“Damn dog thief!”

Wei Quji’s face was so gloomy it seemed capable of dripping water.

Almost right under his very nose, that unknown enemy had used the lives of Xiaolin Town’s inhabitants as sacrifices, then consumed the restless souls of Maple Forest City’s past, souls that should have been at peace, to condense a Gate of Hell phantom in one fell swoop. And then, right before him, they had calmly escaped.

Yet he, Wei Quji, a dignified Fifth-Rank powerhouse, had rushed here with all his might, only to end up with nothing!

As the city lord, he had failed in his duty. As a strongman, he had been humiliated.

When had he ever suffered such an indignity?

Therefore…

“Worthless trash!”

Wei Quji lashed out with a backhand slap, sending Wei Yan flying several meters!

Dozens of people were present, but not one dared to speak. Even though almost every single one of them felt resentment in their hearts.

Even Wei Yan himself merely silently picked himself up, without uttering a word.

He certainly had enough reasons to defend himself, enough reasons to be angry. Before the fog, he had advanced bravely. Facing the Nine Palaces Formation, he had been the first to break it. Seeing the Gate of Hell, he had risked his life to immediately burn the only Crimson Letter he possessed.

From any perspective, it could be said that he had done his best at this stage, beyond reproach.

But success was success, and failure was failure. The military did not concern itself with such trifles.

Wei Quji had granted him the authority to organize manpower from the Daoist Academy to investigate Xiaolin Town, but he had failed to prevent the incident from happening. This was dereliction of duty.

Wei Quji could have even killed him on the spot.

But, what would be the point?

Wei Quji had arrived with great fanfare, and then left in a fit of anger.

The young people dispersed, some carrying the wounded, some supporting each other, some carrying corpses.

These young disciples of the Daoist Academy had just experienced a fierce battle with heavy casualties.

A very difficult battle that ultimately proved to be futile.

From beginning to end, they hadn’t even known who their opponent was, but their opponent had already accomplished their goal and left triumphantly.

They were called – worthless.

…

“Damn it… I’m not convinced.”

Du Yehou lay sprawled on his dormitory bed, like an iron tower fallen.

He didn’t have any serious injuries; the damage to his foundation had been compensated by the Essence-Stabilizing Pill Zhao Rucheng had sent over, and he merely needed a period of rest.

The Essence-Stabilizing Pill was certainly a precious item, but there was nothing wrong with accepting it. It just so happened that Du Yehou needed it, and Zhao Rucheng just so happened to have it, so it was settled. They were the kind of friends who could entrust their lives to each other, let alone anything else.

But the battle at Xiaolin Town was, in all honesty, a blow to every Daoist Academy disciple who participated. For anyone aspiring to transcend and yearning for power, helplessness was perhaps the worst thing of all.

Or perhaps Zhao Rucheng was the exception. He had already gone to the Three Fragrances Pavilion to “recover,” supposedly hoping to seize the heart of a beauty with the image of a brave warrior who had narrowly escaped death.

Du Yehou wasn’t one to stay still, but at this moment, he could only lie down. He wanted to drink alcohol, but no one was willing to indulge him. Therefore, he was uncharacteristically melancholic.

Ling He did not speak; he was cultivating with his eyes closed.

As for Jiang Wang… at this moment, he was eating, together with Jiang An’an.

Cai’s Mutton Shop, a century-old establishment.

Two bowls of fragrant mutton soup, and ten pounds of neatly sliced boiled mutton.

Jiang An’an held a bun in her left hand, chopsticks in her right… chopsticks holding mutton. The word “hold” was used because her grip on the chopsticks was indeed unusual – probably because no one had ever corrected her – she simply wrapped her five fingers around them.

Having lived with Jiang Wang for a while, she wasn’t as introverted and shy as she had been at first.

She took a bite with her left side, then a bite with her right. As she ate, she would occasionally lower her head and move closer to the bowl, taking a delicious sip of the broth. Two shallow dimples were faintly imprinted on her face, showing great satisfaction.

Cai’s Mutton Shop was not cheap; if it were just for himself, Jiang Wang might not be willing to eat here.

In the Xiaolin Town mission, although Wei Yan had suffered the consequences himself, he had still fulfilled his promise to secure twenty Daoist Merit points for each of them, as well as some silver. For cultivators, this was the least important thing, but for Jiang An’an, being able to eat delicious food was very important.

“Do you like it?” Jiang Wang asked with a smile.

“Mmm…yes!” Little An’an nodded vigorously.

“From now on, we will every month…” Jiang Wang calculated his savings in his mind, “No, every ten days, we can come here to eat once, okay?”

Jiang An’an continued to nod.

