The storyteller was startled. How did this person figure it out? I’ve already been reduced to this state.
He was simply too late to open his mouth and interrupt.
The yellow-robed man downstairs yelled out, “The Second Elder!”
Panic flashed across the storyteller’s eyes. Damn it, my identity’s been exposed.
“The Second Elder? Didn’t he die?”
“He’s not dead, not dead! I literally just saw him on the wanted poster today!”
“Isn’t this person just a child…?”
Yet the people down below were hardly going to be convinced by a single declaration from this yellow-robed man, especially since this same person had just been hurling abuse at the child a moment earlier.
Even though a few individuals felt a tinge of suspicion regarding the child’s identity because of the man’s words, none dared to voice any dissent amidst the overwhelming public momentum.
Amidst the general commotion, a single table remained quiet. The occupants sat on their stools with their heads lowered, quietly picking at the dishes on their table, never lifting their heads even for a fraction of a second indifferent, entirely keeping out of the affair.
The storyteller glanced across that table with a slight frown, but quickly dismissed it, choosing not to dwell on it. Seeing that no one believed the yellow-robed man’s words, he knew there was still hope. His eyes darted around slyly, and he immediately resumed wailing and carrying on: “They’re in cahoots! Cough they’re all in cahoots…”
What a thoroughly shameless scoundrel.
Yu Fengyao sneered, stepping forward to cross the threshold, only to have her path blocked by Beisi’s sword.
That sword had already been unsheathed, resting right against her throat with zero chivalrous mercy. The slightest movement on her part would send her head rolling.
Yu Fengyao froze in her tracks, glaring daggers at the two men, her eyes brimming with fury. Never in her life had she ever suffered such indignity. Yet she was severely wounded right now and clearly no match for Beisi; if he wished it, she wouldn’t survive the next breath.
She could only rage, “If you dare to harm me even a fraction, the Fengling Sect will never let you go!”
Hearing this, Beisi’s expression didn’t shift by a single hair, nor did his hand waver in the slightest. The biting cold radiating from the blade forced Yu Fengyao to tilt her chin slightly upward.
The tiny Qiqi in the air drifted over to the sword hilt, his small foot lightly brushing against it as he faced Yu Fengyao. Despite being nothing more than a soft little spirit ball, one could clearly read an expression of utter contempt radiating from his posture.
“Relying on power to bully others—utterly useless.” The tiny primordial soul spoke in a crisp, clear voice, pulling no punches and striking straight at the heart.
For a moment, Yu Fengyao couldn’t decide whether to be shocked that a primordial soul could actually talk, or enraged by the soul’s assertion that she relied on her powerful backers. Her knuckles cracked from the sheer force of her grip.
Beisi felt a trace of surprise, followed immediately by a surge of pride. Qiqi is truly naturally brilliant! He managed to make his primordial soul speak so quickly, whereas others take days of adaptation just to attempt it.
Chi Qiqi was equally astonished. My primordial soul can actually speak?! Good thing it didn’t blurt out anything too outrageous, or I would have exposed myself right in front of Beisi.
It was just that Yu Fengyao’s attempt to threaten them with her sect was utterly laughable. Such a minor sect was hardly worth his attention; they weren’t even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth, and he could wipe them out with a casual wave of his hand.
Yu Fengyao tried to swallow her burning rage, but she had never been someone who could stomach insults. She shot back with a sneer, “If you hadn’t consumed the Ai You grass, you’d be nothing more than a good-for-nothing freeloader.”
If one wanted to rely on power, one had to possess it in the first place. As the beloved daughter of the Fengling Sect’s leader, she had whatever she desired, whereas this fellow had simply lucked into a windfall.
Had the Ai You grass not been consumed by this worthless parasite, did he honestly think he would have a chance to stand here and speak to her? A useless good-for-nothing who understood nothing he wasn’t even worthy of carrying her shoes.
“Freeloading?” Chi Qiqi raised an eyebrow, pondering the term. It actually sounded rather fitting for his current persona. He felt not a shred of anger; instead, pretending not to grasp the implication, he lowered his voice and playfully inquired of Beisi, “What does that mean? Does it mean eating soft rice?”
