Chapter Seventy-Five: Locked in the Pig Cage

Qin Feiyang dragged the chubby man and approached the three major figures. Seeing that the chubby man had also followed, Ji Jin’s expression changed slightly. Enduring the pain, he said in a deep voice, “What are you doing here, Fatty? Does this matter concern you?”

There was an implicit threat in his gaze.

Initially, the chubby man was quite nervous, but as soon as he saw Ji Jin’s domineering attitude, his anger flared. “Don’t you know I, Fatty Ye, have a hobby of standing up for the bullied?”

Ji Jin’s eyes darkened.

Beside him, Ling Yan and Lu Hong cast questioning looks at Ji Jin, their eyes full of suspicion.

Qin Feiyang swept his gaze over the three, sneering. “Fatty Ye, let’s skip the nonsense and get straight to business.”

“Alright!” The chubby man grinned, rolling up his sleeves as if preparing for a fight.

“Ahem!” Elder Feng Cheng coughed. “Anyone who dares to start trouble in front of me—don’t blame me if I break your bones!”

The chubby man shrank his neck, hurriedly dropping his sleeves and grinning obsequiously. “Elder Feng, it’s just a habit, not an intention to fight—please don’t misunderstand!”

Feng Cheng scowled. “If you’ve got something to say, spit it out and stop wasting time!”

“Of course, of course.” The chubby man nodded repeatedly, then recounted everything he had overheard in detail.

“How could the chubby man know about this?” Ling Yan’s face changed dramatically. He turned to Ji Jin, silently questioning him.

But Ji Jin’s heart was filled with bitterness. Now, not only had he offended Jiang Haotian, but he would also be at odds with Cheng Yi. Why was his fate so wretched?

By this point, the chubby man had nearly finished speaking. He glanced at Luo Xiong and the others. “That’s how it happened. In other words, all three of them were used by Cheng Yi as pawns.”

Feng Cheng asked, “What about the furnace explosion?”

The chubby man shook his head. “I don’t know about that—you’d have to ask Jiang Haotian.”

“At the time, I was merging spiritual essence, and it was at the most critical moment. Suddenly, Ling Yan shouted that his stomach hurt,” Qin Feiyang explained, pointing to his chest. “Everyone knows it was my first time refining pills—how could I handle such a disturbance? The furnace exploded, and a shard pierced my chest—look, it’s still here, just an inch from my heart!”

The three major figures looked at his chest, their faces changing dramatically.

“Why didn’t you take it out first? If, during that earlier fight, it had moved just another inch, you’d be dead, do you understand?” Feng Cheng hurried forward, scolding as he carefully extracted the shard.

“If I’d taken it out, there’d be no evidence,” Qin Feiyang replied.

“You foolish boy! Even without the shard, there’s still a wound! We’re not idiots—we can see what happened. You value your life so little—what a complete fool!” Feng Cheng cursed furiously. If Qin Feiyang died, the world of alchemy would lose a prodigy.

Qin Feiyang was quietly moved. But if he hadn’t been absolutely certain, he wouldn’t have left the shard near his heart.

After removing it, Feng Cheng took a healing pill from his storage pouch and, without hesitation, forced it into Qin Feiyang’s mouth.

Then, holding the shard, he turned to Ling Yan and the others, his expression like thunderclouds.

“Do you people know what you’ve done?”

“Let me make it clear: if Jiang Haotian had died because of you, even if you three and Cheng Yi joined forces, it wouldn’t be enough to pay for his life!” Feng Cheng’s voice thundered, his anger erupting.

He looked as if he might kill the three at any moment.

Ling Yan and his companions trembled violently, their faces deathly pale.

The chubby man, meanwhile, watched with keen eyes.

It seemed that Jiang Haotian was not just important, but extremely important. Clearly, he’d chosen the right side. Had he helped Ling Yan and the others, he would have provoked this man’s wrath—and the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Palace Lord, these four must be severely punished,” Elder Mo suddenly interjected.

“Ling Yan and the others certainly deserve punishment, but Jiang Haotian is the victim—he nearly lost his life, and you’d punish him too? Old Mo, do you even have a conscience?” Feng Cheng fumed, glaring at Elder Mo.

Elder Mo’s face darkened. He stepped forward and shouted into Feng Cheng’s ear, “I said Cheng Yi, not Jiang Haotian! Can’t you tell? Are you deaf?”

“Uh…” Feng Cheng was taken aback.

“My apologies, I misunderstood you. Please accept my apology…” he said, rubbing his ear and smiling sheepishly at Elder Mo.

“Hmph!” Elder Mo snorted. Seeing that Luo Xiong was still deep in thought, he said, “Let’s make it simple: from today, the four of them are to spend a month in the Pigpen, and their alchemy rooms are to be confiscated!”

“What?”

“The Pigpen!” Ling Yan and the others turned ashen with fright.

The chubby man was also dumbfounded.

Luo Xiong glanced at the three, frowning. “Old Mo, I agree with confiscating their alchemy rooms, but sending them to the Pigpen—isn’t that a bit much?”

“It’s necessary!” Elder Mo insisted. “They need to learn their lesson.”

“I agree,” Feng Cheng added.

Luo Xiong looked at the two, then shook his head helplessly. “Do as you will. Jiang Haotian, from now on you’ll use Cheng Yi’s alchemy room number four. And you—what’s your name?”

