Chapter 59: I Have Someone I Like

The cauldron was a spiritual artifact, and Zhou Chen could store it within his insect nest spatial dimension.

Upon arriving at the lounge where Cai Yameng was resting, he found a crowd of people gathered there.

Cai Yameng and Cai Shasha belonged to the Cai family. Following the assassination attempt, members of the Cai family’s branch in the capital had rushed over.

Furthermore, since the assailants were evil cultivators, representatives from the Yanhuang Guardian Bureau had also arrived.

Cai Yameng had already been awake for a while. The slap mark on her face had long since vanished, and she showed no signs of physical discomfort.

However, the trauma of the previous night’s assassination had severely shaken her. Her eyes looked somewhat vacant, as though she were lost in thought.

Seeing Zhou Chen arrive, Cai Yameng’s beautiful eyes immediately regained their focus.

She parted her lips toward him, yet no words came out.

The guardians from the Yanhuang Guardian Bureau approached Zhou Chen first, asked a few brief questions, and then departed.

"Cai Yameng, is there anywhere you still feel uncomfortable?" Zhou Chen asked.

Cai Yameng shook her head.

Zhou Chen glanced left and right, then used his gaze to signal Cai Yameng to have the others leave the lounge for a moment.

"All of you, step outside first," Cai Yameng told the members of the Cai family.

Once everyone else had left the room, Zhou Chen finally spoke: "During the National Day holiday, I will visit the Cai family to completely cure your father's cancer."

After saying this, Zhou Chen retrieved a jade box and a jade vial from his pocket.

"The vial contains a Longevity Pill, which can extend your grandfather's life by seven or eight years."

In Zhou Chen's view, as long as Cai Yameng's father and grandfather were safe, she would remain the undisputed princess of the Cai family.

As for her uncles, aunts, and that stepmother of hers, they would no longer be able to stir up any trouble.

Zhou Chen then presented the contents of the jade box: "Inside here is a Marrow-Cleansing Pill. Taking it will purge acquired impurities from your body. The reason you have been unable to practice ancient martial arts is due to your unique constitution. I will teach you immortal cultivation techniques."

Everything Zhou Chen was doing served as repayment for the gift of the cauldron.

Cai Yameng looked at the pills handed to her by Zhou Chen. Her cool and detached face betrayed no emotion as she accepted them.

Seeing that she was willing to take the pills, Zhou Chen could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

He wasn't afraid of Cai Yameng making exorbitant demands; what he feared most was her refusing to accept anything at all.

Regarding Cai Yameng as a woman, Zhou Chen actually felt a lingering sense of apprehension.

She was far too stubborn, and her personality was overly extreme.

Before Zhou Chen's sigh of relief could even finish escaping his lips, he watched as Cai Yameng tossed the Marrow-Cleansing Pill she had just accepted straight into a nearby wastebasket.

"That cauldron was an apology gift for not taking your birthday present seriously back then. Now, we are even."

"I will not give up pursuing you, but you have no reason to feel that you owe me anything."

Cai Yameng had not refused Zhou Chen's offer to treat her father during the National Day holiday, nor had she rejected the Longevity Pill.

Because those concerned the lives of her father and grandfather; willful though she might be, Cai Yameng would never do anything so extreme as to let filial piety be overridden by pride.

However, she rejected his personal assistance to her. This demonstrated that she was not trying to extract benefits from Zhou Chen in order to win his affection.

Looking into Cai Yameng’s cool yet extraordinarily resolute eyes, Zhou Chen did not know what to say.

"Actually, I already have someone I like," Zhou Chen offered as his only defense.

Cai Yameng nodded. "I know. It's Teacher Gu, right? But as far as I know, the two of you haven't established a romantic relationship yet. If you could like her in the past, you can like me now and in the future, can't you?"

Zhou Chen was utterly speechless.

Being entangled by such a persistent woman, Zhou Chen could only choose to avoid her.

"As you like."

Zhou Chen turned and left the lounge, returning to the university alongside Zhang Bingnan.

Cai Shasha hurriedly rushed inside. Having caught the faint fragrance of herbs lingering on Zhou Chen from earlier, she knew top-tier medicinal pills must have been involved!

