Chapter 88 [Awakening Beans]

Grandma wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, a look of gratification appearing on her face as she spoke with a firm tone:

As she spoke, she slowly raised her hand and carefully pulled a small cloth bag from the pocket of her inner garment. Opening the bag, several round, plump, milky-white beans with a hint of watery luster lay quietly inside. They looked unremarkable, yet they faintly exuded a faint, strange aura.

"[ xingming bean ]!!"

Willow Crab's excited voice suddenly exploded in Gu Ye's mind, its tone filled with disbelief and even a hint of trembling—this was the first time it had lost its composure like this.

Gu Ye was startled and quickly asked in his mind, "Master Liu, what is a xingming bean?"

"[ xingming bean ]!"

Willow Crab's voice remained excited as it quickly explained, "It is the fruit of a rare herb that grows on the banks of the Underworld River. It blooms every five hundred years and bears fruit every five hundred years. It takes a full thousand years to produce just one!"

"Even for the Ghost Sword Heavenly Venerate, it is incredibly difficult to even get close to the Underworld River, let alone obtain a xingming bean! Tell me, why wouldn't I be so surprised!"

Hearing Willow Crab's explanation, a flash of shock crossed Gu Ye's eyes.

A treasure that even legendary-level powerhouses craved had appeared right before their eyes, and there were six of them in total.

"Grandma, are these the beans from the old man's family heirloom?" Luo Yuerou asked with a curious expression, reaching out to poke at them a few times.

"Yes, I also don't understand why the old man treated these beans as a family heirloom, but they must be some kind of treasure. They are of no use to me, so I'll just give them to you all."

Grandma spread her hands, her eyes fixed on the group.

"You can take them and divide them amongst yourselves."

Gu Ye suppressed the surging excitement in his heart, his expression remaining calm and indifferent as he slowly reached out and took the six [ xingming bean ]s from Grandma's hand.

The milky-white, round beans landed in his palm, carrying a slightly cool, watery touch. That faint yet strange aura made him even more certain that this was absolutely a rare treasure of the world.

He looked at Luo Yuerou and the others. Before he could start distributing them, Yan Dinghan took a step forward, his tone sincere and firm:

"Brother-in-law, we didn't really help with anything this time, and furthermore, we already gained benefits from it, so you should take all of these beans."

Luo Yuerou also felt that he was right and nodded gently in agreement.

"No..."

After some back-and-forth, pushing and bargaining, and ultimately under Gu Ye's half-joking, half-coercive attitude, the four of them—Luo Yuerou, Yan Dinghan, Chang Qi, and Chang Guan—finally accepted one xingming bean each.

Gu Ye put away the two xingming beans that belonged to him and bowed slightly to Grandma, his tone gentle:

"Grandma, since the tofu has been delivered, we will be heading back now."

"Alright~!" Grandma waved her hand with a smile.

Gu Ye planned to go back and explain the effects of the [ xingming bean ]s to them.

"Go, follow them!"

Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the vegetable market, several figures had been watching every move of Gu Ye and his group from the very beginning; they were members of the Evil God Cult. Seeing Gu Ye and his group gradually disappear from view, they immediately quickened their pace to follow.

...

Just as Gu Ye and his group walked into that familiar, quiet alley and were only a few steps away from the small house they were renting, two figures suddenly darted out from the corner of the alley, blocking their path.

The two were dressed in black robes, with hideous scars on their faces, arrogant expressions, and bloodshot eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty light. They were surrounded by a thick aura of blood and malevolence, and it was clear at a glance that they had bad intentions.

The two looked arrogant, their eyes filled with a bloodthirsty light.

Gu Ye frowned slightly, his gaze instantly becoming sharp. He scanned the aura on the two of them and said in a cold tone: "People from the Evil God Cult?"

"Kid, hand over the things you got from that old woman for us brothers to play with."

"That old woman's tofu can attract so many people to fight over it, so whatever she gave you must also be some kind of treasure, right? Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

Before the voice had even faded, a more mocking and grating voice suddenly came from behind Gu Ye and his group, accompanied by heavy footsteps:

"That's right. If you're sensible, hand over the items, and perhaps we can leave your corpses intact."

"Some of them are Bronze Rank Nine Card Masters!" Luo Yuerou leaned close to Gu Ye and whispered.

"Let's just fight. With so few of them, I'm not afraid at all." Yan Dinghan looked excited and attempted to summon a card.

Gu Ye reached out to stop him from summoning a card; just a moment ago, Willow Crab had told him that the village rules seemed to have been restored.

"Heh! You want to take what's in my hands? With just you few, you're still too green. If you want it, come and take it yourselves."

Gu Ye's tone was full of provocation and contempt for them.

"You're courting death!"

A weaker black-robed person was completely enraged by Gu Ye's words. With bloodshot eyes and anger rushing to his head, he shouted at the red-haired man who was the leader, "Boss, take him down! This kid is too arrogant, let's kill him!"

The leaders stared coldly at Gu Ye and his group. One of them curled his lips, his eyes filled with madness, and laughed wildly:

"Boys, chop them into mince for me."

"Alright, Boss~~"

At this moment, the red-haired boss spoke slowly, his tone plain but carrying an unquestionable command, saying word by word:

"Do it!"

The underlings behind thought the boss had finally ordered the attack, and immediately, like mad dogs, they roared and charged toward Gu Ye and his group, their weapons glinting with cold light.

Gu Ye's eyes turned cold, and he said in a deep voice to Luo Yuerou, Yan Dinghan, and the others: "All of you stand where you are, don't move, don't attack, leave it to me."

"Clang~~!!"

"Biubiu~!"

The sound of a sword ringing and a gunshot exploded in Gu Ye's ears simultaneously, and Gu Ye curled the corner of his mouth.

"So they finally made a move!"

Yan Dinghan happened to be standing one position behind Chang Qi and Chang Guan, and happened to see the two attacking Gu Ye.

His pupils shrank violently, and he shouted at Gu Ye: "Brother-in-law, look out!"

Yan Dinghan immediately summoned a woman wearing armor, intending to order her to attack Chang Qi and the other person.

Just at this moment, Gu Ye's serious voice came immediately.

"Don't move!"

"Clang, clang~"

A willow tree appeared abruptly behind Gu Ye, blocking all of Chang Qi and the other's attacks.

At the same time, a bolt of lightning that rang through the sky struck down from the air, instantly hitting Chang Qi and the other.

The two were killed instantly by the lightning. The underlings who had rushed forward were stunned by this scene, and the leaders of the cult had their pupils dilated.

The leaders of the cult turned and walked away; they understood that the village rules had been restored, and they could no longer attack.

Seeing that they wanted to leave, a hint of mockery flashed in Gu Ye's eyes, "You want to leave after attacking? That's wishful thinking."

"Lin Daiyu, kill!"