"If you still want your daughter's life." Ye Nan interrupted him calmly.
Qi Kang's stomach full of curses was instantly blocked in his throat. Trembling with rage, he found himself utterly helpless.
"Old Qi, you can't just stand by and watch our daughter die!" Li Ruomei wailed heartrendingly.
Qi Kang's expression stiffened instantly. He looked a dozen years older in a flash, collapsing listlessly onto the sofa.
"Ye Nan, as long as you cure Yaoyao, she'll be yours!"
Hardening her heart, Li Ruomei looked at Ye Nan and said firmly.
Hearing this, Qi Kang instinctively moved to flare up, but after glancing at his daughter, he managed to restrain himself in the end. Gritting his fists tightly in bitter resentment, he remained silent.
Qi Jingyao's delicate body trembled slightly as tears of humiliation streamed down her face.
She really did not want to die.
She still had the prime of her youth ahead of her, and a brilliant career.
Yet why, of all people, was Ye Nan the only one who could cure her?!
She had no choice but to accept her fate.
Ye Nan was left between laughter and tears.
Right now, he looked more like the ungrateful villain demanding repayment instead of the savior.
This family took themselves far too seriously.
"You can keep her."
Ye Nan smiled derisively. "The engagement between Miss Qi and me was called off long ago."
"You don't want Yaoyao?!" Both Li Ruomei and Qi Kang were stunned. "Then what do you want?"
In their hearts, they assumed Ye Nan had simply been coveting Qi Jingyao all along, and was using his rudimentary medical skills to blackmail them.
"That's hilarious!" Lin Qingxuan, standing to the side, could no longer hold it in and said with utter disdain, "Do you really think your Qi family's daughter is some kind of imperial princess or goddess descending from the heavens? Give it a rest!"
With the Qi family's immense wealth and Qi Jingyao's stunning beauty, when had they ever been looked down upon like this?
Instinctively, the family of three glared angrily at Lin Qingxuan.
Yet the next moment, all three of them caught themselves, withdrew their gazes, and remained silently tight-lipped.
If anyone else had said those words, it would have been sheer arrogance, but Lin Qingxuan...
Her elder sister was widely recognized as the undisputed number one beauty in Jiangling, and Lin Qingxuan looked seven or eight tenths like her, easily matching Qi Jingyao in every way.
"What on earth are your terms?!" Qi Kang stared icily at Ye Nan.
Ye Nan smiled faintly, beckoning to Lin Qingrou to gesture for her to sit beside him.
Lin Qingrou hesitated for a moment, then complied.
This scene left the three members of the Qi family somewhat startled.
They had guessed that Ye Nan was merely Lin Qingrou's close bodyguard or something similar, never expecting that Lin Qingrou would be so utterly obedient to a lowly subordinate like Ye Nan.
"Qingxuan, make some tea." Ye Nan spoke up again.
Though she had no idea why, Lin Qingxuan now followed Ye Nan's commands unconditionally and immediately went to brew a cup of hot tea.
"Hand it to the head of the Qi family." Ye Nan motioned with his eyes.
Qi Kang took the tea in a daze. "What do you mean?"
"Serve the tea to President Lin and apologize." Ye Nan said indifferently. "That is my only condition."
"What?!"
Qi Kang was instantly enraged.
He was the dignified head of the Qi family, standing alongside the Zhao family as one of Jiangling's premier upper-class dynasties, yet he was being asked to serve tea and apologize to a wet-behind-the-ears young girl?!
This was an utter humiliation!
"Ye Nan, don't push your luck!" Qi Kang was so furious that even his lips were trembling.
"Push my luck?" Ye Nan's expression suddenly turned frigid.
"Old man, you came begging at my door to save a life!"
"For the mere offense of insulting President Lin just now, your old life wouldn't be enough to pay for it ten times over!"
"I am showing you extraordinary mercy by only asking you to serve tea and apologize."
A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Ye Nan's entire body, surging overwhelmingly through the entire parlor!
It was a blood-curdling pressure—the kind of cold, ferocious murderous intent that could only be forged by someone who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
The three members of the Qi family instantly felt as though their throats were being gripped, making it hard to breathe. Their chests felt suffocated, blood rushed to their faces, and the discomfort was absolute!
