“Sha State is located in a remote area with scarce resources. They cannot cultivate many strong practitioners. Prime Minister, there is no need to worry too much,” Ye Li said calmly after glancing at Ye Chu. “Yao State will undoubtedly win.”
“Yes. We are fully prepared. Sha State will not be our opponent,” Chen Bowen added from the side. After speaking, he glanced at Ye Chu and said, “Some people have always been untrustworthy. Prime Minister, you should not believe them easily.”
“Hehe.” Su Zhengping could not help glancing at Ye Li, thinking that the Marquis of Weiyuan’s household truly no longer acknowledged Ye Chu. But when he considered Ye Chu’s past behaviour, it was not surprising.
“Prime Minister, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave first,” Ye Chu said with a smile to Su Zhengping. He did not want to stay here and make himself unwelcome.
Seeing Ye Chu’s indifferent attitude, Ye Li’s anger immediately rose. “Since you were lucky enough to survive last time, then behave yourself and take responsibility. Stop letting people curse you as a street rat and a piece of scum.”
The news of Ye Chu returning to Yao City had been reported back to the Marquis of Weiyuan’s residence by Ye Chao. Many people in the household felt anger and disgust upon hearing it. If it were not for Ye Chu, how would the Marquis of Weiyuan’s residence have ended up in its current state? Everything had been caused by Ye Chu. None of them understood why this useless scoundrel had come back. Did he think the Ye family would still take him in? That was nothing but a dream.
Ye Li also detested Ye Chu. He had disliked him for many years. If Ye Chu’s father, the Marquis of Weiyuan, had not protected him all along, he would have wanted to beat this wretch to death.
This time, when news of Ye Chu’s return reached the ears of the Marquis of Weiyuan, the old man appeared even more aged. For many days he had remained silent and withdrawn.
“What does it mean to behave properly? Does it mean obediently listening and not having one’s own thoughts or actions?” Ye Chu stopped just as he was about to leave, turned around, and looked at Ye Li. “I am sorry. In life, the most important thing is to follow one’s heart. If everything cannot be done according to your own will, then what enjoyment is there in living? If living this way means being called scum, then so what if I become scum?”
“You…” Ye Li was furious at being contradicted by Ye Chu. His face flushed red as he glared at him. “You bastard. You bastard. Today I will clean up the family and prevent you, this useless waste, from continuing to commit evil in this world.”
“Father.” Ye Tian grabbed his father and gave Ye Chu a look, signalling him to leave first. “Ye Chu is no longer a member of our Ye family. If you attack him, what will others think?”
After being reminded by Ye Tian, Ye Li restrained his temper and shouted at Ye Chu, “Get lost. I do not want to see you, you scum. Get out of Yao City.”
Ye Chu ignored his shouting and walked a few steps away. He did not want to argue with him. His uncle had always disliked him, and saying more would only make him feel worse.
To this uncle of his, his two sons were his pride and the pride of the Marquis of Weiyuan, while Ye Chu was nothing but the disgrace of the household.
…
“Lord Ye, why get angry with him? He has already been expelled from the Ye family. He is just a troublemaker. Is he worth you getting so angry over?” an official beside Ye Li said with a smile. “You already have two promising sons. That is enough to make us envious.”
“Exactly. In this duel, the two young masters will contribute greatly. We are relying on you.”
“As for Ye Chu, after this duel ends, I will send someone to drive him out of Yao City. Do not be angry. Just watch the duel. Getting angry over a scum like him, Lord Ye, you are still not calm enough.”
…
Only after being persuaded by the crowd did Ye Li’s expression soften. He snorted while looking at Ye Chu’s departing figure. He thought that if this fellow had even half the ability of his sons, he would not be so angry. As for Ye Chao telling him that Ye Chu had defeated Ding Kaiwei with a single move, no one in the Marquis of Weiyuan’s residence was willing to believe it.
“To end up like this as a person, truly a failure. Everyone has turned against him.”
“Exactly. A useless waste. There are rumours that he defeated Ding Kaiwei in one move, but now it seems that might be a lie. Otherwise, why would Ye Li hate him so much?”
“And he still dares to come here looking for humiliation. When he sees the cultivators of Yao City defeat the cultivators of Sha State later, will he not feel ashamed?”
“Feel ashamed? He does not even have any shame left.”
…
When others saw this scene, they began discussing it one after another, looking at Ye Chu with contempt. When they saw him approaching, they avoided him from afar, as if getting close to him would contaminate them.
“Bastards.” Liang Shan was instantly furious. He had personally seen Ye Chu defeat Ding Kaiwei. How could that be fake? “Ye Chu, go up on stage later and show them how strong you are.”
Seeing Liang Shan more agitated than himself, Ye Chu could not help laughing. Compared with his reputation, these few insults meant nothing.
“If a dog bites a person, are you going to bite it back?” Ye Chu said with a smile.
“So you are just going to let them curse you like that?” Liang Shan looked at Ye Chu in disbelief. Ye Chu’s temper seemed unusually good at the moment.
Ye Chu smacked Liang Shan hard on the head. “Idiot. If a dog bites you, you cannot bite it back. But that does not mean you cannot release another dog and let the dogs bite each other.”
“Huh?” Liang Shan looked at Ye Chu in confusion, not understanding what he meant.
But Ye Chu quickly gave him the answer. A stone suddenly appeared in Ye Chu’s hand. With a flick of his finger, it flew out and struck the back of the head of one of the people who had just insulted him.
“Ouch?” The man felt pain and looked at the person beside him. “Did you just hit me?”
“Hit your mother. You were the one who hit the back of my head just now.”
…
The group of people who had been insulting Ye Chu immediately began cursing each other, and soon started pushing and fighting.
Liang Shan swallowed when he saw this scene and looked at the calm Ye Chu. Sure enough, this guy was still as vindictive as before. It was better not to provoke Ye Chu in the future.
“Did you cause trouble again?” While Ye Chu was looking around to see if there were any beauties to admire, Su Rong and Zhang Su’er appeared beside him. Su Rong spoke softly to him.
“Ah. I never do bad things. Have you ever seen a sage do bad things?” Ye Chu looked at Su Rong. Her pretty face was bright and beautiful. Her cool expression carried a trace of charm, and her eyelashes fluttered gently, stirring the heart.
“I know it was you. Just like that night. That man in the black robe was you,” Su Rong said while staring at Ye Chu. Seeing that Ye Chu was about to speak, she interrupted him. “Do not deny it. I do not believe there are so many coincidences in this world. If you do not admit it, I can simply go ask Pang Shao.”
Ye Chu shrugged and looked around for Pang Shao, who had disappeared somewhere. He wondered if Pang Shao would betray him. Then he remembered that he had also stolen a few paintings of court ladies for Pang Shao, which meant Pang Shao was a thief too. Ye Chu felt reassured.
“Then go ask him. Pang Shao likes to mess around. Perhaps the child your friend is carrying really belongs to him,” Ye Chu said with a smile.
“You…” Su Rong had just begun to speak when Chen Bowen, Ye Tian, and Ye Chao walked over. Chen Bowen stepped to Su Rong’s side. “Su Rong, why did you come over here? The view over there is better. Besides, having certain people around might affect your mood.”