Chapter 280: He Zhang’s Suggestion, Qin Lingyu’s Ploy

Translator: Minotauruz

When “Qin Shanshan” grew increasingly aggravated in her spiel earlier, Ye Xiuwen had already begun to develop a bad premonition of what was to come, and his eyelids had also started twitching. Then, before he could do anything else, “Qin Shanshan” grabbed his left hand and dropped the bombshell like a bolt of lightning that struck out of the blue.

Even though he knew that “Qin Shanshan” was doing all of this to help him, he was unable to stop his face from twitching uncontrollably when the disciples around him began to cast peculiar glances at him. It took him almost all of his strength to suppress the urge to retract his hand from “Qin Shanshan’s” grasp.

Truth be told, Ye Xiuwen had never held hands with anyone after all these years. Even Jun Xiaomo, with whom he could be described to be the closest to, had only ever grabbed or clung on to his arms, and the physical contact was still separated by the thin layer of his clothes at that time.

This was primarily due to the fact that Ye Xiuwen was somewhat of a germophobe, and he did not appreciate it when a person drew too close to him. Despite that, “Qin Shanshan” had done the outrageous deed out of the blue, leaving him so perplexed and shocked that he did not even have the time to react to her actions.

Then, as he examined the peculiar gazes which he was receiving, he could tell that all of them sincerely believed without any modicum of doubt “Qin Shanshan’s” allegation that they had done the deed between married couples. Moreover, he knew that if he stood up right now and denied this, not only would he stand in the own way of his goals, others might even begin to think that he was trying to shirk responsibility for what he had done.

Thus, Ye Xiuwen sighed in his heart, and he gradually collected and repressed the instinctual thoughts of any rejection and denial.

The Dawn Sect disciples continued to sweep their peculiar and suggestive gazes on Jun Xiaomo and Ye Xiuwen, vacillating between the two for some time. Then, finally, as though in tacit agreement, a knowing, mischievous smile crept up the corner of their lips – No wonder they vanished from the inn for the entire night last night! So they had been indulging in the carnal pleasures of this world as well. But truth be told, Qin Shanshan is rather pretty. It’s just that her personality is the worst. Otherwise, I’m sure that the number of people lining up for Qin Shanshan’s attention and affection would be sufficient to circle around the entire Dawn Sect’s grounds twice.

Such a pity...such a pity...

Several Dawn Sect disciples concluded that it was a pity in their hearts. However, it was unclear whether they found it a pity that the flower that was Qin Shanshan had finally been picked up by an outsider; or whether they found it a pity that such an outstanding character like Jun Ziwen who possessed the trifecta of strength, character and dignified looks would fall for such a willful and rambunctious lady like Qin Shanshan.

Qin Lingyu was even more incensed. Regardless of whether Qin Shanshan’s words were truth or lie, he could tell that she had only spoken about such shameful deeds in front of everyone just so that she could fight for Jun Ziwen’s rights to enter the Sect.

At this moment, Qin Lingyu felt as though his authority as the older brother among the two was being challenged, and there was no place for him to hide his face at all. To make matters worse, this problem was particularly aggravated by the fact that the people on their neighboring tables who had overheard the commotion here had begun to chime in, suggesting that he acknowledges the young couple in front of them. He had reached his boiling point.

Bang! Qin Lingyu slammed on the table in front of him, causing it to crack in several locations. The entire dining hall was silenced, almost as though a Noise-Cancelling Talisman had just been applied at the same time to everyone around. The busybodies who were chiming in had immediately turned back to their own tables to mind their own businesses.

Qin Lingyu stood up. The veins on his head and neck were ostensibly bulging and throbbing as he glared at “Qin Shanshan”, “Qin Shanshan, I know you’re obstinate, and I can’t outtalk you. But don’t blame me for not warning you – this man isn’t the right person for you. When the day comes that he abandons you, don’t you dare come crying back to me. This is all on you!”

As he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and stormed off back to his own room.

After he left, the Dawn Sect turned their attention back to the table that was now full of broken cups, shattered dishes and food that was all over the place. They exchanged glances sheepishly, before standing up silently and leaving their seats. They were going to look for a different place to settle their own lunch.

On the other hand, the innkeeper looked at the cracked table and shattered pieces of cups and dishes with a pained expression in his eyes as he thought – What a misfortune! When I saw how these people were so well-dressed and dignified-looking earlier, I’d thought that I’d struck a pot of gold. Yet these people have already destroyed a number of tables and dinner wares in just half a day.

The profit from those dishes can’t even begin to compensate the losses for these tables. What dumb luck. What a misfortune...