Even Lin Qingrou and Lin Qingxuan, who were not the targets of Ye Nan's focus, felt physical distress, their legs turning weak under the overwhelming shockwaves of his pressure.
Everyone stared at Ye Nan in absolute terror.
What on earth was the background of this young man?!
How could someone in his early twenties possess such a terrifying aura?
"Hold that tea steady in your hands."
Ye Nan's gaze was as cold as a razor blade as he bit out each word. "If a single drop spills, your daughter's life is cut short by a moment!"
Terrified beyond measure, Qi Kang no longer retained a shred of his previous arrogance and overbearing dominance. He hurriedly steadied the teacup with both hands, swallowed hard, and broke out in a cold sweat that poured like rain!
"You have five seconds."
"After five seconds, if President Lin cannot drink the tea you served—heh, I suppose I don't need to spell it out."
Ye Nan's voice was like the verdict of the Grim Reaper—unquestionable and inescapable!
Lin Qingrou looked at Ye Nan in disbelief.
This was the first time she had ever seen him display such an overbearing and ruthless side.
Ever since she had met him, he had always acted roguish, casual, lazy, and utterly shameless.
She never expected that when he was serious, he could be this terrifying!
At the same time, a strange, faint sweetness bloomed inexplicably in Lin Qingrou's heart.
Because the side Ye Nan was displaying right now was entirely for her sake.
"For the mere offense of insulting President Lin just now, your old life wouldn't be enough to pay for it ten times over!"
Those words were deeply engraved in Lin Qingrou's heart.
The feeling of being valued, of having someone stand up and fight your battles for you... it didn't feel half bad at all.
With that thought, she cast a complex glance at Ye Nan. For the first time ever, a faint blush bloomed across her cool, pristine face.
Meanwhile, Lin Qingxuan was glowing with fanatical admiration, her eyes full of starry sparkles as she looked at Ye Nan with total adoration.
Brother-in-law was simply so cool!
Too manly!
"Five..."
Seeing Qi Kang standing frozen in place, Ye Nan began counting down directly.
Qi Kang trembled so violently he almost dropped the teacup to the floor. Re-stabilizing it with effort, his aged face turned an ashen, bruised hue.
Did he really have to serve tea and apologize to Lin Qingrou?
If he did that, the Qi family's reputation and his own lifelong integrity would be utterly ruined!
"Four..."
Ye Nan gave him no extra time for thought, continuing his countdown with a completely expressionless face.
Qi Kang glanced at his daughter and ultimately could not bear to let her perish in the prime of her youth.
Gritting his teeth, he lowered his head with boundless humiliation and walked toward Lin Qingrou, carrying the tea.
"President Lin, I... I'm sorry..."
The moment those three words—"I am sorry"—left his mouth, it meant that his dignity as the head of the Qi family was completely trampled underfoot and thoroughly degraded.
Yet Ye Nan felt not a shred of sympathy for him.
"Bow. Ninety degrees." Ye Nan commanded coldly.
Qi Kang trembled all over, his eyes bloodshot and bulging nearly out of their sockets.
"Ye Nan, you go too far!" Seeing her father subjected to such immense humiliation for her sake, Qi Jingyao burst into tears, her eyes burning with boundless hatred as she glared fixedly at Ye Nan.
"Two seconds left." Ye Nan ignored her entirely.
Qi Kang gritted his teeth and finally bent his aged waist.
"President Lin, please have tea!"
His hands were shaking violently as he desperately suppressed the humiliation and fury raging in his heart.
Lin Qingrou fell silent for a moment before reaching out to take the tea from Qi Kang. "Ye Nan, let's end it here."
Ye Nan nodded, slowly stood up, and walked toward the entrance.
"Ye Nan, you... you're going back on your word!" Seeing this, Qi Kang was both shocked and furious.
"Hah! Do you think everyone is like you garbage who call yourselves upper-class aristocrats, preaching morality and righteousness on the surface while your bellies are full of debauchery?" Ye Nan laughed derisively.
Caring no longer about the insult, Qi Kang blurted out anxiously, "Then you..."
