Xie Shuci took out an item with Xie An and Chu Guiyi’s scent and held it to the Great king’s nose. He instructed it to lead them to the nearest person. Since the place where he and Chu Wenfeng landed was not far apart, the other two should be nearby as well.

The Great King, receiving its orders, bounced around like an excited puppy on its first outing. It ran ahead but returned when it noticed Xie Shuci wasn’t keeping up, tugging at his clothes to urge him to move faster.

Xie Shuci nudged it away. “Don’t bite. Be careful I don’t step on you.”

“Aoo Aoo!”

“Chu Wenfeng, do you think they’ll be okay?” Xie Shuci asked worriedly.

Chu Wenfeng shook his head. “Before coming here, my senior brother and I gathered a lot of information about the Dragon Tooth Secret Realm. Right now, it’s still daylight in the secret realm, so there’s not much danger. However, once night falls, every tree here can easily take your life. During the day, the creatures that move around, like the relatively gentle Red Snow Wolves, won’t pose much of a threat. As long as they don’t encounter members of the Sun family, they should be safe.”

“That’s good.”

Chu Wenfeng scoffed, “You’re worried about them? Even though they don’t have cultivation powers, they can still protect themselves, unlike you.”

“I’m an alchemist. Of course, I’m weaker,” Xie Shuci retorted, then, still dissatisfied, commanded, “Great King, show him your fangs.”

The Great king obediently bared his fangs at Chu Wenfeng, looking ferociously cute, with no real threat.

Chu Wenfeng snorted. “Childish.”

Before long, the Great king, following the scent, led them deeper into the forest.

The deeper they went, the thicker the canopy above became, until eventually, the surroundings turned somber, with not a ray of sunlight penetrating through.

In the depths of the forest, everything was silent, occasionally broken by a bird’s call, clear and melodious.

Perhaps influenced by the oppressive environment, Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng both became more serious, holding their breath and moving cautiously, their senses on high alert.

Xie Shuci held onto the bell at his waist, warily scanning their surroundings.

The Great king’s cheerful steps remained unaffected. It bounced onto a rock, sniffed the air, and excitedly looked in a direction, circling in place to urge Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng to follow.

“Aoo!”

“Found them?”

“Aoo Aoo!”

Delighted, Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng quickly followed its lead.

Due to the forest being so quiet, Xie Shuci heard faint voices from a distance of several dozen meters.

It sounded like there were more than two people. Xie Shuci and Chu Wenfeng exchanged a glance, immediately understanding each other.

Xie Shuci carefully removed the bell from his waist, tucking it into his belt, then crouched down to Great King, “Find a place to hide, and don’t make any noise. Only come out when I call you, okay?”

Great King, being very smart, let out a low bark and darted into the nearby bushes.

Imitating Chu Wenfeng, Xie Shuci covered himself with spiritual energy to conceal his presence and cautiously approached the source of the voices.

The two of them crouched down and sneaked behind a nearby rock. As they got closer, the conversation became clearer.

“How do you plan to deal with Chu Guiyi, Xiaohu?” 

Sun Xiaohu? The Sun family?

Xie Shuci frowned and looked at Chu Wenfeng.

Chu Wenfeng clenched his teeth, clearly itching to confront them, but Xie Shuci quickly restrained him.

“Are you crazy? They outnumber us!”

Chu Wenfeng gritted his teeth, clearly holding a long-standing grudge against Sun Xiaohu.

“A man should know when to yield,” Xie Shuci whispered. “Let’s hear what they’re planning first.”

Chu Wenfeng snorted, but he stayed put.

“How to deal with him?” Sun Xiaohu chuckled coldly. “Him entering the Dragon Tooth Secret Realm in his state is practically seeking death. Even if I give him a little push to die here, who would know it was me?”

At that moment, Chu Guiyi’s calm voice sounded ahead, “The enmity between you and me has nothing to do with others.”

Xie Shuci felt a sinking feeling. He peered out from under the rock, cautiously sticking his head out through the sparse underbrush. He saw Chu Guiyi and Xie An surrounded by a dozen disciples in black robes.

“Damn, what rotten luck, running into an old enemy right after getting here,” Xie Shuci muttered through gritted teeth.

Chu Wenfeng’s grip tightened on his Avian Nine-Section Whip, his knuckles turning white.

Sun Xiaohu sneered, “Nothing to do with others? You want me to let him go? So he can run back to the Chu family and tell them I, Sun Xiaohu, killed you?”

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the disciples interjected, “Senior Brother, this blind man is with that alchemist.”

Hearing this, Chu Wenfeng whispered to Xie Shuci, “If Sun Xiaohu lets Xie An go, take him and leave immediately. Sun Xiaohu is vengeful and holds grudges. Don’t get involved anymore.”

Xie Shuci was momentarily taken aback, realizing that Chu Wenfeng didn’t want to drag him and Xie An into the mess. He paused, then said, “Are you ordering me what to do now?”

“You—!” Chu Wenfeng fumed.

Xie Shuci smacked him on the head. “I consider you guys friends. If we’re friends, don’t spout nonsense. I’m a cultivator too. Don’t underestimate me. Besides, that smiling tiger isn’t likely to let Xie An go.”

“Just a mere alchemist and you’re this scared?”

“But he’s from Floating Tower Realm.”

“So what? No matter how powerful people from the Floating Tower realm are, they can’t reach us here.”

