"In short, someone as talented as me should stay away from people with twisted minds like him."
Xie Shuci seemed oblivious to Xie An's silence and continued talking to himself.
Xie An curled his lips into a smile, his lips opening and closing. "As you said, Xiao Xun is narrow-minded and absolutely cannot tolerate others belittling him. I once heard that a cultivator spoke ill of him behind his back, and when Xiao Xun found out, he severed the cultivator's tendons and even crushed his golden core with his own hands."
Xie Shuci's face stiffened, and he immediately sat up straight, saying in a serious tone, "I take back what I just said. Don't talk nonsense. He's not narrow-minded at all; he's clearly a man of principle who settles scores and seeks revenge. That's the kind of demeanor of a true hero. I admire him so much..."
Xie An lowered his head with a half-smile.
Just then, Chu Wenfeng rushed in.
He put one foot on the stool, his expression one of shock. After taking a big gulp of water from the teapot, he said, still shaken, "I saw Deng Fengming, a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect!"
Deng Fengming?
I vaguely remember Xie Shuci; he was a minor, cannon fodder character who repeatedly opposed Xiao Xun and eventually died by Xiao Xun's sword. It's said that he was highly regarded by the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, and after his death, the feud between Xiao Xun and the Xiaoyao Sect only intensified.
"What's wrong? Is he that ugly? You were so scared you peed your pants just by looking at him?" Xie Shuci mocked.
Chu Wenfeng glared at him fiercely, but after thinking about it carefully, he said, "He... is indeed one of the few ugly cultivators. But that's not the point!"
Chu Guiyi shook his head helplessly and asked, "Let's get down to business."
Chu Wenfeng nodded and said, "Helian Zhu took him to see the corpses of the Hehuan Sect disciples. I noticed that their expressions were off, so I quietly followed them."
Xie Shuci asked in surprise, "They are all great cultivators, how come they didn't notice you?"
Xie Shuci asked casually, but Chu Wenfeng was taken aback, and then looked at Chu Guiyi with a flicker in his eyes.
The latter's reaction was indifferent; he merely raised his head slightly, signaling Chu Wenfeng to continue.
Chu Wenfeng said, "I heard them say that the person who killed the female disciple of the Hehuan Sect was not Xiao Xun."
Xie Shuci was taken aback, then heard Chu Guiyi say in surprise, "Someone used Xiao Xun's method of killing to frame him?"
Chu Wenfeng frowned, looking puzzled. "Not entirely."
"What's going on?" Xie Shuci asked, puzzled.
Xie An, however, seemed to have heard something amusing, and raised the corners of his lips in an ambiguous manner.
"Deng Fengming said he fought Xiao Xun once and narrowly escaped, recognizing his swordsmanship. The wounds on those corpses did indeed seem to be inflicted by Xiao Xun, but the skill was too profound; not a single drop of blood flowed from the corpses. Unless Xiao Xun's cultivation increased dramatically in a short period of time—to what extent? To the level comparable to the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, but that's absolutely impossible. No matter how talented Xiao Xun is, he could never achieve that in such a short time." Chu Wenfeng's expression was unusually serious as he said this.
The sect leader of the Xiaoyao Sect is now three hundred years old, and there are very few cultivators in the cultivation world whose strength can rival his.
Xie Shuci couldn't help but shudder. Clearly, this person was even more dangerous than Xiao Xun.
"Anyway, Deng Fengming's point is that even if Xiao Xun uses the inner core of a demon to improve his cultivation or finds some secret treasure, it will still take several years to reach this level in the shortest possible time."
Hearing this, Xie Shuci couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Oh, I see. Does he mean to say that Xiao Xun from a few years later killed the disciples of the Hehuan Sect?"
Xie An's smile faltered for a moment, and his eyes suddenly turned deep.
