"What do you want with me?"
Ye Tiancheng hadn't even looked at the caller ID. He was too angry and had no mood to check. He just wanted to know who was disturbing his sleep so he could curse them out.
"Are you in a bad mood?"
It was a woman's voice, and a very familiar one. Ye Tiancheng quickly realized that the culprit disturbing his sweet dreams was Hou Mingzhu.
"Why is it you?"
If it were anyone else, Ye Tiancheng would have immediately started cursing, especially Xiao Pang or any of his subordinates. But since it was a woman, Ye Tiancheng at least gave Hou Mingzhu some face and didn't start yelling.
"I suddenly thought of you, so I called."
"Then call me back after I've woken up. I'm very sleepy and need to sleep more."
Ye Tiancheng speaking to her calmly was already a sign of his patience. In his drowsy state, it was absolutely impossible for him to continue chatting with Hou Mingzhu.
"I just want to ask you one thing. Have you been spending a lot of time with Su Muxian lately?"
Ye Tiancheng was truly surprised by Hou Mingzhu's question. He thought back briefly and realized he hadn't been hanging out with Su Muxian recently. He didn't understand why Hou Mingzhu would have such a question.
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't bothered you for a few days. Even if I don't contact you, I don't want you contacting others, especially that woman Su Muxian."
Ye Tiancheng didn't want anyone to restrict him, especially Hou Mingzhu. They had been getting along fine a few days ago, but then this woman suddenly went back on her word and came here looking for trouble.
"Firstly, I haven't contacted Su Muxian recently. As for business matters, I don't remember clearly, and even if I did, it's not important. Secondly, I don't want you to question me, especially when I haven't woken up yet. You call me and disrupt my normal life."
Hou Mingzhu didn't reply to what Ye Tiancheng said. There was a long silence on the other end, which made Ye Tiancheng lose his patience.
"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up. I also hope that Miss Hou will think clearly before calling me again."
Just as Ye Tiancheng was about to hang up, Hou Mingzhu spoke again, "I did promise you, and actually, I regret it. But I don't know how to tell you. I still hope to get closer to you."
Hou Mingzhu's words made the temples on Ye Tiancheng's face throb, and his head ached terribly. He was extremely annoyed.
"How about this, if it's convenient for you, you can come and see me."
"Really?"
Ye Tiancheng, who had always been cold to her, suddenly seemed to have opened up and invited her. This made Hou Mingzhu extremely happy.
"In about two hours. I need to sleep some more."
After saying that, Ye Tiancheng hung up the phone. The reason for this arrangement was that he wanted to make Hou Mingzhu see things clearly. It seemed difficult to make this woman give up, but Ye Tiancheng enjoyed challenging difficult tasks.
Ye Tiancheng had asked her to wait for two hours, but Hou Mingzhu had no patience for that. She hung up the phone and set off immediately. She arrived outside the makeshift shelter where Ye Tiancheng was staying and deliberately waited in her car for an hour before going in.
Fortunately, Ye Tiancheng had already woken up. He wanted to prepare a big gift for Hou Mingzhu. Seeing Hou Mingzhu in person, Ye Tiancheng could only mock her inwardly.
"I'll take you somewhere."
To see Ye Tiancheng, Hou Mingzhu had dressed up proudly. A snow-white dress, exquisite makeup, and long black hair. In Ye Tiancheng's eyes at this moment, there was no feeling at all.
"Okay, I'm looking forward to it. Ye Tiancheng, aren't you going to give me some romantic surprise?"
"You'll know when you follow me." Ye Tiancheng glanced back at Hou Mingzhu and reminded her, "By the way, I think it's best if you don't wear such high heels. The road we're going to take will be difficult. I'm worried you'll twist your ankle."
Hou Mingzhu was a bit lost in herself. She didn't notice the strangeness in Ye Tiancheng's expression at all. She didn't refuse Ye Tiancheng either, but obediently followed behind him.
"It's okay, I'll be careful. It's rare for you to care about me, Ye Tiancheng. I think you've become much gentler today, completely different from before!"
"Is that so? I suggest you don't jump to conclusions too early, or you might get hurt."
After saying that, Ye Tiancheng walked away coldly. Hou Mingzhu didn't know what was going on, but she could only follow him. Her heart was pounding the entire time. Although she didn't say it out loud, she was full of anticipation about where Ye Tiancheng was taking her.
The place Ye Tiancheng intended to take Hou Mingzhu was the edge of a cliff, where they had committed evil deeds together in the past. Ye Tiancheng wanted to remind Hou Mingzhu not to provoke him again, that he was someone this woman couldn't afford to offend.
By the time they reached the edge of the cliff, Hou Mingzhu's expression had turned a little unpleasant.
"Ye Tiancheng, what do you mean by bringing me here?"
He just wanted to follow the normal sequence of events in his dream, which was why he brought Hou Mingzhu here. At the same time, he also wanted to scare her and prevent her from bothering him in the future.
"Have you heard of cultivating to become an immortal?"
"Ye Tiancheng, what's wrong with you? Why are you saying these strange things?"
"If one cultivates to become an immortal, life will no longer decay. After becoming an immortal, one will gain eternal life. I've thought about it for a long time, and I don't know what to do. Perhaps the only thing I want to do is ascend to the immortal realm. It is said that all mortals suffer, and I want to escape this suffering."
