A beautiful young girl sat alone on the steps, propping up her pink cheeks as though she had something on her mind. Ye Tianyi knew her—or rather, the memories had surged forth the moment he saw her.
Xing Baobao, the Heavenly Star Academy Dean's granddaughter. To be honest, Ye Tianyi had been shocked when he saw her.
Clear bright pupils, curved willow brows, long eyelashes trembling slightly; Fair flawless skin with a faint rosy blush; Thin lips as tender and dewy as rose petals. Her eyes were the most beautiful, as though they could speak, especially spirited. When she pursed her lips slightly, two small dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth. She wore a simple, loose white casual outfit, jeans, and white sneakers, with a Ladies Light Sword at her waist. Her entire body radiated a youthful aura, yet there was a trace of sorrow between her brows. Every movement of hers seemed delicate and soft, making people want to protect her—and making scumbags want to bully her.
Fuck! Such a beautiful girl, and that bastard had actually wanted to join those lecherous friends of his and...
Good thing he hadn't succeeded! Damn it!
Xing Baobao—some called her Xingxing, some called her Xinger, while those closer to her called her Bao Bao...
"T-Tianyi Gege."
The instant Xing Baobao saw Ye Tianyi, a flicker of delight shone in her beautiful eyes. She instinctively stood up, unable to resist wanting to run over and hug him. But then she suddenly remembered something. She bit her lip lightly and remained where she was, her hands helplessly fiddling with the hem of her clothes.
Ye Tianyi had no idea what to do when he saw her. Though it hadn't been his doing, this was still damned awkward.
"Ding... Congratulations, you have triggered the task [Push Down Xing Baobao]. Task Reward: Heavenly Stairway Ice Attribute Martial Skill. Task Punishment: None. Time Limit: For as long as the Scumbag System exists."
Ye Tianyi: "..."
Sure enough, Xing Baobao's Appearance Value rating had reached ninety-four points. This Rogue System had indeed triggered a task for her—but the task was directly to push her down?
Heaven above!
"Cough, cough—"
Ye Tianyi rubbed the tip of his nose and gave a dry cough, somewhat unsure how to face her.
"I'm sorry, Tianyi Gege. Grandpa... Grandpa said that if he saw Xingxing having anything to do with Tianyi Gege again, he would kill you, so..."
Xing Baobao said softly as she bit her lip.
Though she truly wanted to hug him, she... couldn't.
She knew what had happened that night; others had told her. But girls experiencing first love were sometimes so foolish it made one's heart ache. Even knowing it, she still couldn't let go of Ye Tianyi in her heart, because she liked him. Under normal circumstances, she would definitely have chosen to forgive Ye Tianyi. At least, she had never blamed him in her heart until now. She had even been thinking about him.
"It's fine. It was my problem."
Ye Tianyi nodded slightly, then walked a short distance away and sat down on the steps. He lit a cigarette and silently smoked.
Xing Baobao bit her lip, lowered her little head, and gripped the corner of her clothes with both hands without saying a word.
"Ye Tianyi, you're here too? Since you're here, get ready to set off. Xingxing, you get ready as well."
At that moment, Shang Yu walked over with seven people and spoke to them.
They did not know who Xing Baobao was. In fact, not many people in Heavenly Star Academy knew about Xing Baobao's relationship with the Dean. Everyone only knew that Ye Tianyi had forcibly slept with the Heavenly Star Academy Dean's granddaughter, but very few knew who that granddaughter was.
"Ah... Got it, Captain."
Xing Baobao nodded, then looked at Ye Tianyi.
Ye Tianyi's gaze also fell on Xing Baobao.
"What are you going for?"
Ye Tianyi frowned and asked. She had also wanted to ask Ye Tianyi the same thing.
"I wanted to go out and relax, so I joined the Blood Legion to gain some experience. Tianyi Gege, why are you also..."
"You'd better not go."
"Hey, that won't do. We've already signed the contract, and everything has been assigned. You two look like friends—that's even better. You can look after each other," Shang Yu said.