Chu Guiyi chuckled upon hearing this and explained, "Shuci, your idea is wildly imaginative, but too absurd. Not long ago, the Xiaoyao Sect announced to the world that Xiao Xun was dead. Now he has suddenly appeared out of nowhere and killed twelve disciples of the Hehuan Sect. Isn't that a resounding slap in the face to the entire Xiaoyao Sect? Regardless of whether it's true or not, the Xiaoyao Sect will probably resort to some means to save face and avoid becoming a laughing stock in the cultivation world."
Xie Shuci felt there were too many twists and turns involved and didn't quite understand, so he frowned and asked, "Then is it Xiao Xun or not?"
Chu Guiyi shook his head and said, "There is a mixture of truth and falsehood in it, so we can only wait and see."
As Chu Guiyi had predicted, an hour later, after discussions, the Xiaoyao Sect and the Helian Clan decided to temporarily close the entrances and exits of Luofang City until the real culprit was caught.
Now, Xie Shuci couldn't leave even if he wanted to.
The four of them spent a day at the inn. Xie An, as usual, borrowed paper and ink to write. Xie Shuci, on the other hand, was so bored that he made a deck of cards and taught Chu Guiyi and Chu Wenfeng how to play. The three of them played for a long time, and Chu Wenfeng lost everything.
Chu Guiyi lost at first, but he was much smarter than Xie Shuci had imagined. It was clearly his first time playing this kind of game, and he got the hang of it in less than three rounds. Even Xie Shuci, an experienced player, almost lost to him.
When Xie Shuci and Chu Guiyi were tired of playing, Chu Wenfeng still said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Aren't you guys done playing? I haven't had enough yet."
Xie Shuci stretched, his shoulders aching from sitting all afternoon. He nudged Xie An with his elbow and muttered, "Brother Xie An, could you give me a shoulder massage? My shoulders are really sore."
Xie Shuci is a very opportunistic person. Just a few days ago, he treated the little blind man like a helpless little pitiful thing, but now he's already taking it for granted and ordering him around.
Xie An remained silent for a moment, then slightly bent his fingers.
Xie Shuci's shoulders were thin and frail; with just a little force, even the bones could be easily crushed.
Seeing that Xie An ignored him, Xie Shuci turned his head and ordered Chu Wenfeng: "Little Wenzi, give me a shoulder massage. Next time I'll teach you a more interesting game."
Chu Wenfeng's eyes lit up: "Really? Hey, who's Xiao Wenzi?"
"Of course it's true, it's a game that's popular all over the world and suitable for men, women, young and old."
Chu Wenfeng looked conflicted; he had never served anyone before in his life.
But in the end, being young, he couldn't resist the temptation and reluctantly nodded, saying, "Then sit here."
"Okay." As soon as Xie Shuci's buttocks left the stool, a hand pressed down on his shoulder and pushed his body back onto the stool.
“Eh…” Xie Shuci looked at Xie An in surprise.
The latter, with a cold face, directed him to turn his back to her, and then gave Xie Shuci a heavy pinch on the shoulder.
"Ouch! Be gentle! Are you trying to murder your own brother?!" Xie Shuci yelled in pain and slapped Xie An's hand as he turned around.
Xie An clenched his teeth, his anger burning inside, but he didn't let it out.
This was the first time in his life he had served someone else. His hands had always only known how to take lives; they had never done anything like this before. He also had to control the force, not too lightly and not too heavily.
If it was too gentle, Xie Shuci would groan and complain; if it was too harsh, Xie Shuci would grimace in pain and then turn around to scold him.
If it were anyone else, he would have snapped their neck long ago!
"Gently, gently...yes, just like that, slowly, down, a little bit down..."
But Xie Shuci didn't know how to stop, and kept rambling on and on.
"Xie An, are you sure you can handle this? If not, let Chu Wenfeng do it."
Xie An increased the pressure on his fingers, and Xie Shuci cried out, begging for mercy: "Gently, gently... Brother Xie An, you need to know that this is bone, not a brick."
