Chapter 226

"Xiaoyu?!"

Hearing this overly familiar form of address coming from the mouth of this bull-like man, everyone's expressions became strange.

Xu Qinghuan quietly tugged at Chen Lili's sleeve, and the two exchanged a knowing look.

This bull-like man swept a glance at the surrounding Tianqing Sect disciples, a trace of disdainful arrogance appearing on his face.

In his eyes, this group of bumpkins who had just arrived from the prefecture city were no different from the weeds on the roadside.

But in front of Liu Qingyu, he couldn't show it too obviously, so he laughed heartily and greeted everyone:

"Greetings, everyone! I am Zhang Kun of Ling Niu Peak, known as 'Tie Niu'; you can call me True Person Tie Niu!"

"I am an old friend of Xiaoyu; we have known each other for many years!"

The look of disgust in Liu Qingyu's eyes deepened.

Her tone was distant and restrained, and she said coldly:

"Brother Zhang, we have only met a few times; we cannot be called old friends."

"At most, we are mere acquaintances; please do not address me in such a way, lest others misunderstand."

Hearing this, a trace of imperceptible gloom flashed in Zhang Kun's large, copper-bell-like eyes.

But soon he put on that seemingly hearty smile again, his voice so loud that the pine needles overhead fell down:

"Xiaoyu, don't be so distant!"

"Ever since I saw you that one time years ago, Tie Niu has been thinking about you constantly!"

"You don't know how excited I was when I learned you were coming to the Upper Sect's Tianyun Peak!"

"And so, as soon as you arrived, I rushed over in a hurry!"

As he spoke, he took out a plain white square token from his sleeve and handed it forward with his large hand:

"Xiaoyu, what do you lack most when you first arrive at the Upper Sect? Contribution points!"

"There are five thousand contribution points in this token; it's anonymous, so take it and use it as you please."

"If it's not enough, come find me anytime; there's plenty!"

Pei Yunchuan walked slowly out of the crowd. His face, having just recovered from severe injuries, still retained some lingering paleness, but his gaze was more solemn than ever.

"Brother Zhang, you are too polite."

"I cannot accept a reward without merit; you should take these contribution points back."

In order to avoid any contact with Zhang Kun, she even covered her palm with a layer of pale blue water-attribute true qi, the layer of qi as thin as mist.

The refusal in this was already more than obvious.

Zhang Kun's large hand holding the token froze in mid-air, and a trace of undisguisable annoyance flashed across his dark face, even the veins on his forehead jumping slightly.

He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the surging rage, still wearing that seemingly hearty smile, though the curve of his mouth was already somewhat forced:

"Xiaoyu, you are being too formal."

"You might not be aware since you just arrived at the Upper Sect."

"It's hard to move an inch here without contribution points..."

Liu Qingyu didn't wait for him to finish speaking; she raised her hand to rub her brow, revealing a look of fatigue, her tone cold and decisive:

"I'm sorry, Brother Zhang. We have traveled for days from Yunling Prefecture to the Upper Sect and are exhausted."

"We are currently looking to rest and have no time to entertain."

"If Brother Zhang has no other urgent matters, please return."

Zhang Kun's seemingly hearty smile finally froze completely on his face.

He held the unwanted token, his fingers tightening until fine cracks appeared on the edge of the token.

That trace of annoyance surged in the depths of his eyes, and then he forcibly suppressed it.

This woman was still the same as she was back then.

However, it was precisely because of this that he had been thinking about her for so many years.

He glanced at Liu Qingyu's face, which was full of fatigue and distance, and swept a glance at the surrounding Tianqing Sect disciples who were observing him with various gazes, finally putting the token away awkwardly and squeezing out a somewhat distorted smile.

"Alright, Xiaoyu..."

"Then you rest first."

"I'll come find you next time!"

He still wore that seemingly hearty smile.

But the moment he turned around, the smile on his dark face collapsed instantly, turning into a terrifying ferocity.

"Since you've arrived at this Upper Sect, there will eventually be a time when you have to beg me!"

He strode down the mountain path, leaving a footprint on the ground with every step.

Seeing that bull-like figure finally disappear from sight, the Tianqing Sect disciples present all breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this person was all smiles, he gave people the feeling of a beast that could turn hostile at any moment, which was indescribably oppressive.

Jiang Ye smiled indifferently and thoughtfully: "Peak Master Liu's charm is truly admirable."

He suddenly remembered that Zheng Feng had once mentioned that Liu Qingyu was the former number one beauty of Yunling Prefecture, and even people in this Linzhou Upper Sect were infatuated with her.

Now it seemed the rumors were not false at all.

