didn’t elaborate, but Meng Zhang could guess.
Before An Lei’s death, he probably made arrangements, and there must be something Zeng Jiexiong wanted from the An siblings—likely related to the An Family’s hidden treasure or something of the sort. However, Meng Zhang had no desire for those things. He couldn’t bring himself to covet a young girl’s possessions.
Meng Zhang was truly surprised. He hadn’t expected that Zeng Jiexiong, or whoever he was, had secret dealings with White Sand Pirates and similar bandits. However, upon further thought, it made sense. Without the cooperation of local families, these bandits wouldn’t have been able to operate so freely and have such timely information.
An Xiaoran didn’t actively expose this matter because she knew that baseless words wouldn’t be easily believed by the people of the Flying Swan Sect. Besides, being a young girl, her words wouldn’t carry much weight.
"This sudden attack by White Sand Pirates brought trouble to Grandpa Huang because of my brother and me. If Sect Master Meng hadn’t arrived in time, the consequences would have been dire."
"We can’t stay here any longer, so we planned to seek refuge with Sect Master Meng."
Seeing An Xiaoran speak with such confidence and maturity, Meng Zhang couldn’t help but tease her, "Why aren’t you afraid that I might be affected or that those bandits will come after Taiyi Sect?"
"It’s different. Taiyi Sect has three Foundation Building cultivators, and Sect Master Meng is a mid-level Foundation Building expert. Both Zeng Jiexiong and those bandits wouldn’t be a match for Taiyi Sect."
"Besides, Taiyi Sect is affiliated with Forest Spring Watch, not on the same side as the Flying Swan Sect. Zeng Jiexiong’s attempts to use his brother Zeng Jiantang’s connections to oppress Taiyi Sect with the Flying Swan Sect’s strength are unlikely to succeed."
An Xiaoran was young, but she had a clear and comprehensive way of thinking. Meng Zhang couldn’t help but activate his Deception Breaking Eye and take a closer look at her. At that moment, he was astonished; he felt like he had found a treasure. Although he didn’t use a spiritual testing plate for a detailed assessment, Meng Zhang was certain that An Xiaoran had outstanding spiritual aptitude, almost on par with his top disciple, Niu Dawei.
Not to mention An Lei’s influence, just based on An Xiaoran’s talent alone, Meng Zhang wouldn’t easily let her go; he would definitely take her in as a disciple. Such exceptional talent and beauty were extremely rare, and he had come across her just like that.
"To hell with fate! I won’t miss this opportunity."
Even though An Xiaoran hadn’t explicitly expressed her desire to join Taiyi Sect and only sought refuge there, Meng Zhang believed that once they returned, he could find a way to persuade her to become a disciple of Taiyi Sect.
"You can rest assured. I will do everything in my power to protect you and your brother. Once we’re at Taiyi Sect, not even the gods themselves could take you away from us."
Meng Zhang gave a solemn promise.
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