Super God Grandmaster

Chapter 26: Chapter 24: A Line of Succession Chapter 26: Chapter 24: A Line of Succession Time flew quickly, and before they knew it, it was already noon.

“Anyone got anything fun in mind?” Zhan Ze asked, scared that too much silence and lack of activities would bore Yu Qing.

“I think we could play chess.” Yuan Jingxing suggested.

“In that case, I’ll go get the chess pieces.” Bi Chun offered.

“Why don’t we all just return to the courtyard if you guys are done fishing?” Qing’er seemed a little tired.

“How about we move to my courtyard?” Zhan Ze suggested.

“I’m feeling a little sleepy. I stayed up late last night and would like to catch up on sleep considering we have to hike tomorrow morning.”

Hearing this, Zhan Ze raised his voice, “Bi Chun, don’t bother getting the chess pieces. Since Yu Qing wants to rest, let’s call it a day. It has already been a long morning.”

Yu Qing nodded in agreement.

“But what about all these things?” Bi Chun asked.

“The few of us will clean up. You guys can go back first.” Jingxing responded.

“I’m also feeling sleepy.” Shizi chimed in.

After bidding farewell to them, the group was left with only four men. Without the women, the atmosphere became slightly quieter, and more relaxed.

Zhan Ze then brought up, “So, everyone, let’s discuss how we’re going to plan for tomorrow.”

After some thought, Ren Haotian responded, “I mean, as long as we’ve got food prepared, there’s not much else to arrange, right?”

“The food part is easy. The most important is having Yu Qing joining us.” Yuan Jingxing pointed out.

Upon hearing this, Haotian chuckled.

“Can everyone show some enthusiasm, please?” Zhan Ze nagged.

“We are enthusiastic enough.”

Zhan Ze exclaimed, “It feels like I’m the only one who’s worried. You guys seem pretty chill.”

Haotian burst into laughter and said, “Really? I think it’s because you’re too obsessed with the idea of hiking.”

“We should come up with something fun.” Young Master Ze wished everyone to be more active, noticing their lack of enthusiasm during the fishing earlier.

“How about a game of Wilderness War in the mountain? It’s bound to be interesting. Ye Chen should have the final say in this.”

Yuan Jingxing jokingly said, “This guy must be daydreaming again.”

Ye Chen looked up, “Why are we talking about me?” He seemed distracted.

“No bringing of books allowed tomorrow. There’s only one thing to do up the mountain, play.” Zhan Ze commanded.

Ye Chen nodded in agreement.

“Everyone, help me brainstorm ideas. Don’t leave me to monkey around on my own.”

“Aren’t we already enthusiastic enough?” Jingxing questioned.

“It seems like none of you enjoyed fishing today. I was the only one doing it. We can’t have this tomorrow; we need to liven up the atmosphere.”

“It’s just that Yu Qing didn’t accompany you fishing, and that’s all. We were pretty enthusiastic.”

“I didn’t expect her to dislike fishing.” Zhan Ze admitted.

“How about we devise a way for you two to have some alone time in the mountains tomorrow? A life-or-death adventure sounds thrilling!” Haotian suggested.

“Tomorrow, devise a way? How do we do that?” Zhan Ze asked, perplexed.

“In the dark wilderness, there’s bound to be plenty of opportunities for pairing up.”

Upon hearing this, Jingxing laughed, “Might as well play Beauty and the Beast.”

Haotian joked, “Even if it’s Beauty and the Beast, it would be a gentle beast. Even given the opportunity, Zhan Ze wouldn’t dare to do much.”

“You two are such beasts! Ye Chen, don’t let these two corrupt you!” Zhan Ze shot back.

Both Yuan Jingxing and Haotian burst into laughter.

“Hey, are you implying you don’t wish for anything to happen? We can help create the perfect circumstance for you two.” Haotian said.

“Ye Chen, do you have any good ideas?” Zhan Ze asked.

Ye Chen suggested, “I don’t have any specific ideas. Turning raw rice into cooked rice would simply solve everything.”

Upon hearing this, Haotian burst into laughter again.

“Hey, you’ve quickly picked up Haotian’s bad habits.” Zhan Ze complained.

Haotian replied, “I’m afraid among us four, you’re the only passionate one. We don’t have anyone to be passionate about.”

To this, Zhan Ze responded, “I didn’t refuse, did I? You guys bring along someone you like; I’m perfectly happy with that.”

“Well, we’d love to, but we don’t have anyone. Haotian is still waiting for Jiang Shizi to fill out a little.” Jingxing pointed out.

“That’s none of my business, you’ve got to work hard on your own.”

“Of course, we can only look out for ourselves now. How could we possibly keep up with your enthusiasm every single day?”

Jingxing smirked, “Don’t listen to him. He never rests and he’ll probably switch partners soon enough.”

At this, Haotian chuckled.

“Apart from food, is there anything else we need to prepare for tomorrow?” Zhan Ze asked Ye Chen.

Ye Chen thought for a moment and said, “I guess that should be it.”