Ye Tiancheng glanced at Hou Mingzhu, expecting to see a look of understanding finally appear on her face. Unfortunately, Hou Mingzhu looked very confused, and along with confusion, there was a hint of fear.
"Ye Tiancheng, what has gotten into you? Why are you saying such bizarre things?"
Ye Tiancheng had just made his decision. Although his current life wasn't bad, he had both fame and fortune. But living like this without a goal was no different from dying.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng decided to follow the main storyline. He had no clues at the moment, except for the prophecies in his dreams. Ye Tiancheng had no better way to get his life back on track.
"Did you kill someone? And throw them off the cliff."
As soon as Ye Tiancheng said this, Hou Mingzhu completely collapsed. Her face turned very dark, and she trembled, not knowing what to say.
"Don't tremble. Just answer my question."
It was the first time Hou Mingzhu had killed someone. That person, named Hou Damao, had betrayed her, so after being killed, he was thrown off the cliff.
"I know. You don't need to remind me. You were there at the time, so there's no need to ask me again. You know the truth, Ye Tiancheng. It's all in the past. Why are you suddenly bringing it up? What is your purpose?"
"I want to remind you that there is another corpse in this cliff. Some time has passed. The bodies of these two people have probably decomposed. They must look very ugly, and there might even be snakes, insects, rats, and ants. Do you want to see them?"
Hou Mingzhu not only didn't want to see them, but seeing Ye Tiancheng's abnormal behavior, she just wanted to turn around and run.
Ye Tiancheng's expression was too cold when he spoke, like a cold-blooded killer.
"I don't know what's gotten into you to have such a bizarre idea. What's so good about looking at corpses?"
"Or perhaps, Miss Hou, you're too cowardly to look at the sins you've committed!"
When Hou Mingzhu killed someone, she didn't think much of it. In the following period, she occasionally had nightmares. Hou Mingzhu even found a master and placed a talisman under her pillow, which stopped the nightmares.
"It wasn't my sin. Hou Damao betrayed me, and his death was deserved. If I had a chance to do it again, I would still choose to kill him. Don't forget that you tried to attack and kill me back then. If it weren't for Brother Ye saving me, I would probably be a pile of white bones at the bottom of the cliff."
"Alright, I'll take you to see them."
The rest of them took a few steps back, indicating that they didn't believe the cliff was that high. How could Ye Tiancheng just say he would go down? Even if he was bragging, it wasn't this casually unbelievable.
There was no more hiding. Ye Tiancheng grabbed Hou Mingzhu's hand, and in an instant, they appeared at the bottom of the cliff.
"Ah!"
Hou Mingzhu's face turned ashen, her lips completely devoid of color. She couldn't help but scream. She suspected she had been possessed, or how else could she have been on top of the cliff just moments ago, and now she only felt a gust of wind blowing past her ears, and with a whoosh, she was at the bottom of the cliff. This wasn't a sci-fi movie, it was too miraculous.
"I must be dreaming. Everything will be fine when I wake up!"
As Hou Mingzhu spoke, she pinched herself. When she realized it wasn't a dream, she immediately cried out in pain.
"What's going on? Ye Tiancheng, what have you done? And those strange things you said earlier! Have you practiced some evil art to become like this!"
Ye Tiancheng didn't answer Hou Mingzhu's question. He actually found Hou Mingzhu a little cute seeing her reaction when she pinched herself, though he originally disliked her. Ye Tiancheng simply looked at the blue sky and white clouds, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the dazzling sunlight.
"The weather is really nice today."
"I want to leave here."
Hou Mingzhu's legs were already weak from fear. Previously, she had felt a little defiant and even a bit admiring of Ye Tiancheng. But now, her scalp was tingling, and all that remained was fear. She was scared to death.
Ye Tiancheng looked at Hou Mingzhu and read some fear in her eyes. Then he smiled with satisfaction.
"It's good that you're scared. You need to remember that you are so fragile inside, and you can break down easily. Don't provoke me again in the future. My strength is beyond your imagination."
Seeing Ye Tiancheng's arrogance, Hou Mingzhu gritted her teeth tightly and stared at Ye Tiancheng defiantly.
"Why? Why should I listen to you? What era is this? I also have the right to bravely pursue love. Moreover, you are the son-in-law of our Hou family, you are my man."
"Don't be so arrogant, Miss Hou. You need to remember one thing: the weak can only obey the strong, and you are the weak party. If you dare to harass me again, you will become like them."
As Ye Tiancheng spoke, he pointed in a direction. Hou Mingzhu followed his gaze and let out a gasp of fright, immediately covering her face and screaming.
"See? Those corpses have started to rot. No, they have rotted beyond recognition. If you, Miss Hou, continue to pester me, you might end up like them."
"You're disgusting. I want to leave here."
Hou Mingzhu said this while suppressing the urge to vomit. The sight of the two disgusting corpses was almost the end of Hou Mingzhu. She wished she could throw up all the dinner she had last night.
Although she said she wanted to leave, her legs had gone weak. She couldn't control herself for a moment. After taking a few steps, she directly collapsed on the ground.
"I can send you away, but I hope you remember everything that happened today. Never try to challenge me again. Killing someone is too easy for me."