Chu Wenfeng was a restless person. He was bored staying in the inn, so he wanted to go out for a stroll.
Upon hearing his suggestion, Xie Shuci naturally wanted to go.
But the thought that Xiao Xun might be in the city right now, and that there were other people eyeing his bronze medicine cauldron, made him a little scared.
"How about we call it quits and continue playing cards?" Xie Shu said with a dry laugh.
Chu Wenfeng played cards with him all day, and a strange friendship developed between them. He no longer disliked Xie Shuci as much as he had at the beginning, and even found Xie Shuci quite amusing. "Are you scared?"
"Nonsense! Me, Xie Shuci, afraid? Who would dare to lay a hand on me? Let me tell you, you'd better not mess with me either. My brother is incredibly skilled with a sword; this little brat is no match for him."
Although Xie An said his swordsmanship was all show and no substance, as long as it could fool people, that was enough.
"Xie Shuci, try calling me a little brat again! Xie An is only two years older than me. If I'm a little brat, what is he?" Chu Wenfeng said, his eyes wide.
"He..." Xie Shuci looked at Xie An suspiciously, then suddenly realized something was wrong. "Oh right, Xie An is two years older than you, why do you two look like you're not from the same age group?"
"What do you mean?" Chu Wenfeng's face darkened.
Chu Guiyi was worried that they would start arguing, and said with a wry smile, "Young Master Xie has a composure and calmness beyond his years, and his temperament is much more mature than Wen Feng's."
Xie Shuci nodded in agreement, "That's right, you're as boisterous as a child, you can't compare to Xie An."
Chu Wenfeng didn't know how he had the nerve to say that. Wasn't he just as immature? He was even five years older than him.
"Stop talking nonsense, are you going or not? If you're scared, then forget it, Senior Brother, let's go."
"Afraid? Me, afraid? It's only because Xie An doesn't want to go, otherwise..."
Before he finished speaking, Xie An extended two slender fingers and tapped them lightly on the table twice. When the three looked over, he wrote on the table: "Go."
Xie Shuci: "..."
Half an incense stick later, Xie Shuci, carrying a bronze medicine cauldron, stealthily followed behind the three.
His eyes were busy, glancing left and right. "Chu Wenfeng, that person is a bit suspicious. You're a junior cultivator now, so you have to protect me... oh no, you have to protect your senior brother and Xie An, understand?"
Chu Wenfeng rolled his eyes speechlessly. "You're the most suspicious one here. That kid thought you were going to steal his candied hawthorn. Aren't you ashamed?"
Xie Shuci said in a serious tone, "I'm just being prepared. What if seven or eight big men suddenly jump out and try to rob us? I've already decided that if anyone asks me for this piece of junk, I'll throw it away immediately so as not to get in your way. Then you take Guiyi and I'll take Xie An, and we'll run away as fast as we can. This is a little trick I learned from TV to deal with robberies."
The other three people's lips twitched as they listened:
"television?"
"Xie Shuci, if you're really that scared, why did you bring your brother here alone? You're asking for it."
Xie Shuci was on high alert, feeling that danger lurked everywhere. "By the way, if we run into Xiao Xun, the three of you run away as fast as you can. Don't worry about me, and whatever you do, don't look back."
If Xie Shuci were to unfortunately encounter Xiao Xun, he would probably die at Xiao Xun's hands, as the plot had arranged, but he didn't want to implicate others.
"Alas, if I don't go to hell, who will? Perhaps this is my mission." Xie Shuci sighed sadly.
Xie An was used to his occasional eccentric remarks, while Chu Guiyi simply found them amusing and chuckled softly.
Chu Wenfeng felt disgusted and got goosebumps all over his body, cursing, "You're sick."
"Have you heard? A cultivator was caught by his Daoist partner for patronizing a prostitute!"
"Really?"
