Ye Yutian looked at Ye Lanshan with pride, truly the woman he had set his sights on. Even Yue Shu was captivated by her demeanor.
Yun Di stared blankly at Ye Lanshan, his fondness for her deepening, but he also knew he might not be worthy of such a Ye Lanshan. Yet he refused to give up—perhaps if he tried a little harder, he could break free from those people’s control.
“Here, eat this.” Ling Chunan took out a pill and placed it in Yun Di’s mouth. The bitter taste was the most unpleasant thing he had ever eaten.
“You—” Before he could say anything, he felt the constant pressure in his mind vanish. Not suppressed, not hidden, but completely gone.
“We lived in that place for half our lives, so naturally we developed miraculous medicines to counter it.” Ling Chunan no longer held back, unleashing all her skills.
In one night, Ye Lanshan figured out the entire internal structure of where those madmen lived. Now she couldn’t wait to charge in and rescue Xiari and Huo Feiyan, but reason held her back. Yes, she couldn’t act impulsively.
Never had she hated her own weakness more than at this moment. If she were strong enough, Xiari would have been rescued long ago. Why wait until now, needing meticulous planning just to attempt a careful rescue?
Become stronger, stronger. Yes, only by becoming stronger could she protect those she wanted to protect. She was no longer the same as before, wasn’t she? Once carefree and unattached, able to live like a wandering cloud, but now she had ties—how could she be unrestrained?
“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you. I’ve got your back.” Ye Yutian came to her side and took her hand. A jolt of electricity traveled from his hand to her heart—a sensation she had never felt before, so peculiar.
“I’ll handle my own affairs myself.” Ye Lanshan wasn’t used to relying on others. Her earlier cooperation was only a temporary measure, and now she owed him more and more, to the point where she could barely repay it. She couldn’t owe him any more.
“Why are you being so distant again? Isn’t helping you only natural?” Ye Yutian sighed. The revolution was far from over; he still had to keep trying.
“Suit yourself.” Since you insist on helping, I can’t stop you. I won’t turn down free combat power, but as long as my inner demon remains, I’ll never fall in love with anyone.
Yue Shu watched their interaction, the intimate bond she couldn’t breach, and knew she had no chance. But what could she do? At least she was still his friend, wasn’t she?
“Hey, are you male or female?” Feng Qing was very curious about this. He had seen Ye Lanshan’s realistic disguise skills, so even now, he didn’t believe her current appearance was real.
“Don’t you have eyes? Can’t you see for yourself? Our clan leader is obviously female. And you call yourself a divine beast? I think you’re more like an idiot.” Ling Chunan shot him a contemptuous look. She couldn’t believe a divine beast couldn’t tell male from female.
Feng Qing’s face darkened completely. He wanted to kill this insolent woman, but he had to consider Ye Yutian’s overwhelming pressure.
Ever since Feng Qing entered the cave, he had noticed that among everyone, Ye Yutian had the highest cultivation, so high that even he couldn’t detect his level.
“Pfft—” Ye Lanshan couldn’t help but laugh. She never expected a divine beast to ask such a question.
Of course, she wasn’t the only one; many present laughed too.
“Your disguise skills are so amazing, plus when I first met you, you were in male form, and now you’re in female form—how am I supposed to know which one is your real appearance?” Feng Qing felt very wronged.
“I understand, I understand.” Ye Lanshan smiled with amusement. It had been so long since she had laughed this happily.
“Hmph.” Feng Qing said no more, turned around, and crouched on the ground, ignoring them.
“Alright, I need to go out and gather some herbs. Ye Yutian, I’ll leave this place to you.” Ye Lanshan finally stopped laughing and walked out.
“I don’t care what your motives are, but if you try to harm Ye Lanshan, don’t blame me for taking action.”
After Ye Lanshan left, Ye Yutian warned Feng Qing.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her.” Such an interesting human—how could I bear to?
“Hey, Muxinlian, can you tell me what you did after you went back? Why didn’t my uncle come?” Yun Di sidled up to Muxinlian.
“Your uncle is doing well in the Yue Kingdom. We only eliminated Yue Jinghong’s faction. The one who ascended the throne is still of Yue bloodline.”
Muxinlian recounted everything that happened in the Yue Kingdom without holding back.
Soon after, Ye Lanshan came running back, covered in blood.
Ye Yutian immediately walked over and asked anxiously, “What happened? Who hurt you?”
“It’s those madmen. They’ve discovered our presence.” Ye Lanshan said weakly, swaying from blood loss.
But Ye Yutian didn’t help her up. Though his face showed worry and concern, he made no physical move.
“Quick, help me inside to rest.” Ye Lanshan grew anxious when she saw Ye Yutian’s lack of action.
“Aren’t you the one who hates being touched the most?” Ye Yutian’s eyes held suspicion, and he even stepped back as she approached.
“When did she ever hate being touched? Don’t you like her? Why aren’t you helping her when she’s like this?”
Yun Di couldn’t wait any longer. He strode over to help Ye Lanshan but was blocked by Ye Yutian.
“What do you mean by this?” Yun Di’s eyes blazed with anger, nearly coming to blows with him.
With a “thud,” Ye Lanshan finally collapsed to the ground. Yun Di tried to push Ye Yutian away in panic, but found he couldn’t budge him.
“So this is what you meant by ‘I’ve got your back’?” Ling Chunan also ran over but was stopped by Feng Qing.
“She’s not the real Ye Lanshan.” Muxinlian’s calm words left Yun Di stunned on the spot. Even Ling Chunan found it hard to believe.
How could that be? Her body clearly had spiritual energy fluctuations.
Hearing this, Yun Di silently walked back to his original spot and sat down.
“What proof do you have that she’s not the clan leader? If the real clan leader wakes up and finds you all acting like this, she’ll surely be heartbroken.” Ling Chunan sneered at Feng Qing, who was blocking her from helping Ye Lanshan.
“I have a contract with her, so naturally I can tell whether she’s Ye Lanshan or not.” Muxinlian coldly looked at the Ye Lanshan lying on the ground. With skills like that, trying to impersonate Ye Lanshan? Go back and cultivate for another eight hundred years.
“A contract? I didn’t expect you to be a divine beast.” The fake Ye Lanshan reluctantly got up. She had planned to play weak, trick them into touching her so she could control them, but not a single one had fallen for it.