Chapter 314: First Encounter, Zhang Shuyue’s Dedication and Obsession

Translator: Minotauruz

Ye Xiuwen had encountered Zhang Shuyue on their journey away from the Dawn Sect. Back then, Ye Xiuwen was carrying an unconscious Jun Xiaomo, leading the Heavenly Peak disciples away from the Dawn Sect when they noticed Zhang Shuyue being pursued by a group of masked men. At the same time, Zhang Shuyue had spotted the group of Heavenly Peak disciples ahead of her and also rushed straight at them.

Zhang Shuyue’s intentions were simple, and that was to draw the group ahead of her into the conflict as well in the hope that she might be able to escape amidst the ensuing chaos. After all, the masked men were a group of bandit demonic cultivators who thrived on seizing treasures and valuables from others. They had noticed that she was travelling alone, and they thought to kill her to seize her treasures.

At that time, Zhang Shuyue sincerely believed that it would be best if the group of people ahead of her would possess the ability to fend off the group of demonic cultivators. Even if they were unable to do so, she would be able to slip away once the two groups locked in battle with the other.

However, as soon as she drew closer to the group and noticed Ye Xiuwen’s appearances, she was instantly mesmerized by his suave and charming looks.

Ye Xiuwen had never liked getting embroiled in the disputes between others. Thus, he had initially simply glanced back at her and thought to avoid her. Unexpectedly, Zhang Shuyue could tell what he was planning, and she intentionally yelled, “Fellow cultivators, save me!” Then, she continued to charge straight towards the group of Heavenly Peak disciples.

The masked men immediately got the impression that Zhang Shuyue was affiliated to this group of people. In their avarice, they expanded the ambit of their killing and seizing intentions and implicated the entire group of Heavenly Peak disciples as well. With that, they decisively charged straight towards Ye Xiuwen and the rest as well.

At that moment, Ye Xiuwen knew it was no longer possible to avoid the band of bandits any longer. He set Jun Xiaomo down onto the ground gently, instructed one martial brother to look after her, and charged straight into the fray together with his other martial brothers.

After all, he was the strongest one among all of the Heavenly Peak disciples, and he was the one who would be able to make the most impact in this battle.

Fortunately, none of the demonic cultivators from the band of bandits possessed a strong or powerful cultivation level. As soon as they realized that they had bitten off more than they could chew, they immediately dispersed into the surroundings and vanished without a trace.

Ye Xiuwen didn’t bother to give chase either. He knew that his priority at this stage was still to locate a good place to settle down at over the next few days so that Jun Xiaomo and the other Heavenly Peak disciples can fully recover and recuperate from their injuries.

Just as Ye Xiuwen lifted Jun Xiaomo up and summoned the other Heavenly Peak disciples to get ready to depart once more, a soft voice called out from beside him, “Um, brother, thank you for saving my life. I wonder if I’ve got the pleasure to invite you as my guest to the valley where I reside?”

Ye Xiuwen looked towards the direction of the voice and immediately noticed a beautiful face replete with a soft gaze staring straight back at him.

That said, the cultivation world was filled with handsome men and beautiful women to begin with. On top of that, Ye Xiuwen had never been the sort to be so concerned about external appearances. Thus, her advances in this regard were bound to fail.

Ye Xiuwen furrowed his brows and responded, “There’s no need for thanks; it’s all in a day’s work. We’re in a rush, so we’ll part ways now.”

Zhang Shuyue remained cool and placid on the outside, yet she was incredibly anxious in her heart. She had never encountered a man who moved her heart so much, and she sincerely believed it would be too much of a waste if he slipped away just like that.

Besides, the display of his strength in the earlier battle was simply astonishing. If he could dispose of a group of demonic cultivators in the Golden Core stage of cultivation with such ease, it was evident that his abilities must have been at least in the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation.

Zhang Shuyue was thoroughly moved and enthralled by Ye Xiuwen. Then, she noticed how Ye Xiuwen was carrying Jun Xiaomo out of the corner of her eyes, and her heart instantly sank.

Is this man already taken? He’s gingerly carrying the lady as though she’s a precious treasure after all...

The wave of sour astringency in her heart immediately became a sense of unwillingness to yield, and Zhang Shuyue exclaimed in her heart – So what if this man already has a cultivation companion? It’s not uncommon to hear of men having multiple cultivation companions in this world! Who says I don’t have any hope at all?

With such thoughts on her heart, the fire of desire began to burgeon with ever greater intensity.

