Fortunately, Ye Qingyi wasn’t completely seduced by beauty.
She still heeded Ye Chu’s words.
“Nothing good comes from sudden favors.”
Even if Junior Brother Wang was a good person with no ill intentions, she didn’t dare accept his invitation.
Because she was afraid of exposing the fact that she was a total weakling!
“Sorry, Junior Brother. I prefer to focus on my cultivation, so I’ll pass on the secret realm. Thank you for your kind intentions.”
With that, Ye Qingyi pulled out several bottles of pills and handed them to Wang Xiu.
“Since this is our first meeting and you called me Senior Sister, consider these a welcome gift.”
Wang Xiu was stunned.
Thinking he was too shy to accept, Ye Qingyi smiled and explained, “Junior Brother, there’s no need to feel embarrassed. This is just a token of my appreciation.”
“Master gave me so much that I can’t use it all by myself—it would be a waste. Think of it as helping me lighten the load.”
“And while you’re at it, share some with the other junior brothers and sisters too.”
As she spoke, she pulled out another storage pouch right in front of Wang Xiu’s shocked expression.
With a shake, a clinking pile of spirit stones formed a small mountain before him.
“This… this… this is…”
Wang Xiu was utterly speechless.
If what Ye Qingyi said was true—that these were just a fraction of the pills and spirit stones Master had given her—then it was enough to show how much she meant to their Master.
Had he really been helping Senior Sister Shen Qian target Ye Qingyi, thinking he could pull it off flawlessly and evade their Master’s Nascent Soul-level perception?
If Ye Qingyi was lying, and she was just a naive good person trying to buy his favor by bleeding herself dry, then why would he still help Senior Sister Shen Qian go after her?
After all, who could have bad intentions after mastering the Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique?
Senior Sister Shen Qian had only let her Dao heart be clouded by greed, giving in to malicious thoughts toward Ye Qingyi.
He should stop her, not act as her accomplice and watch her sink deeper into the abyss.
Wang Xiu took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Ye Qingyi.
“I appreciate your kindness, Senior Sister, but I don’t deserve it.”
He straightened up, his gaze now clear.
“Your Dao heart is pure, a model for all of us. Today, by your guidance, I have gained much. I will repay you in the future.”
With that, he turned and left without looking back.
All that was left was a bewildered Ye Qingyi and a speechless Ye Chu.
So this was what they meant by “good deeds bring good fortune”?
Ye Chu was fuming.
Why?
Why was it that in his past life, he did so many good deeds, saved so many people, and ended up hunted, betrayed, and abandoned?
On the verge of death, he’d even been bitten by a Mist Beast!
And Ye Qingyi, with just a few bottles of pills and a pile of spirit stones, had someone walking away grateful, saying things like “pure Dao heart, a model for all of us”?
Why?!
“He… just left like that?”
Ye Qingyi’s voice rang out in the sea of consciousness, tinged with confusion.
There was no response from the sea of consciousness.
“Ye Chu?”
Still nothing.
Ye Qingyi was a bit baffled.
What was he up to?
Just as she was about to call out again, Ye Chu’s voice finally came through.
“Don’t bother me. I’m thinking about life.”
“Thinking about what?”
“Why good people don’t get good endings.”
Ye Qingyi paused, then burst into laughter.
“What are you laughing at?”
Ye Chu’s voice carried a hint of indignation.
“I’m telling the truth. Look at me—how many good deeds did I do in my past life? How many people did I save? And what happened? I got hunted, betrayed, abandoned—and on my deathbed, a Mist Beast bit me!”
“Now look at you. A few bottles of pills and a pile of spirit stones, and he’s gone, grateful, saying your Dao heart is pure and you’re a model for all of us.”
“Why?”
Ye Qingyi twitched the corner of her mouth, a strange thought crossing her mind.
“Are you… jealous?”
“Jealous?”
Ye Chu’s voice shot up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“I, Ye Chu, have always walked upright and aboveboard for ten thousand years—why would I be jealous of you?”
“Then what did all that mean?”
“…”
Ye Qingyi sat down on a stone stool, resting her chin on her hand, unable to suppress a slight smile.
“Alright, fine. You’re right—good people don’t get good endings. So was I wrong to give away those pills and spirit stones just now?”
“Give them away.”
Ye Chu’s reply was crisp and decisive, as if he’d already made up his mind.
“You had to. How else would you show your generosity? How else would you show that Master values you? How else would you piss off that Shen Qian?”
Ye Qingyi was stunned.
“…How did we suddenly get back to Shen Qian? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Ye Qingyi was left speechless.
“How did we suddenly get back to Shen Qian? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Ye Chu smirked mysteriously—though Ye Qingyi couldn’t see it, she could feel his smug little glee.
“This old man here used a little trick to read Wang Xiu’s thoughts.”
“You want to hear?”
He paused, his tone dripping with obvious mischief.
“Beg me! Beg me, and I’ll tell you.”
With a small maneuver, Ye Chu had already overheard Wang Xiu’s thoughts.
Combined with the gossip he’d gathered last night by ceaselessly eavesdropping on the disciples of the Taiyi Sacred Sect, he had pieced together the whole truth.
Now all he needed was for Ye Qingyi to say one word: “Please, I want to hear.”
Then he could spill it all!
But instead, Ye Qingyi frowned, turned her head away, and said flatly, “Oh. No begging. No listen.”
Ye Chu gasped.
“??? Can’t you play along for once?”
Ye Qingyi smiled faintly.
“Oh. No begging. No listen.”
…
In the end, after Ye Chu’s vivid, embellished, and wildly gesturing explanation, Ye Qingyi finally slammed her hand on the table.
“I’m going to find Shen Qian!”
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
Ye Chu asked, his tone turning unusually serious.
Ye Qingyi took a deep breath.
“Wang Xiu is taken care of, at least. He won’t help Shen Qian hurt me anymore. But Shen Qian herself is still around.”
Without Ye Chu, she probably wouldn’t have even known how wicked this senior sister was!
“What are you going to do? Will she listen to reason?”
“If she won’t, she won’t.”
Ye Qingyi rubbed her hands together.
“But I need to let her know—I know it was her. Otherwise, she’ll keep striking from the shadows, and I won’t be able to guard against it.”
“So your little goal is?”
“Make her come out into the open.”
Ye Qingyi grinned.
“As long as she openly breaks with me, I’ll feel much safer.”
Ye Chu was silent for two seconds, then said with a hint of surprise, “…That’s actually a good approach. But are you sure you can beat her?”
“I can’t.”
Ye Qingyi said it matter-of-factly, as if stating an obvious truth.
“But I can call for backup.”
“Who?”
“Master.”
Ye Chu was stunned.
“What’s that look for?”
Ye Qingyi raised an eyebrow.
“If I have a powerful backer, why wouldn’t I use it? A cultivator in the new era needs to know how to protect themselves with the law—sect rules say that if a personal disciple is bullied, the master can’t just stand by, right?”
She spoke with righteous conviction, but the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
Because she knew that saying this was kind of shameless.
But who cared about being shameless?
Being shameless could save her life.
Ye Chu let out a deep sigh.
“You… you’re terrifyingly sharp sometimes, and other times suffocatingly stupid.”
Ye Qingyi stiffened her neck.
“This is called ‘great wisdom seems foolish’!”