"You really want a gift as well?" asked Xiang Shaoyun with a toying look in his eyes.
"Of course. How can I miss out on a gift from boss?" replied Xia Liuhui.
"Sure. Let's go outside. I'll give you your gift there," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"Boss, you know what, forget it." Xia Liuhui immediately shrank as he thought that Xiang Shaoyun wanted to have a spar with him.
"No. I must give you this gift," said Xiang Shaoyun seriously.
"Spare me, boss. I'm not your match. I don't want it anymore," said Xia Liuhui sullenly.
Xiang Shaoyun ignored him and walked straight to the courtyard. After some hesitation, Xia Liuhui braced himself and walked out as well.
Xia Yingying watched on in confusion and asked Ye Chaomu, "Big Sister Mu, is Big Brother Xiang going to beat up my brother?"
"Hehe, don't worry. They are good brothers, so they won't do anything reckless. Ignore them. Continue eating," said Ye Chaomu.
Outside, Xiang Shaoyun looked at Xia Liuhui and said, "Accept your gift."
Xia Liuhui quickly hugged his own head in fear, as if he was bracing himself for a beating. The expected beating did not come, so he raised his head to see that a large pile of items had appeared before him.
A large portion of them were harvests from demonic beasts. There were also a lot of herbs and other treasures such as gold and silver. The entire courtyard was filled with treasure.
"All these are yours," said Xiang Shaoyun before entering the house again.
Xia Liuhui was completely dumbfounded. He had always known Xiang Shaoyun was a generous person, but this generosity had surpassed his imagination. He did not even know what to do with such wealth. He wanted these treasures greatly, but even he was embarrassed to accept them all.
He quickly ran into the house and shouted, "Boss, this is too big of a prank. You should take them back."
"I'm not playing a prank. All these are obtained from the Mad Lion Hunting Group. They had injured your father and killed so many of your villagers. It is only natural that they repay you for all they have done," said Xiang Shaoyun nonchalantly.
"But it's too big of a compensation," said Xia Liuhui.
"Too big? Show me, I'll take a look," said Ye Chaomu.
"Outside," said Xia Liuhui as he pointed at the courtyard.
Ye Chaomu and Xia Yingying stretched their heads out curiously.
Ye Chaomu immediately covered her mouth and said, "You are still such a spendthrift, big brother."
"What? What can I do with these things? They are useless for me. Might as well let the villagers have them. They will be much more useful for them than for me," said Xiang Shaoyun with a shrug.
To the side, Xia Yingying was completely stunned. This was the first time in her life she had seen so many treasures before her. In her eyes, these treasures could be exchanged for countless gold coins, enough for the villagers to live a good life for a long, long time.
"Yes, the villagers should receive some compensation. Big Brother Xia Liu, just accept them," said Ye Chaomu.
This was what she liked about Xiang Shaoyun since their childhood. His generosity and his carefree character was so very fascinating and handsome in her eyes.
"But there are so many of them..." Xia Liuhui was too embarrassed to accept everything.
"I told you, they are for the villagers, not you alone," said Xiang Shaoyun with an impatient tone.
"Fine, since the boss doesn't mind, I will deal with these treasures for you," said Xia Liuhui when he saw Xiang Shaoyun's firmness.
Xia Liuhui was in no rush to gather the villagers. So many of them had died, and the villagers needed some time to deal with the funerals before they could do something else. Soon, night arrived. Xia Liuhui and Xia Yingying were beside Xia Datang, waiting for him to wake up. Xiang Shaoyun finally got some time alone with Ye Chaomu.
Under the mild moonlight and amid the gentle breeze, Ye Chaomu stood with both her arms behind her back. She puffed her lofty chest up and said, "Big brother, can you come with me to the Wuxie Valley next?"
When her eyes blinked, they were akin to a pair of twinkling stars, brilliant and enchanting.
Xiang Shaoyun shook his head and sighed, "No, that is your path, not mine."
"I don't care, and I don't know about all that. The only thing I know is nobody will dare harm you at Wuxie Valley," said Ye Chaomu with a pout.
"Yes. In the past, nobody dared to harm me at Ziling Sect as well. But what happened in the end?" Xiang Shaoyun said with a sigh.
"What? Are you saying I will one day harm you?" Ye Chaomu immediately shouted furiously.
Xiang Shaoyun looked at Ye Chaomu tenderly and said, "Little Mu Mu, don't think too much. Both you and Father are the two people that won't harm me even if the alternative is death."
"Why did you say that, then?" asked Ye Chaomu.
"What I mean is, without an enemy, I won't have the sense of pressure that makes me grow. It will not be beneficial," said Xiang Shaoyun.
"In the past, I was able to command countless people relying on my status. But now, I have lost everything Father had, and I no longer enjoy the same status and prestige. Those traitors all want to kill me because I am now without a backer and will be easy pickings. But that is not the case at all.
"In the past, I didn't cultivate, and I spent my time doing nothing. I can no longer do the same. I must take back what I lost with my own two hands. I will personally punish those traitors. I won't spare them. You can also see that I am almost in the Skysoar Realm. This is the result of only two years of cultivation. How have I grown so fast? Apart from my genius, it's all thanks to the pressure I was feeling from those traitors.
"That pressure was how I can train relentlessly and grow as best as possible so I can one day reclaim what is mine. If I go to Wuxie Valley with you, I will lose that pressure, and it wouldn't be beneficial at all."
Ye Chaomu listened silently, pain in her eyes. When Xiang Shaoyun finished, she said, "Big brother, the past two years must have been filled with hardship. You have never suffered any hardships in the sect before this."
Xiang Shaoyun rubbed Ye Chaomu's nose and replied, "Stupid girl, in the past, your big brother was too busy indulging in the pleasures of life. That was why all that had happened. It's not a big deal to suffer some hardships now. After we are done here, you can leave with the Thirteen Eagles and old drunkard. Return to Wuxie Valley. I will be needing your help in the future when the time comes to reclaim what is mine. That old bastard Di Batian is only slightly weaker than Father. I will need you to deal with him."
"Of course. I can deal with that old bastard. But I want to train with you, big brother. I don't want to go back to Wuxie Valley," said Ye Chaomu.
"No, you can't stay with me," Xiang Shaoyun rejected.
"Why? I am stronger than you, so I won't be a burden," said Ye Chaomu.
"That's why you can't stay with me. You need to become an Empress as soon as possible—become a Sovereign as soon as possible. You can't slow down because of me," said Xiang Shaoyun seriously.