Chapter 24: Bullying You Together – You’ve Got the Smartest Head

The thing wriggling at the tip of the dagger was slender and completely transparent, hard to observe from afar.

Hua Mei leaned in closer for a careful look, then clicked his tongue. “Flower Peacock, you’re not very popular, huh?” he said. “Planting something like this in your wound—they were clearly planning to ruin you.”

This thing was called a Soul Severing Thread. Though named a thread, it was actually a type of insect.

The bug survived by feeding on spiritual energy. If there wasn’t enough around it, it would draw nutrients from the dantian. If that still wasn’t enough, it would start devouring the spiritual meridians until they withered away, leaving the victim a dried-up husk—a total waste.

By then, it would be too late to save them.

Everyone who had cared for Xuan Yao and treated his wound after the injury came from Red Feather Manor. Combined with their intimate knowledge of the flaws in his spiritual weapon, there had to be an insider traitor in the manor.

Fortunately, the Soul Severing Thread hadn’t been implanted for long and hadn’t damaged his foundation. Xuan Yao muttered, “No wonder my cultivation hasn’t improved lately despite circulating spiritual energy through the heavenly circuit.”

Gu Changhuai pondered for a moment. “This method is vicious enough. It’s clearly meant to make you die in torment, suffering for life. Any idea who might want to harm you?”

“My family gets along well, my father dotes on me, and Red Feather Manor has ties everywhere…” Xuan Yao thought it over, then said seriously, “Could it be that this young lord is just too outstanding and people are jealous?”

Gu Changhuai: “…”

What a narcissist, young manor lord.

Hua Mei let out a coquettish laugh. “You don’t even know who’s trying to harm you? How pitiful~~”

“You’d have better luck hoping the culprit falls from the sky than relying on him,” Jin Shuang said, rubbing his forehead. “He and Pei Tianyi together couldn’t scrape together half a brain.”

At those words, Xuan Yao struggled to lift his head and glared furiously at Jin Shuang. “Who are you calling brainless? How dare you lump me in with that idiot!”

Hua Mei hummed dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, sure. You’ve got a brain. You’re the smartest one here.”

The nonstop sarcasm instantly made Xuan Yao glare even harder.

Gu Changhuai placed the Soul Severing Thread into a box. “The enemy is in the dark, you’re in the light. You’re safe for now in the Xinnan Immortal Sect. But after the Heaven Discussion Assembly ends, that’s another story.”

Jin Shuang nodded in agreement. “Right. Since this person planted a Soul Severing Thread in you, if they notice it’s been removed, they might strike again. Young manor lord, you should discuss countermeasures with Manor Lord Xuan first.”

“Keep this on you close to your body lately. Nourish it with your spiritual energy to keep the hidden enemy from noticing.” Gu Changhuai placed the box with the Soul Severing Thread beside Xuan Yao and gave a couple more instructions.

As he spoke, he recalled the original plot from the book. It hadn’t mentioned the villain Xuan Yao ever encountering something like this. Still, as a villain, Flower Peacock might have crossed paths with the male lead.

With that in mind, his interest suddenly piqued. “By the way, have you ever heard of someone named Zhao Qianlin?”

“Zhao Qianlin?” Xuan Yao said arrogantly. “What no-name nobody deserves to be known by this young lord!” He paused, then frowned sternly. “Don’t tell me this nobody is the one after me?!”

Jin Shuang, overhearing “Zhao Qianlin” from Gu Changhuai’s mouth, broke out in cold sweat. He quietly shrank back into the background, saying nothing: “…”

He couldn’t afford to spout nonsense.

This blame wouldn’t stick to Zhao Qianlin.

Gu Changhuai drawled slowly, “It has nothing to do with Zhao Qianlin. Someone else is behind this. I’m just asking around.”

Got it.

Even today’s male lead was nowhere to be found.

As the saying went, even a clear official couldn’t settle family affairs. Since there was a traitor in Red Feather Manor… Gu Changhuai tapped the box and looked at Xuan Yao with a casual tone. “This has nothing to do with the Yin-Yang Twins. I’ve left the Soul Severing Thread here. You’re on your own for the rest.”

Cleared of suspicion!

“It’s an insider,” Hua Mei said with a grin, pouring cold water on the situation. “An insider who wanted to cripple you. Good luck, Flower Peacock.”

Xuan Yao already had a grudge against Hua Mei. Stoked by those words, anger immediately surfaced on his face. “What’s it got to do with you!” His two pinned hands struggled. “Let go of this young lord already!”

He suddenly jerked upward, headbutting with the top of his head.

Caught off guard, Hua Mei took a hit to the nose and loosened his grip, staggering back two steps. Wincing in pain, he touched his hand—stained bright red with blood.

It had been ages since he’d seen his own blood. To think he’d been ambushed by some brat.

He looked at Xuan Yao in disbelief and laughed in fury. “You little Flower Peacock. Today, this one is going to teach you a lesson…”

Xuan Yao smirked triumphantly. “Who told you to disrespect this young lord!”

Neither would back down. They bickered back and forth, and before long, they started throwing actual moves at each other and fighting.