"It's absolutely true! They say fighting has already broken out!"
Xie Shuci pricked up his ears to listen to the passersby's conversation, his attention instantly diverted. A woman? Caught by the wife? And they're fighting? What kind of melodramatic soap opera is this?!
"Where? Where?" Xie Shuci's eyes lit up, and he immediately forgot about everything else.
"It's the Nongyu Hall up ahead..."
Chu Wenfeng also overheard the conversation among the passersby. He exchanged a glance with Xie Shuci, their eyes gleaming. "Let's go?"
Xie Shuci nodded firmly: "Let's go!"
The two of them ran forward with great enthusiasm, like rabbits that had been set free.
Xie Shuci had only taken a couple of steps when Xie An grabbed the strap of the small pouch he was carrying.
Due to inertia, Xie Shuci, like a pendulum clock, swayed left and right around Xie An as the axis.
Xie Shuci bounced back like a yo-yo, lost his balance, and crashed into Xie An's shoulder.
"What are you doing! If you're late, you'll miss the best part!"
Seeing Chu Wenfeng at the forefront of gossip, Xie Shuci wished his eyes could grow legs so he could catch up quickly.
Chu Wenfeng ran for a long time but found that Xie Shuci hadn't followed. He clicked his tongue impatiently and said, "Can you hurry up? You can't even catch up with hot shit."
Xie An grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from moving. Xie Shuci craned his neck anxiously to look ahead, and Xie An took one of his hands, writing in his palm, "Aren't you going to care about me anymore?"
"Wen Feng." Chu Guiyi raised her hand and beckoned Chu Wenfeng back. "Don't fool around and corrupt Shu Ci."
Chu Wenfeng listened to him very well. He glanced reluctantly in the direction of Nongyu Hall, then walked back slowly with his shoulders slumped.
"Senior brother, I'm corrupting him? Aren't you afraid he'll corrupt me?" Chu Wenfeng muttered discontentedly.
Feeling the words Xie An wrote in his palm, Xie Shuci immediately remembered the lesson from last time and whispered in protest, "I'm just going to see what's going on. I'll be back in a bit."
Xie An said, "There are many people here, I'm afraid I won't be able to find you."
Xie Shuci said "Oh," but his desire to join in the fun was not dampened at all. He looked around and saw a small vendor by the roadside. His eyes lit up immediately, and he patted Xie An on the shoulder, "Wait for me."
Xie Shuci ran over, and in the blink of an eye, he ran back, opened his palm, and there lay two identical bell pendants in his palm.
“Here, these are for you. We’ll each have one. They’re really loud, and since you have good hearing, you’ll know where I am just by hearing the bell,” Xie Shuci said, as if presenting a treasure.
Xie An paused for a moment, then repeated, "Give it to me?"
"Yes." Xie Shuci tied one of the bells to his belt, and the bells jingled together, making a clear and pleasant sound.
"I'll tie it for you."
Having said that, Xie Shuci naturally bent down and tied the bell pendant in his hand to Xie An's belt. He was clumsy to begin with, and it was easier for him to tie things himself than for others. He struggled for a while and almost took Xie An's belt off.
During this time, Xie An simply stood quietly in place, his long eyelashes drooping, his gaze fixed on Xie Shuci.
"alright."
After completing the task, Xie Shuci straightened up, the bell at his waist jingling clearly.
Xie An's hand, hanging by his side, grasped the bell hanging at his waist, which still retained the faint warmth of Xie Shuci. The noisy sound seemed less unbearable.
"Let's go, let's go!" Xie Shuci shoved Chu Wenfeng from behind. "I'm still waiting to watch the show."
Chu Wenfeng rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Don't you dare corrupt me. What if I get lost from my senior brothers?"
“Oh dear, they won’t get lost. They’ll know where they are when they hear the bells.” After saying that, he turned to Xie An and said, “Xie An, your ears are sharp. Take your time and bring Guiyi over.”
