Chapter 159: Those Who Come to Join the Fun

The late autumn wind was already quite chilly, and the grass and trees had turned a greenish-yellow. Ye Xin lay in the grass, gazing at the distant sunset. Wen Rong, dressed in a plain white skirt, sat right beside him. Below the hillside, two Boundless Heavenly Wolves were lazily basking in the sun; they were the mount beasts of Ye Xin and Wen Rong.

"You are the Grand Commandant now, with a myriad of affairs to attend to daily. How is it that you still find time to bring me out for leisure?" Wen Rong asked softly.

"I have nothing pressing for the moment, just waiting," Ye Xin replied with a smile.

"Yet you... you should at least say something. We have been out for so long, and the words you've spoken could be counted on one's fingers," Wen Rong sighed lightly. "Am I truly such a dull person in your eyes?"

"I don't know why, but every time I see you, I always feel somewhat..." Ye Xin rolled over and sat up, then abruptly changed the subject. "In a few days, you will be heading to the Azure Origin Sect. Have you prepared yourself?"

"Didn't you already send someone to tell me yesterday?" Wen Rong said. "Actually, there isn't much for me to prepare."

"I have wronged you," Ye Xin said.

"It can hardly be considered suffering," Wen Rong shook her head. "Since you are going to cooperate with the cultivators of the Azure Origin Sect, they will naturally treat me well. In any case, it is vastly better than being sent to Falling Rosy Mountain. To be able to enter a sect for cultivation is the dream of every martial artist in the world. I have just turned sixteen and have not yet participated in the grand selection, yet I have obtained the qualification to enter the sect directly. Who knows how many people will envy and be jealous of me? You have no need to feel so guilty; you have created the best possible opportunity for me."

"In truth... you know what this is really about. Why must you mock me like this?" Ye Xin gave a wry smile. "Your going to the Azure Origin Sect is essentially acting as my hostage. After all, this is our first contact with them, and there is no foundation of trust to speak of. They will certainly find a way to control me. Ye Ling is merely my cousin, which is not of sufficient weight. Since I was willing to raise the banner of rebellion for your sake and drive Tie Xinsheng to his doom, they naturally shifted their attention to you."

"I truly am not mocking you. These are my honest thoughts," Wen Rong said earnestly. "You only need to answer me this: when I go to the Azure Origin Sect, will they pay exceptional attention to me?"

"They will," Ye Xin said. "Not only will they pay attention to you, but they will also take care of you. Whatever you need, you can go directly to the Second Senior Brother."

"For me, that is quite enough," Wen Rong said. "For the vast majority of martial artists, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Only a fool would let it slip by."

Ye Xin chuckled softly. The more Wen Rong spoke in this manner, the more guilty he felt.

"I know there are risks, but risk and opportunity have always coexisted. To gain something, one must inevitably lose something else. Those words were spoken by Instructor Xie. Haha... he learned them from you, didn't he?" Wen Rong smiled quite naturally.

"I don't quite remember that, though I did often lecture them," Ye Xin said.

"Since you have told me these things, I will also share my innermost thoughts with you," Wen Rong lowered her head, gazing intently at her delicate leather boots. "Since I was a child, the elders in the family frequently praised me. Gradually... I came to believe that I was born to accomplish great things, and that I would undoubtedly achieve earth-shattering, awe-inspiring feats in the future. It was only when I grew up that I discovered how difficult it is to accomplish things, and how one always encounters all sorts of obstruction, hindrance, and trouble. I never lost heart, nor did I ever become discouraged. But one day, I suddenly learned I was to be wedded to you. That was the lowest point of my mood. To be honest, I looked down upon you somewhat. Yet I refused my grandfather, on one hand because I didn't want to cause my father sorrow, and on the other because I felt a lingering pity for the Ye family."

"Even I looked down upon myself back then, let alone you," Ye Xin laughed.

"You lived so carefree, yet you remained unaware that a sharp blade was suspended directly above the Ye family's head," Wen Rong shook her head and said. "Still, this was my destiny, and I could only accept it. However... I knew there was no way I could spend a lifetime with someone I looked down upon. Therefore, I resolved that no matter what, I would reform you and make you learn ambition and self-reliance."

"Let's not speak of those days!" Ye Xin let out a long sigh. "Every day at the crack of dawn, you would drag me out of bed and keep me there until late at night. You watched over my cultivation all day long—do you have any idea how many important matters of mine you delayed?!"

"Who told you to keep things from me? You deserved it," Wen Rong said with a playful, spoiled pout. "Do you think I had an easy time of it in my heart? That was the first time I was ever forced to entrust my destiny to someone else!"

"Fortunately, we only had to endure a dozen or so days before it passed," Ye Xin said.

"Yes... the changes that followed were so vast and astonishing that they left me utterly unable to adapt," Wen Rong said. "Ye Xin, believe me, I am not the kind of person who needs to be coddled. As long as you give me a good stage, that is quite enough for me."

Ye Xin fell silent. After a very long while, he suddenly leaped to his feet. "Come, accompany me to meet someone. Judging by the time, they should be arriving soon."

"What kind of person?" Wen Rong asked.

"Someone whom, once you have seen them, you will find very difficult to forget," Ye Xin smiled.

* * * *

Ye Xin and Wen Rong entered the headquarters of the Righteous Alliance. Nearly all the elites of the Sinful Punishment Camp had gathered. Their expressions appeared grave and complex. Wen Rong noticed that their demeanors were somewhat unusual; when these people gathered together, some were lazy, some serious, and some stern—each possessed a distinct personality. Yet now, they looked as though they had all been cast from the very same mold. What kind of person could possibly make them turn so serious?

