All those who had offended Ye Tiancheng just now had been knocked down. Only Fatty was still standing, making him the target. Moreover, the black energy in Ye Tiancheng's heart seemed to deliberately attack Fatty, suddenly lifting him from his standing position into the air.
With a circle of black energy around his neck, Fatty was now very helpless, unable to break free from the current restraint. He felt utterly powerless, his legs kicking frantically, while he tried to urge Ye Tiancheng to regain consciousness.
"Brother Ye, we're good brothers. Don't you recognize me? It's Fatty! We've been through so many hardships together on our journey. I believe this little thing won't erase our brotherhood. Hurry up and wake up, I'm waiting for you to come to your senses."
Fatty's voice was clear at first, but it became increasingly difficult as he spoke. It's impossible for a person to survive for too long with their throat being choked.
"You fat, greasy dog! You should have died long ago. It's already good that you've lived this long. Be content and die."
If it weren't for Ye Tiancheng's rationality constantly controlling this mass of black energy, an ordinary person like Fatty would have been killed long ago. Ye Tiancheng was struggling.
It was because Ye Tiancheng couldn't bring himself to do it that Fatty was still alive. There was still room for reversal; otherwise, it would have been over.
"Brother Ye, wake up quickly! I don't want to die. You definitely won't let me die, will you?"
Fatty's voice was filled with despair. He knew it was probably hopeless, but even with a sliver of hope, Fatty didn't want to die at Ye Tiancheng's hands. If this happened, their brotherhood would forever be marked by regret.
But Fatty couldn't hold on any longer. At that moment, the last bit of air in his lungs was drawn out, and his bodily functions began to experience severe respiratory failure.
At that moment, Fatty realized how fragile a human being was, and under specific conditions, one could easily be killed. Simple oxygen deprivation could take a life.
But now, it was too late to worry. Fatty felt he was in a near-death state, his vision darkening, and his body becoming limp and weak.
Grandma Jiang was also pleading with Ye Tiancheng from the side, but Ye Tiancheng could no longer hear anything. Although tears streamed from his eyes, what was happening could not be stopped.
Seeing that Fatty was about to be killed by him, Ye Tiancheng felt a heart-wrenching pain, but he couldn't control his actions. At this critical moment, a little phoenix suddenly appeared in the sky.
The little phoenix flapped its wings, its golden wings incredibly dazzling. Beside the little phoenix, a beautiful figure in white appeared, floating down from the sky holding an umbrella. Then, a surge of spiritual energy struck Ye Tiancheng's forehead.
Ye Tiancheng's hair, which had been disheveled by the wind, his eyes were blood-red, his mouth completely black, and he was enveloped in black energy. Now, with Lin Xue's sudden appearance and her striking Ye Tiancheng's forehead with a pure and clean spiritual energy, the black energy surrounding Ye Tiancheng instantly dissipated.
Ye Tiancheng returned to normal, only to faint. The little phoenix quickly controlled Ye Tiancheng, who was about to fall, allowing him to drift down slowly before landing on the ground.
Fatty also fell at the same time. Due to prolonged oxygen deprivation, he had lost consciousness. Lin Xue quickly took Fatty to the hospital. Although Fatty's life was temporarily saved by spiritual energy, he still needed excellent medical treatment. Spiritual energy alone could not revive Fatty.
Because Fatty was an ordinary person who had suffered such severe injuries, Lin Xue's current abilities were not enough to directly restore him to normal. Therefore, Fatty was the most troublesome issue; everyone else was fine.
Much had happened during this time, and it was not until the afternoon of the next day that Ye Tiancheng woke up. The moment he woke up, many memories rushed into his mind, and he immediately thought of Fatty. Ye Tiancheng's last memory was of Fatty almost being strangled by him. He couldn't recall anything after that. He was worried that he had killed Fatty, which was the most agonizing thought. Feeling extremely uneasy, Ye Tiancheng quickly called Lin Xue to ask about Fatty's condition. Only when Lin Xue told Ye Tiancheng that Fatty was fine did Ye Tiancheng feel relieved.
However, thinking about yesterday's scene still made him feel immense pain. That feeling of pain was deeply etched in Ye Tiancheng's heart and could not be changed for the time being.
"Disciple, how did I become like this? In that moment, I didn't recognize myself and couldn't control my emotions at all. The only thought in my mind was to kill. What's terrifying is that I even tried to kill my own good brother. I've lost my humanity. What should I do?"
Ye Tiancheng covered his head in pain, seeking release. Lin Xue could only hug her master, patting his back and comforting him, telling Ye Tiancheng not to blame himself too much. It wasn't what Ye Tiancheng intended; he was just controlled by that black energy.
Now that the black energy had dissipated significantly, if Ye Tiancheng didn't get extremely angry, he wouldn't be controlled by it. So, for now, there wasn't a major problem.
