Chief Xiao glanced at her and said, "You don't need to worry about this. Go play for now, let me talk with your uncles."
"No, I'm not leaving," Ivy Xiao said stubbornly.
"If you don't go, I'll throw you back into the cave." Chief Xiao's face suddenly darkened, which startled Ivy—she had never seen her father look like this before.
"Fine, I'll go! What's the big deal anyway?" Ivy Xiao said with a sniff as she left.
Watching Ivy Xiao's departing figure, Chief Xiao looked helpless. "Big brother, what's this about?" asked a middle-aged man who had just entered.
"Do you know why he came?" Chief Xiao asked.
"Why?" the man asked curiously.
The man was none other than Second Chief Xiao, Chief Xiao's younger brother and Ivy Xiao's second uncle. He had been waiting outside, and after seeing the visitor leave, he entered to find out what had happened.
"They want to merge our fortress," Chief Xiao said with a frown.
"What? That's impossible! We brothers fought hard to build this place, and over the years we've recruited so many strong experts. We can't just hand it over to them. If it comes to it, we'll fight!" Second Chief Xiao said, fired up.
"Second brother, I know how you feel. When I first heard about it, I was angry too. But when he told me they have an Immortal Lord backing them, do you really think we have any chance?" Chief Xiao said helplessly.
"Immortal Lord? What rank?" Second Chief Xiao asked in shock.
"He said he's already reached Fifth Rank. Even if the two of us teamed up, we wouldn't stand a chance," Chief Xiao sighed.
"How did they get an Immortal Lord as a backer?" Second Chief Xiao was clearly unhappy.
"It's all because their little brat caught the eye of an Emperor Lord, who took him as a disciple. So now, as soon as he returned to his clan, he wants to swallow us up. And he even proposed a condition that made me furious," Chief Xiao said, growing angrier as he spoke.
"What condition?" This time, Second Chief Xiao was the one who looked curious.
"He said, if we're worried about what happens after the merger, he suggests Ivy marries into their family. That way, the Xiao Clan Fortress stays independent, but they'd be in charge," Chief Xiao said.
"Outrageous! No way! Even if you agree, I won't! Everyone knows that kid is worse than a beast—how could an Emperor Lord possibly take a liking to him? It's unbelievable," Second Chief Xiao exploded.
"If Ivy doesn't marry, they'll send that Emperor Lord's subordinate—the Fifth Rank Immortal Lord I mentioned—here," Chief Xiao said, troubled.
"Big brother, why let them tie you down so easily? If it comes to it, we'll dissolve the fortress and leave with Ivy," Second Chief Xiao said.
"I thought about that too, but the Immortal Realm is huge. That Immortal Lord probably knows a lot of people and has plenty of spies. If we get caught, it'll be even more trouble," Chief Xiao said worriedly.
"Big brother, even if it costs us our lives, we can't let Ivy become a sacrificial pawn or someone else's slave," Second Chief Xiao said firmly.
"Second brother, I know what you mean. That's why I'm so conflicted right now," Chief Xiao said helplessly.
"Then let's do what I said—dissolve the fortress and leave with Ivy," Second Chief Xiao insisted.
"Leave? Like I said, there are plenty of spies. I just checked outside—lots of people are hiding around our mountain, and there are even some spies inside our fortress," Chief Xiao said.
"Damn it, who are they? I'll go out and kill them," Second Chief Xiao said.
Seeing Second Chief Xiao like this, Chief Xiao thought for a moment and said, "Second brother, how about this: you quietly take Ivy away. Once you're gone, I'll dissolve the fortress. And you two should never show up again."
"No way, that would put you in danger. How about this: we let Ivy leave, but don't tell her what's really going on—otherwise she definitely won't go. The two of us stay here and wait, and when the time comes to dissolve the fortress, we fight those people together. Even if we die, we'll die side by side!" Second Chief Xiao said.
"Second brother, why go so far?" Chief Xiao said helplessly after hearing Second Chief Xiao's words.
"Big brother, I have no wife or children. Ivy is like my own daughter, so no matter what, I can't let her future be ruined," Second Chief Xiao said.
Chief Xiao was moved after hearing this, then said, "Alright, I'll take care of it right away."
Second Chief Xiao nodded, then followed Chief Xiao to find Ivy.
Inside Ivy's room, she was angrily throwing things around and cursing, "Why scold me? Am I not even as good as an outsider?"
Evan Yang sighed inwardly, feeling helpless. This girl was really naive to think that way, but he was also curious—why did Chief Xiao suddenly lose his temper for no reason?
Just as Evan was wondering how to comfort her, two people walked in from outside. He hadn't met them before, but judging by Ivy's reaction, one was her father and the other was definitely a close relative.