“Hey, hey, hey…” Jin Shuang couldn’t help but try to break it up, attempting to separate the two entangled fighters. “Stop fighting, stop! Calm down, both of you!”

Gu Changhuai wisely stepped aside, watching them with a smile as he pulled a spiritual fruit from his pocket and took a bite.

As if unable to stand him staying out of it, a golden chain suddenly shot from Xuan Yao’s hand, nimbly wrapping around Gu Changhuai’s waist.

Gu Changhuai: “…?”

Again?!

The other end of the chain yanked, forcing him to leap up and grab the dark green curtain hanging from the lattice door nearby. But the chain around his waist tightened, determined to drag him in.

Rip— The sharp sound of fabric tearing rang out, accompanied by the clatter of beads. Gu Changhuai tumbled down with the curtain.

The chain whipped up a vortex of spiritual energy, and in the blink of an eye, the massive curtain wrapped the four of them up tight, circling around several times. They were pressed together, only their heads poking out—like a giant, four-headed dark green caterpillar standing in the room.

Now no one could move!

“…”

Gu Changhuai laughed in exasperation too.

His eyes curved in a flowery smile, his tone mild. “Do you have a problem, young manor lord?” He shot Xuan Yao a sideways glance. “Once I get out, I’ll bully you right along with them.”

His calm tone carried an unsettling menace.

Xuan Yao’s face flushed red, aggrieved. “You’re my young madam. What’s wrong with helping me out?”

Hua Mei remarked, “This Flower Peacock just needs a beating. Don’t go easy on him.”

Jin Shuang: “…”

With these three ancestors, how could he dare speak up?

Xuan Yao turned his ire on Hua Mei. “It’s all your fault! You jinx…”

Just as the scene threatened to erupt into chaos again, Gu Changhuai sighed and lowered his eyes to speak. But the rowdy surroundings suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

“?”

Hm?

What was going on?

Gu Changhuai looked up in confusion, only to see the other three staring uniformly toward the door. Their eyes darted evasively, bodies rigid, quiet as chickens.

Xuan Yao and Jin Shuang both bowed their heads in unison, as if trying to shrink away, their expressions tinged with tension—like they’d spotted someone they feared.

Hua Mei frantically winked at him, gesturing for him to look behind.

“?” Gu Changhuai was baffled.

What kind of faces were those?

Sensing the off atmosphere, Gu Changhuai hesitated and shifted slightly. But wrapped tightly in the curtain, he couldn’t turn to look.

The next instant—

A sharp sword wind assaulted from behind. Several white shadows flashed before his eyes, the wind tousling a few strands of his long hair, followed by whistling sounds slicing through the air.

Gu Changhuai felt his body loosen. Looking up, he saw the curtain binding the four of them shatter into fragments midair in an instant.

They were freed.

At the same time, Xuan Yao—who was already half-naked on top—was fully exposed to the air. His upper robe hung in tatters like rags, his undergarments intact, but his upper body was completely bare to the gaze.

It hadn’t seemed like much before, but now in the silence, he awkwardly used the remaining scraps to cover himself, face red as he stayed quiet.

In that moment—

The air pressure seemed to drop even lower, as if about to freeze everything around into frost. Gu Changhuai could even feel the gaze boring into his back, solidifying into substance.

Gu Changhuai: “…”

He had a pretty good idea who had arrived.

He turned slowly. Meeting a pair of deep, indifferent eyes—it was Rong Ye, returned once more.

The other’s face was expressionless. Without a word, his gaze swept over Xuan Yao, pressed extremely close to him, then shifted to Gu Changhuai himself. Those eyes were still as a pool of dead water, an icy spring.

Gu Changhuai instinctively followed his line of sight to Xuan Yao. Xuan Yao’s current state did make the four of them look far from up to anything proper…

Gu Changhuai tried to explain, “It’s not what you think…”

Before he could finish, Rong Ye—who had been standing some distance away—suddenly blurred into a phantom.

The next moment, a cold fragrance hit, and Gu Changhuai felt a tug at his collar… He turned his head; Rong Ye was at his side, pinching the back of his collar.

Up close, the chill radiating from Rong Ye felt even stronger.

Finally realizing Rong Ye was furious.

Gu Changhuai wisely shut his mouth.

“…”

Weird. What was Rong Ye so mad about?

The next instant, Rong Ye lifted him by the collar and vanished from the room.

The frozen atmosphere in the room instantly thawed. The remaining three exchanged glances.

Xuan Yao touched his neck in lingering fear, his lips paling… Those sword intents that had shredded the curtain had brushed faintly past his neck… It had felt for a moment like they were aimed to take his life.

But that was Qing Lian Immortal Lord. He wouldn’t do that.

Just an illusion.

An illusion.

Hua Mei patted his chest with some trepidation, silently mulling over Rong Ye’s attitude… There was definitely something off!

Jin Shuang stared blankly, touching his sleeve—shorn off halfway. If it had deviated an inch, it would’ve been his arm. Clearly deliberate.

He looked up at the ceiling in despair: “…”

From the current situation, it seemed the Immortal Lord was on the verge of taking a dao companion.

The three harbored their own thoughts and soon dispersed.