Hedonist Prodigy

Chapter 74: Jiang Feng’s Plan

This piece of scrap iron was what Jiang Feng had bought for two thousand yuan from an antique dealer at Liuli Market that day. Despite studying it for a long time, he hadn’t discovered much about it. Although he still didn’t know what secrets the scrap iron held, he had brought it with him when he moved out of the Jiang family precisely because of its peculiar nature. He had buried it under the ginkgo tree, hoping the tree’s spiritual energy might eventually reveal something.

Even after killing two people, Jiang Feng felt a deep sense of relief. Without this scrap iron that could slice through metal like mud, he would never have so easily severed the middle-aged man’s wrist, let alone killed him before he could react—especially with the scar-faced woman watching closely and pursuing him relentlessly. If things had gone slightly wrong, tonight might have been his end.

Although he had killed both, Jiang Feng remained deeply wary. The Yellow Level realm was truly not something the Innate realm could easily contend with. At least at his current level, if he hadn’t managed to ambush them successfully, he would have been no match for them.

He had only casually killed Shen Bin, and that had already drawn two Yellow Level experts. This time, he had killed two more Yellow  Level experts. Who knew what kind of powerful figure the Qihuang Sect would send next? He didn’t believe his luck would hold again.

This thought struck him as strange. He had been extremely discreet in killing Shen Bin, and not much time had passed. Logically, even if the Qihuang Sect had noticed Shen Bin’s disappearance and come to Yanjing, it should have taken them some time. Their reaction couldn’t possibly have been this swift.

“Could it be that the Qihuang Sect had more than just Shen Bin in Yanjing? Were these two already here, simply taking care of other business while avenging Shen Bin on the side?”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Jiang Feng dismissed the thought. Whether his speculation was correct or not was irrelevant now. The important thing was that he likely couldn’t stay at this courtyard much longer.

The Qihuang Sect’s methods for tracking people were extremely bizarre. Even if he erased all traces, he couldn’t avoid being discovered. Now that three Qihuang Sect members had died here, this courtyard would undoubtedly become a known quantity. If they sent a first wave, they could send a second. If more, stronger experts came, he would be in grave danger, and he might even implicate the Jiang family.

Although he didn’t feel a strong sense of belonging to the Jiang family, he couldn’t let it be destroyed because of him.

Fortunately, Jiang Feng knew these two probably didn’t know his identity. His existence hadn’t been exposed yet.

Even so, Jiang Feng felt that his plan to leave the capital for cultivation needed to be moved up. Even if the Qihuang Sect didn’t come knocking, the Li family was another massive problem. He had shattered Li Yuanjue’s limbs; the Li family was surely investigating in the shadows. If they ever discovered he was the culprit, they would seek revenge.

Although the Jiang family could offer protection, Jiang Feng didn’t believe they could shield him forever. Moreover, the Li family had connections with the Chen family and were ambitious. The best scenario was for him to possess enough strength to confront the Li family head-on, but currently, he was still far from that level.

Of course, Jiang Feng also knew that leaving Yanjing at this stage wasn’t the wisest choice. The ginkgo tree here, though releasing limited spiritual energy, was immensely beneficial to his cultivation. It should be sufficient to support his breakthrough to the middle stage of Body Refinement. Furthermore, he had calculated that the landlord, having lived here for decades, had only ever seen the tree bloom, never bear fruit. This ginkgo tree might fruit within a year or two.

He was waiting to collect its fruit. If he was fortunate enough to find Spirit Vein Grass in the future and refine the miraculous pill Pei Yuanshan had mentioned, the benefits to himself would be boundless.

If he left now, once the Qihuang Sect found this place, they would undoubtedly claim the ginkgo tree for themselves. Jiang Feng wasn’t overly worried about them damaging it, but there were surely experts within the Qihuang Sect. Once they took it, reclaiming it would be extremely difficult.

The best option if he left would be to take the tree with him, but Jiang Feng knew that was unrealistic. The ginkgo tree’s survival in Yanjing’s environment was already a miracle. Transplanting it would likely kill it in short order, unless he had his own spatial realm to transplant it into—a possibility far beyond his current cultivation level.

Jiang Feng didn’t sleep that night. He found a place to dispose of the two bodies. Learning from the experience with Shen Bin, he directly cremated both corpses, along with the bag of strange little birds, reducing everything to ashes.

Returning to the courtyard, he cleaned up the bloodstains and resumed cultivating under the ginkgo tree. Although he planned to leave the capital to cultivate, his strength was still too weak, and his ability to handle sudden events was insufficient. Every bit of increased strength now meant a better chance of survival.

By daybreak, Jiang Feng faintly felt he was on the verge of breaking through to the third layer of Body Refinement and finally stopped cultivating.

