“In any case, someone as outstanding as me should stay far away from someone with such a twisted mind.” 

Xie Shuci continued talking to himself, seemingly oblivious to Xie An’s speechlessness.

Xie An forced a smile, curling his lips slightly, “As you said, Xiao Xun is narrow-minded and can’t stand being belittled by others. I heard that there was a cultivator who said a few unfavorable things about him behind his back, and once he found out, he severed the cultivator’s tendons and crushed his golden core with his own hands.”

Xie Shuci’s face stiffened, and he immediately sat up straight, saying earnestly, “I take back what I said. And please don’t talk nonsense. Xiao Xun is not narrow-minded; he’s just someone who firmly avenges any grudges. Many heroes have such a demeanor, and I truly admire him…”

Xie An lowered his head with a half-smile.

At that moment, Chu Wenfeng rushed in hastily.

He stood on a stool, looking shocked, and after taking a gulp of water from the teapot, he said anxiously, “I saw a disciple from the Xiaoyao Sect—Deng Fengming!”

Deng Fengming?

Xie Shuci vaguely remembered him as a cannon fodder minor character who had clashed with Xiao Xun several times and later died under Xiao Xun’s sword. It was said that this person was highly regarded by the Xiaoyao Sect’s leader, and after his death, the animosity between Xiao Xun and the Xiaoyao Sect escalated.

“What happened? Is he really that ugly? Did you get scared just by looking at him?” Xie Shuci mocked.

Chu Wenfeng glared at him fiercely but then thought for a moment and said, “He… is indeed one of the ugliest cultivators I’ve seen. But that’s not the point!”

Chu Guiyi helplessly shook his head and asked, “Get to the point.”

Chu Wenfeng nodded, “He took Helian Zhu to see the bodies of the Hehuan Sect disciples. I noticed that their expressions were off, so I followed them discreetly.”

Xie Shuci asked in surprise, “They are great cultivators; how did they not detect you?”

It was just a casual question from Xie Shuci, but Chu Wenfeng’s expression froze, and then he looked meaningfully at Chu Guiyi.

Chu Guiyi’s reaction was calm, merely raising his head slightly to signal Chu Wenfeng to continue.

Chu Wenfeng said, “I overheard them saying that the person who killed the Hehuan Sect disciples wasn’t Xiao Xun.”

Xie Shuci was taken aback, and then Chu Guiyi exclaimed in astonishment, “Someone used Xiao Xun’s methods of killing to frame him?”

Chu Wenfeng frowned, looking puzzled, “Not exactly.”

“What’s going on then?” Xie Shuci asked with confusion.

However, Xie An, as if finding something amusing, slightly lifted the corners of his lips, his eyes suddenly becoming profound.

“Deng Fengming said that he fought against Xiao Xun once and managed to escape by luck. He recognizes his sword technique. The wounds on those corpses indeed resemble Xiao Xun’s style, but the power behind them was too profound; the corpses didn’t shed a drop of blood. Unless Xiao Xun’s cultivation has skyrocketed to a significantly higher extent in such a short time, it is not possible to strike like that. The strike was comparable to the Xiaoyao Sect’s leader level. But that’s absolutely impossible. Even with good aptitude, it’s impossible for Xiao Xun to achieve that in such a short time.” Chu Wenfeng spoke with an unusually serious expression.

The current Xiaoyao Sect leader was already three hundred years old, and cultivators who could match his strength were extremely rare in the cultivation world.

Xie Shuci couldn’t help shivering. It was apparent that this person was even more dangerous than Xiao Xun.

“In short, Deng Fengming’s point is that even if Xiao Xun uses a monster’s core or some secret treasure to rapidly advance his cultivation, it would still take several years to reach such a level,” Chu Wenfeng explained.

Hearing this, Xie Shuci couldn’t help rolling his eyes, “Oh, I get it. So, he’s suggesting that it’s a future version of Xiao Xun who killed the Hehuan Sect disciples?”

Xie An’s smile froze for a moment, and his gaze suddenly became deep.

