Chapter 2031

Chapter 2031: Who is Plotting Against Me?

After hearing Ye Chen's words, Yang Ge Lao rubbed his hands and laughed heartily, utterly delighted. It was love at first sight, a destined connection—his passionate romance had finally arrived.

Ye Chen shook his head with a smile and continued drawing out the toxins.

Another quarter of an hour passed before he put away his ring. The woman was still unconscious, but the deadly poison in her body had been completely extracted. With her abundant inner force, her recovery was just a matter of time.

"Get a few herbs to replenish qi and blood, and take them three times a day." Ye Chen yawned, stretched lazily, and headed for the door. As he reached it, he glanced back at Yang Ge Lao. "Old Yang, aren't you going to see me off?"

"We're so familiar with each other—what's there to see off?" Yang Ge Lao waved him off without even turning his head, his eyes fixed on the woman, gleaming with excitement as he chuckled. "She just gets more beautiful the more I look."

Ye Chen said nothing, but his expression was full of meaning.

This guy was clearly prioritizing romance over friendship.

Yang Ge Lao paid no attention to his look, focusing entirely on the woman with eyes full of tenderness.

Ye Chen couldn't help but shudder with goosebumps and turned to leave.

The night passed without incident, and dawn arrived in the blink of an eye.

Zhuxian Zhen was busier than usual that new day.

As soon as the sky brightened, posters were plastered all over the streets and alleys. A closer look revealed they were wanted notices.

And who was the one being wanted? No need to guess—it was Yang Xuan.

The events from last night involving Yinshan Laodao in the mountains had reached Yan Wang's residence, enraging Yan Wang. He immediately issued the wanted order and recruited numerous martial arts experts to help hunt down Yang Xuan. The reward on the notice was extraordinarily high.

"This Yang Xuan must have quite the background to have a reward of ten thousand taels." A crowd gathered in front of the poster, buzzing with discussion.

"You don't know about Yang Xuan? He's the third-ranked expert in the martial arts world, a genuine hero. His Tian Gang body protection is masterful—only Dugu Jian Sheng can break through his defense in this world."

"That sounds intimidating!"

"What puzzles this old man is how Yang Xuan managed to provoke Yan Wang."

"It's probably because Yan Wang tried to recruit him, but Yang Xuan refused. Given Yan Wang's temperament, he couldn't swallow that insult. One wrong word, and it leads to disaster. Now he's in real trouble—even if he's strong as an individual, he can't fight an army. And there are plenty of martial arts experts after that reward, wave after wave. You can't fend off four hands with just two fists!"

"If I were Yang Xuan, I'd defect to another warlord. The world doesn't belong to Yan Wang alone."

"Shh, keep it down—do you have a death wish? Zhuxian Zhen might be remote, but it's still under Yan Wang's rule. Talk too much, and you'll bring trouble on yourself."

Discussions erupted all along the street, mainly because the posters were everywhere, drawing crowds at every spot. Even the uncle selling steamed buns and the old man with his stall had run over to join the excitement.

Ye Chen stood quietly in front of one poster, his mouth twitching. He realized he hadn't been careful enough—this had put Yang Xuan right in the line of fire. A perfectly fine martial arts hero had been dragged into this mess by him. Who knows, Yang Xuan might be on the run right now?

And sure enough, as he suspected, Yang Xuan's situation was awkward. The third-ranked expert in the martial arts world was being chased relentlessly by Yan Wang's troops and martial arts experts, left in a sorry state.

"Who's plotting against me?"

Yang Xuan dashed through the mountains, cursing all the way, completely baffled. He had been sound asleep when he was surrounded. As soon as he opened the door, arrows rained down. He barely fought his way out, only to face one martial arts expert after another in pursuit. He was tough, no doubt, but the numbers were overwhelming. Even he had to retreat to catch his breath.

At that moment, he was still in the dark, clueless about it all.

What had he done to deserve this massive manhunt? Had he offended someone? At least give him a reason for trying to kill him! Or maybe he just had a face that begged for trouble?

"Yang Xuan, you can't escape." A cold voice echoed from the darkness as more pursuers arrived. There were quite a few of them, all with strong inner force, their movements rustling through the mountains.

Yang Xuan sneered, leaping from tree to tree as he fled. It wasn't that he feared his pursuers, but he didn't want to get bogged down—if the army caught up, he'd be trapped no matter what.

The chase went on through the night.

By morning, Ye Chen had already set up his fortune-telling gear early.

Listening to the discussions around him, he couldn't help but cough a few times. This pit he'd dug was way too deep.

Fortunately, he'd calculated that Yang Xuan's fate was tough—he wouldn't die anytime soon.

"How on earth did he provoke Yan Wang?" Yang Ge Lao approached from nearby, carrying three packets of herbs. Clearly, he'd gone to get medicine, and he was aware of the Yang Xuan situation, muttering in surprise all the way.

"You, come here." Ye Chen beckoned him over.

Yang Ge Lao snapped out of his thoughts and hurried over.

"Do you know about Yang Xuan?" Ye Chen asked.

"Third in the martial arts rankings—hard not to know." Yang Ge Lao sat down, hands tucked in his sleeves, sighing. "Now that's a real expert. As far as I know, the only one who can break his defense is the top-ranked Dugu Jian Sheng. The reason he's third is because the second-ranked Luan Shi Dao Kuang once beat him by half a move."

