Vol. 2 - Ch. 74 - The Poison Scripture
Chen Ye walked calmly up to Hua Xiyue.
He reached out his hand.
Realizing his intent, Hua Xiyue passed Xiaofu over to him.
Xiaofu clung to Chen Ye’s shoulder and broke into loud sobs.
“Daddy…”
“Daddy, that…”
“That old grandpa, he… he killed Sister Sidu!”
She choked on her words, her little face full of grief as she cried so hard she could barely breathe.
Chen Ye gently patted Xiaofu’s shoulder, letting his innate internal force flow into her body, soothing her spirit.
“Alright, alright… It’s over now.”
After crying a little longer, Xiaofu began to recover from the shock.
Nestled in Chen Ye’s arms, she continued to sniffle, her eyes red from weeping.
Hua Xiyue studied Chen Ye, a flicker of suspicion in her eyes.
When had this man arrived?
She had chased Xue Ming all the way here, and had never seen him.
When had he taken up position in the shade of that tree?
It made no sense—she was a peak First Rank expert, yet she hadn’t sensed him at all.
Nearby, Xue Ming—still locked in place by the grass leaf strikes—felt Chen Ye’s gaze on him.
A shock ran through him, the hairs on his neck standing on end.
That suffocating sense of death returned, curling coldly in his chest.
“You! You—!”
Cold sweat broke out all over his body, and fear filled his eyes.
Now he understood.
If not for this sudden appearance of the young woman—
He might already be dead.
He had just brushed against the edge of death.
His robes clung damp to his skin, his lips pale.
A sudden thought struck him—he might not survive this day at all…
Chen Ye kept comforting Xiaofu.
From a distance came the faint sounds of footsteps.
A black-clad Qin Yi stepped into the grove, the green sharkskin scabbard in her left hand.
She saw Chen Ye holding Xiaofu, rushed forward, and dropped to one knee.
Her breathing was slightly uneven as she spoke coolly: “Your subordinate is late.”
Chen Ye glanced at her, noting that her aura was fuller and more stable than before.
She had broken through to First Rank.
A faint smile curved his lips. “Stand. Congratulations.”
Qin Yi rose, her head slightly bowed. “I sensed an opportunity for a breakthrough and seized it. That is why I failed to watch over Xiaofu…”
Chen Ye waved it off without concern.
Breaking through from Second to First Rank was rare, and such opportunities were not to be wasted.
Among the Orphanage children with “entries,” Xiaofu was the one he worried least about:
[Blessed Fate]: Will live a life free of illness or disaster, safe and sound; more likely to encounter fortunate events.
[Righteous Spirit]: Protected by upright qi, all evil repelled, fortune improved; sense of justice greatly strengthened.
With those two combined, Xiaofu was unlikely to come to harm.
Even without him, the chivalrous young woman would have intervened.
As he thought this, Chen Ye’s gaze shifted briefly to Hua Xiyue.
She was dressed as a man, youthful in appearance, her features refined and pretty.
No older than twenty, yet already First Rank.
Chen Ye’s trained eyes—sharpened by more than two years of cultivating the Innate One Qi Skill and the Hundredfold Wave Art—saw her cultivation level at a glance.
After a brief look, he withdrew his gaze.
Hua Xiyue, however, stared at Chen Ye and Qin Yi in shock.
She could clearly sense Qin Yi’s strength.
Though a little unstable, Qin Yi had stepped into First Rank—
And by her instincts, Qin Yi was likely an assassin.
A First Rank assassin? There couldn’t be more than a handful in the entire world!
In that instant, Hua Xiyue’s curiosity about Chen Ye grew even stronger.
What exactly was this man’s identity—