Zhou Zixi listened in silence for a long while without speaking.

Ming Li asked him, “Where must I go to save you?”

Zhou Zixi looked toward the scenery outside the house. “Senior Sister, you should find Senior Brother first.”

“You don’t need to find where I am. I’m the most insignificant link in the chain.”

*

In the west, Tai Yi.

By now, daylight was bright. Ye Fengming had been dragging Ye Yiyi around the city all night. Ye Yiyi couldn’t take it anymore and yanked her hand away angrily, “Brother! What exactly are you trying to do by dragging me out here?”

Ye Fengming replied nonchalantly, “To show you the night scenery of the west, afraid you’ll be longing for the southern scenery. In a few days, there will be a martial arts competition for your hand in marriage. When young men from the south arrive, you might not be able to take your eyes off them.”

“What martial arts competition for marriage? I don’t agree to any such thing!” Ye Yiyi fumed. “Those are just rumors. I’m going back now. You can wander around by yourself!”

Ye Fengming grabbed her. “You think those are just rumors? Rumors that Father spread himself?”

“How could Father possibly arrange a martial arts competition for my marriage? He knows I like Senior Brother. Even if he doesn’t approve, he wouldn’t force me into a martial arts competition for marriage. What kind of—”

Before Ye Yiyi could finish, she saw her brother’s cold smile as he released her hand. “You know how highly Father once thought of Zhong Anqi, but in the past two years, his attitude has changed. He’s even started to limit your time together. The meaning is quite obvious.”

“What meaning?” Ye Yiyi asked, displeased. “Brother, don’t try to sow discord between us. You’re the one who angered Father and made him dislike you. If you want to find ways to clash with Father, why ruin things between me and Senior Brother?”

Ye Fengming was amused yet annoyed by her words. He flicked his sleeve and walked away, abandoning her. After a few steps, he turned back. “Since you like Zhong Anqi, then stop asking Zhou Yi to do things for you.”

“Why can’t I?” Ye Yiyi was irritated by his previous words. She angrily replied, “You keep mentioning Senior Brother and Zhou Yi. Mind your own business!”

Ye Fengming said, “If you don’t like Zhou Yi, then don’t order him around as you please. Focus on your Senior Brother.”

“How am I ordering him around?” Ye Yiyi laughed in anger. “I don’t like Zhou Yi, but I don’t dislike him either. Besides, he’s a Tai Yi disciple. We see each other all the time. Just because I like Senior Brother and not him, does that mean I can’t talk to Zhou Yi?”

Ye Fengming: “Talking turned into asking him to take care of your spirit field?”

Ye Yiyi: “He can use the medicinal herbs in the spirit field too!”

Ye Fengming sneered: “Is this what you planned all along, or did you just change your mind?”

Ye Yiyi blinked with some guilt and snorted: “I’m not talking to you anymore. Don’t interfere in my business.”

Ye Fengming shouted after her, “Ye Yiyi! Don’t think everyone will indulge you without limits. Use your brain to think for once!”

Ye Yiyi turned back and made a face at him, then angrily flash-stepped away, disappearing into the morning light.

*

Ye Fengming didn’t bother returning to Tai Yi and continued loitering outside. He figured Zhou Yi probably returned last night and discovered the state of the spirit field, which must have been quite a shock. A whole night was enough time for him to buy new Azure Blood Grass to replace what had died in the spirit field.

So he didn’t worry about it anymore and went off to drink and carouse with his friends outside.

When Ye Yiyi returned and saw her “devastated” spirit field, she was dumbfounded, unable to believe this was the result of Zhou Yi’s careful tending. Her initial shock turned to fury, and she searched throughout Tai Yi for Zhou Yi.

On her way to the Can Su pavilion, she met Zhong Anqi and fumed, “Senior Brother! Have you seen Zhou Yi anywhere?”

Zhong Anqi’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up with a smile and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“He destroyed all the medicinal herbs in my spirit field!” Ye Yiyi was furious. “I want to find him and ask what he means by this!”

“I’ve been busy these past two days and haven’t seen him,” Zhong Anqi said. “Don’t be anxious. I’ll help you look for him.”