Seeing his impatient look, Chu Wenfeng couldn't help but tease him, "Weren't you scared to death? Aren't you scared now?"
"You don't understand. Humans are born to enjoy watching the excitement. That's the meaning of life! Besides, if I really run into someone trying to steal my bronze cauldron, I'll just slide to my knees and give it to them, okay? If I hadn't unfortunately run into Xiao Xun, I wouldn't have had to run if he didn't want to kill me, and I couldn't run if he did want to kill me... Stop dawdling! Xie An, you guys better keep up!"
As Xie Shuci pushed Chu Wenfeng forward, he didn't forget to turn back and give instructions to Xie An and the other person.
Watching Xie Shuci and the other person run far away, Chu Guiyi smiled and shook his head helplessly, turning to Xie An, "Young Master Xie, let's follow them."
Xie An raised his head, loosened the bell at his waist, and walked straight past Chu Guiyi as if he hadn't heard Chu Guiyi's words.
Chu Guiyi looked at his back thoughtfully, thinking that he and Xie Shuci had nothing in common, so how could they be brothers?
Just then, Xie An seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head, his sharp profile revealing a cold indifference that seemed to look down on everyone.
Chu Gui frowned upon hearing this. At that moment, he sensed from Xie An an arrogance and a chilling aura that regarded all things as ants, as if to him there were only two kinds of people in the world: those who could be killed and those who could not.
However, all the people he had encountered before were cultivators who proved their Dao through killing. Xie An was only sixteen years old, so how could he have such a strong Dao heart with killing intent?
Chu Guiyi shook his head, not wanting to speculate about a young man with such thoughts. He probably misjudged him because he had neglected his cultivation after going astray.
When Xie Shuci and his companion arrived at Nongyu Hall, the entrance was already surrounded by layers of onlookers.
The sounds of smashing, throwing, and fighting were incessant from the crowd. Metal objects were clashing against each other, and spiritual energy clashed. When the fighting got really heated, passersby cheered, making it look like a zoo.
Although a large crowd had gathered outside, Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng were both thick-skinned. They crouched down and crawled forward like eels, for which they were often scolded.
"Well done!"
"Everyone, come and see! This is the chief disciple of the Helian family! He's been sneaking around here eating behind my back! You've completely disgraced the Helian family!"
"Damn it! You stinking woman, I'm just here to have some fun. If I really liked beautiful women, would I become your Daoist partner?!"
Despite his boastful words, the man's weapon was knocked away by the woman who relentlessly attacked him from behind after only a couple of moves. He was then forced to retreat after taking several combos from the woman with his bare hands, and the surrounding tables and chairs were thrown into chaos. In the end, the man was no match for her and fled in panic in the lobby.
"good!"
"Hit him! Hit that heartless bastard!"
Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng couldn't take their eyes off it, and they cheered and egged them on from the sidelines.
"What amazing skills you have, heroine!"
"She's simply a heroine!"
"With a partner like that, why would you hire a prostitute? Are you impotent?!"
Upon hearing this, the man glared fiercely at Xie Shuci. Taking advantage of the moment, the female warrior kicked him in the back, and the man fell to the ground with a thud.
"Young man, you have good taste." The female knight put her hands on her hips and gestured with her chin towards Xie Shuci and the other man.
The man rolled his eyes and noticed that his sword had fallen not far away. He gritted his teeth and reached out to grab it, but Xie Shuci took a step forward and kicked the sword far away.
"You...!" The man looked up and glared angrily.
Xie Shuci snorted, "Scumbag!"
Upon seeing this, the female knight clasped her hands in thanks to him, saying, "Thank you, young brother."
"You're welcome!"
"You're so mean," Chu Wenfeng said with a chuckle.
"I call this helping those in need."
The man was chased around Nongyu Hall by the female knight several times. The others seemed to be used to it, but only a few outside cultivators found it very surprising.