Yu Fengyao wore an expression of supreme mockery. He can’t even comprehend an insult meant for him—what an absolute fool, completely wasting a priceless, peerless stalk of Ai You grass.
Inevitably, a flicker of murderous intent and lingering resentment surfaced in her eyes. Had that Ai You grass not been stolen by this pack of scoundrels, it would have long since belonged to me.
Beisi’s jaw tightened into a flat line, his gaze directed at Yu Fengyao chillingly cold. She was nothing more than the daughter of a mere sect leader, yet she dared to speak such words about his beloved right to his face.
Even if he were to execute Yu Fengyao right here and now, leading the entire Fengling Sect to hunt him down to the ends of the earth, they wouldn’t even come close to touching the hem of his garment or inflicting the slightest scratch upon him.
He rubbed the delicate, soft fingertips of Chi Qiqi’s hand in his palm, not yet getting around to offering an explanation or soothing words.
Chi Qiqi buried his face directly against Beisi’s shoulder and neck, whispering almost entirely in breathy air: “That sounds quite delicious. Can I follow you and freeload for the rest of my life?”
Just moments earlier, Beisi had been fretting over whether Qiqi might have taken the insult to heart and grown sad. Hearing these whimsical, almost childlike words, however, he could only let out a helpless, indulgent smile. “I wouldn’t want anything else.”
For the rest of my life to be able to spend an entire lifetime staying by Qiqi’s side.
Having secured a satisfactory answer, Chi Qiqi pulled his head back slightly, easily capturing the sight of Beisi’s flushed, blood-pudding-red eartips. The eyes hidden right behind Beisi’s back curled into crescent moons of suppressed laughter.
The two carried on with their intimate display as if no one else was in the room.
Yu Fengyao felt as though she had thrown a punch straight into a thick pile of cotton, turning her face alternating shades of green and white. Are these two dog-men treating me like thin air? How dare they flirt right in front of my face! I’ll definitely make them pay dearly for this!
Yet right now, with the blade resting against her neck, she dared not make any reckless moves.
“Do you really think that burning those books makes everything foolproof?” Beisi asked leisurely.
The underlying implication was clear: the evidence they possessed extended far beyond a single book.
Yu Fengyao’s pupils trembled slightly.
While putting on a pitiful display, the storyteller kept one eye fixed on the unfolding developments over here. Hearing that exchange, he nearly burst out laughing.
He had long known this young mistress was arrogant, overbearing, and completely blind to everyone else, but she had certainly stepped into a massive trap this time. Finally, someone else could share the experience of witnessing these two husbands’ endless sugary sweetness though the young mistress herself didn’t look particularly thrilled about it.
Before he could revel in his amusement for even two seconds, a sudden sight on the ground below snapped his wandering attention right back.
Seeing that the surrounding crowd still showed no reaction and refused to believe his words, the yellow-robed man felt consumed by sheer hatred. Raising his head to glare malevolently at the storyteller, he gritted his teeth, gripped his fine sword, channeled his internal energy, and vaulted straight upward toward the second floor.
The black-robed man who had remained calmly seated at his table finally lifted his head. The leader of the group, a towering figure in black, rose to his feet. Treading lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water, he stepped off the yellow-robed man’s back, utilizing the momentum to land lightly and gracefully on the second floor with his broad, sturdy frame.
The yellow-robed man, meanwhile, plunged headlong out of mid-air, crashing heavily onto the ground floor. The floorboards shattered upon impact with a sharp, piercing crack.
People nearby leaned in to check his breath, only to recoil in sheer terror this man had already ceased breathing…
And yet, looking at how the black-robed man landed, it had appeared to be the lightest, most effortless kick imaginable.
A single glance told the storyteller that he lacked the strength to fight this opponent; it was over he was surely going to meet his end right here.
However, his worries proved unfounded. The black-robed man didn’t even spare him a glance, stepping straight past him and walking directly toward the threshold of the private room.
The newcomer possessed a fierce, menacing visage with low, thick brows and an excessively rugged bone structure, resembling a ferocious black bear.
This fellow certainly looked like trouble.
Standing nine feet tall with a robust physique, the man strode right up and spoke in a deep, gravelly voice: “The Ai You grass?”