"Does he have a wife or family?"

"No, he's a lone wolf, the typical solitary wanderer."

"That's a relief." Ye Chen chuckled dryly. It was best if the person had no ties—nothing worse than dragging innocent family into this.

"Provoking Yan Wang probably means he's in grave danger!" Yang Ge Lao sighed from the side. "Among the warlords today, Yan Wang is the strongest, controlling a full third of the territory. He's known as the most likely to unify the realm. He has countless martial arts experts under him and an army of hundreds of thousands. Taking down one Yang Xuan is child's play for him."

"I can see that." Ye Chen rubbed his forehead, feeling even more guilty about Yang Xuan. After all, not everyone was like him, unafraid of mortal armies or martial arts experts. Being third in the rankings meant nothing to Yan Wang.

Yang Ge Lao glanced around, then leaned in closer, looking at Ye Chen mysteriously. "Are you Yinshan Laodao's disciple?"

"Why do you say that?"

"That ring of yours is Yinshan Laodao's family heirloom—he never parted with it. I've been lucky enough to see it before. If it's with you, that says something about your relationship with him."

"If you say so, then sure." Ye Chen replied casually.

"It really is true!" Yang Ge Lao's eyes widened in excitement. As someone in the martial arts world, he knew about Yinshan Laodao—a true senior among seniors. Even his own master would have to address him as a predecessor. Yinshan Laodao's influence in the jianghu was immense, enough to make even Yan Wang show respect.

Now, meeting Yinshan Laodao's disciple, how could he not be shocked?

Ye Chen remained unfazed—he didn't care one way or the other.

"We'll talk more later." Yang Ge Lao composed himself, patted Ye Chen on the shoulder, and hurried into the inn. The herbs were bought, and they needed to be brewed. Compared to Ye Chen, he was far more interested in the woman.

Once Yang Ge Lao left, Ye Chen lay down on the table, glancing around.

Among the bustling crowd that day, there were many unfamiliar faces, most carrying weapons and exuding inner force fluctuations. They were clearly martial arts people, likely here hunting for Yang Xuan. Zhuxian Zhen was the closest town to the old tomb, so it was possible Yang Xuan had passed through.

Yan Wang's reward was tempting, and his power was intimidating. Anyone he wanted caught would draw eager helpers. Taking down Yang Xuan would be a major achievement, and if Yan Wang ever unified the realm, they'd be founding heroes.

"Why didn't I just kill them all to keep it quiet?" Ye Chen muttered to himself.

Boom!

No sooner had Ye Chen spoken than a loud bang echoed from the inn's backyard. The noise was so loud it carried to the street.

It was a clattering racket, like robbers ransacking the place—tables, chairs, pots, and pans crashing everywhere.

Onlookers stared in surprise, assuming someone had tried to dine and dash and was getting beaten by the inn's guards.

As everyone watched, a figure flew out like a sandbag, smashing into the teahouse across the way and turning it into a mess.

This was the classic scene of someone causing a ruckus.

The crowd pushed forward curiously.

Amid all the attention, Ye Chen stayed relaxed, still lying on the table, as if he knew exactly who it was and what had happened.

Under the watchful eyes, a disoriented figure crawled out of the wrecked teahouse, shaking his head unsteadily. The most noticeable thing was the footprint on his chest—not too large, clearly from a woman's foot.

And that person was Yang Ge Lao.

The spectators were stunned—a martial arts expert like him, getting beaten?

Yang Ge Lao looked embarrassed, forcing a dry laugh as he clutched his waist and limped back toward the inn. Before leaving, he tossed a money pouch to the teahouse owner. Smashing the place meant he had to pay for it.

As he passed Ye Chen, Yang Ge Lao's smile was more pained than a grimace.

It had turned out just as Ye Chen had said—his future wife had a fierce temper, and her skill was even superior to his. He'd barely entered with the medicinal soup, hadn't said a word, and got kicked out.

"This romance—is it passionate enough?"

"Enough." Yang Ge Lao gritted out the word, then sighed heavily and headed back into the inn. The woman's injuries weren't healed yet, and kicking him had disrupted her inner force—she was probably unconscious again. He needed to check on her.

In the days that followed, more and more people arrived in Zhuxian Zhen, all martial arts experts. They weren't there for tomb exploration but to search for Yang Xuan. As Yinshan Laodao had said, no one would enter the tomb without Yang Xuan's head.

With no choice, Yan Wang focused on capturing Yang Xuan first.

To that end, the reward on the wanted notice kept rising, now up to thirty thousand taels.

In Yan Wang's view, keeping Yinshan Laodao happy would make everything worthwhile. The treasures in that ancient tomb far exceeded thirty thousand taels—it would fund his army and his dream of unifying the realm.

Because of Yan Wang's emphasis, the entire martial arts world was stirred. Especially the experts ranked fourth through tenth, who were putting in the most effort. Taking out Yang Xuan would boost their rankings, earn them the reward, and build their reputation—what was there to lose?

In contrast, the top-ranked Dugu Jian Sheng and Luan Shi Dao Kuang were keeping to themselves.

As the top figures in the jianghu, they were too proud to serve any warlord.