Chapter 246: The lizard sheds its tail [I]
Upon hearing his name, Zhang Xin began to nod his head, like a chicken pecking at grain. He did not dare to look up.
The two elders exchanged glances. Then one of them smiled—his smile appeared kind, like that of an angel. He extended his hand.
“Little one, you have convinced me. Follow us.”
“Y-yes?!”
Zhang Xin was stunned. It worked? He immediately stood up and began to follow the elders.
Watching his fellow disciples being killed, he felt relieved.
“At least I survived,” thought Zhang Xin, feeling no sympathy.
In reality, as disciples of the same sect, they never considered each other part of the same whole. There was no such nonsense as ‘we are one family, blah blah blah.’
Eternal opposition, eternal struggle, killings, and malice. This was the source of sustenance for devilish cultivators, a form of spiritual food.
The only thing Zhang Xin felt at that moment was relief. Relief that he had managed to save his own skin and nothing more.
And he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he did not notice. The contemptuous smirks on the faces of the elders.
He was walking into the tiger’s den, thinking he was returning home.
***
The Elders’ Pavilion. Before the great incident in the Sect of Bone Circle, this place was a symbol of power, an untouchable place. And the elders sitting there were almost like gods.
However, now… these gods had fallen. They were dying, choking on their own blood. The bloody spectacle of hundreds of elders falling lifeless to the ground was a nightmare for anyone, regardless of age.
“Tsk…”
There was a clicking of the tongue. It was none other than Tang Xun, who sat on a mountain of corpses, propping his chin with his hand, arrogantly looking down at the man kneeling amidst the corpses.
“So you say you have no close relationship with this bastard? How can I believe you, huh? You’re just a dog. Maybe you’re just trying to wash your hands clean. That’s also possible, you know?”
The kneeling man trembled. His entire body was covered in blood, but it was not his own. It was the blood of his colleagues.
This man was none other than Zhang Hong. He looked at the corpse to his right with a complex expression.
“Lord Lin Tao…”
It was Lin Tao, the head elder of the outer court. Just a few days ago, they had celebrated his marriage. Now he lay deader than dead. The corpse was completely burned.
“Hm? Hey, bastard, you dare to be distracted when I’m asking you a question?”
“This… I-I’m sorry!”
“Hm, sick bastard. Have you lost all fear?”
Zhang Hong trembled, bowing deeply. His mind was in turmoil—how could such a terrifying person exist in the world.
And remembering the reason for his state… Zhang Hong gritted his teeth.
“Cheng E. Of course, you became my nightmare. And I had hoped that with his help, I would become a star. I could raise my status…” Zhang Hong gritted his teeth, feeling anger: “Because of you! All because of you! I have to die because of some bastard! I hate it!”
Hatred. The only emotion Zhang Hong felt at that moment. His body trembled, and his face turned red. His hands clenched into fists.
“Hey, bastard…”
However, Tang Xun’s words brought Zhang Hong back to his senses. He bowed deeply.
“L-lord. This guy set me up. I am not his relative!” Zhang Hong pleaded.
“Are you kidding me, punk? Do you think I’m stupid? That I don’t know? A week ago, you were very proud to call him your nephew, boasting that he had made it into the inner court. And now what? Balls hurt? Pants warm? Why are you silent? Lost your tongue?”
Tang Xun’s words were like a blade. Each word cut into Zhang Hong’s already wounded body, who could only tremble in fear, cursing himself for his arrogance and Cheng E (Xie Qing) for his treachery.
Indeed. Over the past six months, he had significantly elevated his status. Since his ‘nephew’ had become a disciple of the inner court, his status had greatly increased. Even Lord Lin Tao had started to befriend him.
And Zhang Hong enjoyed it. He found it extremely pleasant to realize that the attitude towards him had suddenly changed. Previously, his colleagues had avoided him, especially when he began to patronize Xie Qing.
Even his friends, those four elders, had avoided him. But as soon as Xie Qing became a disciple of the inner court, they immediately started to flatter him.