Her mind spun, and she addressed Ye Xiuwen once more as she pressed the issue, “Um, brother, you guys appear to be heading somewhere? How about this – it’s getting late, so why don’t you come over to the valley where I reside to rest for the night? The spiritual energy there is rather thick, and it might be helpful with the injuries sustained by the lady in your bosom as well.”

If Zhang Shuyue was merely inviting them to her residence as guests, Ye Xiuwen would have rejected her suggestion outright. However, his considerations extended to Jun Xiaomo who remained unconscious right now – indeed, Jun Xiaomo’s condition was hardly great, and there is an increasing possibility of complications if they dallied any longer.

Even though he couldn’t fully trust Zhang Shuyue, the dire circumstances they were in called for more drastic measures.

Furthermore, even if Zhang Shuyue did harbour ill intentions against them, Ye Xiuwen sincerely believed that he could protect Jun Xiaomo and guarantee the safety of all of his martial brothers.

Thus, Ye Xiuwen accepted Zhang Shuyue’s invitation to stay at her residence in the valley. Once they entered her residence, they continued to remain there for the next few days. Over the last three days, Ye Xiuwen could tell that the condition of Jun Xiaomo’s body had indeed recovered very quickly. Even though she was still unconscious, he knew that it would not take too much longer for her to regain her consciousness once more.

During this time, Ye Xiuwen learnt from Zhang Shuyue that the valley which they resided in was something that belonged to her master. Her master’s wanderlust had carried her to faraway places, and she rarely returned to the valley these days. Thus, Zhang Shuyue assured Ye Xiuwen that it was fine if they wished to stay as long as they wanted.

Ye Xiuwen had thought that Zhang Shuyue was only repaying her benefactors what she owed them, and he didn’t think too much of it. Furthermore, in order not to owe too much to Zhang Shuyue, he would always do what he could to help out around the valley.

All this while, Ye Xiuwen had put his complete focus on Jun Xiaomo’s condition and the rate of her recovery, and he naturally couldn’t care less about what others thought. That said, onlookers generally had the best perspective of the matter – his Heavenly Peak martial brothers could tell from Zhang Shuyue’s conduct that she had already fallen for their martial brother Ye.

To make matters worse, Ye Xiuwen’s willingness to help out with the little things around the valley was interpreted by his martial brothers as a reciprocation of her feelings towards him.

Even though they would much prefer if Ye Xiuwen and Jun Xiaomo got together, they knew that it was not in their place to interfere with the matters of the heart between others. Thus, they resolved in their hearts to conceal the matter between Zhang Shuyue and Ye Xiuwen from Jun Xiaomo.

However, what the Heavenly Peak disciples were unaware about was the fact that Zhang Shuyue was hardly passive in her approach at all. Since she was already determined to win Ye Xiuwen’s heart, she would never sit around and wait for Ye Xiuwen’s heart to wander onto her. Instead, she would actively do all she could to snatch Ye Xiuwen’s heart as soon as she could.

Thus, as soon as Jun Xiaomo regained consciousness, Zhang Shuyue did all she could to sow discord between Ye Xiuwen and Jun Xiaomo.

From what she could see, it was a success – Ye Xiuwen had relented and sent her back to her room, leaving Jun Xiaomo alone in her own room, completely dispirited after the event.

That said, Ye Xiuwen remained completely taciturn on the journey back with Zhang Shuyue as well. Just like that, his cold, distant disposition had increased yet even more in intensity, giving him an air of being absolutely unapproachable at all.

Zhang Shuyue cursed herself for not having known Ye Xiuwen earlier. She was confident that she would have won his heart a long time ago had she had known him earlier.

At the very least, things would not be as they were right now, with Ye Xiuwen being as rigid and immovable as a piece of bone. Truth be told, she sincerely didn’t know where to start even if she wanted to seduce him.

Just like that, Zhang Shuyue did her best to broach topic after topic in a feeble attempt to make conversation with Ye Xiuwen, hoping that he would somehow warm up to him. That said, it was evident that Ye Xiuwen’s heart was not with her right now; no matter what she said, nothing elicited any form of reaction from him.

Then, when they finally arrived at the door to Zhang Shuyue’s room, Ye Xiuwen finally looked back up at Zhang Shuyue.

Zhang Shuyue’s heart leapt with joy, and her face flushed with a radiant, pink hue. This was the first time they had been in such close proximity with each other, and her heart fluttered with joy when she saw his gaze filled with her own image.

How great would it be if such a handsome man could belong to her? That way, she could enjoy the expressive looks of his indulgent gaze every single day without exception. She sincerely believed that once Ye Xiuwen fell in love with someone, his object of affection would wholeheartedly become the apple of his eye – just like how his little martial sister was right now.

