Chapter 252: Senior brother failed to enjoy himself
The moon faded as the sun rose, and the melodious chirping of kingfishers in the forest signalled the start of a new day.
An oriole fluttered into the cave, seeming to discover something. It tilted its head, hopped onto a small raised hill, and pecked at the mud on the ground.
Chi Chi…
Boom—
In the next moment, a lean arm burst out of the soil, startling the oriole, which leapt three feet and flew out of the cave entrance.
With held breath, Ye Anping vigorously pushed his head upward, breaking through the soil and gravel covering the top, and emerged from the pit. The sunlight streaming into the cave splashed onto his face, making it hard for him to open his eyes at first. After pausing for a moment, he climbed out of the pit and surveyed the makeshift hideout he created yesterday, feeling a sense of bewilderment.
Yesterday, to evade the pursuing Sword Sect disciples, he had taken refuge with his junior sister inside the rocky terrain, sealing the cave entrance, and then fell asleep while holding her.
But why…
Ye Anping turned his head to look at the square hole resembling a grave behind him, then at the clearly scorched granite at the cave entrance. After some speculation, he roughly guessed what happened here while he was unconscious.
—The Sword Sect disciples happened to discover the cave and used magic to force it open. His junior sister dug a pit to hide him underground, and then she led the group away and returned to Xiri Peak.
Although his junior sister’s actions were reasonable, burying one’s Daoist companion in the ground after their first night together…
This was unheard of. Ye Anping showed a hint of helplessness, then stepped out of the cave, arriving at the side of the cliff to gaze at the winter morning scene of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect, hoping to clear his groggy mind.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to the unfulfillment of yesterday’s events, he inexplicably recalled the unconscious chirping of birds, the fragrant and slightly sweet lips, and the flawless line of white jade from yesterday.
Snap—
Ye Anping raised his hand and slapped himself, then rubbed his face,
“Ye Anping set aside these emotions… Yesterday was an anomaly, and it caused such a stir. Now, you should be wary of whether last night’s events will affect the bigger picture rather than lingering… Lust clouding the mind is a major taboo on the immortal path…”
He felt as if his mind had been stolen, and his previously clear logic and train of thought had become muddled.
Didn’t others say that the sage mode helped one think calmly?
Ye Anping looked at his tense little brother with some speechlessness. Originally, Elder Wang of the Xuanxing Sect told him that he needed to find a Daoist companion who was one or two realms higher than him. Otherwise, the Daoist companion would likely run away to their parents’ house every three days.
He hadn’t taken it seriously at first, thinking it was an exaggeration. But after last night’s events, he realized that Elder Wang might not have been trying to scare him. People generally wished for their spear to be as powerful as a dragon’s, enduring for a long time, but too much power was still a problem.
“Huh… I wonder if there’s any pill to help with premature ejaculation in this world… Even if there were, it’s unlikely anyone would make it…”
Ye Anping sighed softly, then looked back at Xiri Peak. From a distance, it looked much the same as usual, with many disciples already up and heading to the martial arts field for class.
After some contemplation, he returned to the cave, finding that his junior sister had taken all his storage bags. He picked up a stone and left a message for her in the secret code he had taught her before, then headed back in the direction of Jianjiu Peak.
Yun Yiyi should have awakened by now, and she was quite sharp. If she woke up and found him gone and then heard about the attack on Xiri Peak, she would surely guess that he was the one who forced his way in yesterday.
Furthermore, he also drugged Yun Yiyi. As long as she wished it, she could have the Sword Sect disciples lock him up in the sky prison for interrogation with a wave of her hand.
As Ye Anping hurried back, he furrowed his brows, deeply contemplating the current situation. From a logical standpoint, when his vitality surged, he should have opted to engage in mutual cultivation with Yun Yiyi. However, perhaps due to conflicting inner motives, he ultimately chose to ascend Xiri Peak to seek out his junior sister forcefully. Undoubtedly, this was the least favourable course of action.
Nevertheless, instead of lamenting past events, it was more productive to contemplate how to rectify the situation.
“Phew—hopefully, nothing chaotic will arise.”
In the garden behind Sword Wine Peak’s Cloud Winery, mournful melodies of the ancient zither drifted, evoking tears from the surrounding spirit flowers, causing their buds to droop.
Yun Yiyi sat cross-legged under a pavilion, her eyes closed as she played the zither, reminiscing about the events of the previous night. A sharp pain gripped her chest as two tears trickled down from her eyes, falling onto her fair hand.
