Chapter Forty-One: The Counterattack

News of Ye Pei’s appearance in the lands of the Zi clan swiftly traveled back to the Feng clan, and soon after, both the Lin and Wan families were made aware as well.

To be honest, when the soldiers from the Feng clan, who had provided the portrait, heard the news, they were utterly stunned.

“Damn, that kid actually looks pretty good. How did you even recognize him from that awful portrait I drew?”

Xiao Wu, who had rushed back to deliver the news, replied irritably, “If we’d relied on your drawing, we’d never have found him. But you all said he fought without armor, always dressed in white brocade. When we saw a young man in white with the character ‘Ye’ embroidered on his right shoulder, we knew it was him.”

“Oh... so it was the clothing that gave him away...”

As the news spread, a large number of people from every faction surged into the Zi clan’s territory in pursuit of Ye Pei.

However, the two members of the Zi clan had already informed Zi Yankong that Ye Pei and Zi Qingrong had left the small town earlier that morning. Two days later, Zi Yankong found the pair roasting fish by a small river in the west.

“Young Mistress, come back with us!” Zi Yankong got straight to the point as soon as he saw them.

Zi Qingrong looked displeased. “No! I’m not in any danger with him. Why must you follow me around so anxiously?”

Zi Yankong pleaded for a long time, but Zi Qingrong refused to leave. Helpless, he called Ye Pei aside.

“Sir, I don’t know why my young mistress insists on traveling with you, but I hope you can promise to protect her. Beyond here, we’re not far from the Sacred Mountain. We’re not permitted to enter that territory.”

When not facing Zi Qingrong, Ye Pei’s demeanor returned to indifference; his pallid face betrayed no emotion. “You needn’t remind me. She saved my life. If necessary, I would exchange mine for hers.”

Zi Yankong was momentarily stunned, then offered a wry smile. “I have indeed judged a gentleman by a villain’s standards. In that case, please, sir, take this medicine.”

With that, Zi Yankong produced a vial from his robes.

Ye Pei accepted it and opened it, revealing a single red pill, lustrous and translucent, quite beautiful.

Though Ye Pei trusted Zi Qingrong, that did not mean he trusted her clan. He gave a faint, mocking smile. “What’s this? You call me a villain, yet you still seek to control me with poison?”

Zi Yankong hurriedly replied, “You misunderstand, sir. This is called ‘Flame Gaze,’ a pill refined from the eyes of beasts dwelling near the Deathfire Volcano. A year ago, the High Priest of the Sacred Mountain entrusted it to our clan, instructing our lord to use it when the time was right.”

Ye Pei frowned. “What does it do?”

Zi Yankong explained, “It can conceal your identity as a Vein-Seer. Henceforth, whenever your emotions surge or you channel your power, your eyes will flash with fire, just like the people of the Yan clan.”

Ye Pei regarded the pill silently. At some point, Zi Qingrong had quietly approached. “Yezi, Uncle Yankong’s telling the truth. I was there when the High Priest gave us this.”

Hearing this, Ye Pei’s doubts eased. He swallowed the pill. It melted instantly in his mouth, and he waited, but nothing happened.

This was also the first time the Zi clan had seen its effects. Zi Yankong, wanting to test whether the Flame Gaze worked, exchanged a look with a young man nearby. Understanding, the youth suddenly shouted and threw a punch at Ye Pei.

Zi Qingrong cried out in alarm, her eyes flashing with fire, but before she could even voice her protest, Ye Pei’s hand shot out like lightning, catching the oncoming fist in an unyielding grip. His expression didn’t change, nor did the darkness of his eyes.

“Are you trying to make me laugh?”

“What are you doing!” Zi Qingrong shouted at the youth who had attacked.

But Ye Pei stretched out his hand to stop her. “There’s no need for such tests. I have my own methods.”

With that, Ye Pei summoned his inner strength, and immediately his eyes blazed with fire, no different from a member of the Yan clan.

Seeing this, Zi Yankong quickly clasped his hands in respect. “I did not realize you were so skilled, sir. My apologies for the offense. In that case, we’ll take our leave. Young Mistress, please take care.”

After Zi Yankong and his party left, Zi Qingrong looked at Ye Pei with curiosity. “Yezi, how did you manage to control that flame yourself?”

Ye Pei smiled. “You mean the fire in my eyes? Practice your martial arts diligently, and in time, I’ll teach you.”

He paused, then seemed to remember something. “Just ask Uncle Yankong for a horse.”

Zi Qingrong grinned. “Even if I had one, I wouldn’t know how to ride it!”

Having taken the Flame Gaze, Ye Pei was much more at ease. The two journeyed toward Sacred Mountain at a leisurely pace, and along the way, Ye Pei continued teaching Zi Qingrong the fundamentals of swordsmanship.

But before long, the men from the Feng clan caught up with Ye Pei.

“Hey! Ye Pei, we’ve finally found you!”