She fervently suppressed her vicious thoughts against Jun Xiaomo in the depths of her heart as she gave Ye Xiuwen a bashful look, waiting expectantly for what he was about to say next.

Her heart began to thump wildly. Yet, she had clearly selectively obviated one thing from her mind – Ye Xiuwen was not a person to let his heart and mind wander to begin with. Would he really turn his back on Jun Xiaomo so readily and have a fling behind her back?

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

In the very next moment, she heard Ye Xiuwen’s simple, placid statement, “Martial sister must have stepped on your toes today. I sincerely hope Miss Zhang can forgive her.”

“Don’t worry about it. I believe that there must have been some form of misunderstanding between sister Xiaomo and I. Once she’s better I’ll go clarify things with her and clear the air.” Zhang Shuyue hated the fact that Ye Xiuwen seemed to be thinking of Jun Xiaomo at every step of the way. However, in front of Ye Xiuwen, she could only persist with her pretentions and continue to act magnanimous.

“These are three fourth-grade recovery pills. I hope Miss Zhang can accept them. They represent a token of my apology.” Ye Xiuwen retrieved a small jade bottle from his Interspatial Ring and handed it over to Zhang Shuyue.

“Hah--?! Actually, there’s no need. Brother Ye has already given me one earlier. I’m much better after consuming that one.” Zhang Shuyue chuckled, slightly confused as to why Ye Xiuwen was insisting on handing yet another three recovery pills to her.

“Miss Zhang, please accept it. The earlier pill was to make amends for my martial sister hurting you, while these three pills can be considered a form of compensation for all the troubles we’ve caused you, as well as my apology for causing you to get hurt.” Ye Xiuwen calmly explained without a single ripple of emotion in the depths of his eyes.

The smile on Zhang Shuyue’s face began to stiffen up. She had never expected Ye Xiuwen to draw the line between the two of them so clearly. It was evident that Ye Xiuwen was trying to ensure that they, including Jun Xiaomo, did not owe her anything.

Ye Xiuwen had indeed done everything to settle the accounts on behalf of Jun Xiaomo, and this only caused the envy and jealousy in Zhang Shuyue’s heart to burgeon even more.

“That...brother Ye, I...” Zhang Shuyue was just about maintain her position when Ye Xiuwen suddenly cut her off, “Miss Zhang, I, Ye Xiuwen, don’t like to owe people favours. Back when I’d agreed to stay at this place on behalf of all my martial brothers, the main consideration on our mind was my little martial sister’s condition. But now that she has regained her consciousness, I think it’s about time for us to leave this place as well. Even though these three recovery pills aren’t priceless treasures, they’re still sufficient to represent our gratitude to you for your hospitality.”

“You’re about to leave soon?!” Zhang Shuyue widened her eyes with disbelief.

“That’s right. We’ve imposed on your for far too long, and it’s time that we took our leave as well.” Ye Xiuwen explicated.

“It’s no trouble! You’ve not been imposing on me at all!” Zhang Shuyue hurriedly quipped, “Since you’ve saved me, it’s only right that I allowed you to stay here!”

“But little martial sister isn’t too pleased with this arrangement.” Ye Xiuwen finally revealed the nub of the issue, causing Zhang Shuyue to be taken aback, “Since she’s not too pleased, it would be best if we took our leave.”

Zhang Shuyue opened her mouth reflexively, but she found herself unable to say anything. Everything she wanted to say seemed to be lodged in her throat.

“I, Ye Xiuwen, have other things to attend to now. I’ll take my leave first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he waved his hand gently, and the bottle of recovery pill flew over and landed gently on a stone table just beside the door to her room. That way, there was no way Zhang Shuyue could reject this token of appreciation anymore.

Then, he imbued his body with his Windwalk ability and departed quickly, vanishing from Zhang Shuyue’s line of sight in no time.

In her stupor, Zhang Shuyue only noticed a flash of green before her eyes. Then, when she finally managed to return to her senses, Ye Xiuwen had already left for some time.

“Damn!” Zhang Shuyue stamped her feet on the ground in rage. Then, she turned to the little jade bottle sitting on the stone table beside her, walked over and smashed it onto the ground.

“Ye Xiuwen, do you think I’m going to give up just like that? Never! I must make you mine!” Zhang Shuyue stared into the horizon as she bellowed in rage. Her earlier bashfulness had scattered with the wind.

Yet, the only thing that echoed in response was the rustling breeze that swept through the lonely woods around.