As the innkeeper immersed himself in his misery, a long, outstretched arm suddenly appeared in front of him, holding out several mid-grade spirit stones.

“Innkeeper, this is for you. Consider it our compensation for the trouble we’d caused today.” The cool, clear voice echoed from above the innkeeper’s head. The innkeeper looked up. To his surprise, he discovered that the person speaking right now was none other than the person at the heart of all the gossip today! Who would have thought, despite this man’s cold and distant appearances, that he still possessed such a warm heart? He was the only one who had noticed all of the inn’s losses so far.

The innkeeper received the spirit stones from Ye Xiuwen gratefully and thanked Ye Xiuwen repeatedly. Then, waving his arms, Ye Xiuwen turned to leave.

There was a little, obsequious character skipping alongside him – it was none other than “Qin Shanshan” who had played her role earlier to perfection.

“Pleased?” After walking for a bit, Ye Xiuwen suddenly turned to ask Jun Xiaomo as she strolled alongside him.

“Mm, that’s right. Very pleased.” Jun Xiaomo’s eyes curled up as she replied. Her delight was so evident that it was difficult to ignore, even if Ye Xiuwen wanted to.

However, Ye Xiuwen raised his eyebrows curiously, “Why?”

Jun Xiaomo stuck out her tongue at Ye Xiuwen as she mischievously responded, “Don’t you think that Qin Lingyu’s multitude of brilliant expressions earlier were incredibly funny? And he looked so stifled because he had to bottle up everything too! There was no place for him to vent his frustrations! It’s just hilarious! Hahahaha...”

Ye Xiuwen shook his head in exasperation, but a similar trace of bemusement crept up the depths of his eyes.

“That’s right, you don’t seem to like Qin Lingyu very much, do you?” Ye Xiuwen recalled “Qin Shanshan’s” earlier attitude, and something told him that she had not done all of that just to help him.

Rather than to say she was fulfilling her own desires; it might be more accurate to say that one of her goals was simply to antagonize Qin Lingyu.

A smile crept up Jun Xiaomo’s lips, “That’s right. He’s a thorn in my side. As for the reason...I can’t tell you for now.” As she finished speaking, she picked up her pace and walked ahead of Ye Xiuwen.

Ye Xiuwen was taken slightly aback by her response. He chuckled to himself helplessly, before picking up his pace and catching up to Jun Xiaomo.

“Oh yes, where are we going to now?” Jun Xiaomo turned towards Ye Xiuwen once more as she blinked curiously.

“We haven’t had lunch, had we? Let’s go grab lunch elsewhere.”

“That’s true. It’s all Qin Lingyu’s fault. My stomach is still growling right now.” Jun Xiaomo pouted her lips. Then, moments later, she turned towards Ye Xiuwen once more with a mischievous smile on her face, “It’s your treat! Take it as payment for the favour I’d lent to you earlier, hmm? What do you say?”

“Certainly. Let’s go.” Ye Xiuwen smiled warmly.

“Oh yeah! I wanna go take a look at the street food shops there...”

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On the other side, Qin Lingyu stormed off back into his room after Jun Xiaomo’s relentless provocations. As time wore on, the roiling rage in his eyes gradually diminished.

After deliberating for a moment, he retrieved the internal correspondence Transmittance Talisman and sent a message to He Zhang. Within moments, He Zhang responded.

“Lingyu, what’s the matter?” He Zhang spoke through the other end of the Transmittance Talisman with a frigid tone of voice.

“Master, I’d returned early this year. On the way back, I crossed paths with Shanshan and the rest of her entourage, and I noticed that Shanshan’s condition is rather strange. Furthermore, there’s a stranger travelling together with them.”

“Stranger?” He Zhang paused mid-sentence, as though pondering about something, “Tell me more. What kind of a stranger is this?”

“His strength is formidable. Even with my abilities at the Golden Core stage of cultivation, I can’t see what level his cultivation is at. Most importantly, his disposition and aura are both extremely similar to that of a person that I hate.”

“...and that is?”

“Ye Xiuwen.”

The other end of the Transmittance Talisman grew silent. In fact, it remained silent for such a long time that Qin Lingyu had thought that their communication had been cut off when He Zhang finally responded, “Are you referring to...Jun Linxuan’s First-Seat Disciple who had fallen into the Death’s Gorge, Ye Xiuwen?”

“Yes. That’s him.”

At this moment, He Zhang began to laugh wildly at the other end of the Transmittance Talisman. Even though his laughter was loud, it was a cold and chilling laughter, “Lingyu, what are you being so worried about? Do you think there’s any possibility that a person is able to return alive after falling into the depths of the Death’s Gorge?”

“This...”

