Xu An's voice rang out from the doorway, breaking the bookshop's quiet.
Li Yun turned and saw Xu An carrying a food box and two jugs of strong liquor, a smile on his face.
He tucked away his wild joy and cupped his hands in farewell to Zhao Baichuan.
"Elder Zhao, thank you for your hospitality today. I'll come back another day to borrow more books."
Zhao Baichuan raised his eyes and waved a hand, his tone as languid as ever.
"Go on, then. Come read whenever you like, as long as you bring Frost Crystal."
Li Yun nodded and left Baichuan Bookshop with Xu An.
Night had fallen completely.
Lights glowed in every home along Carter City's streets, their warm yellow halos driving back the Icefield's Frost Aura.
They walked side by side through the bustling market toward the Western City's Commoners' District.
Along the way, Xu An chattered about his modest family background.
He was an ordinary Carter City native, born and raised there. Both his parents had been unremarkable Beast-Hunting Wanderers.
His father's cultivation had been low, and he had eked out a living on the Icefield's edge for years before dying in a Beast Tide.
His mother had always been frail and could do no heavy work. She survived by mending clothes at home, and the family was desperately poor.
Xu An himself had only reached the Martial God Realm. With no sect or patron behind him, he had to rely on himself for everything.
He had ventured into the Icefield only to earn Frost Crystal for his mother's medicine and their daily expenses.
Li Yun listened quietly, understanding dawning.
This was the most common kind of family at the bottom of the Hengwu Domain: ordinary and hard-pressed, yet forced to keep struggling to survive.
Before