Ye Tiancheng could only soak there for now. With such a strong stench on him, he couldn't go anywhere. It seemed he could only get through the night.
The night turned out to be quite difficult. Ye Tiancheng dozed off in the water for a while, only to be woken by the heavy rain. The raindrops pattered down on his head, leaving him with no sleepiness at all. He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to; he was too awake.
Ye Tiancheng used his true qi to create an umbrella, temporarily blocking out the heavy rain. He finally stopped feeling the impact of the raindrops on his head and gradually felt sleepy again. Then, Ye Tiancheng fell asleep.
When he finally woke up, he heard birds singing and chirping around him, and for a moment, everything seemed to be filled with life again.
"Liu Lanying! Are you around? Can you come over and smell me? Do you still have any scent on you?"
Ye Tiancheng didn't want to stay in the water any longer. If it weren't for the protection of his true qi, his skin might have all become wrinkled from soaking, which would have been terrifying.
Ye Tiancheng called out for a long time without hearing anyone respond. Thinking he might as well try, he stood up and immediately saw Su Muxian.
Ye Tiancheng thought he was mistaken. Seeing Su Muxian at this moment felt quite strange. How could Su Muxian know Ye Tiancheng was here? Everything felt eerie and unbelievable.
"Alright, don't widen your eyes so much. I'm here. You don't need to doubt anything. If you have time, you'd better think about how to explain to me why you got married again. Are you addicted to getting married?"
"How do you know everything? Have you been secretly investigating me?"
Ye Tiancheng felt as if everything about him was seen through. It felt very strange. When he realized Su Muxian had been watching him from behind, the feeling was indescribable.
"I've been keeping an eye on you. If it weren't for the inconvenient transportation, I might have come a few days ago and wouldn't have delayed so many things."
When Su Muxian heard that Ye Tiancheng was involved with Liu Lanying, she immediately found a way to come over. If she hadn't been delayed, she would have arrived much sooner.
"Do you smell anything?"
Su Muxian hadn't noticed at first, but after Ye Tiancheng reminded her, she twitched her nose and sniffed.
"What smell? It smells a bit like pig intestines, like my nose is about to get blocked. It's too unpleasant. Did something rot?"
As Su Muxian covered her nose with her hand and said this with a solemn expression, Ye Tiancheng finally couldn't help it. Seeing a little fairy turn so foul because of him, Ye Tiancheng burst into laughter.
"Doesn't it smell terrible? It's supposed to. I encountered some monsters, and for some reason, they all exuded a foul stench. The smell was incredibly awful."
After Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, Su Muxian turned around, her face contorted. Her expression became extremely unpleasant in an instant.
"You're really something. How did you manage to get yourself so smelly? I didn't notice at first, but the more I smell it now, the more unbearable it is."
Ye Tiancheng took off his clothes in front of Su Muxian and walked forward brazenly. Not only his nose suffered, but his eyes were also polluted. His eyes immediately began to ache terribly.
"Help! I feel like I'm going to get a stye. How can you be so offensive to the eyes? Taking off your clothes in front of me!"
"What's the big deal? My clothes are too smelly, and I have no chance to wear them anymore. It's better to throw them away, or I'm afraid I'll spread the stench even further."
Ye Tiancheng said this and swaggered back towards the small hut, thinking it wouldn't be so smelly anymore, as he had soaked for a whole night. It couldn't still be that bad, or everyone would hate him.
As Ye Tiancheng reached the doorway, he saw Fatty wiping a car. Upon seeing Ye Tiancheng approach, Fatty burst into earth-shattering laughter.
"Brother Ye, I know this place is a bit remote, but you can't treat it like a primeval forest. Why are you wearing so little? You look like a wild man!"
"Don't mention it. I fought some monsters yesterday. Their attack power wasn't strong, but they made me smell terribly all over. I still feel very smelly."
As Ye Tiancheng finished speaking, he suddenly realized how Fatty got here. He quickly asked, only to learn that Fatty had accompanied Su Muxian, and they had traveled together.
"Brother Ye, you should wear my clothes first. Otherwise, it's a bit indecent. If the two girls see you like this, it might scare them to death."
"You have a point. Then lend me your clothes first, or go into the house and get me some. I still have clean clothes in my room."
Fatty went into the house directly, got a set of clothes, and threw them to Ye Tiancheng. He couldn't help but gag twice, then threw up.
"Little Fatty, do you have to be so dramatic? You actually threw up. Am I that disgusting?"
Ye Tiancheng found it hard to understand why everyone who saw him threw up. What kind of unbearable smell was it that made everyone unable to stand it?
