To be honest, Ye Ling could have simply killed Leng Qingqiu and ended everything cleanly.
But putting aside the fact that the "breaking off the engagement" was the system forcing him to cultivate, the cause and effect lay with him, not with Leng Qingqiu.
More importantly, if Leng Qingqiu were to die by his hand, it would only leave his thoughts unsettled. He wasn't a saint, but he had no desire to kill an innocent person either.
Bai Yiyi might look unreliable, but most of what she said was trustworthy, especially when it came to minor details. With her level of intelligence, she simply couldn't spare the effort to lie.
Ye Ling might not trust Leng Qingqiu, but he absolutely trusted Bai Yiyi.
If he killed Leng Qingqiu, he would inevitably be stained with karmic sin. When his Heavenly Tribulation arrived, all of it would have to be repaid.
And it wouldn't stop there. His cultivation before the tribulation would also be severely hindered. Forcing himself to cultivate with an obstructed state of mind would only lead to qi deviation in the end.
All things considered, killing Leng Qingqiu would bring far more harm than benefit.
Besides, although Leng Qingqiu's earlier attitude had been infuriating, it wasn't a crime deserving of death. At its core, she was simply uneasy about Heavenly Gate Sect's "guardianship" of the Qiuqiu Monkey Clan.
To be honest, Ye Ling could have simply killed Leng Qingqiu and ended everything cleanly.
But putting aside the fact that the "breaking off the engagement" was the system forcing him to cultivate, the cause and effect lay with him, not with Leng Qingqiu.
More importantly, if Leng Qingqiu were to die by his hand, it would only leave his thoughts unsettled. He wasn't a saint, but he had no desire to kill an innocent person either.
Bai Yiyi might look unreliable, but most of what she said was trustworthy, especially when it came to minor details. With her level of intelligence, she simply couldn't spare the effort to lie.
Ye Ling might not trust Leng Qingqiu, but he absolutely trusted Bai Yiyi.
If he killed Leng Qingqiu, he would inevitably be stained with karmic sin. When his Heavenly Tribulation arrived, all of it would have to be repaid.
And it wouldn't stop there. His cultivation before the tribulation would also be severely hindered. Forcing himself to cultivate with an obstructed state of mind would only lead to qi deviation in the end.
All things considered, killing Leng Qingqiu would bring far more harm than benefit.
Besides, although Leng Qingqiu's earlier attitude had been infuriating, it wasn't a crime deserving of death. At its core, she was simply uneasy about Heavenly Gate's "guardianship" of the Qiuqiu Monkey Clan.
Ye Ling didn't know how large or powerful the Qiuqiu Monkey Clan truly was, but Leng Qingqiu knew very well.
If the Qiuqiu Monkey Clan from Heavenly Peak descended the mountain, the entire Ying Prefecture would be plunged into catastrophe.
Of course, Ye Ling was still unaware of all this. As someone new here, he only had a vague concept of the Demon Race and no real understanding of the strength of those Qiuqiu Monkeys living halfway up the mountain.
Even so, from his perspective, Leng Qingqiu had shown no killing intent throughout their duel, so he had no reason to pursue things to the point of extermination.
He had the backbone and pride of a human being. If someone offended him, he would definitely find a way to get even, paying it back tooth for tooth, doubled if necessary.
But he wasn't arrogantly stupid. Being offended once didn't mean he had to wipe out someone's entire family.
As for his words about "being friends," that was nothing more than polite talk. He had no interest whatsoever in forming a deep relationship with Leng Qingqiu.
Sigh. Weak was one thing, but being fooled on top of that? Clearly not very bright. A woman like that absolutely could not be married into his household.
Just as Bai Yiyi had said, Leng Qingqiu was obviously being used as a pawn.
What might have been nothing more than a joke to Bai Yiyi had felt like endless killing intent to Ye Ling.
But it was like an ant harboring murderous intent toward an elephant. To Bai Yiyi, that finger strike was no different from a friendly pat on the shoulder, so she paid it no mind at all.
Ye Ling knew there was no point explaining any of this to Bai Yiyi. With her tiny brain, she still had to count on her fingers to do addition and subtraction within ten. Schemes and conspiracies like this were completely unsuited to her.
So Ye Ling decided to wait until his Martial Aunts returned and discuss it with them then.
He could only hope those Martial Aunts would be somewhat reliable.