Xing Baobao then looked at Ye Tianyi and said softly, "I want to go."
Ye Tianyi let out a faint sigh.
"Alright."
Then Ye Tianyi swept his gaze across the seven people. They were all ordinary-looking. However, one rather handsome man with bronze-colored skin, a few years older than him, drew Ye Tianyi's special attention. There was something unusual about his eyes.
"Get in the vehicle first. We'll introduce ourselves along the way."
Shang Yu drove over in a minibus, and everyone got in one after another. The vehicle headed out of Heavenly Water Holy City.
The Ten Thousand Demons Heaven Forest was located very close outside the Heavenly Water Empire. Otherwise, Shang Yu would not have taken this job. It took roughly four hours after leaving Heavenly Water Holy City to exit the Heavenly Water Empire, then another hour or so of driving to see the Ten Thousand Demons Heaven Forest.
Ye Tianyi and Xing Baobao sat together. Xing Baobao sat by the window, her little face slightly red as she did not dare look at Ye Tianyi.
Ye Tianyi found it strange. Clearly, it had been his fault, so why was this girl acting as though she were the one who had done something wrong?
"Hey, Ye Tianyi, you couldn't possibly be that scumbag from the rumors in Heavenly Water Holy City, could you? Hahaha!"
Zhang Chao could not help laughing as he teased him.
"I'm telling you, Zhang Chao, you don't understand. Look, Ye Tianyi knows this beautiful girl, and their relationship seems pretty good. If he were that Ye Scumbag, how could such a beautiful girl possibly be friends with him? Right?"
Another young man smiled as he spoke to Ye Tianyi.
Ye Tianyi awkwardly rubbed the tip of his nose, then nodded.
"If you ask me, this Ye Tianyi really was impressive. I heard he even got the Heavenly Star Academy Dean's granddaughter. Though all he got was a mountain of curses, ordinary people really couldn't pull that off."
Shang Yu, who was driving, said with a laugh.
"Yeah, he can be considered a legend of our Heavenly Water Holy City."
For some inexplicable reason, these people had steered the entire conversation in this direction. Ye Tianyi and Xing Baobao were embarrassed beyond words as they listened.
"Bao Bao, you didn't tell your grandpa, did you?"
Ye Tianyi turned his head and glanced at Xing Baobao.
Xing Baobao lowered her little head and nodded faintly.
"Of course not. If your grandpa knew, how could he possibly let you go to the Ten Thousand Demons Heaven Forest?" Ye Tianyi shook his head slightly.
"I'm telling you, Brother Ye, don't think of the Ten Thousand Demons Heaven Forest as too terrifying. I've been there twice; this is my third time. Haven't I, a mere Enlightened Aperture Realm cultivator, lived just fine?" Wang Wen said with a smile.
Ye Tianyi smiled and nodded. "Then you really are impressive."
"It's not that I'm impressive. The Ten Thousand Demons Heaven Forest is too vast. There may be many Demon Beasts, but they only move about in the outer regions. It's very rare to encounter powerful Demon Beasts."
Ye Tianyi did not really want to talk to them, because Xing Baobao was sitting here.
"Once we get there, stay with me the whole time."
Ye Tianyi said to Xing Baobao.
"Tianyi Gege, why are you going?"
Xing Baobao finally gathered the courage to look at Ye Tianyi and ask in a low voice.
She was outstanding, yet for some inexplicable reason, she felt very inferior in front of Ye Tianyi. Perhaps it was because Ye Tianyi was too handsome, or perhaps because the one who had fallen in love was always the humbler one.
Xing Baobao knew Ye Tianyi was trash, but she did not care. Yet Ye Tianyi going to the Ten Thousand Demons Heaven Forest was simply too dangerous.
"Because I want to protect you and keep you company."
Ye Tianyi grinned at her.
Uh—coming next is a short stretch of plot, just a few chapters about the Demon Beast Domain. After everyone finishes reading, I hope you can offer some suggestions—should the early part have more daily-life scenes, or more plots like this...?
Before you continue