Ye Chu’s muscles tensed in an instant, every muscle fiber contracting simultaneously.
He raised his right hand, fingers spread open, intending to grab the sword tip with his bare hands.
“Arrogant!”
A flash of anger passed through the ghostly figure’s eyes.
She had seen arrogance, but never like this.
A remnant soul, reduced to a mere wisp and residing in a Foundation Establishment stage girl’s body, against a Nascent Soul peak full-force sword strike, and he wants to catch it with bare hands?
This is too insulting!
The clang of metal rang out in the air.
At the moment the sword tip collided with his palm, a visible ring of air rippled outward.
Qin Qiwu’s skirt fluttered in the wind, and she subconsciously stepped back twice.
Ye Chu’s arm tingled slightly, but he didn’t budge; only the bluestone beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb.
The ghostly figure’s pupils contracted.
He actually caught it?
Although this strike had no spell augmentation and was merely powered by her own spiritual energy and physique, it was still at least seventy percent of her strength.
But Ye Chu caught it.
And he caught it with bare hands.
….
The attacker was at Nascent Soul peak.
If not for Ye Qingyi mastering the Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique and increasing her strength, Ye Chu wouldn’t have been able to catch it so effortlessly.
He raised his head and looked at the newcomer.
A woman in black with long legs stood three feet in front of him.
She wore a black veil, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes.
Her long hair was tied in a high ponytail, and at her waist hung a slender sword, its scabbard engraved with the emblem of the Return to Void Pavilion.
“Heh.”
Her voice came from behind the veil, tinged with coldness.
“I never expected the once-foremost Body Cultivator of years past, now just a soul residing in a Foundation Establishment girl’s body, could still exhibit such strength.”
Because of the veil, Ye Chu couldn’t see her face clearly, but he actually knew.
This person was probably the guard Qin Ye sent to secretly protect Qin Qiwu.
Since this guard knew Ye Chu’s identity and had just stood up for her young lady, it meant it was Qin Ye’s intention.
He was warning Ye Chu, telling him not to set his sights on his precious daughter, but also not to let his precious daughter get hurt.
Ye Chu sighed.
It’s so hard being human!
“Kong Qing, don’t be rude.”
Qin Qiwu raised her petite right hand, blocking the ghostly figure who wanted to continue attacking.
‘So her name is Kong Qing.’
“But miss, he just made you…”
Kong Qing could not bear to see Qin Qiwu wronged.
Not Ye Chu, not even the finest man in the world.
Whoever dared make the Return to Void Pavilion’s young lady cry deserved to die!
Return to Void was the number one intelligence organization in the cultivation world.
Not to mention the unique nature of the intelligence industry, holding the top spot meant it had endured countless blood and fire.
Before leaving, the leader had instructed her that anyone who made Qin Qiwu cry must be sent to the grave in the next moment.
“I said, don’t be rude.”
Qin Qiwu’s voice was soft but filled with the authority of a superior.
Kong Qing sheathed her sword but did not retreat.
She stood half a step to the side of Qin Qiwu, her hand still on the sword hilt, releasing one finger at a time, then gripping again one by one, knuckles whitening.
This posture ensured she could strike the next blow at any moment.
But in the end, she did not act.
Because Qin Qiwu told her to stop.
….
“Alright, I understand.”
Qin Qiwu bit her lip and said softly.
Ye Chu didn’t know if her ‘understand’ was the same as his understanding, but before he could open his mouth to ask what she understood…
Qin Qiwu clenched her little fist as if making up her mind.
“I’ll go for now. See you later.”
Then she turned and left.
Qin Qiwu had figured it out.
Although it was a pity that Ye Chu didn’t fall for her at first sight, there was still plenty of time.
Her father had said, if you like something, you must seize it by any means necessary.
A forced melon may not be sweet, but it quenches thirst.
First solve the problem of having, then consider the problem of quality…
She was determined to have Ye Chu!
…
After escorting Qin Qiwu away, Kong Qing still turned back and stared at Ye Chu with a sharp gaze.
Even though the other was wearing a black veil, Ye Chu was certain.
The look in her eyes said, “You’d better keep your distance from my young lady, or I’ll kill you.”
To that, Ye Chu decided to comply with her opinion.
After all, although he wasn’t afraid of Kong Qing causing him trouble, he was truly afraid that old man Qin Ye, with his lifespan running out, would come after him with a celestial artifact.
Can’t withstand it, really can’t.
….
Qin Qiwu’s figure disappeared into the night.
Ye Chu breathed a sigh of relief and was about to let Ye Qingyi take over the body.
But from the sea of consciousness came Ye Qingyi’s faint voice: “Ye Chu.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you… like this with every girl? A heart-igniting arsonist, saving someone and then leaving them?”
Ye Chu was taken aback.
He felt his brow twitch involuntarily.
“What do you mean? Is it wrong to save people?”
“Nothing.”
Ye Qingyi’s voice dropped.
“I just think that Qin Qiwu is quite pitiful…”
Ye Chu was silent for a moment.
“You can’t force feelings like this. Don’t you know that?”
“Of course I know.”
Ye Qingyi said in her heart, but the rest of the sentence never left her lips—’I just don’t want to… become like her someday.’
Ye Qingyi changed the subject.
“How did you save Qin Qiwu back then?”
“I don’t know.”
Ye Chu was mentally exhausted, his voice tinged with weariness.
“I’ve done too many good deeds in the past. It’s impossible to remember the face of everyone I saved. If I had seen her, I should have remembered.”
Ye Qingyi: “Then how is your relationship with her father?”
“So-so.”
Ye Chu raised his hand and rubbed his brow.
“Friends across generations, but not to the point of confiding everything.”
“What kind of force is the Return to Void Pavilion? It seems very impressive, to find your location so quickly.”
Ye Chu gave a brief explanation—Qin Ye, a Mahayana stage peak cultivator, was already among the strongest ten thousand years ago.
The Return to Void Pavilion was the intelligence organization he founded, claiming that as long as you had enough spirit stones, they could find any information.
After hearing this, Ye Qingyi perked up.
“Since your relationship is good, can you ask about the location of Xuanhai or a way home?”
“Sure.”
Ye Chu’s mouth twitched slightly.
“Do you have spirit stones? A whole lot of spirit stones.”
Ye Qingyi was embarrassed.
“I don’t think I have enough…”
She was silent for a moment, then had a sudden inspiration.
“Why don’t you sell your looks? Let Qin Qiwu help you?”
Ye Chu was speechless.
“Seduce the son of your best friend? Can you do such a thing?”
“…”
“A young punk trying to deceive your daughter’s feelings right under your nose, what would you do?”
“…”
“Her father is at Mahayana stage, though his lifespan is short, beating us is like child’s play. Are you sure you want me to sell my looks?”
Ye Qingyi gave an awkward laugh.
“Then… forget it.”
She paused, then said, “But seriously… what are you going to do from now on?”
“What about what?”
“Just… what if she comes looking for you again?”
Ye Chu was silent.
“We’ll talk about it later.”
This problem was a bit tricky.
He couldn’t reject Qin Qiwu too harshly, otherwise both Qin Qiwu herself and her father Qin Ye could cause him a lot of unnecessary trouble.
The biggest fear was that even after clearly rejecting Qin Qiwu, she still wouldn’t give up, leading to even greater trouble.
Although this sounded a bit like an arrogant man, Ye Chu was never ashamed of it.
After all, if a man is very ordinary and lacks confidence, how can he achieve success?
In short, Ye Chu couldn’t think of any good solution for now.
He decided to set it aside for a while.