This was the first time Huang Quan, standing nearby, had seen her mistress so distraught. Though she hadn’t witnessed the events of the previous night, Huang Quan could surmise that something had happened between the young miss and her uncle.
As the melody ceased, Huang Quan poured a cup of hot tea and approached, kneeling beside Yun Yiyi and offering the cup.
“Miss, please have some tea.”
Yun Yiyi didn’t take the cup. Instead, she grasped the zither strings, scrutinizing Huang Quan with narrowed eyes.
“Huang Quan, during my three days of unconsciousness, did Young Master Ye say anything to you?”
Huang Quan broke out in a sweat upon her mistress’s inquiry and replied, “I was just attending to the young master’s needs.”
“I didn’t instruct you to attend to Young Master Ye’s needs, and he stated upon arrival that he preferred not to have maidservants hovering around.”
“It was Young Master Ye who asked me to serve.”
Yun Yiyi’s brow furrowed deeper, and suspicions began to form in her mind. She questioned, “How did you serve?”
“Just grooming, fetching water, changing clothes…” Huang Quan bit her lip nervously. “And warming the bed.”
Yun Yiyi’s eyes widened in disbelief. Huang Quan quickly clarified, “Just warming the bed. There was no intimacy! I swear!”
“Really!” Yun Yiyi threatened. “I can have a doctor examine you. Think carefully before you answer.”
“It’s true! If you don’t believe me, I’ll have Senior Chen from Sword Wine Peak examine front of you.”
“What else did you discuss?”
“Nothing significant.”
Yun Yiyi scrutinized her for a moment, then sighed heavily, shaking her head in frustration. “It seems the issue lies elsewhere. I made my intentions clear last night, yet he remained indifferent. After this incident, how will he view me? Seems like I’ve been too forceful. Huang Quan, inform him on my behalf that our engagement is off, and I will arrange for him to be escorted back to the Hundred Lotus Sect.”
Huang Quan could only respond with an understanding expression. When Huang Quan heard this, her eyes widened suddenly, and she roughly guessed what had happened last night. The eldest lady must have intended to reveal herself, but her brother-in-law remained indifferent and even knocked her out, leaving her to sleep alone in the guest room.
Today, she searched for a long time before finding the eldest lady, and she had no idea where her brother-in-law had gone now…
Huang Quan hesitated for a moment, seeing that the eldest lady was about to call off the engagement. After a moment of thought, she quickly spoke up,
“Miss… It’s not as you think! My brother-in-law is…”
At the moment Huang Quan said these words, Yun Yiyi’s previously sorrowful and regretful expression disappeared instantly, replaced by a serious demeanour as if she had just staged a melodrama.
“He is!”
“Ah…”
Huang Quan also realized that the eldest lady had deceived her. She immediately pursed her lips and lowered her head, attempting to change the subject,
“Why did the young lady deceive this servant?”
“You are lucky that you were only deceived.” Yun Yiyi looked at her coldly. “If it weren’t for the fact that you’ve been with me since childhood, I would have had someone drag you out and break your legs. A maid hiding an impure relationship between her master and her uncle…”
“No… it’s not impure! I just…”
“What did Young Master Ye tell you?”
“Well…” Huang Quan recalled what Ye Anping had told her that day. “Miss, please don’t tell brother-in-law, okay? I really just follow my brother-in-law’s orders…”
“Is he sick?”
“Sick!”
“Yes, my brother-in-law can’t perform, so I’ve been secretly making medicine for him every night. He says it’s because of his cultivation technique and other reasons…”
“Really!”
Yun Yiyi was stunned. She hadn’t considered this possibility at all. But if it were true, then Ye Anping’s coldness towards her would be understandable. So it was not that he disliked her, but that he was impotent…
The gloom in Yun Yiyi’s heart suddenly dissipated. Though impotence was a problem, it could be treated. If the Sword Sect couldn’t help, she would take Ye Anping to the Tai Bai Sect or the Xuanxing Sect. There would surely be a way to cure him.
“So that’s it… I misunderstood.”
“Miss.” Huang Quan swallowed nervously, whispering, “Shouldn’t you pretend not to know about this? It’s a matter of a man’s dignity.”
“I certainly won’t disclose it.” Yun Yiyi looked at Huang Quan, her expression softening. “Huang Quan, you don’t have to hide anymore. Later, I’ll give you a prescription. You can go to the alchemy hall at Zhongfeng and take some medicine secretly to put into Young Master Ye’s tea.”
