190: Chapter 189 Whether I'm being taken care of well or not depends on your performance.

Following this, Xiao Ye left the Hengduan Mountains and flew northward all the way.

The journey of over three hundred thousand li was neither far nor near. However, as a Body Integration Realm Cultivator, he arrived in just ten days flying at full speed.

On this day, Xiao Ye passed through a purple bamboo forest, and the view suddenly opened up before him; a massive manor appeared in his line of sight. Surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, it had quite the aura of an Immortal's dwelling.

It was just sparsely populated, and the surrounding buildings were somewhat dilapidated, with moss climbing up the corners, as if no one had taken care of it for many years.

At the entrance of the manor stood a stone tablet, with two large characters carved in a bold, sweeping calligraphy—Hao Family.

"It seems that after Hao Sailei died, this Family hasn't developed very well," Xiao Ye paused for a long time, sighing with emotion.

Back then, the Hao Family, with the Earth Immortal Hao Sailei guarding it, was a top-tier Family in the Central Plains, a preeminent existence excluding only a few Holy Lands.

Looking at it now, I'm afraid it wouldn't even count as a second-rate force. With a sweep of his Divine Thought, the entire Hao Family had no more than a hundred people, and the highest cultivation was merely at the Peak of Body Integration; there wasn't even a single Mahayana.

"Who are you?"

A crisp and vigilant voice rang out. A young girl in a pink dress walked out from the mountain gate. She looked like she had just turned eighteen, with a melon-seed face, big eyes, and full of Spiritual Qi. Her pair of pitch-black eyes were staring vigilantly at Xiao Ye.

"Little girl, I'm not a bad person." Xiao Ye smiled mischievously and began to spout nonsense, "I am an old acquaintance of your Family head, and I have come specifically to take a look."

"Nonsense! Our Family head went missing long ago, where would an old acquaintance come from?" The little girl was not easily fooled; her vigilance spiked instantly, and her small hand subconsciously pressed onto the hilt of the sword at her waist.

Xiao Ye's playfulness surged; too lazy to explain, he raised his hand and grabbed, lifting the young girl up, and strode toward the inside of the manor.

At the same time, his voice resonated with magical power, not loud, but clearly spreading to every corner of the Hao Family.

"I am an old friend of Hao Sailei, here specifically to pay a visit."

Inside a room in the main building, a beautiful woman with a wasp waist and slender hips, yet wearing a face full of sorrow and a hint of melancholy between her brows, was carefully taking care of a young woman on the bed.

That young woman was motionless, her eyes tightly closed, her face somewhat withered, yet it still couldn't hide the peerless beauty she possessed when she was young.

Xiao Ye's voice penetrated through, and the beautiful woman's expression changed slightly as she walked quickly outside.

Just as she reached the door, she saw a handsome and extraordinary man slowly landing.

His unique way of appearing, plus that otherworldly Immortal aura, made the beautiful woman slightly dazed.

"You must be Hao Sailei's Dao Companion, right?" Xiao Ye asked with a smile.

The woman before him looked to be about thirty years old, with a Body Integration cultivation at the Perfection stage. A faint sorrow hung between her brows, showing that she had not been living well in recent years.

"Who are you?" Yang Rong came back to her senses and asked suspiciously.

"My name is Xiao Ye, who I am is not important. I promised Hao Sailei that I would 'take care of' his daughter."

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman's expression changed drastically. Hao Sailei actually let an outsider take care of his daughter? What did this mean? She asked impatiently: "What happened to my husband? Where is he?"

Xiao Ye did not answer; his figure moved, arriving inside the room, and at a glance, he saw the young woman lying on the bed.

He was silent for a moment, secretly activating the System to check the young woman's status.

Her complexion was pale, her aura was weak, and the Spiritual Qi in her body was chaotic, as if it was being suppressed by something.

Xiao Ye frowned slightly, having already formed some guesses in his heart.

"She... suffered a very serious injury?" He asked in a deep voice.

Yang Rong's eyes reddened, and she nodded, her voice choked with sobs: "She has been in a coma for three years..."

Xiao Ye examined the young woman on the bed. Her face was gaunt, and black Yin Qi was faintly swirling around her—ordinary people could not see this Yin Qi; it could only be revealed under the display of the System.

"Ding—detected a top-grade beauty! Name: Hao Qiqi. Cultivation: Void Refinement Peak. Age: 388 years old. Aptitude: Mutated Spiritual Root (Extreme Yin Physique). Rating: 96."

Xiao Ye's pupils constricted—Extreme Yin Physique?

