“Pfft—hahahahahaha!”
Someone burst out laughing first.
The laughter quickly spread throughout the hall.
“Hahaha, look at Liu Ruyan!”
“She was boasting so arrogantly just moments ago, and now her true colors have been exposed!”
“Serves her right! She brought this upon herself!”
Quite a few people pointed at Liu Ruyan on the roof beam, laughing so hard they doubled over.
Lin Aotian’s face was as dark as the bottom of a cooking pot. He roared, “All of you, shut up! Disciplinary Hall, form a formation! Hurry up and get her down!”
The disciples of the Disciplinary Hall sprang into action once more. This time, they formed a small trapping formation and surrounded the roof beam from all sides.
However, Liu Ruyan seemed to sense the danger. She suddenly flipped over and actually hung upside down from the beam, kicking her legs wildly in the air.
“Snort! Snort-snort!”
She dodged back and forth while making those strange noises. The sight was utterly ridiculous.
“Hahaha!”
Even some of the elders could no longer hold back their laughter.
As Lin Langtian watched the scene, the disgust in his eyes grew even stronger.
In his previous life, he had been the Demon Emperor, and he valued dignity and prestige above all else. Liu Ruyan’s behavior at that moment was undoubtedly a slap in his face.
Although Lin Aotian had already announced that she was expelled from the Lin family, in the eyes of outsiders, she had still been connected to the Lin family.
“That’s enough.”
Lin Langtian suddenly spoke, his voice icy cold.
The laughter in the main hall came to an abrupt halt.
Although Lin Langtian had publicly admitted that he liked men, the Young Master of the Lin family was not someone just anyone could mock.
Everyone in the Lin family practically worshiped him. Even Lin Aotian could do nothing about him.
Lin Langtian slowly walked to the center of the hall and looked up at Liu Ruyan on the roof beam. He said indifferently, “Liu Ruyan, whether you’re truly insane or merely pretending, from this day onward, you and I are completely finished. You’ll walk your path, and I’ll walk mine. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other.”
His words were decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.
On the roof beam, Liu Ruyan’s movements suddenly froze.
She lowered her head and looked at Lin Langtian. A flash of clarity appeared in her eyes, but it was instantly replaced by confusion.
“Snort…”
There seemed to be a hint of grievance in her voice.
Lin Langtian did not look at her again. He turned around and said to Lin Aotian, “Father, leave this matter to the Disciplinary Hall. I’m feeling a little unwell, so I’ll take my leave first.”
“Go,” Lin Aotian said, waving his hand tiredly.
“Ye Wushuang…”
Lin Langtian murmured the name under his breath, a thoughtful glint flashing in his eyes.
Meanwhile, the chaos in the main hall continued.
Liu Ruyan scrambled wildly across the roof beam while the disciples of the Disciplinary Hall struggled to contain her. After exhausting every possible means, they finally forced her into a corner half an hour later.
An elder skilled in grappling personally intervened and finally subdued Liu Ruyan, bringing her down.
Even after being brought down, Liu Ruyan continued snorting and grunting, her eyes vacant and bewildered.
“Lock her in the confinement chamber. We’ll deal with her once she regains her senses,” Lin Aotian ordered. After a pause, he added, “Once she comes to her senses, expel her from the Lin family immediately. She is never to set foot in Clear River City again.”
The reason he had not killed Liu Ruyan outright was that Ye Wushuang had chosen not to pursue the matter further. Besides, Liu Ruyan was, after all, the adopted daughter of the Lin family matriarch.
Because of that connection, they had to take the other party’s feelings into consideration, no matter what.
“Yes!”
As they watched Liu Ruyan being taken away, the members of the Lin family began discussing the matter among themselves.
“Do you think Liu Ruyan was pretending?”
“Pretending to act like that? Go on, you try it!”
“True… Then how did she suddenly go insane?”
“Who knows? Maybe the shock was too much. After all, Young Master Lin publicly declared that he liked men…”
“If you ask me, she had it coming! She’s nothing but an adopted daughter with a different surname, yet she really thought she was someone important!”
Amid the mocking laughter, Liu Ruyan’s disgraceful behavior that day was embellished and spread far and wide.
It was easy to predict that before long, the story of “Liu Ruyan climbing onto the roof beam” would spread throughout all of Clear River City.
By then, Ye Wushuang had already left the Lin family residence.
“This crisis that nearly cost me my life is finally over.”
Standing outside the Lin family’s gates, Ye Wushuang finally let out a sigh of relief.
“System, check whether my fate has changed.”
