Red Heart Patrols the Sky

"Damnable scoundrel!"

Wei Quchibi's face was so dark with anger it seemed it could drip water.

Right under his nose, that unknown enemy used the souls of Xiaolin Town as sacrifices and consumed the lingering spirits of Maple Forest City Region's ancestors that should have rested in peace, to conjure the spectral shadow of Netherworld Pass. In the end, the foe even slipped away with ease right before his eyes.

And him, Wei Quchibi, a mighty Grade-5 expert, had rushed over with all his might only to come up empty-handed!

As the City Lord, he had failed in his duty. As a powerhouse, he had been humiliated.

When had he ever suffered such indignity?

Therefore...

"Waste of space!"

Wei Quchibi swung his hand back and sent Wei Yan flying several meters with a slap!

No one among the dozens present dared to utter a sound, though nearly every one of them felt aggrieved.

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

Of course, he had ample reasons to defend himself, ample reasons to be angry. Before the fog, he had charged forward bravely. Facing the Nine Palaces Formation, he had been the first to break through. Upon seeing Netherworld Pass, he risked everything to burn the only Scarlet Letter on his body.

One could say that from any perspective, he had done his best at this stage, beyond reproach.

But victory was victory, and defeat was defeat. The army doesn't entertain any "ifs" or "buts."

Wei Quchibi had granted him access to organize manpower to investigate Xiaolin Town, but he couldn't prevent the incident from occurring. That was dereliction of duty.

Wei Quchibi could have even executed him on the spot.

But what would that have accomplished?

Wei Quchibi arrived with a tumult and left in a rage.

The young men carried the wounded, supported each other, and some, carried the bodies. And thus, they dispersed.

These young disciples from the sect had just experienced a tough battle with heavy casualties,

A very difficult battle that ultimately proved to be futile.

From beginning to end, they didn't even know who their opponent was, yet the opponent had achieved their goal and left triumphantly.

They were being called—worthless.

...

"Damn it... I can't accept this,"

lying sprawled in his dormitory bed like a collapsed iron tower, Du Yehu remarked.

He had no serious injuries on him, and the foundational depletion had been replenished by the Heaven-repairing Pill Zhao Rucheng had sent him; he just needed some time to recuperate.

The Heaven-repairing Pill, though precious, was not without its benefits. Du Yehu needed it, and Zhao Rucheng had it, so that was that. They were the kind who could entrust their lives to each other, let alone anything else.

But the battle in Xiaolin Town, to be realistic, was a blow to every involved disciple of the sect. To anyone aspiring to transcendence, thirsting for strength, powerlessness was probably the worst thing.

Perhaps Zhao Rucheng was the exception. He had already gone to the Hall of Three Fragrances to "heal his wounds," reportedly aiming to capture a beauty's heart with his tale of a warrior's narrow escape from death.

Du Yehu was not one to lie still, but in this moment, he had no choice. No one would indulge his desire to drink, and so, he felt unusually sullen.

Ling He didn't speak; he was meditating with closed eyes.

As for Jiang Wang... he was currently having a meal, together with Jiang Anan.

Cai Ji's Mutton Shop, a century-old establishment.

Two bowls of richly aromatic mutton soup, ten jin of neatly sliced white-cut mutton.

Jiang Anan held a bun in her left hand, and chopsticks in her right... with the chopsticks holding mutton. The word "holding" is used because the way she held the chopsticks was indeed unusual—likely due to the lack of correction in the past—she enclosed them completely with her five fingers.

Having lived with Jiang Wang for a while, she was no longer as introverted and shy as before.

She bit left, she bit right. As she ate, every now and then, she would lean forward to sip a mouthful of meat soup. Two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks, full of contentment.

Cai Ji's Mutton Shop was not cheap; if it were Jiang Wang by himself, he might not be willing to dine there.

In the mission at Xiaolin Town, although Wei Yan suffered a setback himself, he still honorably secured a reward of twenty Dao Merit points for each of them, as well as some silver tael assistance. For cultivators, this was of least importance. However, for Jiang Anan, being able to eat delicious food was very important.

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

"Mm... yeah!" Little Anan nodded vigorously.

"From now on, every month…" Jiang Wang silently calculated his savings, "No, every ten days we can come and eat once, okay?"

Jiang Anan kept nodding.

