He Had No Grievance in Losing

Hu Li was terrified when he heard this. Were they going to meet the hidden master behind the Tianren Sect, the one who had given Qin Tian a painting?

He asked nervously, "May I ask, Sect Master Qin, who is the person you're taking us to meet?"

Qin Tian looked at him with disdain. "You're not qualified to know that senior's name. Just come with me and meet him."

What Are You Looking At Small Shop, back courtyard.

Xu Yan's hands came to a stop. The song had ended.

He looked at Qin Yudie and asked, "Well, Miss Qin? Did it meet your expectations?"

Qin Yudie gazed at Xu Yan with boundless admiration. "The music Senior Xu played is the most beautiful and moving I've ever heard."

In the cultivation world, quite a few cultivators were skilled in music, but no matter how accomplished they were, they could never play a melody so extraordinary.

It was as if this song belonged only in the heavens, and not to the mortal world.

Xu Yan smiled. "You flatter me, Miss Yudie."

He was about to carry the zither into the back room when he suddenly noticed the red feather beside him.

The feather's color was extraordinarily beautiful, like a vivid, living flame. It seemed almost alive, not like a dead thing at all.

Xu Yan picked it up. "What a remarkable feather. It's even warm."

He didn't know that it was a Phoenix True Feather, containing an immense amount of Phoenix Power.

An ordinary cultivator who hadn't earned the phoenix's recognition would be unable to touch it. Otherwise, even a cultivator in the Sea of Consciousness Realm would be reduced to ashes in an instant.

Xu Yan put the Phoenix True Feather in his pocket, then got up and carried the Floating World Zither into the back room.

When he and Qin Yudie returned to the front room, someone knocked on the door again.

"Who is it?"

Xu Yan called out.

He didn't know what was happening outside and assumed it was still as chaotic as before.

"Senior Xu, I'm Qin Tian. There's something I need you to decide."

Outside the door, Qin Tian called out cautiously.

The Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder, Hu Li, and the other members of the Demon Tiger Clan were dumbfounded. Wasn't this the little shop of that mortal, Xu Yan?

Wasn't Xu Yan Qin Tian's illegitimate son? Why had Qin Tian brought them to see him?

Xu Yan opened the door and was surprised to see four black-clothed people standing behind Qin Tian.

He'd met three of them before.

One had told him that his uncle had collapsed and asked him to come help, only to later say that he didn't need Xu Yan's help after all.

Another had sent him two strange letters in a row. He'd torn both of them up and thrown them in the trash.

Then there was the one who'd shouted that a new roast-chicken shop had opened on the next street. Thanks to him, Xu Yan had gone and claimed a free roast chicken.

As for the old man, Xu Yan didn't know him.

All four were dressed in black, so it was obvious they were together.

Qin Tian said respectfully, "Senior Xu, these four listened to the Evil Cultivators and spread Black Blood Pills everywhere. How should we deal with them?"

The music he'd heard earlier must have been played by Senior Xu. Qin Tian figured Senior Xu couldn't stand by and watch any longer, so he'd stepped in behind the scenes and resolved the crisis in Tianren City.

Xu Yan was a little confused. He looked at Hu Li and the others in surprise, then said to Qin Tian, "Old Mr. Qin, you can handle this yourself."

He didn't understand the affairs of cultivators, so he didn't want to get involved.

Mortals ought to act like mortals. It was the proper way to conduct oneself.

Hearing Xu Yan's words, Qin Tian turned a cold gaze on the four Demon Race cultivators from the Demon Tiger Clan. "You helped the wicked, a crime deserving death. But since you didn't conceal anything afterward, I'll go easy on you. Come with me. Your clansmen can come ransom you."

He'd originally intended to kill the Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder and the others. But the Demon Tiger Clan was one of the Demon Race's top clans, and now that Evil Cultivators had appeared, they ought to join forces against them. The enmity between humans and demons would have to wait.

So he decided not to kill Hu Li and the others. Still, extorting a hefty sum from the Demon Tiger Clan was only fair, since Hu Li and his companions really had worked for the Evil Cultivators.

Hu Li kept his eyes fixed on Xu Yan, never understanding why Qin Tian called him Senior Xu and treated him with such respect.

In the cultivation world, people only showed genuine respect to cultivators who were stronger than themselves and had truly earned their admiration.

The Demon Tiger Clan Third Elder remained silent. He thought of the music he'd heard earlier and the talk of a hidden master, and suddenly understood.

He sighed inwardly. Losing to the hidden master behind the Tianren Sect was no injustice.

No wonder his flawless plans had failed time and again. He'd run into a hidden master. His apologies for the disrespect.

At the same time, he felt both relieved and troubled.

At least he wouldn't die, but when he returned to the Demon Tiger Clan, certain people would surely mock him.

"Senior Xu, Tianren City has returned to normal. I'll take them away now. Afterward, I'll call on people to find the Evil Cultivators."

Qin Tian spoke to Xu Yan, then quickly left with the Demon Tiger Clan's chief strategist and three elites.

Xu Yan left the shop door open, went back inside, and said to Qin Yudie, "You'd never guess Old Mr. Qin was hiding such talents. He's already solved most of the problem."

He'd thought the Black Blood Pill incident would take a long time to resolve. He hadn't expected Qin Tian to sort most of it out so quickly.

Qin Yudie, however, didn't think her grandfather was responsible for restoring Tianren City to normal. Recalling how her swordsmanship had advanced when she'd heard the music at the Tianren Sect, she suspected that the song Xu Yan had just played was responsible.

She soon understood. Senior Xu had played that song for her because he wanted to save Tianren City, and then conceal his achievement. One song had saved a city.

The Golden Emperor Ant was on the table, its gaze fixed intently on the little water tank on the counter.

Inside the tank, the Green-Haired Turtle opened its eyes and met the Golden Emperor Ant's gaze.

Qin Yudie didn't stay long. "Senior Xu, I'll head back now. The Black Blood Pill matter has just been resolved, and my grandfather still has to look for the Evil Cultivators. Someone needs to go back and keep an eye on those people."

She should have left with Qin Tian earlier, but she'd wanted to spend a little more time with Xu Yan, so she'd stayed until now.

"Okay."

Xu Yan had no objections. Cultivators like Qin Yudie were probably busy most of the time, so it was already nice of her to visit him.

After Qin Yudie left, the Golden Emperor Ant spoke.

"Green-Haired Turtle, so it really is you."

It knew this old turtle. They'd even fought once, back in the day. It hadn't expected to run into him here.

Earlier, it hadn't noticed the Green-Haired Turtle in the front room. After all, its body was so large that there were only so many places it could see.

Hearing the Golden Emperor Ant, Xu Yan was surprised. "Little Gold, you know the Green-Haired Turtle?"

The old turtle was a gift from the old man Xu Yan had given a painting to at the market. The man had said the Green-Haired Turtle was destined to meet Xu Yan, which had struck him as a strange thing to say.

"I know him. He's an old turtle who's lived a very long time," the Golden Emperor Ant said.

The last time it had seen the Green-Haired Turtle had been ten thousand years ago.