"Your daughter was implanted with a spell talisman by that Taoist priest Xuanyi."
Ye Nan said indifferently, "Until that talisman is removed, it will continuously absorb foul energy, making a complete cure impossible."
At these words, all three members of the Qi family were stunned on the spot, dumbfounded.
They were no fools; recalling the events leading up to today, they increasingly realized that Zhao Chuanping and Xuanyi had been putting on a mutual act of deception all along.
So that was it!
Qi Kang clenched his fists, fury burning in his chest.
Qi Jingyao's expression turned gloomy as well, a murderous intent flashing deep within her eyes.
"Then how do we eradicate it completely?" Li Ruomei asked hastily.
"A spell talisman must naturally be removed using talismanic arts." Ye Nan leisurely changed into his shoes. "There is no suitable brush for drawing talismans in this house; I must go find one myself."
Drawing talismans could not be done with just any ordinary brush.
Good materials could not be bought in a metropolis; at the very least, he needed a brush made from the tail hair of the Northern Silver Wolf King to make it barely usable.
With that, Ye Nan turned and walked out the door.
The parlor fell instantly silent.
Only the soft, gentle murmurs of Li Ruomei comforting her daughter lingered in the air.
Chapter 30: A Destined Affinity with the Immortals!
Stepping out of the house, Ye Nan let out a long breath.
There was another reason he went out to buy the brush in person.
He needed somewhere to be alone so he could calm down.
He had actually lost his temper today.
Seeing Qi Kang speak disrespectfully to Lin Qingrou, Ye Nan had been unable to suppress the raging anger surging in his heart, feeling a fierce impulse to immediately take Qi Kang's old life right then and there!
Though the Qi family were a hateful lot, their crimes certainly did not warrant death.
And yet, he had found himself unable to control the restless murderous intent stirring within him...
Having cultivated since childhood, coupled with years of life-or-death trials, his self-control should not have been this poor.
Could it be that the Human World Tribulation his master had warned him about was finally arriving?
Ye Nan pondered quietly as he walked.
The Human World Tribulation was triggered by inner demons during the course of cultivation.
Only those possessed of extraordinary talent, one in a million, envied by the heavens themselves, were destined to face this trial.
If left unchecked and unguided, and the inner demon was fully provoked, Ye Nan would inevitably transform into a cold, emotionless butcher—bloodthirsty and cruel!
"Unless one meets a destined companion who knows the heart and understands the emotions, it cannot be resolved..."
Remembering what his unkillable old master had told him, Ye Nan felt a surge of helplessness.
In the end, the person his old master had calculated for him was Lin Qingrou.
Yet Ye Nan couldn't wrap his head around it.
He and Lin Qingrou were polar opposites in personality, experiences, and preferences.
The two of them simply belonged to completely different worlds.
How could she possibly be his "knower of the heart"?
Still, his old master's Heaven-Earth Yin-Yang Divination was truly no laughing matter, a fact Ye Nan grudgingly respected.
Whatever, he would take it one step at a time.
Ye Nan still held immense confidence in himself.
He firmly believed that even without a destined confidante, by virtue of his own cultivation and sheer willpower, he would never bow to the inner demon and become a walking corpse driven only by slaughter.
Walking and thinking, Ye Nan gradually calmed his state of mind.
Before long, his stroll brought him to an antique-looking street.
This was Jiangling's famous antique street. Though some shops mixed in counterfeits and opportunistic gimmicks, the majority were high-end establishments with exceptional taste that dealt exclusively in fine goods.
As night deepened, only a single storefront remained brightly lit along the long street.
"Xianqing Studio... nice name."
Ye Nan glanced at the shop's plaque, smiled faintly, and strode inside.
The interior was decorated in a classical, refined manner with meticulous attention to detail. Various Four Treasures of the Study were displayed about, filling the entire environment with an aura of scholarly elegance.
Perhaps due to the late hour, there was only a single sales clerk in the store—an elderly man dressed in a dark cyan long gown whose style harmonized perfectly with the shop's decor.
"Sir, is there something particular you'd like to look at?" Seeing how young Ye Nan was, a trace of surprise flickered in the old man's eyes.
