“Who are you?” Ye Jinyun asked again. From the very first moment he saw Shen Guhan, alarm bells were ringing in his heart. Shen Guhan felt even more dangerous to him than the demonic cultivator who had ruined his spirit root. Even so, he still habitually reached for his hand at his waist, but the emptiness there made his hand pause.
He actually forgot that his sword had long ago been snatched away by someone.
The youth’s voice was clear and bright, but if one listened closely, there was a hint of hoarseness to it, like water droplets falling onto a boulder, splashing up wave after wave. To Shen Guhan’s ears, it sounded like a gentle brushing, inexplicably soothing.
“Shen…”
“This is bad, Young Master.”
Shen Guhan was just about to answer when he saw an old servant limping over from afar, his face full of anxiety, as if he had seen something extremely bad.
“Uncle Chen, what’s wrong?” Ye Jinyun had almost no time for sentimental feelings, and he also had no time to care about Shen Guhan, whom he felt was extremely dangerous. He hurried forward to support the old servant, but forgot that he was injured. He accidentally tore open his wound, and his whole body was about to fall onto the old servant.
Seeing the old servant reach out, Shen Guhan strode forward and wrapped an arm around him. The youth’s body then tilted into his embrace.
The youth’s waist was firm and upright. Even through the outer robe, one could still feel the thin layer of muscle, distinct in sections like bamboo, yet very slender, as if he could be snapped in two with a light bend. His clear voice drew in a low breath because of the pain, carrying a trace of sultriness. Shen Guhan’s gaze darkened slightly. If they dual cultivated…
“Many thanks to this young master for lending a hand.” Uncle Chen wanted to take the gasping Ye Jinyun from Shen Guhan’s hands.
Shen Guhan lowered his eyelids, turned his body slightly aside, avoiding the old servant, and said in a low voice, “Lead the way.”
Uncle Chen saw that Shen Guhan was dressed in black robes, with the edges of his sleeves embroidered in Tianchan thread, and his bearing was also extraordinary. It was hard to say that he was not some important figure.
Now that the Ye family had fallen, only he and the Young Master were left. If they could make friends with such a person, it would also help intimidate a group of troublesome petty people. He also looked at the unconscious Young Master, and did not say anything more. He cupped his hands in thanks, then limped ahead to lead the way.
“Stop.”
A young master dressed in luxurious clothes led a group of servants to block their path. He arrogantly swept a glance at Ye Jinyun in Shen Guhan’s arms, his eyes carrying mockery, and with an overbearing air he said, “Leave the marriage contract behind.”
Marriage contract? Shen Guhan looked over the half-conscious Ye Jinyun. Because of the pain, his brows were faintly furrowed. His pale face had lost all color, making the blood at the corner of his mouth look even more vivid. Interwoven with the youth’s refined and elegant features, it was unexpectedly gorgeous. Tsk, he really was popular.
“Young Master Li, the matter of the marriage contract was settled by the elders of both families. What do you mean by this?”
Uncle Chen’s brows were tightly furrowed. This Young Master Li had always acted tyrannically and like a dissolute playboy. He did not care whether the other person was from the three teachings or the nine schools, he loved to drag anyone into his mess. Running into him made trouble unavoidable.
“Hahaha!” Li Er laughed loudly. He had originally thought that Ye Jinyun had already been beaten to death by the servants, so he had come out intending to skin the corpse of this former genius and use it to make a human-skin fan.
He had not expected Ye Jinyun to be so lucky that he still had a breath left in him, so he casually found an excuse to delay Ye Jinyun’s treatment. He glanced at Uncle Chen and sneered, “You think Ye Jinyun is still the same Ye Jinyun as before? He is nothing but a waste now, not even worthy of carrying my older sister’s shoes.”
“If Young Master Li is dissatisfied, you may as well ask the elders of your family to come forward. Why be so aggressive?”
Uncle Chen straightened his back, but his hand gripping the cane was tight. Even if he was stern in appearance but weak in reality, he still had to protect Ye Jinyun. He had lived nearly a hundred years, and he knew that the Li family would not make a direct move.
Instead, they would send the younger generation out. It was only because they were concerned about the Li family’s reputation. If Li Er injured the young master today, at most it would be dismissed as children’s play. With the Li family’s power backing him, no one would dare say more. But the young master’s spirit root had just been destroyed, and his body was already extremely weak. How could he endure Li Er’s torment?
“You think this waste can still enter our Li family?”
Li Er stepped forward, wanting to pat Ye Jinyun’s face to humiliate him.
Uncle Chen tried to shield Ye Jinyun, but Li Er slapped him to the ground. Li Er said, “Hah, an old bastard like you dares to block my way. You really don’t know death when it’s staring you in the face.”
