Chapter 364: Snatching Opportunities

Ghost Mother looked up at Ye Wenxin, feeling something off about the way Ye Wenxin was looking at her. Ghost Mother couldn’t pinpoint it; she just felt unsettled under that stare.

Noticing the shift in her mood, Ghost Mother resisted and quickly struggled out of Ye Wenxin’s embrace, vanishing into the umbrella sword. Ye Wenxin, puzzled, approached to inquire why Ghost Mother was avoiding the topic, but before she could, Gu Xiangsi’s urgent voice came from outside.

“Not good, that lady has run inside!” Gu Xiangsi shouted at the entrance. Ye Wenxin was momentarily confused, wondering which lady Gu Xiangsi meant, but Gu Xiangsi urgently pulled her out of the tent.

Ye Wenxin looked around at the surrounding crowd. Priest Wang’s expression was one of discomfort, clearly embarrassed by the situation. Scanning the crowd, Ye Wenxin noticed that Priest Wang’s granddaughter, Wang Cuihua, was missing.

“Did Cuihua take that woman inside?” Ye Wenxin asked. She remembered seeing a dog-sized hole on the back wall, when Priest Wang was giving her the tour. Although it was sealed off, One Short Sect disciples could still pass through effortlessly.

Wang Cuihua, familiar with everyone in the One Short Sect, was known for being crafty and unruly. However, as she lacked love from a young age, the lady’s plight had moved her. Ye Wenxin, who saw Wang Cuihua as a mere tool, didn’t particularly care, and even felt a bit pleased with her actions.

Wang Cuihua’s antics might actually trigger a female lead opportunity. Ye Wenxin glanced at Gu Xiangsi and then at Hei Haowen, contemplating how to seize this opportunity before them.

If she could secure it, Ye Wenxin would have a better chance against the ultimate female lead, Fairy Fengya, and she might also control Gu Xiangsi’s rapidly growing luck.

When Ye Wenxin thought about Gu Xiangsi, a girl as clingy as sticky candy and dependent becoming a female lead, it would very likely make her life more difficult. Even if Ye Wenxin advised against taking risks, Gu Xiangsi, influenced by Jin Xiaoqin’s teachings, would definitely not let this chance slip by.

“Grandmaster, I have a difficult request,” Priest Wang began. Ye Wenxin immediately understood what he wanted to ask of her.

In Priest Wang’s eyes, Ye Wenxin had become a true chosen one. Despite her average power, her luck alone could defy the heavens. Ye Wenxin understood his thoughts but knew he was asking the wrong person. If there was a true chosen one present, it was Gu Xiangsi.

However, Ye Wenxin couldn’t directly say this, so she continued, “Go on, tell me.”

“My granddaughter led that woman through the hole over there. Could you please bring them back, Grandmaster?” Priest Wang looked troubled. Seeing Ye Wenxin’s silence, he quickly explained, “Grandmaster, you know I can’t leave my post. If I leave, there’s no way to defend this gate.”

He spoke of his dilemma, torn between his duty to protect the common people and his love for his granddaughter. He couldn’t choose between them.

“I have always been a solitary person, but my granddaughter is different. She is still young and has so much ahead of her,” Priest Wang said, his eyes shimmering with emotion. Suddenly, he knelt down with a thud, startling Gu Xiangsi and Hei Haowen. Only Ye Wenxin remained thoughtful. When she came to her senses, Priest Wang had already started kowtowing repeatedly.

“Is your dignity worth so little?”

“Cuihua is my lifeline. Grandmaster, I beg you to bring her back. I am willing to do anything!” Priest Wang kowtowed even more fervently, losing all his dignity for Wang Cuihua’s sake.

Seeing this, Ye Wenxin was about to agree, when Gu Xiangsi spoke up on her behalf: “Of course, as immortal sect disciples, it is our duty to serve the people. Isn’t that right, Sis?”

Ye Wenxin had opened her mouth, intending to ask for something more substantial as a bargaining chip. But the mention of being immortal sect disciples was a little embarrassing for the Demon Lord. Finally, she forced a smile and nodded to Priest Wang.

Priest Wang, hearing this, became even more excited, and asked Ye Wenxin what preparations were needed.

“No preparations are necessary.”

“But those are jiangshi. We should at least prepare some glutinous rice and the like, right?” Priest Wang was surprised, unsure if Ye Wenxin was bluffing or if she genuinely had a solid plan in mind. Even though Priest Wang had been renowned for years, the thought of facing a jiangshi army still made him nervous, not to mention the feishi or the even more powerful Jiangshi King.

Listening to Ye Wenxin’s casual tone, as if she were discussing a sightseeing trip, Priest Wang found it hard to believe. Ye Wenxin smiled slightly, glanced at the umbrella sword, and said, “This umbrella sword is the best weapon against supernatural creatures. If you’re worried, you can send a disciple to accompany me.”

Priest Wang felt a bit awkward. “It’s not that I doubt your abilities, Grandmaster, but it would be best to send someone along. Xiao Li, accompany the Grandmaster on this mission.”

At the call of his name, the disciple’s body trembled, and he instinctively took a few steps back, shaking his head like a rattle drum. Priest Wang was infuriated by this display. “With that kind of attitude, you still dream of marrying my granddaughter? Cuihua would only fancy you in her dreams!”

“Then I’d rather keep dreaming. Master, those jiangshi are too terrifying; I really can’t do it.”

The male disciple looked miserable, but the thin man standing beside him spoke up instead, “Master, since Senior Brother is unwilling to go, let me go instead.”

He was thin, and only about 1.6 meters tall, with fair skin. If Ye Wenxin hadn’t used her divine sense to confirm that he was indeed a man, she would have thought he was a delicate woman disguised as a man, to learn Daoist arts at the One Short Sect.

Ye Wenxin and the man exchanged glances. He appeared calm, his fists clenched tightly as if he was ready to face death. However, Ye Wenxin was confident she could ensure the safety of anyone who chose to accompany her, and didn’t plan on letting anyone sacrifice themselves. She intended to bring someone along as a witness, and ensure they would spread word of her prowess to the One Short Sect disciples, to extinguish any further doubts about her capabilities.

Ye Wenxin had no reverence in her heart, but she wouldn’t allow these disciples who called her ‘Grandmaster’ to lack respect for her either.

Priest Wang observed his two disciples. The one he had high hopes for turned out to be cowardly in a crucial moment, while the disciple he had always overlooked was willing to sacrifice himself for Wang Cuihua. This contrast left Priest Wang sighing in reflection.

He looked at Ye Wenxin and said, “Grandmaster, I entrust my disciple to your care.” With a sigh, he gestured for the young disciple to step forward.