Listening to their conversation, Chu Guiyi’s brow furrowed deeply. “Sun Xiaohu, don’t involve innocent people in this.”

“Innocent? No, no, no, they’re far from innocent,” Sun Xiaohu said, stepping toward them with a sinister smile. “A useless alchemist, bringing three useless people into the Dragon Tooth Secret Realm. Do you know how many people are eyeing you as a juicy target?”

Sun Xiaohu stopped in front of Xie An, scrutinizing him before smirking suggestively. “I’ve heard that the alchemist likes men and he keeps you, a blind man as beautiful and delicate as a flower, by his side. You wouldn’t happen to be his lover, would you?”

After saying this, he actually tried to touch Xie An’s face.

The phrase “as beautiful and delicate as a flower” was both fitting and not quite fitting when used to describe Xie An.

Xie Shuci watched Sun Xiaohu’s salacious hand, furious and itching to act. My little blind is so young! How dare you defile him with your dirty paws? You’re simply seeking death!

Xie An’s long eyelashes trembled as he instinctively wanted to retreat, but for some reason, he stood his ground. Sun Xiaohu’s finger touched his face, and Xie An immediately turned his head away as if insulted, looking directly towards Xie Shuci.

Xie Shuci’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing Xie An’s expression of disgust. A great fury exploded within his chest!

Bastard! Damn you! How dare you touch my little blind? I’ll fight you to the death…

No, I can’t win.

Xie Shuci gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay calm. If he rushed out now, he’d just be handing them a victory. But seeing Xie An looking helpless and hurt, Xie Shuci felt an immense heartache. His little blind, the most beautiful and adorable in the world, had his face touched by a filthy man?

“Chu Wenfeng, can you beat Sun Xiaohu?” Xie Shuci asked.

“Mm, in a one-on-one fight, he’s no match for me.”

“That’s good enough, just wait and see.”

“Sun Xiaohu.” Chu Guiyi’s tone intensified, and he pulled out a flying dagger from his sleeve. If Sun Xiaohu dared any more disrespectful actions, this dagger would make him suffer.

Sun Xiaohu’s attention was suddenly drawn to Chu Guiyi. He paced back to face Chu Guiyi, and everyone’s eyes followed him.

Thus, no one noticed the fleeting cold glint in Xie An’s eyes as he lowered his eyelashes.

“Chu Guiyi, aren’t you very arrogant? Aren’t you very capable? What now? You can’t even protect a blind man? Let me tell you, not just him, but that alchemist and your junior brother—I will torture them to death right in front of you!”

Since Chu Guiyi fell into madness[Qi deviation], Sun Xiaohu had not missed any opportunity to deliberately provoke him. No matter what Sun Xiaohu said or did, no matter how he trampled on Chu Guiyi’s pride, Chu Guiyi remained unruffled, seemingly unmoved by Sun Xiaohu’s crude provocations.

However, the more Chu Guiyi maintained his composure and unyielding pride, the more Sun Xiaohu wanted to see him in a state of disarray and despair.

Why? Why?

Do you still think you’re the same favored son of the Chu family?

Now you’re nothing! Just a cripple! How dare you be so arrogant? How dare you still act so high and mighty?

“Don’t you want to avoid involving them? I refuse! I want to capture him, your junior brother, and that Alchemist right in front of you, and use every disgusting method you can think of to deal with them!”

Perhaps the humiliation in front of everyone today had driven him somewhat mad. He spared no effort in using his words to infuriate Chu Guiyi, wanting to tear off his mask of calm, wanting to shatter his dignity into pieces on the ground.

What good would it do to kill Chu Guiyi? Only by crushing Chu Guiyi’s dignity could he satisfy the hatred in his heart!

“Him and that Alchemist are lovers, aren’t they? I would like to see, how a man and a man…”

“Slap—”

Before Sun Xiaohu could finish, the man in front of him raised his hand and swung his palm.

Chu Guiyi’s slap was delivered with almost all his strength, and his hand still trembled slightly after the strike.

Despite his efforts to remain calm, his rapid breathing betrayed the turmoil inside him.

“Sun Xiaohu, I said, our grudge should not involve others,” Chu Guiyi’s voice was so cold it sent shivers down the spine.

Sun Xiaohu’s head snapped to the side, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He licked his cheek with his tongue and turned back, his eyes bloodshot with rage. “You’re courting death!”

Just then, a voice sounded from behind in the forest, “Great King!”

Simultaneously, a snow-white beast pounced out from between the trees, pinning several disciples to the ground. Two figures dashed out from behind the rocks; one of them threw something into the air, and a dome-like object descended from the sky.

Sun Xiaohu’s brow furrowed, and as he tried to retreat, a fiery red whip lashed out, entangling his ankle and dragging him inside the dome.

The other disciples wanted to come forward to help, but the Red Snow Wolf turned and let out a roar, stunning them. They covered their ears, and the force of the roar sent them flying several meters away. At the same time, with a thunderous sound, the dome descended to the ground, completely isolating Sun Xiaohu from the others.

“Who is it?”

“Who’s there?”

Surrounded by pitch darkness, Sun Xiaohu stood up warily, his back pressed against the wall, his eyes frantically searching the dark for something.

“KE KE KE KE…”

A sinister laughter echoed in the darkness.

“Let’s see who’s the bold one, daring to touch my Little Blind.”