You Jinglun’s gaze turned towards Bai Xuan, and he said to her, “Miss Bai Xuan, aren’t you leaving a bit too quickly? Finish eating and then wipe your mouth and walk away?”
Bai Xuan felt uncomfortable under You Jinglun’s gloomy stare. “Young Master You invited us over, and we came. Now I’m a little tired and want to go back to the carriage to rest. Is that not allowed? Young Master You’s way of treating guests seems rather overbearing.”
You Jinglun felt a flicker of panic when those watery, beautiful eyes fixed on him. He hurriedly looked away, not daring to meet Bai Xuan’s gaze directly.
“I’ve never been toyed with like this before. If I let you leave today, others will think I’m easy to bully!” You Jinglun shifted his gaze to Ye Chu.
“I have no interest in bullying you,” Ye Chu said with a laugh. “Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going first.”
With that, Ye Chu ignored You Jinglun, picked up Yao Yao, and prepared to leave together with Bai Xuan. Ye Chu naturally had no desire to tangle with someone like this. After eating and drinking his fill, it was the perfect time for a good nap.
“Stop him!” You Jinglun shouted. At once, a crowd of the caravan’s workers surged forward from all sides and tightly surrounded Ye Chu, blocking his path.
Seeing the conflict escalate to this point, the others in the caravan could not help exchanging glances. Compared to the domineering You Jinglun, they preferred Ye Chu far more. Along the journey, Yao Yao had been their little source of joy, and Ye Chu had occasionally helped with small tasks like carrying things down. They all knew You Jinglun was sullen and always pursued his goals relentlessly.
These people were worried Ye Chu and Bai Xuan would suffer, so a few who held some status in the caravan stepped forward to mediate. “Hehe, it’s just a small matter. No need to make everyone unhappy. When travelling and trading outside, harmony brings wealth. Young Master You, let it go!”
“That’s right! Travelling together is fate. Why make things so awkward? Young Master You, let it go!”
You Jinglun was already furious and had no intention of listening. Hearing the constant chattering advice around him, the usually arrogant young man roared, “All of you get out of my way! My business is not for you to meddle in!”
Those words completely enraged the mediators. They thought, You Jinglun may have status, but do we not? In terms of seniority, some of us are your uncles and elders. How dare he disregard us like this and shout at us?
“You Jinglun, if it weren’t for your father asking us to take you along on this trading trip, do you think we would let a novice like you join? Remember your own position. Even your father shows us some courtesy, so what right do you have to yell at us?” A middle-aged man from the caravan said with a dark face and a cold snort.
You Jinglun’s face turned livid with anger at being publicly contradicted. He naturally did not dare strike these elders in the caravan, but his rage fully transferred to Ye Chu. “Beat him to death, no mercy!”
“How dare you!” Uncle Liu, one of the caravan leaders, exploded with fury at seeing You Jinglun disregard them so completely. He glared fiercely at You Jinglun.
“What do I not dare to do?” You Jinglun snorted, staring at Uncle Liu and the others. “If you interfere again, don’t blame me for not recognising any of you.”
“You…” Uncle Liu and the others were livid. They had long heard You Jinglun was a scoundrel, but they never imagined he would go this far. Uncle Liu was about to say something when Ye Chu’s laughter interrupted him.
“Young Master You really thinks too highly of himself. Just these few useless good-for-nothings dare to try dealing with me?” Ye Chu laughed, looking at You Jinglun with amusement. Another arrogant and conceited fellow. Ye Chu felt a strange sense of familiarity, thinking that a few years ago he himself had been much the same, or even worse.
Seeing Ye Chu still able to laugh, You Jinglun snorted and shouted to the group of workers, “Attack! Beat him hard!”
Watching the crowd of workers rush forward, Ye Chu smiled, casually snatched a wooden stick from one of them mid-swing, and began striking swiftly among them. His speed was astonishing. In just a few minutes, all the workers attacking him were clutching their hands and crying out in pain.
“Only three or four at the Intent Transformation realm, and you still think you can beat me?” Ye Chu laughed, tossed the wooden stick aside carelessly, and said to You Jinglun with a smile, “Thanks for the lunch. Goodbye!”
