Chapter 6: The Unwilling Encounter and a Fated Ring

“Hello, do you know the way to the nearest city?”

‘How awkward. Having the courage to face something and knowing how to face it are two completely different things.’ Wang Yu tried to calm herself, her voice soft and melodious, utterly pleasing to the ear.

“A woman?” Yue Feng stared at the small figure who had approached him, momentarily stunned. However, he quickly fixed his gaze on Wang Yu, grinning as he replied, “Yes, I know. Head west from here, and you’ll reach Yiyang City.”

“Oh, really? Thank you, Big Brother. I have urgent matters, so I’ll be going now.” Wang Yu hurried past Yue Feng, her small feet quickening their pace.

All thoughts of using him had instantly vanished. ‘I’m just a little novice; I shouldn’t even think about pulling a fast one on the protagonist. The further away I am from these dangerous individuals, the better.’

“Wait.”

A lazy voice called out, stopping Wang Yu. At the same time, a hand pressed down on her shoulder.

Wang Yu stiffly turned around, forcing a dry laugh. “Is there anything else?”

Yue Feng slowly walked closer to Wang Yu, his eyes fixed intently on her, making her shiver. “It’s only proper to return the favor. You must answer my questions as well.”

“Please, ask away,” Wang Yu said fawningly. “I’ll answer everything.”

Wang Yu had no idea how alluring her ingratiating voice truly was, but Yue Feng certainly savored the moment.

Yue Feng’s smile deepened, finding Wang Yu rather precocious for her size. Then he added, “Before that, please take off your hood. I’m not accustomed to chatting with people who try to play mysterious.”

Wang Yu was extremely reluctant. She knew how striking her appearance was; even with her petite, loli-like figure, she could easily tempt others to commit improprieties.

But circumstances were against her. Wang Yu slowly removed her black hood, her long black hair cascading down. Her cherry red lips pouted, her expression one of utter unwillingness, making her appear incredibly adorable.

This exquisite sight utterly captivated Yue Feng. Her bright black eyes reflected his image, as if threatening to draw him in. His heart stirred, though he had always believed himself to be above such base desires.

“Is this sufficient?” Wang Yu’s voice, tinged with shame and anger, brought Yue Feng back to his senses. “What do you want to ask?”

Although she knew escape was impossible, this did not mean Wang Yu intended to surrender meekly. Her morale could not falter now; at the very least, she couldn’t let him think she was easily manipulated.

“Oh, yes, that’s fine,” Yue Feng quickly replied, though in his mind, he was already connecting with someone else. ‘Master, I think I’m falling in love.’

“…” A voice echoed in Yue Feng’s mind. ‘You’re just lusting after her, aren’t you? She is quite beautiful, but I thought you weren’t the type to be paralyzed by a pretty face?’

Yue Feng nonchalantly responded, ‘That’s because I’ve never met anyone *that* beautiful before.’

‘So, what do you intend to do?’ his Master said, squinting. ‘Kidnap her? To be honest, I’m already considering purging the sect.’

Yue Feng grumbled inwardly, ‘Am I that kind of person? Besides, she’s not even old enough yet, and I’m not a pervert. Look, Master, this girl is clearly all alone in the world. What if she encounters bad people out there? I just want to keep her safe for a while.’

“Heh, pervert,” his Master sneered. ‘You want to raise her?’

Yue Feng sighed helplessly.

‘What else? Just leave her here? In her current state, if she goes any further, those third-rate sects would be far less accommodating than me.

Besides, if I encounter a girl who moves my heart, should I not pursue her? Should I let her go, only to see her fall into someone else’s arms?

I think that would make me the pervert. If she adapts to her situation and still feels nothing for me when it’s time to leave, I won’t force her. But I still have the courage to pursue her during this time.’

His Master pondered for a moment. ‘While your words still have their flaws, they do seem to hold some truth. How do you plan to handle this? She appears quite wary of you right now. Will you forcibly abduct her?’

“Just be a bit rogue,” Yue Feng replied.

‘Although she’s trying to hide it, her current mental state isn’t very good; she might not even realize it herself. This is when a man needs to be proactive. As long as I’m half-forceful without actually doing anything truly indecent, she’ll easily come around.’

His Master said with a hint of suspicion, ‘Your words make me wonder how many girls you’ve flirted with before this incident to gain such experience.’

‘Flirted with who?’ Yue Feng said, annoyed. ‘My dad was so strict back then. I learned all this from novels. But now it’s time for some real-world application. With my rich life experience and intelligence, there shouldn’t be any problem.’

Yue Feng, taking a chance, teased Wang Yu, “First question, your name.”

“First? I only asked you one question!” Wang Yu said, unwilling.

“Yes, but I didn’t say how many questions I had, and you agreed to answer, didn’t you?” Yue Feng retorted playfully.

“I refuse! You can only ask one,” Wang Yu glared at Yue Feng.

“Heh, then let’s try another approach. Who do you think has the bigger fist right now?”

“Uh, you do.”

“Then do you prefer to answer willingly or under duress?”

Wang Yu fell silent. ‘I’ve been checkmated.’ She sighed resignedly. “Ask away.”

Yue Feng had already sensed that Wang Yu’s intellect was far superior to that of an average child, so directly confronting her with reality would make things much easier for him. A child’s willfulness was utterly unreasonable.

“Your name.”

