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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nYe Jiuge retrieved a common-looking fire jade from an embroidered pouch and tossed it

ntowards Dongfang Jianming. She smiled coldly and said, “This is the engagement gift

nthat your father so eagerly sent me that year. Now, I return it to you. In the future, stay

nas far away from me as you can!”

nYe Jiuge’s words made the crowd gasp again in disbelief.

nMy god! The Ye clan’s useless, ugly daughter must have lost her mind. Not only did she

ninsult the Crown Prince in public, but she wanted to cancel her betrothal with him as

nwell?!

n“Ye. Jiu. Ge!” It was as if these three words sprang out from between Dongfang

nJianming’s gritted teeth.

n“Even if you were to bring your mother into this, it would be useless. You should return

nthe Purple Lightning Wood that my grandfather gave you immediately. Don’t be so

nshameless as to hold onto it!”

nYe Jiuge’s grandfather, Yun Tianwei, was the best Spiritual Elixir Alchemist in the Lei

nKingdom. This Purple Lightning Wood was a treasure he had brought home from the

nHongyue Secret Realm. When it was used with the Dongfang clan’s secret technique, it

nhad the most extraordinary effect.

nIn order to gain Yun Tianwei’s favor, the royal family had badgered Ye Jiuge with a

nproposal and exchanged the Purple Lightning Wood for an ordinary fire jade. In the

nnearby spiritual cities, the news of this betrothal was very well-known.

n“Great! This is really great!” Dongfang Jianming shouted, his anger descending into

nmadness. He tugged free the Purple Lightning Wood, which he always carried with him,

nand flung it at Ye Jiuge.

nYe Jiuge held out her hands to receive it; the Purple Lightning Wood was as big as her

npalm. The barbs on its surface scraped her skin. A stream of special, spiritual energy

nsilently seeped into her hand through the small wound.

nWithout batting an eyelid, she stashed the Purple Lightning Wood away.

n“Crown Prince, this Ye Jiuge is full of bad intentions. She has provoked your anger on

npurpose. Do not be fooled by her deception!”

nYe Shanshan felt anxious. Purple Lightning Wood was extremely rare and invaluable.

nNot only that, it was extremely useful for those cultivating lightning-type techniques.

nDongfang Jianming had depended on it to enter the Intermediate Spiritual Practitioner

nstage at the mere age of twenty. Without that Purple Lightning Wood, he would no

nlonger be considered a prodigy. If she married him now, wouldn’t it be her loss?

n“Shanshan, don’t interfere when it comes to this matter!” snapped Dongfang Jianming,

ngiving Ye Shanshan a look. It was as if flames were shooting out of his eyes.

nYe Shanshan knew that Dongfang Jianming was genuinely furious. She did not dare to

nmake any more noise. In her heart, however, she loathed Ye Jiuge and wished she

nwould die! Useless trash didn’t deserve to live. Shanshan had been so surprised when

nher sister had climbed out of the Wanzhang Depths after she had stabbed her and

npushed her down there. If she had known earlier that this could have happened, she

nwould have dismembered her and made minced meat of her for the dogs!

n“Ye Jiuge, I have returned the object to you. However, the humiliation that you have

ncaused my family should be repaid in blood!”

nWith a hostile gaze, Dongfang Jianming used his Intermediate Spiritual Practitioner

npowers to subdue Ye Jiuge. As this useless woman had dared to call off their betrothal,

nhe suspected that she must now be relying on someone else.

nHe had heard that, beneath the Wanzhang Depths, there were treasures. If Ye Jiuge

nhad climbed up from below, a miracle must have occurred. Whatever treasure she had

nobtained, he wanted her to reveal it all.

n“Heh, the top spiritual practitioner of the Great Yuan Dynasty is truly adept. How

nunexpected that he wants to challenge me, a useless cultivator?!”

nYe Jiuge snickered, her face full of scorn.

n“Ye Jiuge, you have dared to humiliate me, so you must now pay the price. However, in

nconsideration of our past relationship, I am willing to compromise by allowing you a few

nmoves.”

nDongfang Jianming pretended to be generous as he spoke. As long as Ye Jiuge dared

nto exchange blows with him, he could sound out what kind of treasure she possessed.

nYe Jiuge acted as if she was deep in thought, musing, “How does the Crown Prince

nplan to give me an advantage?”

n“I allow you three…”

n“Three slaps.”

nYe Jiuge interrupted Dongfang Jianming.

nIn a flash, her form was no longer where it had previously stood. Ye Jiuge had

nvanished.

nPa, pa, pa!

nThree heavy, resounding slaps landed on Dongfang Jianming’s face.

nEveryone was stunned, including Dongfang Jianming.

nThe effect of his stupefied expression together with the fresh marks in the shape of a

npalm on his cheeks was humorous.

