Chapter 102

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Chapter 102: You Are the Only Exception

Immortal Su Yuan wanted to take the risks alone, but reality didn’t allow it.

Just after telling Wen Yun to hide well and not come out, in less than half a moment, he crazily sent another message…

"No, you need to send someone to save me!"

Ye Shubai’s expression turned serious, asking urgently, "Senior, have they found you?!"

"No! I was just inside the inn when unexpectedly Shang Wuyang and his companions walked in! I accidentally broke a decoration in a panic. Although I wasn’t noticed by them, it was seen by the innkeeper…"

Being seen by the innkeeper is not a problem; it’s only bad if Dongxuan Sect’s people find out.

Ye Shubai’s heart sank slightly, "Then you should leave quickly."

"I want to run too!" Immortal Su Yuan sounded desperate, "But I never expected that he would demand 20,000 Origin Crystals for a broken vase! I don’t have enough money on me, and now the innkeeper is blocking me from leaving. If this continues, I will definitely be discovered!"

Wen Yun exclaimed in disbelief, "Didn’t you earn a lot of Origin Crystals? Where’s your money?"

Immortal Su Yuan replied softly, "It’s risky to carry money outside; I buried all the Origin Crystals in the backyard. Don’t tell your dragon buddy."

"…"

Wen Yun quietly looked at Ye Shubai and asked sincerely, "Are all sword cultivators like this?"

Ye Shubai wanted to deny it, but when he thought about his predecessors and successors, and remembered his actions of emptying the spiritual jade mine in the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, his unspoken denial faded.

He awkwardly explained, "Because swords are easily damaged, and the better the sword, the more costly it is to repair each time…"

If it were someone else, he wouldn’t feel ashamed of valuing money, as it should be quite normal. Digging spiritual jade mines and such behaviors should also feel natural.

After all, sword cultivators need to break through in battles, and every battle causes some damage to the sword. Saving money to repair the sword is very normal.

However, facing Wen Yun, he felt like every word he spoke was like making excuses. He was afraid she might think he was inconsistent or vulgar, and those past details he never cared about suddenly seemed so significant.

Ye Shubai lowered his gaze and quietly observed Wen Yun’s changing expressions.

Fortunately, she has never disappointed him.

"You’re right, I usually use a staff and didn’t consider this issue." Wen Yun frowned, pondering seriously, and cautiously said, "When our senior brothers come, the cost will only increase. We need to save some money."

She clapped suddenly and exclaimed, "Oh dear, the elder is so careless! Dropping the Origin Crystal like that – such a waste! Wasteful!"

Ye Shubai’s eyebrows relaxed, nodding quietly to agree with her, at least he didn’t really curse his ancestors.

Even if the ancestors are wasteful, they are still ancestors. Right now they need to hurry to Cloud Sea City to rescue him. After all, the inn won’t tolerate Immortal Su Yuan for too long. If they don’t compensate the two thousand Origin Crystals soon, things will definitely escalate. If caught by the people from Dongxuan Sect…

While money is valuable, ancestral reputation is even more precious. Let’s just consider it as warding off bad luck.

Wen Yun and Ye Shubai had advanced in their skills now. They were getting closer to Cloud Sea City. Swiftly, they moved towards the direction pointed out by Immortal Su Yuan.

Unlike Immortal Su Yuan, who had stayed at Dongxuan Sect, and being currently in Cloud Sea City where they couldn’t act, they were not afraid of the sword cultivators from Dongxuan Sect. So, confidently, they walked into the luxurious inn.

Immortal Su Yuan told Ye Shubai where he was staying. He didn’t dare sit in the hall, fearing he would be spotted by Dongxuan Sect members, so he was hiding in his room.

The waiter understood they were there to deliver money, so he didn’t ask many questions and led him inside.

However, when Ye Shubai reached the door of the old sword cultivator’s room, he felt quite helpless and pressed his forehead in frustration.

Even though every room in the inn was equipped with soundproof spiritual protection, for people at their level, it was nothing more than decoration.

They could only hear a very familiar voice coming from inside, it was Immortal Su Yuan.

"Why are you all watching over me? I’ve already said, my disciple will bring me the Origin Crystal soon… Let me take a nap, stop staring at me."

"We don’t know if what you’re saying is true or false."

"If I didn’t have money, would I dare to stay in the top room?"

"That’s not necessarily true, Cloud Sea City has all kinds of people, and one more thick-skinned person like you won’t make a difference."

Immortal Su Yuan was extremely frustrated, but with no money in hand and a hollow heart, not a single retort could be made.

Fortunately, at that moment, two saviors arrived.

The guide led Wen Yun and Ye Shubai inside, saying, "Dear guests, are you looking for this old gentleman?"

The two of them acted much better than the sloppy Immortal Su Yuan and received much better treatment.

After Wen Yun paid the compensation, Immortal Su Yuan, who had originally felt in the wrong, immediately frowned and disdainfully said, "Hmph, only twenty thousand Origin Crystals, as if I can’t afford it!"

