Ye Jinyun lowered his head to look at the hand that had seized him. The joints were distinct, yet there was no blood color to them, and they carried a chill, just like their owner. All at once, he only felt vexed and restless.
“Don’t make trouble, I have something to do.”
Shen Guhan was stunned and let go. Ye Jinyun’s voice, irritated yet mixed with a trace of intimacy that was impossible to ignore, actually left the always overbearing him somewhat at a loss. But very quickly, he returned to normal and raised a brow, saying with ill intent:
“What are you taking me for?”
“No, no.”
Ye Jinyun took a dazed step back. He had not expected that he would suddenly say such a thing, as if he were taking Shen Guhan as…
What was wrong with him? Was he sick?
Shen Guhan looked at the boy’s ignorant, clueless expression, as if he knew nothing of love, and was just about to speak.
But Li Yichan walked over to his side and said to Ye Jinyun, “Jinyun gege, do you not want to see me? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
Her posture was just like a peacock that had taken possession of Shen Guhan, spreading its tail to block him.
In Ye Jinyun’s eyes, the two of them only looked more and more like a golden boy and jade girl pair, and it was extremely glaring. He turned his head and said, “Miss Li, our engagement has already been broken off. Ye cannot bear your address of brother, and I hope Miss Li can conduct herself with propriety in the future.”
After saying that, he fled as if escaping for his life.
Seeing that Ye Jinyun had backed down, Li Yichan then performed a secular salute to Shen Guhan and said, “Senior Brother, I am truly sorry for causing you trouble. Jinyun gege’s nature is not originally like this, it is only that these past days, his spirit root has been ruined, and his temperament has become a bit extreme.”
“Causing trouble? Temperament a bit extreme?” Shen Guhan gave a soft snort and looked Li Yichan over from head to toe. Her face carried spring-like charm, full of a young girl’s coy allure. “I don’t think so, I rather like it.”
There was hidden meaning in Shen Guhan’s words. Something flashed through Li Yichan’s mind in an instant, but she could not catch it. She could only smile and answer, “That’s good. To be able to win Senior Brother’s regard is also Jinyun gege’s blessing.”
“I’m saying…”
Shen Guhan looked at this woman who dared to toy with schemes in front of him with a false smile that did not reach his eyes. She was truly courting death.
Li Yichan lowered her head, looking like a young girl pining in spring and not daring to raise her head in front of the one she loved. She did not see Shen Guhan’s expression and said shyly, “What is Senior Brother saying?”
“I’m saying, junior sister, did you go out and come back uglier? Looking at you is quite an eyesore,” Shen Guhan asked.
Ugly, she had become ugly.
Li Yichan’s expression changed, then immediately returned to the appearance of a refined young lady. She lifted her head and tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Senior Brother, you are joking. How could a cultivator’s appearance change so easily?”
“It won’t change?” Shen Guhan looked at Li Yichan’s awkward state with unhurried composure and said carelessly, “I heard that if cultivators fall into demonic cultivation, their appearance seems to change. I think junior sister should be careful.”
“Senior Brother, some jokes cannot be made.”
The smile on Li Yichan’s face completely disappeared. For a cultivator to abandon the righteous path and cultivate demonic arts was to fall into demonic ways, a presence that everyone on the righteous path would shout and beat at. Shen Guhan’s words were undoubtedly humiliating her.
“I was just curious why junior sister would become so ugly after making a trip for training.”
Shen Guhan looked at Li Yichan with a face full of surprise, as if he were very puzzled.
“Perhaps during the training, I was exposed to wind and sun, so my skin is a little darker. That is only natural,” Li Yichan explained while enduring her anger.
“Oh, so that’s how it is. Then forgive me. I spend all year in the sect, my knowledge is shallow. I hope junior sister can forgive me.” Shen Guhan said apologetically, but his movements and expression were leisurely and carefree, completely without any sign of guilt.
“It’s fine, this has nothing to do with Senior Brother.”
Li Yichan restrained herself.
“Since that’s the case, junior sister, why don’t you hurry and go ask Fourth Uncle for some pills that beautify and nourish the complexion, so you don’t embarrass yourself in front of the new disciples?” Shen Guhan mocked lazily.
“Then junior sister takes her leave.” Although Li Yichan admired Shen Guhan, he had insulted her again and again. She had grown up pampered and precious since childhood, and had never suffered such a great humiliation. For a moment, she simply could not bear it, and she did not even care about her manners anymore. She left in a fit of pique.
Watching Li Yichan leave, Shen Guhan gave a soft snort of contempt. What a thing.
And the only feeling Gu Shaoxin, who had been watching the show from the side, had was this, his senior brother was truly amazing. He had actually managed to make the fake face crack.
“Do you still have something to do?” Shen Guhan looked at Gu Shaoxin, who was still standing there and had not left. His mood did not become good just because he had humiliated Li Yichan, and he said irritably.
“No.”
Sensing Shen Guhan’s displeasure, Gu Shaoxin quickly disappeared as well.
Shen Guhan stood alone on the mountainside, looking down. Ye Jinyun’s figure was already long gone, and he muttered, “Shen Yiling.”
“01, give Ye Jinyun a task.”
“What task?” 01 immediately switched from Ye Jinyun’s side over to him, ingratiating itself with Shen Guhan.
“Have Ye Jinyun stay away from Shen Yiling,” Shen Guhan said.
“This…” 01 scratched its head. Shen Guhan’s task made it feel somewhat helpless. “What reason should I use? How should the reward be given?”
“Just say that Shen Yiling is a demonic cultivator, and that she is approaching Ye Jinyun in order to seize the fortune of the chosen one from him,” Shen Guhan said.
01: This works too? If Shen Guhan does not become a screenwriter, that would be a waste of talent.