This was a rare, top-grade Cauldron Physique. Furthermore, this woman's primordial Yin was still intact, and her cultivation had reached the Peak of Void Refinement; once combined with her, it could at least allow the male to break through three to four minor Realms overnight.

He couldn't help but swallow his saliva. Take advantage of her illness to take her life? No, that's not right; take advantage of her illness to take her primordial Yin?

Just as some rather indecent thoughts were popping up in his mind, Yang Rong followed him in. Seeing Xiao Ye staring blankly at her daughter, she couldn't help but look angry. She stepped forward, blocking the front of the bed, her voice carrying a hint of vigilance and coldness.

"Who exactly are you, Your Excellency? Why are you looking at my daughter like that?"

She didn't know if what Xiao Ye said was true or false, but this person had rashly broken in and was looking at her unconscious daughter with a strange expression. They were a widow and an orphan; if the other party had malicious intentions...

Xiao Ye came back to his senses and said nothing more. He raised his hand and summoned, and the ten thousand soul banner appeared.

The black banner unfurled in the wind, and the Yin wind howled. Hao Sailei's battle soul rushed out from the banner, wearing broken golden armor, a broken sword in hand, and ghostly blue flames dancing in his hollow eye sockets.

It hovered in mid-air, looking down at the daughter on the bed, then looked at Yang Rong, its soul body trembling slightly, emitting a low sigh.

"Sailei..." Yang Rong covered her mouth, and tears slid down silently. She stared blankly at that battle soul, her lips trembling for a long time, finally squeezing out a broken sentence from her throat, "You... really died..."

Hao Sailei's battle soul did not respond, only looking at her deeply before turning into a wisp of faint light and retreating back into the ten thousand soul banner. It no longer had consciousness, only obsession; with the obsession fulfilled, it returned to silence.

Yang Rong stood in place, her tears blurring her vision. She thought she would collapse and wail, but the moment she truly learned of her husband's death, her heart felt as if a stone had been lifted.

It had been a thousand years. She had actually guessed it long ago, but she just didn't want to believe it.

Now that the truth was before her eyes, she instead felt relieved.

"Dead is dead." She wiped away her tears, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, her voice hoarse but calm, "My daughter and I will go find him soon."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ye's expression changed slightly.

"What kind of talk is that?" He frowned, "Your daughter isn't dead yet, and you are not allowed to die either. I promised Hao Sailei that I would 'take care of' you mother and daughter. I keep my word."

Yang Rong raised her head and looked at him, a trace of complex emotion appearing on her pale face.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, she didn't say it out loud.

She only shook her head gently, her voice as low as a whisper: "Please return, Your Excellency. Our Family's affairs do not need to trouble an outsider."

"Return?" Xiao Ye raised an eyebrow, "I ran all the way here from the East Sea, and you say return just like that?" He walked to the bedside, bent over to check Hao Qiqi's condition, his tone brooking no refusal, "Your daughter has an Extreme Yin Physique, and the Yin Qi in her body has already backlashed against her Spiritual Root. If you drag this out any longer, she won't live for another three years."

Yang Rong shuddered, her face turning deathly pale.

"How do you know that?" Her voice trembled.

Xiao Ye did not explain; he simply took out a small porcelain bottle from his bosom, poured out a round, plump Medicinal Pill with flowing spiritual light, and waved it in front of Yang Rong.

"This is a Pure Yang Pill, specifically meant to counter the Extreme Yin Physique. One pill down, and it can pull your daughter back from the gates of hell."

Yang Rong stared at that Medicinal Pill, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes, only to quickly dim again. She bit her lip and spoke with difficulty: "Your Excellency... what are the conditions?"

Xiao Ye looked at her "I will give you whatever you want" expression and suddenly laughed.

"Conditions?" He stuffed the Medicinal Pill into Yang Rong's hand, patted his robes, and said airily, "I promised Hao Sailei that I would take care of you mother and daughter. Do you understand what taking care of someone means? It means unconditional."

Yang Rong was stunned. She held the Pure Yang Pill, her hands trembling slightly, and her eyes reddened again.

"You..." She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but was too choked up to speak.

"Alright, stop crying." Xiao Ye waved his hand, walked to the door, and looked back at her, "Give your daughter the Medicinal Pill, and when she wakes up, I will come to see her again. Remember, taking care of you is free, but whether I take care of you well or not depends on your performance."

Yang Rong's face flushed red, and she lowered her eyelids, not daring to look at him.

Xiao Ye laughed heartily and stepped through the air, leaving.