Chapter 4: A Massive Harvest

Ji Ye gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to strike, when a sudden wave of clarity washed through his exhausted brain! Even his heavy limbs seemed to be infused with vitality, suddenly becoming light and agile.

Ji Ye was momentarily stunned.

He had been hunted and forced to flee, unable to sleep soundly for a long time. He was not only exhausted and hungry, but his wounds had also gone untreated.

If not for the intense resentment in his heart—the refusal to let his enemies have their way and the desire to return for vengeance—he would never have been able to endure this long.

Just now, he had intentionally allowed this youth to approach, both to test him and to act on his murderous intent to eliminate any future trouble.

Having fled this far and sustained numerous external injuries, he could not hold out much longer. If this youth were an enemy in disguise or harbored ulterior motives, he would be in grave danger!

However, since this person had actually saved him, he had hesitated to strike. To his surprise, the person carried a strange fragrance. He had thought it was some kind of numbing incense, but after smelling it, his entire body felt comfortable and refreshed, as if he had consumed an immortal herb.

Ji Ye cautiously sensed his condition and found nothing wrong; instead, his mind grew even clearer. Unable to help himself, he tentatively approached Ying Zhao and took a stealthy breath.

The closer he got, the clearer the fragrance became. With one breath, he felt his whole body grow even more relaxed, and even his wounds seemed to hurt less.

A thought struck Ji Ye, and he couldn't help but speculate: *Could this youth be hiding an immortal herb? To gain such benefits just from the scent... if he were to eat it, wouldn't he be instantly restored?*

Ying Zhao, unaware of Ji Ye's thoughts, saw him suddenly closing in. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she cried out in alarm, "Oh no! My mother and younger brother are waiting for me to return home! I have to go pull the arrows!"

With that, she decisively walked to the nearest corpse and began pulling out the arrows.

She acted as if she were terrified, struggling several times to extract each arrow; no matter how she looked, she appeared to be a complete novice. After wiping them clean and putting them back in her quiver, she moved on to the second one.

Ji Ye frowned slightly, feeling somewhat displeased. He noticed that once he moved further away, the strange fragrance vanished, and his body grew heavy again.

He looked at Ying Zhao again. With her back to him, dressed in coarse cloth Hu-style clothing, she appeared tall and slender with long legs. Her waist, in particular, was perhaps a bit too thin. *Is her family so poor that she cannot eat her fill?*

Ji Ye's gaze lingered on Ying Zhao's waist for a moment before quickly shifting away, and then he strode toward her.

Ying Zhao instantly became alert! *Why is he coming over again? Does he just not trust me? He wasn't like this when I encountered Su Qi and Su Xi in my dreams!*

*Could it be that I look more like a villain than those siblings?*

She didn't believe it; he must be blind!

However, she wondered if Ji Ye was approaching now to repay her kindness with enmity.

Ying Zhao was extremely wary but dared not show it. She could only continue pulling the arrows while remaining on guard in case Ji Ye made a sudden move.

Ji Ye found an excuse: "You are too slow. I will help you wipe them."

Ying Zhao was suspicious: *What does he mean by this? Is he doubting me and wanting to inspect the arrows for clues?*

After a moment of hesitation, she decisively handed the pulled arrows to Ji Ye and gave him a grateful smile. "Then thank you very much."

Her arrows were ordinary, clearly civilian-grade models with limited power. Ji Ye should know upon inspection that she could not possibly be an accomplice to his enemies.

Looking at the smile on Ying Zhao's face, Ji Ye felt a strange itch in his heart, as if something had lightly tickled him.

Even her dark, soot-covered face seemed to brighten up.

Ji Ye quickly averted his eyes, suspecting he was hallucinating from the fragrance. He became alert once more and, without making it obvious, maintained a distance from her.

Ying Zhao: "..." *Is he really that fickle?*

The assassins' corpses were not in one place but were scattered haphazardly across the ground; some arrows had been deflected by the assassins and lay even further away.

Ying Zhao had to walk back and forth to recover the arrows one by one.

These arrows were not easy to make and could not be wasted. Furthermore, Ji Ye's enemies were not simple; as he had said, she had to recover the arrows to avoid making enemies of his foes.

The bizarre part was that wherever Ying Zhao went, Ji Ye followed, always maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far, leaving Ying Zhao both wary and speechless.