She chatted with her brother in a rambling way – mostly using nods or shakes of her head to answer. Her little hands were not idle; while nodding, she grabbed a piece of mutton, carefully rolled it in the dipping sauce, and then took a big mouthful.

“An’an, how are your studies lately?” Perhaps when chatting with children, all adults eventually bring up this topic. Jiang Wang considered himself an adult, so he asked very naturally. Although he was only a seventeen-year-old boy.

Jiang An’an’s eating motion paused for a moment, her little mouth full, and she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: “Still, still okay.”

Jiang Wang nodded in satisfaction.

He looked at his sister, feeling a slow and happy peace in his heart. The hardships of the battle, the sadness of seeing his fellow disciples wounded or killed, the powerlessness of not being able to prevent what had happened… all seemed to fade away.

Some things were certainly very sad, but the present, the life before him, was so happy.

It made him want to keep it forever.

…

Walking through the Wang clan’s territory, greeting the clansmen who greeted him from time to time, Wang Changxiang was composed, peaceful, and the same as always. Even the most critical clansman could not find fault with him.

The Zhang, Fang, and Wang clans of Maple Forest City were about equal in strength and other aspects, making it difficult to distinguish which was superior. However, because Zhang Linchuan was currently ranked third on the Daoist Merit List, the Zhang clan was subtly superior to the others. Wang Changxiang of the Wang clan was ranked seventh on the Daoist Merit List, so they weren’t far behind.

Only the Fang clan was different. The previous generation’s genius had died in a trial, and the most outstanding member of this generation, Fang Pengju, had been killed. Now, only Fang Heling remained, who had barely entered the inner sect with a Meridian-Opening Pill obtained through heavy expenditure. But in the eyes of discerning people, the Fang clan had been left behind by the other two clans.

Without mentioning these matters, Wang Changxiang had always been unwilling to get involved in worldly affairs. Although his wisdom was sufficient to see through the dirty greed behind those enthusiastic greetings, he always remained indifferent.

The road grew more and more secluded.

He finally stopped in front of a half-old small courtyard. This was a remote corner of the Wang clan’s territory, with almost no one living nearby. The owner of the courtyard was like a solitary bird living in isolation.

Wang Changxiang reached out and pushed the door open. The wooden door creaked harshly, disturbing the tranquility of the courtyard.

Unlike the mottled outer walls, the courtyard was unexpectedly neat and exquisite. To the left was a grape trellis, erected high, with a smooth, well-worn recliner underneath it. There was no one on the recliner, but there was a fat orange cat lying there.

It wasn’t startled by the arrival of a person, but only half-opened its sleepy eyes and glanced over weakly.

“Little Orange,” Wang Changxiang said hello upon hearing the sound.

The fat orange cat turned its head away and closed its eyes again, actually disdaining to acknowledge him.

Wang Changxiang was not annoyed and continued to walk forward. To the right front was a large water tank, with lotus leaves floating in it. Bubbles could occasionally be seen, indicating that there were fish being raised.

At this moment, he stopped, because he smelled the aroma of food.

Almost simultaneously, the orange cat quickly got up and looked back at a speed that did not match its size, in one fluid motion.

In front of the main hall, under the eaves, was a low table. At this time, a young man came out from behind the door, carrying a food tray in his hands from which the aroma emanated.

His face could not be described as handsome, nor could it be said to be ugly. It simply gave people a feeling of “remoteness.” Perhaps it was because of his eyes, which were too calm.

The young man with a detached aura squatted down and arranged the food on the low table one by one. There were two bowls of snow-white and full rice, two dishes of jade-green vegetables, and two dishes of stewed pork trotters that were soft and tender.

The man sat down on the threshold, pulled out his chopsticks, tapped the tabletop with the end of the chopsticks, and said, “Eat.”

Wang Changxiang did not move, because he knew that he wasn’t being called, even though he really wanted to walk over and share the meal.

With a “swoosh,” the orange cat darted to the low table at a speed that was absolutely disproportionate to its size. It first lowered its head to sniff at the dish of pork trotters, and then, seemingly satisfied, placed its front paws on the low table and began to eat.

Wang Changxiang opened his mouth: “Brother.”

Perhaps only a few people remembered. Wang Changxiang, the pride of the Wang clan, also had an elder brother.

In fact, he was the eldest son of the Wang clan’s direct line, the most reasonable heir to the position of clan leader under the patriarchal system.

But unfortunately, he was also a useless person who had wasted a precious Meridian-Opening Pill and failed to manifest his Daoist Meridian. This caused the Wang clan to suffer ridicule and fall behind the other two clans.

The Wang clan’s disgrace, Wang Changji.