Ye Chu still spent his days in Yao City teasing Yao Yao, occasionally taking her for walks around the Cold Lake. Most of his time, however, was devoted to studying the unique copy of the Red Sha manual. He remained puzzled by the line, “When sha and spirit become one, yin and yang are achieved.”
The fat cultivator from Qingmi Mountain had told him that, relying solely on his own cultivation, reaching the Innate realm would take years. Yet the Red Sha manual might hold the key to a breakthrough. Clearly, though, Ye Chu could not grasp the meaning of that sentence.
“Forget it. Never mind.” Ye Chu let out a soft breath and turned his attention to the invitation beside him. It had been delivered by Liang Shan on Su Rong’s behalf. Ye Chu had originally intended to ignore it, but with his departure from the city approaching, he decided it would be good to see everyone one last time.
When Ye Chu arrived at the venue, Liang Shan could not hide his astonishment. “You actually came?”
No wonder Liang Shan was shocked. Over the past few days, he had sent countless banquet invitations, and every single one had been tossed by Ye Chu into the foul ditch outside Bai Xuan’s residence. He had assumed this one would meet the same fate, yet here Ye Chu was.
“As expected, only Su Rong can get you to show up.” Liang Shan clicked his tongue, a knowing look in his eye. “You still won’t admit you’re secretly in love with her. No point denying it now.”
Ye Chu ignored him completely and scanned the room. There were plenty of attractive young men and women, but Su Rong was nowhere to be seen. “Isn’t today her birthday? Where is she?”
“Still getting ready, I suppose. You know how women are.” Liang Shan winked and grinned. “Plenty of girls here have their eye on you now. Fancy causing a bit of trouble with someone else? Su Rong is a tough one, after all.”
Ye Chu offered no explanation. His gaze shifted to a cluster of young women, and sure enough, several were stealing glances at him. The moment his eyes met theirs, they blushed and hurriedly looked away.
Ye Chu was taken aback. He had not expected that his recent stand against the Sha Kingdom would make him the object of interest for some of the city’s girls. He wondered, idly, whether any of them would be willing to share his bed.
Unbeknown to him, the women had already been gossiping endlessly. Unlike the old scorn, this time their talk was filled with curiosity about what Ye Chu had done over the past three years.
People began to reflect on his behaviour since returning to Yao City and realised he had committed no great evils. On the contrary, he had shown loyalty, smashing the Dingwu Hall simply because of Liang Shan. He had helped Zhang Su’er. He had aided Yao Kingdom itself.
The hatred towards him had been passed down from three years earlier, when his misdeeds had ruined his name. But now, not only had he done nothing wrong, he was rarely even seen. When he did appear, it was with a lazy, slightly wicked smile and an air of indifference. Compared to the old Ye Chu, he seemed merely a handsome, clear-eyed young man who kept to himself, carrying a touch of melancholy.
Only Liang Shan and a few others could speak to him freely. To everyone else, he paid little attention, which only added to his cool allure. Some young men, unwilling to believe a scoundrel could change, tried to dig up fresh evidence of wrongdoing. They found none. From the day he returned, Ye Chu had done nothing reprehensible.
This left many young women thoroughly confused. “That lonely, melancholic silhouette, those lazy yet clear eyes, that constant wicked smile at the corner of his mouth. So cool, so strong, so mysterious. It’s hard to believe this is the same degenerate from three years ago. If only he were still that shameless rogue and tried to force himself on me, I wouldn’t resist at all.”
Their swooning amused Su Rong, though she had to concede that, setting aside his past reputation, Ye Chu’s current carefree, roguish demeanour was undeniably attractive.
Rumours that he had returned to Yao City for Su Rong’s sake were now circulating wildly. Girls sighed enviously. “How wonderful. He knew he would face endless abuse yet came back anyway. That shows how deeply he loves her.”
“If a man would endure a thousand curses for me, I would give myself to him completely.”
“Compared to Ye Chu, Chen Bowen suddenly seems all wrong for Su Rong. No one in Yao City matches her as well as Ye Chu does.”
“So romantic. If only I had a man like that. Even if he really is a scoundrel, I wouldn’t care.”
When Su Rong finally appeared, she wore fresh pale-green robes that suited her perfectly. The outfit highlighted her budding figure, the fabric modestly covering a chest that, though still youthful, radiated the proud allure of springtime. A belt cinched her slender waist, making it even more captivating.
Gazing at her enticing form, Ye Chu felt a distant stir in his heart, an echo of the former soul’s longing.
“You came.” Su Rong stepped close to him, and her proximity immediately sparked cheers from the other women.
“Get together! Get together!” Pang Shao popped up from nowhere and shouted. His words set off a wave of enthusiastic chanting from every woman in the room.
The men, by contrast, looked on with open jealousy, muttering under their breath. “Bunch of lovestruck fools. Have they forgotten what he did to this city three years ago?”
Men, however, could never truly understand the minds of women. If they liked someone now, any past infamy was easily forgotten. That was simply how women were.
Flustered by the teasing, Su Rong’s cheeks flushed pink. She shot a fierce glare at Zhang Su’er, who was shouting loudest. “Be quiet!”
Zhang Su’er gave an embarrassed grin, and the cheering gradually died down.
Pang Shao smirked at Ye Chu, clearly hoping to cause trouble. When that failed, he dragged Liang Shan off to plot something else that might annoy him.
“Thank you for what you did about the Sha Kingdom,” Su Rong said, her face still tinged with pink, as lovely as blooming peach blossoms.
“If you’re thanking me, shouldn’t there be something more substantial?” Ye Chu smiled, letting his gaze linger briefly on her curves before moving away.
Su Rong’s cheeks reddened further. She gave him a reproachful look. “Could you drop this roguish act? I know you’ve truly changed these past three years. You’re not the same Ye Chu anymore. Why pretend to be a villain?”
“You’re wrong there. I’m still the same Ye Chu. For instance, if you offered to share my bed tonight, I certainly wouldn’t say no.” He laughed boldly.
Su Rong huffed at him. “I’m not wasting my breath on your nonsense. Can’t you return the Red Sha manual? The king values it greatly.”
Ye Chu snorted, thinking that if the king truly valued it, he would hardly have used it to prop up a table leg.
“I burned it,” he said with a shrug. “If you want it, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
“As if I’d believe that.” Su Rong rolled her eyes. From spending time with him lately, she knew Ye Chu could lie without batting an eyelid.
