Just then, Ye Qingcheng suddenly took out a dagger and stabbed herself.
This move stunned Yun Fan and Zhao Lingyue. What was going on now?
"What are you doing?"
Yun Fan asked, confused.
Ye Qingcheng sneered, "If I don't do this, how can I have an excuse to tell my mother?"
The two instantly understood what was happening.
"You still don't have to do this!"
Yun Fan said speechlessly, "You almost cut your carotid artery!"
He quickly helped Ye Qingcheng stop the bleeding.
"As expected, she's a vixen. Cruel to others, and even more so to herself!"
Zhao Lingyue taunted.
But Ye Qingcheng ignored her sarcasm and said weakly, "You heartless wretch, I'm doing all this for you. If you dare abandon me, you're dead!"
"I..."
Yun Fan really wanted to say, what does this have to do with him? It was clearly her who didn't want to marry him! But saying that would seem heartless.
So, at this moment, the best approach was to play dumb.
Fortunately, the three heavenly prodigies had already dealt with one of them. Now, they just needed to deal with the other two.
Then, the remaining prodigies would be nothing to fear.
His goal was simple: to thwart the plan of the hidden sects to emerge into the world. Now, he had succeeded halfway.
...
At the Ye family, Ye Qingcheng returned weakly.
"Mother!"
Ye Ji looked at her in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Mother, I'm sorry, Cousin has already..."
Ye Qingcheng said with grief. It had to be said, she was a seasoned actress. Her acting skills could easily surpass Yun Fan's.
"What happened?"
Ye Ji was furious.
Ye Qingcheng endured the pain and replied, "Cousin and I were out shopping, but he suddenly decided to deal with Yun Fan on the way!"
"When I rushed over, Cousin had already been killed. To avenge Cousin, I was also seriously injured, but Yun Fan spared my life because we are old acquaintances!"
Although her explanation was a bit weak, the evidence was conclusive, and there were no loopholes.
Hearing this, Ye Ji said coldly, "You're lying to me!"
Ye Qingcheng was startled and quickly knelt down, "Mother, I'm not lying to you. This is the truth!"
"Is that so?"
Ye Ji said angrily, "With Yun Fan's strength, he could at most fight your cousin to a draw. Do you think I'll believe you when you say Yun Fan killed him?"
"There was a woman with him!"
Ye Qingcheng explained, "The woman with him is named Zhao Lingyue, the sister of the once world-renowned Zhao Feiyue. The two of them teamed up and killed Cousin!"
Hearing this, Ye Ji's face instantly stiffened.
"You're still trying to trick me at this point!"
Ye Ji said coldly, "Zhao Lingyue is from a hidden sect. She hates Yun Fan to the bone. Do you think she would cooperate with Yun Fan?"
"I don't know!"
Ye Qingcheng argued, "That's just how it happened. Cousin's body is outside. If you don't believe me, see for yourself!"
Ye Ji went into the courtyard and indeed saw Chu Mo, who had already kicked the bucket.
At this moment, she examined Chu Mo's cold corpse and found that he had been killed with a single blow.
The attacker's strength was truly extraordinary.
"Carry him away!"
"Yes!"
The Ye family guards quickly carried Chu Mo's body away.
At this moment, Ye Ji said to Ye Qingcheng, "I misunderstood you!"
"Mother must also be very sad about Cousin's death, but please bear with your grief. After all, Cousin is already dead!"
Ye Qingcheng did not blame Ye Ji.
Ye Ji said, "If I find out you're lying to me, you will die a horrible death!"
"I swear I'm not lying to you. If I am, you can deal with me as you please!"
Ye Qingcheng said directly.
"Go down and recuperate first!"
Ye Ji said coldly, "This debt of hatred cannot go unavenged!"
"Mother is going to kill Yun Fan?"
Ye Qingcheng's face changed. With her mother's strength, killing Yun Fan would be no problem.
"What? Are you feeling sorry for him?"
Ye Ji sneered at Ye Qingcheng.
Ye Qingcheng quickly said, "How could I?"
At this moment, Ye Ji said, "This time, even if he is the Sect Master of Ghost Valley, I will let him know my power!"
With that, she disappeared into the courtyard.
"Not good!"
Ye Qingcheng had a bad premonition and quickly dialed Yun Fan's number, intending to warn him to be careful of her mother.
After all, her mother was too strong, the most powerful expert she had ever seen.
But before she could dial Yun Fan's number, a petal flew over and knocked her unconscious.
Yun Fan, completely unaware of all this.
At this moment, he said to Zhao Lingyue, "There are two more people. I think we can defeat them one by one!"