And when rumors spread that this guy had a high ranking in the inner court, it made most of the elders desire friendship with Zhang Hong.
“If I had known… if I had only known…”
That he would never have gotten close to this guy—that’s what Zhang Hong wanted to say. However, Tang Xun interrupted him with a cold voice.
“Shut up. It seems there will be another performance here,” the man said and turned his face towards the entrance. There stood a disciple whose knees were trembling: “Heh…”
There was a stark contrast between the terror on Zhang Xin’s face and Tang Xun’s smile.
“Come on, come over here, punk,” said Tang Xun, settling comfortably. His eyes gleamed as if he was expecting a good adventure.
Zhang Xin approached Zhang Hong with trepidation. Initially, the disciple was shocked by the elder’s pitiful state but did not dare to say anything and merely knelt down.
Tang Xun looked at them with an amused gaze. He could not understand what Xie Qing was aiming for.
“Want to get rid of them using my hands?” Tang Xun guessed and smirked: “Not bad. I commend you. I think this time I’ll pretend I didn’t understand your scheme. However, next time…”
Tang Xun’s eyes gleamed. He could not help but feel annoyed. This guy was damn slippery. It was as if he was fishing and caught a fish, but it slipped out of his hands. It was unpleasant.
“Brat.”
“Y-yes?!”
Zhang Xin shuddered when Tang Xun addressed him. The man looked at the disciple with a malicious smirk.
“Cheng E.”
“Hm?”
“Cheng E,” Tang Xun repeated with a malicious smile: “Do you know this name?”
“This…”
Zhang Xin fell silent. How could he forget? This person was his nightmare. It was Zhang Xin himself who had brought him into the sect, but in the end, he remained in the outer court while this guy became a disciple of the inner court after just six months.
The emotions Zhang Xin felt towards Xie Qing were envy, dark and heavy envy. After all, Zhang Xin had been stuck in the outer court for centuries.
Therefore, hearing that name again, the envy in Zhang Xin’s heart flared up anew. Tang Xun couldn’t suppress a smirk when he saw this reaction.
“Indeed, your ugly sheep face is more expressive than a hundred words. Envy, huh? Well, no wonder. While you, a failure, have been trying your best to enter the inner court for centuries, this guy managed to achieve more than you in just six months. You know, he could have even become a disciple of the main court,” Tang Xun said with a cunning smirk.
As expected, his words provoked a strong reaction from Zhang Xin. He gritted his teeth with hatred.
“Why! Why!”
Why him… and not me?!
That’s what Zhang Xin thought. His envy consumed him from within. He couldn’t believe that some bastard had come out of nowhere, entered the sect, and immediately become a disciple of the inner court, while he himself had been trying to achieve this for ages!
Moreover, what was even worse, he was the one who had brought him into the sect! This only infuriated him more.
Zhang Xin felt a deep sense of injustice. He had dreamed of the inner court, while a guy who had been in the sect for less than a year could already enter the main court.
“It’s not fair! I tried so hard, worked diligently, but why wasn’t I chosen? What makes me worse?!”
Seeing Zhang Xin’s emotions, Tang Xun felt better. At least it was good when someone else suffered instead of him. Looking at these two men, he snorted.
“Punk, you are the reason this guy entered the sect. Zhang Hong, you patronized him. Both of you…” Tang Xun’s eyes turned cold, contrasting with the rising temperature in the room: “…are sentenced to death.”
“P-please wait…”
“I…”
The helpless cries of the two were interrupted by their own screams. Fire fiercely consumed their bodies, burning them from within.
Their helpless cries, pleas, and convulsions—this scene was so horrifying that even a mentally strong person would feel sick.
“Hahahahaha!”
Tang Xun laughed loudly. He was surrounded by fire, the entire room was ablaze. It looked as if Hell had descended upon the world. A sight worthy of its own book.
“Consider this a gift for your cunning, bastard. Next time…” Tang Xun gritted his teeth and stood up, disappearing into the flames: “…I will get rid of you completely.
