"You... you dare to slap my face?!" Zuo Yourén's eyes widened, as if he had suffered immense humiliation.
"Slap!" Another crisp sound echoed, and a palm print appeared on the other side of Zuo Yourén's face.
They say one shouldn't hit a person's face, but Chen Xiao deliberately did. His chest was filled with rage, and only by doing so could he vent a little.
The two loud slaps left Zuo Yourén disoriented. His originally pale face was now red and swollen.
Zuo Yourén completely lost his composure. The pride of being the young master of the Zuo family was shattered. His nose twitched, and tears and snot began to stream down.
"Stop hitting me, I beg you!" Zuo Yourén pleaded.
"You beg for mercy now? It's too late!" Chen Xiao's lips curved into a ferocious smile. At this moment, he seemed like a god of death from hell.
Chen Xiao smashed Zuo Yourén to the ground. Zuo Yourén's face made direct contact with the ground. Then, Chen Xiao stepped on his head, grinding his face back and forth against the ground.
Chen Xiao didn't apply much force, as he didn't want to kill Zuo Yourén so easily. However, even so, Zuo Yourén's face was already bloody and mangled.
Zuo Yourén trembled all over, letting out wails like a ghost.
He had been pampered since childhood, and in his entire life, he had been hit only a handful of times. When had he ever suffered such humiliation? He felt as if his soul had left his body, and he was even becoming delirious, not knowing who he was.
This was a perfect embodiment of the old saying: even the wicked have their tormentors, and good and evil will eventually be repaid; it's not that retribution doesn't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived. Meeting Chen Xiao was his fated tribulation, and the humiliation Chen Xiao inflicted upon him would undoubtedly become a lifelong shadow.
He had been beaten and tormented, and Zuo Yourén had long since fainted. Chen Xiao stared blankly at his arm, lost in thought. The poison of the Coagulating Blood Powder had begun to spread, and his injured arm, from shoulder to fingertips, had turned blackish-blue.
"Alas, is this my fate? God, you're toying with me. To die at the hands of such a nobody, I'm not convinced!"
Chen Xiao sighed to the heavens. He was not an alchemist and knew nothing about toxicology. Without an antidote, he had no idea how to detoxify himself.
Just as Chen Xiao thought the poison would continue to spread, he suddenly felt a warmth emanating from his dantian. He focused his gaze downwards and discovered that the Book of God Slaying was releasing wisps of golden energy, heading straight for his injured arm.
Upon reaching his shoulder, the golden energy intercepted the poison's path, halting its spread.
Chen Xiao was overjoyed: "I didn't expect you to save my life again. It's a pity this arm is going to be crippled."
Although the golden energy prevented the poison from spreading further, it could not expel the poison from his body. The poisoned arm was gradually festering and rotting, emitting a pungent stench. It was likely beyond saving.
Unexpectedly, a crisis was averted, and his life was no longer in immediate danger. Chen Xiao turned his gaze back to Zuo Yourén at his feet.
"Hmph, you've troubled me time and again, and even tried to kill me. If I don't kill you today, Heaven itself would not forgive it!"
The killing intent in Chen Xiao's eyes grew stronger. He raised his hand, intending to end Zuo Yourén's life.
"Young man, when you can show mercy, do so!" Suddenly, a deep, slightly hoarse voice echoed. Chen Xiao's hand movement paused.
"Swish!"
After a faint sound of air being cut, a person shrouded in a mysterious aura appeared before Chen Xiao.
The newcomer wore a blue soft armor, with a cloak draped over it. The hood of the cloak deeply obscured half of his face, making it impossible to discern his features.
The reason he was considered mysterious was that he arrived without a sound, and even Chen Xiao hadn't detected him. Even face-to-face, Chen Xiao felt his aura was extremely weak. This weakness wasn't due to frailty but to the person's deliberate concealment.
Chen Xiao's divine sense was exceptionally powerful. Even the slightest rustle of leaves within dozens of meters of him could not escape his perception. Yet, he hadn't detected the approach of such a living person. This indicated that the person was highly skilled in concealing his aura, possibly having cultivated a special technique.
Such individuals usually struck stealthily and swiftly, causing Chen Xiao's expression to turn solemn.
The person's cultivation was at the sixth level of Body Refining, not outrageously high. Chen Xiao felt a slight sense of relief. The other party was clearly here to save Zuo Yourén. If a fight ensued, even if Chen Xiao couldn't win, the opponent wouldn't be able to do much to him if he wanted to escape.
"Who are you?" Chen Xiao asked warily.
"Who I am is not important. You only need to know that I mean you no harm. If you insist on knowing my name, you can call me Tai Long," the person said calmly, his tone devoid of any fluctuation.
"You say you mean no harm, and I should believe it?" Chen Xiao raised an eyebrow. "What is your purpose?"
Tai Long replied, "I want you to let Zuo Yourén go. From now on, your grievances will be settled."
"Settled?" Chen Xiao's lips twitched into a smile. "I think it should be a fight to the death. Even if I can let it go, Zuo Yourén won't."
"He will," Tai Long stated with certainty, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"Do you understand our grievances to say that?" Chen Xiao was annoyed by Tai Long's attitude, as if everything was under his control.
Although Chen Xiao and Zuo Yourén had irreconcilable grievances, at this moment, Chen Xiao began to feel pity for Zuo Yourén. If a person's decision to seek revenge or not could be dictated by others, what meaning would their life hold?
"I know more than you might think. I not only know all the grievances between you two but also that you come from the Chen family in Qingyuan City and are the adopted son of the Chen family patriarch," Tai Long continued unhurriedly.
"You investigated me? Who exactly are you? What are your intentions?" Chen Xiao's expression instantly turned icy. The thing he hated most was being investigated. If his cultivation were still intact, the person opposite him would surely be dead by now.
"To tell you the truth, I am a retainer of the Zuo family, and I have been secretly protecting Young Master Zuo. Therefore, the moment you had a dispute, I began investigating you." Tai Long also sensed Chen Xiao's anger and, unusually, revealed his identity.
Chen Xiao's expression shifted between anger and contemplation. After a long silence, he said, "If you only wanted to save Zuo Yourén, you could have done so directly. I couldn't have stopped you."
Tai Long immediately replied, "As I said, my purpose is to resolve your grievances. To be frank, the Zuo family's elder greatly admires you, and we do not wish to be your enemy."
At this point, if Chen Xiao were merely an inexperienced youth, he might have been flattered and believed Tai Long's words. However, Chen Xiao had lived two lives, and his mind was far more mature than ordinary people. Tai Long's seemingly sincere words were filled with inconsistencies, and Chen Xiao sensed a conspiracy.