Osmanthus Blooms to Buy, Wine to Share

The bright moon hung in the sky, stars scattered like ornaments.

Under the cool moonlight, Ye Shu, dressed in a green robe, stood atop a tree, gazing down at the land below. Now that all the reclusive experts had entered the Nine Nether Immortal Palace, only some small fry remained outside—meaning there were no more opponents waiting out here!

"Heh heh!"

Ye Shu suddenly let out a sly chuckle.

Standing beneath the moon, he raised one hand high, spread his five fingers, and bellowed.

"Transform... now!"

As a burst of rousing music echoed out, a shimmering white light flashed across Ye Shu's body. In the next moment, he transformed into a lively country boy—clad in a linen robe, hunched over, holding a tiny sapling in his hand, looking like he'd never seen the world.

"Yeah~ Not bad, not bad."

Ye Shu patted his clothes with satisfaction, pleased with his disguise.

He held up the tiny sapling and gently tapped its tip with his finger.

Ding!

The branch immediately radiated a ring of colorful light, surrounded by swirling stars and countless paths of the Dao weaving around it, like a seedling of the World Tree from mythology.

"Pretty good, pretty good."

Imagine: you're wandering through a great emperor's relic littered with treasures, when you suddenly encounter someone holding an ultimate artifact, looking helpless and easy to bully. Could you resist robbing him?

Ye Shu held up the World Tree, his grin smug and sly.

"Hehehehe..."

"If you make the first move, don't blame me for being ruthless."

These explorers of the relic were all elites from major families and powerful factions. When people like that entered a relic, they carried loads of precious treasures. Why search through the vast ruins for opportunities?

Instead... heh!

Just thinking about it made Ye Shu hum to himself.

"You're clearly using the bait to lure them into a trap!"

A high-pitched, childlike voice suddenly rang out.

"How could I possibly have a Heaven's Chosen like you? You're so naughty!"

"What do you know? They say that plundering a whole city can't match waiting for one person. It's called strategy," Ye Shu replied instinctively, turning his head to glance at his shoulder.

There, a little girl in a white dress was puffing out her cheeks, staring at him furiously, her face flushed red and her big eyes filled with disdain.

"You shameless jerk!"

"Scum!"

"Beast!"

"Bastard!"

Ye Shu froze, dazed by the sight. His throat went dry, unable to speak, as if words were caught in his throat.

Then, with a blink, no one was on his shoulder anymore.

Just an auditory hallucination.

"So it was just an illusion..."

Ye Shu wiped the grit from his eyes. "I thought that annoying little fool was nagging me again."

He lowered his head and smiled, then walked on into the moonlight.

Under the cold, clear moonlight.

A young man in a linen robe, treading on yellow earth, holding a World Tree sapling, ambled slowly out of the mountains.

Only he remained.

Only he was left again...

After leaving the Immortal Palace, Ye Shu wandered about in his battle robe, swaying left and right, waving the World Tree high for all to see, as if he wanted the entire world to know.

Yet it might have been fate playing tricks.

He'd strolled through the relic for three whole days and nights without running into a single person.

Three days of failure left him somewhat deflated.

"Do I have to resort to that method?" Ye Shu muttered under his breath, gazing at the blazing sun in the distance.

If the bait method failed, he still had one more trick.

But that trick came with great terror.

Once used, he would inevitably lose something, so he was reluctant to resort to it unless absolutely necessary.

"I'll take another look..."

Ye Shu sighed and pressed on, the sapling in his hand starting to wilt.

Finally, after a few more miles.

A commotion arose from a forest in the distance, as if a group of people was doing something.

Ye Shu's spirits lifted, his eyes gleaming.

"A lot of people?"

"No matter—I can rob ten of them all the same, ya know..."

He rubbed his hands together, adjusted the linen robe, and shaped his expression into a timid, weak look.

No matter what, he had to sell the act.

Then, holding up the glowing World Tree, he tiptoed toward the woods.

Pushing through a thicket, the view opened up.

A dozen or so sect disciples in purple-gold robes stood in a circle, surrounding a girl in burlap with a flower-patterned kerchief on her head, her face covered in freckles, looking even more rustic than him. In her hand, she also held something.

It was a crystalline herb emitting a gentle glow—a top-tier... Saint Herb!

Any ordinary person who consumed it could live over a thousand years longer.

It was invaluable.

And now, these holy land disciples seemed to have set their sights on the herb, intending to take it from the girl by force.

"Little sister, don't bother struggling," sneered the leader of the young men, stepping closer with greedy eyes fixed on the Saint Herb. "This kind of fortune is beyond your grasp.

Better hand it over to us, so the precious herb doesn't go to waste."

"No!"

The girl hugged the Saint Herb tightly, her face full of defiance as she stared at the encroaching disciples. "I found this herb first! Why should I give it to you?"

"Why?

"Because our fists are bigger!"

The disciple's leader waved his hand abruptly.

"Together, boys! Show this village girl what the real world is like!"

"Alright!"

The others cracked their knuckles, eager to join in.

Hidden in the bushes, Ye Shu nearly popped his eyes out. Three whole days of playing the innocent fool, and his first encounter was a bunch of bandits robbing a farm girl?

Clearly, hard work meant nothing compared to natural talent.

"Sigh..."

Ye Shu let out a soft sigh.

Even though they weren't targeting him, they were targeting someone else.

Which meant what?

Time to step up and right a wrong!

He had a heart of gold—how could he stand by and do nothing when faced with a situation like this?

It definitely wasn't about grabbing their gear or anything.

Seeing the purple-robed disciples reach out to the girl, Ye Shu leaped from the bushes.

"Leave that girl alone!"

"What?"

They all started, then turned around.

Spotting another young man in linen, they burst into loud, rising laughter.

"Hahaha, who'd have thought!"

"Another country bumpkin! You two really suit each other, huh? Hahaha!"

They laughed and hooted, completely losing control.

Then, in the next moment—

Smack!

Bang!

"Ahhh!"

Amid piercing screams of agony, they couldn't even react before Ye Shu knocked them all to the ground, piling them up into a heap.

Ye Shu sat cross-legged on top of the pile, right on the leader's back.

"Whew~"

"Now that was a thrilling fight."

"Huh... huh?"

The scared farm girl blinked, still processing what just happened.

"Don't just stand there gawking."

Ye Shu shot her a simple smile. "If you want to thank me, go ahead."

At his words, the girl finally snapped out of her daze.

She hastily lowered her head, stammering out her thanks, "Thank you, thank you for your help, sir. Your great kindness, I shall never forget."

She never imagined that a damsel-in-distress rescue would actually happen to her.

When she looked up, she saw Ye Shu standing right in front of her.

It startled her so much she almost jumped.

"S-sir, what are you doing?"

"Nothing much."

Ye Shu rubbed his hands together and gave her a gentle, breezy smile. He pointed at the sacred medicine in her hand and said, "See, I saved you. Don’t you think you should... show a little gratitude?"

"Uh... huh?"

The young girl stood frozen on the spot, utterly bewildered.

This—this isn't right!

In the storybooks, a hero rescuing a damsel in distress was never like this!