Ruthless People

"Spicy, spicy, spicy!" Ye Tian fanned his tongue with his hand, squeezing out tears.

Ghost Pepper could be called the Titled Douluo among peppers.

Even diluted a thousand times, its heat could make people cry.

That sour, fiery sensation... was truly beyond words!

After a long while,

Ye Tian finally recovered. With his mouth open, he panted and glared at Hu Liena.

"Nana Meimei, you're too cruel."

"Hmph. Who told you to grow peppers like these?"

Hu Liena's lips had reddened in a circle and were nearly swollen, as if she had applied a thick ring of lipstick.

She crossed her arms and turned her head away irritably, refusing to look at Ye Tian as she tried to maintain a ladylike appearance.

But the peppers were simply too spicy.

She could not keep up the ladylike act for long before she began panting and fanning her tongue just like Ye Tian.

Tears also streamed uncontrollably from her crystal-like eyes.

Ye Tian: "..."

You put it in your own mouth, okay?

How was this somehow his fault?

The farm manager, Chen Jian, explained with a smile, "Ghost Pepper is actually an ingredient used to make pills that temper the meridians. Its medicinal properties are powerful, making it extremely valuable. It may be spicy, but eating it does no harm."

"My mouth is swollen." Hu Liena covered her little mouth as tears poured down her face.

Of course, they had been brought on by the spiciness.

She was not that delicate.

This was too unfair!

Ye Tian mercilessly laughed at her. "Who told you to be greedy?"

"Alright." Bibi Dong stepped forward and clapped her hands, stopping their escalating argument. "The farm has plenty of vegetables. How about we have a barbecue?"

At the word barbecue, Hu Liena's aggrieved expression eased considerably. She nodded hard. "Okay."

Right now, only delicious food could comfort her wounded heart.

Ye Tian pretended to sigh and beckoned to Chen Jian. "Old Chen, get Nana Meimei a glass of milk with ice. That will reduce the burning sensation from the Ghost Pepper."

After saying that, he caught sight of Hu Liena's red, swollen lips and still could not hold back his laughter.

Nana Meimei looked far too funny right now.

"Yes." Chen Jian wanted to laugh as well, but he was older and more composed, so he managed to hold it in.

He nodded and turned to carry out Ye Tian's instructions.

"You... hmph!" Hu Liena had initially felt a little grateful upon hearing Ye Tian's words, but she immediately flew into a rage.

Her brother was actually laughing at her!

This was infuriating!

"Alright." Ye Tian stepped forward, put an arm around Hu Liena's shoulders, and comforted her softly.

"Didn't I also suffer the punishment of your kiss and experience the Ghost Pepper myself?

"It's fine. Drink a glass of iced milk, and you'll feel better soon."

Hu Liena raised her aggrieved eyes to stare at Ye Tian. "Really?"

"Fake." Ye Tian burst out laughing and hurriedly retreated behind his sister.

How could swollen lips from eating Ghost Pepper possibly go down so quickly?

If they could fade that fast, it would not be called Ghost Pepper.

Hu Liena angrily clawed at her golden hair and screamed hysterically, "Aaaah!"

She was going crazy.

I'll never be greedy again, she silently resolved.

Just then,

A middle-aged man named Thirteen, dressed in a black linen robe with dark blue hair, hurried over.

He exchanged a glance with Ye Tian, then looked at Bibi Dong and Hu Liena beside him, seeming to hesitate.

Thirteen, a Soul Emperor, was not only Ye Tian's personal guard but also the head of the intelligence department Ye Tian had established.

"Is something wrong?"

Seeing Thirteen's hesitant manner, Hu Liena could not help asking.

She had seen Thirteen once before leaving the villa.

He appeared to be one of Ye Tian's important subordinates.

Thirteen did not answer, instead looking at Ye Tian.

The first rule of intelligence was that secrets could only be reported to one's superior.

As the one who had personally established the intelligence system, Ye Tian naturally would not violate that rule.

He laughed it off to the curious Hu Liena. "It's probably a business matter. You two stay here while Thirteen and I discuss it."

Bibi Dong's expression shifted slightly as she watched Ye Tian's back. What could it be that he was hiding from both her and Nana?

Hu Liena sidled up to Bibi Dong and whispered, "Ye Tian has secrets too."

Ye Tian and Thirteen did not talk for long, only a minute.

Afterward, Thirteen left and concealed himself at a distance. While on duty, a guard should not make his master feel uncomfortable.

Ye Tian then returned to the two women.

Hu Liena impatiently asked, "Brother, hurry and tell us. What happened?"

