Chapter 28: Do Not Belittle a Youth in Poverty

The head guard, seeing Ye Qingran's extraordinary bearing as if she were a noble lady of a prestigious family, dared not act rashly and explained, "It was this beggar, blind as a bat, who collided with the princess's phoenix carriage; he deserves death!"

"Princess, are you injured?"

"No."

"Since the Princess is unharmed, this man has no serious fault; release him!"

"This…"

The head guard wore a troubled expression.

"Who told you to stop? Continue beating me; today I will make these lowborn see what happens when they collide with me!"

At that moment, a haughty voice came from the carriage.

The head guard swallowed his pride and complied.

The other guards prepared to act again.

"Xing Er, Yue Er!"

Without needing Ye Qingran to say more, Han Xing Leng Yue acted in unspoken accord.

Both were masters, and they easily rescued the rag‑clad youth from the guards' grasp.

"What audacity, daring to defy my command! Bring them, seize them for me!"

A curtain on the side of the carriage was pulled back, revealing a willful, capricious face.

"My apologies!" the head guard said, clasping his fists, then waved his hand, and the guards surged forward.

Ye Qingran, appearing either a frail woman or a young child, was no match for the armored guards—weak and defenseless.

Everyone couldn't help but break a sweat for Ye Qingran and her companions.

The Thirteenth Princess's willfulness is famous throughout Xiliang City.

Because the current Empress dotes on her without restraint.

If Ye Qingran fell into the Thirteenth Princess's hands, she would likely meet a grim fate.

Just as everyone silently mourned Ye Qingran, the stunning woman suddenly raised a purple glass token.

"Imperial Decree of the Former Emperor is here! Let me see who dares to act rashly!"

Her voice shattered like Kun Shan jade, striking the ground with sound; her aura was as if the former emperor himself stood before us!

What?

Imperial Decree of the Former Emperor?

The head guard stared, confirming it was indeed the Imperial Decree of the Former Emperor, and immediately dropped to both knees, shouting, "Your servant, I have seen His Majesty!" The guards behind him followed suit.

Seeing the head guard kneel, the townsfolk of Xiliang City present could not dare not to kneel.

In an instant, everyone except Ye Qingran's four companions and those inside the carriage knelt on the ground.

"Thirteenth Princess, why don't you come out and kneel before the former emperor!"

Dongfang Ling'er, shocked, looked at the Imperial Decree of the Former Emperor in Ye Qingran's hand and shouted, "You are Ye Qingran?!"

The precious Imperial Decree of the Former Emperor existed as a single token, granted by the former emperor to the war god Yun Sui Feng of East Lin. After Yun Sui Feng fell, it naturally came into Ye Qingran's possession.

Ye Qingran barked, "Thirteenth Princess, kneel at once!"

That aura made Dongfang Ling'er shudder all over.

Immediately, Dongfang Ling'er sneered, "Ye Qingran, you insignificant waste, how dare you make this princess kneel?"

"She may not kneel. I believe the news that the Thirteenth Princess refuses to kneel before the Imperial Decree will soon reach His Majesty's ears, and then Princess will be labeled disloyal and unfilial."

With Dongfang Ling'er's pallid complexion, Ye Qingran sneered, "The light are cast into the Cold Palace, the heavy are demoted to commoners. Even so, princess, do you still refuse to kneel?"

Dongfang Ling'er's face turned ashen.

Though she is willful, she knows the authority of the Imperial Decree.

Ye Qingran's words were not empty.

Reluctantly emerging from the carriage, Dongfang Ling'er knelt unwillingly.

"Ye Qingran, don't be smug; I kneel to the former emperor, not to you!"

Ye Qingran gave no reply.

"Release this person."

"On what grounds? Ye Qingran, do you think you can act arbitrarily because you wield the Imperial Decree?"

"The Imperial Decree indeed cannot… But the princess, being royalty, treating lives as grass will chill the hearts of the people."

The many townsfolk of Xiliang City strongly agreed.

"Ridiculous! It was this beggar who first collided with my phoenix carriage; what if I kill him?"

"The princess wasn't injured, was she?"

"But I was startled!"

"Princess, you would kill him merely because you were frightened?"

"He's just a useless beggar; if I want to kill him, I will!"

"Since the Thirteenth Princess says so, then kill him."

Ye Qingran's sudden shift left Dongfang Ling'er bewildered.

For a moment she dared not kill.

"Ye Qingran, you tell this princess to kill, yet I refuse to kill!" Dongfang Ling'er sneered.

"A mere beggar, even alive he scrapes by; better to die outright."

"Princess, your words are wrong; the founding emperor of East Lin was once a beggar himself, wasn't he?"

Dongfang Ling'er choked.

"Can they be compared?"

"Why can't we compare?"

"There's a saying: thirty years east, thirty years west; do not underestimate a poor youth. How would the Princess know? He's down on his luck now, but he might yet become a mighty warlord."

At this moment, the youth who had been beaten and was vomiting blood, shocked, raised his eyes and looked at Ye Qingran with an extremely complex gaze.

"Don't underestimate a poor youth?!"

"Can he?"

Not only the youth, but the surrounding townspeople all showed complex expressions.

They felt that this saying applied to Ye Qingran herself, and it could not be more fitting.

Over the past decade or so, Ye Qingran had been unremarkable; five years ago, she mysteriously disappeared, rumored to have been disfigured, her Spiritual Root dug out, and subjected to endless ridicule.

And what about now?

Before Wuji Hall, she displayed the bearing of a war god, defeating the Seventh Prince and Mu Qingrou, revealing her peerless beauty, and shocking the entire city of Xiliang!

Indeed, thirty years east, thirty years west!

Dongfang Ling'er first stared in surprise, then sneered: "I've figured it out—you two, one a beggar, one a worthless trash, sympathizing with each other. Since that's the case, I'll help you out! Let's go!"

The princess's phoenix carriage slowly departed, while the youth remained seated on the ground, fresh blood still seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"How do you feel?"

The youth gritted his teeth and stubbornly said: "I won't die!"

Such incidents have happened to him more than just once or twice. Each time he ended up covered in wounds. This time counts as relatively good.

Ye Qingran clicked her tongue: "What a fine holy Spiritual Root, yet someone tampered with it. What a pity." Although phrased as a question, her tone was quite certain.

Ye Qingran was also quite surprised. She never expected that the person she casually rescued on the street would be a peerless genius possessing a holy Spiritual Root. Although he has fallen to this state, no one would suspect that a beggar's body could harbor a holy Spiritual Root.

The youth started, his dark eyes clouded and unfathomable.

"You don't need to look at me like that. If you want your Spiritual Root to recover, wait until your injuries heal, then go to the Medicine King Pavilion to find me."

"Medicine King Pavilion?"

That is the power of the Yaowang Valley located in Xiliang City.

Could this person be from the Yaowang Valley?

If she really is from the Yaowang Valley, then is my Spiritual Root...?

"Why did you save me?"