But since she had to prevent Ji Ye from "blackening" (turning evil), she couldn't strike first. She had to pretend to be a warm-hearted youth saving someone so that Ji Ye could feel cared for.

Through all this tossing and turning, Ying Zhao's nerves remained taut, not daring to relax for a moment. Fortunately, after a while, she finally recovered all the arrows and could make her exit.

Quietly sighing in relief, Ying Zhao looked at the corpses with a feigned expression of fear, though she felt a bit of regret: *With Ji Ye guarding the area, I can't even search the bodies.*

She quickly composed herself and said with concern, "Be careful. I must go. My mother and younger brother are waiting for me; I cannot delay any longer."

Ji Ye gave her a deep look. Ultimately, he did not ask about the immortal herb, but simply said, "Do not mention this matter to anyone when you return. Otherwise, if you attract his accomplices, they will not let you go."

Ying Zhao immediately shuddered in fear. "I certainly won't! I... I'm leaving!"

With that, she turned and ran, though she remained wary of Ji Ye. She ran so fast that she vanished into the forest in the blink of an eye.

Watching her run off, Ji Ye also retreated cautiously behind a tree and departed in a different direction.

In consideration of Ying Zhao helping to deal with the assassins, and thinking of the mother and brother she mentioned, he ultimately did not repay her kindness with enmity, nor did he even ask about the potentially existing immortal herb.

Ying Zhao sprinted all the way, and only when she saw she was far away did she breathe a sigh of relief. She asked Tian Bao: 【How was it? How many merit points did I earn this time?】

Tian Bao quickly replied: 【Master, you earned a total of 10,200 merit points this time. You can draw ten lotteries. That is truly amazing—as expected of you!】

Ying Zhao was shocked: 【That many?】

Tian Bao said excitedly: 【Of course! Ji Ye is the Destined Emperor. By saving him, you prevented the tragedy of his disfigurement and stopped his further blackening, and you also helped him kill twenty assassins. This is a massive merit!】

Ying Zhao remembered that she only got two merit points for dealing with Su Qi and Su Xi, yet helping Ji Xuan once had yielded 10,200. She suddenly felt that the risk was worth it.

It was a massive profit!

Speaking of which, Ji Ye had many wounds. However, since he was being hunted and was extremely vigilant, she didn't meddle too much to avoid making him more suspicious of her intentions.

She thought for a moment and asked: 【Will he still be disfigured?】

Tian Bao said tearfully: 【Master, I am just a Mall Spirit. I don't have the power of foresight and cannot predict if he will be disfigured. However, the Mall has scar-removal cream. If he is disfigured later, Master can purchase it to help remove his scars.】

Ying Zhao immediately checked the price of the scar-removal cream and then fell silent.

Tian Bao was right; the Mall did have scar-removal cream, but the prices varied.

A box of low-grade scar-removal cream cost 100 merit points, mid-grade was 1,000, high-grade was 10,000, and top-grade cost 100,000!

Ying Zhao checked the prices of medicinal herbs and began to contemplate.

The Mall had many finished medicines, but most were expensive. In comparison, raw medicinal herbs were much more affordable.

The problem was, if she wanted to refine medicine herself, she would first have to buy "Basic Alchemy."

Although it was already unlocked, the price was not low.

Ying Zhao didn't want to buy it for now; she needed to use her merit points to increase her strength first.

Moreover, after waking up this time, besides that long nightmare, her mind contained some strange knowledge, which seemed to include content regarding medicine and alchemy. Perhaps... she could look through that content first.

The scar-removal cream was far too expensive. If she could buy herbs and make it herself, she would certainly save a lot.

Merit points had too many uses; she had to spend them sparingly.

Lost in thought, Ying Zhao walked quickly back to the village. She first went to the river to wash her face, neck, and hands, as well as the bloodstains left on the arrows, before heading home.

Unexpectedly, she encountered Liu, the mother of Su Qi and Su Xi, halfway there.

Upon seeing Ying Zhao, Liu immediately rushed toward her: "Ying Zhao! Why did you harm my A-Qi and A-Xi? They have always looked after you; how could you be so heartless!"

Ji Ye: *His waist is so thin! But why did he save me?*

Ying Zhao: *This sheep is tender and fat~ I must shear it a few more times!*

(End of Chapter)