Long Ye had barely left the Li family residence in the eastern part of the town, heading back to the Long family in the west, when the doorman, Old Li, quickly turned to inform Li Qing qian.

He didn’t even have to step out of the Li family’s gate.

Old Li, being very dutiful, made sure to emphasize Long Ye’s mention of “good things,” repeating the message in its entirety.

However, when Li Qing Qian heard this, her face barely changed, and she simply nodded, “I understand.”

There was no doubt she was a beauty, graceful and delicate like a lotus emerging from clear waters. She was like the purest and most beautiful flower amidst an endless sea of green.

Her temperament was somewhat cold, and when her face showed no expression, it made her appear particularly aloof and noble.

Li Qing Qian often heard people praise her, saying she didn’t look like someone from this small town, but more like a young lady from a prestigious family in the city, perhaps even one with profound cultivation.

But in reality, she was merely the daughter of a declining branch of the Li family in this humble town.

Her father had once shown great potential, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, allowing their family to move into the Li family’s main residence. However, after suffering an injury that couldn’t be healed, he had been bedridden for ten years.

Her mother was frail and would often cry when faced with difficulties. To sustain her family, ensure her father’s medicine, and provide resources for her cultivation, Li Qing Qian had endured countless hardships in silence.

A lady of grace? She lived a life worse than most ordinary girls on the street.

Yet, despite her inner turmoil, there was still a lingering trace of guilt in her heart for the boy who had just left.

At that moment, her mother, Guan Rouzhi, gave her a disapproving and reproachful look.

Li Qing Qian glanced at her mother, and the fleeting guilt vanished completely.

She turned to Old Li and instructed, “Next time, just say I’m not here. Thank you, Uncle Li. The family won’t forget your efforts.”

Of course, the family wanted its daughters to marry well. Compared to a poor boy from the same town with no talent, the young masters of influential families could offer “real” valuable things with just a wave of their hand.

Li Qing Qian thought to herself, What could Long Ye bring, even if he risked everything? Just some herbs, probably. But Young Master Gongsun provided spiritual medicines, and Father’s injury has already improved greatly.

As Old Li left, Guan Rouzhi couldn’t help but speak up, “If you’ve made up your mind, why don’t you tell Long Ye directly? Why deceive him like this? That boy is so kind, always thinking of bringing things for you.”

Impatient, Li Qing Qian replied, “Mother, if you have time, go check on Father’s medicine. The spiritual herbs are precious; we can’t afford to waste them.”

“But…”

“The family will handle it. They’ll cancel the engagement and return everything we received from him. But I can’t see him anymore. It’s best if we resolve this quietly without Young Master Gongsun finding out.”

“Mother, think about me for once. Those despicable people have already made things difficult for me multiple times, and he can’t protect me.” With that, Li Qing Qian made her decision and coldly turned away, heading into her room to cultivate, ignoring her tearful mother.

Guan Rouzhi was left feeling guilty and self-reproachful, feeling as though she had wronged everyone involved. In her heart, she cursed those detestable relatives, but her curses weren’t particularly venomous.

---

Meanwhile, heading toward the Long family, red flags fluttered above a nearby tavern, the smell of wine and meat wafting through the air.

The enticing aromas made Shi Qian peek out from hiding.

The tavern was spacious and open, allowing a full view of the patrons. However, something felt off—no one was drinking or laughing. Instead, a tense and murderous atmosphere filled the air.

Shi Qian nudged Long Ye with a hind paw to warn him.

Sensing something was wrong, Long Ye gently pressed down on the small spirit beast poking its head out and tensed up.

As they reached the middle of the road outside the tavern, a large blade, brimming with murderous intent, suddenly slashed out from within.

Inside the tavern, a group of people had surrounded and started attacking three others.

As the cultivators fought, tables and chairs were smashed to pieces, splintering across the ground. The terrified customers, who had been too afraid to move, began fleeing in panic.

As the crowd scattered, the counter was revealed, where the tavern’s owner and his wife lay in a pool of blood.

Blending into the fleeing crowd, Long Ye heard shouts of “Wang family” and “Li family” in the distance.

It was only after reaching the safety of the Long family’s gate that Long Ye finally exhaled in relief.

Past the gate and down the corridor, a group of Long family members had gathered in the hall, discussing the unrest in town.

“What’s happening at the Fragrant Tavern? Why’s the fighting so fierce, and why isn’t anyone stopping it?”

Every town had a leader, usually someone with strong ties to the city above and considerable influence in the town.

“You’ve just returned, so you don’t know yet. They’ve gone mad over those secret realm rings!”

“Secret realm rings?” Long Ye, following the conversation, chimed in.

Someone quickly explained, “Half of the Jiutian Peak collapsed, revealing an unknown secret realm. The spiritual energy that overflowed from it directly boosted a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator to a half-core stage! If he hadn’t held back, he could have broken through to the Golden Core stage on the spot—another master-level figure!”

