Nameless District Arc Chapter Fifteen: The Dog That Bites, The Snake That Poisons

Watching Zhou Xuanhong’s departing figure, Wei Yuli turned to Wang Li with a cold smile. “It seems your methods aren’t working. You’d better think about how to handle this loose end. No matter what, Chen Yan is a green aptitude cultivator. If you don’t pull her over to your side, someone from the Sect Master’s faction will snatch her away.”

With a thought, spiritual light flickered in Wei Yuli’s eyes, and the spell sealing Chen Yan’s lips—preventing her from speaking—silently dissipated.

But by now, there was no need for the fight to go on. Chen Xin didn’t dare continue; any further and she’d be violating sect rules, and even the elders who’d been turning a blind eye wouldn’t tolerate it.

“Stop! Junior Sister Chen Yan has already lost the ability to fight. Why must you be so ruthless?”

After Wei Yuli left, Wang Li strode onto the dueling platform as a self-styled champion of justice. With a sweep of his sleeve, he knocked Chen Xin straight off the stage, then moved to help Chen Yan.

At that moment, a graceful figure appeared, blocking his way. It was none other than the Enforcement Elder, Xu Yuan.

Seeing Chen Yan’s injuries, Xu Yuan frowned deeply. “What’s going on here? How did a simple duel end with such serious wounds?”

Wang Li, the instigator, was unfazed. He clasped his hands and smiled. “Elder Xu, you may not know—the two juniors are both from the Chen family of Luoshui City. One is from the main branch, the other from a cadet branch. This wasn’t merely a contest of spells but a clash between main and cadet lines. Besides, Junior Sister Chen Yan refused to admit defeat, which is why things escalated as they did.”

Xu Yuan cast him a skeptical glance. She didn’t believe a word of it. Since the Grand Elder’s disciple had shown up and gotten involved, there was surely more to this than met the eye.

She extended her divine sense, scanning a mile around, and soon detected Zhou Xuanhong descending the mountain. She understood.

“Wang Li, what is the connection between this girl and Zhou Xuanhong?”

Wang Li’s expression didn’t flicker. “Disciple does not know.”

Xu Yuan’s face turned icy. “Do you really think that being the Grand Elder’s disciple means you can do as you please in the sect, that you can cover the sky with one hand?”

Wang Li feigned ignorance. “Disciple doesn’t understand your meaning, Elder. I just happened to pass by and saved Junior Sister Chen Yan out of kindness. What does this have to do with being the Grand Elder’s disciple?”

“Hmph.”

Xu Yuan snorted coldly. “Chen Yan too is a green aptitude cultivator, on par with you. You’ve abused your authority just because you joined two years earlier. Fine. Today, I will take Chen Yan as my disciple. Within three years, I will see her tread you underfoot!”

Wang Li clasped his hands. “I don’t understand what Elder Xu means. My intentions were good. But since you are here, I leave her to your care.”

He then gave Chen Yan a meaningful smile. “Congratulations, Junior Sister, on becoming Elder Xu’s disciple. I look forward to the opening of the Spirit Herb Secret World in a month’s time. I hope you’ll have reached late-stage Qi Refining by then, so we can advance together!”

With that, he mounted his flying sword and left. The moment he stepped off the dueling platform, his smile turned instantly dark, then shifted into a grin again.

“Zhou Xuanhong, Chen Yan, I’m really looking forward to meeting you both in the Spirit Herb Secret World. It’ll be fascinating. My patience in holding back my breakthrough will be worth it, hahahaha…”

Once again, at the riverbank at the foot of the residential area, the siblings were butchering the giant fire ox. Zhou Xuanhong sat by the campfire, gazing at the dark river, lost in thought. From time to time, a dangerous glint flashed deep in his eyes.

The boy, slicing meat with a half-spirit blade Zhou Xuanhong had given him, asked, “Senior Brother, you know that senior sister who was beaten on the stage earlier, don’t you?”

Zhou Xuanhong returned to himself and smiled. “Of course I do. I was even engaged to her in the past. But something happened, and it was canceled. Why, are you wondering why I didn’t step in to save her? With my status, it would’ve been easy, wouldn’t it?”

“No, I was just asking. But the way she looked at you at the end was kind of pitiful. Like she was looking at you, wasn’t she?”

Zhou Xuanhong nodded. “Actually, I didn’t intervene for her own good. If I had, I could have spared her some pain, but what about the future? The people targeting her from the shadows would only press me harder through her, and she’d be in even greater danger. The dueling platform is a public place; those in the dark wouldn’t dare go too far there.

You need to understand—surviving in the shadows is best. Dogs that bite don’t bark; venomous snakes have hidden glands. So, too, should revenge be silent and deadly—a single, fatal strike!”

The boy sighed. “That makes me a bit scared. Now everyone knows you’re close to us siblings. Won’t they come after us because of that?”

Zhou Xuanhong looked into his eyes for a moment, then smiled. “Nothing will happen to you. Even if I die, you’ll both probably live just fine.”

Once Zhou Xuanhong had eaten and his vitality was restored, he returned to his wooden cabin on the Sect Master’s peak.

