Chapter 92: Genuine Goods and Inferior Goods (2)

“How can it be irrelevant? If you achieve something, your standing in the Empire will rise with it. At that time, you could walk sideways and no one would dare stop you!” Zhen Xiaoyan exclaimed anxiously, eager for Ye Lang to understand: to become the center of power, one needs not only the family’s support but also personal strength.

Ye Lang, however, showed no interest whatsoever. He responded breezily, “I can walk sideways now, and no one dares stop me. If you don’t believe me, just watch.”

With that, Ye Lang began to walk back and forth in a deliberately exaggerated manner.

“No one would stop you like this, obviously! That’s just a metaphor, you silly!” his cousin scolded, tapping him lightly, then continued, “Xiaoyan’s suggestion is quite good. You should participate and achieve something. It’ll be good for your future.”

“I won’t go!” Ye Lang replied resolutely, spelling out his refusal.

“Why not? Are you afraid it’ll be troublesome? Actually, it’s quite fun. Next year’s tournament will be held in the Holy City of the Aila Empire—not a place that's usually open to outsiders,” Zhen Xiaoyan tempted him, knowing nothing else seemed to catch his interest.

“The Holy City? That’s the headquarters of the Transmission Divine Church, where the current Papal Court is based?” Ye Lang was well-informed on such matters.

“Yes, normally you can only enter on pilgrimage days. Didn’t you say you wanted to travel everywhere someday? Isn’t this a perfect opportunity?” Zhen Xiaoyan coaxed.

“Well…” Ye Lang nodded, then promptly added, “But since they’re opening it for the event, I could get in even if I don’t compete.”

Zhen Xiaoyan fell silent for a moment, inwardly sighing. Why couldn’t he be a little muddled for once? He always gets sharp at the wrong moment!

That was her thought, her view of Ye Lang.

“Not necessarily. If there are too many people, they might restrict entry,” Zhen Xiaoyan argued, though she knew her reasoning was shaky.

“They’ll only restrict others. I’m the thirteenth young master of the Ye family; how could they possibly restrict me?” Ye Lang replied with disdain.

“Can’t you think about your own future for once? Do you really want to go on like this, living as a wastrel every day? What if you squander everything one day?” Zhen Xiaoyan was a little angry, frustrated at his lack of ambition. She never considered why she cared so much.

“If I squander it all, then my goal will be achieved,” Ye Lang answered nonchalantly.

“You… you… you’re hopeless!” Zhen Xiaoyan was beside herself.

“Thank you for the compliment! You should hurry inside, I have things to do,” Ye Lang waved her off, intent on sending her in.

“Hmph!” Zhen Xiaoyan stamped her foot and stormed inside in a huff.

“Cousin, let’s go home. Fix your face,” Ye Lang said coolly, ignoring Zhen Xiaoyan’s anger.

“Xiaolang, Xiaoyan only means well. You shouldn’t treat her like that,” his cousin said quietly.

“I know, but I really don’t like these things. It’s not just the trouble; there are many downsides, too,” Ye Lang replied as they walked.

“Downsides? There aren’t really any, are there?” his cousin asked, puzzled. Ye Lang’s next words only confused her more, and she realized she had no real grasp of who her cousin truly was.

“You all think that with my status, family power, and some personal strength, I could wield influence in the field. But is wielding power really a good thing?” Ye Lang said calmly.

His cousin pondered.

“Anyway, I could never be that kind of person. Like you say, I’m a fool, always muddled. If I were in their position, what do you think would happen?” Ye Lang smiled, waving his hand.

“Well… I think you should stay as you are. It doesn’t matter—even if you squander everything, your cousin will still take care of you,” she said, changing her earlier stance after a moment of silence, now supporting his prodigal ways.

“You said it! Don’t go back on your word,” Ye Lang suddenly became sharp, seizing on her promise.

She tapped his head and replied, “How dare you doubt me! Even if it takes ten lifetimes, I could afford to support you. But by then, you won’t be able to spend freely like now. At most, you can spend ten thousand gold coins a month.”

A thousand seemed too little to her, so she raised it to ten thousand!

