All Misunderstandings

Tong Siyuan believed he understood his son's true nature and said, "How could I not understand your personality? I've heard about your recent behavior; it's very unusual. If you hadn't gotten into trouble, why would you be staying home honestly every day and practicing desperately in this training ground?"

"I, can't I just get better?"

Hearing his father's words, Tong Kaishan's suspended heart finally settled. As long as Mu Xiaochen wasn't the one causing trouble, he was fine.

Tong Siyuan roared, "Tell me."

Tong Kaishan was silent for a moment and said, "Father, a while ago, I heard some words from an enemy that gave me a different understanding of certain matters. I realized I shouldn't be causing trouble everywhere like before, but instead focus on cultivating. Only by becoming stronger can I better protect myself."

Tong Siyuan was taken aback and asked curiously, "Who? What words?"

Tong Kaishan said, "It was Ye Tong, he said..."

Tong Siyuan listened quietly to his son's words, becoming more and more astonished. By the end, he was completely stunned. He finally understood why his troublesome son had suddenly changed his ways. It turned out he had a moment of great enlightenment, finally realizing that no power was as important as becoming powerful himself.

"Good, very good!"

Tong Siyuan burst into laughter and said, "I was very angry with that Ye Tong. If I weren't wary of the Poison Demon Huo Lanqiu, I would have gone to his place to kill him myself. I never expected him to have such insight, to be able to bring my son to such enlightenment and repentance. I even feel that the breaking of your arm was worth it."

Tong Kaishan said, "Father, we absolutely cannot provoke Ye Tong in the future, or it will bring disaster to our family."

Tong Siyuan asked, "What makes you say that?"

Tong Kaishan said, "Because Ye Tong is very close to the son of the Zifu County King, Mu Xiaochen. As for what their connection is, I'm not sure."

Tong Siyuan's pupils contracted, and he asked in horror, "You're not lying? How could Ye Tong know the County King's son?"

Tong Kaishan shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"Slap..."

Tong Siyuan slapped Tong Kaishan across the face and cursed, "Such a big matter, and you didn't tell me sooner? Are you completely stupid? Our Tong Family still has a bounty on that Ye Tong. What if some adventurer accepts the mission and hunts Ye Tong? Won't our Tong Family be hated by the County King's son? Are you happy only when my Tong Family is destroyed?"

Taking a few deep breaths, he gritted his teeth and continued, "You come with me. Prepare a generous gift immediately and go to the Precious Medicine Workshop to apologize. Also, immediately send out word that our bounty targeting Ye Tong is canceled."

Precious Medicine Workshop.

Ye Tong had been refining pills for days, and both his energy and mental strength were greatly depleted. Understanding the importance of balancing work and rest, he stretched comfortably as he stepped out of the storeroom.

"So beautiful!"

Ye Tong looked up at the sky. Night had fallen, and the stars were brilliant, more luminous and dazzling than Earth's night sky. Ye Tong decided he must study this star map carefully when he had time in the future.

"I wonder if there are any physiognomists in this world?"

Ye Tong suddenly thought.

Then, he shook his head. Perhaps there were no physiognomists, but there might be many cultivators with the ability to study the stars. If he ever met one, he would definitely ask for their guidance humbly.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Ye Tong showed a hint of surprise. He sensed several presences approaching the Precious Medicine Workshop. As he went to meet them, he saw four familiar faces: Mou Xing, Crazy War Heaven, Ying Lei, and Chu Lao Jiu.

"Brother Ye Tong, it's been many days, I've missed you dearly!" Crazy War Heaven, with his booming voice, opened his arms and strode forward as soon as he saw Ye Tong.

Ye Tong smiled slightly, not minding his gesture. After a hug, he said with a smile, "The three bosses of the War Tiger Adventurer Team and the Ninth Master Chu have personally arrived. What distinguished guests! No wonder magpies have been chirping incessantly in front of my Precious Medicine Workshop since early morning."

Crazy War Heaven looked confused, "What are magpies?"

"Uh..."

The smile on Ye Tong's face froze. He then glared at Crazy War Heaven fiercely before striding towards Mou Xing, opening his arms and smiling, "Great Boss, it's good to see you!"

Mou Xing's lips curled, and he dodged with a flash, saying with a half-smile, "I once said that whoever wants to hug me must become my man. Little Brother Ye, are you sure you want to marry me?"

"..."

Ye Tong looked sheepishly at Ying Lei, noticing that his appearance had fully recovered, exuding a refined scholarly aura. He smiled and said, "Third Boss, have you recovered completely?"

Ying Lei, with a smile and gratitude, clasped his fists in a salute, "Your life-saving grace, I will never forget. Ying Lei knows that Brother Ye regards money as dirt, so I won't express my gratitude with such trivial things. In the future, if you ever need Ying Lei's help, please don't hesitate to ask. As long as I can do it, I'll brave mountains of knives and seas of fire for you."

"Actually, I think trivial things are quite good too," Ye Tong said, waving his hand with a smile. After chatting with Chu Lao Jiu for a few more sentences, he looked at Mou Xing and asked, "Great Boss, you've come to pick up the ordered pills and spiritual liquids, right?"

Mou Xing smiled, "That's right."

