Chapter 45: Not Lecherous
"Help my father?"
Hearing Ye Yonglie’s words, Ye Qingshi finally recalled his earlier introduction. The young man before her had actually awakened a Heart Image?
’Doesn’t that make him even more incredible than my father?’ Ye Qingshi was inwardly astonished.
Although she had no experience with cultivation, as the hall master’s daughter, she had picked up some basic concepts through sheer exposure. When it came to common knowledge of the Martial Dao, she at least knew more than Fang Can.
She often heard her father, who was always so resolute outside, sigh unconsciously whenever he looked at the Celestial Secret List in the martial arts hall.
After this happened many times, she came to understand the root of her father’s sighs. His progress on the path of the Martial Dao had stagnated for ten years. Aside from improving his techniques, his Realm seemed to have hit the limit of his innate talent.
’In other words, can this young man really help my father improve?’ Ye Qingshi gazed at the handsome young man before her. Her slender fingers unconsciously pinched a corner of her green dress as her heart twisted with indecision, debating whether to agree to his request for lodging.
She could certainly tell the young man was interested in her (not), and that he probably wanted to use this proximity to get closer to her (definitely). But propriety between men and women was a serious matter. Even if she wanted to help her father, she couldn’t bring herself to go that far.
But while she was still hesitating, Ye Yonglie had already made the decision for his daughter. "Yuan Dang, Li Fei, you two go prepare a room for Young Master Fang. The one to the right of Qing Shi’s."
At these words, Yuan Dang’s expression froze. He had to prepare a room for Fang Can so he could get close to his Senior Sister? The cruelty was soul-crushing.
Fang Can smiled at the two disciples. "I’ll have to trouble you both. I don’t have much luggage, so just making it tidy will be fine."
As a resentful Yuan Dang and his senior brother went to prepare the room, Ye Yonglie said with a smile, "Qing Shi, Little Friend Fang has just arrived at the hall. On my behalf, take him for a walk around the area so he can get familiar with the surroundings."
Even if Ye Qingshi were a complete fool, she could understand her father’s intentions. But a father’s word was law. No matter how displeased she was, she could only suppress it. With some frustration, she said to Fang Can, "Come with me. I’ll show you around."
Seeing the girl’s obvious displeasure, Fang Can remained calm and followed her out of the main hall.
When they reached a deserted corner, Ye Qingshi turned around. Her expression was cold as she pointed a finger at Fang Can and said, "You..."
"I know what you’re going to say." Fang Can cut her off before she could continue. "Hall Master Ye thinks I’m interested in you, so he wants to set us up. But you don’t feel the same way and want to tell me to give up, right?"
"Er..." Ye Qingshi stared at him, stunned for a moment by the words he’d just preemptively thrown at her. "That’s right. So..."
"Don’t worry, I’m a very fastidious person. I don’t have much interest in beautiful young women who have basic biological needs."
Fang Can offered a perfectly polite smile. "For the next few days, aside from pestering you, I won’t cross any boundaries. You can report that directly to the Hall Master if you wish."
"You..." A light blush spread across Ye Qingshi’s face out of sheer anger.
This man was unlike anyone she had ever met. He had said everything she was going to say, leaving her with nothing.
But Fang Can’s expression remained placid. He knew that the only person with the authority to stop him from staying near the girl was Hall Master Lieyang.
In this ancient era of arranged marriages, children had no control over their own bodies.
This was especially true for a woman like Ye Qingshi, who had never even been exposed to the Martial Dao. Soon, she wouldn’t even have a say in the major decisions of her own life.
Right now, Ye Yonglie was so desperate to advance his cultivation that he was practically fawning over Fang Can. As long as Fang Can’s behavior wasn’t too outrageous, hanging around the girl wouldn’t be a problem.
That was why Fang Can decided to just lay his cards on the table with her from the very beginning and state his intentions clearly.
"Then... what is it you really want?" Ye Qingshi’s fair, delicate face was filled with confusion. "You say you don’t like me, yet you insist on pestering me. Don’t you find that contradictory?"
"It’s not a contradiction," Fang Can said, shaking his head frankly. "For the next few days, I just need to stay by your side, without affecting your daily life. I hope you don’t mind."
’How could I possibly not mind?’ Ye Qingshi grumbled internally. Whatever trace of a good impression she’d had of him instantly vanished.
She realized it was pointless to argue with this blockhead and decided she would badmouth Fang Can to her father tonight to get him thrown out.
After killing the conversation with a speech worthy of a sigma male, Fang Can said no more. He simply followed beside Ye Qingshi and began to slowly circulate the Taming Tiger and Dragon Golden Body, letting the vibrations cover every inch of his body.
And so, two completely separate activities occurred simultaneously: Ye Qingshi led the way, and Fang Can silently practiced his technique.
After about ten minutes, by which time Ye Qingshi had given him a rough tour of the entire martial arts hall, Fang Can finally couldn’t help but ask, "Can you stop for a moment?"
"What did you say?" Ye Qingshi was surprised that Fang Can had finally spoken, but she didn’t understand what he meant.
’Of course it’s because you’re walking all over the place, messing up my cultivation signal! My training efficiency is fluctuating like crazy.’ Fang Can complained in his head, but he worried that saying it so bluntly would make the girl’s defenses crumble, and she wouldn’t cooperate with him afterward.
So after a moment of thought, he said, "My cultivation method requires Miss Ye to be by my side."
"Me? What does it have to do with me?" Ye Qingshi looked skeptical.
"Martial practice efficiency is related to one’s mood. The happier you are, the better the results." Fang Can stared at Ye Qingshi’s indescribably beautiful face. "And Miss Ye is very beautiful."
"Just like how seeing beautiful things can improve one’s mood, I must follow Miss Ye to increase my cultivation efficiency. This is my cultivation method. There’s no other reason—it’s purely for the sake of a pleasant mood."
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Caught completely off guard by the compliment, Ye Qingshi subconsciously took two shy steps back. Fang Can immediately took two steps forward, trying his best not to let the Wi-Fi signal weaken.
"This concerns the Martial Dao. Please, Miss Ye, allow me to stay by your side for the next few days," Fang Can said with a solemn expression. Having packaged his lechery in a dignified wrapper, he sounded incredibly earnest.
Because of the existence of idealistic Martial Daos, all sorts of systems and cultivation methods existed in this world.
So, for a moment, Ye Qingshi couldn’t tell if he was just dressing up his lecherousness as cultivation, or if his training genuinely required it.
The girl stammered, "Well... if you, if you have to follow me, then go ahead."
"In that case, might I ask Miss Ye to stop for a while and rest somewhere, so that I may borrow your world-stunning beauty for my cultivation?" Fang Can said sincerely.
"There’s... there’s a pavilion up ahead. I happen to be tired from walking anyway. Let’s rest there for a bit," Ye Qingshi said, two rosy clouds appearing on her cheeks.
The two of them walked into the pavilion. Ye Qingshi sat primly on a stone bench, fanning her face lightly in an attempt to cool her hot cheeks.
As for Fang Can, true to his word, once the "signal tower" was no longer mobile, he settled down, crossed his legs, and began circulating his energy, cultivating his technique as if no one else was there.