He didn’t like to light lamps. He enjoyed the feeling of being shrouded in darkness—it gave him a strange sense of safety, and his thoughts grew clearer, countless sinister and cunning schemes brewing in his mind.

That Chen Xin must have used some trick to beat Chen Yan—something like the Fury Spirit Pill favored by rogue cultivators. Let’s see what you’re up to.

In the next instant, Zhou Xuanhong’s vision shifted to the outer disciples’ quarters, seen through the eyes of a tiny black insect—utterly invisible to the naked eye, devoid of spiritual energy, motionless like a speck of dust.

He had obtained this treasure from a mysterious ancient ruin, sacrificing over a dozen companions to secure it. It was a bug nest, half the size of a fist, pockmarked with tiny holes. Inside, hundreds of black bugs lay dormant, lifeless.

Zhou Xuanhong usually kept it hidden in a necklace around his neck, disguised as a black gemstone. It could change size and was his greatest trump card.

On his first day in the sect, he’d stealthily planted a few of these bugs on every peak he could access, wary of using too many and being noticed by powerful cultivators.

He didn’t know the bugs’ name, intending to search the library after reaching Foundation Establishment for clues.

The bug under his control now crept through the roof of a house—Chen Xin’s quarters—slipping through a gap with no resistance.

Outer disciples were weak; their homes lacked protective arrays, only simple identification wards and triggered barriers, saving on spirit stones.

Sect Master’s Peak, by contrast, was covered in powerful formations; without a token, even a bug a hundred times smaller couldn’t get in.

Inside Chen Xin’s room, she sat cross-legged on her bed in bad shape—blood streaming from her orifices, her energy wild and chaotic, though she’d suffered no visible injuries on stage.

“So she really did take a forbidden pill like the Fury Spirit Pill.”

On Sect Master’s Peak, Zhou Xuanhong’s lips curled into a cold smile.

“If you let yourself be someone’s blade against me, you’d best be ready to break and be destroyed.”

Inside Chen Xin’s room, she spat another mouthful of blood, her face pale. “Damn it, why is the backlash from this Rampage Pill so severe? Senior Brother Wei, I’ve given so much for you!”

She took out a jade vial containing a second-grade Stabilizing Pill, meant to calm her rampaging energy—a treasure no mid-stage Qi Refining outer disciple should possess.

Zhou Xuanhong guided the black bug to seize the moment she swallowed the pill, slipping inside her body with it, burrowing into her artery. With Chen Xin’s organs in turmoil, and her spiritual sense absent, she didn’t notice the invader.

The bug made straight for her heart. Suddenly, Chen Xin felt a stabbing pain in her chest—her essence blood draining away. With her mind’s eye, she saw her heart inexplicably hemorrhaging.

“Wei Yuli, you’ve killed me!”

With those words, her breath ceased.

The black bug, having devoured her essence blood, crawled out through her nose—its body now red and swollen—and slipped outside, flying off toward Sect Master’s Peak at the speed of an ordinary mosquito, entirely inconspicuous.

It landed outside the peak but didn’t enter; for safety’s sake, it would wait until morning to return to the nest.

Having handled this blade, Zhou Xuanhong returned to his grueling cultivation. As he cycled the Form Shaping Art, his spiritual energy grew ever more refined—an unexpected benefit.

Within his sea of consciousness, the trajectory of the Form Shaping Art was gradually leaving behind marks, and as the imprints appeared, a vortex-shaped acupoint began to take shape—the Void Soul Acupoint.

His cultivation nourished the Vitality Rising Grass outside his cabin, causing it to flourish. In the eternally springlike climate of the sect, it wouldn’t be long before harvest.

Meanwhile, on the neighboring Mandarin Duck Peak, Xu Yuan was tending Chen Yan’s injuries, with Luo Tuan standing guard.

After a while, Xu Yuan opened her eyes. “Though the wounds aren’t serious, the tissues were frozen and will take time to heal. That Chen Xin really didn’t hold back.”

Luo Tuan said, “Master, should I go teach that Wang Li a lesson?”

Xu Yuan shook her head. “He’s the Grand Elder’s disciple; you can’t bully the younger generation. But Zhou Xuanhong is fair game—although he’s only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, and his talent isn’t as high as Wang Li’s. When Wang Li reaches Foundation Establishment, you can spar with him. Also, since there are no outsiders here, just call me Yuan’er.”

Once outside the room, the two shed their formal roles, the affection in their eyes unhidden.

“Yuan’er, wait for me. I’ll reach the Golden Core stage soon. Then we can be together openly.”

Xu Yuan nestled in Luo Tuan’s arms. “My little nemesis, there’s a long road ahead. Once I’ve settled my family’s affairs, I’ll marry into your family and help you claim the clan leader’s seat. With our two powers united, we’ll avenge our child who died before birth.”

Luo Tuan nodded. “Still, I have a bad feeling, like something terrible will happen. Do you think that junior Zhou Xuanhong is really as mediocre as he seems?”

“Don’t overthink it. However extraordinary he may be, his talent alone can’t make waves. But among this year’s newcomers, there’s a brother and sister you should watch. My grandfather said they deserve special attention, but we mustn’t make it obvious. I don’t know why, either.”