Ye Pei and Zi Qingrong were sitting in a teahouse on the outskirts of a city when they heard the shout. Ye Pei smiled, looked up, and said, “Gentlemen, who is this Ye Pei? You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

The leader snarled, “Still pretending? Keep it up and I’ll cut you down!” He drew his blade as he spoke.

Ye Pei instantly put on a panicked expression, his eyes flashing with fire. “Brothers, let’s talk this out! I even greeted you at the inn a few days ago!”

Seeing the fire in his eyes, the men from the Feng clan paused in confusion. After a moment, the leader sheathed his knife and scratched his head. “So why’d you run off after greeting us that day?”

Ye Pei relaxed his expression and, glancing at Zi Qingrong, replied, “My wife and I had urgent business here, so we hurried off.”

Hearing Ye Pei call her his wife, Zi Qingrong’s heart raced and her cheeks flushed, even though she knew he was lying.

The Feng clan man pressed on, “Then why is the character ‘Ye’ embroidered on your clothes?”

Ye Pei smiled. “My name is Ye Zhe. It’s a family tradition to embroider our name on our garments.”

The man considered this and found no flaw in the explanation. “Ah, I see. Sorry for the trouble, brother.”

Ye Pei said graciously, “No trouble at all. Please, sit and have some tea before you go.”

Just as they were about to sit, a voice bellowed from nearby, “That’s Ye Pei! Don’t let him fool you!”

It was over twenty men from the Lin clan. To avoid any mistake, the Lin lord Lin Jingzhi had specially selected these elite soldiers who had seen Ye Pei during the war.

Ye Pei cursed inwardly. With a flick of his wrist, the lid of the teapot flew off, and he flung a pot of scalding tea into the face of a Feng clansman. Without pause, the teapot shattered over the leader’s head, and with a slap, Ye Pei sent him flying half a yard. He scooped up Zi Qingrong and dashed toward the horses.

Mounting quickly, Ye Pei carried Zi Qingrong away at a gallop. The Lin men gave chase, while the Feng clan’s leader, dazed by the blow, and the scalded man rolling on the ground in pain, were in no state to pursue.

“These people must have seen me use the Vein-Seer’s power before—they’re too certain,” Ye Pei said as he spurred his horse to a furious gallop.

The scene had clearly frightened Zi Qingrong, whose voice trembled. “W-what do we do now?”

Ye Pei already had a route in mind. “We’ll head into those southern mountains. I’ll find you a hiding place, then I’ll deal with them myself.”

Zi Qingrong gasped, “You’ll go alone?”

A cold light shone in Ye Pei’s eyes as he replied grimly, “A mere twenty soldiers? I, Ye Pei, have never been hunted by such rabble.”

In truth, Zi Qingrong only knew that Sacred Mountain lay directly west of the Zi lands, but over the past few days, they had gradually veered south, still heading west but now closer to the south.

Ye Pei’s judgment was correct—the mountains ahead were indeed rugged, ideal for hiding and for guerrilla tactics.

He led the way into the mountains, then, seeing the Lin men still in pursuit, hurriedly hid Zi Qingrong in a copse beside a cliff, picked up some stones, mounted his horse, and rode out to meet the enemy.

The Lin soldiers had just arrived when Ye Pei appeared. “You’re brave, riding out to meet us. We were just worrying about searching for you in there,” one of them sneered.

A cold smile flickered across Ye Pei’s pale face as he flicked a stone with a snap of his wrist. The pebble flew straight into the eye socket of the foremost soldier, who fell from his horse with a scream and moved no more.

At that moment, Ye Pei slowly drew a great saber from his waist, its blade gleaming with a dark light, and his chilling voice fell over the Lin men.

“Have you forgotten how Lin Yukun and your other commanders died by my hand?”

Only then did the Lin men recall that their marshal and many officers had been slain in battle by Ye Pei himself.

Previously, fighting on their home ground gave them confidence, and they had thought Ye Pei alone in Yan territory would be easy prey. They had banked on their numbers and forgotten the disparity in strength.

Half a day later, by a small river in the mountains, Zi Qingrong was scrubbing blood from Ye Pei’s clothes.

“What are we going to do now? More people are after us...” she murmured as she washed.

Ye Pei, roasting fish nearby, asked, “Qingrong, do you regret coming with me?”

Zi Qingrong looked up. “No, I don’t.”

Ye Pei looked at her. “Why not?”

Her cheeks flushed. “I... I don’t know.”

“In that case, we have no choice but to head further south into the Exile Lands, and from there find another way to reach Sacred Mountain. Once I reach Sacred Mountain and heal my wounds, I can feel my strength will be greatly improved.”

Although Ye Pei had wiped out most of the Lin pursuers, reinforcements from all three families soon arrived. From their bearing, Ye Pei could see that among the new arrivals were many seasoned fighters, likely hired mercenaries.

And so, the chase continued.