Chapter 30: Useless Trash, A Broken Man

"You damn thief!"

Wei Quji's expression was so dark it looked as if it could drip water.

Almost right under his nose, that unknown enemy had used the living beings of Xiaolin Town as sacrifices, consumed the unscattered souls of all the generations that should have been resting in the entire Fenglin City region, and in one fell swoop, condensed the phantom of the Gates of Hell. Finally, the enemy had calmly escaped right before his eyes.

And he, the dignified Fifth-Rank Great Expert Wei Quji, had rushed here with all his might, only to end up with nothing to show for it!

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

When had he ever suffered such disgrace?

Therefore...

"Useless!"

With a backhand slap, Wei Quji sent Wei Yan flying several meters!

Among the dozens of people present, not a single soul dared to make a sound, even though almost every one of them felt indignant.

Even Wei Yan himself merely climbed up in silence, without uttering a word.

He certainly had enough reasons to defend himself, enough reasons to be angry. He had charged forward before the mist. He had been the first to break through the Nine Palaces Formation. Upon seeing the Gates of Hell, he had risked everything to burn the only Red Letter he possessed at the first opportunity.

It could be said that from any perspective, he had done the best possible at his current stage; he was beyond reproach.

But achievement is achievement, and failure is failure. The military did not care for such nuances.

Wei Quji had granted him authority, allowing him to organize personnel from the Dao Academy to investigate Xiaolin Town, yet he had failed to prevent the incident from occurring. That was dereliction of duty.

Wei Quji could have even killed him on the spot.

But what would be the point?

Wei Quji had arrived in a fury and left in a rage.

The young people dispersed—some carrying the wounded, some supporting each other, and some carrying corpses.

These young disciples of the Dao Academy had just endured a grueling battle with heavy casualties—a battle that was incredibly difficult, yet ultimately proven to be utterly useless.

From beginning to end, they hadn't even known who their opponent was, yet the enemy had already achieved their goal and vanished.

They were called—useless.

...

"Goddammit... it's just so frustrating."

Du Yehu lay sprawled on his dormitory bed like a fallen iron tower.

He didn't have any serious injuries, and the depletion of his foundation had been replenished by the Gu Yuan Pills sent by Zhao Rucheng; he simply needed a period of quiet recuperation.

Gu Yuan Pills were indeed precious, but they weren't something difficult to accept. It just so happened that Du Yehu needed them and Zhao Rucheng had them, so that was that. They were the kind of existence who could entrust each other with their lives, let alone anything else.

But to be honest, the battle at Xiaolin Town was a blow to every participating Dao Academy disciple. For anyone aiming for the transcendent and craving strength, helplessness was perhaps the worst feeling of all.

Or perhaps Zhao Rucheng was the exception. He had already gone to the Sanxiang Pavilion to "recover from his injuries." It was said he wanted to use his status as a hero who had narrowly escaped death to win a beauty's heart in one fell swoop.

Du Yehu was not the type to stay idle, but at this moment, he could only lie there. Even when he wanted to drink, no one was willing to indulge him. Thus, he was, quite uncharacteristically, somewhat melancholy.

Ling He said nothing; he sat with his eyes closed, cultivating.

As for Jiang Wang... he was currently eating, together with Jiang An'an.

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

Two bowls of fragrant mutton soup, and ten pounds of neatly sliced white-boiled mutton.

Jiang An'an held a bun in her left hand and chopsticks in her right... using the chopsticks to grab the mutton. The reason for using the word "grab" was that her posture with the chopsticks was indeed different—likely because no one had ever corrected her—she simply wrapped all five fingers around them to hold the chopsticks.

Having lived with Jiang Wang for a long time, she was no longer as introverted and shy as she had been at the beginning.

She took a bite from the left, then a bite from the right. As she ate, she would occasionally lower her head to lean toward the bowl, taking a delicious sip of the mutton broth. Two dimples appeared faintly on her face, looking utterly satisfied.

Cai's Mutton Shop was not cheap; if it were Jiang Wang himself, he might not have been willing to eat here.

In the Xiaolin Town mission, although Wei Yan took the brunt of the blame, he had still fulfilled the contract by securing twenty points of Dao Merit for each of them, along with some silver subsidies. For cultivators, this was the least important thing. But for Jiang An'an, being able to eat delicious food was very important.

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

"Mhm... yes!" Little An'an nodded vigorously.

"In the future, every month we..." Jiang Wang silently calculated their savings, "No, we can come eat here once every ten days, okay?"

Jiang An'an continued to nod.