"It's not that simple!"
Zhao Lingyue said to Yun Fan, "Chu Mo's death will spread quickly. By then, they will definitely take the initiative to attack!"
"Take the initiative to attack, is it?"
Yun Fan sneered. After all, attacking proactively was his usual tactic. He didn't believe the other party was smarter than him.
"I still want to ask you, why has your strength improved so quickly?"
Zhao Lingyue asked curiously.
If it were before, she could still fight Yun Fan to a draw. But now, she was definitely no match for Yun Fan.
This was because she found that Yun Fan's strength had not only increased, but his killing moves were also very experienced. Chu Mo's instantaneous death was the best example.
Yun Fan smiled when he heard this, "I haven't gotten stronger. Perhaps you're mistaken!"
"I don't believe you!"
Zhao Lingyue completely disbelieved Yun Fan.
However, at this moment, a leaf suddenly flew in from outside and shot towards Zhao Lingyue.
Zhao Lingyue was greatly alarmed, but she instantly resisted, splitting the leaf with her sword. Unexpectedly, the broken leaf pierced her body.
"Mm-hmm!"
Zhao Lingyue let out a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of blood.
So strong, so incredibly strong. She had a premonition that the opponent's strength was definitely no less than her sister Zhao Feiyue's.
"Damn it!"
Yun Fan was furious and rushed out, only to find no one outside.
However, a letter was left behind.
"Meet at the Pearl Curtain Ruins at nine tonight!"
The name at the bottom was Ye Ji.
Yun Fan frowned instantly upon seeing this.
Was the day he had been anticipating finally here? In fact, he had known for a long time that a battle between him and Ye Ji was inevitable.
He just didn't expect it to be so soon. To be honest, he had no confidence in winning at all.
Ye Ji had also not shown herself for a long time. In Yun Fan's opinion, her injuries were severe and not yet healed, so he had some breathing room.
He had originally planned to wait until he had dealt with these heavenly prodigies, and then his strength would advance further, and it would be time to fight Ye Ji.
Now that Ye Ji had come to find him in advance, it might be a bad omen for him.
Judging from how Ye Ji had defeated Zhao Lingyue from a distance, the gap between them was far from small.
The opponent might already be at the peak of Xiantian, while he was only at the middle stage of Xiantian.
At this moment, he quickly returned indoors and helped Zhao Lingyue up.
"Who was it?"
Zhao Lingyue wished she could kill the opponent right now.
Yun Fan said, "Ye Ji!"
"What?"
Zhao Lingyue instantly lost her fighting spirit. It was because she knew she was no match for Ye Ji.
"Do you know Ye Ji?"
Yun Fan asked Zhao Lingyue.
Zhao Lingyue said, "Of course, who in the hidden sects doesn't know her?"
"Tell me!"
Yun Fan knew nothing about Ye Ji's background, only that she was very strong, but he didn't know her specific origins.
"She's from a hidden sect. Ye Ji is just a name she gave herself. In fact, she's from the Chu family!"
Zhao Lingyue said, "She and my sister are both rare beauties and powerful experts from the hidden sects!"
Yun Fan was instantly shaken. Anyone who was called an invincible expert was destined to be incredibly strong, to an absurd degree.
Zhao Lingyue continued, "However, she had a falling out with the Chu family back then, so she came to the mortal world and never returned to the hidden sect."
"What?"
Yun Fan had thought Ye Ji would return to the hidden sect at any time, but he didn't expect she hadn't returned for so many years.
At this moment, Zhao Lingyue continued, "Back then, her senior sister, the most beautiful woman in the hidden sect, Shui Qianqian, married Long Aotian of the Long family in the mortal world, so she also came to the mortal world to find her senior sister!"
"However, Shui Qianqian fell into a coma due to an accident. Her husband, Long Aotian, left the Long family to save Shui Qianqian and handed over the management of the Long family to Ye Ji!"
"The most beautiful woman?"
Yun Fan was shocked. He hadn't expected his own mother to be the most beautiful woman in the hidden sects. But it was normal, otherwise, he wouldn't be so handsome.
"Didn't Ye Ji marry Long Aotian?"
Yun Fan asked confusedly.
He hadn't revealed to Zhao Lingyue that he was the abandoned son of the Long family yet.
Zhao Lingyue said, "How is that possible? Everyone knows she doesn't like men!"
"Uh..."
So that was the case. Yun Fan still hadn't figured out why Ye Ji had changed the Long family to the Ye family.
He had previously thought Ye Ji had taken over the Long family's assets, but from what he could see now, it wasn't that simple.
After all, Ye Ji's starting point was too high. She might not even have thought of the mere Long family.
