Unable to persuade Ye Chu to act, Pang Shao could only helplessly give up. But this fellow was despicable enough. After revealing to Bai Xuan that Ye Chu had been faking his faint, he swaggered off!
Lying on the bed, Ye Chu now faced the aftermath of Pang Shao’s shameless exposure.
Bai Xuan’s beautiful eyes glared at Ye Chu. Her tender red lips were lightly bitten, filled with gritted-teeth fury. “Is what Pang Shao said true?”
Bai Xuan had not thought too much at the time. Only now did she recall how Ye Chu’s head had landed precisely on the swell of her chest. It seemed almost as though he had calculated it perfectly. She could not help blushing furiously, thinking to herself that this fellow was utterly rotten!
Gazing at Bai Xuan’s face, flushed as though blood were seeping through, her powdered cheeks radiant and her smooth, delicate skin glowing with a drunken rosy hue, Ye Chu felt his heart sway chaotically. She was utterly captivating and soul-stirring.
Only when Bai Xuan’s angry questioning voice rang out did Ye Chu snap back to reality. He inwardly cursed Pang Shao once more, then looked at Bai Xuan with perfect innocence, denying firmly, “You actually believe Pang Shao’s words, Sister Bai Xuan? I won’t say much about that fatty’s character! This time he framed me purely because I refused to help him get revenge after he got beaten black and blue. He harbours a grudge against me!”
“Really?” Bai Xuan looked at Ye Chu’s aggrieved expression, as though he had suffered immense injustice. She could not help but begin to doubt herself. Had she truly wronged Ye Chu?
“Of course it’s true! You know better than anyone how terrifying baleful qi is. Sister Bai Xuan surely doesn’t naively think that absorbing all that baleful qi into my body would leave me completely unharmed, right?” Ye Chu put on a pitiful look. His expression dimmed, as though his heart had suffered a massive wound. He sighed and continued, “I thought when I woke up I’d receive Sister Bai Xuan’s praise, maybe even hope for a sweet kiss or some kind of reward! I never expected to wake up to questioning instead! It seems I’m really not suited to doing good deeds. Committing evil is my true calling. From now on, I’ll just go back to bullying men and dominating women! Sister Bai Xuan, it was you who destroyed my one chance to become a good person!”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Bai Xuan gave Ye Chu a white-eyed glare. Her clear, flowing eyes carried a myriad of charms. A faint blush rose on her perfect oval face. She thought to herself, had she really misunderstood Ye Chu? At the very least, from his behaviour, he seemed far better in character than that Pang Shao who changed women every day. Moreover, Ye Chu had truly exerted great effort to save her father. Questioning him like this was honestly unfair. She might really wound his heart!
“I apologise to you!” Bai Xuan said sincerely. “I should not have doubted you!”
Ye Chu secretly laughed in his heart. Thinking back to the soft, fragrant embrace, his heart stirred again. He almost wished he could faint once more. Of course, he did not let his smugness show. He kept up the aggrieved look and said innocently, “Sister Bai Xuan has already wounded my heart. Shouldn’t you at least offer some comfort as compensation? My request isn’t high. A sweet kiss or something like that would do!!”
“I’m going to check on Yao Yao!” Bai Xuan saw Ye Chu’s burning gaze fixed on her. Flustered, she found an excuse and fled the room.
This fellow was still so young, yet already so bold. The way he looked at women seemed as though he wanted to devour them whole. There was none of the youthful innocence a boy his age should have. Instead, he carried the air of a seasoned playboy!
Ye Chu admired the graceful sway of Bai Xuan’s retreating figure until she left the room. Only then did he flip upright. His movements were swift and agile, showing no trace whatsoever of weakness after fainting!
…
Bai Bao’s constitution was exceptionally strong. The day after Ye Chu expelled the baleful qi, he finally awoke. Bai Xuan wept with overwhelming joy. Her gratitude towards Ye Chu deepened even further.
Ye Chu did not rush to question Bai Bao about the general’s tomb. Instead, he instructed Bai Xuan to find an alchemist to help regulate and nourish Bai Bao’s body.
Although Ye Chu had some skill in dealing with baleful qi, when it came to genuine healing and medical treatment, he only knew the basics. He was far inferior to a true alchemist. For Bai Bao now, all that remained was slow recovery. Ye Chu was no better than an alchemist in this regard!