Most people who came here were scholars, literati, and elderly researchers.
"Top-grade wolf-hair brush, yellow paper, cinnabar."
Without beating around the bush, Ye Nan said calmly, "For the yellow paper, Qinghe yellow paper is best; for the cinnabar, the rosy-red variety is optimal. As for the wolf-hair brush... if you have one made from the tail hair of a Northern wolf, the price is negotiable."
Hearing this, a strange gleam instantly flashed across the old clerk's eyes.
An expert!
"Old Chen, go tend to other things. I'll personally host this gentleman."
Before the elderly clerk could reply, another older man descended the stairs from the loft, dressed in a Tang suit and radiating vigorous vitality.
Ye Nan narrowed his eyes slightly and sized him up.
This person had a dignified countenance, with an air of martial dominance lingering between his brows. Though smoothed by the passage of time, his physiognomy tending toward benevolence, that underlying fierce aggressiveness still surfaced faintly now and then.
After a brief glance, a subtle shift occurred in Ye Nan's eyes, and the corners of his mouth ticked upward.
Interesting...
"Boss!" Old Chen bowed to the Tang-suited elder and turned to leave.
Just before turning away, however, Old Chen cast a startled look at Ye Nan.
What manner of person was the boss?!
It had been a very long time since anything had managed to spark his interest.
This young man was no ordinary person!
"My name is Yun Shanhe, and I am the owner of this Xianqing Studio." Yun Shanhe smiled, a brilliant light shining within his calm, unrippled eyes. "The Qinghe yellow paper and rosy-red cinnabar requested by you, sir, are not difficult to find."
Pausing for a moment, Yun Shanhe continued, "As for this wolf-hair brush... I do indeed possess genuine top-grade stock in my shop, but it is not convenient to fetch it out here. I must ask you, sir, to step upstairs for a viewing."
Ye Nan nodded and made a gesture inviting him to lead the way.
Another flash of surprise crossed Yun Shanhe's eyes.
Facing him, this young man remained utterly calm and composed—he was truly extraordinary!
"May I ask your esteemed name, sir?" Yun Shanhe asked once they reached the upper floor.
"Ye Nan."
The upper floor was tranquil and secluded, with classical guqin masterworks playing softly from a built-in sound system.
"Please wait a moment, sir."
Yun Shanhe retrieved several antique wooden boxes from a cabinet and placed them before Ye Nan.
After opening and inspecting them one by one, a trace of disappointment appeared in Ye Nan's eyes.
They were indeed all wolf tail hairs, but none of them belonged to a Northern wolf.
He had already abandoned the luxury of finding a Northern Silver Wolf's tail hair, but at the very least, it needed to be an authentic Northern wolf.
If a shop of this caliber couldn't provide one, did he really have to go catch a Northern wolf himself?
That woman Qi Jingyao wasn't worth the trouble!
Yun Shanhe had been secretly observing Ye Nan all along and felt a jolt of shock upon seeing the disappointment on his face. "Could it be... that even these fail to meet your standards?"
Sighing helplessly, Ye Nan held onto his last shred of hope. "Boss, if you have a brush made from authentic Northern wolf tail hair, please don't hesitate to bring it out. The price is not an issue."
Yun Shanhe stared at Ye Nan for a moment, his expression shifting uncertainly.
"I do indeed own a wolf-hair brush made from a Northern wolf's tail, but it is kept at my residence," Yun Shanhe said. "If Mr. Ye is interested, I can go retrieve it."
If Old Chen the clerk had heard his boss say this, his jaw likely would have dropped to the floor.
What was Yun Shanhe's status?
In all of Jiangling, or even the entirety of Zhongzhou, the people for whom he would personally go fetch items were virtually nonexistent, or at best, could be counted on one hand.
Yet Yun Shanhe had his own calculations.
He came from a martial arts family. In his youth, by a stroke of fortune, he had learned that beyond the martial path lay the path of immortality.
Yet lacking deep blessings, he had spent his entire life searching without ever encountering a true immortal affinity.
Hearing Ye Nan ask for a wolf-hair brush, cinnabar, and yellow paper just now, his heart had stirred, guessing that Ye Nan intended to draw talismans.
