Young Friend, Would You Like a Wife?

Zhu Zhuyun and her group arrived, surrounding the two of them in layer upon layer. They didn't rush to attack, but watched Ye Guchen warily.

The young man before them looked only about fourteen or fifteen, yet the aura radiating from him was several notches stronger than Elder Mo, the strongest fighter she had brought along.

And Elder Mo was a level-sixty-four Soul Emperor!

Zhu Zhuqing seemed not to notice the wariness in Zhu Zhuyun's eyes. All she could think of was accepting defeat after losing the wager.

Dragging her exhausted body over to Ye Guchen, she faced Zhu Zhuyun calmly.

"I accept that I'm going to die today, but he's innocent. Please don't drag him into this. Let him go!"

Yet Zhu Zhuyun continued to stare at Ye Guchen with a grave expression. Elder Mo, standing beside her, also looked hostile, his eyes fixed on Ye Guchen.

Seeing her sister like this, Zhu Zhuqing thought she meant to kill Ye Guchen, an unrelated witness. She could only look at him guiltily.

"I'm sorry I got you mixed up in this."

But Ye Guchen didn't answer Zhu Zhuqing directly. Instead, he looked at Zhu Zhuyun, who was watching him warily.

"Relax. I'm just passing through. You can carry on with your little escort charade."

Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun both stared at him in disbelief.

Zhu Zhuyun was shocked that Ye Guchen had figured out her plan, while Zhu Zhuqing couldn't believe her sister's group hadn't attacked because they were wary of the man before her, who was only a year or two older than she was.

Ye Guchen picked at his ear and strolled around the scene as though he owned it.

"More than a dozen Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors, two Soul Kings, and a Soul Emperor can't take down a mere Soul Grandmaster? I reckon even an idiot could see something's off."

His eyes glinted with amusement, as if he were mocking their intelligence.

Zhu Zhuqing was the first to lose her composure. Ye Guchen's words made her realize her sister's good intentions, but this man had just called her dumber than an idiot.

Her face flushed scarlet.

"Y-You! Who are you calling an idiot?"

Ye Guchen shrugged.

"Don't take it personally. I'm not singling you out. I'm saying everyone here has something wrong with their head and their intelligence is questionable."

The crowd was instantly enraged. They wanted nothing more than to charge over and tear the arrogant brat to shreds, but on second thought, they had to admit he had a point.

Zhu Zhuyun, on the other hand, was far calmer. She wasn't angered by his seeing through her plan, but looked at Ye Guchen thoughtfully.

She quickly ran through the possibilities in her mind. He's exceptionally talented. If Zhuqing followed him... I just don't know what kind of person he is. Still, he's got to be better than Dai Mubai!

After weighing everything in a flash, she fixed her gaze on Ye Guchen. He began to feel distinctly uncomfortable under her stare.

"I know I'm handsome, but surely I'm not that irresistible?"

Seeing Ye Guchen make such a brazen remark and disrespect his mistress, Elder Mo hurriedly released the pressure of his Soul Emperor aura and directed it at him.

"How dare you!"

But Ye Guchen seemed not to feel a thing. He merely glanced over, and a mental shock burst forth in an instant.

The terrifying spiritual power of a million-year first ring sent Elder Mo straight into unconsciousness.

The scene fell silent. The men around them felt a chill run down their spines. What sort of monster had they just blocked?

Zhu Zhuyun, however, was more pleased than ever. Before Ye Guchen could say a word, she suddenly blurted out,

"Young friend, would you like a wife?"

Faced with Zhu Zhuyun's sudden question, Ye Guchen was completely baffled. His anger at being insulted moments ago vanished at once.

"Zhu Zhuqing?"

He then looked over at Zhu Zhuqing. Her clothes were torn, revealing glimpses of pale skin. Her wounds had all missed vital spots, but they were still shocking to behold; she had the air of a battle-worn goddess.

"She's pretty, all right, but she's still a bit silly."

