Chapter 106 : Chapter 106
Chapter 106. Still Trying to Tempt Me with Empty Promises?
Xu Yuan’s brows lifted, and he quickly took several steps forward.
That movement made Yang Caiyu’s whole body shudder. Even her voice turned hoarse. “Y-You… what are you trying to do?”
In her current state of weakness, even an ordinary martial artist could have finished her off.
Not to mention this man, who had been able to exchange several moves with her even when she had been at her peak.
A trace of lingering fear flashed across Xu Yuan’s face at just the right moment. In a low, concerned voice, he said, “Don’t be afraid. It’s over now… Did you feel that tremor just now?”
“I’m guessing the Purple-Gold Eel was awakened. The people from the Bai Family have probably already withdrawn by now.”
That was what he said, but his gaze quietly swept over her from head to toe.
He did not know whether Yang Caiyu was truly this badly injured, and he was even more worried that she might still be hiding a second Thunderbolt Bead.
He had seen the power of that thing with his own eyes. It was no joke.
If Wang Tao had not reacted in time, he likely would have been severely wounded as well.
“Thank you for finding me tonight.”
The rigid tension in Yang Caiyu’s body eased ever so slightly. Looking frail and pitiful, she said, “My temper was bad in the past. I offended you more than once.”
She panted, forcing a few tears into her eyes.
“Please, send me back to the medicinal fields. I will reward you generously… You know the Chief Overseer, don’t you? He is my uncle. Once we return, he will definitely not treat you poorly.”
She paused briefly, observing Xu Yuan’s reaction, then cast out an even more tempting bait. “I could even… ask for a Meridian-Opening Pill to help you advance to the Sixth Meridian.”
Xu Yuan remained unmoved. His gaze lingered for a moment on the disheveled front of her clothing and the full curves of her chest. His breathing grew slightly uneven.
“What I want…”
He spoke slowly, his voice a little dry. “Are you.”
The words struck Yang Caiyu like thunder exploding beside her ear.
Her heart sank. What followed was a near-burning sense of humiliation that even overwhelmed her fear for a moment.
Who was she, Yang Caiyu?
Barely in her early twenties, and already a five-meridian martial artist. Her talent was exceptional, and she had a seven-meridian Chief Overseer for an uncle. Countless promising young men had always fawned over her, and even ordinary six-meridian martial artists treated her with courtesy.
And Xu Yuan was nothing more than a somewhat talented nobody, a mud-legged drudge with no backing at all.
Yet at a time like this, he actually dared to entertain such filthy, vile thoughts about her. He wanted to take advantage of her grievous injuries and commit an act worthy of a beast.
But then a fresh surge of pain tore through her body like ice water dumped over her head, instantly suppressing the fury churning inside her. Lowering her head, she said shyly, “Chief Guard Xu is gifted. If your feelings are sincere, then Caiyu… Caiyu would also be willing to give herself to you.”
After saying that, it felt as though a massive stone had been lifted from her heart.
Compared to her life, none of this mattered. She absolutely could not die here.
She still had outstanding talent, boundless resources, and a limitless future ahead of her.
As long as she could survive, she could endure anything.
So long as she made it back to the medicinal fields, she had countless ways to make this ignorant peasant wish he were dead.
Yet in the very next instant, Xu Yuan suddenly moved.
He stared straight at her, his breathing growing even more ragged, as though he could no longer hold himself back. He stepped forward and reached a hand toward her chest.
Hatred surged sky-high in Yang Caiyu’s heart, but at the proper moment a blush rose on her face. With a mix of coyness and pain, she cried softly, “D-Don’t be so hasty. I’m still injured… Besides, out here in the wilderness, it really isn’t—”
Before she could finish—
The hand that seemed to be reaching for her breast abruptly curled inward midway, the knuckles jutting out like an eagle’s beak. With the speed of a thunderbolt, it stabbed straight into the vital point of her throat.
He moved like a startled hare, swift as lightning.
Crack!
A faint yet distinct sound of bone fracturing rang out.
The seductive smile on Yang Caiyu’s face froze completely. Her eyes filled with shock and utter disbelief.
Her mouth opened, but all that came out was a leaking, gurgling rasp. Both hands clutched at her throat, and her venom-filled gaze locked onto Xu Yuan’s face as if nailed there.
Xu Yuan withdrew his hand and stepped back half a pace. Calmly watching her struggle, he said flatly, “And you still thought you could tempt me with empty promises? You have no idea what I went through in my previous life.”
“I only hope that in your next life… your temperament will be a little gentler.”
He understood people like Yang Caiyu far too well.
Petty, vindictive, and vicious to the core.
The humiliation she had suffered today would be repaid a hundredfold, a thousandfold, if she were allowed to live.
