CH 81

TL: Moonlit

This hot pot restaurant is very famous locally for two reasons. First, their mandarin duck hot pot with clear broth tastes great. It is made with stewed black-bone chicken, which is exceptionally flavorful. Second, the waiters in the restaurant are skilled at adjusting the oil dish, so no matter what flavor you prefer, they can make it delicious.

When it comes to hot pot, the oil dish is the essence.

Shen Ye heard Cai Zhiwei mention it once and had been thinking about it until now. Finally, today they could come and try it.

It was a little past 7 PM, and the restaurant was still crowded. The reserved table they had was only held until 6 PM, which meant they would have to wait if they arrived now.

Fortunately, with Zong Yiming, their versatile assistant, they didn’t have to worry. Shen Ye didn’t know what method he used, but as soon as he and Ye Ze arrived, they had a table, and it was even a private room.

Upon hearing that it was a private room, Shen Ye had a brilliant idea and brought the middle-aged Taoist inside.

After that, Shen Ye and Ye Ze enjoyed their hot pot while the middle-aged Taoist watched eagerly from the side, savoring the aroma but unable to taste it.

Shen Ye had countless ways to torment the middle-aged Taoist, but he thought this method was the best. To see but not be able to eat, how torturous it must be!

The middle-aged Taoist was indeed tormented, staring at the lamb rolls and crispy meat in the spicy broth, his mouth drooling.

“I truly am a genius,” Shen Ye couldn’t help but praise himself.

Ye Ze: “…”

His partner was mischievous as always, but as long as the child was happy, he naturally supported it.

Shen Ye’s appetite was wide open as he ate and said, “The oil dish is indeed well-adjusted, giving it a strong spicy kick.”

He had asked the waiter for a spicy request, and the taste they adjusted was both spicy and aromatic. Dipping beef tripe and duck intestines in the sauce was simply a culinary delight.

Ye Ze’s oil dish was mildly spicy, and the taste was also good.

Shen Ye served Ye Ze some chicken soup and added various slices of meat to the clear broth, which he then scooped into Ye Ze’s bowl once it was cooked.

Ye Ze silently watched him busily attending to everything, his eyes and brows curved, radiating gentleness.

Being taken care of like this by the child, this feeling wasn’t bad at all.

The two of them finished eating close to 9 PM.

Ye Ze used a napkin to wipe the corners of Shen Ye’s mouth.

Shen Ye obediently let him, saying, “We need to find a place to deal with this Taoist.”

The hot pot restaurant was definitely not an option since it was a dining place. How could they let the Taoist die there?

He thought for a moment and decided to go to the middle-aged Taoist’s villa. After all, the Taoist lived alone, and the surroundings were quiet. However, it would be a bit far to go there, and it would probably be past 11 PM by the time they finished handling things and returned home.

Ye Ze had no objections. He touched Shen Ye’s face and said, “I’ll follow your lead.”

Shen Ye smiled and rubbed the palm of his hand against Ye Ze’s, saying, “I’m glad you’re with me.” Otherwise, it would be so boring.

Ye Ze kissed him on the cheek and instead held his hand, saying, “Let’s go.”

The middle-aged Taoist was controlled by talismans throughout the entire journey, and he could only go wherever Shen Ye and Ye Ze went.

Naturally, he felt fear in his heart and wanted to escape, but in front of Shen Ye, he could only be suppressed and had no ability to resist.

At this moment, he deeply regretted it. Why didn’t he stop after Shen Ye warned him… He could earn a lot of money just by doing fortune-telling for wealthy merchants and aristocratic families. Why did he have to join Qin Shuhua in harming others?

Could it be… that it was his destiny?

The middle-aged Taoist was very unwilling, but in the end, he could only be brought back to his own villa by Shen Ye, facing his impending fate.

Shen Ye removed the spells on the middle-aged Taoist’s body and pondered, “You didn’t have blood on your hands before. Why did you want to harm others this time?”

Although the middle-aged Taoist had always helped the aristocratic children bully the weak, he didn’t have blood on his hands, which was why Shen Ye had spared him initially. This time, when the middle-aged Taoist assisted Qin Shuhua in plotting against the Qian family, Shen Ye was somewhat curious about his motives.

The middle-aged Taoist finally had the opportunity to speak and immediately defended himself, saying, “I was just led astray…”

He didn’t feel satisfied when Shen Ye warned him, so he wanted to do something rebellious. Coincidentally, Qin Shuhua came to him, and he agreed to help him.

As a result… he ended up falling into Shen Ye’s hands again.

In retrospect, it was really unfortunate.