She chatted with her brother in fits and starts—mostly replacing her answers with nods or shakes of the head. Her small hands were never idle; while nodding, she would grab a piece of mutton, roll it carefully in the dipping sauce, and then take a large, full bite.

"An'an, how has your schoolwork been lately?" When chatting with a child, most adults eventually end up on this topic. Jiang Wang considered himself an adult, so he spoke naturally, even though he was merely a seventeen-year-old youth.

Jiang An'an's eating paused for a moment. Her mouth was puffed out, and it took some effort for her to squeeze out a sentence: "It's... it's okay."

Jiang Wang nodded with satisfaction.

Looking at his sister, a slow, flowing, happy tranquility filled his heart. The hardships of battle, the sadness of seeing fellow disciples fall, the helplessness of failing to prevent the incident... it all seemed to fade away.

Some things are indeed heartbreaking, but right now, the life before him was so happy.

It made one want to hold onto it forever.

...

Walking through the Wang Clan territory, greeting clansmen who called out to him from time to time, Wang Changxiang was composed and serene, just as he always was. Even the most critical clansman could not find a single fault in him.

In Fenglin City, the Zhang, Fang, and Wang clans were roughly equal in strength, making it hard to distinguish a superior. However, because Zhang Linchuan currently held third place on the Dao Merit Rankings, the Zhang clan had gained a slight edge. Wang Changxiang held seventh place on the rankings, so the Wang clan was not far behind.

Only the Fang clan was struggling. Their genius from the last term had died in a trial, and their most outstanding talent of this term, Fang Pengju, had been killed. Now, only Fang Heling remained, who had barely managed to enter the inner sect by using expensive Meridian-Opening Pills. In the eyes of any observant person, the Fang clan had been left behind by the other two.

Setting these matters aside, Wang Changxiang had never been one to involve himself in worldly affairs. Although his wisdom was sufficient to see through the filth and greed behind those enthusiastic greetings, he always remained calm and indifferent.

The path grew increasingly remote.

He finally stopped before a semi-dilapidated small courtyard. This was a secluded corner of the Wang clan territory, with almost no one living nearby; the owner of the courtyard was like a solitary bird living apart from the flock.

Wang Changxiang reached out and pushed the door. The wooden door let out a piercing creak, disturbing the tranquility of the courtyard.

Unlike the mottled and old exterior walls, the courtyard was unexpectedly neat and exquisite. To the left, a grapevine was built high on a trellis; beneath the trellis sat a lounge chair that had been rubbed smooth by use. No one was in the chair, but a fat orange cat was lying there.

The cat was not startled by his arrival; it merely half-opened its sleepy eyes and gave him a listless glance.

"Little Orange," Wang Changxiang greeted upon hearing the sound.

The fat orange cat turned its head, squinted its eyes again, and actually acted as if it were looking down on him.

Wang Changxiang was not offended and continued walking forward. To the front right sat a large water vat with lotus leaves floating in it. Occasionally, bubbles could be seen; there were likely fish being raised inside.

At this moment, his footsteps stopped, for he caught the scent of food.

Almost simultaneously, Little Orange on the lounge chair rose swiftly and turned its head, its movements seamless.

In front of the main hall, under the eaves, sat a low table. At that moment, a young man was walking out from behind the door, the aroma emanating from the food tray he held in his hands.

His face could not be called handsome, nor could it be called ugly; it simply gave people an inexplicable sense of "distance." This was likely due to those eyes that were far too indifferent.

The detached young man crouched down and arranged the dishes from the tray onto the low table one by one. There were two bowls of snow-white, plump rice, two plates of vibrant green vegetables, and two plates of stewed, tender pig trotters.

The man sat down on the threshold, pulled out his chopsticks, tapped the end of them against the table, and said, "Eat."

Wang Changxiang did not move, because he knew the man was not calling him, even though he desperately wanted to walk over and share this meal.

With a "whoosh," the orange cat darted to the low table with a speed entirely inconsistent with its physique. It first lowered its head to sniff the plate of pig trotters, and only then, appearing somewhat satisfied, rested its front paws on the table and began to eat.

Wang Changxiang opened his mouth: "Brother."

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

In truth, he was the eldest son of the Wang clan's direct lineage, the most legitimate successor to the clan leadership according to ancestral law.

But as it happened, he was also a useless person who had wasted a precious Meridian-Opening Pill without even being able to manifest a Dao Meridian. He had brought ridicule upon the Wang clan, causing them to fall behind the other two clans.

The shame of the Wang clan, Wang Changji.