Teacher by day, Farmer by passion - Chapter 262

Chapter 262: Chaotic [3]
Watching Betty disappear around the bend, Icehart stood trembling with fury.

His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white and then with a sharp grunt, he drove the blade into the rocky ground beside him.

Clang!

The steel sparked against stone, but he barely noticed it. His chest heaved as he took several deep, deliberate breaths, trying to smother the fire in his veins.

Finally, he knelt beside the fallen messenger.

“Tch… stupid mortals,” he muttered under his breath as he stared straight at the fallen man.

The man was still sweating, his eyes unfocused, body twitching slightly from the aftershock of Betty’s soul search technique.

Icehart frowned, not from sympathy, but from the sheer inconvenience. The man was supposed to carry orders, not collapse like a broken puppet.

Another delay. Another liability..

“You!” he barked, pointing to one of the nearby guards who flinched at the sound of his voice. “Don’t just stand there, get this old fool to a doctor!”

The guard hesitated, shifting awkwardly. “But… but sir, there’s no civilian doctor here in the camp.”

Icehart’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Then get one. Raid a village, fly to the capital, I don’t care,” he snapped. “For now, take him to my doctor. Move.”

“Y-yes sir!” the guard stumbled over himself as he rushed forward to collect the injured man.

Icehart stood up slowly, running a hand through his hair. He inhaled deeply again, forcing calm over his face like a mask.

But his mind was a whirlwind.

One billion taels.

The number echoed through his skull like a death knell.

Betty had done more than insult him, she had painted a target on his back in front of everyone.

Now every mercenary, spy, and deserter in the camp would look at him like walking treasure.

His time was running out. He needed that artifact. And he needed it now.

Icehart stormed through the winding tunnels of the cavern, rage radiating off him like heat.

The guards instinctively stepped aside, not daring to meet his eyes. The fury in his gait was volcanic, barely restrained, and ready to erupt.

He marched up to the two bound sisters and without warning, grabbed Zhao Mei by the throat.

“Where’s the goddamn artifact?!” he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the cavern walls like thunder.

Zhao Mei gasped as her toes lifted from the floor, windpipe crushed under his grasp.

Her eyes watered, but no scream came. Only defiance.

Zhao Yun at the side, bruised but still defiant, let out a dry, bitter laugh.

“You’re pathetic,” she said, her voice hoarse but cutting.

“A grown man threatening bloodied girls… You’re more scared than we are.”

Icehart’s eyes snapped toward her, now glowing faintly red with rage.

His grip on Zhao Mei tightened for a heartbeat before he threw her back against the stake with a growl.

Meanwhile…

Far to the north, in the serene hills bordering a quiet village in the Falmuth Kingdom, peace contrasted the chaos of the cavern.

Inside a simple yet elegant wooden lodge nestled at the edge of Snowpeak Forest, warm light spilled from the windows.

A kettle steamed gently over the hearth, and the scent of roasted spirit herbs filled the air.

Within one of the rooms, Ace stood with arms crossed, leaning by the window, watching the frost cling to the pines outside.

Across from him, Yuu was grinning like a mischievous cat, gleefully pinching Liu Mei’s cheeks.

Despite being a peak legend, Liu Mei squirmed helplessly under her senior’s playful assault.

“H-Hey! Cut it out!” Liu Mei protested, her voice more pouty than fierce. “I’m not a kid!”

“You’re always a kid to me,” Yuu said, laughing.

Ace raised a brow, still rubbing his temple.

“So? Just how obscenely large a bounty did you slap on the boy’s head?” he asked dryly.

Yuu turned to him, still smiling sweetly.

“A billion taels of gold.”

Ace exhaled hard through his nose and pinched the bridge of it in exasperation.

“And the branch sect leader?” he asked, already suspecting the answer.

Yuu twirled a lock of her silvery hair between her fingers and giggled.

“Only a hundred thousand taels. He’s gonna be so pissed when he finds out a disciple has ten thousand times his bounty. Just imagine the look on his face when the world assumes his own sect disciples outgrew him.”

Ace stiffened slightly. That… hit too close to home.

He was still a major legend, yet both of his disciples, Shan Yifeng and Liu Mei had already reached peak legend. Not that he minded much, but still…

Ace waved it off. Alright, alright. I’ll deal with the wounded pride later.

He turned back to Yuu, tone more serious. “But tell me… Why exactly is the kid worth a billion?”

Yuu’s smile faded into something sharper colder. She looked at Liu Mei and nodded once.

Liu Mei stepped forward, her voice soft but steady.

“Master… That monkey, Icehart, he’s the one who sent men after me when I visited the Northern Mountains five years ago. He’s a petty old monkey.”

Ace’s eyes darkened. He sighed deeply again and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering under his breath, “And it’s very likely your fault…”

“Alright,” he said aloud, waving them off. “Get going. Handle it however you see fit.”

Liu Mei and Yuu stepped out of the room, the door swinging gently behind them, though peace did not follow.

“Pwease stawp!” Liu Mei cried out, her words muffled as Yuu continued pinching her cheeks with relentless delight.

“Oh no, no, no,” Yuu teased, grinning ear to ear.

“These puffy little cheeks are the culprits that keep gobbling down everything on the table. I’m doing you a favor, teaching them a lesson on your behalf!”

“Nooo, staaahp!” Liu Mei whined, flailing her arms in protest as her cries echoed down the hallway and eventually faded with distance.

Ace groaned, not from the scolding, but the weight of responsibility. Ruby might tease, but she had a point.