“The secret realm hasn’t fully opened yet, but dozens of lights shot out, and within them were the rings. Only those with the rings can enter the secret realm.”

“Those rings have scattered everywhere, near and far, and now all the major families are fighting for them, hoping their descendants can enter the secret realm. It’s chaos out there—dozens of people have already been killed in town.”

“Some of our family members went out too. I wonder if they’ll manage to get a ring.”

Hearing all this, Long Ye slipped away. Even if the family managed to get a ring, it wouldn’t concern him.

As he continued walking, the surroundings grew quieter.

Since the Long family was a cultivation clan, everyone lived separately, except for married couples or close relatives.

When Long Ye’s father was alive, they had lived in one of the best courtyards in the main house, thanks to his father’s peak Foundation Establishment cultivation. But after his father passed, Long Ye moved to a more secluded area.

The heavy creak of the wooden gate announced his arrival as Long Ye pushed it open and said softly, “We’re home.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, a wave of emotion washed over him.

Home. It had been so long since his house had felt like a home. For the past three years, it had been just him—empty and lonely.

While Long Ye was lost in his thoughts, Shi Qian emerged, looking around curiously.

It wasn’t a fancy residence with white walls and black tiles, just a simple house with clay walls and a tiled roof. But it was clear that the owner didn’t like disorder, as the place was neat and tidy.

The most noticeable thing in the courtyard was a set of training posts and variously sized stone weights.

Shi Qian extended a paw, pointing at the equipment, and squeaked in curiosity.

“Chirp chirp?”

No way, does the cultivation world also involve weightlifting?

Long Ye explained, “I was weak as a child. Even absorbing spiritual energy through regular cultivation made me feel uncomfortable, so my father found this method of body training used by mortals. He said I needed to strengthen my body before I could properly cultivate.”

Shi Qian: ?

“Are you sure it’s just discomfort from cultivating and not severe pain?”

Shi Qian couldn’t quite tell if Long Ye was being truthful. Logically, Long Ye’s bloodline should be stronger than his, meaning his meridians should be more clogged, resulting in even more pain during cultivation. Normally, like with Little Mouse, cultivating should be torturous, if not worse.

But Long Ye was the protagonist, so maybe he was favored by fate?

Shi Qian didn’t dwell on it for too long and hopped off to inspect his new territory. The courtyard wasn’t anything special except for a set of wooden stakes and stone blocks. Curious, he ventured into the house.

Stepping inside, Shi Qian was once again reminded of the poverty of this Long Aotian of the Novice Village.

Besides the basic furniture, the house was essentially bare. In modern times, such a house wouldn’t even qualify as a unfinished house since it didn’t even have concrete walls!

Following closely behind, Long Ye became more and more embarrassed as they walked further into the house, his face growing redder by the minute.

Was he really this poor?

This wasn’t just about being unable to support someone else; it was a deeper, helpless sort of sadness. Despite all his hard work, he remained so impoverished.

After a long pause, Long Ye finally managed to say, “Actually, I’ve had some good luck and found valuable medicinal herbs before, even spiritual ones. But I gave them to Uncle Li to help him recover from his injuries.”

“Uncle Li is Qing Qian’s father. My father thought Qing Qian was cute, so he arranged the marriage between us.”

“Oh, did I forget to mention? Qing Qian is my fiancee.” Talking about his future wife seemed to lift Long Ye’s spirits, and his embarrassment was replaced with a bit of pride. “You haven’t met her yet, but Qing Qian is really beautiful. I’ll introduce you when she comes to visit.”

Shi Qian could hardly bear to listen anymore.

He looked up at the foolish boy and pointed to his own chest, interrupting, “Squeak squeak!”

Bath time!

After spending so much time rolling around in the dirt, they were both covered in grime. Shi Qian had used a cleaning spell to get physically clean, but there was a psychological satisfaction in having Long Ye wash him, and he wasn’t going to miss out on that.

As a chinchilla with thousands of hairs per follicle, Shi Qian wasn’t afraid of bath time.

Long Ye took a moment to realize what Shi Qian was asking for and then remembered—right, a bath.

They already used a cleaning spell; do they still need a bath? But as Long Ye glanced at the barren tree outside, he wisely chose not to question it and fulfilled his promise.

Bathing tools: one wooden tub, one chinchilla, and one bath attendant named Long Ye.

Shi Qian could swim in the tub, paddling his hind legs to circle backward. Long Ye, holding a flower he had plucked from the neighbor’s garden, amused himself by plucking its petals and dropping them into the tub.

“A little spirit beast that enjoys flower petal bath.”

Shi Qian lay on his back, a small cloth draped over his belly and lower half, and flicked his tail in response to Long Ye’s teasing.

With a flick of his spiritual energy, a stream of water flew toward Long Ye.

Long Ye quickly tried to dodge, but the water split in midair, half splashing right onto his face, wetting his hair.

Shi Qian squeaked in triumph, “Squeak squeak.”

No hard feelings in battle!