The innkeeper apologized repeatedly, while the old sword cultivator waved his hand casually and said, "Forget it, we cultivators have broad minds, please withdraw."

After the others left, he didn’t intend to leave immediately but secretly signaled to the two people, gesturing with a hush sign by placing a finger on his lips.

Understanding the signal, Wen Yun skillfully set up a Soundproof Spiritual Array, while Ye Shubai also raised his hand to envelop the room with layers of source power.

Immortal Su Yuan was very pleased with his two disciples and whispered, "Shang Wuyang has indeed come to the Cloud Sea World. Although I didn’t see him personally, I saw several Dharma Protectors and elders from the Dongxuan Sect…"

"Dharma Protectors and elders?"

"They are called elders, but they are actually guards specially assigned to talents like Shang Wuyang. Among the younger generation of the Dongxuan Sect, only he receives such treatment, so he must be here."

Wen Yun’s curiosity was piqued, and she asked, "He ascended two thousand years ago, which means he is much older than two thousand years. Can he still be considered young? And it’s been two thousand years, and he hasn’t advanced from the Ascension Realm to the Immortal Realm. Can he still be regarded as a talent?"

This sentence is from a storybook.

Immortal Su Yuan choked for a moment. Although he also felt that Shang Wuyang’s reputation was exaggerated by the people of Dongxuan Sect, Wen Yun’s words sounded full of hatred.

Wen Yun glared angrily at her and said, "Do you think ascending to the immortal realm is as easy as a hen laying eggs, just give birth whenever you want? I’ve been trying to ascend for over two thousand years, but I haven’t seen any progress. Are you saying I’m foolish for not breaking through the realm like you?"

Wen Yun, who was less than a hundred years old, couldn’t understand the ways of these thousands of years old elders. She quickly tried to calm them down, finally dissipating the ancestors’ anger.

The immortal Su Yuan was too lazy to talk about such matters with her. He said, "But it’s just the death of four ordinary disciples, why would it alarm Shang Wuyang? This is something I don’t quite understand."

For the past two thousand years, Dongxuan Sect has been protecting this treasure because of the constant conflicts between the major realms, which have caused many young talents to perish in those struggles. Dongxuan Sect considers Shang Wuyang as a precious treasure and will not let him take any risks before reaching the immortal realm. He is carefully taught by the powerful experts within the sect, so he rarely appears in public. Even when Immortal Su Yuan was in Dongxuan Sect, he didn’t see what Shang Wuyang looked like. Why would they now be willing to let him out?

Wen Yun and Immortal Su Yuan were chatting leisurely, while Ye Shubai had quietly stood at the window, listening intently for a long time. He had practiced with Wen Yun for a long time, his spirit far surpassing the past, so now eavesdropping was also very simple for him.

After listening for a moment, he turned to the other two people and whispered, "I heard someone say Shang Wuyang was seen outside Cloud Sea Tower."

Wen Yun made a quick decision, "Let’s hurry back while they’re not here."

The immortal Su Yuan clicked his tongue and said, "This is the best inn in the whole Cloud Sea City. Staying in this upper room for one day costs three hundred and eighty Origin Crystals. I haven’t even slept here for a night and now I have to leave."

"Then you stay here, and we will leave first," Wen Yun grabbed Ye Shubai, heartlessly turned around and walked out, leaving the immortal Su Yuan cursing the disobedient grandchildren behind.

When the three of them left, they were not stopped. The innkeeper respectfully bid farewell, bowing slightly and warmly inviting them to come again next time.

The immortal Su Yuan felt sorry for the Origin Crystals and snorted without responding. It seemed like he would never want to come back again.

Because of the target full of hatred like the immortal Su Yuan, Wen Yun and Ye Shubai purposely chose a secluded direction this time, avoiding the direction towards the Cloud Sea Tower.

In Cloud Sea City, flying with swords was not allowed. As they were about to walk out of the city gate, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as they were about to take out their swords and fly away, Ye Shubai keenly sensed that something was wrong.

A gaze fell directly on him, passing through the crowd.

He stopped abruptly, pretending to accidentally push the immortal Su Yuan towards the crowd, allowing him to naturally blend in and leave the city.

Sure enough, the person was indeed looking at him. After Ye Shubai stopped, the person completely ignored Immortal Su Yuan who had left.

Wen Yun also noticed the gaze directed at them, and she smoothly held his arm and said with a smile, "Don’t leave yet, you forgot to buy me the Eight Treasures Duck. We have to go back and get it."

This helped defuse the sudden pause that had just occurred.

Ye Shubai understood and nodded, gently agreeing, "Okay."

He had originally just wanted to act to catch that person’s attention, but he hadn’t expected Wen Yun to act so convincingly. She held him very affectionately and led him towards the lively place.

The faint scent on Wen Yun was very familiar. It was the fragrance from the white plum sachet he had personally made for her after she said she liked the smell. It was exactly the same as his scent, but for some reason, when it wafted into Ye Shubai’s nose, it became especially sweet and easy to distinguish.