Ye Yiyi: “How can I not be anxious!”

With that, she ran off, continuing her search throughout Tai Yi.

Zhong Anqi watched her silhouette, frowning with an inscrutable expression in his downcast eyes.

Ye Yiyi searched all of Tai Yi but couldn’t find any trace of Zhou Yi. Upon inquiry, she learned that he had left Tai Yi yesterday and hadn’t returned. Could it be that he knew he had made trouble and was hiding at the Zhou family home?

She was furious all over and immediately headed to the Zhou family to find him.

Late at night, just as she reached the sect gate, she encountered Ye Fengming returning.

Seeing her burning with anger, looking ready to kill someone, Ye Fengming stopped and asked, “Where are you going?”

Ye Yiyi initially didn’t want to pay him any attention, but halfway through, she suddenly remembered something and went back to fiercely ask, “Do you know where Zhou Yi is?”

“How would I know? Why are you looking for him?”

Ye Yiyi cried angrily, “He killed all the medicinal herbs in my spirit field!”

Ye Fengming raised an eyebrow, thinking this wasn’t right. How could that Zhou kid leave and not come back? Completely ignoring the spirit field he was supposed to care for?

“If he wasn’t willing to watch over my spirit field, he could have just said so. I could have found someone else to help. It’s not like I had to have him help me. But what does he mean by this? Is he trying to get revenge by killing all those herbs?” Before Ye Yiyi could finish her tirade, she heard Ye Fengming say, “It wasn’t him. I killed your herbs.”

Ye Yiyi: “…”

Ye Fengming said, “He found that one Azure Blood Grass was withering and couldn’t be saved, so he went out to buy you a new one. He asked me to look after the field while he was gone. I didn’t know the proper amount of medicine for your herbs, so I just sprinkled it randomly.”

Ye Yiyi directly threw a punch infused with stellar power toward him. Ye Fengming dodged sideways, catching her fist, only to be kicked hard by her lifted leg.

His sister’s physical cultivation was at the full boundary level, and when she fought, she was always quick and decisive. When angry, her attacks were fierce and heavy. Being hit by her was no small matter.

Ye Fengming only dodged without counterattacking, listening to her cry as she pummeled him: “Did you do this on purpose? I had so many Azure Blood Grasses! I spent over a year carefully cultivating them! If Father hadn’t insisted that I go to Nan Que, I wouldn’t have needed anyone to look after them. You casually say they’re dead, you…”

“Then why did you insist on Zhou Yi helping you?”

“He’s the one who offered to help take care of them!”

The commotion from their fight was considerable. Zhong Anqi came out from the sect gate and, after walking a few steps, saw the two fighting. He hurried forward to break up the fight, restraining the siblings. “Yiyi, Fengming, stop it now!”

Ye Yiyi’s hand was caught by him, her stellar power dissipating. She cried until her eyes were red. Seeing this, Zhong Anqi’s tone softened: “Whatever the issue is, talk it out properly. Don’t start fighting at the sect gate.”

He then looked at Ye Fengming standing several steps away: “What did you do to make her cry again?”

Ye Fengming coldly snorted, turned around, and left. He didn’t return to the sect, continuing his wandering outside.

“Fengming!” Zhong Anqi called after him, but seeing him leave without looking back, he sighed internally. He could only focus on comforting Ye Yiyi first. “Is it about the spirit field? Don’t be upset. I’ll buy you some more medicinal herbs later.”

“It’s not just about buying more!”

Ye Yiyi felt more wronged the more she thought about it, and ran crying into the sect.

Zhong Anqi looked left and right at the directions the siblings had run off to, and finally, with a helpless sigh, decided to follow Ye Yiyi first to comfort her before leaving.

On his way, Ye Fengming also felt increasingly that something wasn’t right. Halfway through his journey, he went to the Zhou family residence and inquired whether their young master had returned. The servant informed him: “The young master has not returned to the residence.”

If Zhou Yi hadn’t returned home, where would he have gone?

The Zhou Clan’s trading company?

