Tn: Edited at 8 / 10 / 2025
Note: Character Illustration
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Volume 1 Chapter 44: Senior Brother, We've Been Investigated
Not long after hitching a ride out on Zhuang Hu's flying sword, Ye Anping saw thunder rumbling over the back mountain of the Profound Star Sect. With just a little mental deduction, he knew it was most likely Lei Wanjun exploding in rage.
That put his mind at ease.
His plan had gone perfectly, achieving its first goal.
By now, Lei Wanjun probably hated the Seven Killers Sect to the bone, likely wishing he could fly straight to their main headquarters right this instant and blast them with hundreds of thunderbolts.
But before he could strike, Lei Wanjun first had to know where that headquarters was.
The Seven Killers Sect was, after all, an organization that had lasted nearly a thousand years in the Zhou Star Realm. If their base could be found easily, they'd have been wiped out by other rivals long ago.
So for the Profound Star Sect to wipe out the Seven Killers Sect was about the same as exterminating rats.
Rats posed no real threat to the Profound Star Sect, but as the saying goes—rats dig tunnels everywhere.
Even if the Profound Star Sect got serious, they wouldn't be able to get rid of them all in less than ten or twenty years.
Ye Anping had always lived by the rule: Don't let grudges last overnight.
The longer this dragged on, the more uncontrollable it would become.
Who knew—maybe one day, while the Profound Star Sect was busy chasing "rats," they'd suddenly realize they'd been used as a gun in someone else's hand. That would be the end for him.
So he needed to give them a little push—pass along the western part of the Seven Killers Sect's location to the Profound Star Sect.
As for how to pass it along—well, he certainly couldn't just stroll up to Lei Wanjun and say, "The Seven Killers Sect is right there! Go strike them now!"
That would be as good as hanging a sign around his neck saying I'm using you.
But Ye Anping already had a plan in mind.
The only thing he wasn't sure about… was whether Feng Yudie would be willing to let him tie her up and stuff her into a sack.
…
After he and Zhuang Hu found a mountaintop to erect a gravestone for "Second Brother" and the others, holding a simple funeral, they went their separate ways.
By the time Ye Anping returned to the Profound Star Sect's marketplace, it was already around the time of chen (7–9 a.m.).
The sun was just peeking out from behind the mountains.
The morning market was bustling with noise. He bought a set of soy milk and fried dough sticks from a breakfast stall, and everywhere people were gossiping about the commotion on the Profound Star Sect's back mountain the day before.
Ye Anping, feeling rather pleased, finished his breakfast in good spirits, then returned to therapy hall. He planned to keep the shop closed today as well and take a proper two-day rest.
After all, escorting Zhuang Hu and the others into the back mountain had left him without a wink of sleep for the past two days.
He took a quick bath, lay down on the bed, and soon drifted off.
After exhausting work, a nap always came with sweet dreams.
Ye Anping even dreamed of Xu Xiyue, the girl that he had always wanted to marry.
The two of them strolled hand-in-hand along the shore of West Lake, gazing into each other's eyes. Xu Xiyue's smile was gentle and shy, and just as their lips were about to meet—
Bang!
A loud crash came from inside the therapy hall, shattering his dream in an instant.
Ye Anping jolted in shock, but as he moved to get up, he suddenly realized his whole body was burning hot, as if his dantian had ignited.
He hesitated for a moment, then ignored the noise outside and quickly held his breath to examine himself.
His spiritual sense traveled along his meridians, checking each acupoint, and he discovered that he had broken through! His cultivation had jumped straight from the third layer of Qi Refining to the fifth layer.
But because he had skipped a layer, his spiritual sea was now overflowing with pure yang energy with nowhere to vent it, forcing his body to sweat heavily to cool down.