He looked at the chubby man.

The chubby man quickly replied, “Palace Lord, disciple Situ Tianyu.”

“Situ Tianyu?” Luo Xiong was momentarily surprised—the name sounded impressive, but the person himself… was beyond words.

“You’ll use Lu Hong’s alchemy room from now on,” Luo Xiong declared.

“Thank you, Palace Lord!” The chubby man was overjoyed and bowed in gratitude.

Luo Xiong nodded, then turned to Feng Cheng and Elder Mo. “The rest is up to you. I’m going to rest.”

“Palace Lord, wait a moment,” Qin Feiyang suddenly called out.

“What is it?” Luo Xiong looked at him, puzzled.

Qin Feiyang asked, “I wanted to know if the Hunting Tournament still counts?”

“Why do you ask?” Luo Xiong was puzzled.

“Because I’m about to win first place and I’m waiting for my prize!” Qin Feiyang replied confidently.

“So sure of yourself?” Luo Xiong’s interest was piqued. “Show me all the beasts you hunted in Black Bear Mountain. If you’ve surpassed last year’s champion, I’ll personally award you a million gold coins.”

Qin Feiyang’s eyes lit up. “You mean it?”

Luo Xiong’s face darkened. “Do you think I, as Palace Lord, would go back on my word?”

Qin Feiyang pressed, “Just to clarify, how many beasts did last year’s champion slay?”

Luo Xiong thought for a moment. “Over a hundred, all at Martial Master level.”

“That many? But I care more about quality than quantity.” Qin Feiyang smiled confidently, and with a wave of his hand, five beast corpses appeared before everyone.

Luo Xiong’s eyes narrowed instantly—these were all Martial Grandmaster-level beasts!

Just how much more was this young man capable of, that no one yet knew?

Feng Cheng and Elder Mo were also stunned.

Suddenly, the three exchanged glances, then all turned and retreated into their separate courtyards.

“Wait, Palace Lord, what about my million gold coins?” Qin Feiyang called out anxiously.

“When did I ever say I’d reward you?” the Palace Lord replied without expression, closing the courtyard door with a bang.

“Cheating?”

Qin Feiyang was stunned, turning to Elder Feng and Elder Mo.

Bang! Bang!

They too quickly shut their courtyard doors without a word.

“Gu Ba, He Wu, Elder Mo and I are tired and want to rest. Deal with Cheng Yi and the others,” Feng Cheng’s voice called from behind the door.

“Yes.” Gu Ba bowed respectfully.

Qin Feiyang’s forehead veins bulged with anger. “Not only are you reneging, but all three of you are doing it together. Do you have any senior dignity left?”

Behind the doors, Luo Xiong and the others were silent, their faces awkward.

They had truly embarrassed themselves this time. They couldn’t fathom how this young man had managed to hunt those five beasts.

Gu Ba stepped before Qin Feiyang and bowed. “I’m truly sorry for wrongly accusing you earlier.”

“You were just doing your duty. It’s fine,” Qin Feiyang smiled.

Gu Ba said, “Take care of your injuries and work hard at alchemy—don’t let the Palace Lord and the elders down.”

“I will,” Qin Feiyang nodded.

“He Wu, take them away,” Gu Ba ordered.

He picked up Ji Jin and left, while He Wu grabbed Ling Yan and Lu Hong, nodded kindly at Qin Feiyang, and hurried after.

“They’re finally gone,” the chubby man exhaled deeply. Outwardly, he seemed relaxed, but inside he was still quite tense.

“Let’s go too,” Qin Feiyang said, gathering up the five beast corpses without further argument. After all, the three elders had helped him a lot.

The chubby man cheerfully waddled after him, grinning. “The great Palace Lord of the Pill Hall, so untrustworthy—if word got out, how many jaws would drop from laughter?”

Qin Feiyang warned, “Best not spread rumors.”

“Don’t worry, I know how to behave,” the chubby man replied, still snickering—so much so that one might want to slap him.

“What’s the Pigpen?” Qin Feiyang asked quietly.

At the mention, the chubby man laughed so hard he shook. “It’s literally a pigsty.”

“The Pill Hall keeps pigs?” Qin Feiyang was baffled.

“Yeah, but not to eat—they’re only used to punish disciples,” the chubby man explained.

Qin Feiyang couldn’t help but laugh as well.

Cheng Yi and the others were all proud and arrogant. Forcing them to stay in the Pigpen for a month would be more painful than death.

He felt vindicated.

The chubby man, eyes gleaming with mischief, said, “The Pigpen’s in a corner by the Pillfire Hall—want to take a look?”

Qin Feiyang shook his head. “No, I want to refine pills.”

“What’s the rush? We can go see and then you can come back and refine pills. Don’t you want to see Cheng Yi’s face when he’s put in the Pigpen?” The chubby man tugged at him, cackling.

Qin Feiyang pulled free firmly and shook his head. “No—I won’t waste more time on them. If you want to go, go ahead, just tell me about it later.”

The chubby man looked disappointed. “You really are a busy man. Fine, I’ll go myself. I’ll find you in the alchemy room later.”

Qin Feiyang nodded.

The chubby man waddled off into the night.

“Hopefully, you’ll learn your lesson this time. Next time, you won’t get off so easily,” Qin Feiyang muttered, a cold light flashing in his eyes as he headed straight for the Pillfire Hall.