"Yun'er, why did your father choose this moment to scold you?" Young Master Wood's eldest uncle asked curiously.
"I don't know either. He started yelling at me as soon as he came in," Mu Yun said sadly.
This was unusual. Just as the eldest uncle was about to ask more, the third uncle interjected, "Big Brother, you know what Second Brother's temper is like. Let's not get involved in their family business."
The eldest uncle agreed and turned to the patriarch, "Patriarch, what should we do now?"
"Yunfeng ended up like this, plus that other matter—there's definitely something strange going on here. Who was the suspicious person you mentioned? The one your father intended to find?" the patriarch asked Young Master Wood.
Young Master Wood nodded, "His name is Evan Yang. He's the personal bodyguard brought by the woman I'm supposed to marry."
"What is his status? What's his background?" the patriarch asked.
"His cultivation hasn't even reached the Immortal Body stage. As for his background, I don't know. I only know that the woman met him by chance somewhere," Young Master Wood replied.
"You two, go bring Evan Yang here. I want to see him," the patriarch ordered the eldest and third uncles.
The two nodded and headed to the garden. Young Master Wood and Mu Yun waited there, while the patriarch checked Mu Yunfeng's body again, muttering, "These insects really are strange. Could they be from that place?"
"Patriarch, where are they from?" Young Master Wood asked curiously.
"The Miao Dynasty to the west. But they've never interacted with us before—why would they send someone here?" the patriarch said suspiciously.
"Miao? Isn't that the dynasty famous for cultivating poison arts with insects?" Young Master Wood exclaimed in shock.
"That's right, that dynasty," the patriarch replied.
Both Young Master Wood and Melody Wood looked astonished.
Meanwhile, the two who had left headed for the garden. Just then, Lynn Lin returned and encountered them, asking, "Who are you?"
"Where's Evan Yang?" the older man asked.
"What do you want with him? Who are you really?" Lynn Lin glared, seeing their aggressive demeanor.
"I don't know how that kid could like someone like you. If you won't tell us, we'll find him ourselves," the older man snorted.
Hearing this, Lynn Lin realized they were probably Wood Estate elders and tried to block them, but just then Evan Yang walked out, smiling, "May I ask what you two need from me?"
"You're Evan Yang?" the older man asked.
"Yes, that's me. What's going on?" Evan Yang replied.
"Come with us," the older man said.
Evan Yang asked suspiciously, "Why?"
"No reason. Just come with us. If nothing's wrong, you'll be able to return," the older man repeated.
Evan Yang realized they were from the Wood Immortal Hall, here to escort him. He had wanted to see what the hall looked like, so he answered, "Alright, I'll go now."
Lynn Lin was puzzled why Evan Yang would go with them. Just as she was about to ask, Evan Yang sent her a sound transmission: "Just stay inside and don't wander around."
Then Evan Yang left with the two, one in front and one behind, as if afraid he might escape. Evan acted as if nothing had happened and arrived outside the Wood Immortal Hall.
Outside the Wood Immortal Hall, they reached the entrance and had Evan Yang go in first, with both men following closely. Evan Yang stepped inside, expecting a small space, but found it vast with many floors, like a hidden imperial palace.
Ahead, not far away, lay a body Evan Yang recognized immediately—it was Cloudwind Wood. Young Master Wood and Melody Wood were also present, along with an elder in black armor standing nearby.
Evan Yang frowned—why would anyone wear armor indoors? It was far too strange, so the elder in armor stood out the most.
When the elder saw Evan Yang, he asked, "You're Evan Yang?"
"Yes. May I ask who you are?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"I am the master of Wood City, patriarch of the Wood Family—Hamilton Wood," the elder said.
"So you're the patriarch. May I ask why you've summoned me?" Evan Yang asked respectfully, though still curious.
"You've heard about today's events, haven't you?" Hamilton Wood asked.
"What events?" Evan Yang asked, surprised and confused.
"You don't know?" Hamilton Wood looked at Evan Yang suspiciously.
"I don't understand," Evan Yang shook his head, pretending to be completely clueless.
"You explain," Hamilton Wood said to Young Master Wood.
Young Master Wood looked at Evan Yang and said, "My father was attacked by a swarm of mysterious insects. We brought you here to see if you were responsible."
"Me? Elders, what ability do I have to do such a thing? I'm just this weak," Evan Yang said nervously.
Seeing Evan Yang so frightened, Hamilton Wood frowned. Logically, it shouldn't be him, but something still felt off, so he asked, "Are you sure you don't know anything?"
Evan Yang shook his head, acting completely clueless. The people present exchanged glances, except Melody Wood, who worried they might use force.
