"Just like how the three clans knew well enough to hide their eggs in numerous baskets to ensure their survival, our clan had been doing the same," Xia Fang slowly explained. "Only we adopted a different version from theirs—and for us, it wasn't a ploy to guard against them like they did with us."
"Though we really should have," she added in a faint voice, lowering her gaze to her cup before looking up again.
"After our founder died, the clan began taking preemptive measures to prepare for the worst-case scenarios, to ensure we'd remain standing even if the unthinkable happened," Xia Fang said with a somber expression.
"Sending some clan members to become disciples at the Silver Crane Sect was one of those measures—though it was also our way of honoring our founder's wishes. Beyond that, the clan set up secret bases and safeguards across the continent, places we could fall back on if our home base was no longer safe... or around," she said, the last word catching in her throat.
