Shrouded Sky

Normally, Li Xiaoman was serene and otherworldly, unfazed by anything, always composed and calm. But now, she showed a rare flash of surprise. The few young men and women around her became curious, and one of them couldn't help asking again, "Junior Sister, you know this little beggar?"

Li Xiaoman quickly regained her composure, nodded, and said, "Yes, I do."

"Junior Sister Li, how could you know someone like him?" one of the girls asked with confusion. At this moment, Ye Fan was ragged and weary, clearly looking like someone from the very bottom of society, a complete world apart from them.

"He and I are from the same place. We used to be… neighbors," Li Xiaoman replied calmly.

When Ye Fan heard her use the word "neighbor," he smiled faintly and simply said, "Hello." Then he said nothing more.

"So you're old acquaintances. This little neighbor of yours is really careless, crashing into me on such a wide street. Senior Brother Yang even thought he was trying to steal something."

"This poor boy is really pitiful though, reduced to a beggar at such a young age."

"Nowadays beggars often beg while stealing on the side. Junior Sister Li, you should advise him not to walk the wrong path."

Cultivators and ordinary people lived in different worlds, especially beggars, the lowest among the mortals. These young cultivators didn't bother to lower their voices in front of Ye Fan.

"Do any of you have some money?" Li Xiaoman asked her companions. After collecting a few coins from them, she handed them to Ye Fan and said, "Go buy yourself some clean clothes. Don't be a beggar. I believe you can make your own way."

"Junior Sister Li is so kind."

"Yes, truly compassionate. He's just an old neighbor, yet you gave him that much."

"Hey, little beggar, you better walk the right path from now on. Don't make Junior Sister Li's kindness go to waste."

The young cultivators all chimed in.

Ye Fan's gaze remained clear as he calmly looked at Li Xiaoman. He didn't reach out for the money and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I don't need it."

One of the young men frowned. "What's wrong with you, little beggar? Junior Sister Li is giving you clean money and you refuse it? Don't tell me you really make a living stealing!"

Li Xiaoman remained serene, her eyes calm like a still lake, and held the coins out again. "Take it. Just live a normal life. That can be a kind of happiness too."

Ye Fan ignored the others and gently pushed the coins back, saying, "Don't worry, I can survive. I wish you all the best on your cultivation path."

"This little beggar is ridiculous, clinging to pride even in his misery."

"Yeah, acting noble now, then stealing later."

The surrounding youths were visibly annoyed.

Li Xiaoman stared at Ye Fan. Her voice was calm and flat. "This could really help you right now. Don't be stubborn. Do you really want to live by begging?"

Still, Ye Fan didn't take the money. Instead, he said, "Congratulations on regaining your youth." He had sensed that Li Xiaoman was only at the Bitter Sea stage, she couldn't compare to him anymore, but he didn't know how she had regained her life essence.

"Thank you. I was just lucky," Li Xiaoman replied softly, no longer insisting as she withdrew the coins.

One of the young women laughed and said, "This little beggar knows quite a lot. He even knows about Junior Sister Li's past, seems they really are old acquaintances."

"We were just neighbors, nothing more. After a dozen years apart, it's hard to recognize someone again…" Li Xiaoman spoke calmly, as if recounting something that had nothing to do with her.

Ye Fan's face was filthy, but his smile was still bright. His white teeth gleamed as he said, "True, memories always fade. Some people and things slowly disappear with time."

"This little beggar may be young, but he's got character," one girl remarked. Then she looked at Li Xiaoman and said, "Too bad you don't know him well enough. Otherwise, you could've brought him back to Violet Sun Grotto-Heaven to do chores. That's still better than begging on the street."

A man beside her nodded and said, "Our sect has strict standards. We need to know someone well to bring them in."

Li Xiaoman's expression remained unmoved. She said to Ye Fan, "Don't stray down the wrong path. Living an ordinary life might not be such a bad thing."

Ye Fan smiled, said nothing, and waved before striding away.

"There's something unique about that beggar…" the young cultivators all came to the same conclusion.

Ye Fan walked away, melting into the bustling crowd. Half an hour later, he was haggling with the owner of a curio shop.

"What? Only fifty copper coins? Have a heart, don't be so greedy."

"Young man, don't overprice. It's just a wooden box, how could it be worth ten gold coins?"

"This is a violet-gold wood box. If you won't take it, I'll go somewhere else…" Ye Fan turned to leave.

"Wait! Don't rush off, we can negotiate," the shopkeeper quickly stopped him.

In the end, Ye Fan left contentedly with ten gold coins.

It was already noon. Ye Fan was starving but didn't want to dine and dash. So he sold the violet-gold wood box that had held the "source," replacing it with a plain box worth only a single copper coin.

"Jiang family's soldier!" Ye Fan looked up and was instantly startled. A flying beast hovered over the city before flying off into the distance. He was puzzled, how did they always manage to track him?

He headed to a tavern, ordered a full table of dishes, and devoured them hungrily. After days of fleeing, this was his first hot meal, and he devoured it like a starving man.

Half an hour later, he finally stood up satisfied. The waiter had been watching him nervously, seeing his ragged clothes and fearing he'd sneak off without paying.

Ye Fan didn't hold it against him. He tossed down the money and left. But just as he stepped onto the street, he was shocked, the Jiang family soldier had entered the city and was disappearing around a street corner atop his beast.

"What's going on? How do they keep finding me? They can't lock onto me directly, but they always seem to track my general direction." A trace of concern appeared on Ye Fan's face. He knew he couldn't stay in the city any longer, trouble would surely follow. Without delay, he left the city and fled into the distant forests.

"Why won't they leave me alone? How can I shake them off?" Ye Fan crossed mountains and ranges and finally stopped when night began to fall.

Then he sensed something unusual, the spiritual energy in this area was several times denser than elsewhere. After traveling a few dozen more miles, he was stunned to see a large green stone bearing four ancient characters:

Violet Sun Grotto-Heaven.

"I've ended up here…"

He had unknowingly arrived at Violet Sun Grotto-Heaven, the very sect Li Xiaoman belonged to. It turned out this holy land wasn't far from the city he'd just left.