Chapter 347: Ye Chen
Seeing how she was fixing her dress, he looked away, then glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.
He couldn’t help but think she was really beautiful.
His gaze briefly dropped to her chest before he quickly averted his eyes, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. No, he needed to focus, he had to tell her she couldn’t be here. Based on how he couldn’t sense her cultivation, she was probably a mortal.
"Umm, this place is beyond..." he began as he turned to face her, but staggered backward when he realized she was already standing before him.
How had she moved so fast?
"Senior Ye Chen," the girl called out.
"Yes? Wait, how do you know my name?" Ye Chen asked, surprised.
Xiang Yu thought to himself that he had just used Appraisal, but he couldn’t simply say that. When he was about to be exposed, he had resorted to this method for some reason, changing his body to that of a woman.
Now he needed to improvise.
"Has Senior Ye Chen forgotten about me?" Xiang Yu asked, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.
Ye Chen quickly waved his hands frantically. "Of course not, I haven’t forgotten!"
"Yeally?" she asked, her eyes brightening. "I knew you wouldn’t forget about me." She threw her arms around him in a tight hug.
Ye Chen blushed deeply, feeling her chest pressed against his.
He thought to himself that she had a really nice body. "No!" he mentally scolded himself, shaking off the thoughts. He needed to figure out who she was, why couldn’t he remember seeing her before?
As he was about to speak, she beat him to it. "Senior Ye Chen..." she began.
"Ahem, just call me Brother Ye," he interrupted.
She smiled sweetly. "Oki. Brother Ye," she started again.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked.
"I want to see the flower up close," she said, looking up to meet his gaze with wide, innocent eyes.
"No, you can’t. Don’t you know what that is? It’s too dangerous," he said firmly, shaking his head.
Xiang Li gazed at him, giving her most pleading look. "Please, just this once? I really want to see it."
Ye Chen looked at her beseeching expression, trying his hardest to resist. "No, it’s too dangerous," he repeated, though with less conviction.
Xiang Li gently held his hand. "But Brother Ye is so strong, can’t you protect me?" she asked, her voice soft and persuasive.
"Umm, well..." Looking at her pleading gaze, he couldn’t withstand it anymore. "Fine, but just this once," he relented.
"Oki," Xiang Li replied happily.
Suddenly, she was swept off her feet, finding herself being carried princess-style in Ye Chen’s strong arms. Xiang Yu covered his face, thinking to himself that this was really embarrassing, now he understood his master’s feelings back then. He needed to get this over with quickly.
"We’re here," Ye Chen announced.
Xiang Yu opened his eyes and looked at the flower, thinking to himself that it wasn’t much different from the others. He stretched out his hand toward it. "Thanks for the help," Xiang Yu said casually.
"Wait, stop!" Ye Chen shouted, but it was too late.
Xiang Li disappeared from his arms and now had her hand pressed directly against the flower.
"Careful, that’s dangerous!" Ye Chen shouted, about to run toward Xiang Li, but he stopped in his tracks as he saw a huge light radiating from the demon flower. For a brief moment, the flower became completely white, as if made entirely of pure light. Then, it began withering, light particles disappearing into nothingness.
Ye Chen was stunned for a moment before his expression changed to one of concern. "Oh no, Xiang Li!" he exclaimed, his eyes darting around frantically, searching for her. As he was wondering where she had gone, he heard a loud, angry voice.
"Damn you, Ye Chen! You not only let the enemy in, but you’re also letting her get away!" the voice thundered.
"Get away?" he wondered aloud, his gaze lifting upward. Then he saw Xiang Li flying off into the distance at top speed.
...
Xiang Yu looked behind him, noticing the people chasing after him.
There were at least five Integration Realm experts in hot pursuit.
"It seems there is no saving this clone," he thought.
He still continued speeding through the air though, wondering how long he could last in such a chase.
But suddenly, he felt his location shift, and he wasn’t in the air anymore.
"Not that long, huh?" he thought with resignation.
Glancing around at his surroundings, he realized he was in a forest, being pushed against a tree with his hands held above his head - or rather, her hands.
"Who are you?" she recognized the voice immediately.
"Brother Ye, didn’t I tell you who I was?" She asked with a coy smile.
"Not that! Who are you really? How could you destroy the Demon Flower?" Ye Chen demanded, pressing her harder against the rough bark of the tree.
She winced at the pressure. "Ah, Brother Ye, you’re being too forceful," she said, blushing slightly.
Ye Chen blushed, loosening his grip slightly.
"Y-you, stop those games," he stammered. "Answer my questions or I’ll hand you over to them." He pointed skyward where hundreds of experts were flying around, searching for Xiang Yu.
"If I tell you, will you let me go?" Xiang Yu asked.
After some hesitation, Ye Chen finally nodded. "Yes."
Xiang Yu smiled to himself, thinking that this guy was quite interesting.
Perhaps he should invest in him and establish a connection to the Central Continent. "Even if I tell you, you won’t believe me anyway," she said, looking away with an expression that was difficult to read. "I’ve learned not to trust you guys, in the end, one can only rely on themselves."
Ye Chen looked at her with a surprised look.
"Wh-what are you talking about?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.
Xiang Yu smiled inwardly, he knew Ye Chen was a main character name. Looks like the bait had worked perfectly. "I don’t want to talk to someone who guards a demon," she said coldly. "Just kill me."
Ye Chen was shocked by her words. He wondered if she had some past.
"Is that why you destroyed it?" he asked, his voice softening.
"And what if it is? Killing a demon shouldn’t be a controversial thing to do, right?" she replied, appearing irritated by his questioning. "Anyway, get on with it. No way scum like you would ever understand."
Ye Chen slowly released his grip on her, his hands falling to his sides. "I see. Yeah, it shouldn’t be controversial," he admitted, turning his back to her. "You’re free to go."
She looked at him with a strange expression, as if she had not expected this turn of events.
"Ye Chen?" she called out hesitantly.
Ye Chen was lost in thought, realizing that he was the foolish one all along.
Always reminiscing about how he wanted to be a hero but never taking action. He was no different from those he criticized; he was just trying to make himself feel better about his inaction. Even a weak girl like Xiang Li had taken action, yet he remained stuck in the same place, blaming everything on others.
He clenched his fist with determination. He was going to become the hero he had always aspired to be. Since the Immortals weren’t the heroes he had hoped they would be, he would become one himself.
"Ye Chen?" she called again, breaking through his thoughts.
"What is it? Didn’t you say you didn’t want to talk to scum like me?" he asked with a self-deprecating smile, turning to face her.
She glanced to the side, avoiding his direct gaze. Then, reaching into her spatial ring, she pulled something out. Taking his hand, she gently opened his clenched fist and placed the object inside before closing his fingers around it.
"Take this," she said softly.
A blush crept across her cheeks as she looked away. "I’m sorry for calling you scum. You’re different than them," she admitted. Before he could respond, space fractured around her, breaking open and swallowing her whole.
Ye Chen slowly opened his hand to examine what she had given him. When he saw the object resting in his palm, a smile spread across his face.
"I hope we meet again," he said before launching himself into the air.
...
A/N: sorry for changing pronouns so much, when its in Ye Chen’s pov, he will think of her as a girl since he doesn’t know.
Should we keep Xiang Li? Or is she too OP?
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