So, he told Zhao Lingyue the situation, to see if Zhao Lingyue could provide him with some useful information.
The result surprised him. He didn't expect Zhao Lingyue to know.
Zhao Lingyue said, "I heard my sister say that Shui Qianqian's marriage to Long Aotian back then offended the entire hidden sect, so Ye Ji changed the Long family to the Ye family to help the Long family escape annihilation by the hidden sect."
Hearing this, Yun Fan was shocked. Regardless of why he was abandoned by Ye Ji, he immediately asked, "Then who was Shui Qianqian attacked by?"
"I don't know!"
Zhao Lingyue said, "Shui Qianqian is the most beautiful woman in the hidden sects. Countless people pursued her. Even the current leader of the hidden sects had proposed to the Shui family, and the Shui family agreed. It was at that time that Shui Qianqian was dissatisfied with the family's arrangements, so she came to the mortal world alone and married Long Aotian. It is said they even had a child!"
"That's right, that child is me!"
Yun Fan said directly.
"What?"
Zhao Lingyue was stunned. She only knew that Yun Fan was the Sect Master of Ghost Valley, but she didn't expect Yun Fan to be the abandoned son of the Long family.
"Thank you for telling me so many truths!"
Yun Fan was grateful to Zhao Lingyue.
Zhao Lingyue said speechlessly, "It seems you and the hidden sects are destined rivals. No matter which identity you have, you are destined to be enemies with the hidden sects!"
"Mm-hmm!"
Yun Fan nodded and then asked Zhao Lingyue, "What happened to my mother and father later?"
Yun Fan had always been curious about this.
Zhao Lingyue shook her head and said, "I don't know. After all, they disappeared more than twenty years ago. Not only outsiders have been looking for them over the years, but even the hidden sects have been looking for them!"
"I understand!"
Yun Fan nodded. He believed that his cheap mother and father, who had not appeared for so many years, must have had their own reasons.
At this moment, Zhao Lingyue asked Yun Fan, "Are you still going to keep the appointment tonight?"
"Mm!"
Yun Fan nodded. However, Zhao Lingyue said, "Don't go. You have other choices! After all, you're no match for her!"
"What other choices do I have?"
Yun Fan asked confusedly.
Zhao Lingyue said, "You can choose to escape! As long as you're alive, you'll have hope!"
Yun Fan shook his head, "Escaping has never been my style!"
"Sigh!"
Zhao Lingyue didn't expect Yun Fan to be so stubborn. However, what surprised her was that Yun Fan was the one who offended Ye Ji.
Then why didn't Ye Ji deal with Yun Fan just now, but instead targeted her?
She felt bitter, but she could do nothing about Ye Ji, after all, Ye Ji was on the same level as her sister.
Only her sister was Ye Ji's match, and it was uncertain who was stronger or weaker.
At this moment, Yun Fan said to her, "Don't worry! She didn't mention a decisive battle, so I think she won't kill me!"
"What if she kills you without a word?"
Zhao Lingyue asked Yun Fan.
Yun Fan smiled and said, "She's a famous expert in the world. Her mind should be broad enough, so don't worry!"
But Zhao Lingyue was still not at ease. After Yun Fan left, she immediately sent a distress message.
The content of the distress message was simple.
"Sister, if you don't come soon, your man will be in danger!"
...
At nine o'clock, Yun Fan arrived at the Pearl Curtain Ruins from that year.
This was not his first time here. He had been here once before. He didn't know why Ye Ji had chosen this place.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Ye Ji standing in the courtyard.
Indeed, Ye Ji was stunningly beautiful. This beauty was indescribable. In front of her, let alone other women, even men would feel inferior.
Although she was in her thirties, time had not left any traces on her face. Instead, she had become more beautiful.
Her beauty was coupled with a mature charm, which was the most fatal. The thought that she was on par with Third Senior Sister made Yun Fan feel it was normal.
After all, Third Senior Sister was also a rare beauty in the world. Although he hadn't met her, Zhao Lingyue had told him about her.
At this moment, Ye Ji's face showed no signs of seriousness.
"You've grown up!"
Ye Ji praised Yun Fan.
Yun Fan said to Ye Ji, "What do you want me here for?"
"It seems you don't want to see me!"
Ye Ji smiled and wasn't angry.
"Not at all!"
At this moment, Ye Ji asked, "Do you hate me?"
Yun Fan was puzzled. Why wasn't Ye Ji mentioning Chu Mo? But he still replied, "If it were before, I would hate you, but now I don't!"
"Don't you hate me for taking over the Long family and treating you as an abandoned child?"
