As for what happened after that, Ye Zichen had no way of knowing.
Xuan Ji was currently dragging him back to her residence by the ear.
But after thinking about it, it didn’t seem there would be a problem.
The captain of the guards had given his solemn oath. Furthermore, they’d received their Pills of Fortune from Xuan Ji; there was no way they’d dare lie. If they didn’t resolve the situation to perfection after taking so much from her, they might as well give up on living in the God Realm.
“Auntie, it hurts, it hurts…. Hurry up and let go!”
She was really dragging him along! Ye Zichen almost felt like his left ear no longer belonged to him. As soon as they stepped indoors, he hurriedly tapped Xuan Ji’s hand and whimpered in complaint.
Xuan Ji snorted and let go.
Ye Zichen felt like his ear was on fire. He rubbed it, then turned and took in Xuan Ji’s unfriendly glare. “Auntie.”
He was whining like a child again. Unlike before, when there were people present, she showed him no respect at all. “Quit wheedling. How old are you? Why are you still acting like a child?”
“That’s right!” Pu Jingwan nodded in agreement. She couldn’t bear Ye Zichen’s childish wheedling either.
“Shut up.” Ye Zichen shot her a vicious glare. She still had the gall to speak up? If not for her losing her temper, would things have turned out like this?
Although to be fair, Ye Zichen had made no attempt to stop her!
Before he could say anything else, he felt someone take hold of his right ear.
“Who are you yelling at? Who are you yelling at? You caused trouble and made me wipe your butt for you. She shot Ye Zichen a glare, then let go and smiled warmly at Pu Jingwan. “Don’t be afraid. Your Auntie is here to support you.”
“Thank you, auntie.” Pu Jingwan flashed her a sweet smile.
Ye Zichen was at a loss for words. He pursed his lips resentfully and plopped down on a chair, but just as he was about to reach for a divine fruit…
“Put that down! Did I say you could move?” A sudden shout started Ye Zichen so badly, his hands quivered uncontrollably. Xuan Ji glared at him, walked over, and put the fruit back into its bowl. “You still want to eat? Aren’t you ashamed? Do you have any idea how much those pills I just gave away cost?”
When she brought up the pills, Ye Zichen’s eyes lit up. He set aside his resentment, rubbed his hands together, and cast aside his shame. “Auntie, do you have any Pills of Fortune left? Could you give me one too?”
“I don’t.” She rolled her eyes coldly at him, then snorted. “And here I thought you were a sensible child who knew to greet me upon your return to the Divine Mountains. You just wanted me to wipe your butt for you! Don’t make trouble if you can’t take care of it yourself. It’s that simple, so why don’t you get it? I’m embarrassed to have a nephew like you. And now you have the gall to ask for a Pill of Fortune…. Do you know how much time and effort it took me to collect those pills? And now, just like that, they’re all gone! You’ve really cost me big time!”
Ye Zichen scratched his head throughout his lecture. He didn’t dare object or argue.
He knew how much Pills of Fortune were worth, and knew that Xuan Ji had just taken a big loss.
“Aren’t they just Pills of Fortune? Just wait until the resources from the Outside arrive. When that happens, I’ll ask them for another hundred eighty bottles and reimburse you.” Ye Zichen sneered.
“The Outside? You really went Outside?” asked Xuan Ji.
“I went, and I even discussed quite the hefty business deal with them.” He felt no need to hide this from Xuan Ji. He trusted his mother’s judgment. If she’d chosen Xuan Ji as her friend, that meant Xuan Ji was naturally on their side.
“How was it? After visiting, did your worldview come crumbling down around you or what?” Xuan Ji chuckled.
Her laughter was soft, but from the arch of her brows, it was obvious that she knew of the relationship between the Outside, the First Era, and their Third Era. It seemed she’d known all of this already.
Ye Zichen was stunned despite himself. So, she even knew about the Outside!
Why was it that when she proposed a marriage alliance with Bi’an, she’d said she couldn’t divine their fates?
Was there really anything she couldn’t divine?
Ye Zichen set those thoughts aside, then said glumly. “Yes, you could say that.”
“I know one thing for sure: throughout the Third Era, the number of people who understand our relationship with the first era is less than five, including you. But don’t worry too much. Just let nature take its course. If you try too hard to take what you want, you might achieve the opposite effect,” said Xuan Ji.
Her words were always vague, making it difficult to parse what exactly she was trying to say.
Was she talking about his celestial fate?
Or something else?
To Ye Zichen, nothing was more difficult than communicating with this sort of person. She’d always give him hints, but it was ultimately up to him to figure out what she was trying to say.
Regardless of what she was trying to hint at, Ye Zichen nodded. “I know.”
He’d planned to just let nature take its course. He hadn’t considered actively fighting for what he wanted.
But with Gu Li in the know and him in the dark, he had no idea of how to even begin attempting to seize Gu Li’s celestial fate. Then there was the obstacle right in front of him, Zhou Wu, a mighty expert who stood at the very peak of the God Realm.
Even with the Outside’s help, becoming strong enough to really challenge him wouldn’t happen all at once.
He had to go with the flow and take his time.
“It’s good you know.” She had no idea whether he’d truly understood her or not, but she’d already given him all the advice she could.
She could divine heavenly mysteries!
Her divination methods were thorough and powerful.
But since she knew too much, she had too many burdens. Some things were only for her to know; she couldn’t share them with others.
If she opened up and shared them, she didn’t even dare imagine the consequences.
Giving a bit of guidance was already the upper limit of what she could do for Ye Zichen. Whether he understood or not depended on his comprehension.
“Let’s set that aside for now. What did you come to Heavenly God City for this time?” asked Xuan Ji.
“Can’t you divine that?” asked Ye Zichen.
“Do you think divining heavenly fate is as simple as eating a meal? I can’t do it just like that…. Even if I wanted to glean heavenly mysteries and profound secrets, I wouldn’t waste my energy on your destiny.” She rolled her eyes at him again.
She’d chastised him again, but Ye Zichen simply pressed his lips together innocently. “I naturally came back for the Battle of Geniuses. Of course, while I’m at it, there’s a few other things I’d like to do…”
Ye Zichen then told her everything he’d told Xiao Yumei back in Skyspan City. In the process of sharing his plans, he naturally didn’t leave out what he’d learned of the Xiao Family’s collusion with demons and yao.
The more she heard, the brighter Xuan Ji’s eyes lit up. Soon, she broke into an enormous grin. “Little Guy, your plan is awfully interesting!”
“Isn’t it? A genius’ thoughts are always instant classics.” Ye Zichen arched his brows in pride, then inched closer, his gaze scheming yet gleeful. “How about it? Any interest in joining in on my plans?”