Chu Guiyi chuckled upon hearing this and explained, “Shuci, your thoughts are too wild and absurd. The Xiaoyao Sect only recently announced to the world that Xiao Xun was dead. Now he suddenly appears out of nowhere and kills twelve disciples of the Hehuan Sect. Isn’t that like giving a resounding slap to the Xiaoyao Sect? Regardless of the truth, to save face and avoid becoming a laughingstock in the cultivation world, the Xiaoyao Sect would resort to some measures.”

Xie Shuci felt that there were too many twists and turns in this situation, and he didn’t quite understand. He wrinkled his forehead and asked, “So, is it really Xiao Xun or not?”

Chu Wenyi shook his head and said, “It’s a mix of truth and falsehood. We can only observe and wait.”

As expected, after an hour, the Xiaoyao Sect and the Helian Clan decided to temporarily close the entrances and exits of Luofang City until they capture the real culprit.

Now, Xie Shuci couldn’t even leave if he wanted to.

The four of them spent a day at the inn. Xie An, as usual, borrowed paper and ink to write, while Xie Shuci got bored and made a set of playing cards. He even taught Chu Guiyi and Chu Wenfeng how to play, and they played for quite a while, with Chu Wenfeng losing terribly.

Chu Guiyi initially lost as well, but he was much smarter than Xie Shuci had imagined. Despite it being his first time playing this kind of game, he quickly grasped the rules, almost defeating the seasoned Xie Shuci in just three rounds.

When both Xie Shuci and Chu Guiyi got tired of playing, Chu Wenfeng still wanted to continue, saying, “Aren’t you guys playing anymore? I haven’t had enough fun yet.”

Xie Shuci stretched lazily, his shoulders sore and aching from sitting for an entire afternoon. He used his arm to nudge Xie An and mumbled, “Xie An, can you give me a shoulder massage? My shoulders are really sore.”

Xie Shuci was good at pushing his luck. Just a few days ago, he treated Little Blind as a completely helpless and pitiful little thing, and now he was confidently bossing him around.

Xie An remained silent for a moment and then slightly bent his fingers.

Xie Shuci’s shoulders were thin and fragile; a little force could easily crush his bones.

Seeing that Xie An didn’t respond to him, Xie Shuci turned his head and beckoned Chu Wenfeng, “Little Wen, how about you massage my shoulders? Next time, I’ll teach you a more interesting game.”

Chu Wenfeng’s eyes lit up, “Really? Wait, who’s Little Wen”

“Of course it’s true, it’s a game that’s popular all over the world, suitable for people of all ages.”

Chu Wenfeng hesitated, as he had never served others since he was a child. 

But in the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation and reluctantly nodded, “Okay, sit over there.”

“Sure.” As Xie Shuci lifted his butt off the chair, a hand pressed down on his shoulder, pushing him back onto the seat.

“Eh…” Xie Shuci looked surprised and turned to Xie An.

The latter had a cold expression and instructed him to turn his back towards him. Then, he firmly pinched Xie Shuci’s shoulder.

“Ah! Be gentle! Are you trying to kill your own brother?” Xie Shuci exclaimed in pain, slapping Xie An’s hand back with his palm.

Xie An clenched his teeth, feeling the anger in his heart, but he didn’t let it out.

For Xie An, this was indeed his first time taking care of someone else. These hands had always only known how to take lives, never done something like this. And now he even had to control the strength, not too light or too heavy.

If it was too light, Xie Shuci would express dissatisfaction with grumbling and complaining. If it was too heavy, Xie Shuci would be in pain and scold him after turning around.

If it were someone else, Xie An would have snapped their neck already!

“Gently, gently… Yes, just like that, slowly, a little lower…”

Unfortunately, Xie Shuci didn’t know how to hold back and kept on chattering endlessly.

“Xie An, can’t you do it? If not, let Chu Wenfeng do it.”

Xie An increased the pressure on his fingers, and Xie Shuci let out a cry of pain, hurriedly pleading, “Gently, gently… Xie An, you have to know, this is my bone, not a brick.”

Chu Wenfeng was getting restless in the inn. He was getting bored and wanted to go out for a walk.

Upon hearing his proposal, Xie Shuci naturally wanted to go as well.

But the thought of Xiao Xun possibly being in the city and others eyeing his bronze pill cauldron made him hesitate.

“How about we forget it and continue playing cards?” Xie Shuci suggested with a dry laugh.