Everyone, including You Jinglun, stood dumbfounded as Ye Chu walked away unhindered. Uncle Liu and the others especially felt their mouths go dry. They had originally thought Ye Chu was just an ordinary young man, but who could have imagined he was this strong? From his words, it was clear his cultivation had likely reached the Innate realm.
The Innate realm, an existence these ordinary people could only look up to. You Jinglun’s family had once been no better than theirs, but after his father reached the Innate realm ten years ago, they had far surpassed everyone else.
Uncle Liu grew excited. If they could gain Ye Chu’s help, wouldn’t their own family rise to a new level?
You Jinglun’s face showed shock and fear. He had never imagined Ye Chu would turn out to be such a figure. He swallowed hard and did not dare provoke him further. This was not his home turf, without his father and Uncle You to back him up, he did not dare act against a powerful cultivator.
But You Jinglun could not swallow his anger. He leaned close to one of the workers beside him and muttered a few words in a low voice, then watched Ye Chu’s departing figure with a dark expression.
…
After beating up You Jinglun’s workers, You Jinglun finally behaved himself much more. From then on, he never came to harass Bai Xuan again. The peaceful days continued all the way to the imperial city.
When the group arrived at the imperial city, their path led straight to the old district. As soon as they reached the foot of the old city walls, Bai Xuan looked up and saw a large line of characters carved prominently on the wall: “Ye Chu starts chaos and ends in abandonment, abandons wife and child.” The words were extremely eye-catching. Bai Xuan was stunned and could not help turning her gaze towards Ye Chu.
Ye Chu’s heart skipped a beat. In his mind he silently cursed Qing Wentong, then shrugged and said innocently, “Sister Bai Xuan surely doesn’t think the Ye Chu they’re talking about is me, right?”
“Hehe…” Bai Xuan giggled. “I didn’t say that, but why are you so quick to explain yourself?”
“…” Ye Chu shut his mouth. At that moment, Uncle Liu nearby smiled and explained, “Those words appeared suddenly over a year ago. A group of women gathered under the city gate crying and accusing Ye Chu of deceiving and abandoning them, calling him a scoundrel and a despicable man. It caused a huge stir in the old district. Almost everyone there knows the name Ye Chu now, and the women especially treat him like a street rat. But he really must be quite the villain to make women hate him to this extent.”
“Uncle Liu, I think this is definitely slander. In fact, this person named Ye Chu is magnanimous, kind, honest, and extremely handsome,” Ye Chu finally could not resist interjecting.
“You know him?” Uncle Liu looked at Ye Chu in confusion.
“Of course not!” Ye Chu saw Bai Xuan’s beautiful eyes turn towards him and quickly added, “There are so many people named Ye Chu in the world. How would I know if it’s the same one as me?”
While Ye Chu and Bai Xuan were joking, a large group of people suddenly poured out from the old district and tightly surrounded Ye Chu and the others.
“Young Master! Who has angered you?” The leader, a middle-aged man, walked respectfully up to You Jinglun. You Jinglun had sent word for him to bring men and wait here, so he had no choice but to come.
You Jinglun, who had been low-key the whole journey, now regained his arrogance. He pointed at Ye Chu and Bai Xuan and shouted, “It’s them, Uncle You. Take them away.”
Uncle Liu saw the group about to charge towards Ye Chu and grew anxious. He spoke up, “Uncle You, this is a misunderstanding!”
But before he could finish, You Jinglun snorted, “These old fellows are restless too. Uncle You, take them all.”
“You…”
Before Uncle Liu could finish, You Jinglun had his men surround everyone. His gaze fell on Ye Chu. “So what if you’ve reached the Innate realm? A nobody from a small place like Yao City dares to show off in front of me. Hmph, today I’ll let you see what this young master is capable of. Take them away…”
Ye Chu smiled and looked at You Jinglun. “You really want to take me away?”
“Enough of your nonsense! I’ll treat you well,” You Jinglun said darkly, staring at Ye Chu. His gaze then shifted to Bai Xuan, turning hot and greedy.
“Fine then. Since you insist I go, I’ll go.” Ye Chu laughed. “But let me tell you one thing: it’s easy to invite a god, but hard to send one away.”
Bai Xuan’s fair, delicate hand gripped Ye Chu’s arm, a little worried. But Ye Chu only smiled at her, inwardly amused. Did they really think he had no foundation in the imperial city?
Ye Chu was rather curious to see whether they could handle the consequences of inviting him over.