Ye Tong said, "The total price for those pills and spiritual liquids is fifty thousand taels of Blue Gold."

Fifty thousand taels of Blue Gold?

Mou Xing and Chu Lao Jiu exchanged glances, showing surprise. They had previously estimated the value of those pills and spiritual liquids to be between eighty and one hundred thousand taels of Blue Gold, but Ye Tong's quote was only fifty thousand taels. Was it too little?

Ye Tong added, "However, my old servant said that the jade bottles I personally carved to hold the pills and spiritual liquids each cost hundreds of Blue Silver. For hundreds of jade bottles, you can give me ten thousand taels of Blue Gold. That makes a total of sixty thousand taels of Blue Gold."

Jade bottles?

Ten thousand taels of Blue Gold?

The few of them couldn't help but smile wryly. The pills were sold so cheaply, yet the jade bottles holding them were outrageously priced. This Ye Tong was truly... peculiar.

Mou Xing did not haggle. He nodded to Chu Lao Jiu, who then produced five banknotes of ten thousand taels of Blue Gold each and said, "This is the remaining payment. Adding the previous ten thousand taels of Blue Gold, it's exactly sixty thousand taels of Blue Gold."

"Prompt payment."

Ye Tong carefully tucked the banknotes into his embrace and then smiled, "Gentlemen, please come with me! The medicinal ingredients I used to refine these pills this time were excellent, and the refined..."

His words suddenly stopped.

His gaze shifted to the area outside the main gate.

A seemingly shrewd young man, flanked by over a dozen cultivators radiating palpable killing intent, barged in from outside. These cultivators exuded powerful auras, with two of them being experts at the Innate Realm.

"Ye Tong?"

The young man's eyes swept over Mou Xing and Crazy War Heaven before finally settling on Ye Tong, asking in a deep voice.

Ye Tong calmly replied, "It is I!"

The young man let out a cold laugh and waved his hand, saying, "You're the one we're looking for. Kill him and take his head to the Tong Family to claim the reward."

Instantly.

Over a dozen cultivators charged forward.

Crazy War Heaven roared in fury and met the charging cultivators head-on. However, Ying Lei, who possessed a scholarly demeanor, was even faster. As the long sword on his back was drawn in an instant, streaks of sword light flashed, and several cultivators met their demise under his blade.

Crazy War Heaven's cultivation was at the sixth level of the Innate Realm, while Ying Lei was at the fifth level. Although there were two Innate Realm experts among the dozen attackers, they were only at the second level. In just half an hour, all dozen attackers were annihilated by Crazy War Heaven and Ying Lei.

The young man's face turned deathly pale.

The ground was littered with corpses, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

He had initially believed that by bringing nearly a third of his family's strength, he could easily kill Ye Tong. But who could have imagined that two powerful individuals, whose origins were unknown, would slaughter everyone he brought?

They…

Where did these gods of slaughter emerge from?

The young man wanted to bolt, but he found himself locked in by a killing intent, realizing that any movement would result in his swift and merciless execution.

It's over!

The young man felt like crying, his legs trembling slightly.

Crazy War Heaven wiped his saber and looked at Ye Tong, asking, "Brother Ye, are these people sent by the Tong Family to cause you trouble?"

Ye Tong shook his head and looked at the young man, asking, "Who are you people? Did you come here to kill me for the Tong Family's bounty?"

"Who dares to impersonate someone from my Tong Family? Who dares to come here and harm Young Master Ye?" A booming voice rolled in from outside the gate. Immediately after, Tong Siyuan, accompanied by Tong Kaishan and several Tong Family experts, strode through the entrance of the Precious Medicine Workshop.

However.

When they clearly saw the scene in the courtyard, their expressions changed drastically.

Ye Tong frowned. Although he didn't know why the Tong Family Patriarch, along with Tong Kaishan and those Tong Family experts carrying gift boxes, had arrived, judging by Tong Siyuan's words, it seemed this matter had nothing to do with them. Moreover, his words seemed to carry a tone of closeness towards him.

Could it be…

Because of Mu Xiaochen?

Ye Tong ignored the Tong family members and instead looked at the young man, asking, "Speak, who exactly are you people?"

The young man was almost scared out of his wits. He never expected that the Tong Family Patriarch, Tong Siyuan, would actually show up here. Furthermore, seeing the Tong family members carrying gifts, it was clear they were here to curry favor with someone. Where was the aggressive, kill-or-be-killed attitude from before?

The young man was shrewd. After seeing through the situation, his lips trembled as he said, "No, we are from the Miao Family of Cold Mountain City. My… my master heard… heard that the Tong Family Patriarch was going to cause you trouble, so he sent me to bring family experts to kill you and then present your head to the Tong Family Patriarch to gain favor."

"Bastard."

Tong Siyuan's face changed drastically. If such a thing had happened half a day earlier, he might have been happy to see it. But now, he couldn't wait to curry favor with Ye Tong, so how could he possibly oppose Ye Tong? That damned Miao Daqing, he was ruining things for me!

Tong Siyuan's heart filled with anger. He instantly drew a dagger and plunged it directly into the young man's heart, then said with a pained expression, "Young Master Ye, it's all a misunderstanding!"