Chu Wenfeng had been playing cards with him all day, and a strange friendship seemed to have formed between them. Chu Wenfeng didn’t find Xie Shuci as disagreeable as he did initially and thought Xie Shuci was quite funny. “Are you scared?”

“Nonsense! I, Xie Shuci, scared? Who dares to touch me? Let me tell you, you’d better not provoke me either. My younger brother is quite good with a sword; a little brat like you can’t compare to him.”

Although Xie An said that his swordsmanship was all show, it was enough to bluff people.

“Xie Shuci, say ‘little brat’ again and see what happens. Xie An is only two years older than me, so what does that make him?” Chu Wenfeng raised his eyes.

“He…” Xie Shuci looked at Xie An with doubt and suddenly felt something was off, “Right, Xie An is two years older than you. Why don’t you two look like people of the same age group?”

“What do you mean?” Chu Wenfeng’s face darkened.

Chu Guiyi was worried that they might start arguing, so he interjected with a wry smile, “Young Master Xie An has maturity and calmness beyond his age, much more than Wenfeng.”

Xie Shuci nodded in agreement, “That’s right. You act all childish and impulsive, just like a little kid. Of course, you can’t compare to Xie An.”

Chu Wenfeng didn’t know how Xie Shuci had the audacity to say that. Wasn’t he also not very mature? He was even five years older than Xie An.

“Enough with the nonsense. Are you going or not? If you’re scared, then forget it. Senior Brother, let’s go.” 

“Scared? Me? Xie An doesn’t want to go, otherwise…”

Before he finished speaking, Xie An extended two slender fingers and lightly tapped the table twice. When the three of them looked over, he wrote on the table, “Go.”

Xie Shuci, “…”

Half an incense stick’s time later, Xie Shuci walked behind the three of them, carrying the bronze pill cauldron in his pouch.

He was very busy looking around left and right, “Chu Wenfeng, that person seems a bit suspicious. You’re a young cultivator, so you have to protect me… Oh no, I mean, you have to protect your Senior Brother and Xie An, got it?”

Chu Wenfeng rolled his eyes speechlessly, “You are the most suspicious one here. That kid earlier even thought you were trying to steal his sugar-coated haws. Don’t you feel ashamed?”

Xie Shuci earnestly said, “I’m just being prepared for the worst. What if suddenly seven or eight big guys jump out and try to rob us? I’ve already decided that if someone demands this lousy thing from me, to not burden you, I’ll throw it away immediately. Then you take Chu Guiyi, and I’ll take Xie An, and we will run as fast as we can. This is a little technique I learned from TV to deal with robberies.”

The other three couldn’t help but twitch their mouths when they heard this.

“TV?”

“Xie Shuci, if you’re really that scared, why did you come here with your younger brother alone? Are you seeking death?”

Xie Shuci was highly nervous, feeling danger everywhere. “Right, if we encounter Xiao Xun, you three should run quickly, don’t mind me, and never look back.”

If they happened to encounter Xiao Xun, Xie Shuci knew he probably wouldn’t escape the plot’s arrangement to die at Xiao Xun’s hands, but he didn’t want to drag the others down.

“Ah, if I don’t go to hell, who will? This may be my mission.” Xie Shuci sighed with a touch of melancholy.

Xie An was used to his occasionally eccentric remarks, and Chu Guiyi found it amusing, giving a light chuckle.

Chu Wenfeng, on the other hand, felt disgusted and said, “You’re sick.”

“Did you hear? A cultivator was caught with a prostitute by their Dao partner!”

“Is it true?”

“It’s absolutely true! They say they’ve already started fighting!”

Xie Shuci perked up his ears to listen to the passersby, and his attention was instantly diverted. A male cultivator was caught with a prostitute by his original partner? They even started fighting? What kind of melodramatic drama was this?

“Where? Where?” Xie Shuci’s eyes sparkled, immediately forgetting everything else.

“Just ahead, at the Hongyu Hall…”

Chu Wenfeng also heard the passersby’s conversation and exchanged a glance with Xie Shuci. Their eyes gleamed brightly, “Shall we go?”

Xie Shuci nodded decisively, “Let’s go!”