Chapter Thirty-Two: Childish Men

Half-man, half-beast, Zhang Jingye ultimately chose to remain human.

But what fate awaited him was no longer in the hands of Ye Chen and his companions.

Just as Ye Chen had said to him at the end, he could have taken Zhang Jingye’s life on the spot and earned himself a commendation.

Yet he was willing to give Zhang Jingye a chance—a chance to be seen as a "pitiful soul."

For Ye Chen was a hunter, not a butcher.

Chen Bingfeng had already used his communicator to notify the Outer City Patrol Bureau.

The officers on duty yawned, assembled slowly, and headed toward the Seventh Residential District.

After all, their team leader had already said the mutated beast had been subdued, so there was nothing much for them to gain. At this point, they were merely tasked with handling the aftermath.

By the time the patrol officers arrived, dawn had broken.

They loaded Zhang Jingye onto a specially designed transport vehicle and departed in high spirits.

At the same time, Ye Chen and his companions received congratulatory messages from Chief Dai.

Xu Fan watched the convoy recede into the distance, hands on hips, and let out a long sigh, “I’m exhausted!”

Chen Bingfeng retorted, “Exhausted? You barely did anything! All you did was climb a wall and take a tumble—otherwise, you just sat back and watched.”

“No, wait, you only caught the second half. You missed the beginning entirely.”

“The whole night, honestly, it was Ye Chen who did everything.”

Xu Fan was immediately indignant, his face flushing as he argued, “I was the first to spot him, the first to alert Ye Chen—doesn’t that count for anything?”

Hearing this, Ye Chen arched his brows, thinking to himself, “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have gotten annoyed. I was supposed to be the one in control, but almost ended up ambushed.”

“If it hadn’t been for my skill, Keen Sight, fighting in the dark would have left me with pitiful odds of victory. Who knows, maybe the three of us would be corpses dragged away right now.”

He shot Xu Fan a glance and asked quietly, “Tell me, why didn’t you just send me a message at the time? Were you worried Zhang Jingye wouldn’t hear it?”

Xu Fan smacked his lips and answered in a mosquito's whisper, “I ran out of battery playing with it!”

Ye Chen glared at him, the corner of his mouth twitching, “So the charge on your communicator determines whether you’re sent back to the Stone Age?!”

...

As dawn broke, the three parted ways at a crossroads.

Ye Chen’s face and body were smeared with blood and grime; he planned to go home and change.

As he walked, he surveyed his surroundings, noticing that people on the street cast him bewildered glances.

“Hey, look, isn’t that Ye Chen? What happened to him? Why does he look like that?”

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“Could he have been attacked by a beast?”

“No, no, look at his uniform—it’s from the Patrol Bureau. He’d never go out hunting!”

“...”

If not for his uniform, and if people hadn’t recognized his dirty face as their neighbor Ye Chen, they might have mistaken him for a criminal.

Just then, someone in the crowd who was always up-to-date remarked, “I just heard that they dragged away a mutated beast from the Seventh District. That beast has killed quite a few people recently.”

“Last night, someone fought it and finally subdued it!”

A wave of astonished murmurs spread.

“So that means we’re finally safe?”

“Exactly!”

“Who was so impressive—was it a wild hunter, or a Patrol Bureau officer?”

Then, a new possibility dawned on them.

They slowly turned their heads, fixing their gaze on the weary figure walking away.

Could it have been Ye Chen?

...

Ye Chen was just a corner away from the row of houses where he lived.

Suddenly, his heart raced... Was he developing some sort of morning-homecoming anxiety?

The next moment, with a loud bang, he collided head-on with a street vendor cart at the turn.

A girl behind the cart quickly stepped out to apologize, “Sorry, did I hurt you?”

But when she looked closely, her delicate hand flew to her mouth in shock.

“Ye Chen, is that you? What happened? What’s going on?”

Her clear, watery eyes shimmered with fright and confusion.

Ye Shanshan wasn’t naive enough to think her gentle bump could have turned the thick-skinned Ye Chen into a bloodied mess.

But seeing Ye Chen covered in blood and grime truly startled her.

Without a second thought, she stepped forward and grabbed his arm, carefully examining him.

She dared not press too hard, filled with anxiety and concern.

Ye Chen saw all this and felt warmth blossom in his heart.

He couldn’t help but recall the days when he first went out hunting—he would return home muddy and bloodstained.

He’d stride in, boasting about his catch, bragging about his struggles with the prey.

Yet Ye Shanshan never spared a glance for the game; she watched him for a moment and then burst into tears.

He’d been completely at a loss.

It took him ages to calm her down.

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He silently vowed to himself: from then on, after hunting, his first act would always be to bathe.

Ye Chen raised his hand, wanting to pat her head, but hesitated for fear of dirtying her, quickly explaining, “It’s nothing, don’t worry—it’s not my blood.”

Ye Shanshan looked up at him, searching his eyes for reassurance.

“Really! Let’s go home first.”

Beneath the morning sun, Ye Chen smiled brilliantly.

She responded with an equally sweet smile, “Mm!”

Ye Shanshan was very careful and meticulous; the vendor cart was her livelihood and she cared for it deeply.

Every day after closing, she would push it inside, never leaving it outside overnight.

But today, for once, when she reached the door, she simply leaned it against the wall and hurried Ye Chen to open the door.

“Take it off!”

Ye Chen paused, thinking he’d misheard, about to ask for clarification.

“What are you standing around for? Take off your clothes so I can check for wounds. It’s not like I haven’t seen you before,” Ye Shanshan scolded.

“I’m not the little girl I used to be. You say you’re fine and expect me to believe you?”

Ye Shanshan knew Ye Chen’s habits—when he got hurt hunting, he would secretly tend to his wounds, then pretend nothing happened at home.

Until, one time, she found freshly used bandages under his bed, soaked with pus.

Only then did she realize he’d lied to her again.

And Ye Chen’s habit of hiding things under the bed hadn’t changed since childhood.

Childish...

“Oh!” Ye Chen conceded, “You make a good point—I can't even find a reason to argue.”

When Ye Chen removed his shirt, the bruises on both shoulders caught Ye Shanshan’s eye.

She frowned in concern but said nothing.

After all, she’d seen injuries like these on Ye Chen more times than she could count.

After a quick look around, she said, “Take off your pants.”

Ye Chen blushed, “Nothing’s wrong down there.”

What’s going on here? I’m not a kid anymore... Ye Chen grumbled to himself.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Go shower. You stink! You’ve been smelling awful lately!”

Ye Chen winced... So you finally said it.

A moment ago, he was a hero worshipped by everyone. Now, he just wanted to roll on the floor in embarrassment.

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