At those words, Ye Han's gaze shifted. He looked at Zhang Qingshan and saw anxiety written all over his face, mixed with worry and reluctance... His feelings seemed quite complicated.
Young as he was, Ye Han had an old head on his shoulders. He immediately realized that Zhang Qingshan might have learned something about him.
Otherwise, he would not have asked whether Ye Han really was the Seventh Elder's disciple.
Fortunately, Ye Han had never actually claimed to be the Seventh Elder's disciple.
He had merely steered Zhang Qingshan into thinking that way.
Clearly, Zhang Qingshan must have heard something.
After all, he had only asked the question upon returning from outside.
Under Ye Han's scrutiny, Zhang Qingshan's thoughts became perfectly clear to him.
So Ye Han casually asked in return, "Senior Brother Zhang, does it really matter to you whether I'm the Seventh Elder's disciple?"
At Ye Han's words, Zhang Qingshan gave him a strange look and frowned slightly. Of course it mattered whether Ye Han was the Seventh Elder's disciple. It determined whether Ye Han had someone powerful backing him.
A large part of the reason he had befriended Ye Han, and even tried to curry favor with him a little, was the Seventh Elder.
But Zhang Qingshan suddenly grinned and said, "You're right, Junior Brother Ye. Whether you're the Seventh Elder's disciple doesn't matter to me at all. I shouldn't have asked."
Indeed, when he had first befriended Ye Han, it had largely been for the Seventh Elder's sake. But as the two grew closer, whether Ye Han was the Seventh Elder's disciple had ceased to matter very much.
Another reason he helped Ye Han was that Ye Han was young, and he looked after him like a little brother.
Besides, Ye Han had given him tremendous benefits. For one, he let Zhang Qingshan cultivate in his Cave Abode, where the rich heaven and earth spiritual energy allowed him to cultivate several times faster than outside.
For another, Ye Han had shown him the Azure Mystic Art, allowing him to grasp some of the true essence of cultivation and successfully break through to the eleventh layer of Qi Refining Realm.
Compared with the little things he had done for Ye Han, the benefits Ye Han had given him already far outweighed the importance of Ye Han's true identity.
So whether Ye Han was really the Seventh Elder's disciple did not matter to him.
What did matter, however, were the rumors outside.
At this point, Zhang Qingshan said to Ye Han, "Junior Brother Ye, the rumors going around about you are very bad for you."
Hearing this, Ye Han said unhurriedly, "Senior Brother Zhang, just tell me whatever is wrong. I'm prepared for it."
In fact, when Zhang Qingshan had returned and asked whether he was the Seventh Elder's disciple...
He had already prepared himself. He simply had not expected his identity to be exposed so quickly. If his guess was right, that damned Fifth Elder might have begun taking revenge on him.
Zhang Qingshan immediately said, "The rumor outside is that you actually obtained this Cave Abode because you brought an Azure Mystic Token to the Azure Profound Sect. Under the sect's rules, you were entitled to a Foundation Establishment Pill, and you traded that pill for this Cave Abode. So you aren't the Seventh Elder's disciple at all."
At this point, Zhang Qingshan glanced around the Cave Abode. Ye Han allowing him to cultivate here was no small favor.
Ye Han had traded his Foundation Establishment Pill for this place. If two cultivators had exactly the same talent in every respect...
And one cultivated inside this Cave Abode...
While the other found somewhere outside to cultivate...
The cultivator in the Cave Abode would certainly cultivate several times faster than the one outside.
Even when it came to breaking through bottlenecks alone, the benefits were tremendous.
At this point, Zhang Qingshan frowned and said, "But your cultivation is low, Junior Brother. Quite a few people may set their sights on you, and I feel someone deliberately spread this news through the sect! If you have no one backing you, you'll be in danger. That's why I wanted to ask whether the rumors outside are actually true."
Indeed, Zhang Qingshan was honest and kindhearted, but that did not mean he was ignorant or foolish. After everything he had seen on Seven Mysteries Peak, all those years had not been spent in vain.
That was also part of his thinking when he first befriended Ye Han: he wanted to find shelter beneath this great tree and secure someone to back him.
But now, Ye Han seemed to be a thoroughly unreliable tree-hardly a great tree at all...
Yet his thinking had already changed. Though Ye Han seemed a little crafty, with an old head on young shoulders, he had genuinely accepted Zhang Qingshan and treated him as a good friend, a close brother.
So now he was deeply worried about Ye Han as well. He knew how ruthless their fellow disciples could be. For the sake of cultivation, they fought over heavenly treasures and cultivation resources, so it was perfectly natural for them to set their sights on Ye Han's Cave Abode...
Hearing this, Ye Han thought for a moment and said, "Senior Brother Zhang, the rumors outside are all true. The Seventh Elder really isn't my master, and I'm not his disciple. I did bring an Azure Mystic Token and exchange it for a Foundation Establishment Pill, then trade that pill to the Seventh Elder for this Cave Abode. I'm nothing more than an ordinary mortal."
Ye Han was not simply smashing an already cracked pot out of despair. He had already guessed that the Fifth Elder must be pulling strings behind this affair. Judging by the Seventh Elder's way of doing things, he would never spread this matter around.
After all, the Seventh Elder had traded his Cave Abode for Ye Han's Foundation Establishment Pill, and had also made it clear that cultivators had to rely on themselves for everything. He would not offer Ye Han any protection...
So the Seventh Elder could not have done something like this.
The Fifth Elder, on the other hand, seemed like a crooked cultivator who would seek revenge for even the slightest grievance...
When he had wanted to trade for Ye Han's Foundation Establishment Pill, Ye Han had asked for a Cave Abode, but the Fifth Elder had offered him some cultivation treasures and guidance instead...
How could someone like Ye Han, who knew absolutely nothing about the cultivation world, know what those treasures were worth...?
Clearly, he had been taking advantage of Ye Han's youth, hoping to fob him off with a few things.
At the crucial moment, Ye Han had made the trade with the Seventh Elder instead. Given the Fifth Elder's character, he would never let Ye Han off so easily.
So Ye Han knew there was an eight- or nine-in-ten chance that the Fifth Elder was behind this affair.
And one reason he was telling Zhang Qingshan the truth was that he could see Zhang Qingshan genuinely had his best interests at heart.
Zhang Qingshan's cultivation was not particularly low, either. As long as he could properly protect Ye Han, cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Realm should find it difficult to cause Ye Han trouble.
For another, his lies would be exposed sooner or later. He might as well admit the truth outright. Securing Zhang Qingshan's help was extremely important to him.
After all, Zhang Qingshan had cultivated for many years and already knew a great deal of the basics. Most importantly, Ye Han wanted to make this Cave Abode something that bound the two of them together in honor and disgrace, with their interests intertwined.
Why put it that way?
Before you continue