Some coincidences were hard to avoid.
It seemed that Lian and the members of the Blood Bakshi force dispatched with him in the enemy territory had been waiting for Haisha to step out of Wilben City for a very long time.
They had waited outside Wilben City in the wilderness and relied on the intel they got from their spies present in the city to set up an ambush for Haisha and his allies. Unfortunately for Aksai, he was also caught in the ambush unknowingly.
Lian Lakir completely ignored Aksai and looked at his uncle ruthlessly as he added.
“Robbing and looting people? It seems you are still following your old ways. Why am I not surprised? After all, you have already betrayed your clan. So this much is expected from you,” Lian said as he drew his sword from storage.
The tension in the air crackled like lightning as the confrontation between the three parties reached its peak.
Aksai, perched on a sturdy tree branch, observed the unfolding scene with a mixture of apprehension and determination.
His eyes darted between Haisha Lakir and his team on one side and Lian Lakir and his team on the other. He felt as if he was forced to become a middleman.
Despite being outnumbered and caught in the middle of a family feud, Aksai remained steadfast, ready to defend himself against any threat. He hoped that the two teams would fight among each other and he’d be able to get away from both of them safely.
He wouldn’t care who won or who lost between them after that. Even if he had a bit of a score to settle with Haisha, he didn’t think that this was the perfect time to do it.
“Hahaha! It’s good to see you too, dear nephew Lian. You know what? You came at a perfect time to meet me,” Haisha Lakir said confidently. He too felt like venting his anger out on Lian Lakir who was part of the Lakir family’s main branch.
Haisha had a lot of grievances from the Lakir family’s main branch. He felt that only the main branch received the benefits and proper cultivation resources that the family generated every year while the side branches had been given a lot of work with meager benefits. And to some extent that was indeed true. As such, Haisha felt that this was the perfect opportunity for him to harm the talented seedling of the main branch and strike where it hurt the most.
“As for you, Cheyun Min. You might have to wait a bit before you get your turn. But don’t even think about going anywhere else. Otherwise, I might direct my anger all on you,” Haisha Lakir said as he looked at Aksai.
From a safe distance, Haisha sized up both Aksai and Lian Lakir’s team. Behind him stood his two subordinates, their expressions a blend of anticipation and readiness for combat.
Meanwhile, Lian Lakir’s team, consisting of three cultivators of the late-stage Spirit Refining realm, exuded an air of confidence and superiority, fueled by their allegiance to their clan and their desire to eliminate a traitor.
The three late-stage Spirit Refining cultivators weren’t ordinary. They were members of the Blood Baksi force, the Lakir family’s secret force. Lian had been given three members from this powerful force, which would ensure his safety as well as help him kill the traitor easily.
Haisha’s betrayal was like a slap in the face for the Lakir family. It wanted to wash away its shame by killing Haisha in enemy territory, where he felt most secure and safe. This way, the Lakir family would also make an example that it would not tolerate the existence of traitors, preventing other members of the clan from following in Haisha’s footsteps.
Because of the statement Haisha had made, Aksai knew that once the battle started, both teams would either force him to stay on the ground or attack him at the same time if he tried to leave. After all, they didn’t want him supporting the other side in the battle.
Thus, Aksai decided to speak up before both teams acted against each other or against him. He looked at Lian Lakir before speaking in a grave tone.
“You are Lian Lakir, right? The talented young master of the Lakir family who entered the late stage of Spirit Refining when he was just 14 years old? I highly respect you, young master.
May I ask you if you can allow me to step aside from the fight? I have nothing to do with this man. You have also seen how he was planning to rob me for what could only be considered as petty gains in your eyes.
I promise not to take his side in the battle if you let me go. Why have an unknown factor lingering by your side when you are about to get rid of the enemy, am I right?” Aksai spoke in a confident tone, hoping that Lian would buy it.
Lian Lakir looked at Aksai and sized him up. It was true that he had seen Haisha follow Aksai in secret, which could only mean that the two sides were probably not allies. As such, Lian thought for a bit before nodding at Aksai.
“Alright, you can go. Just don’t bother us,” he said to Aksai as he refocused his gaze on Haisha and smiled at him. By allowing Aksai to go when Haisha wanted to force him to stay behind, Lian was also trying to mock Haisha and his authority.
“You,” Haisha gritted his teeth as he heard Lian’s words. However, he didn’t try to stop Aksai by making sudden moves. Although Lian Lakir was a lot younger than him, Haisha did not dare to underestimate him.
The young man in front of him was a talented sword cultivator. Both Lian and Haisha were in the 7th stage of the Spirit Refining realm. However, Lian obviously had better talent as a Spirit cultivator than him. Plus, his battle prowess as a sword user was commendable.
Aksai smiled at Haisha as he heard Lian’s words. He offered a courtesy salute to Lian before using the Light Steps Spirit spell. To avoid Haisha’s backhanded attacks, Aksai approached towards Lian’s side and went past him.
However, just when Aksai was about to run away from the potential battlefield between Haisha and Lian’s teams, Lian’s expressions changed and his entire body shook a bit. This was because he sensed a reaction from the blood bead that was given to him by the Blood Bakshi force.
Of course, this blood bead was made to identify Nesha’s killer. However, it had been deemed useless by Lian after it failed to give any reaction to anyone.
Lian had spent many sleepless nights thinking about apprehending Nesha’s killer. He was sure that a Spirit cultivator like Aksai was bound to visit the Lakir City someday. However, Aksai had practically made a fool out of Lian by staying away from the Lakir City for more than two years.
Neither Lian nor Aksai could have guessed that the latter would be identified as Nesha’s killer in such a coincidental way.
Lian turned around and looked at Aksai with seething rage as he spoke. “Stop!”
Aksai was forced to halt in his steps when he sensed Lian’s aura fluctuations behind him. The man was angrier at him than Haisha, who was the family traitor.
‘Damn it.’
Aksai’s expressions turned ugly when he realized why Lian might have changed his initial decision of letting him go.
It seemed that the cat was out of the bag after almost two years of hibernation.