Xu Zihuan had always looked down on Xu Zijing with that same haughty expression. Only when he saw Xu Ziyan did he restrain himself a little. After all, among the younger generation of the Xu family, Xu Ziyan held the highest status, not him. However dissatisfied he might be, Xu Zihuan was not foolish enough to show it openly.
His father had told him long ago not to confine his ambitions to the small Xu clan. Xu Ziyan might be talented, but the cultivation world was vast and had plenty of people with heavenly spiritual roots. How many of them ever truly succeeded in the end? As long as he cultivated diligently, his opportunities at the Flowing Light Sect might be no worse than Xu Ziyan’s.
“What are you doing here?” Xu Zijing asked with a slight frown. She detested Xu Zihuan’s attitude, as though heaven ranked first and he ranked second.
“Nothing. Just passing by.” Xu Zihuan had never taken Xu Zijing seriously. His gaze remained fixed on Xu Ziyan.
Xu Ziyan lifted an eyebrow but said nothing. Now that he had joined this team, he intended to abide by its rules. The captain should handle all negotiations, so he had no intention of taking over.
Seeing that Xu Ziyan remained silent and instead looked toward Xu Zijing, Xu Zihuan frowned. “Your team actually lets a woman be captain?”
Xu Ziyan shrugged. He did not discriminate against women. So what if the captain was a woman? Female cultivators might face greater difficulties in this world, but the ones who made a name for themselves were formidable. Xu Zijing, for example, would become an extraordinary cultivator. Building a good relationship with her now was an investment in his own future. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
Xu Zihuan’s brows drew together even more. He looked at Xu Ziyan as though saying, You’ve really fallen so low.
Xu Ziyan pretended not to notice. Such harmless looks meant nothing to him.
The corners of Xu Zijing’s mouth rose in a tiny, almost imperceptible smile, which vanished as quickly as it appeared. She looked coldly at Xu Zihuan. “Do you need something else?”
Xu Zihuan’s expression turned gloomy. He glared fiercely at her, then spun around and left.
The boys and girls following him exchanged glances and hurried after him.
Xu Zirong had been watching Xu Ziyan’s expression the entire time. He had discovered yet another puzzling aspect of this man.
The Xu Ziyan of his previous life would never have tolerated a provocative look like that from Xu Zihuan. Had the present Xu Ziyan become more calculating, or was there another explanation…?
Xu Zirong’s expression darkened slightly. He disliked having matters slip outside his control. Xu Ziyan had changed so much that Zirong no longer knew whether his own plans would proceed smoothly.
In his previous life, Xu Zirong had managed to cultivate the Blood Sea Heart Scripture right under the Xu family’s nose partly because they were confident he would never have the chance to learn cultivation. Their contempt for him had been equally important.
No one would have imagined that a child who cowered and endured bullying all day would dare sneak into the kitchen at night to steal chickens, much less later risk slipping into the Forest Sea to hunt demonic beasts.
Precisely because no one cared about him or paid attention except when bullying him during the day, he had plenty of time to himself.
But now Xu Ziyan was practically keeping him under constant watch. No one dared bully him anymore, yet doing anything in secret had become difficult.
Rubbing his brow, Xu Zirong suppressed his irritation. Forget it. He would deal with each problem when it came. He had suffered far worse in his previous life and still managed to become the Blood Demon. Although he did not yet understand Xu Ziyan’s motives, his circumstances were much better now than they had been then.
“Zirong, does your head hurt?” Xu Ziyan asked with concern when he noticed the gesture.
Xu Zirong paused, then raised his head with a small smile. “I’m fine.”
Seeing that Zirong did not seem uncomfortable, Xu Ziyan relaxed. The group concealed themselves once more beside the Polarizing Grass.
After some waiting, the patch did not disappoint. They hunted four Rock Cats in total, including the one Xu Ziyan had reduced to charcoal, and thus accomplished what they had planned.
Xu Ziyan personally brought down two of the four. Having learned from his first attempt, he adjusted the amount of spiritual power he used on the second and successfully obtained a half-cooked Rock Cat. =. =
Of the remaining two, Xu Zijing caught one and Xu Zixue the other.
Reasoning that they had probably cleared out the Rock Cats living in that area, they discussed their options and moved elsewhere.
Xu Zirong followed Xu Ziyan with a cheerful smile. No one noticed the bright-red drop of blood in his palm. As it revolved, fine strands of blood were drawn from it and absorbed through the channels in his hand into his body.