“Wang Yu.”

“Alright, Xiao Yu, why are you in the back mountain, and what is your relationship with the Cloudwind Sect?”

The way he said ‘Xiao Yu’ felt overly intimate, making Wang Yu’s skin crawl with disgust.

‘But, I’ll endure.’ Wang Yu took a deep breath before stating, “I don’t know why I appeared here. I was just taking a stroll in my hometown, and suddenly I was here. I have no connection to the Cloudwind Sect.”

“Hmm?” Yue Feng raised an eyebrow, a flicker of disbelief in his eyes as he looked at Wang Yu.

Wang Yu met his gaze without backing down. Everything she said was true; she had merely chosen to be selectively reserved.

A lie made entirely of truths, with only selective omissions, was the most terrifying kind of deception. Usually, one lie required another to cover it, and once pressed, lies were easily exposed.

But with truths, even under scrutiny, there was logic and evidence, easily leading people into cognitive blind spots.

“Black hair, black eyes, sudden appearance… Heh, what she says might be true. That would be interesting,” an ancient voice whispered in Yue Feng’s ear.

‘Master?’ Yue Feng touched his storage ring. ‘She reminds me of an old memory. If she truly came from there, everything makes sense. This is an enormous stroke of luck, young man; you must seize this opportunity.’

“Even without this stroke of luck, I wouldn’t let her go,” Yue Feng chuckled to the elder.

“You scoundrel. But if she’s from *that* place, it won’t be so easy,” the elder said, looking at his disciple with a helpless sigh.

Yue Feng smiled without speaking. He was never one to give up easily, especially when it came to a woman he liked.

Wang Yu watched Yue Feng, who stood silently before her, his expression shifting. A faint suspicion began to form in her mind.

‘Heh, the same old novel trope.’ Wang Yu pouted her lips, saying impatiently, “Anything else?”

Yue Feng snapped back to attention and smiled. It seemed the little girl was angry. He said, “Do you want to know why I’m here?”

‘Of course I want to know! How could I not?’ But Wang Yu was never one to easily ask for favors. She puffed out her cheeks. “Oh, I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. Can you let me go now?”

‘She’s too cute! I want to devour her.’ Yue Feng composed himself and said,

“Big Brother had some things stolen by the Cloudwind Sect, so I came to retrieve them. But what puzzles Big Brother is that I found one item, but a crucial treasure, left to me by my mother, is now missing.

I also discovered that all of the Cloudwind Sect’s accumulated wealth has been stolen. Little sister, do you know where it is?”

‘Who are you calling a little kid? I might even be older than you!’ Wang Yu grumbled inwardly, her expression unchanging. She had anticipated Yue Feng might ask this, so she innocently replied, “I don’t know. I’m just a child.”

Yue Feng’s eyes narrowed. He rubbed the ring on his hand. If not for the precise information he had, he might have been fooled by Wang Yu’s innocent demeanor.

Yue Feng dangled his ring-adorned hand in front of Wang Yu and then asked, “Does it look familiar?”

“Uh, no, not at all.”

‘As if!’ Wang Yu’s heart surged. ‘Isn’t that the exact ring I’m wearing? The only difference is the pattern on the ring is reversed. I’d be the first to disbelieve that these two rings aren’t connected.’

Yue Feng raised an eyebrow and continued, shattering Wang Yu’s last delusion: “Storage rings come in pairs, one main and one auxiliary.

The main ring can sense the auxiliary ring within a certain range. I broke into that old scoundrel’s secluded cultivation chamber and found it completely empty except for a family secret manual.

Afterwards, I sensed the auxiliary ring moving towards the back mountain, so I waited here for that little thief.”

‘!!!!! I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch! I wondered how that unlucky sect master could have such a precious item as a space ring.’

Wang Yu glanced at the storage ring on her hand with a bitter expression. She hadn’t hidden the ring, so Yue Feng must have seen it.

Thus, Wang Yu ingratiatingly said, “Uh, well, this was something I acquired by chance, and it took quite a bit of effort. How about this: I’ll give you back the storage ring, and we’ll split the contents fifty-fifty?”

Yue Feng smiled and shook his head.

“I know, the Cloudwind Sect was taken down by you all, so your contribution is the greatest. How about this, a thirty-seventy split?”

Yue Feng continued to shake his head.

“Fine, then a ninety-ten split, surely that works?”

Yue Feng still remained silent.

‘How can this person be so greedy!’ “Alright, fine. Take it all. Just pretend I was never here.”

“I don’t want the contents, and you can keep the storage ring too,” Yue Feng finally spoke.

‘!!!! Did I misjudge him? Is he actually a good person?’ Wang Yu’s mind was a jumble.

“After all, my fiancée’s things are my things, aren’t they? There’s no need to be so clear-cut,” Yue Feng said with a wicked, dashing smile. In Wang Yu’s original world, this would undoubtedly have caused countless women to scream.

But to Wang Yu, that handsome smile looked like a big bad wolf finally baring its fangs. She stammered, “Fi-fiancée? You’re not referring to me, are you?”

“The ring you’re wearing is a token of love my mother asked me to give to my future wife. Who do you think that fiancée is?” Yue Feng directly pulled the bewildered Wang Yu into his embrace.

Yue Feng employed the domineering, devilish strategy passed down by his father, a method he had reportedly used to win his mother’s heart.