Proceeding with cautious intent, Yun Shanhe decided to try his luck.
"Haha, well said. As long as Mr. Ye finds it to your liking, we can dispense with the price—consider it my way of making a friend with Mr. Ye," Yun Shanhe said.
Ye Nan narrowed his eyes, burning with a sharp gaze as he stared at Yun Shanhe in silence for a moment.
His look was as palpable as a physical entity, seemingly piercing right through the flesh to read a person's soul.
Even someone like Yun Shanhe, who could cover the heavens with one hand and stand at the very pinnacle, felt thoroughly uncomfortable under Ye Nan's scrutiny.
He was filled with boundless shock.
Just who on earth was this young man, for a single look of his to be so formidable!
"I never take advantage of people." Ye Nan spoke calmly. "How about this: regardless of whether that wolf-hair brush catches my eye or not, I give you my word to help you through your current bottleneck."
Hearing this, Yun Shanhe trembled violently.
Simultaneously, a surge of wild joy welled up within his heart.
He knew he had bet on the right horse!
With just two glances at him, this person had been able to tell that his current martial training had encountered a bottleneck, was stagnant, and carried immense peril!
The immortal affinity he had sought his entire life without success was right before him now; how could he not be excited?
"Please sit for a moment, Mr. Ye! I will go home and fetch it right away!"
With that, Yun Shanhe spun around and bolted down the stairs, shouting at the top of his lungs as he ran, "Old Ghost! Old Ghost! Quickly prepare the car!"
Old Ghost was an elderly man dressed in a gray long gown, with thick-boned hands and a lean frame, but a pair of eyes that flashed with razor-sharp brilliance, yielding nothing to any young man.
Inside the car:
"Master, why such a rush? Who on earth is that young man?" Old Ghost couldn't help asking.
Yun Shanhe and Old Ghost were master and servant in name, but in truth, they were as close as brothers, so he didn't hide anything, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "Old Ghost, the long-cherished wish of my lifetime might just be fulfilled today!"
Old Ghost was startled to hear this. "Could that young man... Congratulations, Master!"
Yun Shanhe was overcome with emotion. "My Yun family has a heritage spanning five hundred years, yet on the path of martial arts, we have truly reached the end of the road, unable to advance even a single step further. Because I was too impatient to breakthrough, my cultivation went awry. Now, the heavens have taken pity on me, granting me a sliver of survival!"
Hearing this, Old Ghost was genuinely happy for his master. At the same time, he immediately stepped on the gas, rushing even faster toward Yun Shanhe's residence—Shanhe Manor.
Half an hour later, a sweating Yun Shanhe sprinted back up to the second floor of Xianqing Studio, respectfully placing a wooden box before Ye Nan.
"Mr. Ye, please have a look!" he said as he slowly opened the box, his hands trembling slightly with nervousness.
Having recognized Ye Nan as an extraordinary mystic expert, he was terrified that this brush, too, would fail to meet his standards.
With a brief sweep of his gaze, Ye Nan's eyes lit up instantly.
It was actually the tail hair of the Northern Silver Wolf King!
Splendid, this already exceeded his standards!
With this brush, it wouldn't just be about handling Qi Jingyao's current predicament; in the future, Ye Nan would be able to unleash many of his ultimate arts!
Sigh... What a pity. Back then, to escape his five senior martial sisters, he had fled down the mountain a bit too hastily and hadn't managed to swipe a couple of the old bastard's prized collections.
Otherwise, why would he be drooling over secondary-grade junk like this now?
"This one will do!"
With Ye Nan's verdict, the stone hanging in Yun Shanhe's chest finally hit the ground!
Chapter 31: Such Round, Such Massive Pressure!
"As long as you are satisfied, sir!"
Yun Shanhe's voice trembled with excitement as he hurriedly had someone bring over top-grade yellow paper and cinnabar.
Ye Nan originally intended to pay, but Yun Shanhe adamantly refused to accept.
"Three days from now, wait for me here."
Refusing to stand on further ceremony, Ye Nan accepted the items and said calmly, "For these three days, quiet your mind and spirit, and stop practicing martial arts."
"Yes!"