369: Chapter 368 Bai Ruoxue's Background (Part 2)

"It cannot be completely confirmed yet, but all signs indicate that it is very likely her," Xu Anguo said with a solemn tone. "Qingcheng also provided a key piece of intelligence: this woman has a special Physique and cannot Cultivate ordinary Internal Skills, yet she can master Ice-attribute cultivation techniques. This is exactly the same as the unique Physique of the women from the Bai Family of the Western Regions back then."

Xu Anguo took a deep breath and voiced his final judgment: "Therefore, I personally lean towards believing that, in all probability, this Bai Ruoxue is the orphan of the Bai Family of the Western Regions from all those years ago."

Upon hearing this, the leader fell into a long silence, as if frozen by an invisible force.

A deathly silence filled the office, broken only by the rhythmic and clear "tick-tock" of the old-fashioned wall clock, each second striking against the heart.

Xu Anguo held his breath, not even daring to breathe loudly. He could clearly see the churning complex emotions in the leader's eyes—shock, reminiscence, deep regret, and a trace of... indelible guilt.

After a long while, the leader finally exhaled a long breath of turbid air. "What was meant to come has finally arrived... Regarding the matter of the Bai Family back then, although it was forced by the situation for the sake of the big picture, in the end... we owe them."

"Leader, do not blame yourself too much," Xu Anguo comforted in a low voice, though his words felt hollow. "If not for the decisive action back then to eradicate the hidden danger of collusion with overseas forces, how could the Western Regions have had these decades of peace? In the process... though there were some helpless choices, they were necessary."

The leader raised a hand, interrupting Xu Anguo, his face carrying a lingering exhaustion. "Anguo, there is no need to persuade me. I am fine; it is just that suddenly hearing that the Bloodline of an old friend still exists... for a moment, my heart cannot find peace." He waved his hand dismissively. "It is getting late today. You have been traveling back and forth from the Magic City; go back and rest early."

"Yes, Leader," Xu Anguo hurried to his feet. "Then I shall take my leave."

"Mhm, go on." The leader nodded and closed his eyes, seemingly trying to suppress his swirling thoughts.

Xu Anguo turned and walked lightly toward the door. Just as his hand touched the cold doorknob, the leader's voice came from behind him again, deeper than before and carrying an almost imperceptible plea:

"Anguo..."

Xu Anguo's movements instantly froze. He immediately turned back and bowed to listen.

The leader's eyes remained closed, speaking as if in a dream, yet also like an unquestionable command: "If possible... find a way to preserve this last wisp of the Bai Family's Bloodline."

Xu Anguo's heart shook violently. He immediately straightened his back, nodded with utmost solemnity, and replied in a deep voice, "Understood! Rest assured! Please get some rest, Leader. I will report to you again if there are any developments."

With that, he gently pulled open the door, stepped out, and carefully closed it behind him without making a sound.

As the door closed, the office fell back into absolute silence.

The leader slowly opened his eyes, his gaze unfocused as it drifted toward the deep night outside the window. His thoughts had already broken through the shackles of time and space, drifting back to that land of the Western Regions over twenty years ago, where blood and fire were intertwined.

...

To explain why the Bai Family of the Western Regions was destroyed, one must first mention the eight great families that rose during the founding of Dragon Country.

These eight families were the cornerstones of Dragon Country: the Bai Family of the Western Regions, the Southwest Si Family, the Shen Family of Guandong, the Longxi Li Family, the Liu Family of Qingcheng, the Taiji Chen Family, and the Zhao and Ye Families of the Capital, who were not of Ancient Martial Arts Legacy but established themselves through illustrious military merit.

Among them, the first generations of the Ye and Zhao families were both geniuses in military command, especially Old Ye, who had never suffered a defeat in his life. After the country's founding, he naturally entered the core of the military, and his prestige was unmatched.

The other six families were all Ancient Martial Arts Families with deep Foundations, possessing extraordinary Cultivation Technique Legacies.

This excessively powerful force inevitably caused deep apprehension among the upper echelons as the new era dawned.

Among them, the most mysterious and unsettling was the Bai Family of the Western Regions!

The Bai Family's Legacy originated from the Ethereal Tianshan Mountains, with a history dating back a thousand years, and they possessed the unpredictable Secret Arts of the Western Regions.