Li Er shook his hand, disdainfully looked at Uncle Chen, who had fallen to the ground, and then turned his gaze to Shen Guhan, who was holding Ye Jinyun.
Shen Guhan was expressionless, his entire body exuding coldness that clearly said strangers were not welcome. Anyone ordinary who saw him would detour around him, but Li Er was used to acting atrociously and had always been fearless. Seeing Shen Guhan together with Ye Jinyun, he felt that Shen Guhan was just a minor character and did not take him seriously at all. With a cold sneer at the corner of his mouth, he said as if bestowing charity, “I’ll give you a chance. Leave him and I’ll spare you.”
As he spoke, he reached his hand toward Ye Jinyun.
“Ah!”
Li Er’s face twisted. His hand seemed to have been caught by something, twisting little by little. Blood gushed from his wrist and dripped onto the stone slabs. Aside from screaming, he could not say anything else. The servants he had brought, although low in cultivation, also knew that Shen Guhan had done it. One by one, they lined up and surrounded Shen Guhan, shouting at him to release the person.
Shen Guhan’s eyes flicked sideways, and Li Er’s servants all collapsed to the side, each one fainting to the ground, and no one knew whether they were dead or alive.
Uncle Chen was shocked. Although Li Er was a spoiled playboy, he was also a foundation establishment cultivator. To deal with Li Er so effortlessly and so casually…
Moreover, his own foundation establishment cultivation could not see through the cultivation of the person before him at all. At the very least, he was above golden core. Nascent soul! He looked at Shen Guhan. The Ye family’s head had been a nascent soul cultivator, and that was how they had been able to establish such a prominent family business in Cangliu County. If the person before him was also a nascent soul cultivator…
Ye Jinyun murmured softly, his brows still furrowed. Shen Guhan glanced behind him. Seeing Uncle Chen standing there in a daze, he became somewhat impatient and ordered, “Lead the way.”
Uncle Chen came back to his senses, hurriedly got up, looked at the constantly shouting Young Master Li, then deeply looked once at the Ye Residence gate, sighed, and said to Shen Guhan:
“Many thanks for this young master’s help, this old one is endlessly grateful.”
Shen Guhan said nothing.
Uncle Chen did not find it strange either. For an expert like this, having a strange temperament was also normal. He respectfully led the way.
…
At night, the insects outside the window flapped their wings, making a continuous chirping sound.
Inside the room, a candle flame lit beside the bed cast a soft, warm glow over the youth’s delicate side profile. A long black shadow fell across the youth’s body.
“Mm.”
Ye Jinyun opened his eyes and saw a person standing by his bedside. Although he had been unconscious during the day, he could still sense what had happened. This person was the one who had helped him during the day. Although he did not know why this person suddenly wanted to help him, Ye Jinyun was still grateful.
“Today I thank my benefactor for your help. In the future, I, Ye Jinyun, will surely repay you with a spring of water for a single drop.”
Ye Jinyun struggled to get up to thank Shen Guhan.
Seeing that his expression was pained and hard to bear, Shen Guhan pressed his shoulder, bent down, and looked directly at Ye Jinyun, saying, “No need.”
His face was almost pressed up against Ye Jinyun’s face. The fine down on the youth’s face was extremely delicate. He had only said those two short words, and then he trembled lightly, retreating as if showing weakness, making one want to force him down.
Although Ye Jinyun in his previous life had been single since birth, he was still a straight man through and through. After transmigrating here, he even had a fiancée. They had only met when they were children, and their emotional foundation was zero. He did not understand what Shen Guhan meant at all. He only felt somewhat uncomfortable, so his body leaned back slightly, and he said seriously, “Repaying kindness is my Ye family’s ancestral teaching. Although my benefactor is righteous and benevolent, I must still give my all.”
“Oh?” Shen Guhan looked at Ye Jinyun’s clear eyes, straightened up, and with a smile at the corner of his mouth, asked, “What counts as giving your all?”
Ye Jinyun froze. His brows, which had only just relaxed not long ago, furrowed again. After a long while, he answered, “Whatever you seek, I, Ye, will do my utmost.”
“Really?” Shen Guhan’s smile deepened. His originally extremely cold brows and eyes seemed to clear up, breaking through the night and dust like the morning sun high above the nine heavens, dazzling enough to make one unable to look away.
Ye Jinyun froze. For the first time, he felt that such beauty was actually male. What a pity.
“Really?” Shen Guhan asked again.
Ye Jinyun nodded. Shen Guhan had saved him, and this favor had to be repaid. He said in a deep voice, “Really.”
“Good.” Shen Guhan lifted Ye Jinyun’s chin, his thin lips parting slightly. “Then be my furnace cauldron, all right?”
Author’s note:
Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!