He had secretly extracted that drop of blood essence when he volunteered to ‘retrieve’ the prey Xu Ziyan had hunted. Once he absorbed and refined it, he would successfully enter the first level of Qi Refining.
Perhaps because he was certain Xu Ziyan would never let him come to harm, Xu Zirong felt perfectly at ease refining the blood while they walked. As the droplet shrank, the spiritual power within his dantian steadily increased.
“Watch out!” Xu Ziluo suddenly shouted as they headed toward a gathering place of Sharp-Toothed Otters. A dark shape burst from the grass and lunged at the weakest member of the group, Xu Zirong.
Xu Ziyan reacted instantly. Spreading his fingers, he shot out five streaks of purple lightning. The dark shape let out a shriek in midair, twisted aside, then changed direction and continued its attack on Xu Zirong.
Xu Ziyan was horrified. He was still learning to control his spiritual power, and in the urgency of the moment had poured all his reserves into those five bolts. His body was now empty of power; he could not raise another defense.
Xu Zirong’s expression changed abruptly. Whatever was charging at them had clearly chosen him as its target, and at his current level he was incapable of resisting.
The gray-white demonic beast opened its mouth wide, filthy saliva dripping from its jaws. Its scarlet eyes locked onto Xu Zirong’s head, and its sharp front claws were poised to pierce his skull.
Brain-Devouring Rat!
Everyone recognized the terrifying demonic beast at a glance.
The creature specialized in ambushes and fed on brains. Its most dangerous weapons were its two front claws, which could pierce a skull and tear out what lay inside.
A Brain-Devouring Rat struck once and immediately fled, without hesitation. If it got its claws into Xu Zirong’s head, there would be no chance of saving him.
Pfft…
Just as Xu Zirong thought that his second life would end here, blood sprayed before his eyes.
He opened his eyes wide and stared in disbelief. Xu Ziyan had thrown himself between Zirong and the beast, and the rat’s claws had pierced straight through his shoulder.
“Kill it!” Xu Zijing shouted, attacking together with Xu Zixue and Xu Ziluo.
The Brain-Devouring Rat had already been severely injured by Xu Ziyan’s lightning. Surrounded by the three cultivators, it soon died.
Xu Zirong stared in disbelief at Xu Ziyan, whose face was twisted with pain yet still managed a strained smile. “How are you, Zirong? Are you all right?”
“Wh…?” Xu Zirong’s lips moved. His thoughts were in such turmoil that he could barely think.
Why had Xu Ziyan saved him? He could not understand it. He could not understand it at all!
“Haa…” Xu Ziyan sucked in a painful breath, hardly noticing what Zirong had said. He had always known the cultivation world was brutal, but being injured this badly the very first time still went far beyond his expectations.
He knew he must look terrible. If nothing else, the speechless, frightened expression on Zirong’s face told him as much.
The Brain-Devouring Rat had pierced his shoulder, and his blood had splashed onto Zirong’s face. The poor boy must be terrified.
“Don’t be scared, Zirong. Big Brother’s fine.” He tried hard to sound gentle, but it was not very convincing while blood continued to flow from his shoulder.
Xu Zirong could not stop trembling. As he looked at the person whose face was contorted in pain yet who was still trying to comfort him, an inexplicable excitement welled up inside.
He could not even say where the excitement came from. He merely tasted the blood at the corner of his mouth. It was warm, sweet with a metallic tang, and stirred his hunger.
A trace of blood-red appeared in his pupils, giving them an eerie, unsettling look.
Xu Ziyan did not notice his precious little brother’s eyes changing color. He was an ordinary man who had grown up under the red flag; never in his life had he suffered an injury this serious. Cultivators might have tougher bodies than ordinary people, but having a shoulder pierced through still hurt like hell.
Between his wounded shoulder and his depleted spiritual power, he felt wretched. Yet he had to maintain his image as a great big brother, so he endured the pain and pulled Xu Zirong, who had fallen to the ground, to one side.
Since Zirong still looked frightened, Xu Ziyan could only hold him and rub his back, doing his best to comfort the ‘terrified’ child.
Xu Zirong rested obediently in Xu Ziyan’s arms, his long lashes hiding everything in his eyes.
He actually found the situation faintly ridiculous, because the large hand stroking his back was so awkward it was almost painful to watch. Yet the warmth of that touch was something he could not bring himself to reject.
Xu Ziyan’s injury was serious, and his shoulder was still bleeding. The sensible thing would have been to take medicine from his storage bag and treat the wound, rather than foolishly spend his time comforting a child.