Zhao Wuxia arrived very early. She had worked overtime last night processing documents and came directly from the company. On her drive back, she received several phone calls. Their contents shocked and moved her deeply, and she didn’t dare delay for a moment, driving straight to Jiang Feng’s residence.

Jiang Feng had just finished showering when he saw Zhao Wuxia. He smiled slightly and said, “You’re early.”

Zhao Wuxia nodded gently. “I bought some breakfast. Would you like some, Young Master?”

Jiang Feng was hungry and nodded, sitting at the table to eat heartily. He suddenly looked up and noticed Zhao Wuxia’s gaze fixed on him. Feeling slightly strange, he asked, “What is it? Didn’t I wash my face clean?”

Zhao Wuxia’s face flushed slightly. She shook her head and said, “Young Master, there’s something I’m not sure if I should mention.”

“Just say whatever it is,” Jiang Feng said, stuffing a crab roe bun into his mouth, his words muffled.

Zhao Wuxia hesitated for a moment before asking, “Young Master, did you hear about Patriarch Qin’s eightieth birthday banquet last night at the State Guesthouse?”

“No,” Jiang Feng said directly. He hadn’t left home for days and was completely unaware of outside events.

“Then you definitely don’t know what happened at the banquet last night, right?” Zhao Wuxia pressed.

Jiang Feng became more alert. Zhao Wuxia was never one to chatter idly; she was extremely measured in what she said. Her bringing up Patriarch Qin’s banquet now wasn’t casual conversation. Frowning, he asked, “What is it? What happened?”

Zhao Wuxia had received calls informing her that Ye Qingxuan had rejected Qin Junlin’s marriage proposal last night and had named Jiang Feng as her boyfriend. Initially disbelieving, she confirmed it multiple times and found it was true, leaving her utterly perplexed.

She had been living with Jiang Feng recently. He rarely went out, and aside from Xia Dongxue and Pei Ruoxi visiting, no other women had come. Jiang Feng had neither the opportunity nor the time to interact with Ye Qingxuan.

In her past impressions, Ye Qingxuan intensely disliked Jiang Feng. Yet, she had said such things at Patriarch Qin’s banquet, which Zhao Wuxia found deeply puzzling.

It was precisely because of this confusion that she spoke up now. Seeing Jiang Feng knew nothing, her doubts only grew, and she relayed everything she had heard in detail.

Of course, not having attended the banquet herself, Zhao Wuxia’s account slightly deviated from the truth. For instance, Ye Qingxuan hadn’t directly stated she liked Jiang Feng; she had merely mentioned his name, which inadvertently misled others.

After listening, Jiang Feng was stunned. He never expected such an incident at Patriarch Qin’s banquet. He knew his relationship with Ye Qingxuan better than anyone—they weren’t even ordinary friends.

He asked, “Did Ye Qingxuan really say that?”

Zhao Wuxia thought for a moment. “I didn’t hear it myself, but that’s what everyone outside is saying. It probably isn’t a baseless rumor.”

“Seems there’s a problem,” Jiang Feng said. “If you knew the situation between me and Ye Qingxuan, you’d understand she would absolutely never say such a thing.”

Zhao Wuxia agreed. “I also think Ye Qingxuan shouldn’t have said that. But even if she didn’t, it seems everyone has misunderstood your relationship. What should we do now?”

“What should we do?” Jiang Feng smiled wryly. Only a ghost knew what to do. His plate was already full of trouble, and now, without even stepping outside, another problem had fallen from the sky.

He knew Zhao Wuxia was worried about the Qin family’s reaction, but he didn’t take it too much to heart. If it was about offending them, he had already crossed Qin Junlin at Chen Siran’s birthday banquet. This was just adding insult to injury, making matters worse.

“Should we issue a statement?” Zhao Wuxia carefully suggested after some thought.

Jiang Feng chuckled. “Since the misunderstanding is already out there, what good would a statement do now? Try our utmost to clarify there’s nothing between me and Ye Qingxuan? Leaving aside that there truly is no relationship, even if there were, so what? Why should I humiliate myself to please others?”

Zhao Wuxia was taken aback. “But—”

Before she could finish, Jiang Feng raised his hand to stop her. He finished the last few crab roe buns, stood up, and walked toward the backyard. Even if the sky fell outside, he wouldn’t pay it mind now. The only thing that mattered was breaking through to the third layer of Body Refinement as soon as possible.

As for the matter with Ye Qingxuan, those who understood would understand. Those who didn’t were merely pretending to be muddled. If he really issued some statement, not only would it embarrass Ye Qingxuan, but more importantly, it would embarrass himself. Certain people were probably waiting in the shadows for him to make a big scene so they could revel in his humiliation.

Of course, Jiang Feng wasn’t naive enough to think the matter ended here. It was just that right now, he had more important things to do and no time to deal with its.