Yuwen Ze’s mind was a mess, but his body suddenly relaxed.

Because Zhao Rucheng had already turned back to continue slicing the lamb.

It was as if nothing had happened, as if everything just now had been an illusion.

Even Yuwen Ze himself felt that the sensation was not real.

There he was, chatting away beside his Ye Gai, when the thought of death had suddenly crossed his mind. Haha, it was somewhat ridiculous.

But... he couldn’t bring himself to laugh.

He remained silent for a long time before saying, "In truth, I really do consider you as Ye Gai, although you might not believe it. I wanted you to go to the Yellow River Gathering for the purpose of suppressing Jinge, but there was also a part of me that didn’t want to see you like this. I don’t know what you’ve been through, and I’ve never inquired about your story, but I know... you’re in pain.

Our people from the grasslands have boiling hot blood. You’ve saved my life, helped me a great deal, and although I may not be able to help you, my Ye Gai, if you are willing, I want to help you."

What Yuwen Ze referred to was what happened last winter night, when he was inspecting the line between life and death and was ambushed. It was Zhao Rucheng who had saved him. Otherwise he’d probably be thrown into the wasteland by now, while the others might have thought he was dragged away by a Yin Demon.

"Sigh." Zhao Rucheng suddenly let out a sigh, "I’m eating, and you talk too much."

But Yuwen Ze cracked a grin, squeezing this way affectionately, "Actually, attending the Yellow River Gathering really is all benefit and no harm."

Zhao Rucheng’s attitude softened somewhat, and Yuwen Ze was reignited with hope, "My Ye Gai, being so powerful, don’t you want to clash with the heroes of the world? Don’t you want to know who is truly number one in the Inner Mansion Realm? Qin Zhizhen from Qing Country, Xiang Bei from Chu, Jiang Wang from Qi Territory, Yellow Sheri from Jing..."

Zhao Rucheng’s knife once again paused, "Who?"

Yuwen Ze blinked, "Yellow Sheri, a woman."

Zhao Rucheng had to ask more directly, "This Jiang Wang, who is he?"

"A man from Qi Country," Yuwen Ze said.

Zhao Rucheng flipped his hand, cutting off a small piece of lamb and slowly chewing it in his mouth, seemingly with a sense of grudging acceptance, "Is this how you guys gather intelligence?"

Only then did Yuwen Ze suddenly come to realize, "Oh right, I got the intelligence for you!"

He quickly got up, took a few swift steps, and began rifling through his desk, pulling out a booklet.

As he rapidly flipped through the pages, he said, "Actually, there’s not much to pay attention to. Among the heroes of the world, I only think you, Ye Gai, are number one. In the Inner Mansion Realm, who dares to venture deep into the boundless desert? How many are there?"

He found the information he was looking for and read in a dismissive tone, "Jiang Wang, from Zhuang Country Maple Forest City in the Western Territory. After the cult overthrew the city, he traveled east to Qi. He was one of the five victors from the Heavenly Abode Secret Land that year, the first time he came into the view of the People of Qi. Afterwards, he made his mark on the battlefield of Qi Yang and was granted the title of Qingyang Man. In Linzi, he fought a battle with War God’s Closed-door Disciple, Wang Yiwu, which made him famous. After that..."

As Yuwen Ze was reading, he suddenly realized that his Ye Gai had stopped his actions of cutting and eating the meat.

That man, with his long hair cut off and still excessively handsome.

Sitting in front of the large brazier, he somehow burst into laughter, "Hahaha... hahahaha!"

"Ye... Ye Gai?" Yuwen Ze’s voice carried a hint of hesitation.

And Zhao Rucheng laughed, laughed uproariously, tears streaming down his face.

"You’re right! You’re absolutely right, Yuwen Ze!" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"With all the heroes assembled, there indeed should be a place for me!"