“Hmph. Even someone in the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation is fated to perish if he fell into the Death’s Gorge, much less the young sprout that Ye Xiuwen is! Back when he fell into the Death’s Gorge, he wasn’t even at the Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation, was he? What do you have to be afraid of?!” He Zhang retorted with some measure of resentfulness.

Qin Lingyu’s expressions darkened. However, when all was said and done, He Zhang was his master, and he dared not refute his words at all. “Disciple isn’t afraid. Disciple just thinks that we’re in a slightly more delicate situation right now. We’re already prepared and poised to capture Jun Linxuan and his men should they take our bait. Then, all of a sudden, a person with the same disposition and aura as Ye Xiuwen appears without any warning. Is this really just a coincidence? Disciple thinks that there’s no reason not to be vigilant against this man.”

“So what? Even if he’s Ye Xiuwen, do you think that he can enter the Dawn Sect all by himself?” He Zhang retorted disdainfully.

“The problem lies with my sister.” Qin Lingyu furrowed his brows as he explained, “Shanshan has fallen for that man, and she’s even proclaimed that they’ve done the deed between married couples. She insists on bringing him as a guest into the Dawn Sect.”

“You’re talking about that troublemaking sister of yours?” He Zhang evidently despised Qin Shanshan, and his tone of voice was incredibly frigid, “Disciple, if you’re going to achieve great things in life, you’ve got to shed this unnecessary baggage of yours. If your sister becomes too willful and headstrong, there’s no reason for you to continue to watch over her and protect her like that.”

In other words, He Zhang was suggesting for Qin Lingyu to let her live and die of her own accord.

A cold gleam flickered in the depths of Qin Lingyu’s eyes. However, through the Transmittance Talisman, He Zhang was unable to see the contempt in the depths of Qin Lingyu eyes.

Qin Lingyu was far more mindful of such a principle than He Zhang thought he was. In fact, he had already been prepared to cut off all ties with his sister Qin Shanshan since a long time ago. Unfortunately, he needed the Origin Locket that was in Qin Shanshan’s possession in order to unlock the Arcane Realm. Thus, he knew that he could not afford to let Qin Shanshan perish.

At the very least, he could not let Qin Shanshan perish before he managed to reforge the key to the Arcane Realm.

That said, he knew that all of these were not things he could disclose to He Zhang at all. After all, the Arcane Realm was a highly coveted place that everyone longed to gain access to. He knew that if He Zhang learnt about this potential access to the Arcane Realm, there was no way he would let Qin Lingyu or Qin Shanshan off alive. In other words, the day that He Zhang learnt of the Arcane Realm was also the day when the siblings’ fate was sealed.

It was evident that a like master begets a like disciple.

Qin Lingyu drew a deep breath, before addressing the issue from a different perspective, “She’s still my sister after all...”

“Master knows that. I’m not asking you to cut off all ties with your family.” He Zhang explained with a harmonious tone of voice, almost as though he did not bear any disdain for Qin Lingyu’s lingering familial ties, “How about this – if Qin Shanshan insists on bringing that man back into the Sect, why not just let her?”

“But, master...” Qin Lingyu had never expected his master to just agree to Qin Shanshan’s request. Qin Lingyu was still thinking of how he would use He Zhang to get rid of Jun Ziwen.

“Lingyu, if master personally makes a move against that man, perhaps Shanshan might hate you for the rest of her life. But, if he perished in the Sect’s protective formation array, then there’s no reason for her to blame you at all. Do you understand what I’m getting at?” He Zhang patiently broke down the gist of his suggestion.

Qin Lingyu’s eyes brightened, “Master is saying...”

“Everyone passing through the Sect’s protective formation array needs to carry the Dawn Sect’s identity tokens with them. Otherwise, the formation array would attack them, and any trespassers might even find themselves trapped within the Sect’s formation array and left to die alone. You’ve got a few extra identity tokens with you on hand, right? You could pretend to allow that man to enter, but discreetly tamper with the identity token you hand over to him. Don’t worry. Even if he were so fortunate to be able to breach the Dawn Sect’s protective formation arrays, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s just but a single person. Do you think he’ll be able to leave the Sect so easily? He might be strong, but is he stronger than the Dawn Sect’s Sect Elders, combined?”

As realization swept across Qin Lingyu, it also washed away the earlier darkened expression on his face.

“Disciple finally understands. Thank you, master!”

“Haha, you little brat. You’re still far too young and inexperienced...hahahahaha...” Just as He Zhang’s boisterous laughter began to fade away from the Transmittance Talisman, a macabre smile began to creep up the corner of Qin Lingyu’s lips.

Jun Ziwen, you’re dead!