“Reaching the Innate Realm is a qualitative transformation. Ye Chu could already fight Innate Realm experts while at the Intent Transformation Realm. Now that he has stepped into the Innate Realm, his power far surpasses theirs.
Even when the three Innate Realm experts surrounded him, they were still no match. All three were crippled by Ye Chu and left lying on the ground. Watching Ye Chu approach them step by step, terror filled their eyes. They writhed on the ground, desperately trying to crawl away.
“Don’t be afraid! I’m a very gentle person!” Ye Chu smiled at the three terrified men, revealing his gleaming white teeth.
Seeing them still scrambling backward, Ye Chu suddenly turned to Tan Miaotong. “You go down first. I’ll be there in a moment!”
Though Tan Miaotong was still dazed by how smoothly Ye Chu had broken through to the Innate Realm, hearing his words, the pure and innocent girl seemed to understand what he intended. She glanced at the three men, nodded, and left the high ground.
Tan Miaotong had a gentle, tender nature. She had likely never witnessed bloodshed. After sending her away, Ye Chu turned back to the three men, whose faces had gone pale with fear. He smiled. “The three of you don’t need to be so frightened. I really am a mild-mannered person who respects life. I never take lives!”
“If you dare touch us, the Thirty-Six Caves will never let you go!” Cave Old Three forced himself to muster some courage and roared a threat at Ye Chu.
“Don’t scare me! Even if I were afraid of the Thirty-Six Caves — which I’m not — if I kill you, who would know it was me?” Ye Chu flashed his white teeth again as he stared at the three. “Let me ask you a question. Answer it correctly, and I won’t make things difficult for you!”
If Cave Thirteen were still alive and heard those words, he would definitely jump up and curse: “Damn it! Another question? Can’t you come up with something new?”
Ye Chu, of course, had no idea this was a rather tasteless habit of his. He considered himself a cultured man and secretly felt quite pleased with himself.
“What do you want to ask?” Cave Old Three looked at Ye Chu in terror.
“Do you think someone as handsome as me would naturally attract women who try to take advantage of me? And of course I would resist to the death, so naturally nothing ever happened.” Ye Chu stared at the three men very earnestly.
The three were dumbfounded. Inside, they wanted to curse loudly. With your looks, what woman would dare take advantage of you? It’s obviously you who tried to take advantage of others, and they resisted to the death! Still, Cave Old Three nodded frantically. “With Young Master’s outstanding appearance, it must have been women attempting to take liberties with you — and failing, of course. How could ordinary women possibly be worthy of touching you!”
“You all think so too?” Ye Chu felt these three men had excellent taste. Excitedly, he continued, “So, if I ever run into one of those women who tried to take advantage of me again, can I stand tall and look down on her with contempt?”
“Probably… yes… you can!” Cave Old Three and the others felt their scalps go numb. They thought to themselves: can you please have some shame?
“I feel the same way!” Ye Chu looked completely at ease. “Since you three have such good judgement, I absolutely won’t make things hard for you. In fact, I’ll bestow upon you a great fortune.”
Cave Old Three saw the smile on Ye Chu’s face and felt genuinely happy. His heart relaxed a little. “Then… may we leave now?”
“Wait until I’ve bestowed your fortune first!” Ye Chu smiled at the three men. “Aren’t you curious what kind of great fortune I’m about to give you?”
Seeing their gazes drawn in as expected, Ye Chu pressed his palms together with utmost sincerity. “The Buddha says: All beings can reach the Land of Ultimate Bliss! You don’t know the way, so I’m willing to guide you there! The Buddha can deliver people — so can I! This spares you from enduring suffering in this world!”
With those words, Ye Chu struck without warning. His palm carried crushing force and landed squarely on the man’s throat. The clear sound of a shattered windpipe rang out.
Three palms in rapid succession. Amid the three men’s terror, their breathing stopped. Ye Chu casually searched their bodies and took everything of value. They carried quite a few precious items, but Ye Chu found them too bulky and simply tossed them aside. The only thing he kept was a palm-sized emerald jade box he found in Cave Old Three’s pocket. He examined it briefly. It looked very old. He wondered if this might be something from the General’s Tomb.
Ye Chu stuffed it into his robe without opening it right away.
…
When Ye Chu finished dealing with the three men — which did not take him long — and descended from the high ground, he saw Tan Miaotong waiting there. As soon as she spotted him, she walked over. “You’re back?”
“Did I scare you?” Ye Chu looked at the lovely Tan Miaotong before him. She appeared so delicate and tender, evoking an irresistible urge to protect her. Her stunning eyes shimmered as they gazed at Ye Chu. Her long lashes framed her face, and a drunken-like blush coloured her soft, smooth cheeks, giving her an enchanting, soul-captivating allure.
Tan Miaotong shook her head. She had wanted to say no, but seeing Ye Chu staring at her, she felt a little embarrassed and nodded. “A little. I’ve never seen fighting before.”
Ye Chu thought to himself that made sense. Who would bear to let such a gentle woman witness something like that?
“Then I’m sorry!” Ye Chu shrugged innocently. “I originally thought it would take them a while to catch up. I didn’t expect them to arrive so quickly. It even ruined the mood for enjoying the lake with you.”
Tan Miaotong shook her head. A different emotion stirred in her heart. Looking at the somewhat lazy and carefree young man before her, she felt he was truly different from others. Knowing full well that three opponents he could not possibly defeat were chasing him, he had still agreed to her request.
“I don’t know whether you’re foolish or just really fun.” Thinking back to the earlier danger that had turned out harmless, Tan Miaotong could not help giggling. Her laughter rang like raindrops on a bell, blending perfectly with her charming expression. Truly a delightful woman.
“When I was little, two men reputed to be the smartest teachers in Yao City taught me how to read and write. But three days later, they couldn’t bear it anymore and hanged themselves.” Ye Chu sighed.
“Why?” Tan Miaotong did not understand why Ye Chu suddenly brought this up.
“They said they had spent decades learning to read and write, yet I reached their level in just three days. They felt there was no more joy in living.” Ye Chu sighed again. “Why bother? After all, people have differences!”
“Giggle… I’d be a fool to believe you!” Tan Miaotong’s pretty face flushed red. Looking at Ye Chu’s heavy, sighing expression, she thought to herself: how can he say that without blushing?
“I think you’re pretty foolish!” Tan Miaotong covered her mouth and laughed at Ye Chu’s innocent look.
“Fine! I took such a huge risk to bring you here to see the lake view, and now you call me a fool.” Ye Chu said helplessly. “It’s all my fault for being too kind-hearted. I just don’t know how to say no to people!”
“…” Tan Miaotong found Ye Chu’s way of speaking quite amusing. But Qing Wenting had been right — believe him, and you might get sold without even realising it!
“Let me take you to see more of Cold Lake. After the rain, there are still plenty of beautiful spots to visit.” Ye Chu smiled at Tan Miaotong.
“Really?” Tan Miaotong felt a surge of excitement. But seeing how dishevelled Ye Chu looked and remembering the fierce battle he had just fought, she shook her head. “Next time. You just…”
“It’s fine! They were just some small fry. It doesn’t affect anything!” Ye Chu winked at Tan Miaotong. “Like I said — I couldn’t possibly let you watch for nothing.”
Those words made Tan Miaotong feel that Ye Chu was utterly rotten. What was wrong with this guy? She hadn’t even held it against him, yet here he was shamelessly bringing it up again.