"Is the one being chased Helian Jue, the chief disciple of the Helian family?"
"That's him, isn't it? He found a shrew as his Daoist partner, and he causes trouble in the city every few days."
"Oh, so that's who you are. It's Xing Helian. That's not surprising at all."
"Senior Brother!" A furious roar suddenly rang out from the outer edge of the crowd.
Xie Shuci turned around with the crowd and saw that the crowd automatically parted to make way for them. At the end of the passage, Helian Zhu walked in, his face filled with shame and indignation.
"Xiao Zhu, come quickly and save your senior brother! Arrest this shrew!" The man saw Helian Zhu as if he had seen a savior, and ran towards him while covering his head.
Helian Zhu looked at the mocking gazes of the crowd, who clearly regarded the Helian family as a monkey show. He glared at the man with exasperation, thinking that the patriarch must be blind to have accepted Helian Jue as his eldest disciple! If it weren't for their shared sect affiliation, Helian Jue would be a disgrace to the entire immortal sect, and he would never have bothered with this man!
Helian Zhu braced himself and stood in front of the man, saying to the fierce-looking female warrior who was chasing after him, "Miss Lu, the patriarch has sent word to my eldest brother to assist me in tracking down the real culprit. Please consider the bigger picture."
Chu Wenfeng clicked his tongue in amazement and whispered to Xie Shuci, "To have a chief disciple assist junior brother in tracking down the real culprit? Helian Zhu said it in front of cultivators from all continents, he's really arrogant and doesn't give his senior brother any face at all."
Xie Shuci was not clear about the intricacies of the matter, but he vaguely sensed that after these words were spoken, the expressions of the cultivators present changed considerably, and their gazes toward the man became contemptuous.
As the chief disciple, he not only had to assist his junior brother, but he was also looked down upon by his junior brother openly and secretly. If it were anyone else, wouldn't they have died of shame and indignation?
But Helian Jue didn't see anything wrong at all. Hiding behind his junior brother, as if he had a powerful backer, he said arrogantly, "Did you hear that? We must prioritize the overall situation!"
"Helian Jue, look at yourself! Do you even look like a man?" the female warrior cursed through gritted teeth.
Fearing that a fight between them would further embarrass the Helian family, Helian Zhu hurriedly bid farewell to the female knight and left with his senior brother.
Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng, having found no excitement to watch, returned to Xie An and the other man, still feeling unsatisfied.
"Helian Jue is such a coward, hiding behind his junior brother, what kind of behavior is that?" Chu Wenfeng said resentfully.
Xie Shuci nodded in agreement and said, "You're right, it's really pathetic."
Xie Shuci glanced at Xie An, who stood with his head bowed, fiddling with the bell pendant, seemingly in a good mood.
Chu Guiyi shook his head and sighed, "Helian Jue was born at the wrong time. He once became famous for his Cloud-Breaking Spear. If it weren't for the fact that there was a disciple with the talent of Helian Zhu among the younger generation, he would definitely be the best candidate for the next head of the family. It's just a pity that he chose to degenerate. After Helian Zhu showed his talent, he didn't touch the Cloud-Breaking Spear for a full twelve years."
A hint of regret for the hero showed on Chu Guiyi's face.
Xie Shuci sighed. There was nothing she could do. What you had to work extremely hard to achieve, a genius could do with a snap of his fingers. Helpless and with no other options, Xie Shuci even felt a little sorry for the man named Helian Jue.
Xie An's lips curled into a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.
Was he born at the wrong time, or is there someone who needs him because he was born at the wrong time?
Does Helian Zhu possess such qualifications, or is there someone who needs him to have such qualifications?
They are all just pawns in someone else's game.
piece?
He seemed to remember something, his fingers stroking the bell at his waist, and slowly raised his head, casting his empty gaze upon Xie Shuci.
Every piece, no matter how small, will eventually be discarded and destroyed.
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