"This…"
Ye Anping was a little startled, but soon remembered what Wang Shouren had told him before—
[Leaving aside that Sword Inquiry Technique for now—both the Four-Sun Sect's Foundational Heart Technique and the Nine Primordial Heart Technique are extremely yang-heavy techniques. Practicing them together will inevitably result in an overaccumulation of yang energy. If this is not properly regulated, serious internal problems may arise in the future]
"So that's what he meant…"
At that moment, a man's and a woman's voices drifted in from outside.
"Handle it gently! Search if you must, but who told you to smash the door?!"
—It sounded like Bai Yuelin.
"Ah— Senior Sister Bai, we've been ordered to thoroughly investigate the marketplace. This shop hasn't been open for the past few days… and you also know what happened at the back mountain yesterday. This place is highly suspicious…"
Bai Yuelin argued firmly, "What suspicion? It's just a coincidence! There's more than one shop that's been closed these past few days!"
"Yes, we know, which is why we'll be searching several other shops afterward."
"Then just go search those other shops— There's absolutely nothing wrong with this one. The owner's just a young little cultivator—how could he possibly be connected to the Seven Killers Sect?!"
"But still…"
Hearing this, Ye Anping immediately understood the source of that loud crash earlier.
He had expected that the Profound Star Sect would come knocking eventually, and his original plan had been to use "returning to the Hundred Lotus Sect to visit my parents" as an excuse. But right now, his body was overflowing with yang energy, making him look just like someone gravely ill.
So…
Ye Anping quickly got out of bed, pushed open the bedroom door, and walked out, feigning sickness with a few coughs.
"Cough, cough—what's going on?"
Seeing Ye Anping's flushed face and weak expression, Bai Yuelin hurried over and asked, "Anping, what's wrong with you?"
"I had a fever for the last few days, felt like I caught a severe chill, so I had to close the shop and rest."
"Ah?!" Bai Yuelin quickly reached out to feel his forehead, then fumbled through her storage bag in a panic, producing a pill. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've taken care of you! You've been in bed this whole time?"
At that moment, the Profound Star Sect disciple who'd been arguing with her earlier came over. From his clothing, it was clear he was from the Middle Peak, one of those responsible for patrolling and maintaining order around the sect.
The man stepped forward, gave Ye Anping a once-over, and asked, "You're the owner of this shop?"
"Yes… I am," Ye Anping replied, feigning confusion. "Is something the matter?"
"Could you tell us your movements over the past three days…?"
"Can't you see how weak he is? What are you even asking for?!" Bai Yuelin interrupted sharply, frowning and glaring at him. "Go, go, I told you he's fine!"
Ye Anping sighed inwardly and said, "As Senior has seen, I've been suffering from a severe chill these past few days… With only Qi Refining cultivation, I've been forced to stay in my bedroom to recover."
"I see…" The disciple nodded, made a note in the small booklet in his hand, and asked, "Do you have any form of identification?"
Ye Anping quickly took his identity badge from his storage bag and handed it over for inspection.
Upon seeing that he was the Young Master of Hundred Lotus Sect, the man didn't press further. After offering an apologetic cupped-fist salute, he promptly led his group away.
However, just as they were leaving, Bai Yuelin hurried after them, shouting, "Hey! You smashed someone's door—aren't you going to pay for it?"
But as she reached the doorway, she suddenly thought of Ye Anping and hurried back, only to find that he had already returned to his bedroom and locked the door from the inside.
"Anping~ why are you locking the door…"
From inside came Ye Anping's voice, "Senior Bai, this is my bedroom, not the living room."
"What's wrong with the bedroom…" Bai Yuelin pouted, muttering under her breath, "It's not like I haven't been inside before… and it's not like we haven't slept together…"
"…"
Bai Yuelin lingered at the door for a while. When she saw he truly had no intention of opening it, she couldn't bring herself to start banging and had to give up.
Looking around at the small courtyard that hadn't been tidied in the past two days, she simply picked up a broom and began cleaning it for him. Then she went to the little stove in the back and started cooking a pot of colorful porridge for Ye Anping.