Bullying

Setting down his wine cup, Li Guanqi's eyes shone brightly. This brew... Though crafted from hundreds of venomous vermin, it possessed a rich, velvety texture and a lingering finish. While potent, the shifting layers of flavor made it truly memorable. The spiritual wine slipped down his throat like a ball of blazing fire. Turning into a scorching warm current, the liquid coursed through his limbs, completely banishing his fatigue. It even possessed an impressive healing effect on hidden internal ailments. Though such effects did nothing for the present Li Guanqi, it still left him mildly astonished. If the grade of those venomous creatures had been even higher... Sipping his wine, Li Guanqi listened to the melodies of the zither and se by his ear, watching the woman before him dance gracefully. The courtesan beside him attended to his needs with devoted care. For a moment, an immense sense of peace settled over his heart. This sensation... gave him the illusion that he had returned to twenty years ago. The corners of his lips curved upward slightly. Even now, he still remembered the scene when he had brought Ye Feng to the brothel. Tempering the heart in the mortal realm—back when they were still in the sect, they had sneaked out to indulge in it quite often. Holding his wine cup, Li Guanqi's gaze grew somewhat distant. Upon entering the city, he had noticed an acquaintance, though he had no intention of seeking him out. As his thoughts drifted, several matters came to mind. Regarding the bone swords in his storage ring, he intended to hand them over to Long Hou and the newly chosen members of the Eight Generals once he returned. On his way back to Beiliang City, he could also stop by the Six Ancient Sacred Sect to check in on Zhou Shiyu and see how he was faring these days. As for ascending to the Immortal Realm, he was anxious about it as well. Yet he knew that such a thing could not be rushed. Grandfather had told him to ascend only after pushing his strength to its utmost peak, and there was bound to be good reason for that. Thus, his most pressing priority remained increasing his own strength. When it came to comprehending the laws, only time could bridge the gap. Had it not been for the Devouring Void Sacred Flame, reaching his current realm would have taken him at least a decade. In truth... There was another matter that had constantly weighed upon his heart. Namely, Li Nanting. Even though Li Guanqi had used the power of pills to gather and stabilize his divine soul, it remained exceedingly fragile. If he delayed for too long and the soul dissipated, he would regret it for the rest of his days. That was why he cultivated so desperately. Only after ascending to the Immortal Realm could he help Li Nanting remold a physical body and shatter his former shackles. Just as Li Guanqi's thoughts were wandering, a commotion suddenly reached his ears. "Hahahahaha! The old codger's going down! Down he goes!" Thud! A dull impact sounded. "Haha, Zhou Ze, why hit him so damn hard? If you play him to death, we won't have anything to mess with tomorrow." "Tch, my bad, my bad. Hurry and prop him up." Li Guanqi followed the sound and glanced toward the riverside. Two youths dressed in opulent robes were currently hauling up an old man clad in hemp whose face was covered in blood. There was no telling how many years the elder had worn those clothes; they were patched over and over, washed so pale they were nearly white, yet remarkably clean. Li Guanqi furrowed his brows slightly, his expression chilling. The elder had a withered, scrawny frame and carried a basket on his back, inside of which lay some dry firewood and discarded vegetable leaves gathered from who knew where. With his dry, weathered hands, the dark-skinned elder wiped away the blood before his eyes. A profound terror filled his cloudy gaze. "Ah... ah... uh... ah..." The old man's trembling voice was slurred and incoherent, and his hands made frantic gestures. In the end, he pressed his palms together, falling to his knees and looking up at the youths before him with pleading eyes. Seeing the old man like this, the youth named Zhou Ze turned slightly cold. He dragged the old man roughly to his feet, barking without the slightest courtesy: "Stand up straight!" "If you don't stand the hell up, how is this young master supposed to keep playing with you?" The old man's wrist was squeezed so hard it throbbed with pain, bruising visibly before their eyes. Not daring to resist, the elder shakily stood upright. "Hahahahaha! Wu Jiang, look at this pathetic bastard! Hahahahaha!" The youth named Wu Jiang wore a navy-blue robe richly embroidered with golden thread that occasionally gleamed in the light. He had triangular eyes and prominent cheekbones, giving him a mean, caustic appearance with a ruthless glint in his gaze. Wu Jiang looked at the old man with a smiling face and said, "Off with you, off with you. We'll spare you today." Hearing this, the old man felt as though granted a grand pardon and scrambled to gather the bruised vegetable leaves that had spilled onto the ground. Yet the moment he bent down, a cold glint flashed across Wu Jiang's eyes. He delivered a vicious kick to the elder's lower back. The blood-streaked, gray-haired elder stumbled, crashing hard against the riverside railing with a loud bang. A startling streak of blood trickled down the balustrade. The old man lay on the ground, tears welling in his eyes as he stared at the sky. He pressed his withered palms together, continually bowing them in supplication. Whimpers rose in his throat, but not a single word escaped his lips. For he was a mute. Swishing his sleeves, Zhou Ze strolled over to the elder's side, reached out, and pulled apart the lacerated wound on the elder's forehead. The gash was so deep that bone showed through, and the youth used his fingers to pry the white bone bare. "Tch, A-Jiang, not to lecture you, but why did you have to strike so hard?" "What if the old codger takes a detour to avoid us from now on? A blow like that'll keep him bedridden for at least two months." A sinister smile curled on Wu Jiang's lips. "If there's nothing left to play with... we'll just torment him till he dies. Worst case, we find someone else." With that, the youth slowly walked toward the old man. Though the elder was mute, he could hear their conversation clearly. It was precisely because of this that whenever Zhou Ze and Wu Jiang toyed with him, they made no secret of what they planned to do next, speaking right to his face. A plaything, knowing exactly how he was about to be tormented yet unable to speak a single word in protest. This dynamic brought the two of them a perverse sense of pleasure! Both were second sons in their respective clans, the unfavored kind. Idling their days away, they took delight in running rampant across the city to inflict misery for their own amusement. A crowd of onlookers had gathered along the riverbank long ago, yet intimidated by the might of the Zhou and Wu clans, they dared to be angry but dared not speak. Faint sighs continually rippled through the spectators as they cast pitying glances at the old man on the ground. None dared to sigh too loudly, terrified that the two youths might overhear and take revenge. Sure enough, Wu Jiang whipped his head around toward the surrounding crowd, a venomous smile plastered across his face. "Do you all feel sorry for him?" Pausing briefly, a chilling glint flared in his triangular eyes. "Then... would any of you like to take his place?" As he spoke, Wu Jiang tilted his head slightly, sweeping a sharp, malevolent glare in all directions. Seeing that no one spoke, Wu Jiang sneered. Slowly, he reached out, grabbed the old man by the hair, and hauled him upward. With a slight heave of his arm, he flung half of the elder's body over the railing!! Suspended over the balustrade, the elder struggled frantically, looking down at the rushing river waters with eyes full of sheer terror. "Sigh, this old man lost his children early on, and his granddaughter fell ill and died a few years back... He turned mute after that, and his mind went a bit soft too." "Indeed, sigh... A wretched life, yet hardship always strikes where the thread is thinnest." "Who dares stop them? Those two little terrors would set their sights on you next! Sigh, it's just fate." A bone-chilling murderous intent surged in Li Guanqi's eyes as he slowly stood up. The attendant beside him spoke softly: "Young Master, the Zhou and Wu clans hold immense sway in this city. Their strongest experts are Void Refining Realm ancestors... Please think twice."