Yu Fengyao immediately guessed why this person had suddenly forced his way up here it was for the Ai You grass.
He must have overheard them discussing the herb just moments ago.
An idea instantly sparked in Yu Fengyao’s mind. The enemy of an enemy is a friend; she couldn’t win on her own, but what if she added him to the mix? Since they had consumed the Ai You grass, they had better pay the price!
“It was already swallowed whole by these two,” Yu Fengyao stated, suppressing the smug smile of victory.
Sure enough, the black-robed man immediately shifted his gaze toward the couple. Those eyes—with excessively large pupils and very little white showing stared fixedly at the two men, looking even more terrifying than the scarred man.
Yu Fengyao had assumed someone with such brawn would naturally lack brains, and upon hearing her words, would immediately fly into a rage and attack without a second thought. To her surprise, the man actually possessed a shred of principle, turning to ask her: “Where is the proof?”
They’ve already eaten it, so where is any proof supposed to come from? Would anyone who ate it ever admit to it? Yu Fengyao grew even more exasperated.
On second thought, however wait! The good-for-nothing still had the leaf of the Ai You grass on his person.
Yu Fengyao hurriedly pointed it out: “He has a leaf of the Ai You grass on him.”
“Spine-less.” Little Qiqi chimed in again, his tone dripping with utter disdain.
Instantly, the attention of everyone present shifted entirely to the tiny primordial soul.
The primordial soul remained completely unbothered by the stares, maintaining a calm, unhurried demeanor, as though it couldn’t be bothered to pay them any mind.
Only then did the black-robed man notice the presence of the primordial soul. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes as he stretched out a hand, seemingly wanting to reach out and touch Little Qiqi.
However, before his hand came even half an arm’s length close, a sword blocked his path. Following the blade upward, he found the swordsman staring at him coldly. The cold, coffin-like expression on the man’s face inexplicably stirred a strange sense of familiarity within him.
Though he felt invisibly suppressed, not a shred of anger arose within him; instead, he felt a submissive willingness to yield.
Displaying a look of blatant disgust, Chi Qiqi withdrew the primordial soul back into his body. Instead, he produced a small, withered object from his sleeve—a tiny, shriveled leaf.
Yu Fengyao’s eyes locked onto it instantly. Her blazing fury pivoted into triumphant certainty as she cried out, “That’s it!”
The black-robed man frowned upon closer inspection.
Casually twirling the withered leaf between his fingers, Chi Qiqi wore an expression of sudden enlightenment. “Are you talking about this?”
Yu Fengyao nodded with absolute conviction. Otherwise, how could a mere good-for-nothing possess a primordial soul? That defies the laws of heaven and earth!
Unfazed and unhurried, Chi Qiqi chuckled softly. “This is just an ordinary leaf.”
“Prevarication.” Yu Fengyao refused to believe him. “Hmph, if you didn’t have the Ai You grass, how could you possibly achieve such fortune and cultivation?”
The smile on Chi Qiqi’s face widened further as he uttered two words: “Stag-to-horse.”
Immediately afterward, his gaze shifted toward a corner of the room. At some point during the commotion, a decorative potted plant had been knocked over, leaning sideways against the wall. Several brown, curled leaves clung to the branches of the plant withered leaves that bore a striking, near-identical resemblance to the one in Chi Qiqi’s hand.
The leaf in Chi Qiqi’s possession had originated right here in this room, having nothing whatsoever to do with the legendary Ai You grass.
Yu Fengyao froze, utterly unable to process the reality. How is this possible? How could it not be the Ai You grass? How could this good-for-nothing possibly possess such fortune? How?
She snatched the leaf directly out of his hand, inspecting it from every conceivable angle. No matter how she looked at it, it was nothing more than an exceptionally ordinary, withered leaf, incapable of performing any mystical tricks.
Her heart skipped a beat as the realization struck her: she had been completely and utterly played! The good-for-nothing had never once claimed that this leaf belonged to the Ai You grass; she had simply jumped headfirst into his trap on her own accord!
Yu Fengyao finally realized that this good-for-nothing was nowhere near as simple as he appeared on the surface.
“Where is the Ai You grass? You dare steal our belongings have you grown tired of living?”