The two of them dashed forward like excited rabbits, full of enthusiasm.

As Xie Shuci had just run a few steps, Xie An grabbed the strap of the small pouch hanging on his shoulder.

Due to the momentum, Xie Shuci swung like a pendulum, using Xie An as the pivot, swaying left and right.

Xie Shuci was like a bouncing top, as soon as he lost his balance, he bumped into Xie An’s shoulder.

“Why are you dawdling? If we go late, we’ll miss the most exciting part!”

Seeing Chu Wenfeng running to the forefront of the curious crowd, Xie Shuci wished his eyes could grow legs so he could catch up quickly.

Chu Wenfeng ran for a while and noticed that Xie Shuci hadn’t caught up. Annoyed, he clicked his tongue, “Can’t you be a bit faster? You can’t even catch up to someone running while shitting.”

Xie An held his shoulder, preventing him from moving. Xie Shuci anxiously stretched his neck to look ahead. Xie An grabbed his hand and wrote in his palm, “You don’t care about me anymore?”

“Chu Wenfeng,” Chu Guiyi raised his hand and beckoned Chu Wenfeng back, “don’t mess around, you’ll corrupt Shuci.”

Chu Wenfeng obeyed Chu Guiyi and reluctantly turned back, walking back slowly with drooping shoulders.

“Senior Brother, am I corrupting him? Why aren’t you afraid he’ll corrupt me?” Chu Wenfeng grumbled dissatisfied.

Feeling Xie An’s words in his palm, Xie Shuci immediately remembered the last time and whispered, “I’m just going to see what’s happening. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Xie An wrote again, “It’s crowded here, and I’m afraid I won’t find you.”

Xie Shuci replied with an “Oh,” but his excitement wasn’t dampened at all. He looked around and spotted a vendor’s stall by the roadside. His eyes brightened, and he patted Xie An’s shoulder, saying, “Wait for me here.”

He ran over to the stall and came back in a blink, his palm holding two identical bell pendants.

“Here, I’ll give you one. We each get one. This sound is really loud, and your ears are sharp. You’ll know where I am when you hear the bell.” Xie Shuci proudly presented the bell pendant.

Xie An was taken aback and repeated, “You’re giving it to me?”

“Yes,” Xie Shuci tied one bell pendant to his own belt, and the two bells collided, producing a clear and pleasant sound.

“I’ll tie it for you.”

Saying that Xie Shuci naturally bent down and attempted to tie the bell pendant to Xie An’s belt. However, he was clumsy himself, he can’t even tie things properly for himself not to mention others, fumbling and struggling, he almost untied Xie An’s belt in the process.

During this time, Xie An just stood quietly in place, his long eyelashes drooping, his gaze falling on Xie Shuci.

“All done.”

After successfully tying the bell pendant, Xie Shuci stood up straight, and the bells on his waist jingled, their sound clear and audible.

Xie An’s hand, hanging by his side, held onto the bell pendant on his belt. It still carried the faint warmth from Xie Shuci’s touch, and the annoying sound seemed to have become more bearable.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Xie Shuci pushed Chu Wenfeng from behind. “I’m still waiting to watch the drama.”

Chu Wenfeng couldn’t help but sneer, “Don’t lead me away. What if we lose sight of Senior Brother and him?”

“Don’t worry, we won’t get lost. I’ll know where they are when I hear the bell,” Xie Shuci said, turning back to Xie An, “Xie An, your ears are sharp, take your time and come over with Brother Guiyi.”

Seeing how eager Xie Shuci was, Chu Wenfeng couldn’t resist mocking, “Weren’t you scared to death before? Now you’re not afraid?.”

“You don’t understand, people naturally crave excitement; that’s the meaning of life! Besides, if someone really tries to steal my bronze cauldron, I’ll just kneel down and give it to them! If by any chance, I encounter Xiao Xun and he doesn’t want to kill me, then there’s no need to run; but if he does want to kill me, then there’s no chance for escape… so stop dawdling! Xie An, keep up okay!” Xie Shuci pushed Chu Wenfeng ahead and didn’t forget to instruct Xie An and Chu Guiyi.

As Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng ran ahead, Chu Guiyi smiled wryly, shook his head, and turned to Xie An. “Young Master Xie An, let’s follow them.”

Xie An raised his head, let go of the bell pendant at his waist, and walked straight past him as if he didn’t hear his words.

Chu Guiyi looked at his back thoughtfully, wondering how Xie An and Xie Shuci could be brothers when they had nothing in common.

At that moment, Xie An seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head, his sharp profile exuding an aura of contempt for everything.

Chu Guiyi furrowed his eyebrows when he felt an overbearing and killing intent from Xie An. It was as if Xie An regarded all things as ants and divided the world into two types of people: those he could kill and those he couldn’t.

However, all the people he had met before with such a temperament were cultivators who had experienced countless battles to prove their path. Xie An was only sixteen, so how could he have such a strong killing intent in his heart?

Chu Guiyi shook his head, not wanting to speculate about such thoughts regarding a young boy. Perhaps it was due to his own recent struggle with going insane[1] that made him misinterpret things.

When Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng arrived at the entrance of the “Hongyu Hall,” there was already a large crowd of onlookers, with people packing the area to watch the commotion.

The sounds of crashing, smashing, and fighting reverberated through the crowd. Even weapons clashed, and spiritual energies were colliding. At times, the bystanders cheered and clapped, making it look like a chaotic zoo.

Though the place was crowded, Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng were bold enough to slip through the crowd like slippery eels, enduring some scolding in the process.

“Well done!”

“Everyone, come and see! This is the top disciple of the Helian family, sneaking here to have an affair! He has brought shame to the Helian family’s reputation!”

“Damn! You b*tch! I’m just here for fun. If I really liked beauties, could I still form a Daoist bond with you?!”

The man acted tough with his words but was soon thrown weapons by a woman who chased after him. He was forced to fend off her attacks with bare hands and retreated helplessly. The surroundings were in chaos, with tables and chairs scattered around. In the end, the man couldn’t hold on, fleeing the hall with his head in his arms.

“Excellent!”

“Fight! Teach that unfaithful man a lesson!”

Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng couldn’t take their eyes off the scene and fanned the flames along the side.

“What a skillful woman!”

“She’s truly a hero among women!”

“If you have such a Daoist partner, why would you still be looking for a courtesan? Are you incapable?!”

When the man heard this, he glared fiercely at Xie Shuci, and the woman took the opportunity to kick him down to the ground. The man was thumped and trampled on the grown by the woman

“Young man, you have good taste,” the woman said with her hands on her hips, looking at Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng with a chin-up gesture.

The man rolled his eyes and saw his sword lying not far away. He gritted his teeth and reached for it, but Xie Shuci swiftly stepped forward and kicked the sword away.

“You…!” The man looked up angrily.

“Hmph, scum!” Xie Shuci sneered.

The woman nodded at him with her fists clasped. “Thanks, little brother.”

“You’re welcome!”

“You are really something,” Chu Wenfeng said with a cheerful smile.

“I just can’t stand by when I see injustice.”

The woman chased the man around the “Hongyu Hall” for several laps, and the other people seemed used to such scenes, but a few outsiders were amazed.

“The one being chased, isn’t he the top disciple of the Helian family, Helian Jue?”

“That’s him! He found himself a fierce woman as his Daoist partner, and he’s always causing trouble in the city.”

“Oh, what did you say which family? No wonder. He’s a Helian, so it’s not surprising.”

“Senior Brother!” A furious shout suddenly rang from the outskirts of the crowd.

Xie Shuci and the others turned their heads, and they saw the crowd automatically making way for a passage. At the end of the passage, an indignant Helian Zhu walked in.