Ye Fengming also visited the Zhou Clan trading company, but couldn’t find Zhou Yi there either.

At this very moment, Zhou Yi was in a slave pit questioning his existence.

As the young master of the Zhou Clan trading company, he had never wanted for food or clothing since childhood. Whatever he wanted, he got. Wherever he went, people would smile and call him “Young Master Zhou” or “Little Master.” Among the younger generation in the West, he was considered quite a prominent figure.

He had always been the one to kick others into the deep valley abyss. Never did he imagine that before he could make a move, someone else would kick him down first.

In the pit, one couldn’t tell when it was day or night. One could only see the false sun glowing atop the Xian Chi Tower. At certain times, the bell towers around the edge of the pit would ring their bells, and the slaves in the pit would be called to work.

Looking down from above, the pit resembled an enlarged beehive. The intersecting fire lines had countless honeycomb-like holes. They appeared small from afar but large up close. The fire lines burned people’s skin. Some slaves didn’t even have shoes and walked barefoot on the scorching hot ground.

The slaves’ resting area was by the sand river at the edge of the pit, shaded by giant trees, and occasionally, they felt a bit cold. It wasn’t until Zhou Yi was beaten into the fire line area by the overseer’s staff that he truly understood what scorching heat meant.

Even breathing was scalding hot. In such an environment, an ordinary person couldn’t last very long.

But looking up, he saw countless people walking toward the fire holes in the pit, forming a dense crowd.

The overseers, following them, wore shoes covered with black cloth, which protected them from burns. They had black guards on their elbows and knees, and they wore black gloves.

An overseer pointed his staff at Zhou Yi. “Newcomer, what are you dazed for? Hurry up and walk.”

Zhou Yi had tried countless times but couldn’t sense his stellar power.

The changes brought by stellar power were crucial. Even if you hadn’t reached the full boundary in physical cultivation or hadn’t awakened your physical meridian, being able to sense stellar power naturally gave your body some added strength, making you stronger than others, able to run faster.

When all that power was lost, Zhou Yi realized he was weaker than he had imagined.

At the very least, after being severely beaten and having his neck and feet chained, he couldn’t fight off the two overseers with staffs.

On his first day here, his condition and clothing were very different from those around him, but no slave looked at him curiously. Everyone was silent and numb.

Zhou Yi staggered forward with the crowd, licked his parched lips, and said, “I want to see Zhong Anqi.”

“What did you say?” An overseer leaned closer to ask.

Zhou Yi said, “I want to see…” Before he could finish, another overseer struck his head with a staff. He caught it with his hand, only to be kicked hard in the abdomen by the overseer, knocking him to the ground.

Then came two staff members repeatedly beating him. Zhou Yi dodged left and right but still couldn’t avoid most of the attacks. His face pressed against the ground where sparks flickered, causing him to inhale sharply in pain before quickly standing up.

“You think you can order us around in this place?” The overseers sneered, putting force behind their attacks, beating and kicking Zhou Yi. “You still think you’re outside, where you’re a cultivator who can use stellar meridian power to resist? Get up and work now!”

Zhou Yi thought to himself that he had never been beaten like this before.

He had just gotten up when he was knocked down again. The slaves behind him ignored him and continued walking forward. As one person passed by, an overseer called out, “Pig Slave! Come over here and teach this newcomer the rules. Weren’t you the one who beat him awake yesterday? This task is yours now.”

The person being called continued walking forward as if he hadn’t heard. The overseer angrily shouted, “Pig Slave! Don’t fucking pretend you didn’t hear! Come over here right now!”

Chen Zhou continued walking forward.

The overseer went over and kicked him out of the line.

He rolled to the ground beside Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi, with one eye open, finally saw clearly what the person who had beaten him last night looked like.

His body was thin and weak, covered in foul-smelling mud and blood. His face was filthy. He showed no expression, his eyelashes trembling slightly as he raised his gaze, dull and lifeless.

Chen Zhou stood up. The overseer said, “Did you hear me tell you to teach the newcomer a lesson?”

Just as Zhou Yi was about to speak, Chen Zhou punched him.

Damn!

He’s fucking hitting me again!