She half-heartedly spoke with her brother—mostly just nodding or shaking her head in response, never being idle with her hands. While nodding, she also grabbed a piece of mutton and meticulously rolled it in the sauce before fully wrapping it in her mouth.

"Anan, how have your studies been lately?" It seems when chatting with children, all adults eventually bring the conversation to this point. Jiang Wang considered himself an adult and so he addressed it quite naturally, although he himself was only a seventeen-year-old youth.

Jiang Anan paused in her meat-eating, her small mouth puffing out as she squeezed out a response, "It's, it's okay."

Jiang Wang nodded in satisfaction.

He looked at his sister and felt a slowly flowing sense of blissful tranquility within. The hardships of battle, the sorrow of seeing his fellow disciples wounded or dead, the sense of helplessness for not being able to prevent things from happening... it all seemed to fade away.

Of course, some things are very saddening, but right now, life in front of him, how fortunate it was.

It made one want to keep it forever.

...

Walking through the Wang clan's lands, greeting the clan members he encountered with respect, Wang Changxiang was as composed and peaceful as ever. Even the most critical of clansmen couldn't find a single fault with him.

The strength of the Zhang, Fang, and Wang clans of Fenglin City was quite similar, and it was difficult to determine a clear winner. However, because Zhang Linchuan currently ranked third on the Dao Merit List, the Zhang clan edged out slightly ahead. Wang Changxiang, ranked seventh on the list, didn't fall too far behind either.

It was only the Fang clan that lagged. Their prodigy of the previous generation died in a trial, and their most outstanding Fang Pengju had been killed. Now they only had Fang Helling, who barely made it into the inner sect with a pricy Channel-opening Pill. To the discerning eye, the Fang clan had already been left behind by the other two.

Wang Changxiang didn't want to bother with these matters, preferring to stay away from worldly affairs. Despite being wise enough to see through the filthy greed behind those enthusiastic faces, he remained ever tranquil.

The path grew more and more remote.

He finally stopped in front of a somewhat old courtyard. Located in a secluded corner of the Wang clan's land, nearly no one lived nearby. The owner of the courtyard seemed like a lone bird living apart from the flock.

Wang Changxiang pushed the wooden door, which creaked sharply, disrupting the tranquility of the courtyard.

Contrary to the mottled walls, the courtyard was unexpectedly neat and refined. To the left, a grapevine trellis was erected, upon which sat a worn smooth recliner. No one was on the recliner, but a plump orange cat lay on it.

The cat wasn't startled by the visitor, merely half-opening its sleepy eyes with a languid glance.

"Little Orange," greeted Wang Changxiang.

The plump orange cat turned its head away and squinted its eyes again, disdainfully ignoring him.

Wang Changxiang wasn't annoyed, he continued walking forward. To the right, a large water tank was set up with lotus leaves floating on it, presumably with fish inside, judging by the occasional bubbles.

He stopped as he caught the scent of food.

Almost at the same moment, the cat on the recliner quickly stood up and looked back, its movements smooth and swift.

In front of the main hall, under the eaves, a low table was laid out. Just then, a young man emerged from the door behind, the aroma coming from the tray he was holding.

His looks weren't exactly handsome nor could they be considered ugly, but they somehow gave off a sense of "distance." Perhaps it was because of his overly indifferent eyes.

The aloof young man crouched down and methodically arranged the food on the tray onto the low table. There were two bowls of snowy, plump rice, two dishes of verdant green vegetables, and two dishes of tender stewed pig's trotters.

He sat down on the threshold, pulled out his chopsticks and tapped the table with the end of them, saying, "Time to eat."

Wang Changxiang didn't move, knowing the call wasn't for him, even though he desperately wanted to join and eat that meal.

With a "whoosh," the orange cat darted to the low table, first sniffing at the pig's trotters, then seeming satisfied, it propped its forepaws on the table and began to eat.

Wang Changxiang opened his mouth to speak, "Brother."

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

In fact, he was the rightful successor to the Wang clan's chieftainship according to clan laws, being the legitimate eldest son of the direct line.

But unfortunately, he was the "useless" one who had squandered a precious Channel-opening Pill without being able to manifest a Dao vein, casting shame over the Wang clan and lowering their standing compared to the other two families.

The shame of the Wang clan, Wang Changji.