Chapter 9: The Greedy Man

After breakfast, Ye Xiaochuan used his pitifully small amount of true essence to heal Yun Qiyou's injuries.

Yun Qiyou did not wake up immediately and remained in a coma.

When it turned dark, Ye Xiaochuan, seeing that Yun Qiyou was wearing thin clothes, took off his own and covered her with them. He then curled up in a corner of the stone wall, rubbing his hands and shivering, his face turning blue from the cold.

The next day, the drowsy Ye Xiaochuan felt a bone-chilling cold air hit him. He shivered, stood up, and accidentally hit his head on the stone wall, causing him to cry out in pain.

In the next moment, a bright white sword beam, as clear as autumn water, shot out and pressed against his throat.

He was startled and, upon a closer look, his face immediately turned pale.

Yun Qiyou stood before him, holding the Dust-Cutting Divine Sword, its white beam pressing against his neck. If the sword moved forward just a bit, he would surely be splattered with blood and die on the spot.

Ye Xiaochuan's legs turned weak, and despite the bitter cold of winter, cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

He stammered, "Yun, Yun... Senior Sister Yun, what are you doing? I saved your life, and even if you don't repay me with your body, why do you want to kill me?"

Yun Qiyou's bright eyes fixed on Ye Xiaochuan, and she said coldly, "Who are you?"

Ye Xiaochuan was embarrassed.

He had roamed Cangyun for fifteen years, stealing from all twelve peaks of the cycle. Whether it was the inner disciples of Cangyun Sect, the outer disciples of the other peaks, or the miscellaneous servants, who didn't know him, the great rat of Cangyun, Ye Xiaochuan?

But this Yun Qiyou didn't recognize him!

Yun Qiyou was more beautiful than Gu Pan'er, had higher cultivation, and was more famous. A few years ago, some people in the mortal world had ranked the eighteen most outstanding young disciples of the righteous and demonic sects, known as the Six Princes, Six Immortal Maidens, and Six Eccentrics.

Yun Qiyou was one of the Six Immortal Maidens, the Ice Fairy Lingbing.

Though her personality was cold and strange, her beauty was unmatched, and countless talented young men had fallen for her in the mortal world.

Ye Xiaochuan never denied that he was a greedy and lustful man. Although he couldn't provoke Yun Qiyou, he was still a man, and deep down, he had always harbored a crush on her.

The result was frustrating: his goddess, his dream lover, didn't recognize him at all!

A sense of defeat welled up in him.

He laughed dryly, "I, I'm Ye Xiaochuan, the only disciple of Drunken Daoist of Cangyun Sect!"

He emphasized the words "the only disciple of Drunken Daoist."

Yun Qiyou did not lower her divine sword and slowly asked, "Why are you at Sigu Cliff?"

Ye Xiaochuan smiled bitterly, "Do you think I want to be here? It's because I stole something from that tigress Gu Pan'er recently and was caught. Uncle Yun He, who oversees Cangyun's punishments, sentenced me to three months of penance at Sigu Cliff. It's only been six days so far!"

Hearing this, Yun Qiyou finally lowered her sword slowly.

Seeing the sword blade leave his neck, Ye Xiaochuan took a deep breath and sat down on the cliff, his face still showing lingering fear.

Yun Qiyou had forcefully used the Northern Dipper Exorcising God Sword Technique the previous night, resulting in a backlash. However, her cultivation was very high, and after resting for two days, she had recovered some strength.

She said, "You've been here for six days? How long was I unconscious?"

Ye Xiaochuan replied, "You were unconscious for about two days and two nights. Let me reiterate: that night, you were practicing sword techniques and using the Northern Dipper Exorcising God Sword Technique. You ran out of energy and were hit by a backlash, falling from the sky. It was me..."

He pointed at his nose and said, "It was me, Ye Xiaochuan, who risked my life to catch you. If I hadn't, you would have been smashed to pieces when you fell unconscious! Later, it was also me, Ye Xiaochuan, who used my true essence to heal you, even though I only have the fourth-layer Divine Sea cultivation and don't have much true essence in my meridians. But..."

Yun Qiyou looked at Ye Xiaochuan and interrupted him, "What do you want to say?"

