I Am Not a Saint

"Nana, what are you all discussing?"

At that moment, a middle-aged man with a beard and a gold earring in his left ear approached with his hands behind his back.

Hu Liena turned around and smiled lightly, "Uncle She Long, we are talking about raising Silver Snow Eels for profit."

She then introduced Ye Tian and Li Jiuchuan, "This is Elder She Long of the Spirit Hall. Some days ago, he was tasked with investigating the assassination case in East Sea City."

She Long picked up the conversation, his expression calm, "When we arrived in East Sea City to conduct the investigation at sea, we didn't expect to encounter pirates attacking the Li family. After dealing with the pirates, we were hit by a typhoon and had to temporarily stay on Golden Turtle Island."

This was all part of the script Hu Liena had arranged beforehand, and She Long recited it word for word without any trace of emotion.

His performance was flawless.

Should be enough to deceive them, right? Hu Liena giggled, linking arms with Ye Tian, and added, "When I served as a maid in the Spirit Hall, Elder She Long often guided me in cultivation, so we became good friends."

The latter half was true. As the future Saintess of the Spirit Hall, the training plan for her was of the highest standard, and every instructor was a Titled Douluo.

She Long was one of them.

Hearing this, Li Jiuchuan felt a twinge of envy.

Nana even had a mentor-student relationship with an elder of the Spirit Hall—her background was truly powerful.

Elders of the Spirit Hall held immense power and status, far beyond what the small Li family could compare to.

Facing She Long, Ye Tian smiled slightly and gave a respectful bow, "Greetings, Your Eminence She Long. I apologize for not visiting you these past two days. It was impolite of me."

She Long came to investigate the East Sea City case? Looks like the real authority has arrived.

However, with the current investigative methods of the Spirit Hall, they likely wouldn't trace anything back to him.

So, there was no need to worry.

As Ye Tian respectfully greeted him without any sense of inferiority, She Long was quietly surprised.

No wonder this ordinary man could win Hu Liena's favor. His composure was truly exceptional.

But his lack of spirit power made his position awkward. After all, Hu Liena was the future Saintess, destined to inherit the title of Pope.

With such an exalted status, there was no way she could marry a commoner without spirit power.

It seemed necessary to find an opportunity to remind Hu Liena.

Since Ye Tian was courteous, She Long couldn't act superior either. He responded with a gentle smile, "Not bad, young man. You're quite enterprising at such a young age. You're bound to become a wealthy man one day."

Ye Tian chuckled.

A wealthy man, huh? Isn't that what I already am?

But he didn't argue. It was best to speak less in front of a seasoned Titled Douluo like She Long.

Afterward, Ye Tian expressed deep condolences for the victims in East Sea City and condemned the brutality of the perpetrators, voicing support for She Long's efforts.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Long, who had been silently standing behind Ye Tian, couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

Master Ye condemning himself—what an irony.

…

When Li Haitian heard that Ye Tian was leaving Golden Turtle Island, he came to him reluctantly.

"Master Ye, with the typhoon the other day, I haven't had the chance to host you properly. Why not stay for two more days so I can fulfill my duties as a host?"

Ye Tian waved his hand lightly, "I appreciate your kindness, Clan Leader Li, but there's no need to trouble yourself."

"This unexpected typhoon and hailstorm have severely damaged East Sea. Some of my workshops likely suffered heavy losses."

"So please allow me to return and handle those matters first. If I have the time, I'll definitely come back to visit Golden Turtle Island."

He found an excuse that Li Haitian couldn't refuse, politely declining the invitation.

In truth, Ye Tian disliked these formalities.

But there was no helping it. When someone welcomes you with such enthusiasm, you can't just slap them away.

"Since that's the case, I won't insist." Li Haitian sighed lightly, placing his right hand on his chest and bowing, "Take care, Master Ye."

"You too, Clan Leader Li. Take care of your health and don't forget to take your medicine," Ye Tian replied with a faint smile.

Beside Li Haitian, Li Jiuchuan furrowed her brows as she stole a glance at Ye Tian.

She didn't dare step forward to say goodbye.

However, Ye Tian noticed her and waved, "Goodbye, Sister Jiuchuan. Come visit the East Sea Coast if you get the chance."

"Good... goodbye."

Li Jiuchuan hesitated for a moment before extending her small hand in response.

Her voice was soft, her eyes downcast. Beneath her forced smile, she hid a hint of sadness.

When she looked up again, Ye Tian had already turned and boarded the ship.

In his right hand, he was still holding Hu Liena's.

This left her dazed for a long time.

"What, have you fallen for Master Ye?" Li Haitian suddenly asked, breaking Li Jiuchuan's trance.