“And the reward?” Since there was already a reason, what should it use as the reward for this task? Giving too much was not good, giving too little was not good either.
Shen Guhan thought of Ye Jinyun’s clothes, washed pale from repeated laundering, and asked, “01, during these days that you have followed Ye Jinyun, do you know what kind of magic robe Ye Jinyun likes?”
“White, maybe?” 01 guessed. It was usually just a ball of white light. How would it pay attention to clothes that were completely useless to it, let alone the clothes Ye Jinyun liked? For it, this was simply content outside the scope of the exam.
“White?” Shen Guhan did not like white. Since Ye Jinyun liked it, then he would give him white. He immediately took a black robe from his spatial ring and turned it white. “You hand this to him.”
“Okay.”
01 had thought Shen Guhan wanted it to provide this magic robe, and was already aching over it. It never expected that Shen Guhan would actually take out a precious magic robe himself, and only have the item passed along to Ye Jinyun. That was far too easy, so it quickly gave Shen Guhan its assurance.
On the other side, Ye Jinyun softly called for the system, “01, 01…”
“Here.” 01 switched styles back and forth, and said in a profound and unpredictable manner to Ye Jinyun, “This system has just detected one thing.”
“What thing?” Ye Jinyun asked.
“This system discovered that Shen Yiling is a demonic cultivator, and that she is approaching you in order to seize your fortune,” 01 said with its eyes wide open while telling blatant lies.
“You say that Yiling meimei is a demonic cultivator, and is trying to seize my fortune? Impossible.”
Ye Jinyun thought of how, these past days, people had repeatedly betrayed him because his father had died and his spirit root had been ruined. Right now, he did not dare trust anyone. But Yiling meimei had grown up with him since childhood, and he had always treated Shen Yiling like his own younger sister. He was unwilling to believe that Shen Yiling would be a demonic cultivator.
“It’s true. You must stay away from her. Also, this is a task.”
Seeing Ye Jinyun’s unwillingness to believe it, 01 became a little anxious inside. This was something Shen Guhan had told it to do. If it was not done successfully, it probably would not have any good way out.
“I don’t believe it.” In truth, Ye Jinyun did not fully believe that Shen Yiling was a demonic cultivator, but he also did not trust this system that much.
“How about I make a bet with you? You can see whether your Yiling meimei is a demonic cultivator, and then you will know whether she is lying to you,” 01 said without giving up.
“How do I look?” Ye Jinyun clenched his fist. He did not want to believe it, but if it was true…
“It’s very simple. Go find her. I’ll temporarily lend you the Falsehood-Piercing Eye. Just see whether the qi she cultivates throughout her body is demonic or not,” 01 said. As long as it proved that Shen Yiling was a demonic cultivator, then no matter whether she intended to harm Ye Jinyun or not, Ye Jinyun would lose trust in Shen Yiling and thus stay away from her.
“All right.” Ye Jinyun agreed in a low voice.
…
“Brother Ye.”
Shen Yiling called out to Ye Jinyun in delight. She was wearing the sect uniform just distributed by the Sword Sect. She had also taken part in the Sword Sect trial. She had a concealment pearl on her, so she could conceal her own demonic qi and enter the Sword Sect with ease, becoming an inner disciple of the Sword Sect.
Ye Jinyun, who had already put on the Falsehood-Piercing Eye, only felt a mass of pale black qi walking toward him. His clenched fist loosened, and the huge stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
Shen Yiling, still completely in the dark, did not know that her identity as a demonic cultivator had already been exposed. Seeing that Ye Jinyun no longer showed his usual indulgence toward her, she asked in confusion:
“Brother Ye, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Ye Jinyun pushed Shen Yiling away and said, “You’ve grown up now. Although cultivators do not have that deep a worldly bias, there are still differences between men and women after all. You should keep a little farther away from me, so that others won’t talk. I am only a waste now, I’m afraid I won’t be able to withstand other people’s exclusion.”
“How could that be?” Shen Yiling widened her eyes as she looked at Ye Jinyun. It had only been one day. How could Brother Ye suddenly treat her like this?
“The human heart is hard to fathom.”
Ye Jinyun said with feigned helplessness.
“Then, then all right.”
Shen Yiling said softly, then thought of something and said in delight, “Then I’ll secretly come see you in the future, just like when we were little.”
“All right.”
There was coldness in Ye Jinyun’s heart, but it did not show on his face. He only said, “It’s late, and the place where you live is not the same as mine. Hurry and go report to the elders. I also have my own matters, so I won’t talk with you any longer.”
“Mm, okay. Then Brother Ye, you must take good care of yourself.”
Shen Yiling looked at the new inner disciples who had already gathered together, and reluctantly said farewell to Ye Jinyun.
Ye Jinyun nodded, counting as agreement.
Watching Shen Yiling leave, 01 was very satisfied. It took back the Falsehood-Piercing Eye from Ye Jinyun and said happily, “This task has been completed. Congratulations, you have obtained one top-grade spirit artifact magic robe.”
“Top-grade spirit artifact magic robe?”
Ye Jinyun looked at the magic robe on the interface. For him now, with no cultivation at all, it truly was a precious life-saving item.
Then he put the clothes into the system’s built-in space.
01 became anxious and asked, “Why are you not wearing it?”
Ye Jinyun shook his head and said, “I still can’t cultivate right now, and the identity of the chosen one also cannot be announced. If I walk out swaggering around in a top-grade spirit artifact, it would be like a child carrying jade.”
A top-grade spirit artifact, his father’s natal sword was only a spirit artifact, yet this robe was a top-grade spirit artifact. Even in the Sword Sect, no one could casually possess a top-grade spirit artifact magic robe. If he wore it out, he would only invite trouble.
Author’s note:
Thank you all very much for your support, I will keep working hard!