"Patriarch, he might not be telling the truth. My father said we could use a soul-bewitching technique," Young Master Wood said, unwilling to give up.
The patriarch frowned, "That technique is extremely vicious. If used, he could fall into a coma and never wake up."
Hearing this, Evan Yang hurriedly pleaded, "Patriarch, spare me!"
Seeing Evan Yang begging for mercy, the others felt he probably wasn't a strong expert in disguise. His performance was so convincing that the patriarch grew suspicious, but the matter was serious—his own son was incapacitated, even his soul missing.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside, and tremors came from below the ground.
"What's going on?" the patriarch exclaimed in shock.
"I'll go check," Young Master Wood's eldest uncle said, hurrying outside. Evan Yang was curious about what could be happening now.
Hamilton Wood's expression grew very grave, as if something major was about to happen.
After a while, the eldest uncle returned in a panic, shouting, "Patriarch, something's wrong!"
"What happened?" the patriarch asked.
"The Nagle Dynasty has begun attacking our imperial capital. Our generals are organizing a massive battle outside, and the underground guardian beast has started to stir, preparing to emerge," he replied.
Hamilton Wood exclaimed, "How could this happen? What's going on today? Could those insects have been released by them?"
"Patriarch, now's not the time for this. We need to rally everyone to resist!"
"Damn it, they must know our family's god has left, and they're taking advantage of the chaos. Those despicable Nagle people," Hamilton Wood cursed.
Hearing this, Evan Yang was secretly pleased—the god here was gone.
After cursing, Hamilton Wood said, "Have the guardian beast below prepare. I'm going out, but I need to see someone first. The two of you and you stay here; we'll deal with your matter afterward."
The two mentioned were Young Master Wood and Melody Wood. Hamilton Wood left with his two sons, leaving only three people and a corpse in the hall.
"Kid, are you sure you didn't poison my father?" Young Master Wood asked suspiciously once the others had gone.
"If I wanted to poison you, I could do it right now, couldn't I?" Evan Yang said with a smile.
"Ridiculous! Do you know where you are? As a Wood Family member, you're protected here—this is our last sanctuary. No one can harm us here," Young Master Wood laughed.
Evan Yang wasn't sure if that was true, so he looked at Melody Wood. She nodded, clearly unwell after all she'd been through.
"Do you have any proof? Any evidence that I released the insects?" Evan Yang asked.
Young Master Wood paused, then said, "If I had evidence, you'd already be dead."
"Well, then that's settled," Evan Yang replied. Seeing Evan Yang so bold, Young Master Wood snorted, "Now that no one's here, let's see who protects you."
"Really? You're going to kill me and silence me? When the patriarch returns, let's see how you explain it," Evan Yang said.
"I'll just say you resisted. Simple as that," Young Master Wood sneered.
"Stop!" Melody Wood finally couldn't hold back and spoke up as she saw Young Master Wood about to attack.
"What? You want to stop me?" Young Master Wood frowned.
"The patriarch said to wait for his return. If you act now, of course I have to stop you," Melody Wood replied.
"We'll see if you can stop me," Young Master Wood snorted. He and Melody Wood began fighting fiercely. Evan Yang was annoyed—if the hall truly protected Wood Family members, what kind of protection was it? Wanting to understand, Evan Yang watched their fight while expanding his divine sense to investigate the surroundings.
Outside Wood Immortal Hall, Wood Estate was on high alert, while Wood City’s imperial capital was embroiled in battle. Hamilton Wood arrived at a pavilion, where an elder stood at the door, seemingly waiting for him.
"You're here?" the elder asked.
"Yes," the patriarch replied.
"What do you think of this situation?" the elder asked.
The patriarch was puzzled, "I had no idea until just now when they said it was the Nagle Dynasty."
"You were too careless. Over half a month ago, I sensed a strange divine presence in Wood Estate, but I searched for weeks and found nothing. Looks like the Nagle Dynasty brought some powerful experts this time," the elder said.
"So what now? Should we activate the guardian beast?" the patriarch asked.
"Yes, let's go together," the elder replied.
The two of them took a special passage, crossed a barrier, and reached the underground, where the guardian beast was stirring.
"When was the last battle?" the elder asked.
"It must have been thousands of years ago. Every time the god is absent, they launch sneak attacks—truly despicable," Hamilton Wood said.
"Yes, just a few thousand years. I wonder how well it has recovered. Let's send it out to take a look," the elder replied.
"Alright, please open the guardian formation and let the beast out," Hamilton Wood said.
The elder nodded, closed his eyes, made a gesture, and took out a transparent mirror-like object. He aimed it at the guardian beast's location, murmured a spell, and the beast suddenly vanished, appearing above Wood Estate.