[Name: Ye Wushuang]
[Realm: Early Qi Condensation Realm]
[Fate: Totally screwed (slightly improved)]
[Upcoming Script: Due to a major change in fate, the secrets of heaven have become chaotic. The upcoming script cannot be viewed at this time.]
“Only slightly improved? This system is far too stingy.”
Ye Wushuang curled her lips. “Looks like I need to hurry up and increase my strength.”
After all, once Liu Ruyan regained her senses, she would inevitably turn her attention toward Ye Wushuang, even if she had no evidence.
In this cultivation world, where grudges were settled with ruthless efficiency, killing someone never required evidence—only their location.
What caught Ye Wushuang’s attention, however, was that her upcoming script could no longer be viewed. It seemed this was an effect of the system’s interference.
For Ye Wushuang, that was a good thing.
If she encountered an opponent skilled in divination or some ancient monster, they would not be able to deduce the exact course of her fate either.
With that thought, Ye Wushuang checked the opportunities awaiting the other two.
[Liu Ruyan’s Upcoming Opportunity: After a disagreement, she will publicly kill Ye Wushuang of the Famous Sword Manor in the Lin family’s main hall. With the help of the powerful expert inside her ring, she will begin fleeing. When she reaches the Azure Cloud Mountains, she will accidentally encounter a hidden cave dwelling and obtain the Heaven Rank supreme-grade cultivation technique, the Breathless Devouring Art.]
[Lin Langtian’s Upcoming Opportunity: Three days from now, he will discover a Heaven-grade supreme-grade Essence Condensation Pill beneath a stone stele in the Azure Cloud Mountains. After consuming it, his cultivation will stabilize, and he will be on the verge of breaking through.]
Both opportunities pointed toward the Azure Cloud Mountains.
Ye Wushuang pondered for a moment before deciding to seize both opportunities for herself.
Otherwise, once Liu Ruyan regained her senses, even if the direction of her script had changed, she might still end up claiming the opportunity.
Unlike the brainless original host, who possessed talismans but refused to use them, Ye Wushuang first had her attendant return to the Ye family to retrieve her talisman treasures before setting out.
Afterward, Ye Wushuang shook off her attendant, determined her direction, and sped toward the Azure Cloud Mountains.
Half an hour later, Ye Wushuang quickly arrived at the Azure Cloud Mountains.
The Azure Cloud Mountains were the largest mountain range near Clear River City.
They were shrouded in mist all year round, and demonic beasts frequently appeared there. Ordinary cultivators with low cultivation levels did not dare to venture in easily.
However, quite a few cultivators formed demon-hunting teams and specialized in capturing demonic beasts from the Azure Cloud Mountains in exchange for cultivation resources.
Part of the Ye family’s business under the Famous Sword Manor involved purchasing materials from demonic beasts.
Some of those materials were used for forging swords and refining artifacts, while the rest were processed and sold.
This was also the foundation that allowed the Famous Sword Manor to establish itself in Clear River City.
The Azure Cloud Mountains were truly vast, stretching across countless miles of continuous peaks.
Many of the mountains rose high into the clouds, with even the shortest reaching over a thousand meters.
Fortunately, both Liu Ruyan’s and Lin Langtian’s opportunities were located on the outskirts of the Azure Cloud Mountains. Otherwise, Ye Wushuang would not have dared to venture out alone.
After a while, Ye Wushuang finally found the mountain mentioned in Liu Ruyan’s upcoming script.
“Phew, I’m exhausted.”
Without pausing for even a moment, Ye Wushuang circulated the spiritual energy within her body and continued climbing along the mountain path.
Finally, after fifteen minutes, she arrived at an inconspicuous platform halfway up the mountain.
Beside the platform stood a dense bamboo grove.
Ye Wushuang quickly plunged headfirst into the bamboo grove.
The bamboo forest was refreshingly cool, and the spiritual energy within it was even denser than outside, giving her a much-needed boost.
However, the light inside was extremely dim, almost eerie. No wonder this cave abode had gone undiscovered for so long.
Deep within the bamboo forest, Ye Wushuang spotted a massive ancient tree.
The tree soared into the clouds, its vast canopy blocking out the sun and sky.
Before long, in the bushes behind the ancient tree, Ye Wushuang discovered the concealed entrance to a cave.
“This is ridiculous. It’s even more of a hassle than a Cantonese person visiting a grave during Qingming!”
Ye Wushuang couldn’t help complaining.
No wonder the heavens had left this opportunity for the Chosen One.
With a hiding place like this, an ordinary person could search for a lifetime and still never find it...