The two men saw a stranger standing there and exchanged glances. Realizing they didn't recognize him, they both frowned, suspecting he was sent by the enemy.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Chief Xiao asked.
"It's none of your business. He's my friend!" Ivy Xiao said stubbornly.
"Of course I care who your friends are. I'm your father—don't I have the right to care?" Chief Xiao said, utterly helpless. He knew he had gone too far earlier, but now he had to drive Ivy away quietly, making sure no one outside noticed where she went.
"What kind of father is so harsh to his daughter?" Ivy Xiao said with a nasal tone.
"You call that harsh? That's because you haven't realized your attitude. You came in and started grilling me in front of everyone," Chief Xiao said, pretending to be angry.
Ivy Xiao was stunned. She had thought her father was just making a mistake out of ignorance, but seeing him truly angry now, she shouted, "Be mean, keep being mean! I don't need a father like you!"
"As long as your surname is Xiao and you're here, you'll always be my daughter!" Chief Xiao suddenly shouted. But inside, he was heartbroken—he just couldn't say it out loud.
"You, you... Let's go," Ivy Xiao said angrily.
After saying this, she called Evan to leave with her, and Chief Xiao shouted from behind, "If you have the guts to leave, don't ever come back!"
"I won't come back! Whoever wants to come back can!" Ivy Xiao almost burst into tears. This was the first time she'd ever been hurt like this.
With that, Ivy Xiao left sadly with Evan Yang, riding her sword. "We're just leaving like this?" Evan asked, curious.
"It's his fault for being so mean!" Ivy Xiao said stubbornly.
"Maybe your father has his reasons," Evan Yang realized that although Chief Xiao sounded furious, he didn't really have that anger. In Evan's opinion, it was all an act, but Ivy was so upset she didn't notice.
"Reasons? What reasons? I just asked him why he didn't stop that person, that's all," Ivy Xiao said angrily.
"Who was that person?" Evan Yang thought of the man who spoke to Ivy earlier today.
"He's from another fortress a hundred miles away. Their clan fell from grace and turned to banditry. They often compete with us for business, so I really dislike him. When I saw him today, I asked about it, but my dad didn't chase him off—instead, he scolded me!" Ivy Xiao grew more aggrieved as she spoke.
Evan Yang was curious. Not long after they left, someone followed them. Evan's spiritual sense was so strong—thanks to cultivating with the strange conch—that he quickly noticed several people trailing behind.
Judging by their appearance, they weren't from the Xiao Clan Fortress.
"Who are they?" Evan wondered. Just as he was curious about their identity, the other man who had been with Chief Xiao appeared. As soon as he showed up, he attacked the pursuers.
Soon, more strong cultivators appeared around the fortress, surrounding that man. Evan was startled, but the man dealt with them quickly, then looked toward Evan and Ivy.
Just as Evan was about to explain things to Ivy, the man sent Evan a message: "I don't know who you are, but from the start, I could tell you weren't with those people. So take her away, and never let her return."
This message was from the strong cultivator, Second Chief Xiao. Evan didn't know his identity but was curious why he sent such a message.
So Ivy Xiao had no idea what was happening, and Evan Yang stopped paying attention once his spiritual sense couldn't detect anything. He continued listening to her complaints.
After flying for about half a day, Ivy's anger gradually faded. She finally turned and asked, "Were you even listening to me?"
"I was," Evan Yang replied.
"Do you think my dad will come after me?" Ivy Xiao asked curiously.
"I don't know. If there's no special reason, he probably will," Evan Yang replied.
"What do you mean by special reason? Anyway, I'm not afraid. If he doesn't look for me, I won't go back!" Ivy Xiao said.
After saying this, she turned away and kept flying. Every so often, she'd turn back to ask Evan if her dad would come after her. Evan shook his head, but from her expression, he could tell she really wanted to go back, but her pride kept her moving forward.
Another day passed. Ivy couldn't help but say, "That's impossible! Whenever I ran away before, he'd find me within half a day. But now it's been more than a day and nothing?"
"You used to run away often?" Evan Yang asked, curious.
"Yeah, that's right. Whenever something upset me, I'd leave, and my dad would always come find me. But now..." Ivy Xiao sounded a bit lost.
"Maybe something came up," Evan Yang said. But he still hadn't decided whether to tell her what he'd seen and heard.
"Something came up? What could be more important than a missing daughter?" Ivy Xiao was clearly upset.
"I really don't know. Why don't you go back and check?" Evan Yang suggested.
But Ivy shook her head and said, "I'm not going back—unless he comes to find me."
Evan Yang sighed inwardly. He really wanted to remind her to go back and check, but since she wasn't interested, he didn't know how to explain.