It wasn’t that she didn’t know the value of a thousand gold coins; for ordinary people, even ten years of hard work might not earn that much. Yet she still felt it was too little and would make Ye Lang suffer.

“Cousin…” Ye Lang gazed at her with watery eyes.

“What’s wrong—are you touched?” she teased.

“Yes, cousin, I love you,” Ye Lang nodded.

“Pfft, brat! You can’t say that lightly; save those words for someone you actually love!” she scolded playfully, and beneath her veil, her cheeks seemed to flush.

She was actually teased by this brat.

“Cousin, love comes in many forms. This is familial love. If you don’t want it, I’ll give it to my neurotic sister instead.”

“Don’t! Be good—always love me like you love your neurotic sister.”

“Achoo…” Ye Lanyu rubbed her nose, puzzled. “Am I catching a cold?”

Night always falls so quietly. In the tranquil night, the Ye family was peaceful as well—generally, at least.

For the Ye family, as long as a certain someone didn’t make trouble, things stayed calm. Of course, excluding special circumstances.

“Where’s Ye Lang?” the Ye family patriarch asked during dinner.

Dozens sat around seven or eight large tables in the main hall—a daily occurrence. The Ye family always kept the tradition: dinner was a family affair.

The Ye family was big; so big that “family” meant several dozen people!

Even with so many present, the patriarch immediately noticed Ye Lang’s absence. Though he often missed meals, that didn’t mean the patriarch wouldn’t ask.

At the same time, Ye Lanyu was also absent, but the patriarch didn’t ask after her, knowing she’d be with Ye Lang.

“He’s helping his cousin—something about a facial treatment, smoothing her skin. Hmph, that little brat never offers to help me!” Long Anqi said with some resentment.

“Oh, is his cousin leaving tomorrow?” the patriarch followed up.

“Yes, so the boy’s used that as an excuse to skip school again,” Ye Chengtian replied with a smile, apparently accustomed to Ye Lang’s truancy and not at all opposed.

“Very well, let’s continue eating,” the patriarch said.

In Ye Lang’s room, the three siblings shut the door and busied themselves. They removed—cough, don’t think anything improper—they were siblings and would never do anything against propriety. They simply removed his cousin’s veil.

With the veil gone and her bangs brushed aside, the long, shocking scar beneath was revealed, making Ye Lang’s heart ache and Ye Lanyu feel pity.

After a while, Ye Lang produced a small object resembling a pen and fiddled with it.

Both Ye Lanyu and his cousin saw a beam of light shoot from the “pen,” scorching the stone floor where it landed.

Ye Lang seemed intent on using the “pen” for his cousin’s treatment.

“Brother, are you sure you know what you’re doing? If you mess up your cousin’s face, you’ll be in big trouble,” Ye Lanyu asked skeptically.

“Relax, I was just calibrating it. It’s ready now!” Ye Lang replied casually.

“Oh—wait, didn’t you say you’d smooth her skin? Why are you using this?” Ye Lanyu suddenly recalled his earlier promise. Smoothing skin should involve tools that sand away the scar.

“This is smoothing—it doesn’t always mean using abrasive tools. The light’s stimulation works better: it not only removes scars, but also whitens and refines the skin,” Ye Lang replied, unaware of how tempting his words were to the two girls present.

“Really? Then do my whole face. And my body, too!” his cousin said eagerly.

“Me too! Cousin, your skin’s already perfect; mine’s worse. Brother, treat me first!” Ye Lanyu interjected, vying for priority.

“Xiaoyu, your skin is bad? You’re talking nonsense. If yours is bad, then none in the world is good. Crystal clear, like ice—maybe it’s an ice attribute thing,” his cousin retorted, and she was right: Ye Lanyu’s skin was exceptionally fine, unmatched by any.

“Not always. It used to be worse, but it’s gotten better over time. Maybe it’s because of brother—he’s always experimenting with weird things on me,” Ye Lanyu looked at Ye Lang, not entirely sure but about eighty percent certain.

“Is that so?” Ye Lang feigned ignorance—not intentionally, but because he’d used so many things, he himself wasn’t sure if they’d worked.