VIP Volume Chapter 47: The Lake Demon Spits Out Treasure

Ye Xiaoxuan gripped the brick tightly, squinting as he sized up the old shepherd’s head, considering the most suitable spot to strike. Seeing his hostile expression, the old shepherd knew that if he didn’t explain himself, this kid wouldn’t rest until his face was thoroughly rearranged tonight.

He sighed and lowered his voice to speak to the three of them. “Let me be honest with you. Both of you must compete in this tournament—because you’re the last hope of the Ancient Martial Sect.”

Ye Xiaoxuan snorted coldly. “I’m not one of your Ancient Martial Sect people. What does it matter to me?”

The old shepherd retorted, “But your brother is! Didn’t you see the registration letter? It says at least three participants are required! If you don’t help your brother, who will?”

Hao Six-Fingers took the envelope and glanced at it, muttering, “But that’s still not enough. One coach and three team members—you only have three people in total…”

Halfway through his sentence, he caught the old shepherd’s sly grin and the sympathetic looks on the Ye brothers’ faces. A shiver ran down his spine as he pointed at the old shepherd. “Don’t tell me you’re counting me in?”

The old shepherd patted his shoulder with heartfelt gravity. “Child, you’re representing the entire Reed Village. The hopes of over five hundred villagers rest on your shoulders. Don’t you feel honored?”

Hao Six-Fingers hunched his neck. “I just feel my liver trembling! Look at my hands!”

The old shepherd nodded, sincerely praising, “Quite fair and delicate; if I only saw the hands and not the face, I’d think you were a beauty!”

Hao Six-Fingers was so angry his eyes nearly spat fire. He pointed at the old shepherd and cursed, “I meant look at my knuckles! I’m not even a martial artist! The basic qualification for this tournament is that you have to be a martial artist!”

The old shepherd smiled. “Don’t worry about that. This year’s tournament is different—martial trainees can participate. They’ll be directly classified in the martial artist group. It’s an open-level fight!”

Hao Six-Fingers leapt up, shouting, “You might as well just finish me off now!”

Ye Xiaoxuan, equally annoyed, tidied away his bowl and chopsticks. “I don’t have time for your madness! If you want that hundred thousand so badly, earn it yourself. Don’t drag me along as cannon fodder!”

The old shepherd grabbed his arm. “Ye Third, it’s not about the money. I just want to win some respect! I want to show those people in the Ancient Martial Sect that my eyes, Immortal King Yang’s eyes, are the sharpest! That the disciple I trained can make it into the Dazzling Martial Hall!”

The old shepherd’s thin chest rose and fell like a bellows. So agitated, white foam gathered at the corners of his mouth—he looked every bit the image of a bitter, world-weary man.

Ye Dajun gazed at him in awe. “I don’t really understand what you’re saying, but it sounds pretty impressive…”

Ye Xiaoxuan nodded. “I agree with my brother. Whether it’s Dazzling Dance Hall or Bubble Hall, what’s it to me?”

The old shepherd’s goatee nearly pointed skyward. He said to Ye Xiaoxuan and Hao Six-Fingers, “Isn’t Dajun your brother? Isn’t he your friend? Now that he has a chance to make something of himself, don’t you want to help him? He’s my disciple, so you two are half my disciples as well!”

“Bah!” Ye Xiaoxuan pointed at him and cursed, “Old shepherd, stop trying to sweet-talk me. If my brother becomes your disciple, does that mean the dozens of people in our families all have to kneel and call you master? This has nothing to do with me. Forcing us to compete—what are you really after?”

The old shepherd paused, staring at Ye Xiaoxuan for a long while before finally sighing. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but it’s a complicated matter, hard to explain in a short time—and you might not even understand. In any case, there’s nothing but benefit for you in joining this tournament. So long as one of you makes it to the finals, the rewards in future will be endless.”

Ye Xiaoxuan curled his lip, dismissively. “I’m not interested in your secrets, old shepherd. I know you’re not an ordinary person; you’ve stayed in Reed Village for a reason, but I don’t want to know. You’ve saved me before, and I’ve saved you—we’re even.

What you need to remember is, no one has the right to make decisions for me, or order me to do anything. I’ll only act according to my own wishes!”

The old shepherd pleaded, “Even if it’s for your brother, for your family, for all of Reed Village…”

Ye Xiaoxuan cut him off coldly, “Don’t put such a heavy burden on me—I can’t bear it! I’m just a street punk, not a savior! If my brother is ever in danger, I’ll go save him, but only after making sure he doesn’t act like a fool and let others use him as a pawn!

I may be useless, but I’m not stupid. No one will take me for a fool—remember that!”

Ye Xiaoxuan returned to his room, leaving Ye Dajun awkwardly standing. He said to the old shepherd, “Master, don’t be angry. Third’s always like that. I’ll talk to him again later.”

The old shepherd sighed. “It’s my fault for being too hasty. I’ll think about how to explain the whole story to you. Starting tomorrow, you’ll train with me in the ancient forest. Six-Fingers, I saw you stealing jujubes from Widow Liu’s house…”

Hao Six-Fingers immediately covered his mouth. “You’re seeing things—that wasn’t me!”

The old shepherd spat and scolded loudly, “I meant you’ve got a good physique—a little guidance and you’ll achieve plenty. You can train with Dajun from now on! In fact, all the kids in Reed Village have potential for martial arts. That’s the main reason I came here in the first place!”

Ye Dajun grew excited, pointing at Ye Xiaoxuan’s door. “Does that mean Third can train too…”

The old shepherd coughed dryly, looking regretful. “He’s an exception…”

Once the old shepherd left, Ye Xiaoxuan emerged from his room and said to Ye Dajun and Hao Six-Fingers, “Come on, let’s go for a walk! Jiaran, Xiaoyu, we’re heading to the earthen cliffs—come join us once you’re ready!”

Squatting on the earthen cliffs, Ye Xiaoxuan chewed a stalk of grass, gazing in silence at the vast expanse of lake before him, a frown on his brow.

Old Cucumber hesitated up to them, cradling a few sweet melons. He approached Ye Xiaoxuan with a grin. “Boss, have some melon!”

Ye Xiaoxuan didn’t stand on ceremony. He took a melon, wiped it clean on his clothes, and bit into it. “Sit down,” he said to Old Cucumber. “Once we’re full, we can have a chat.”

Old Cucumber divided the melons and said to Ye Xiaoxuan, “Boss, what did you run into out on the lake? I heard some people say they saw you get eaten by the lake demon—how come you’re perfectly fine?”

Ye Xiaoxuan frowned. “Who told you that?”

Old Cucumber scratched his head. “Those archaeologists—said it as they were leaving.”

Ye Xiaoxuan pressed further. “What else did they say?”

Old Cucumber shrugged. “Didn’t really catch it. Something about a bracelet and a bottle, all gifts from the lake demon. They said the lake demon got indigestion from eating you and that girl, so it spit out all those treasures!”