"Have they arrived?" Ye Xin asked in a low voice.

"My lord, they have already entered the city," Xue Baiqi replied.

Ye Xin leaped down from his mount, stood at the front, and then beckoned to Wen Rong. Understanding his intent, Wen Rong hurried to his side. Her curiosity grew even deeper. Ye Xin was now a grand commandant; even when facing high-ranking ministers like Shen Wangji and Han Sanmei, he would not be so ceremonious. Just who could it be? Who was worthy of having Ye Xin wait for them here?

Before long, a very ordinary carriage trotted into the courtyard. Mo Yan was the one driving, and he cast a meaningful glance at Ye Xin.

Just as the carriage came to a halt, the cabin door flew open. From the curtain emerged a robust, burly man who leaped down from the carriage. His complexion was dark, and he possessed a pair of leopard-like eyes. The instant his body straightened, an imposing aura as majestic as a mountain rushed toward them.

Such a powerful momentum! Who on earth was this person? Wen Rong stared at the burly man without blinking.

At that moment, the burly man had already spotted Ye Xin. His waist bent deeply as he bowed profoundly to Ye Xin, and then he stepped aside to make way.

A hand reached out from within the carriage cabin, gently lifting the curtain. Wen Rong's gaze involuntarily shifted toward it. That hand... how exquisite!

The back of that hand was slightly plump, yet it possessed a boneless, supple beauty. It radiated a luster akin to jade, with slender joints and meticulously trimmed nails that lacked the slightest flaw. This hand was clean and neat to a degree that bordered on the obsessive; at least, Wen Rong had never beheld such immaculate hands in all her life, nor had she ever been awestruck merely by someone's hand.

Ye Xin smiled, for he understood the other's psychological condition. In professional terms, this person suffered from severe mysophobia.

What appeared next was hair that cascaded down to the waist, paired with a face of breathtaking beauty. The eyebrows resembled distant mountains, the eyes contained autumnal waves, the bridge of the nose was straight, and the lips were like cherries. Wen Rong was somewhat dazzled; she had always believed her own appearance in Nine Caulags City was second to none, but compared to the person before her, she seemed faintly overshadowed.

Bizarrely, this person was dressed in white robes typically worn only by men, and wore straw sandals on his feet. Yet his feet were as clean and tidy as his hands, appearing as though they had been crafted from the finest white jade.

Upon catching sight of Ye Xin, that person smiled. His smile was as warm as the spring sun, seeming capable of sweeping away the withered autumn winds of heaven and earth.

Hum... The elites of the Sinful Punishment Camp suddenly experienced a violent surge in their auras. An icy, biting chill shot straight into the heavens. Wen Rong froze for a moment, sensing a murderous intent alongside an irreconcilable hostility.

"Has the Young Marshal been well?" That person bowed slightly, and then his gaze flew past the top of Ye Xin, fixing upon the towering Mother Cauldron in the distance. "The atmosphere of Nine Cauldrons City is truly extraordinary."

Wen Rong's line of sight grew visibly disordered. When she first caught sight of that person, she had assumed he was a woman dressed in men's clothing, and had even guessed that this was Zhenzhen, the one guarding the old camp. A sour feeling had welled up in her heart—so Zhenzhen was actually this pretty, this flawless...

The moment that person spoke and lifted his head, however, she knew she was mistaken. The other's voice was deep, carrying a sort of magnetic resonance, and she clearly saw an Adam's apple.

A man? This creature as beautiful as a demon was actually a man?! Heavens... how were ordinary women supposed to live?!

"I originally didn't wish to trouble you," Ye Xin said with a smile. "However, this time it is going to be extremely, extremely lively. If you missed it, you would surely regret it. So I tried writing a letter to you, though I never expected you would actually come."

"The Young Marshal knows my heart well," that person laughed aloud. His laughter was full of spirit and brilliance, and his waist-length hair fluttered without wind. At that instant, his eyebrows and eyes seemed imbued with a lawless, unbridled, and wildly demonic charm. He then shifted his gaze toward Wen Rong. "This is..."

Since Wen Rong stood right by Ye Xin's side, her status was naturally elevated, and he was bound to pay her heed.

"This is Wen Rong," Ye Xin said.

"Ah, Lady Hongyan. I have heard much of you," that person smiled.

"What... Hongyan?" Wen Rong failed to comprehend.

"The Young Marshal flew into a rage and went to war for a beauty; it is bound to become an eternal romance," that person's smile deepened.

It was Wen Rong's first time experiencing such an occasion, and her first time seeing someone with such an overpowering presence. For a moment, she did not know what to say. Even the cultivators she had met in the past could not possibly compare to the presence of the man before her.

"Let us go inside to talk. Please..." Ye Xin gestured to make way, thereby relieving Wen Rong of her embarrassment.

"The Young Marshal is the host and I am the guest. After you, Young Marshal," that person said.

As Ye Xin and that person walked toward the side gate, Wen Rong deliberately lagged behind slightly. She then lowered her voice and asked Xue Baiqi, "Baiqi, who is he?" Wen Rong's worldly experience was quite extensive, yet there were only two people whose mere presence could capture and subdue her willpower: one was Ye Xin, and the other was this man whose beauty was outrageously stunning.

"This... I cannot say. You had better ask my lord yourself later on," Xue Baiqi replied in a low whisper. (To be continued.)