"Brother Ye, I beg you, after you change into clean clothes, can you please stay a bit further away from this house? The situation is really bad. I'm afraid I'll faint from your stench."
"Is it really that exaggerated? I feel like I'm okay, right? It's not that smelly."
As Ye Tiancheng spoke, he sniffed himself. Perhaps he had smelled the stench for too long, and his nose had become desensitized. He couldn't tell what smell it was now, only that his nose felt a bit sore.
"Brother Ye, you're back. Are you okay?"
Liu Lanying came out of the house. Before she had taken a few steps, she was overwhelmed by the smell on Ye Tiancheng. Then, she felt a wave of nausea and started vomiting along with Fatty.
"No way, is it really that exaggerated? Why can't you two stand it? Is it really that exaggerated?"
"Let's go, Brother Ye. Please, just hide away. If you stay like this, we'll be ruined. You'll stink us to death. I beg you, have mercy."
With them saying this, what else could Ye Tiancheng do? He knew he had to run to another small hut and hide there. It was clear he was no longer welcome. If he lingered there, he might be cursed.
Ye Tiancheng was actually quite angry, mainly because those monsters were too insidious, making it impossible for him to be with others. Now, he was a detestable monster.
Could it be that in this vast territory, those monsters were all-powerful and fearless?
Ye Tiancheng gritted his teeth fiercely. "I warn you monsters, if the stench on me dissipates quickly, then fine. But if it doesn't, you just wait. I will definitely fight you to the end."
Ye Tiancheng was only calm on the surface. In reality, he was quite anxious, even flustered and at a loss. He wanted to seek help from the divine artifacts that had always helped him, but he didn't have the face to do so.
In this simple, dilapidated hut, Ye Tiancheng felt a wave of desolation. He greatly missed his days of staying in five-star hotels.
Not only did he have soft beds and pillows, but he could also take hot showers. It was incredibly comfortable.
As he lay there lost in thought, a gentle breeze blew in through the broken window. Ye Tiancheng suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure. The figure was tall and straight, with an extremely imposing build.
Ye Tiancheng was actually getting sleepy. He quickly rubbed his sleepy eyes and then saw who the visitor was.
"Good disciple, I thought you had abandoned your poor master. You've finally come out. Master has missed you dearly but could not see you."
"Master, why have you become so pathetic? You were once arrogant and looked down on everyone. Why do you seem like a lonely old man now? You get so excited when someone comes to see you. You seem to have changed."
Ye Tiancheng didn't even have the courage to retort to Lin Xue's teasing, because what she said was quite true. It was indeed the case. He remembered how glorious he was back then, how well-known he was for doing charity. But now, he couldn't. Hiding in this small hut, exuding a strong stench, he felt he couldn't hold on much longer and would be forgotten by this world.
"As you know, my true qi has not recovered much for such a long time, so you can't blame me for living so miserably. This is normal. I also want to live well, but as it stands, it's not easy to even live with dignity. Fortunately, you, my disciple, have come. Help me think of a way to eliminate this stench on my body. I feel like I can't hold back much longer."
Lin Xue did not vomit in front of Ye Tiancheng like the others. This was because Lin Xue had a certain level of cultivation, which allowed her to resist the stench. Naturally, she was different from others.
"I'll help you, Master. Don't worry, you have your disciple here."
This stench could be dispelled with true qi. Lin Xue transformed her true qi into the shape of petals and made them surround Ye Tiancheng.
Seeing Lin Xue's selfless devotion to him, Ye Tiancheng was deeply moved. The bond of master and disciple, and those buried memories, all surged to the surface.
"That's enough, don't waste too much true qi on me. I'm tough, and minor setbacks can't defeat me."
It might take a while longer. Lin Xue recalled many things. She had been sickly since childhood, so she was sent to cultivate. Back then, when she walked to school, she would suddenly faint.
Otherwise, Lin Xue was a bright and intelligent girl and might have been very popular. However, she was confined to the mountains, living an extremely boring life. If Ye Tiancheng hadn't appeared, Lin Xue felt she might never have experienced human connection.
"Master, after I save you, I need you to do me a favor. My younger brother is getting married, but he is the son of my mother's remarriage to someone else. They don't want me to attend the wedding. Can you take me there? I don't dare to go alone."
"With your current cultivation, no one should be able to stop you. What are you afraid of?"
Ye Tiancheng couldn't imagine someone as capable as Lin Xue having any difficulties, especially for something as simple as attending a wedding, not a fight.
After Li Xue unleashed the last burst of true qi, the stench on Ye Tiancheng also disappeared. Those black energies left by the monsters were all dispelled by the true qi, so there was no unpleasant smell at all.