Ye Ji pressed again.
Yun Fan said, "I've learned part of the truth, but it's not complete yet, so I'm here today to ask for a clear explanation!"
"Abandoning you?"
"Yes!"
Yun Fan nodded.
Ye Ji said, "Because I knew that with my strength and means, I couldn't protect you, so I sent you away. I originally just wanted you to be an ordinary person and live a peaceful life. I didn't expect you to become the Sect Master of Ghost Valley!"
Hearing this, Yun Fan said, "I don't believe it. I believe that my reaching this point was also arranged by you!"
Ye Ji smiled, "As expected of you, always so smart. That's right, it was all intentional, but the Old Heavenly Master values you highly, and that's enough!"
Yun Fan felt uneasy.
At this moment, Ye Ji continued, "I know you want to ask why I couldn't protect you and who injured your mother, but you might be disappointed because you are not qualified to know yet!"
Although these words were unpleasant, Yun Fan accepted them. Indeed, his current strength was still inferior to Ye Ji's.
Not to mention the culprit who injured his mother. His mother's strength was definitely above Ye Ji's, so it was not difficult to determine that the opponent's strength might have surpassed the Xiantian realm.
At this moment, Ye Ji said to Yun Fan, "Sit down, let's talk properly!"
"Mm!"
Yun Fan sat opposite Ye Ji. He always felt a sense of déjà vu with Ye Ji, but he couldn't recall where he had seen her before.
At this moment, he asked Ye Ji, "Are you going to avenge your nephew Chu Mo?"
"Don't worry, I won't kill you!"
She said to Yun Fan, "You are your senior sister's only bloodline. I will not kill you, even if I have sufficient reason to kill you!"
Hearing this, Yun Fan breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, others are not as lucky as you!"
"Are you referring to Ye Qingcheng or Zhao Lingyue?"
Yun Fan asked directly, as they were also involved in killing Chu Mo, and Ye Qingcheng was the main culprit.
At this moment, Ye Ji said, "I'm referring to all of them!"
Yun Fan gasped, "What will it take for you to change your mind?"
That's right, he was negotiating with Ye Ji now.
"You care so much about their lives, do you perhaps like them?"
Ye Ji asked him.
Yun Fan said, "No, they are my friends. Let's not mention Zhao Lingyue. Isn't Ye Qingcheng your daughter? Are you going to kill her too?"
"She's my chess piece. When a chess piece disobeys, I choose to destroy it!"
Ye Ji said directly.
Yun Fan understood and said to Ye Ji, "What do I need to do for you not to kill them?"
"Being tied down by women is not a good thing. You know, you were born with a deep hatred to bear! If you continue like this, you won't achieve anything great!"
Ye Ji commented on him.
Yun Fan said, "That's not necessarily true. I only know that I can't watch my good friends die with my own eyes!"
"As long as you cut ties with them, I won't kill them, especially Ye Qingcheng!"
She stated her condition directly.
Yun Fan was speechless, not understanding Ye Ji's meaning, but at this moment, he said, "Okay, I promise you!"
"That's a good boy!"
Ye Ji showed a satisfied smile.
At this moment, Yun Fan said, "If there's nothing else, I'll leave now!"
"Go ahead!"
Yun Fan got up and turned to leave.
But as he reached the door, he called out to Ye Ji, "Sister!"
"Little brother!"
Ye Ji blurted out in response.
Instantly, both of them froze, and were also awkward. Especially Yun Fan, he didn't expect Ye Ji to be the Pearl Curtain.
No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity. The difference was too great! No wonder he couldn't find out the identity of the Pearl Curtain.
It turned out that the Pearl Curtain was Ye Ji in disguise.
Ye Ji, who had been calm, gave Yun Fan a fierce glare and then disappeared into the darkness.
At this moment, Yun Fan's heart was in turmoil. He clearly remembered that as soon as he arrived in Jinling, the Pearl Curtain had come to him.
She constantly provided him with help and always arrived when he was in trouble. He never expected that it was all Ye Ji's doing.
At this moment, Yun Fan's emotions were hard to describe, especially the request the Pearl Curtain had made to him last time.
Fortunately, that step hadn't been taken, otherwise, he would be utterly embarrassed now.
At this moment, the awkward Yun Fan dared not linger any longer and fled.
After returning home, Yun Fan directly buried himself under the covers. Yes, at this moment, he didn't want to see anyone.
...
Two days later, Ye Qingcheng woke up and found Ye Ji by her side.
"Mother!"
Ye Qingcheng was startled. She didn't know Yun Fan's situation at the moment. However, at this moment, Ye Ji said, "You knew my identity, didn't you?"