Blushing slightly, she didn't deny it and nodded lightly.

"Sigh, forget about it. Master Ye is beyond the reach of our humble Li family."

As he watched Ye Tian's departing figure, Li Haitian sighed deeply.

The gap between their family and Ye Tian was as vast as heaven and earth—an impossible distance.

Seeing his granddaughter's deeply disappointed face, he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

He patted her shoulder gently, "With your talent, if you work hard, you might have a chance to become one of his concubines. But that would be unfair to you."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuchuan's eyes brightened. She gazed resolutely at Ye Tian's back, silently making up her mind.

She would work hard to follow in his footsteps!

… Even if there was only a sliver of a chance, she would chase after it!

…

Ye Tian did not return via submarine.

With She Long and his team nearby, he opted to take a sailing ship instead.

Although the typhoon had passed, there were still some lingering winds at sea.

The ship sailed quickly, and in just a day and a half, they reached East Sea Port.

She Long needed to enter East Sea City to temporarily handle local affairs.

Not to solve the case, though.

From what Ye Tian had gathered over the past two days, She Long had already pinned the East Sea City case on the Coral Pirates.

It was a case with no leads, and using the pirates as scapegoats was a way to maintain order and prevent public panic.

She Long would remain in East Sea City until the new Hall Master took office.

But none of this concerned Ye Tian anymore.

After disembarking, he bid farewell to She Long and prepared to ride home.

On the way back, Ye Tian witnessed for the first time the destruction caused by the hailstorm and typhoon in East Sea.

The fields on both sides of the road were empty, with no farmers at work.

The wheat, only half a meter tall, was all flattened.

Ye Tian dismounted to inspect some stalks.

As expected, the wheat was dead.

Not a single field along the way had been spared.

In addition, most of the local farmers lived in thatched cottages, which stood no chance against the combined assault of the typhoon and hail.

From the port to his villa, a half-day's journey, Ye Tian passed through several villages.

Everywhere he went, there was devastation.

Livestock had died in large numbers.

Many people were injured.

However, thanks to the village doctors, the wounded received timely treatment, which reduced the number of deaths.

Seeing this, Hu Liena, who had been traveling with Ye Tian, couldn't help but feel distressed. "Isn't anyone helping them?"

East Sea City wasn't just under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Hall.

According to national boundaries, it was also a city under Silvis Province of the Heaven Dou Empire.

"Help? You think anyone cares!" A passing farmer, seeing Hu Liena's concern, sneered, "The noble lords themselves suffered losses. Who has time to worry about us?"

"What are you going to do? Do you have any food left?" Hu Liena asked further.

Seeing the clean, unsoiled noble girl, the farmer was disdainful, thinking someone like her couldn't possibly understand their hardships.

But fearing retaliation—since nobles were not to be trifled with—he scoffed bitterly, "What can we do? We'll just have to rebuild our homes ourselves!

"As for food, we have some left.

"But we need to save some to replant.

"So, we definitely won't make it until the next harvest.

"When the lean season comes next year, many people will likely starve to death!"

With a sigh, the farmer walked away, expression blank.

Watching his desolate figure, Hu Liena fell silent.

She had spent most of her life in Spirit City, focused solely on improving her cultivation and combat skills. She had never considered such things.

She only knew of spirit masters who died in battle to improve their cultivation.

Or soldiers who fought fiercely in wars.

She had never imagined that ordinary people could lose their lives over something as simple as food.

For a moment, she felt lost.

She didn't know what to do.

"Don't just stand there. Let's go," Ye Tian reminded

 her as he mounted his horse.

"We're leaving already?" Hu Liena was a little reluctant to leave.

"Yeah, the weather's cold. Staying longer will only make things worse for them."

Hearing this, Hu Liena was slightly surprised and cast a questioning glance at Ye Tian.

"I'm not a saint," Ye Tian said calmly.

"What's more, the area destroyed by this typhoon is really too huge.

The number of people affected is probably hard to imagine.

If there is large-scale relief, my identity will be exposed.

This will only attract the attention of those with ulterior motives and put me in unexplained danger. It's not worth it."

When helping others, at least do it without causing any harm to yourself.

He has not yet reached the level of sacrificing himself to save others.

He will definitely help if he can.

But it is definitely not the case that he doesn't even care about himself.

Hearing this, Hu Liena's eyes were blank.

But after thinking about it carefully, I felt relieved.

Indeed, she should not blame others and should make selfless contributions.

It is better to discuss this matter with the teacher as soon as possible.

As the largest force on the continent, Spirit Hall cannot sit idly by and watch the victims.

(End of chapter)

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