Chapter 323: A Week Later
Chapter 323: A Week Later
Yi Chen’s eyes immediately widened the moment he saw the familiar figure of an old man walking out of the Inn.
’Why...just why would he come here?!’
After what had happened that night at the banquet, never in his wildest dreams did he think that he would see Han Fu coming out of the Myriad Jasmine Inn.
With a slightly slouched back and a disappointed expression evident on his face, Han Fu was walking down the Inn’s entrance stairs, about to hit the streets.
Witnessing this scene, a sudden thought jolted Yi Chen’s mind, making his entire body shiver in fright.
’Wait! If he notices me here then...’
Yi Chen’s heart almost skipped a beat as he realised just how grave the situation actually was.
He had kissed the very woman whom the other party had been chasing for several decades right in front of his eyes. Before that, he had even cheekily invited him to their wedding in an attempt to add more dramatic effects.
Although it had all been an act to deter Han Fu, that was something the other party had no clue about, and Yi Chen wouldn’t be surprised to find that the other party hated him to the core.
And taking into account how Han Fu was at the Ninth Qi Absorption Stage, Yi Chen could even see a possibility of Han Fu losing his shit the moment he saw him launching a barrage of his strongest attack the very next second.
While he could easily gain an upper hand against a Ninth Qi Absorption Stage cultivator when it came to doing a sneak attack, the same couldn’t be said about a direct confrontation.
The other party had more strength and also a lot more Qi in their reserves, so if they were to launch a massive attack towards him, Yi Chen had no clue whether he would be able to defend against it or not.
However, he had no intention of finding that out at the moment, as in a haphazard manner, he started looking here and there, all in the hope of finding a suitable spot to hide.
’There!’
Just a meter ahead of him, there was a narrow alleyway next to a pole, and without a second thought, he rushed towards it, only to realise it was just three meters deep, with a wall blocking the path ahead.
’...Fuck!’
While he was entering the alley, from the corner of his vision, he was somewhat able to make out that Han Fu had indeed turned to walk in his direction after getting down the stairs.
However, while at it, whether Han Fu had caught sight of him or not was something he had no idea about, and it had also become the reason for his worry.
’He didn’t notice me right...?’
Yi Chen thought with a pounding heart as his entire face reddened, throbbing with blood.
The steps that were far away began resounding more and more loudly with each passing second, making Yi Chen stop breathing midway.
’Don’t notice me...don’t notice me...’
He kept repeating in his mind while trying to stick his body as closely as possible to the alley’s wall.
It was at that instant that Han Fu’s figure walked right past the alleyway. His eyes seemed lost in a myriad of thoughts as he kept walking ahead, not slowing his footsteps for even a moment.
"Phew..."
Yi Chen let out a relieved breath a few moments later, finally confirming with his spiritual sense that Han Fu was long ahead by now.
"Still...just why would he be here? Surely, he wouldn’t come here to book a room now, would he?" Yi Chen muttered with a strange expression as he soon made his way towards the Inn.
The receptionist was a man with whom he had grown familiar by now.
"Greetings, Young Master Chen." The man greeted him with a welcoming smile.
"Greetings." Yi Chen nodded with a smile and asked while pointing towards the entrance door, "That old man who had just left...why did he come here?"
"Ah, you mean Master Han Fu...well," the receptionist made an awkward expression for a second before answering, "He had come to visit Madam Wei."
Yi Chen couldn’t help but knit his brows at those words and, with a probing desire, asked, "This...from what Madam Wei told me at the banquet, she’s not very fond of him."
"Yes, that’s exactly how it is."
Seeing that Yi Chen was already aware of their thorny relationship, the receptionist didn’t hesitate any longer and said with a bitter smile, "Madam Wei has already informed the staff to always send Master Han Fu away whenever he comes to ask for her...today it was only after I had repeated eight times that Madam Wei isn’t here that Master Han Fu gave up..."
"I see..."
Yi Chen nodded with a pursed expression.
Even after Wei Ru’s decisive actions, done with the intention of completely crushing the feelings Han Fu harboured towards her, those feelings had survived.
’Just how deeply does he even love her...’
Yi Chen couldn’t help but think while feeling guilty inside for deceiving the man like that.
However, he soon shook those thoughts away as it didn’t matter any longer.
’Why am I even worrying about this now? After I’ve shown the evidence to Bai Tianhe, not only the Black Rock Kingdom but the entire continent will get to know the truth behind this illness.
At that time, their getting into a relationship again would only be a matter of time.’
Thinking this to himself, Yi Chen soon initiated a few small talk topics regarding today’s lunch before making his way towards the restaurant.
A while later, after a heavy lunch, he was back in his room.
Since he had nothing else to do, it was time to devote his time to cultivation. Closing his eyes, he started circulating his Qi through the meridians and began the refinement process.
With his cultivation at the Eleventh Meridian Stage, it now took him eight days to refine the meridians, which, by the series that was going on, would likely rise to ten by the time he reached the Thirteenth Meridian Refinement Stage.
Therefore, in order to enter the Qi Absorption Stage in one and a half years, it was extremely crucial for Yi Chen to acquire the cultivation speed buff.
It was only after midnight that Yi Chen stopped and went to sleep. For the next few days, he followed a similar routine.
Waking up at a comfortable time, checking up on the repair work and then devoting himself to his cultivation thereafter.
While at it, he also got to know from the receptionist that Han Fu had been visiting the Inn every single day since then, asking for Wei Ru, only to be rejected soon after.
When Yi Chen got to know about this, he tweaked his timings a little to ensure that he wouldn’t cross paths with him again.
It seemed to have worked as it was now the seventh day and he hadn’t seen him at all in the last six days.
"This is how it is, Young Master Chen. I promise that it will be in working condition by tonight...I ask for your understanding," Manager Du said through the Sound Transmission Stone, a regretful smile apparent on her face.
She had planned for the transportation array to be ready by this morning, but because of unexpected delays, it would only be possible by tonight.
"It’s alright, Manager Du," Yi Chen answered with a subtle smile, "Since it’s like this, I’ll just come tomorrow morning, as that would be more convenient for me."
With that said, Yi Chen turned off the stone before busying himself with his morning routine, as Manager Du had called him early.
Today was the day he was going to meet Bai Tianhe, so a sense of apprehension was evident in Yi Chen’s heart, which remained as it was until evening.
Making his way towards the stone park, Yi Chen soon arrived at the spot next to the statue where he had encountered him earlier.
"It’s almost time-"
Just when Yi Chen had finished those words, a figure appeared right next to him. However, unlike before, he was no longer in disguise.
A scholarly old man dressed in elegant white robes was standing next to him.
His face looked completely different from earlier, and there was also no trace of the brown discolouration on it.
As for his previously unkempt hair, it was now silky white in colour and was neatly tied in a knot which rested behind his back.
Because of how different he looked, Yi Chen couldn’t help but open his status panel to confirm whether he was really Bai Tianhe or someone else.
’It’s indeed him...’
He thought while putting away the status panel.
It was at that instant that his eyes met Bai Tianhe’s.
"Did you bring the proof with you? Or should I proceed with claiming your head?" Bai Tianhe asked with narrowed eyes.
"I-I did. Here’s the proof." Yi Chen immediately took out the Video Capturing Stone and played the video for him.