Chapter 136 - 112: Snow-White and Plum-Red, Strong Liquor and Fragrant Meat

Chapter 136: Chapter 112: Snow-White and Plum-Red, Strong Liquor and Fragrant Meat

Back in reality, in a second-class cabin aboard the passenger ship Hai’an, the nearest passenger was the first to notice something amiss.

He saw the down-and-out merchant suddenly begin to convulse violently. Just as he was wondering what was happening, Yan Xun let out a terrible scream, vomited blood, and died.

The sight caused the passengers in the cabin to cry out in shock.

"Holy shit, someone’s dead!" yelled the passenger who had first noticed something was wrong.

Soon, the ship’s Steward and several crew members hurried over.

After a quick inspection, they confirmed the man was dead.

"How did he die?"

"I don’t know. It looks like a sudden, acute illness."

"What’s his name? Where is he from?"

The Steward rummaged through Yan Xun’s luggage. Aside from a ticket bought under a false name, he found nothing that could prove the man’s Identity.

Having a death occur while running a passenger ship was a major taboo. If word got out, it could easily lead to extortion from the authorities.

Besides, the man was clearly a broke merchant; no one important was likely to come looking for him. The Steward thought for a moment, then waved his hand.

"Take him away."

Then, he turned to the passengers, cupped his fists, and said with a smile, "My apologies for the scare, everyone. I’ll have this man taken away for now. Once we’re ashore, we’ll find his family and see to a proper burial. As a token of my apology, I’ll have a late-night snack sent out for all of you shortly."

At the mention of a free late-night snack, the previously restless passengers quickly calmed down.

After all, death was a common sight these days, especially for traveling merchants. It was hardly anything to get worked up about.

They were more concerned with how much of the late-night snack they could eat to save on breakfast tomorrow than with the fate of some unknown peddler.

Seeing that the situation had been pacified, the Steward went outside, where the sailors were awaiting his orders.

"Throw him into the sea," the Steward said bluntly.

"Yes."

At his command, two crewmen hoisted up Yan Xun’s still-warm corpse, dragged it to the stern like a dead dog, and unceremoniously tossed it into the pitch-black, frigid sea.

The churning waves quickly swallowed all trace of him.

And so, the Eldest Young Master Yan, scion of a prominent Pingjing family, vanished without a trace into the boundless ocean, failing to leave so much as a ripple in his wake.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ship, a dark figure silently slipped over the railing to stand on the outer ledge.

Chen Ye glanced up at the moonlit sky and let out a sharp whistle.

That’s right. He was the one who had killed Yan Xun.

The method had been simple. Using his Mirage Palace Actor Talent and his Loyal Heroic Judgment Skill, Chen Ye had dragged Yan Xun directly into an Illusion Realm and judged him to death.

But Yan Xun had no one to blame but himself. He had committed so many wicked deeds that his hands were stained with the blood of innocents.

Chen Ye had also reaped a reward: his Loyal Heroic Judgment Skill had leveled up, rising from Level 1 to Level 2.

While waiting for his ride to arrive, Chen Ye opened his system panel.

[Name: Chen Ye]

[Profession: Mirage Palace Actor Lv3 (When the song begins, towers rise from the ground. Where water sleeves fall, a sea of illusion is born. Your performance can construct an Illusion Realm indistinguishable from reality, plunging the audience into a world of inverted dreams.)]

[Talent: Illusionary Performance—You can infuse your Divine Thought into a performance, weaving an Illusion Realm so real that the audience feels they are truly there, experiencing it all firsthand.]

[Skills: Microscopic Lv7, Dramatic Appearance Lv5, Loyal Heroic Judgment Lv2]

’The main thing now is to level up my main Profession to meet the requirements for a class change as soon as possible,’ Chen Ye resolved.

Just then, a small, nondescript boat emerged from the distant darkness, swiftly approaching and coming to a steady stop below the passenger ship.

Chen Ye leaped down, his movements as agile as a monkey, and landed silently on the small boat.

No one asked any questions. The boatman didn’t even glance back before steering the vessel away.

These were people who had run illicit routes on the sea for years; they naturally understood the rules of the business.

The small boat turned and quickly vanished into the vast darkness of the night.

Once ashore, Chen Ye stripped off his disguise and burned the clothes to ash.

Only after all this was done did Chen Ye quietly return to his own residence.

The next day, when Qi Shihao learned that the matter had been taken care of, he was inwardly shaken.

’Such incredible methods!’

He didn’t breathe a word of it to anyone, only reminding himself never, ever to make an enemy of this Immortal.

「The following days were peaceful.」

Chen Ye’s life returned to its usual tranquility. He spent his days performing with the Qingchun Troupe and his leisure time feeding the fish in his courtyard. It was a pleasant existence.

During this time, several letters arrived from Wu Xuan, who was far away in Pingjing.

In his letters, he earnestly invited Chen Ye to Pingjing to further his career. He mentioned that Prince Yu had heard of Chen Ye’s exploits and was full of praise and curiosity. He even wrote that several powerful court officials, all avid opera fans, wanted to see for themselves the legendary "Immortal" who had caused Yu Fengxian to publicly concede defeat.

For any Actor, this was a golden, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a meteoric rise.

If Chen Ye just agreed, he would instantly become the most sought-after star in the Pingjing Peach Garden Lineage. Fame, fortune, and status would all be his for the taking.

But after reading the letters, Chen Ye simply smiled, casually set them aside, and continued leisurely sprinkling food for the koi in his pond.

’Pingjing is undoubtedly an excellent stage,’ he thought, ’but the waters there are surely deep and treacherous.’

He didn’t even have to look far; the stories he’d heard recently about the countless power struggles between Pingjing’s various factions were enough to confirm it.