For now, his plan was to send Leng Qingqiu away safely. He absolutely couldn't leave any leverage for unknown enemies.
No matter what, Leng Qingqiu was a Envoy of the Righteous Path Alliance. If she died at Heavenly Gate Sect, it would be the perfect excuse handed straight to their enemies.
"Oh, right, Master."
Ye Ling pointed at Leng Qingqiu, who was still standing there with her arms crossed. Leaning close to Bai Yiyi's small, delicate ear, he whispered quietly, "Does the sect have any protective armor that's about to be scrapped?"
If Leng Qingqiu really did die after leaving the mountain, having Heavenly Gate-made armor on her body would at least wash away some of the sect's suspicion, or at the very least buy them some time.
"Huh?!"
Caught off guard by Ye Ling's sudden question, Bai Yiyi, who had just been feeling dejected and secretly worrying that her good disciple might never find a partner, instantly perked up.
Without caring that Leng Qingqiu was standing right there, she excitedly asked Ye Ling, "Good disciple, if you're giving a token of affection, why give something worn out? Shouldn't you give something nice?"
Bai Yiyi couldn't help wondering if she had gone too long without updating her girl's sketchbooks from her Second Junior Sister, and whether the current trends had completely changed.
"Token of affection my ass!"
Ye Ling ground his teeth, forcibly suppressing the urge to punch Bai Yiyi on the head, and explained, "Master, it's really not appropriate to leave Envoy Leng like this, is it?"
It's not that I can't beat you right now. Otherwise, I'd definitely teach you what it means to defy your master and betray your lineage!
"Oh… oh."
Bai Yiyi's tone immediately fell.
Sigh. My good disciple, why are you so hopeless?
A Dao companion is an important part of cultivation. Those immortal maidens can afford to wait, but her precious disciple really can't.
She didn't know the exact details of dual cultivation, but she did know that it could greatly speed up cultivation.
With her disciple's current talent, he was already close to catching up to her. If he added dual cultivation on top of that, wouldn't he soar straight into the sky?
"No…"
Leng Qingqiu clenched her teeth and tried to refuse, but then she suddenly remembered that she really hadn't prepared any extra clothes.
On this trip, she had only brought two sets of Righteous Path Alliance uniforms. Yesterday they were ruined while being chased by the Qiuqiu Monkeys, and today they were blown apart by Ye Ling.
If she didn't want to go down the mountain like this, she really did have to rely on the Heavenly Gate Sect's help.
Left with no choice, she lowered her head and said to Bai Yiyi, "Please grant me armor, Sect Master Bai."
Even if it really was scrapped protective armor, it was still better than her current state. Though humiliating, after being humiliated again and again, she was starting to get used to it.
After all, Bai Yiyi was a "Great Ascension" cultivator, and Ye Ling's cultivation wasn't low either. This time, she could only accept her loss.
"Wait a moment…"
Bai Yiyi's wine-red eyes suddenly went blank as her consciousness plunged into her storage ring. She murmured to herself, "Scrapped armor… scrapped armor…"
Standing beside her, Ye Ling couldn't help but slap his forehead.
Yes, he had said scrapped armor, but did you really have to say it out loud?
He truly didn't intend to give Leng Qingqiu anything good. Just a token gesture would do. But once Bai Yiyi said it like that, even he felt awkward.
Compared to Ye Ling, though, Leng Qingqiu, sitting in a duck-sit, felt even more humiliated. Her expression was complicated, and paired with her face, bruised black and blue from Ye Ling's beating, she looked absurdly pitiful.
Me, Leng Qingqiu. When have I ever suffered such humiliation?
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never bully a poor young woman!
Just wait!
Today's humiliation, I'll repay it double, triple…
Just as Leng Qingqiu was silently chanting her "curse," a piece of soft armor radiating immortal qi floated in front of her.
"Eh-heh!"
After rummaging around for quite a while, Bai Yiyi gave Ye Ling a cute wink and said, "Third Junior Sister doesn't really like making armor, and she's never produced defective items. This soft armor was a test piece. I slapped it once, so it should count as defective, right?"
Huh?
You're calling this a defective piece?
Leng Qingqiu was completely stunned. Her eye for quality wasn't bad at all. At a glance, she recognized that the soft armor in front of her was a mid-grade Spirit Artifact.
Ye Ling was just as stunned.
I asked you to give scrapped armor, and you pull out a Spirit Artifact. Are you trying to use this as a betrothal gift or what?