Ye Tian felt a toothache coming on and sighed lightly. "Spirit Hall has its eye on us. The two people tailing us are not weak; both are six-ring Soul Emperors."

He took out an ordinary-looking Maple Leaf and showed it to the two women. "This is their coded marker. The holes that look like insect damage are actually a kind of cipher."

Hu Liena deliberately put on a solemn expression. "Has the cipher been cracked?"

So it turns out our own people were exposed, she inwardly complained.

"No." Ye Tian shook his head. "There are too few samples of the cipher. There's no reference value."

"Spirit Hall is so good. It'll definitely be fine." Hu Liena calmly patted Ye Tian's shoulder in reassurance.

"Let's hope so." Ye Tian remained serious and gestured ahead. "It's getting late. Let's go rest at the Farm Courtyard first."

"Okay." X2

Ye Tian walked quickly, while Bibi Dong and Hu Liena deliberately slowed their pace.

Bibi Dong thoughtfully said, "The cipher on that Maple Leaf earlier belongs to our Pope's Hall Knight Order. Did you secretly send those two Holy Knights, Nana?"

The Pope's Hall Knight Order was the foremost of Spirit Hall's Three Great Knight Orders.

A knight's starting cultivation was at level sixty-one.

They possessed formidable combat power and excelled at assassination, surveillance, and covert protection.

What irritated Bibi Dong somewhat was that the Pope Palace's most elite Holy Knights had been detected by Ye Tian's counter-surveillance the moment they arrived.

Could Ye Tian's intelligence organization actually be stronger than the Pope's Hall Knight Order?

Her interest in Ye Tian was growing stronger and stronger.

"No." Hu Liena shook her head. "I didn't arrange any guards for this trip. After all, Teacher, you are a Super Douluo yourself. Sending those Holy Knights over would not be of much use."

She rested a finger against her delicate chin and pondered. "Could Uncle Yue Guan have sent them?"

"Only Uncle Yue Guan knew that we came out to relax."

"That must be it." Bibi Dong nodded.

That fellow Ju Yueguan had always been especially sensitive about her safety.

Given his personality, he definitely could not stay in Spirit City.

He had likely already secretly come to the East Sea Coast to protect her from the shadows.

Bibi Dong used Soul Power to lift a fallen leaf from the ground and flicked it to Hu Liena.

"Use the cipher to tell the hidden sentries and Yue Guan to stay farther away from us."

"Okay." Hu Liena nodded. Using Soul Power, she quickly marked the leaf with a coded message and a Soul Power imprint, then tossed it to the ground and hurried after Bibi Dong.

Following Ye Tian's back, the two women arrived in front of the Farm Courtyard.

They happened to encounter two anxious farmers with tear stains on their faces, carrying a dying young girl drenched in blood as they rushed in.

Seeing this, Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

The anxious farmers had no time to respond to Bibi Dong and instead dropped to their knees before the courtyard.

With tears and snot running down their faces, they cried, "Young Master Ye Tian, please save our Xiao Xin!"

Chen Jian, who had been chatting with the farm servants at the courtyard entrance, came out immediately.

Seeing the kneeling middle-aged couple, he asked in confusion, "You're A Xin? What happened?"

A Xin was an ordinary farmer from the village beside the farm. During the farm's busy seasons, he had applied several times for temporary work.

That was why Chen Jian recognized him.

Chen Jian stepped forward, his gaze sharpening as he saw the unconscious Xiao Xin, covered in blood.

She had been working at the farm yesterday, responsible for raising Fire Spirit Chickens. How had she suffered such severe injuries today?

Xiao Xin's forehead was bruised, and three long tears ran from her lower abdomen to her chest. She had clearly been mauled by claws.

He quickly crouched down, took Xiao Xin's hand, and checked her pulse.

His expression gradually grew grave. Her pulse was extremely faint, and she had lost a great deal of blood. She was likely beyond saving.

Xiao Xin's father, the middle-aged man named A Xin, saw Chen Jian.

He crawled forward on his knees, hugged Chen Jian's leg, and wept bitterly. "Old Chen, please save our Xiao Xin!"

"This morning, Xiao Xin went to gather bamboo shoots in the Purple Bamboo Forest on Sea Soul Mountain. She was lucky enough to dig up a thousand-year Purple Blood Bamboo Shoot.

"But she unexpectedly ran into a young master from a great family in Eastsea City, accompanied by guards. He took a fancy to the thousand-year Purple Blood Bamboo Shoot and demanded that Xiao Xin become his concubine!"

"Xiao Xin refused, and that's why he was so vicious!"