The women of their clan were born with extraordinary Physiques and could practice Cold Ice-attribute internal skills. Rumor had it they could turn thoughts into ice and condense water into blades! Although the men in the clan lacked this specific Physique, with the Family's thousand-year accumulation, each was still a top-tier expert.

In terms of individual combat power, the Bai Family could be called the best of the eight families! In the war for the nation's founding, they killed the most enemies and had the most glorious military achievements!

It was precisely because of this that during the meeting that decided the future fate of the six families, the conflict became particularly sharp.

Led by the Southwest Si Family, Si Zhengxiong assessed the situation and was the first to state his willingness to abandon politics for business. He stated bluntly that Martial Artists were not good at administration and only sought long-lasting wealth and prosperity for the Family.

The Si Family was powerful, and with him taking the lead, the Liu Family of Qingcheng, the Shen Family of Guandong, and the Longxi Li Family—families that were slightly less powerful—also followed suit, expressing their willingness to withdraw from the core of power.

The Taiji Chen Family experienced internal disagreement; the weaker branch wanted to enter politics, while the other branch followed the Si Family's choice to go into business.

These families that chose to abandon politics for business naturally received a lot of policy support from the state, and their Family industries grew better and better.

These families who understood the times indeed later received many policy preferences, and their Family industries flourished. Of course, abandoning politics for business did not mean giving up their martial Foundation; each Family was still secretly cultivating its own ancient martial forces.

Only the Bai Family of the Western Regions, relying on their outstanding military merit and peerless combat power, had a first-generation Clan Chief who actually used alcohol as an excuse during the meeting to declare that the meeting was a case of "Relinquishing military power over a cup of wine"! That it was a "Hongmen Banquet"! He denounced the upper echelons for hiding the bow once the birds were gone!

Ultimately, after the Bai Family head's drunken outburst, the meeting ended on a sour note!

What made the situation take a turn for the worse was that a few days later, the Bai Family head audaciously recalled all the clan's youth from the capital to the Western Regions and released the arrogant statement: "Better to be a feudal lord than a royal subject!"

This move undoubtedly touched the most sensitive nerve. Although the upper echelons were grateful for their past service and initially tried to appease them—after all, the Bai Family head was old and his outdated views were understandable—they even granted the honor of "Forever Guarding the Western Gate of Dragon Country" to the Bai Family, hoping to give both sides a dignified way out.

However, the trees want to be still, but the wind will not stop.

The true root of the disaster completely erupted over twenty years ago.

The first-generation head of the Bai Family passed away, and the second-generation head took power. In the Western Regions, under the continuous infiltration and instigation of external forces, the turmoil that had already subsided flared up again, and the peaceful situation was in jeopardy!

The upper echelons, on one hand, sent troops to suppress it, and on the other hand, ordered the Security Bureau to thoroughly investigate the source of the chaos.

In the end, all clues incredibly pointed toward the Bai Family, which had already retreated to the Western Regions! To be precise, they pointed to the second-generation head of the Bai Family!

The investigation's conclusion was earth-shattering: the second-generation head of the Bai Family, for his own selfish gain, had actually colluded with overseas forces in an attempt to push for the independence of the Western Regions, turning this western frontier of Dragon Country into the private domain of his Bai Family!

When the news reached them, the whole country was enraged!

No one could tolerate such betrayal anymore. Adhering to the principle that "thunderous methods reveal a bodhisattva's heart," and to completely eliminate future troubles, the strongest Martial Artist at the time, Lei Poshan, was ordered to move out. Coordinating with elite armed forces, he launched a lightning-fast purge of the Bai Family of the Western Regions.

However, it was later proven that the Security Bureau's intelligence had a fatal omission—within the Bai Family, not everyone was in league with the head; there were also those loyal to Dragon Country.

But the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired. Under the blood-and-iron command of "better to kill by mistake than to let one go," the thousand-year-old Bai Family of the Western Regions was wiped out overnight.

When the smoke cleared and the remains were counted, it was discovered that one young girl was missing.

After checking the genealogy, it was confirmed that the girl was actually the granddaughter of the first-generation head of the Bai Family—Bai Xue!

Disappearing along with her were the Secret Arts of the Western Regions that the Bai Family had passed down for over a thousand years!

And Lei Poshan, who executed the purge mission, also mysteriously vanished afterward, with no further news...