“Ah! Do I have to put it in his tea secretly? Can’t I just give it to him directly?”
“Of course, it has to be done secretly.” Yun Yiyi shook her head slightly. “Young Master Ye is very clever. If you give him the medicine directly, he’ll wonder where it came from and eventually figure out that I gave it to you.”
“Miss, do you mind my brother-in-law’s illness?”
“I don’t.”
Yun Yiyi shook her head slightly, covering her face with her hands, murmuring,
“Even if he’s disabled and confined to bed for life, I would still choose to marry him… I think I now understand my mother’s feelings for my father. Love is inexplicable…”
“…”
“Huang Quan, tell me, why did my mother fall for my father, that rotten man?”
How could I dare to answer that question…
Huang Quan immediately shrank back and shook her head vigorously, indicating that she didn’t know.
Swish—
As the two spoke, several flying swords suddenly descended from the sky. Four disciples wearing Zhongfeng’s golden and white robes entered from the back garden gate and approached Yun Yiyi. They bowed respectfully,
“Greetings, Miss.”
Yun Yiyi felt a little puzzled. She knew that the elders had sent many people to protect her. Nearly seven cultivators in the middle and early stages of core formation patrolled around Yishui Peak day and night. However, the four people who had just arrived were even more advanced in cultivation, all disciples of the False Infant Realm. She glanced at them and asked,
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Yun Yiyi asked in disbelief.
“Three disciples at the Core-formation stage died in Xiri Peak last night. Aunt Pei was kidnapped, and the third lady also disappeared,” Came the reply.
“Three disciples who were in the alchemy stage died?”
“Yes, they were all shot through the heart by an arrow, and they couldn’t even fight back. The attacker is probably a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“Give me more details.”
“Last night, when the third lady and Aunt Pei were taking a bath in the new house, a cultivator with a mask suddenly broke in and kidnapped Master Pei. Four of the seven junior brothers and sisters who were guarding Xiri Peak were divided into four groups to pursue, leaving three at Xiri Peak to protect the Third Miss.”
“So, the three people left behind were attacked by a Nascent Soul cultivator!”
“Yes, at that time, many Xiri Peak disciples followed Aunt Pei to pursue him. The attacker took advantage of the situation, killing three Core-formation disciples and taking away the third lady.”
“Is there any clue about the person who broke into Xiri Peak and took Pei Lianxue away?”
“No… Aunt Pei escaped on his own. The junior brothers followed Aunt Pei’s instructions to chase him, but they couldn’t find any trace.”
“So…”
At that moment, Ye Anping walked in from the garden gate. Since he didn’t have a flying sword and had to rely on his body to fly, he was covered in sweat and looked a little cluttered.
Upon seeing the four False Infant Realm Sword Sect disciples standing in front of Yun Yiyi, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. Something must have happened last night.
Yun Yiyi and Ye Anping exchanged glances, both showing a hint of embarrassment on their faces. After Yun Yiyi cleared her throat, she broke the silence between them and said,
“Young Master Ye, come over and listen. There was an incident at Xiri Peak last night. Yun Xi was kidnapped.”
“…”
Ye Anping squinted slightly and quickly approached, bowing to the four individuals. The four continued to narrate what happened last night to Yun Yiyi. After listening to about half of it, Ye Anping almost understood the situation.
When he took his junior sister away, he lured away half of the core formation disciples in Xiri Peak. Then Zhuang Yan took advantage of the situation, killing three core formation disciples, and quietly took away Yun Xi.
Ye Anping felt a little exhausted. He had a hunch that Zhuang Yan would take action soon, but because the Sword Sect incident was different from the game’s development, he needed help to predict when and what Zhuang Yan would do. But now he knew.
In the game, Zhuang Yan refined a completely evil pill containing the blood essence of the three little ones of the Yun family, allowing him to open the restriction of Qianjian Pond and enter it.
Zhuang Yan had a crippled evil pill, so he had to kidnap Yun Xi and force her to use blood essence and the Leaves Shadow Sword Technique to open the restriction of Qianjian Pond.
Thinking of this, Ye Anping breathed a sigh of relief. This situation was slightly beyond expectations, but it was still within the framework of his plan, though some steps needed to be advanced slightly.
But then again, that girl was really unlucky…
Was Yun Xi’s luck that bad in the game?
…
