Chapter 43

After that night with Bai Xuan, she felt somewhat unnatural in front of Ye Chu, despite her efforts to act as if nothing had happened. However, Ye Chu still detected her unease!

Ye Chu smiled at this. Being able to see Bai Xuan in such a charming and unguarded state was a pleasure in itself.

The woman in the palace had struck him, but not with lethal force. Ye Chu spent a few days recuperating and was almost fully recovered!

During these few days, Ye Chu, besides taking care of Yaoyao, spent his time studying the unique Red Slaughter manual obtained from the palace. When Bai Bao first saw the Red Slaughter manual in Ye Chu's hands, he was amazed and puzzled as to how the item from the palace ended up with Ye Chu.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Bai Bao asked Ye Chu how he got it, but Ye Chu's response made Bai Bao laugh. Ye Chu actually said he stole it, which Bai Bao naturally didn't believe. How could he dare to steal from the palace?

After a few days of studying the Red Slaughter manual, Ye Chu found it increasingly confusing.

"Qi enters the body, transforms into spirit energy, and is used for oneself. When Qi and spirit energy are one, Yin and Yang can be formed!"

Ye Chu recalled a sentence from the Red Slaughter manual. The first three sentences made sense, but "When Qi and spirit energy are one, Yin and Yang can be formed" left him puzzled. Cultivators need to balance Yin and Yang; if they are not balanced, various problems will arise. Since balance is necessary, why say "Yin and Yang can be formed"?

Moreover, the idea of Qi and spirit energy being one seemed unrealistic. If Qi is transformed into spirit energy, it falls under the category of spirit energy. How can it be said that Qi and spirit energy are one?

Ye Chu couldn't figure it out and thought about returning to Qingmi Mountain to ask those mentally unstable people.

...

While Ye Chu was leisurely studying the Red Slaughter manual, the outside world was in an uproar because of him. First, in the palace, the two top royal advisors were severely injured, and the imperial seal was stolen, causing extreme tension in the palace. The king even issued a gag order to everyone in the palace.

Then, because of Su Rong, the news of Ye Chu's secret crush on Su Rong spread like wildfire. Everyone was indignant and vowed to drive Ye Chu out of Yaocheng, not allowing a scoundrel to have designs on Su Rong.

However, what left them incredulous was that Su Rong actually approached Liang Shan, asking where Ye Chu was, and left an invitation for Liang Shan and Ye Chu.

Liang Shan was ecstatic, and so was Yaocheng! What did Su Rong mean by this? Was she interested in Ye Chu?

This thought, once it popped into their heads, seemed to be the biggest news in Yaocheng for a century. The young generation of Yaocheng debated this topic endlessly!

"Ye Chu... Ye Chu..." Ye Chu was studying the Red Slaughter manual in his house when he heard Liang Shan's voice from a distance. Seeing Liang Shan so urgent, he thought something had happened and quickly opened the door. He found Liang Shan panting and looking excited!

"Did you take some aphrodisiac? So excited! But you shouldn't come to me! Go find a woman!" Ye Chu, seeing Liang Shan was fine, prepared to close the door and continue studying the Red Slaughter manual.

"Wait... wait..." Liang Shan spoke in short bursts, gasping for breath, and threw the invitation to Ye Chu, "Here! Su Rong wants you to see her!"

"Huh?" Ye Chu was surprised, wondering why Su Rong would want to see him. Could it be for revenge over that incident? Thinking about being tackled to the ground by her, Ye Chu couldn't help but recall the soft touch.

"When did you make your move!" Liang Shan was extremely excited, his eyes gleaming as he stared at Ye Chu and pounded his shoulder, "You got it! You managed to charm the pearl of Yaocheng, we all underestimated you!"

"Huh?" Ye Chu was puzzled, wondering what he and Su Rong had to do with each other.

"Still pretending!" Liang Shan glared at Ye Chu, "Su Rong, who has never actively invited anyone in all of Yaocheng, has invited you. Tsk tsk, what else could this be but special treatment!"

Liang Shan was so excited that he was almost dancing, his face flushed red.

"As long as she doesn't kill me, I'm fine!" Ye Chu laughed, opening the invitation and seeing the words, "Study appointment, must meet!"

Seeing this, Ye Chu paused. He and Su Rong had no such study appointment. But she wrote this, so the study she referred to must be the imperial study. Could she have realized that he was the one who stole from the imperial study?

"What do you mean 'that woman'! She is the goddess of all men in Yaocheng!" Liang Shan was unhappy with Ye Chu's reference to Su Rong, pulling him and saying, "Come on! Take me to Su Rong's banquet!"

Ye Chu, who was focused on studying the Red Slaughter manual, originally wanted to refuse, but seeing the words "study" on the invitation, he decided it was better to go!

"At the time, I was in night clothes, she probably just suspects me, but can't be sure!" Ye Chu muttered to himself, thinking it would be good to test Su Rong's reaction. After all, if she was certain and told the palace, it would be a problem!

...

The Yaocheng Book Garden was located on a small island in the Cold Lake. Although not large, its central location in the lake made it a beautiful place. Many people who enjoyed refined tastes liked to come here. When Ye Chu and Liang Shan arrived by boat, there were already many people there.

However, when these people saw Ye Chu, they all glared at him.

This scene left Ye Chu stunned, thinking that even if he was a rat in the street, they shouldn't look at him with such hatred.

"Did you do something terrible under my name again?" Ye Chu asked Liang Shan, who was beside him. He had been very low-key recently, so there was no reason for these people to hate him so much!

"You did something terrible and blame me!" Liang Shan was very unhappy.

"Go to hell with your nonsense!" Ye Chu cursed, thinking of himself as a pure person, so pure that he only played with mud, a person so innocent that even babies felt inferior!

"Hehe! For others, Su Rong's interest in you is a terrible thing!" Liang Shan laughed, "You should be prepared! Many people want to cause you trouble! But if Su Rong liked me, I'd be willing to die, and I wouldn't fear any trouble!"

Ye Chu was stunned, not realizing the rumor had spread so widely. Seeing Liang Shan's smug expression, Ye Chu understood. This rumor must have been fueled by Liang Shan, and he must have put in a lot of effort.

"Are you very grateful to me?" Liang Shan stared at Ye Chu, "If I hadn't spread the news of your secret crush on Su Rong, would you have progressed so quickly? Would Su Rong have invited you?"

"..." Ye Chu took a deep breath, trying to calm his urge to lose control.

But seeing Liang Shan's smug face, he couldn't help but kick him, "Get lost!"

After kicking Liang Shan, Ye Chu stepped into the book garden.

The book garden was ancient and elegant. As soon as he entered, a fragrant smell of books greeted him. But before Ye Chu could take a deep breath, he heard a furious shout, "Ye Chu! You actually dared to come! Tell me, what's going on between you and Su Rong?"

Zhang Su'er glared at Ye Chu, her eyes wide. Su Rong had been acting strangely recently. What surprised her even more was that Su Rong had lowered herself to actively invite Ye Chu, something that had never happened before!

She wondered if that one fall and embrace had made Su Rong like this scoundrel?