Rather than leaving behind such a hidden danger and living in constant vigilance, it was far better to seize this chance and cut off all future trouble forever.
Yang Caiyu’s struggles gradually weakened. Her pupils began to lose focus, and the look in her eyes, full of hatred and unwillingness, finally congealed into lifeless gray.
Xu Yuan crouched down and quickly searched her still-warm corpse.
A moment later, he found a brocade pouch hidden in an inner layer close to her body.
When he opened it, he saw a fire-red Thunderbolt Bead, several gold leaf pieces, and a smooth jade bracelet.
The moment Xu Yuan saw that Thunderbolt Bead, a fine layer of cold sweat broke out across his back.
Fortunately, he had not given her the slightest chance to use it just now.
If he had actually believed her lies and slipped up even a little, that bead alone would have been enough to grievously wound him, or even kill him outright.
Xu Yuan swiftly put the pouch away, picked up Yang Caiyu’s corpse, and carried it to a hidden little river nearby where the current ran fast.
He threw both the body and the bloodstained stones into the river, then watched as it was quickly swallowed by the dark current and swept away.
Xu Yuan waited quietly for a while. Only after he was certain that nothing abnormal had floated back to the surface did he turn around and rapidly erase all traces he had left along the riverbank before departing without looking back.
He did not return directly to the medicinal fields. Instead, he took a detour, wrapped the pouch in oil leaves, buried it deep beneath an old banyan tree, and left behind a subtle marker.
Then he cleaned the wound and the bloodstains with stream water until nothing unusual could be seen.
Only then did he put on an exhausted, panicked expression and stagger back toward the medicinal fields.
…
The medicinal field district was a scene of devastation.
The lingering smoke, mixed with the stench of blood, drifted through the slowly dispersing mist.
Under Xie Yun’s command, the surviving Chief Guards and martial artists were clearing the battlefield and treating the wounded.
Every face was marked by exhaustion, grief, and the dazed emptiness of those who had narrowly survived disaster.
The medicinal fields had not suffered such a catastrophe in many years. Even now, many people still felt lingering fear.
So when Xu Yuan appeared in everyone’s sight, his clothes in tatters and his aura badly depleted, what greeted him was no longer the usual coldness and indifference.
The few remaining Chief Guards, along with some of the martial artists who knew him, all took the initiative to step forward, some nodding in acknowledgment, others speaking words of concern.
“Chief Guard Xu, you’ve finally returned!”
“It’s enough that you’re unharmed. We truly owe you for today!”
“That’s right. If you hadn’t awakened the Purple-Gold Eel and forced those Bai Family thieves to retreat, the foundations of our medicinal fields might really have been destroyed!”
Their words were full of gratitude and the unmistakable desire to curry favor.
Anyone with eyes could see that after this battle, Xu Yuan had startled the powerful enemy into retreat and preserved the treasured asset. It was a major contribution.
Once it was reported to the family, rewards would surely follow, and his future would undoubtedly soar. This was exactly the right moment to show goodwill.
Xu Yuan returned every greeting with a cupped-fist salute. His face carried just the right amount of weariness, along with a trace of embarrassed modesty at being praised, and he said sincerely, “You flatter me. I merely survived by a stroke of luck. The ones who truly fought to the death were all of you, my fellow comrades.”
He handled himself flawlessly, his smile warm and proper, but his heart remained utterly calm, without the slightest ripple.
This kind of surface-level warmth was nothing more than a performance driven by self-interest. He had seen far too much of it.
Yet amid this seemingly harmonious atmosphere, one gaze stood out as strangely out of place.
Zhang Cheng stood a little farther away, a bloodstained bandage wrapped around his arm, his face slightly pale.
He silently watched Xu Yuan, who was being faintly clustered around by the others and responding to everything with ease. For no reason he could name, a sour, resentful bitterness rose in his chest.
In terms of strength, he believed himself to be a little stronger than Xu Yuan. After all, he had entered the five-meridian stage earlier, and his foundation was steadier. In terms of seniority, he was even less comparable to a newcomer like Xu Yuan.
And as for what he had contributed, he too had been fighting at the front just now and had ended up covered in wounds.
But what was the result?
Xu Yuan had merely stumbled into awakening the Purple-Gold Eel while fleeing for his life, yet he might seize this enormous merit and rise straight into the sky from here on.
As for people like him, who had fought bitterly in blood and mud, what would they gain besides a body full of injuries and losses?
Even when the family’s rewards came down, the biggest share probably would not fall to people like them.
The sharper that contrast became, the worse Zhang Cheng felt.
How long had Xu Yuan even been in the medicinal fields?
Less than a month.
So why did he deserve…
Subconsciously, Zhang Cheng avoided the glance Xu Yuan cast his way. He turned to check on an injured Field Guard, but his expression had grown a little more gloomy without him even realizing it.