towards Dongfang Jianming. She smiled coldly and said, "This is the engagement gift

that your father so eagerly sent me that year. Now, I return it to you. In the future, stay

as far away from me as you can!"

Ye Jiuge's words made the crowd gasp again in disbelief.

My G.o.d! The Ye clan's useless, ugly daughter must have lost her mind. Not only did she

insult the Crown Prince in public, but she wanted to cancel her betrothal with him as

well?!

"Ye. Jiu. Ge!" It was as if these three words sprang out from between Dongfang

Jianming's gritted teeth.

"Even if you were to bring your mother into this, it would be useless. You should return

the Purple Lightning Wood that my grandfather gave you immediately. Don't be so

shameless as to hold onto it!"

Ye Jiuge's grandfather, Yun Tianwei, was the best Spiritual Elixir Alchemist in the Lei

Kingdom. This Purple Lightning Wood was a treasure he had brought home from the

Hongyue Secret Realm. When it was used with the Dongfang clan's secret technique, it

had the most extraordinary effect.

In order to gain Yun Tianwei's favor, the royal family had badgered Ye Jiuge with a

proposal and exchanged the Purple Lightning Wood for an ordinary fire jade. In the

nearby spiritual cities, the news of this betrothal was very well-known.

"Great! This is really great!" Dongfang Jianming shouted, his anger descending into

madness. He tugged free the Purple Lightning Wood, which he always carried with him,

and flung it at Ye Jiuge.

Ye Jiuge held out her hands to receive it; the Purple Lightning Wood was as big as her

palm. The barbs on its surface sc.r.a.ped her skin. A stream of special, spiritual energy

silently seeped into her hand through the small wound.

Without batting an eyelid, she stashed the Purple Lightning Wood away.

"Crown Prince, this Ye Jiuge is full of bad intentions. She has provoked your anger on

purpose. Do not be fooled by her deception!"

Ye Shanshan felt anxious. Purple Lightning Wood was extremely rare and invaluable.

Not only that, it was extremely useful for those cultivating lightning-type techniques.

Dongfang Jianming had depended on it to enter the Intermediate Spiritual Pract.i.tioner

stage at the mere age of twenty. Without that Purple Lightning Wood, he would no

longer be considered a prodigy. If she married him now, wouldn't it be her loss?

"Shanshan, don't interfere when it comes to this matter!" snapped Dongfang Jianming,

giving Ye Shanshan a look. It was as if flames were shooting out of his eyes.

Ye Shanshan knew that Dongfang Jianming was genuinely furious. She did not dare to

make any more noise. In her heart, however, she loathed Ye Jiuge and wished she

would die! Useless trash didn't deserve to live. Shanshan had been so surprised when

her sister had climbed out of the Wanzhang Depths after she had stabbed her and

pushed her down there. If she had known earlier that this could have happened, she

would have dismembered her and made minced meat of her for the dogs!

"Ye Jiuge, I have returned the object to you. However, the humiliation that you have

caused my family should be repaid in blood!"

With a hostile gaze, Dongfang Jianming used his Intermediate Spiritual Pract.i.tioner

powers to subdue Ye Jiuge. As this useless woman had dared to call off their betrothal,

he suspected that she must now be relying on someone else.

He had heard that, beneath the Wanzhang Depths, there were treasures. If Ye Jiuge

had climbed up from below, a miracle must have occurred. Whatever treasure she had

obtained, he wanted her to reveal it all.

"Heh, the top spiritual pract.i.tioner of the Great Yuan Dynasty is truly adept. How

unexpected that he wants to challenge me, a useless cultivator?!"

Ye Jiuge snickered, her face full of scorn.

"Ye Jiuge, you have dared to humiliate me, so you must now pay the price. However, in

consideration of our past relations.h.i.+p, I am willing to compromise by allowing you a few

moves."

Dongfang Jianming pretended to be generous as he spoke. As long as Ye Jiuge dared

to exchange blows with him, he could sound out what kind of treasure she possessed.

Ye Jiuge acted as if she was deep in thought, musing, "How does the Crown Prince

plan to give me an advantage?"

"I allow you three…"

"Three slaps."

Ye Jiuge interrupted Dongfang Jianming.

In a flash, her form was no longer where it had previously stood. Ye Jiuge had

vanished.

Pa, pa, pa!

Three heavy, resounding slaps landed on Dongfang Jianming's face.

Everyone was stunned, including Dongfang Jianming.

The effect of his stupefied expression together with the fresh marks in the shape of a

palm on his cheeks was humorous.

