Desperate Situation! The Suddenly Appearing Green-Haired Old Man

Ye Linyuan suddenly turned his head.

The courtyard that had been empty just moments ago

now held a black-clad, masked figure who had appeared from nowhere.

Seeing the intruder's attire, even Ye Youlan, naive as she was, knew something was wrong.

She instinctively stepped in front of Ye Linyuan, tense, and asked, "You... who are you?"

The black-clad man looked at them like a cat toying with mice: "Guess who I am?"

Ye Linyuan stared hard at him: "Did the Duchess send you to kill us?"

The black-clad man paused slightly, fixing his gaze on Ye Linyuan: "Interesting. The little bastard's pretty sharp, huh?"

Ye Youlan's body trembled, disbelief spreading across her face as she murmured, "The Duchess... that's impossible..."

"I already said I only want our family to reunite. I won't fight her for the Duke's position."

"Hmph, foolish!" the black-clad man sneered. "A lowly maidservant, nothing more than the master's idle amusement, and you dare dream of returning to the Duke's estate?"

With that, he paused and looked at Ye Linyuan: "But speaking of which, awakening a mutated Twin Martial Soul and Innate Full Soul Power... that really is something."

"If it were just trash martial souls, the Lady might have spared your life."

"But Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power..." The black-clad man shook his head. "Boy, blame your own talent for being too glaring."

Ye Linyuan's face darkened, and his heart sank.

Only one person had come, clearly confident in finishing off both mother and son.

In this desolate mountain village, even a Soul Master was a rare sight.

Even with two lifetimes of experience, he couldn't think of a way to save himself.

Just then.

"Yuan'er, run!" Ye Youlan suddenly shouted, shoving Ye Linyuan behind her.

Then, raising the Black Tiger Dagger, she lunged at the black-clad man.

A flicker of mockery flashed in the black-clad man's eyes.

A powerful surge of soul power erupted from him.

Two yellow, two purple, and one black—five soul rings silently materialized.

Ye Linyuan was sent flying backward by his mother's push.

Seeing the soul ring configuration on the black-clad man, his pupils contracted sharply.

A Soul King!

No wonder he was so brazen!

The black-clad man raised a hand and pointed lightly forward. A cold, black spear materialized from the void and shot toward Ye Youlan.

"Mother!" Ye Linyuan hung in midair, his heart turning to ice.

Rip!

The spear pierced through Ye Youlan's chest in an instant, pinning her to the spot like an execution!

Ye Youlan spat out a mouthful of blood, using all her remaining strength to turn her head toward her stunned son.

Her eyes were filled with despair and guilt, blood frothing uncontrollably from her lips:

"Yuan'er, I'm sorry, I..."

"Run... run fast..."

Ye Linyuan's mind buzzed.

It was as if he had gone deaf—all sounds around him vanished in that instant.

His eyes were fixed only on that pitiful woman, her chest run through by the spear.

As a transmigrator with memories of a past life, honestly, he didn't have particularly deep feelings for this mother.

But six years of living together had made him used to Ye Youlan's presence.

And truth be told, this young mother had been very good to him.

Gentle and kind by nature, simple-minded, she had taken care of him in every way.

But in the end... she was ruined by her own foolish romantic heart!

Ye Linyuan stared at the black-clad man, as if frozen in shock, not moving a muscle.

Run?

How?

Against a five-ring Soul King, how could he, a child who had just awakened his martial soul, possibly outrun him?

Was he going to die?

Ye Linyuan's gaze turned as cold as a black hole.

He truly hadn't expected that after six years since his transmigration, even awakening the highest level of talent, he would end up without any chance to grow, dying inexplicably in this desolate wilderness village.

The black-clad man walked over to Ye Youlan, pulling the spear out with a sharp click. He didn't even bother to glance at her, casually flicking it aside. With a dull thud, as if discarding trash, Ye Youlan's body was tossed carelessly to the ground.

The black-clad man's mocking gaze landed on Ye Linyuan. "Kid, that wench told you to run. Why didn't you?"

Ye Linyuan said nothing, slowly clenching his fists. Finally, he let out a breath and grinned bitterly. "I never thought I'd die so pathetically. What a shame—if I'd pressed my mother for answers sooner, I wouldn't have ended up in this dead end."

The boy's gaze was calm as he stared at the black-clad man. "Do it. If I can be reborn, I'll make the White Tiger Duke pay back today's debt with interest."

The black-clad man froze. He had imagined countless possible reactions from Ye Linyuan: pain, fear, collapse, begging for mercy... but never this. Meeting Ye Linyuan's cold, quiet stare, an inexplicable dread surged from deep within him, sending a chill down his spine. Was this really the look of a six-year-old child? The look of a child who had just watched his mother die before his eyes? If he were allowed to grow up, what kind of vengeance would the White Tiger Duke's estate face?

The thought flashed through the black-clad man's mind, making him shudder uncontrollably. His heart turned cold, and his eyes sharpened. "Kid, you're just unlucky. Next life, find yourself a better birth!"

The black spear shot toward Ye Linyuan's head like a bolt of lightning. Ye Linyuan sighed softly, resignedly closing his eyes.

But the expected cold touch of the spear never came.

"Heh, interesting. A Soul King skulking around in a remote village to kill a peasant woman and a little brat. Tell me, old man, what's the story here?"

Ye Linyuan's eyes snapped open, and he turned his head. An old man stood with his hands behind his back, studying him with keen interest, strolling leisurely toward them. The old man was tall, with a head of non-mainstream dark green hair flowing behind him. But comically, the top of his head was completely bald, as clean as if viewed from above the Mediterranean on Blue Star. His skin was ruddy as a baby's, with hardly any wrinkles. The only sign of his age was the deep weariness hidden in his dark green eyes—the accumulated experience of at least a hundred years.

Before Ye Linyuan, the cold spear tip hovered less than a centimeter from his brow. The black-clad man holding the spear seemed frozen in place by an invisible force, trembling slightly but unable to move. His pupils contracted sharply, his gaze panicked, as he glanced sideways at the green-haired old man. "You... who are you?"

The old man looked at him with amusement, then suddenly snorted, tearing off the black cloth covering his face. "This old man hates skulking rats more than anything. Speak, why did you want to kill this child?"

Ye Linyuan stared blankly at the green-haired, bald-pated old man. To silently restrain a Soul King, how powerful must this old man be? Hmm? Wait! Green hair, bald top, terrifyingly strong old man? Sigh—could it be? Is it him!?