Volume 1 Chapter 13: Junior Sister, Peeling an Apple
Tn: Edited at 5 / 15 /2025
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Ye Ao watched as Kong Yulan carried Feng Yudie into the back room. Then he glanced again at the magical tools and identity badge that Ye Anping had brought out. He pinched the bridge of his nose, as if troubled by something.
After a pause, he turned to Pei Lengxue.
"Pei girl, go in and help look after that girl."
"Ah... yes."
Pei Lengxue nodded blankly, looking worried. She snuck a glance at her senior brother, then cupped her hands and followed into the inner room.
Once she was gone, Ye Ao pulled Ye Anping over to sit at the tea table beside the Heavenly Pavilion and poured him a cup of tea.
At this moment, Ye Ao's mind was in turmoil. Never mind why the Poison Gu Sect's Grand Elder would appear in the heartland of the immortal sects—what he really couldn't understand was this: with just Ye Anping and Pei Lengxue, it should have been impossible for them to injure, let alone kill, a Core Formation Realm demonic cultivator.
"Anping, tell your father the truth. You and that Pei girl really killed a Core Formation Realm demonic cultivator? There was no one else helping?"
"Dad—"
Ye Ao raised a hand to cut him off. "Anping, I know your capabilities. You might be able to fool your mother with a tall tale, but not me. Just tell me the truth. What really happened?"
"Well, we just kind of... picked up the scraps."
"So you mean he was already injured when you two finished him off?"
"Yep. A golden dragon suddenly appeared in Martial Creek Town. That demonic cultivator seems to have fought with it. When we ran into him, he'd already lost half his life to the dragon. He tried to use our souls to heal himself—but we turned the tables and killed him instead."
Ye Ao's eyes narrowed. "A golden dragon?"
"Yeah. Golden dragon," Ye Anping shrugged and nodded. "If you don't believe me, you can ask around in Martial Creek Town. I bet a lot of people saw it."
"And that girl you brought back?"
"After the golden dragon vanished, Lengxue and I went to check the spot it had appeared—and we found her right there."
Hearing this, Ye Ao's eyes widened slightly, as if he had just realized something significant. He instinctively turned to glance toward the inner room.
He was, after all, an old cultivator—he understood what it meant to inherit the bloodline of the Immortal Emperor.
And now, a girl carrying the Immortal Emperor's bloodline had been brought into his home by his own son.
Ye Ao had never expected his son to accomplish anything particularly great in this lifetime. With dual spiritual roots, he might go farther than Ye Ao himself had—but not by much.
Yet now, he saw a chance to bring glory not just to the Ye family, but to the entire Hundred Lotus Sect.
The descendant of the Immortal Emperor—so long as nothing unexpected happened—would almost certainly become the next Immortal Emperor among the immortal clans.
If Ye Anping could build a relationship with her, it would be an enormous boon to the Hundred Lotus Sect, to the Ye family, and to Ye Anping himself.
When Ye Anping had introduced the girl earlier, he'd been so detailed—clearly, the girl had told him all of it.
And if she had been willing to share even her master's history with him, then she probably held Ye Anping in very high regard.
"Anping, what was that girl's name again? Feng... something?"
"Feng Yudie."
"Mm." Ye Ao nodded, smiling warmly as he took a sip of tea. "Since you were the one who saved her, why don't you take care of her for the time being, alright?"
"Of course—" Ye Anping nodded enthusiastically. "No."
"Mm... huh?" Ye Ao's smile froze on his face. "What?"
"Let Xiao Die take care of her," Ye Anping shrugged and grinned. "If I look after her and she falls for me, what then? I mean, I'm so dashing and charming."
Cough cough—! Ye Ao choked on his tea, coughing several times before frowning and shooting back, "And what would be so bad if she did fall for you? That girl looks pretty cute to me."
"Of course that'd be bad."
"…What's bad about it?"
Feng Yudie is the protagonist! He was just a cannon fodder side character—he'd be lucky to avoid getting dragged into her disaster!
Of course, he couldn't say that.
"Sigh—" Ye Anping let out a troubled sigh. "Dad, we shouldn't aim too high, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"I've got average dual spiritual roots. If I want to find a partner, I should pick someone similarly average—dual roots, maybe triple roots. If there's too big a gap in talent or cultivation between husband and wife, it won't be a peaceful marriage. I don't want to end up like you—henpecked after getting married."
"Henpecked? What does that mean?"
"It means being totally controlled by your wife."
"And that means?"
"It means you fear neither heaven nor earth—but you do fear getting slapped by your wife."
"…"
Ye Ao stared blankly for a second. Then dark lines slid down his face as veins popped out on the back of his hand.
Before he could smack his son upside the head, Ye Anping quickly poured more tea into his cup, trying to ease the tension with a grin.
"Here, Dad—your son respectfully serves you tea."
Ye Ao could only sigh in frustration, shaking his head.
"Forget it. I don't even want to deal with you right now. Let's talk serious business. The day after tomorrow, when the elder from the Profound Star Sect arrives, if he asks about this, you just say that you and your junior sister came across a heavily injured Core Formation demonic cultivator and ambushed him. Don't say anything more than that—understand?"
"…An elder from the Profound Star Sect?"
"Yes, the Deputy Elder of Dragon Star Academy."
"But Dad, didn't you say you didn't believe that Lengxue and I killed a demonic cultivator? So why are you bringing an elder from the Profound Star Sect here?"
Ye Ao shot him a look. "I never said it was about the demonic cultivator. I just invited him over to play some chess and maybe give you some pointers. Cost me three thousand spirit stones, too."
So his dad was a secret tsundere.
"Alright then." Ye Anping finished the tea in one gulp, then stood up. "I'm heading back. I'm dead tired."
"Mm."
…
Meanwhile, in the inner room, Kong Yulan had already spent a year's worth of true essence to treat Feng Yudie, and had now arranged for her to stay in a guest room within the Heavenly Pavilion.
Pei Lengxue had been at Feng Yudie's side the entire time.
As for why she insisted on staying, it was because she was worried her senior brother might come by to check on Feng Yudie.
And if that happened—she absolutely had to be present.
But now, staring at Feng Yudie lying peacefully in bed, Pei Lengxue felt a dull ache in her chest.
Her senior brother could've just left this girl back in the town. Why bring her back here?!
And she had heavenly spiritual roots too…
She was pretty…
And about the same age as her senior brother…
The more Pei Lengxue thought about it, the angrier she got. In the end, she angrily pulled a small dagger from her storage bag and started peeling an apple.
Crunch—
Crunch—
The ominous sound of apple peeling must have stirred something, because Feng Yudie slowly opened her eyes on the bed.
Still groggy, she looked around the unfamiliar room.
She vaguely remembered—while being carried by Pei Lengxue back to Hundred Lotus Sect, she'd briefly regained consciousness a few times.
So… it was Pei Lengxue who saved her.
When she saw Pei Lengxue, she quickly called out softly, "Miss Pei…"
Pei Lengxue paused her knife and looked over coldly. "Awake?"
"Ah… yes."
"Good. A girl named Xiao Die will be coming to look after you from now on. If you need anything, ask her—don't bother my senior brother, got it?"
"Ah…" Seeing Pei Lengxue about to leave, Feng Yudie reached out weakly. "Wait, Miss Pei."
"What?"
"Well…" Feng Yudie bit her lip shyly. "Thank you for saving me."
"Hmph." Pei Lengxue snorted and tossed the apple core she had angrily whittled down. "Here. I peeled you an apple."
Then, without even glancing back, she left the room.