Looking at Dongfang Jianming's red and swollen face, Ye Jiuge sighed, shook her

head, and said, "The left and right sides are not symmetrical; you should have allowed

me four slaps!"

"Ye. Jiu. Ge. I want to kill you!"

Dongfang Jianming went mad with anger. Since the moment he was born, he had never

experienced so much humiliation.

"Dongfang Jianming, before you murder me, you should return home and ask your

father, the Emperor, if he remembers the promise that he once made to my

grandfather."

Ye Jiuge's gaze became heavy, emitting rays of cold lightning. No one dared to look at

her directly.

Long ago, her grandfather had used a resurrection elixir brewed from a secret recipe to

save the Emperor's life. Thereafter, the Emperor had given his word that Yun Tianwei's

family would be protected. If he had forgotten, Ye Jiuge would not mind jogging the

Emperor's memory.

"Crown Prince, you should never offend my elder sister. It's just three slaps, after all.

You should just endure them and move on. Otherwise, when her grandfather returns, he

will blame you, and I fear that you will not be able to hold on to your position as Crown

Prince!"

On the surface, it seemed as if Ye Shanshan was mollifying him, but in reality, she

wanted to provoke him further.

As expected, Dongfang Jianming's eyes were red with fury. His chest heaved intensely,

as he itched to tear Ye Jiuge into a thousand pieces.

However, Ye Jiuge's grandfather, Yun Tianwei, was not only the best Spiritual Elixir

Alchemist in the Lei Kingdom, he was also a hero who had resisted the demon invasion

several hundred years ago. He was one of the most celebrated and famous men in all

of vast China.

Although he had disappeared for a couple of decades, his prestige endured. If

Dongfang Jianming killed Ye Jiuge in front of everyone, the Crown Prince would

certainly be admonished by his father, the Emperor, when he returned home.

Finally, Dongfang Jianming suppressed his anger. "Ye Jiuge, taking Great Master Yun

into account, I will spare your life—this time. But in the future, you must behave," he

said. Then, he turned around and boarded the horse carriage.

Ye Shanshan followed hurriedly after. Before she left, she threw Ye Jiuge a gaze with

unspeakable malice in her eyes.

Ye Jiuge returned it with a cold smile. She could barely tolerate this treatment, and the

interesting part of the show had just begun!

…

Ye Jiuge ambled through alleyways, following her memory. At last, she reached a

familiar place: the large, main entrance of the Ye clan residence.

A pretty maid was standing at the door. It was Hong Liu, who worked inside.

As soon as Hong Liu saw Ye Jiuge, she shouted to her sharply, "Eldest Miss, where did

you go last night? Why have you only returned now? Oh my G.o.d! How did your clothes

end up torn like this? Why is there blood everywhere? My goodness! I can't believe that

those bandits, who have killed so many people, would dare to humiliate the Ye clan's

eldest daughter. I must tell the Lord immediately so he can deliver justice for you."

The maid's shrill and exaggerating voice attracted attention. Several people had

gathered and were now pointing at Ye Jiuge and maligning her.

"I heard earlier that Ye Jiuge did not hesitate to harm herself as a way of threatening the

Crown Prince and preventing his betrothal to Ye Shanshan.

'"Tsk, tsk."

"Did you hear what the maid said? Do you think that Ye Jiuge has really lost her

innocence to a bad man so that she could purposely concoct this trick of injuring herself

and hang on to the crown prince?"

"That must be it! She really is a poisonous woman. After she lost her innocence, she still

wanted to cuckold the Crown Prince…"

Hearing these scoundrels speaking while Hong Liu was bawling uncontrollably in front

of the crowd, Ye Jiuge understood immediately: This was the method that Ye

Shanshan, who had returned to the residence first, had cooked up to deal with her. It

was actually quite a cruel move! After all, Ye Jiuge's clothing was completely covered in

blood, and it was true that she had not returned to the residence the previous night…

Now, the commotion that Hong Liu had caused and her sullied reputation, which

included losing her innocence and harming others, would spread throughout the entire

Lei Kingdom. Even her grandfather's reputation would be tarnished by this.

It was only this, Yun Tianwei's reputation, that mattered to her; against Ye Jiuge alone,

Ye Shanshan's move was otherwise rather useless.

Ye Jiuge raised her hand and struck Hong Liu's face with a tight slap. A crisp sound

rang out. Pa!

Hong Liu cradled her red and swollen cheek in her hands, staring at Ye Jiuge in

disbelief.