It was her smell.

Ye Shubai’s face remained calm as usual, but his hand hidden in his sleeve was stiffly tensed, allowing Wen Yun to lead him.

She asked for the Eight Treasures Duck, and he bought it as she requested. When she wanted to eat Cloud Puffs, he still bought them. Before long, he had bought many things.

The strange feeling behind them disappeared after a while, and Immortal Su Yuan excitedly messaged that no one was following him, so he was safe. It seemed like the other party didn’t notice anything strange.

After hearing this news, Wen Yun glanced at the various food stalls she hadn’t finished exploring, where her beloved Soft Chestnut Cake was still waiting for her.

After hesitating for a moment, she made a decision, "Let’s go back."

Wen Yun knew Ye Shubai was obsessed with training. For the past few decades, she hadn’t even visited Cloud Sea City with him, unlike Zhu Erchong who speculated about love. Basically, Ye Shubai focused solely on training, which was why he quickly reached the peak of the Transmigration Realm again.

For someone like him, wandering around would be a waste of time, right?

Yet, Ye Shubai didn’t move. His gaze remained on her, not missing the look she gave to the Soft Chestnut Cake stall.

He pursed his lips and softly said, "I want that."

In fact, Ye Shubai didn’t enjoy sweets; his skill in grilling fish showed his love for spicy food.

Wen Yun was surprised and quickly realized that Ye Shubai wanted to accompany her. She smiled politely and refused, "You don’t need to spoil me like this. I am not that greedy for food. We have already bought a lot today and wasted the whole day. Let’s go back to training."

Since a whole day has passed, staying half a day longer won’t hurt." Ye Shubai led her to the stall, and as they approached quickly, he whispered, "Besides, it’s you, so why delay?"

He rarely spoke so directly. Wen Yun hesitated and asked, "Are you about to say that a master should take care of their disciples wholeheartedly? So is that how you treat Elder Martial Brother and the others as well?"

Those were words only she would say; he never spoke like that.

Ye Shubai shook his head and softly said, "You are the exception."

As the sun set, the dusk fell, and various Origin Crystal lamps lit up the stalls in Cloud Sea City, shining brightly and dreamily, much brighter than ordinary paper lanterns, making the night particularly brilliant.

In the light of the lamps, the blush on Ye Shubai’s handsome face was clearly visible, and the brilliance in his eyes was dazzling, making Wen Yun unable to look directly at him.

Her heart beat too fast, as if she had touched something vaguely yet not clearly, and she felt extremely happy because of this blatant affection. Even the not-so-delicious Soft Chestnut Cake she had just gotten tasted much better.

Compared to Eight Treasures Duck, Cloud Pastries, Fried Wontons… the twenty dim sum dishes she had just eaten were even more delicious.

*

"Strangely enough, I just saw someone at the city gate whose back looked almost exactly like Martial Uncle Shang’s. I had to follow him quietly and take a few more looks to make sure I didn’t mistake him for someone else."

The disciples from Dongxuan Sect were standing outside Cloud Sea Tower holding swords, chatting boredly with their fellow sect members about what they saw today.

"Strangely enough, they looked so similar… To be precise, their faces were not exactly alike, but the aura around them was identical!"

A middle-aged man with narrow eyebrows standing next to him sneered, "The grace and style of our Martial Uncle Shang are unparalleled in this world. Don’t compare him with just anyone. Hmph, only someone like you with narrow eyes would make a mistake!"

Narrow-eyes was furious but couldn’t criticize Shang Wuyang, so he muttered to himself that in reality, the young man they just saw was more handsome and refined than Shang Wuyang.

Hearing the argument between the two men, the Dharma Protectors and elders nearby glanced over quietly and said coldly, "Junior Brother Shang is currently training in Cloud Sea Tower and has no time for anything else. Instead of investigating the matter of Qing Ran and her companions, why are you chatting here? Is this a trivial matter to you?"

Qing Ran was the woman in a blue skirt who mysteriously died in Cloud Sea World earlier. Although her status in Dongxuan Sect wasn’t very high, as a direct disciple, Dongxuan Sect couldn’t just ignore the fact that she and her companions lost their lives so inexplicably.

Narrow-eyes and the man with narrow eyebrows fell silent instantly and whispered, "Elder Zhang, the Life Tokens of Qing Ran and the others are all broken, and we still can’t find them…"

Elder Zhang frowned, about to scold these two careless juniors when suddenly a group of silver-armored guards appeared outside Cloud Sea Tower.

There was a commotion in the crowd.

"Oh my goodness! Fifteen bodies were brought out in a row! Hiss, and they are all experts from the third level, Ascension Realm!"

"Who could be so ruthless?"

The bodies, whether male or female, were from various backgrounds and races, all with eyes wide open in fear, never closing in death.

There was no trace of injury on them, except for a red mark on their foreheads, from which blood flowed, creating a crooked line of blood on all the faces.

They all met their end by a single sword strike.