"No!"
Ye Qingcheng quickly denied it.
However, Ye Ji said coldly, "Look me in the eye and tell me, do you know?"
"Yes!"
Ye Qingcheng answered honestly, because she knew that in front of her mother, even lying would be easily seen through.
If she had to say who knew her best in the world, it would definitely be Ye Ji.
Ye Ji said with some dejection, "My disguise was perfect. Why did you see through it?"
Not only Ye Qingcheng saw through it, but Yun Fan also did. After Yun Fan returned, he was extremely embarrassed, and so was she.
After all, she had spent the past two days in embarrassment.
"Did you make a move against Yun Fan?"
Ye Qingcheng no longer dwelled on why she could see through it. In fact, Ye Ji's disguise wasn't that good.
She had only disguised her face, but not her figure, so she had seen through it quickly at that time.
Because of this, she had been depressed for a long time.
"He saw through my identity!"
Ye Ji said directly.
Hearing this, Ye Qingcheng sneered inwardly and then said directly, "Why make things so awkward?"
Her implication was to tell Ye Ji that she wasn't afraid of being ridiculed by the world. After all, in the eyes of the world, Ye Ji had married into the Long family.
Although Ye Ji only took charge of the Long family to help her senior sister, changing the Long family to the Ye family.
It still couldn't withstand idle gossip.
She hated Ye Ji for ruining her good deeds. Although she and Yun Fan hadn't explicitly stated their feelings, she had long had indescribable feelings for Yun Fan. Unfortunately, these feelings were brutally extinguished by Ye Ji.
"Are you telling me what to do?"
Ye Ji asked coldly. How could she not hear the sarcasm in Ye Qingcheng's words?
Ye Qingcheng said, "No, how dare I tell you what to do?"
At this moment, Ye Ji said, "I think you've been too tired lately, so after your injuries heal, I plan to have you go into seclusion for a period of time to improve your strength!"
Hearing this, if it were the usual Ye Qingcheng, she might have been very disappointed, but now she was already immune.
So, she immediately said, "So, you will eventually take that step and become a laughingstock of the world!"
"Shut up!"
Ye Ji was instantly embarrassed. That's right, her intention was clear: she wanted Ye Qingcheng to back down. Even if she took that step, it would be fine.
But Ye Qingcheng couldn't be involved, so she had to resort to forceful means.
"I was right, wasn't I?"
Ye Qingcheng sneered, "Okay, I'll back down!"
"You're really backing down?"
Ye Ji's face lit up with joy. As long as Ye Qingcheng backed down, it was fine. However, she knew Ye Qingcheng too well; she was definitely not an honest person.
Ye Qingcheng said, "Who asked you to raise me for so many years? So, I'm tired and don't want to scheme against you anymore!"
"Good, I'm very pleased that you have this realization. As a reward for your withdrawal, I can give you anything you want!"
Ye Ji made a promise.
But Ye Qingcheng said, "No need. I'll pretend nothing happened in the future!"
"I've decided to go into seclusion tomorrow!"
"Mm!"
Ye Ji nodded. She would go into seclusion tomorrow, and Ye Qingcheng probably wouldn't play any tricks. So, she said, "Get some rest early!"
After Ye Ji left, a sinister smile curved Ye Qingcheng's lips. It didn't matter if she went into seclusion tomorrow.
Because she had already devised a perfect plan in her heart. As long as she got Yun Fan in advance, Ye Ji would have to suffer in silence.
So, she immediately got up, ignoring the pain of her wound, and drove to Yun Fan's residence.
Upon seeing Ye Qingcheng arrive, Yun Fan, who had just recovered from his awkwardness, became awkward again.
"Are you feeling a bit better?"
Yun Fan said awkwardly.
"A little better!"
Ye Qingcheng asked, "Where is that bitch Zhao Lingyue?"
"Uh..."
Yun Fan was speechless. He could tell that the hatred between the two women seemed to be great! However, since Zhao Lingyue wasn't here, he wasn't worried about the two women fighting.
"She went out to gather intelligence on the other two heavenly prodigies!"
Hearing this, Ye Qingcheng was overjoyed. After all, with Zhao Lingyue gone, her plan could be better executed.
But she still asked uncertainly, "Will she be back tonight?"
"I don't know!"
Yun Fan didn't know Zhao Lingyue's whereabouts. Instead, he immediately said to Ye Qingcheng, "I'll tell you a secret, I know the identity of the Pearl Curtain!"
"She's my mother, Ye Ji!"
Ye Qingcheng said directly, not intending to give Yun Fan a chance to reveal it.
"You know!"
"What do you think?"