Seeing this, Zhu Zhuyun thought she had a chance. She was quite confident in her younger sister's looks, and now felt Zhu Zhuqing might have a chance to survive. But before she could say another word, Zhu Zhuqing objected first.

"What do you mean, a bit silly?"

The scene of an attempted assassination had turned into a matchmaking session in the blink of an eye. The air of deadly menace had vanished, replaced by the audience's bewilderment and the two people at the center of it all blushing with embarrassment.

Ye Guchen put aside his playful mood. Zhu Zhuqing was certainly lovely, and her figure could even be called perfect.

But Ye Guchen wasn't an animal who thought only with his lower half. Though he didn't object to having multiple women in this world, he wanted any relationship he chose to be founded on genuine feelings.

"If you want to use me to protect your sister, just say so. I have no interest in taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable position!"

Zhu Zhuyun realized she had been out of line. She hurriedly bowed to apologize.

"In that case, I'll be frank. You're only a teenager, and I don't know your level, but the fact that you defeated Elder Mo with a single mental attack proves you're destined to become a Soul Master who stands at the peak of the continent. I'd like to ask you to protect my younger sister, Zhu Zhuqing."

"Of course, I'll pay you for it. I'll give you a fitting reward!"

Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were already red. She hadn't expected everything her sister had done to be for her sake. Thinking back to how she had misunderstood her sister, she wanted to slap herself.

"Sister..."

But before Zhu Zhuqing could finish, Zhu Zhuyun cut her off.

"The royal family is heartless. This is the fate we were born into. From now on, you'll go with him and never come back."

She then took out a Gold Soul Coin card and handed it to Ye Guchen. They had left in a hurry, so she had only five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins on her. She asked him to make sure he accepted it.

"Hey, hey, I haven't agreed yet."

Before Ye Guchen could react, the Gold Soul Coin card was already in his hand.

"Move out!"

Then, as if afraid Ye Guchen might change his mind, Zhu Zhuyun led the group away.

Her parting instructions to Zhu Zhuqing drifted back from a distance.

"I sent people to keep an eye on Dai Mubai. He's rotten to the core, and Dai Weisi won't let him off. You don't need to go looking for him, either. Just stay with this young man!"

"Don't come looking for me until you're strong enough. I don't want to see you, either!"

At her words, Zhu Zhuqing stretched out her right hand toward the direction Zhu Zhuyun had gone, as if trying to grasp something.

"Just take care of yourself!"

Now only Zhu Zhuqing and Ye Guchen remained on the scene, facing each other.

Remembering what her sister had just said, Zhu Zhuqing blushed and stammered,

"Um... what's your name?"

"My name is Ye Guchen. I'm fourteen, level fifty, and a Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor."

As he spoke, he took a pill from his storage ring and handed it to Zhu Zhuqing.

"Here. It's for your injuries."

Zhu Zhuqing was still reeling from what Ye Guchen had said: at fourteen, he had already reached level fifty Soul Power. Before she knew it, her hand had acted on its own and taken the pill from him.

It was like absentmindedly accepting something from the person beside you while you were on the phone.

She didn't come back to her senses until the pill melted in her mouth, turning into a cool stream of Soul Power that began healing her all over.

Feeling her wounds heal rapidly, Zhu Zhuqing looked at the man she had only just met, her gaze complicated. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry. Since your sister entrusted you to me, I'll take responsibility for you."

He then took out another small bottle and handed it to Zhu Zhuqing. This was for external wounds; she only needed to apply it to them. Its advantage was that it wouldn't leave a single scar.

The pills and medicinal powder had naturally been sent over from the Dou II timeline. There were already some simple healing medicines in the Dou I timeline, but compared to Dou II, they were little more than roadside weeds.

Zhu Zhuqing wanted to refuse, but she couldn't resist the appeal of having no scars.

She could only accept the medicine and thank him again and again.

"I'll repay you someday."

Ye Guchen simply hadn't expected that repayment to come so soon.

At Zhu Zhuyun's location.

Elder Mo had already woken up. He was now carrying out one of Zhu Zhuyun's cruel orders alongside the two other Soul Kings.