“What does ‘should be it’ mean? Think more clearly, we’re dealing with your area of expertise here.”

“How many days do you plan on staying in the mountains?”

Yuan Jingxing and Ren Haotian chuckled again.

Ye Chen explained, “In the past, we would only bring a bit of dried food when going up the mountain, everything else was sorted collectively up there. We went hunting, so there really wasn’t much else to prepare.”

Jingxing queried, “You really plan to live in the wild? I haven’t mentally prepared for this yet.”

“Then we shouldn’t bring any food. We can just hunt and have a big beast feast up there,” laughed Haotian.

Yuan Jingxing joked, “I really want to be a caveman on top of a mountain. But I won’t play with you guys. I have to bring food.”

“What’s the matter, this is full of imaginative space. Who knows you might even have a chance with Jiang Shizi.”

“In case something goes wrong and we starve in the mountains, I’m not taking the risk.”

Zhan Ze interjected, “Fine, just help me bring these things back. We still need to do some preparations, including organizing tomorrow’s food.”

By the time they returned to Zhan Ze’s courtyard with their stuff, it was already past noon. They started preparing the things they might need for tomorrow. As they went about their tasks, dusk gradually fell.

The guys were also getting tired.

Zhan Ze said, “Stay and have dinner with me.”

Ye Chen shook his head and said, “No thanks. If I don’t go home and have dinner with my mother soon, it won’t be long before she kicks me back to the village.”

Hearing his words, Haotian let out a laugh, “I have never met someone as frightened of their own mother as you are.”

“No choice there, I’m a coward,” Ye Chen stood up.

Zhan Ze reminded, “Don’t forget about tomorrow. Remember, be here early.”

“Understood, I will be on time.” Ye Chen bid them farewell and began his journey home.

He took out his book to read while walking, crossing through the quiet forest filled with birds flying back and forth.

Voices from an unknown source disrupted his focus. As he looked up, he noticed two girls talking beneath the artificial hill.

About to continue walking, he spotted two other girls hiding in a corner watching. It was none other than Guo Yuqing and Luo Rui. Unaware of Ye Chen’s presence behind them.

The voice of a girl below was saying that someone got injured, Ye Chen didn’t catch the name. Another girl pointed out that it was because of the playboy, Qiao Haoyu.

“It’s Haoyu’s fault, but not entirely,” one girl said.

“What exactly happened?” Another girl asked.

“Didn’t a seductive woman from the Demon Palace come? Young Master Ze fell for her. But Haoyu also wanted to get involved. The two ended up fighting, and Young Master Ze threw a firecracker which blasted right in her face.”

“Was it serious?”

“Just short of disfiguring her.”

“So, the dispute between Haoyu and Young Master Ze was because of someone named Qing, right?”

“Yes. Who else could it be but her? They say she’s Guo Mingyu’s daughter, a curse. With a tainted mother like that, what good can she be!”

“Hey, saying such things about someone isn’t nice.”

“Well, I’m not just blabbering nonsense. Her mother isn’t a saint, she’s from a brothel. Despite Guo Mingyu already having a wife, she still seduced him. It eventually led to her birth, but whether she’s truly Mingyu’s child is questionable.”

“Wow, there’s such a story!”

“I swear she’s just like her mother, a vixen who’s destined to make trouble. Look, she’s barely arrived in Immortal City and it’s already reverberating because of her. Both Haoyu and Young Master Ze were normally calm, but now, who knows what’s going to happen next!”

“She truly is a disaster.”

“It’s a like mother, like daughter situation.”

Unable to hold in her anger, Luo Rui stood up and scolded, “Who are you two calling a vixen and claiming like mother, like daughter! Have you no shame, spreading rumors!” Yuqing wanted to stop her, but was unable to.

The two conversing girls jumped at the sudden interruption, unaware they had been listened in on.

One of the maids seemed to recognize her, and quickly explained the situation to the other before bolting off towards the other side of the forest. As they left, Ye Chen caught bits of their conversation, with one warning the other, “Let’s not provoke her anymore.”

Yuqing seemed visibly affected, her head bowed, seemingly thinking of the injured girl.

Luo Rui tried to comfort her, “Yuqing, don’t listen to those shameless girls.”

Yuqing replied, “Find out who was actually hurt by Zhan Ze’s firecracker, I’d like to visit them.”

Upon hearing that, Luo Rui responded, “The injury isn’t serious, I also heard about it. Those girls were just making a fuss out of it. Don’t let it bother you.”

“Find out who was hurt and where she lives. After dinner, we’ll go see her.”

Luo Rui nodded, even more worried about Yuqing being affected by what those girls had said earlier. They had left their previous location in search of peaceful surroundings, and yet here they were again, dealing with gossip and ignorant chatter.

“Don’t be upset. Try not to let their words get to you.”

“Go and find out now. We’ll visit her after dinner,” Yuqing instructed.

“I better take you back home first.”

“Go on. I want to be alone for a while.” Yuqing looked worried.

Hearing this, Luo Rui left in a hurry, leaving Yuqing alone.

Ye Chen unwittingly witnessed this whole exchange.