Xu Xiaoshou had originally wanted to attend the banquet with Fu Zhi and meet his nephew Fu Xing.

However, the old man had not taken a bath in four years and felt dirty. He left to wash up before attending the banquet.

He could not win that argument, and they parted ways.

Fu Zhi was still very excited.

It had been four years since he last saw a living person.

As soon as they exited the array, the banquet dinner had just commenced. It was indeed a celebratory event.

Xu Xiaoshou, on the other hand, did not think so.

He watched this guy leave in high spirits as if it was unimportant whether he could find the Cardinal Wheel or not. He could only sigh with emotion. He felt that Fu Zhi had a generous heart.

In the end, Fu Zhi did not even pursue the destruction of the sea of flowers. It was as though he wanted to be on good terms with Xu Xiaoshou.

It was just as well that Xu Xiaoshou did not do it deliberately.

This matter was temporarily put aside.

Fu Yinhong brought Liu Qing to search for the thief. Fu Zhi left to tidy himself up, leaving Xu Xiaoshou who was in a daze.

'In the end, did this Cardinal Wheel land in my hands?'

Even Xu Xiaoshou was a little confused about the outcome.

After all, he did not even know what a Cardinal Wheel was before that.

Perhaps this was a reward for being a good person.

If he did not bring Xu Xiaoji into the City Lord Mansion, the series of events would not have unfolded in that way.

Thinking of Xu Xiaoji, Xu Xiaoshou did not rush to leave the sea of flowers.

With a swoosh of his body, he entered Yuan Mansion.

…

"Ahh–"

As soon as he went in, he was greeted with a desolate cry, followed by continuous cursing.

"Goddamn Xu Xiaoshou! What the hell is this? Stop this at once!"

"For heaven's sake, just f*cking let me go! I was wrong, and I'm sorry about it! Big Brother, I shouldn't have cursed at you. I'm sorry! Ah, it hurts, don't beat me!"

"Stop it, you wretched thing! Did you think that I wouldn't resist... Ouch!"

"F*ck..."

At the last cry of despair, Xu Xiaoshou shuddered.

He raised his eyes and saw a bloodied figure flying around freely with no signs of slowing down above the collapsed tower at the spiritual pond.

Every time he flew to the maximum point and was about to touch the Chaotic Mist, Aje appeared at that instant and kicked him again.

Xu Xiaoji was like a ball, and Aje was an emotionless kicking machine.

The speed of his feet was so fast that Xu Xiaoji's movement formed multiple phantom apparitions in the void.

His blood flew everywhere, falling on the collapsed tower, the spiritual pond, and on the seeds by the pond. It was about to coat the land in blood red.

Xu Xiaoshou was horrified at that sight.

'This…'

'This is too cruel!'

'Did he provoke Aje?'

Xu Xiaoshou said that in his heart. Even he did not dare to provoke Aje. How did Xu Xiaoji work up the nerve to incite its wrath?

However, when he contemplated it, he recalled that the order he had given to Aje was to beat him to death.

He was only kidding when he said that. Did Aje take it to heart?

"Stop!"

He hurriedly shouted.

The red light glowing in Aje's restless eyes dulled. It suddenly stopped in the void.

It tilted its head toward Xu Xiaoshou. Its fists and feet were brilliant red, and its body and face were covered with red and white things that had splashed out.

Seeing that it was Xu Xiaoshou, the little guy seemed very happy and called him affectionately.

"Ma Ma..."

Xu Xiaoshou shivered as he heard it call him.

It painted a terrifying picture and reminded him of the main character in the horror game Secret Neighbor.

"Ahh–"

At that moment, another scream of despair rang loudly in his ears.

Xu Xiaoshou turned his head to inspect the cause. It turned out that Xu Xiaoji, who was kicked, could not control his movement and had collided with the Chaotic Mist.

That thing could corrode and ruin even a Master Physique.

"Save him!"

Xu Xiaoshou was taken aback and jumped in shock. Xu Xiaoji could not die yet as there were too many secrets to unearth.

Aje disappeared instantly, and the Chaotic Mist surged. When it reappeared, it had a battered and unconscious Xu Xiaoji draped on its shoulders.

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.

"I'm sorry I was late."

He stepped forward to feed him a magic pill, but he did not expect that Xu Xiaoji was still partially conscious.

Hearing this apologetic voice, he raised his vacant eyes at Xu Xiaoshou. His eyes, which were completely lost, had regained their focus once more.

In the next second, his pupils dilated. He slipped off Aje's shoulder in fright, hitting the ground with an audible bang.

The pain he experienced did nothing to distract him from the fear in his heart.

Xu Xiaoji exclaimed immediately, "Damn it, Xu Xiaoshou!"

Feared, Passive Points +1.

After the shock, the guy swooped forward and latched onto Xu Xiaoshou's thigh.

"Big Brother! Big Brother, I was wrong!"

"I shouldn't have lied to you. I don't want the Cardinal Wheel anymore. You can have it. You can have everything! Please just let me out of here."

"I can't stay here. If this continues, I will die."

"Why… Why are you not saying a word? Don't torture me anymore. I am not worthy of it..."

He wailed piteously. Suddenly, his body jolted as if a current had shocked him. He refuted himself, "No, you are right to torture me! You can do anything you want as long it pleases you but let me out first!"

"Big Brother..."

The miserable and helpless cry echoed throughout the small space of Yuan Mansion and was absorbed by Chaotic Mist.

However, the pleas of someone who had been ravaged and stripped of his humanity were hard to ignore.

Xu Xiaoshou was flabbergasted.

He lowered his gaze to look at Xu Xiaoji, whose face was a mess from his tears and snot, and then at Aje, who tilted its head and looked at them curiously.

Drip.

Drip.

Fresh blood dripped from Aje's fingertips. It was impossible to ignore it in this quiet space.

Xu Xiaoji's body convulsed in fear each time he heard this sound.

However, he was so traumatized that he refused to look up and did not dare to face the guy who had assaulted him so savagely.

"I was wrong."

A thought flashed across Xu Xiaoshou's mind.

What Garden of Horror? What carnivorous flower? What piranhas? Did he even need them at all?

He only needed to have Aje in this place to turn it into a living hell.

He slowly squatted down and gently supported Xu Xiaoji, trying to get him to stand up.

Xu Xiaoji went weak in the knees and collapsed onto the ground in paralysis.

He could not even muster the energy to stand, let alone lift his waist to look up.

"I apologize…"

Xu Xiaoshou saw this tragic situation and was speechless for a long time, so he could only say these two words to him.

He felt that he could forgive Xu Xiaoji for his insults and cursing after seeing his pathetic state.

Xu Xiaoji was too pitiful.

He should not pursue the matter anymore.

What "damn it" or "f*ck?" it was like he never went to school before.

If he were even a tiny bit cultured, he would not have resorted to irrelevant cussing to insult his most hated enemy.

He still wanted to say something, but Xu Xiaoji was shocked again when he heard the words, "I apologize."

"Sorry! I'm sorry!"

"I was wrong, and I want to apologize. Big Brother, Big Brother, you can't apologize. I'm not worth it..."

He raised his head to look at Xu Xiaoshou with eyes full of tears.

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou felt a little guilty.

Yuan Mansion was like a little black room where torture proceedings were conducted, and Aje was the brutal perpetrator.

Likewise, Xu Xiaoji...

Well, he was indeed a powerless weakling who could be taken down singlehandedly and had no other option apart from enduring everything handed out to him. He was just like his namesake. He was a helpless little chick.