“Master Shen, please spare me once again… The Qian family is all safe and sound now, and I still haven’t stained my hands with blood… I will make amends for my mistake in my next life, and I promise never to harm the heavens and act unreasonably again! If I harm others again, may my soul be scattered!” The middle-aged Taoist raised his fingers and swore to the heavens.

Shen Ye narrowed his eyes but remained silent.

Before, he witnessed the Qian family of four being poisoned, and Qian Lisong’s forehead turned black, indicating a life-threatening situation. He was prepared to directly kill the middle-aged Taoist. However, the problem now was that the middle-aged Taoist didn’t actually take any lives. If he forcibly killed the middle-aged Taoist, he would instead incur karmic retribution.

However, it was a fact that the Qian family had been tormented for these past few months, so he couldn’t let the middle-aged Taoist off so easily.

“Fine, I won’t kill you,” Shen Ye spoke indifferently. “But you nearly caused the death of all five members of the Qian family. You will be punished regardless.”

The middle-aged Taoist, grateful that he could survive, immediately said, “I’m willing to accept any punishment.”

Satisfied with his attitude, Shen Ye said, “Then I will strip you of your abilities and let you taste the poison you used.”

He enjoyed reciprocating in kind.

Hearing that his cultivation would be stripped away, the middle-aged Taoist trembled and pleaded, “I rely on my abilities to make a living. If I lose my powers, how will I survive in the future…?”

“You’re really pushing your luck,” Shen Ye interrupted his babbling coldly, waved his hand, and cast several spells on him.

Don’t think he didn’t know that the middle-aged Taoist had earned a lot of money. Even if he didn’t work in the next life, he could still live comfortably.

Soon, the middle-aged Taoist’s cultivation was completely destroyed, and he would never be able to cultivate again.

Then, Shen Ye poisoned the middle-aged Taoist with the same poison that had afflicted the Qian family: “I used a small dosage. Although you will suffer every day, your life won’t be in danger.”

He didn’t want the middle-aged Taoist’s life; he just wanted him to taste the poison.

This poison would torment the body, causing pain in every organ. The middle-aged Taoist clutched his chest and collapsed onto the sofa, unable to make a sound due to the pain.

“He won’t be able to harm anyone anymore,” Shen Ye clapped his hands and returned to Ye Ze’s side. “Let’s go home.”

Ye Ze made a low sound of agreement and held Shen Ye’s hand as they walked out.

However, when they reached the entrance, Ye Ze suddenly stopped.

Shen Ye looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong?”

Ye Ze’s gaze fell on the wall to the left of the entrance, staring at it for a long time without speaking.

Shen Ye grew increasingly perplexed and followed his line of sight. There was a traditional ink painting hanging on the wall.

“What are you looking at, Uncle?” Shen Ye whispered in his ear.

After about half a minute, Ye Ze spoke slowly, “This painting is an ancestral heirloom of the Ye family. The founder of the Ye family painted it himself.”

Shen Ye was extremely astonished.

How could the Ye family’s ancestral painting be in the possession of the middle-aged Taoist?

He suddenly remembered the incident ten years ago when the Ye family was persecuted by an old Taoist. Could this middle-aged Taoist be the disciple of that old Taoist?

No, that couldn’t be possible.

The middle-aged Taoist’s appearance indicated that he had no karmic relationship with the Ye family.

Shen Ye lightly pinched Ye Ze’s fingers and said, “Let me go ask what’s going on.”

He walked back to the sofa, drew a talisman, and placed it on the middle-aged Taoist’s body to alleviate his pain.

“Tell me, why do you have the Ye family’s ancestral painting?” Shen Ye asked.

After a while, the middle-aged Taoist regained consciousness from the pain and understood what Shen Ye meant. He didn’t hide the truth and confessed readily, “I know you’re looking for Mingxin Daoist. He’s powerful… but he lost to my master in a battle, so he gave this painting to my master.”

So, the old Taoist who harmed the Ye family was called Mingxin Daoist?

Shen Ye remembered the name and looked at the middle-aged Taoist. “You said Mingxin Daoist is powerful, but your master won the fight, which means your master is even more powerful?”

The middle-aged Taoist replied, “Indeed, my master is very powerful, but he has already passed away peacefully.”

Shen Ye scrutinized his face carefully and found no signs of lying. He asked, “When I initially asked if you knew Mingxin Daoist, why didn’t you tell me about the origin of this painting?”

“I didn’t know this painting belonged to the Ye family,” the middle-aged Taoist said with a bitter face. “If I had known, I would have returned it to you immediately.”

This was also the truth. He didn’t want to offend Shen Ye.