nLooking at Dongfang Jianming’s red and swollen face, Ye Jiuge sighed, shook her

nhead, and said, “The left and right sides are not symmetrical; you should have allowed

nme four slaps!”

n“Ye. Jiu. Ge. I want to kill you!”

nDongfang Jianming went mad with anger. Since the moment he was born, he had never

nexperienced so much humiliation.

n“Dongfang Jianming, before you murder me, you should return home and ask your

nfather, the Emperor, if he remembers the promise that he once made to my

ngrandfather.”

nYe Jiuge’s gaze became heavy, emitting rays of cold lightning. No one dared to look at

nher directly.

nLong ago, her grandfather had used a resurrection elixir brewed from a secret recipe to

nsave the Emperor’s life. Thereafter, the Emperor had given his word that Yun Tianwei’s

nfamily would be protected. If he had forgotten, Ye Jiuge would not mind jogging the

nEmperor’s memory.

n“Crown Prince, you should never offend my elder sister. It’s just three slaps, after all.

nYou should just endure them and move on. Otherwise, when her grandfather returns, he

nwill blame you, and I fear that you will not be able to hold on to your position as Crown

nPrince!”

nOn the surface, it seemed as if Ye Shanshan was mollifying him, but in reality, she

nwanted to provoke him further.

nAs expected, Dongfang Jianming’s eyes were red with fury. His chest heaved intensely,

nas he itched to tear Ye Jiuge into a thousand pieces.

nHowever, Ye Jiuge’s grandfather, Yun Tianwei, was not only the best Spiritual Elixir

nAlchemist in the Lei Kingdom, he was also a hero who had resisted the demon invasion

nseveral hundred years ago. He was one of the most celebrated and famous men in all

nof vast China.

nAlthough he had disappeared for a couple of decades, his prestige endured. If

nDongfang Jianming killed Ye Jiuge in front of everyone, the Crown Prince would

ncertainly be admonished by his father, the Emperor, when he returned home.

nFinally, Dongfang Jianming suppressed his anger. “Ye Jiuge, taking Great Master Yun

ninto account, I will spare your life—this time. But in the future, you must behave,” he

nsaid. Then, he turned around and boarded the horse carriage.

nYe Shanshan followed hurriedly after. Before she left, she threw Ye Jiuge a gaze with

nunspeakable malice in her eyes.

nYe Jiuge returned it with a cold smile. She could barely tolerate this treatment, and the

ninteresting part of the show had just begun!

n…

nYe Jiuge ambled through alleyways, following her memory. At last, she reached a

nfamiliar place: the large, main entrance of the Ye clan residence.

nA pretty maid was standing at the door. It was Hong Liu, who worked inside.

nAs soon as Hong Liu saw Ye Jiuge, she shouted to her sharply, “Eldest Miss, where did

nyou go last night? Why have you only returned now? Oh my god! How did your clothes

nend up torn like this? Why is there blood everywhere? My goodness! I can’t believe that

nthose bandits, who have killed so many people, would dare to humiliate the Ye clan’s

neldest daughter. I must tell the Lord immediately so he can deliver justice for you.”

nThe maid’s shrill and exaggerating voice attracted attention. Several people had

ngathered and were now pointing at Ye Jiuge and maligning her.

n“I heard earlier that Ye Jiuge did not hesitate to harm herself as a way of threatening the

nCrown Prince and preventing his betrothal to Ye Shanshan.

n‘”Tsk, tsk.”

n“Did you hear what the maid said? Do you think that Ye Jiuge has really lost her

ninnocence to a bad man so that she could purposely concoct this trick of injuring herself

nand hang on to the crown prince?”

n“That must be it! She really is a poisonous woman. After she lost her innocence, she still

nwanted to cuckold the Crown Prince…”

nHearing these scoundrels speaking while Hong Liu was bawling uncontrollably in front

nof the crowd, Ye Jiuge understood immediately: This was the method that Ye

nShanshan, who had returned to the residence first, had cooked up to deal with her. It

nwas actually quite a cruel move! After all, Ye Jiuge’s clothing was completely covered in

nblood, and it was true that she had not returned to the residence the previous night…

nNow, the commotion that Hong Liu had caused and her sullied reputation, which

nincluded losing her innocence and harming others, would spread throughout the entire

nLei Kingdom. Even her grandfather’s reputation would be tarnished by this.

nIt was only this, Yun Tianwei’s reputation, that mattered to her; against Ye Jiuge alone,

nYe Shanshan’s move was otherwise rather useless.

nYe Jiuge raised her hand and struck Hong Liu’s face with a tight slap. A crisp sound

nrang out. Pa!

nHong Liu cradled her red and swollen cheek in her hands, staring at Ye Jiuge in

ndisbelief.

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