Because he had exposed Ye Chu’s fake faint, Pang Shao dared not show his face in front of Ye Chu! For once, Ye Chu enjoyed rare peace and quiet. He spent his days happily playing with Yao Yao, even joining her in messing around with mud!
A seventeen-year-old youth, already quite grown, playing with mud by the roadside. This sight once made Bai Xuan want to laugh! Sometimes passers-by would glance over and sigh inwardly, thinking what a pity it was that such a handsome boy turned out to be slow-witted!
Ye Chu paid no attention to others’ looks. Whatever Yao Yao wanted to play, he played with her. Being with this pink, tender, porcelain-doll-like little girl made Ye Chu feel as though his own heart had been purified, becoming just as carefree and unburdened.
Over these past three years, he had wandered the continent! He had travelled no less than a hundred thousand li! The experiences he had gone through were countless times more than all his previous ones combined. Every day he had carried a heavy pressure on his shoulders, enduring three full years of tempering. Moments of such relaxation were truly rare!
But he did not know how long such peaceful days could last!
At present, he could not be called truly strong, yet neither was he weak! Though he was still far from comparable to those deranged lunatics on Qingmi Mountain, walking through Yao City, he was no longer someone any random person could provoke!
The reason he had returned to Yao City was because that mad fatty from Qingmi Mountain had mentioned that an extremely rare solitary copy existed here. It might hold some reference value for his unique constitution. That was why Ye Chu had come back! But in this vast Yao City, who knew where that solitary copy could be!
“Damn fatty! Always speaking in half-sentences and never telling me exactly where it is!” Ye Chu cursed inwardly, yet he had no way to deal with that fatty! His dissatisfaction with fat people stemmed precisely from this helplessness!
Pang Shao had no idea this was the reason Ye Chu disliked fat people. If he knew, he would surely weep without tears! He would think: if you dislike him, fine, but why transfer your anger to other fat people? If you have the ability, go deal with him directly! We’ve heard of executing nine generations of a clan, but never of executing someone just for being fat!
“Forget it! If I really can’t find it, then I won’t search anymore! Although I still don’t understand what kind of mutation happened when my soul entered this body, at least for now it seems to bring far more benefits than harm!” Ye Chu shook his head. He thought to himself that if he could not find it, so be it. He would simply spend more time cultivating. Once he reached a sufficiently high realm, perhaps he would naturally understand why!
“I’ve been stuck at this realm for three months already. Who knows when I’ll finally break through!” Thinking of his cultivation level, Ye Chu felt somewhat helpless. Even now, there was not the slightest sign of a breakthrough.
…
Under the alchemist’s care, Bai Bao’s body gradually recovered. Bai Bao had naturally heard of Ye Chu’s reputation. He was astonished that Ye Chu could cure him of the baleful qi affliction. As the one who had suffered it firsthand, he knew better than anyone how terrifying that baleful qi was. The moment it had invaded his body, he had believed himself doomed. Forget about Ye Chu, a man infamous throughout Yao City—even the alchemists in the imperial palace would have been unable to save him.
Yet Bai Bao did not despise Ye Chu because of his reputation. People like him, who had seen much of the world, would never let others’ words sway their own judgement. Moreover, he felt deep gratitude towards Ye Chu for saving his life. He treated Ye Chu with great kindness!
Sometimes he would chat with Ye Chu for a few sentences. Each time, Bai Bao grew even more astonished. How could Ye Chu possibly be the useless good-for-nothing the rumours described? Some of Ye Chu’s viewpoints left him clapping in admiration! Some of the things Ye Chu spoke of were completely new to him. His words always carried independent thought, utterly unlike those of a mere seventeen-year-old youth!
Of course, in his interactions with Bai Bao, Ye Chu also felt that Bai Bao was no ordinary man. From time to time, Bai Bao would say something that left Ye Chu pondering for a long time, unable to fully grasp it. Some of his insights into cultivation even surpassed Ye Chu’s own understanding!
Ye Chu had originally thought Bai Bao was merely a cultivator with some strength. Only now did he realise it was far from that simple. Thinking about it, it made sense. How could someone capable of venturing into the general’s tomb possibly be an ordinary person?