Shen Ye saw that the middle-aged Taoist was not lying, so he let him go and said, “Today, I have to take this painting with me.”

“No problem!” the middle-aged Taoist eagerly agreed. He was relieved that Shen Ye was taking the painting, fearing that Shen Ye would seek revenge someday if he didn’t.

“As an exchange, I will detoxify you.” Shen Ye was always clear about right and wrong. Previously, he punished the middle-aged Taoist for the suffering inflicted on the Qian family, and now he wouldn’t just take the middle-aged Taoist’s belongings without giving anything in return.

The middle-aged Taoist was overjoyed and said, “Thank you!”

Just a few minutes of pain had made him feel like he was about to meet the King of Hell. If he had to endure such pain for the rest of his life, he would probably go insane. Now that Shen Ye was detoxifying him, it was like a sudden turn of events, and he couldn’t help but be delighted.

He immediately went to the entrance, took down the ink painting, and handed it to Shen Ye.

Shen Ye took it in his hands, drew a talisman, and removed the poison from the middle-aged Taoist’s body. He said, “You have lost your abilities, so you shouldn’t be able to harm anyone anymore. But let me warn you, don’t let me catch you doing bad things again, or your fate will be total annihilation.”

“I will definitely be a good person!” The middle-aged Taoist was now extremely fearful of Shen Ye and quickly swore.

He decided to donate half of his wealth, hoping that the second half of his life would be smoother.

Only after taking the painting, Shen Ye and Ye Ze walked out of the villa.

Once inside the car, Shen Ye handed the painting to Ye Ze.

Ye Ze carefully examined the painting, and after a while, he put it aside and gently lifted Shen Ye onto his lap.

“Thank you,” he kissed Shen Ye’s ear and whispered softly, “This painting doesn’t actually have much value, but it was left by our ancestors. It is more important to the Ye family than any gold, silver, or jewels. When it was lost years ago, Grandfather was very upset, saying that the painting had been passed down for hundreds of years, but he lost it during his lifetime. He felt sorry for our ancestors…”

This painting was undoubtedly very important to the Ye family. Grandfather had been concerned about it for ten years, so when Ye Ze saw the painting just now, he was shocked.

Shen Ye held onto the man’s waist and said, “Now that we have it back, Grandfather will be delighted.”

He had been thinking that there must be a reason for encountering the middle-aged Taoist twice. Now it seemed that it was to retrieve the Ye family’s painting.

Ye Ze kissed his lips and said, “Yes, Grandfather will definitely be happy.”

The two of them brought the painting back home, and as expected, Grandfather was very excited. He praised Shen Ye continuously and concluded, “Just when we were about to return to the capital, we found this painting… Ye Ye, you and Xiaozhe are truly a perfect match, our little lucky stars of the Ye family.”

Upon careful consideration, perhaps this was the destined fate of Shen Ye and Ye Ze.

Shen Ye’s eyes curved into a smile from the compliments and whispered in Ye Ze’s ear, “Since Grandfather is so happy, are you going to reward me?”

Ye Ze held his hand and calmly responded, “Hmm, there will be a reward.”

Before going to sleep that night, Ye Ze indeed rewarded Shen Ye generously, showcasing his chest and abs. Shen Ye even had a nosebleed.

If he didn’t have an exam early the next morning, Shen Ye could have played until dawn!

With his enthusiasm soaring, Shen Ye eagerly waited for the last exam to be over so they could go back to the capital.

They had already packed their luggage, planning to return to the capital the day after the exam. Grandpa Ye and Grandma Shen would naturally go with them, and Xu Sisi and others would also join them.

Before leaving, Ye Ze asked Shen Ye if he wanted to invite friends and classmates to go to the capital.

In a few days, they would be getting married, and Shen Ye might want his friends to witness it.

However, Shen Ye thought that their marriage registration was just a formality, and the wedding would be held in Haicheng, so he didn’t plan to invite classmates.

Thinking about the upcoming wedding and being able to drive soon… Shen Ye felt like he was walking on air these past two days.

Author's note 3,500 characters~ My dear readers, there’s only one update today, but tomorrow will have two updates totaling 9,500 characters~ Tomorrow will definitely make up for it with a fist!

Hehe, getting married tomorrow~~

See you tomorrow, goodnight~

Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or gave me nutrients between December 18, 2019, 23:55:59, and December 19, 2019, 23:50:33~

Thanks to the little angel who set the mine: ? 追寻? 1 vote;

Thanks to the little angels who gave me nutrients: 落日余晖 1 bottle;

Thank you all for your support. I will continue to work hard!