I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

A sweetness began to rise in his throat; Elder Wu was so tense that his internal injuries flared up again. He fought against the urge to spit blood, channeling his spiritual energy to surround himself with a haze of blood aura, attempting to project the imposing presence of a transformation master, hoping to mask his own lack of confidence.

Just as he prepared to say something, seeking an opportunity to escape, a figure rushed in from the cave entrance.

“Bold scum of the Demon Sect, you shall not harm the sons of the Ye family!” In the blink of an eye, as Ye Yong and Qin Shiming barely registered the voice, Elder Wu was already knocked to the ground, a man in a brown robe standing over him, sword pointed menacingly.

“Don’t kill me! I surrender!” Elder Wu could no longer hold back, blood spilling from his mouth in great heaves.

“Yong’er, are you alright?” The man turned, looking at Ye Yong with deep concern.

Alright? How could he be alright? With such a turn of events, Ye Yong was on the verge of exploding with rage!

“Seventh Master, what are you doing here?” As he spoke, Ye Yong nearly ground his teeth in frustration.

—

—

39 You Do Not Trust Me

Ye Wen, a sixth-layer transformation master, an elder of the Ye family, held considerable prestige. He had just arrived in Ninghai City, intending to slip in quietly, but as he approached the city gate, he was discovered.

The governor immediately sent someone to invite Ye Wen aboard a ship. Ye Wen could not reveal that Ye Yong was also in Ninghai City, that he was there to protect him, so he pretended to have come alone for leisure, gritting his teeth to endure the Lantern Festival, sharing a few cups of tea with the governor, boasting for a while, and feeling he had fulfilled the necessary courtesies before taking his leave.

Ninghai City was vast; finding Ye Yong would not be easy. Fortunately, he had a spirit pet that could track Ye Yong’s scent.

Thus, Ye Wen followed his spirit pet to a location over ten kilometers outside Ninghai City, discovering a small, battered crystallized cultivator cornered against a Golden Core evil cultivator.

The Ye family was a prestigious righteous sect, naturally looking down upon evil cultivators. Ye Wen casually dispatched the Golden Core, then continued following his spirit pet to Tanqing Village.

The scent vanished near the water pool, just as the area was brightly lit, villagers watching the pool from a distance. Ye Wen asked a simple question and received a flurry of responses, the gist being that an immortal had entered the pool two hours prior.

A transformation master did not need to rely on any water-avoiding pearls; he dispersed his spiritual energy to envelop himself and leaped into the pool. Ye Wen quickly detected the malevolent aura beneath the water and traced its source to the cave.

—

—

“This isn’t about worrying for you.” Ye Wen saw that Ye Yong’s face was merely pale and a bit weak, nothing serious, and he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. “Good thing I arrived in time; otherwise, that demon scum would have… Hm? He seems to be gravely injured? Yong’er, did you do this? Just as expected from you! Even a Transformation God…”

“Stop.” Ye Yong quickly cut him off; if he kept flattering him, he might not live much longer.

The enemies they had encountered were already far beyond their level, and being targeted by a Nascent Soul Transformation God was bad enough. If rumors spread that “even a Transformation God couldn’t handle Ye Yong and was instead defeated by him,” wouldn’t that mean he’d have to face even more formidable foes in the future?

Ye Yong hurriedly clarified that this was a demon cultivator who had been hunting him that day, severely injured by a kind passerby, and it just so happened they crossed paths again today.

“Just a coincidence?” Ye Wen looked at Ye Yong meaningfully. “You little rascal, you wouldn’t have plotted me into this, would you?”

“Ah?” Ye Yong was taken aback; what was he even talking about?

At that moment, a flying pig slowly drifted in from the entrance, sniffed around Ye Yong, and then landed on the ground.

Ye Wen knocked out Elder Wu, sheathed his weapon, and approached Ye Yong with a knowing expression.

“Our Ye family currently has no Transformation Gods in seclusion, and I am the highest in cultivation. My residence is the farthest from yours. You didn’t go looking for your elder brother but instead came to tell me you were going out. Isn’t that clearly hoping I would follow you quietly? The moment I arrived in Ninghai City, I was immediately spotted by Governor Kong; I suspect you used some trickery there, didn’t you?”

“No, Seventh Master, what are you talking about?”

“You little brat, stop pretending.” Ye Wen shook his head in disapproval. “There are no outsiders here, just admit it. You’ve already grasped the movements of this demon cultivator but didn’t dare to capture him openly, fearing too much attention would come your way. So you devised this whole scheme to draw me in, then take credit for subduing the demon cultivator, while claiming it was a mere coincidence… Quite clever, indeed. Too much spotlight can indeed invite jealousy, and flattery from others can lead one astray. If your cousin Hao could achieve even a fraction of your cunning—no, a third, no, even a tenth—I would be thoroughly satisfied.”

The cousin Hao he mentioned was Ye Zhihao, a 13-year-old boy with an arrogant attitude who had been at a gathering of juniors before.

“Seventh Master, you misunderstand.” Ye Yong tried to explain, but Ye Wen wouldn’t give him the chance. “Alright, alright, stop pretending. If I get unhappy later, it won’t be good. You lured me here without my knowledge, and I felt quite untrusted, which made me unhappy. Now you still insist on denying it; doesn’t that mean you don’t trust me at all?”

Fine, as long as you’re happy, just don’t push the credit for capturing the demon cultivator onto me.

With the conversation reaching this point, Ye Yong felt too exhausted to explain further. Even if he did, it wouldn’t be taken to heart, so he resigned himself to fate. “Seventh Master, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but some things, if spoken, might change the variables. You know, walls have ears…”

Ye Wen nodded in agreement. “You’re right; you’ve grown up, with your own thoughts and strategies. Next time something similar happens, I don’t mind being your pawn, just don’t deny it afterward. That would make me seem untrustworthy. Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Qin?”

Qin Shiming didn’t respond, lost in thought. After hearing Ye Wen’s analysis, she unconsciously connected everything that had happened.

As someone who had experienced it firsthand, she felt there were some contradictions in Ye Wen’s deductions.

Discovering the remnants of a woman’s soul and tracing the dark river’s malevolence to this place was purely coincidental. Yet, the sword technique Ye Yong had used at the end had indeed drawn out a Transformation God demon cultivator.

—

Perhaps the events ahead were mere happenstance. Once they entered the cavern, Ye Yong sensed the presence of a demon cultivator above, deliberately unleashing a powerful sword strike to pierce the mountain. He anticipated that the elders of the Ye family would soon arrive to intervene, thus continuing to craft this as an unexpected phenomenon.

Qin Shidream felt this was the most plausible scenario.

Unlike Ye Wen, who firmly believed Ye Yong was a master of foresight, orchestrating everything with ease and boasting grandly, she found merit in the notion of discovering and capturing the demon cultivator, while deflecting the credit.

In the Black Water Secret Realm, Ye Yong had managed to escape with her and Liang Xiaorou amidst a throng of transformation-stage beasts. A mere injured initial-stage transformation cultivator posed no challenge for Ye Yong, in her eyes. Moreover, she had just been puzzled by Ye Yong’s earlier message to retreat; now, the truth was clear—he had been waiting for the elders of the Ye family to act, not wishing to claim any glory for himself.

Qin Shidream despised arrogant and self-satisfied individuals. Ye Yong’s humble demeanor, his quiet dedication, truly struck a chord within her.

Favorability +8.