"Big Sister Yameng, did that senior give you any pills?"

Cai Shasha possessed an exceptionally keen sense of smell and immediately dashed over to the wastebasket.

As she fished the pill out from the trash can, she wailed dramatically at the squandering of such a heavenly treasure.

Cai Yameng held a favorable opinion of this younger cousin of hers.

When they were ambushed by the evil cultivator youth earlier, although Cai Shasha had been scared out of her wits, she had still resolutely stood in front of Cai Yameng to protect her.

"He said this is a Marrow-Cleansing Pill, capable of purging acquired impurities. If you want it, take it and use it."

What Cai Yameng wanted to prove through her actions was that she was not staying close to Zhou Chen merely for personal gain.

Cai Shasha’s eyes curved into crescent moons with delight, completely unconcerned that the pill had been retrieved from a garbage can.

Just like an ordinary person finding a 24-karat gold ring in a dumpster—would anyone care if the trash can was dirty?

Before Zhou Chen departed from the Yunmei Auction House, he ran straight into Luoya.

She was accompanied by guardians from the Yanhuang Guardian Bureau, all of whom displayed utmost reverence toward the woman.

"May I ask the Daoist friend's honored name?" Luoya cupped her fists and asked.

Zhou Chen returned the gesture with a cupped fist. "My surname is Zhou. What business does Fellow Daoist Luoya have with me?"

Luoya waved her hand, and the storage ring on her finger flashed with a faint light, causing a withered, shriveled corpse to appear before them.

Judging by the features of the corpse, it was precisely the evil cultivator youth who had attempted to assassinate Cai Yameng and Cai Shasha the previous night.

"I only tracked down this corpse early this morning. I presume this was the work of Fellow Daoist?" Luoya asked probingly.

Zhou Chen feigned astonishment. "Didn't he escape? Could someone else have been lying in wait as the final victor?"

A suspicious look crossed Luoya’s eyes. "His entire life force was devoured by an unknown power, and his storage pouch has also vanished without a trace, which suggests that the techniques used by the attacker were rather malevolent as well. If Fellow Daoist has any clues, I hope you will share them."

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Zhou Chen naturally could not admit to it.

"Pardon me, but I have just arrived in the capital, and the only fellow practitioner I have encountered is you, Fellow Daoist. I truly have no relevant clues," Zhou Chen said with a feigned sigh.

Although Luoya deeply suspected that Zhou Chen was the one responsible, he had remained inside the Yunmei Auction House the entire previous night without stepping out.

Perhaps another hidden immortal cultivator among the auction attendees had intervened.

"Never mind. Since Fellow Daoist knows nothing of this matter, I shall not disturb you further."

Zhou Chen smiled and nodded. "Then please continue with your matters, Fellow Daoist Luoya."

However, just as he brushed past Luoya, Zhou Chen suddenly sensed a trace of spiritual awareness probing toward him.

Zhou Chen instantly released his own spiritual awareness to block the approaching detection.

His smile faded, and his expression darkened. "Fellow Daoist Luoya, your probe crosses the line."

For immortal cultivators, scanning another person's body with spiritual awareness—let alone approaching them with it—was an extremely offensive act.

Luoya hurriedly cupped her fists in apology. "Forgive my offense. It's simply that in this era, practitioners like you and me are exceedingly rare, and recent disturbances have been numerous. Noticing that Fellow Daoist was deliberately concealing your true cultivation level, I could not resist testing you slightly."

Zhou Chen's visible cultivation was only at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, yet the strength of his soul had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Finding this anomaly curious, Luoya had projected her spiritual awareness to gauge his depth.

The test revealed that Zhou Chen had indeed reached Foundation Establishment; had he truly been merely at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, he would have been utterly incapable of detecting her approaching spiritual awareness.

"Hmph! Fellow Daoist Luoya, let this be the very last time. If there is a next time, do not blame me for turning hostile!" Zhou Chen gave a cold snort and strode away.

It wasn't because Zhou Chen possessed a good temper, but rather because he was genuinely intimidated.

Luoya was a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator, whereas he merely possessed the soul strength of that realm.

Having not yet practiced any soul-attack secret techniques, he was simply no match for Luoya.