Ye Xiaochuan smiled, "To sum it up, I am your benefactor. I saved your life. I don't ask for you to repay me with your body or to serve me, but if you could give me a hundred or eighty taels of silver, it would certainly make me, your benefactor, feel very gratified."

Yun Qiyou finally understood that Ye Xiaochuan's long-winded speech was all about money. She was momentarily stunned.

Seeing Yun Qiyou's changing expression, Ye Xiaochuan cautiously said, "Seventy taels would be fine, or even fifty or thirty taels... Senior Sister Yun, you're not that stingy, right? Ten taels, no lower! Eight taels, rock-bottom price of eight taels!"

Ye Xiaochuan had lowered his demand from a hundred taels to eight taels, but Yun Qiyou said nothing, just tilting her head and looking at him with her bright but cold eyes.

Finally, Ye Xiaochuan gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, saying, "Forget about eight taels, five taels! Just five taels! Sister, I infused so much true essence into you, and in the snow, I even took off my clothes to keep you warm, almost freezing myself to death. Five taels of silver isn't even enough to buy medicine to restore my health."

"I have no money," Yun Qiyou said quietly.

"What?"

Ye Xiaochuan rolled his eyes and said irritably, "Who are you trying to fool? You are the most talented disciple of Senior Uncle Jing Shui and one of the Six Immortal Maidens. Even if we look at the whole world, you are a top young expert. Now you say you have no money? Look at my weathered old face; I've seen it all. You have no money? Ha, I don't believe it!"

Yun Qiyou said coolly, "I really have no money, but you did save my life. To avoid others saying that Yun Qiyou doesn't know how to repay kindness, I do have a way to settle the debt between us."

Ye Xiaochuan was overjoyed and asked, "What way? Tell me!"

Yun Qiyou lowered her head and looked at the Dust-Cutting Divine Sword in her hand, saying, "Only you and I know about you saving me. If I kill you to silence you, wouldn't that be more convenient?"

Ye Xiaochuan was startled.

If anyone else had said this, he might have laughed it off. But Yun Qiyou had indeed killed a fellow disciple three years ago, a core disciple of the Cycle Peak who had insulted her.

So, Ye Xiaochuan didn't think Yun Qiyou was joking.

He shrank back, took a few steps backward, and said awkwardly, "Senior Sister Yun, I was just joking! We are of the same sect, and helping each other is a matter of fellow disciples' righteousness. Talking about silver and rewards? That would hurt the pure bond between us, wouldn't it?"

Yun Qiyou said coolly, "If you're not asking for money, I still have to settle accounts with you. Did you take any liberties with me while I was unconscious?"

"Heaven and earth as my witness! How could I take advantage of someone in distress and do such a disgraceful thing? Who in Cangyun doesn't know that I, Ye Xiaochuan, am honest, chivalrous, and righteous... a gentleman..."

His voice grew softer, as if he was feeling guilty.

Thinking about his past deeds, it seemed that the words "honest," "chivalrous," "righteous," and "gentleman" didn't really apply to him. If anything, "cowardly," "lecherous," "thief," "greedy," "deceitful," and "gambler" were more fitting.

Yun Qiyou, unaware of Ye Xiaochuan's inner guilt, had checked her body when she woke up. Her clothes were intact, and she was still covered with Ye Xiaochuan's clothes. She knew that most of what he said was true, and he hadn't taken any liberties with her while she was unconscious.

If she had found her clothes disheveled, Ye Xiaochuan wouldn't have lived this long; she would have killed him with one sword stroke.

Yun Qiyou said slowly, "I'll believe you for now, but remember one thing: if you dare to spread the word about my failure in practicing the Northern Dipper Exorcising God Sword Technique, and let a third person know, I will kill you myself."

With that, she swung her sword, and a white sword beam shot out, striking the stone wall behind Ye Xiaochuan.

With a loud boom, a deep crack appeared in the stone wall, and the powerful sword qi even shook the vines growing on the wall, sending them flying.

After swinging her sword, Yun Qiyou turned and, with a wave of her sleeve, flew away on her sword toward the front mountain of the Cycle Peak.