I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

84

Just Wanting to Live Well, but Surpassing the Protagonist – 82 A Way

I have to say, Hua Ningyan’s death really elevated her entire character.

From a demon fox stained with the blood of many humans, born from hatred for mankind, to ultimately sacrificing itself in battle for the human race, its brief life was full of contradictions. Had humanity not cruelly slain its elder brother, had they not destroyed her home, surely she could have lived a normal, happy childhood.

But there are not so many ifs. The greed of mankind fostered her hatred, and that hatred blinded her eyes, obscuring right from wrong, turning the victim into the perpetrator.

The passing of Hua Ningyan left many readers who adored the silver-haired fox maiden with regret, and Ye Yong was among them. Now with a chance to make amends, Ye Yong wished to alter the tragedy.

“The problem is the damn author didn’t make clear the exact time and place; otherwise, it would be much easier for me to change the future,” Ye Yong scratched his head. “The only thing certain now is that the brother’s murder happened not long after the protagonist entered the Tianluo Sect, and the destruction of the home occurred several months later.”

While Ye Yong was deep in thought, a venomous snake with colorful patterns slithered quietly through the branches, drawing near.

Because Ye Yong forgot to apply the beast-repelling scent, and the shielder made him unable to sense cultivation levels, the snake clearly mistook him for ordinary prey.

Seizing the opportunity, the snake struck fiercely, biting at the prey’s neck to deliver a fatal blow.

“Don’t bother me.”

Little did the prey know, without even turning his head, he reached out and grasped the snake’s head.

The snake, with the cultivation of the ninth level of foundation building, was not large but possessed astonishing strength. However, it thrashed its tail left and right to no avail, unable to break free. It tried to constrict the arm of its captor, but it was futile. Instead, when the prey turned its gaze upon it, the snake felt a tremor of fear. Without further thought, it immediately opened its mouth and sprayed the venom stored in its glands.

Ye Yong simply turned its head, and the venom sprayed into the air, splattering on the ground.

Ah, there went its only chance for a turnaround.

The snake now deeply regretted provoking Ye Yong. On second thought, how could an ordinary prey appear within six thousand meters of the Lingyou Mountain range?

But regret was useless; it could only wait for death.

Ye Yong, looking at the hissing snake, suddenly had an idea: “Right, I can spend money to have the people in the city keep an eye out. As soon as they hear any news about the spirit fox, they should report to me immediately.”

Since beginning his cultivation, Ye Yong’s memory had greatly improved. Even the details that had blurred in his memory could now be recalled.

He remembered the first city that Hua Ningyan destroyed and knew that the cultivator who destroyed her home lived in that city.

“But I must be careful not to outsmart myself. If, in their greed for money, the informants actively seek out the spirit fox, I could become the one who pushes her home towards ruin.”

The snake’s sneak attack made Ye Yong think of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Since he didn’t know the exact time and place, he decided not to fret over it and simply wait for news with money.

After all, the cultivator who discovered the spirit fox’s home was only at the early stage of the Golden Core, and the spirit fox had several elders at the later stage of the Golden Core. He stood no chance, so he went back to the city to find help.

And in seeking help, news would surely leak. As long as Ye Yong received the news in time, he could play the hero to save the beauty, or rather, save the fox.

Ye Yong felt that Hua Ningyan’s brother was beyond saving, but at least he could protect her home, redeeming some of humanity’s ugliness in her eyes. Afterward, a few kind words might even persuade her to leave with him…

What was Ye Yong not lacking? Everything but living creatures. With a turning point, he could completely offer Hua Ningyan a cultivation method exclusive to the fox clan, allowing her to stay by his side and cultivate. Once she became an immortal fox and transformed into a human… cough cough, Ye Yong’s actions were all out of kindness, with no ulterior motives!

In this way, not only would he avoid the demonic cultivation path, but he could also minimize the blood debt on her hands. Whether she sought revenge on those who killed her brother was up to her.

“Go cause trouble for others,” Ye Yong said in good spirits, releasing the snake and tossing it aside.

If it weren’t for its sudden attack, Ye Yong wouldn’t have had that flash of inspiration. Even if he eventually came up with this method, it would have taken a long time.

As for releasing the snake, what if it killed someone? Please, people die every day in Lingyou Mountain; it’s a survival of the fittest environment. If one doesn’t have the ability, they shouldn’t venture deep and seek their own death . What does it have to do with him?

The snake could hardly believe it had survived and quickly slithered into the bushes, making its escape.

———

Ye Yong left Lingyou Mountain and took a flying device to Qirong City.

Qirong City wasn’t particularly prosperous in the vicinity. The city lord was a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, and Ye Yong’s arrival didn’t attract much attention. Passersby gave him a few extra glances, then assumed he was a cultivator from a major family.

After all, with that appearance and temperament, ordinary people really didn’t compare.

Liang Xiaorou and others who followed him didn’t enter the city, as there was generally no danger inside.

While on Lingyou herself Mountain, Liang Xiaorou was the only cultivator walking on the ground. First, she didn’t know that besides, Yi Bai and others were also there. Second, her cultivation wasn’t high enough; at ten thousand meters deep in Lingyou Mountain, Golden Core spiritual beasts and demons began to appear. It wasn’t that she was afraid, but she didn’t want to cause a commotion and be discovered by Ye Yong.

Because she needed to maintain a distance, she didn’t know that Ye Yong had encountered the spirit fox. The senior brothers and sisters watching everything from the sky were too far away and didn’t dare to release their divine consciousness, fearing Ye Yong would notice, so they only knew that Ye Yong had saved a white creature resembling a fox.

Even if they clearly saw it was a spirit fox, a rather rare and uncommon spiritual beast, they didn’t harbor any thoughts about Ye Yong saving and releasing it.

But if they knew it could speak, whether they would be tempted was another matter.

Generally, spiritual beasts needed to reach the later stage of Nascent Soul and have their spiritual intelligence mostly awakened before they could speak human language. But these two spirit foxes without even a linking crystal could do so, proving they had awakened their spiritual intelligence, and it wasn’t low.

With not high cultivation but remarkable spiritual intelligence, such spiritual beasts were most suitable to be spirit pets. Who wouldn’t want a talking, talented spirit pet during their Golden Core phase?

—

But there are not so many what-ifs; what’s missed is missed.

—

The four favorite haunts of the common folk and solitary cultivators are the brothel, the gambling house, the tavern, and the teahouse, where one can often hear a great deal of news.

Ye Yong found a teahouse, gave a lower-grade spirit stone to the owner, and inquired about the local snakes.

Every city has its local snakes, and they are often the first to know any news. Ye Yong wanted to receive the news at the earliest, so he needed these local snakes.

A lower-grade spirit stone is equivalent to 1000 gold, and the owner, without any reservation, told Ye Yong all the names of the local snakes nearby, even calling a waiter to take him there.

The first one they visited was called the “Barbarian Bull Gang.” The gang leader was a male cultivator at the ninth level of foundation building, with a total of about 30 members, including 10 cultivators and over 20 martial artists.

Such a number and cultivation level were not impressive to Ye Yong. But for Qi Rong City, the Barbarian Snake Gang was already a significant faction with considerable influence.

The teahouse waiter knew the gang leader and approached him respectfully to exchange a few words. The gang leader nodded and then performed a cultivator’s salute to Ye Yong, “I am Ma Zhi, may I ask for your esteemed name?”

“Just call me Young Master Ye.”

—