“Little Zhu, come save me quickly! Capture this fierce woman!” The man saw Helian Zhu as his savior and ran towards him while clutching his head.

Helian Zhu, feeling the teasing gazes of the crowd, felt like they regarded the whole Helian Family as a bunch of monkeys putting on a show. He gritted his teeth and glared at the man, thinking his family head must have been blind to take Helian Jue as the top disciple. If it weren’t for their fellow sect status, even if Helian Jue would have disgraced their entire sect, he wouldn’t have bothered with this person at all!

Helian Zhu reluctantly stood in front of the man, facing the fierce woman who was chasing him. “Miss Lu, our family head has sent a message asking Senior Brother to assist me in investigating the real culprit. Please consider the overall situation.”

Chu Wenfeng was amazed by the situation and whispered to Xie Shuci, “To ask a top disciple to assist his junior brother in investigating the real culprit? Helian Zhu said it out loud in front of all the cultivators from various regions. He is really arrogant and doesn’t even give his senior brother any face.”

Xie Shuci was not familiar with the ins and outs of the situation, but he vaguely sensed that Helian Zhu’s words had caused a change in the expressions of the cultivators present. They now looked at the man with contempt in their eyes.

Being a top disciple, not only was he supposed to assist his junior brother, but he was also openly and implicitly looked down upon by his junior brother. If it were someone else, they would have been humiliated to death.

However, Helian Jue seemed unfazed and, hiding behind his junior brother, acted as if he had a strong backing, saying arrogantly, “Did you hear that? We must consider the overall situation!”

“Helian Jue, look at yourself, do you still look like a man?” The woman cursed through gritted teeth.

Helian Zhu was afraid that they would start fighting again and embarrass the Helian family further, so he quickly bid farewell to the woman and led his senior brother away.

Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng returned to Xie An and Chu Guiyi, feeling unsatisfied with the lack of excitement.

“Helian Jue is such a coward, hiding behind his junior brother like that,” Chu Wenfeng said angrily.

Xie Shuci nodded in agreement. “You’re right, a real coward.”

Xie Shuci glanced at Xie An, who stood with his head down, playing with the bell pendant, seemingly in a good mood.

Chu Guiyi shook his head and sighed, saying, “Helian Jue was born in the wrong era. Once, he was famous for his skill in Red Tassel Cloud Piercing Spear. If it weren’t for his junior brother Helian Zhu, who possessed outstanding talent, Helian Jue would have been the best candidate to become the next family head. It’s a pity that he chose to abandon his potential. Since Helian Zhu showed his talent, Helian Jue hasn’t even touched the Red Tassel Cloud Piercing Spear for twelve years.”

Chu Wenfeng’s face revealed regret for a fallen hero.

Xie Shuci also sighed. Unfortunately, sometimes you work so hard for something that a genius can achieve with the snap of a finger. But there’s nothing we can do. He can’t help but feel a bit sorry for that man named Helian Jue.

However, Xie An’s lips curved into a smirk, seemingly amused.

Was he really born at the wrong time, or did someone arrange for him to be born at the wrong time?

Is it Helian Zhu who possesses such talent, or is it that someone arranged for him to possess such talent?

They are all just pawns in the hands of others.

Pawns?

Xie An didn’t know what came to his mind, as he touched the bell pendant on his waist and slowly lifted his head, casting his hollow gaze on Xie Shuci.

As pawns, they might be discarded and destroyed someday.

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[1] Going Insane in cultivation is a concept in ‘xianxia’ or ‘wuxia’ genres, where individuals pursuing power through spiritual training can face mental breakdowns due to mistakes, inner demons, external interferences, or due to the use of a forbidden technique.

Here, it’s because of harboring inner demons: Inner demons are doubts/obsessions that manifest in a cultivator’s mind, often born from regrets, fears, hatreds, or unresolved issues. If not properly addressed, heart demons can lead to the cultivator’s downfall or madness during crucial moments, like breakthroughs.