Just moments ago, Zhou Changshu had righteously condemned Ye Feng for indulging in pleasures and consorting with courtesans. Now, if he accepted Ye Feng’s offer and took away a courtesan himself, no matter how talented he was, he’d be forever disgraced in the Great Qin Empire’s literary world.
Scholars valued integrity above all.
But when he looked at Yueya in the distance—the woman he had always yearned for—he couldn’t bear to give her up. No matter how clean she kept herself, staying in a pleasure house meant constant risk. Every extra minute was one more moment of danger.
If his hesitation caused her to suffer, Zhou Changshu would regret it for the rest of his life.
Seeing his indecision, Ye Feng added fuel to the fire, “Old Zhou, if you don’t want her, I’ll just take Yueya home for myself.”
“My godfather is still a lonely old dog—he hasn’t taken a wife yet.”
“If that happens, don’t come crying to me!”
Zhou Changshu panicked at Ye Feng’s words. But before he could say anything, his golden finger system suddenly issued a mission.
Reject the son of fate Ye Feng’s offer.
Mission reward: immediate breakthrough to mid-stage Martial Warrior Realm.
Failure penalty: death.
If it were just a matter of giving up the reward for Yueya’s sake, Zhou Changshu would’ve accepted it. But with the threat of complete erasure, he had no choice.
Staring at Yueya with pain in his eyes, Zhou Changshu gritted his teeth and shook his head. “No need.”
At that moment, his heart felt like it was bleeding.
Yueya’s expression instantly turned cold. While she didn’t really want to leave with Zhou Changshu, his flat refusal made her feel worthless.
Any good impression she had of Zhou Changshu vanished instantly.
But then she remembered—Ye Feng had said that if Zhou Changshu refused, he’d buy her freedom and bring her back to the Ye Family!
The Ye Family might not be much before Moonshade Sect, but in Martial Refinement Commandery, they were still one of the prominent clans.
And Ye Feng was a direct descendant of the Ye Family, with a decent reputation.
For a courtesan, that was already an excellent future.
Thinking of this, Yueya smiled brightly at Ye Feng and said softly, “Young Master Ye, from now on, I belong to you.”
As for the 100,000 taels of gold?
Ten low-grade spirit stones were nothing for the direct heir of the Ye Family.
Across from them, Zhou Changshu watched the heartbreaking scene unfold. Seeing the woman he loved throw herself into another man’s arms, he felt like dying.
“No!” Zhou Changshu cried out in anguish, then stumbled away like a defeated old man. “This is a sin…”
Ye Feng shook his head, sighing, “What a pity.”
He had no intention of stopping Zhou Changshu. All these villains shared one thing in common—their identities were never simple.
In Zhou Changshu’s case, he was actually the long-lost son of a Martial Emperor.
Of course, that Martial Emperor was still trapped in a secret realm and hadn’t returned yet.
If Ye Feng had truly killed Zhou Changshu, that powerful father would’ve come for him relentlessly. And while Ye Feng had the protection of the Heavenly Dao and wouldn’t be in mortal danger, it would definitely be exhausting.
Forget about lying flat—he might not even get a good night’s sleep.
Still, looking at Yueya’s expectant face gave Ye Feng a headache. Just a moment ago, he had genuinely planned to pair her with Zhou Changshu. If Zhou Changshu had accepted, Yueya would’ve become Ye Feng’s planted agent.
Any of Zhou Changshu’s movements would have been reported back to him.
Buying her freedom was merely a way to pressure Zhou into taking the bait.
But he had rejected it outright.
“Forget it. I’ll just take her back.”
“As long as I have Yueya, she’s still a powerful tool to control Zhou Changshu.”
“Who knows—maybe I can use her to manipulate him and deal with other villains.”
After some thought, Ye Feng made up his mind to bring Yueya back to the Ye Family.
“Madam! Put Yueya’s redemption cost on my godfather’s tab! Burn her contract, now!”
Having experienced this farce, Ye Feng had lost interest in partying. He turned to the brothel madam and gave the order.
Though the madam was reluctant to part with her star courtesan, she didn’t dare offend Ye Feng. She nodded helplessly in agreement.
Without waiting for the madam to fetch the contract, Ye Feng walked straight out. He wasn’t worried about her trying to fake things.
In Martial Refinement Commandery, there were many forces willing to challenge the Ye Family—but Drunken Immortal Tavern was not one of them.
She had thought Ye Feng would use the contract to control and coerce her. But he had actually ordered it to be burned.
That meant… she was free.
After thinking it through, and watching Ye Feng’s figure about to disappear through the tavern doors, Yueya suddenly rushed out after him.
She had a strange feeling—if she didn’t follow him now, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
As Ye Feng and Yueya left one after another, the entire tavern fell into silence.
No one had expected that the rumored “trash young master” of the Ye Family would be this formidable.
With just a few words, he had played a literary scholar like a fiddle.
From that moment on, the list of people not to provoke in Martial Refinement Commandery had one more name: Ye Feng.
“Young Master, why didn’t you keep my contract?” Yueya asked curiously as she followed behind him outside the tavern.
Glancing at her, Ye Feng smiled calmly. “I can’t speak for the Great Qin Empire, but within Martial Refinement Commandery, escaping my control is near impossible.”
Yueya paused, thinking Ye Feng was just relying on the Ye Family’s power to boast. A flicker of contempt passed through her heart.
After all, the Ye Family wasn’t even the top force in the commandery.
Neither of them said anything more as they walked toward the Ye Family.
But just as they reached the entrance, a dignified and imposing middle-aged man strode toward them.
The moment he saw Ye Feng, the man’s eyes lit up. He cupped his hands and said respectfully, “Young Master Ye, truly a hero among youth!”
“At nineteen, to become a personal disciple of Moonshade Sect and study under Elder Liuli!”
“Breaking through two realms in a single day, reaching the Martial Spirit Realm—you are truly the number one genius of the younger generation in Martial Refinement Commandery!”
But seeing that Ye Feng barely reacted, the middle-aged man quickly retrieved a cloth pouch from his attendant and respectfully offered it with both hands.
“Young Master Ye, here are 50 mid-grade spirit stones—a token of my admiration. I hope you’ll accept it.”
Yueya’s eyes widened, stunned, as she looked at Ye Feng.