However, Ye Tiancheng still had questions. After all, he had never experienced such a situation before. At that moment, he had become a ruthless killer like Ouyang Xuxu. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng urgently needed to know how to prevent this from happening again, otherwise, he might live in perpetual fear.
"It's because we went to Liu Lanying's hometown last time and encountered the giant beast guarding the fragments of the Fuxi Qin. That was a very powerful giant beast, and it was infected by black energy. I strongly suspect that was the source of the black energy, which is why it had such immense power. It's not easy for us to overcome such difficulties. It's already good that we saved our lives, which is why this happened."
If Lin Xue said that was the origin of the black energy, Ye Tiancheng also felt it deeply. When he approached that area, he could clearly feel the dense black energy. Even though he had eaten the snow lotus and the Jiang family's heirloom, Jiang Huang, it was useless. He guessed that if he hadn't taken that medicine, he would have been directly controlled by the black energy.
After all, black energy loves to infect those who cultivate true qi because they are complementary and can fuse. As for the spiritual energy that Lin Xue cultivated, it was completely opposite to black energy, so Lin Xue would not be infected by it. As for ordinary people, black energy disdained to occupy their bodies because it was useless. Like ordinary people such as Fatty, black energy would usually destroy their bodies directly.
"If we go and eat some more snow lotus, will it be useful?"
"This is also the only method we can think of now. Only snow lotus can resist black energy. Even if it can't completely resolve it, it can reduce the chance of danger. We can't just sit here and wait for death. Let's hurry and find some snow lotus. As for Jiang Huang, the Jiang family can provide it in unlimited quantities, so that's not a problem."
The Jiang family could no longer stay here. Those people were only a part of those seeking revenge; there were others who had already spread the word, and those people would harass the Jiang family for a long time. Even before Ye Tiancheng knew them, the Jiang family had never had an easy time, often being harassed.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng decided to take the Jiang family's grandmother and grandson away. However, he had to discuss it with Grandma Jiang before leaving because Ye Tiancheng couldn't guarantee what kind of good life they could have.
"I'm also planning to leave. It's too remote here, and my grandson can't go to school. He might become illiterate. Although starting school at nine is a bit late, it's still better than not going to school at all. I want to take my grandson to a place no one knows, even if it's just a small town, as long as there's a place to go to school."
Grandma Jiang was not foolish. She had already planned a route for her grandson long ago, but she never had the opportunity to leave. After all, she had spent most of her life here. If she had to leave suddenly, she still had many attachments to this place. However, for her grandson's future, Grandma Jiang had to let go of her feelings for this place because only by leaving could the Jiang family's grandson have good development.
Since Grandma Jiang was willing to trust him even after yesterday's events, Ye Tiancheng was deeply touched and decided to help the Jiang family's grandmother and grandson. After all, he still needed to get Jiang Huang from them to eat, and he had also taken their key. He owed them a lot of favors. If he shamelessly continued to receive their help without offering any in return, he would not be a gentleman.
"Don't worry, I'll arrange everything for you. I'll arrange the best development conditions for the child. Then you just need to live with the child. I won't let your lives have any pressure."
After making arrangements, Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but voice his doubts, wanting to ask why Grandma Jiang was still willing to trust him after seeing him go mad yesterday. Grandma Jiang told Ye Tiancheng that these were matters between high-level cultivators. She, an old woman, just wanted to live a peaceful life with her grandson and didn't intend to pry too much into the benefactor's affairs. After all, no matter how ferocious Ye Tiancheng was, he didn't harm her; instead, he became like that while trying to save her.
"By the way, you don't need to give me money or anything. Our Jiang family has everything. Don't worry, this money isn't tainted. The tainted money has already been put away, related to this key. As for the rest, it's money I saved from doing handicrafts. There are tens of thousands of yuan, which should be enough for my grandson and me for the time being. I'll find ways to earn money later."
It turned out that she had already made plans. Ye Tiancheng was quite impressed with this old grandmother. At such an old age, she still had to work hard for her nine-year-old grandson. But there was no other way. The Jiang family was declining, and perhaps this was all karma. Ye Tiancheng found it inconvenient to interfere too much, only wanting to manage his own affairs.
"Don't worry about the money. I still need to get Jiang Huang from you, so I have to give you some financial compensation. Otherwise, I'm too shameless. I feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Please try to accept my help."
At these words, Grandma Jiang's eyes were so moved that tears almost fell, but she ultimately wiped away the trace of moisture without anyone noticing.
"Benefactor, there's plenty of time. This old woman won't say much more, but I believe you'll eventually know that our Jiang family is not as unbearable as the outside world says. At least I am definitely not someone who repays kindness with ingratitude."