Liu Qingyu shook her head slightly, raised her hand to rub her brow, and a sigh of helplessness appeared on her peerlessly beautiful face:

"There's no help for it; sometimes charm is also a trouble."

Jiang Ye was slightly startled, a rare look of astonishment flashing in his aged eyes.

When did this old woman learn to joke...

He didn't continue the conversation, only the corner of his mouth lifted imperceptibly.

Immediately after, everyone began to choose their own courtyards to rest.

Jiang Ye chose the most secluded one at the top of the mountain.

Chen Lili, Xu Qinghuan, Lü Ming, the Zheng siblings, and Wen Yuelao chose the courtyards immediately adjacent to his.

If it weren't for the many eyes and ears, Xu Qinghuan would have loved to move directly into Jiang Ye's courtyard.

Jiang Ye pushed open the courtyard gate and looked around.

This courtyard was secluded and deep, with several old pine trees of unknown age blocking the sky and sun, even better than the Tiankui Herb Garden.

He walked a few steps inside, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

In the center of the courtyard, there was actually a small herb field, with several green herbs swaying gently in the sunset, their leaves thin and long like swords, but the tips glowing with a cluster of jumping green light, looking like burning green flames from afar.

"This is... Green Flame Grass?!"

Jiang Ye squatted down to look closely for a moment, a flash of joy immediately crossing his eyes.

This was an extremely rare fire-attribute herb, with extremely harsh requirements for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; in terms of value, it was even higher than the Fire Sun Spirit Leaves from earlier in the day.

The Chiyan Sect people were willing to spend a fortune, planting even such treasures on the Eastern Peak.

But now, it was his gain.

Just at this moment.

Hiss~~~

Accompanied by an excited hiss, a dark red figure darted out from Jiang Ye's sleeve like lightning and landed steadily in the Green Flame Grass patch.

Xiao Huo's back armor glowed with a dark golden luster in the sunset, its two sickle-like mandibles opening and closing excitedly.

This little guy knew its stuff, darting immediately to the plumpest of the Green Flame Grass, raising its head to look at Jiang Ye expectantly, its body twisting constantly, just like a puppy acting spoiled.

The two shared a tacit understanding, and Jiang Ye naturally understood what it meant.

"You really are a spendthrift, picking only these expensive herbs to eat."

He scolded it with a smile but still nodded in agreement.

Anyway, they were planted by the Chiyan Sect, so he didn't feel bad about using them to feed his own little guy.

Xiao Huo hissed excitedly, opened its large mouth, and pounced on the plumpest Green Flame Grass, feasting away.

Jiang Ye checked the other rooms and found that there were no signs of habitation here.

"Probably because it's too secluded here..."

Jiang Ye pondered in his heart.

Not everyone could endure loneliness like he could.

He packed his luggage and soon cleared out a room.

The night grew darker.

Wen Yuelao had just arrived at the Upper Sect and was somewhat excited, tossing and turning and unable to sleep, so she got up to go for a stroll.

Just as she walked to a few old pine trees, her peripheral vision suddenly caught a graceful figure hunching over and sneaking toward Jiang Ye's courtyard.

"Hmm? Who would go to see Old Master Jiang so late..."

A strange look flashed across her beautiful oval face.

Driven by curiosity, she followed quietly.

In the courtyard, Jiang Ye was sitting cross-legged beside the Green Flame Grass field, his body enveloped in a layer of spiritual energy of heaven and earth that was thick to the point of being viscous.

"Not bad, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here is at least four or five times thicker than over at the Tianqing Sect."

Jiang Ye nodded inwardly.

He estimated that in at most a month, he would be able to refine the Earth-attribute true qi and Gold-attribute true qi.

Suddenly—

He opened his eyes abruptly.

Under the moonlight, a graceful figure was hunching over, walking on tiptoes, and sneaking in from the shadows of the courtyard wall.

Except for Xu Qinghuan, no one else in the entire Tianqing Sect had the guts to do this.

"What are you doing coming over in the middle of the night!"

Jiang Ye frowned slightly, his voice low.

Xu Qinghuan was startled by his low drink and shrank her shoulders, but immediately bit her moist lips and straightened up, inwardly cursing: "What is this old thing pretending for."

She walked quickly to Jiang Ye, her fair and delicate face already flushed, the redness spreading from her cheekbones to her earlobes, and even her long, fair neck was stained with a faint pink.

She raised her head and stared straight at Jiang Ye, her enchanting eyes filled with a layer of hazy water, rippling in the moonlight, her voice thick and sticky as if it could pull out honey:

"Old Master Jiang... I seem to have a 'fever'..."

"Please... please..."

"Help me 'break the fever'..."