The Impoverished Boy

Xu Yan took the token and set it casually aside. "Thank you, old gentlemen. I don't believe I've asked your surnames?"

He figured these two old men were cultivators of little ability, so he didn't take the token too seriously. Perhaps, just as the old man had said, it could only scare off petty troublemakers.

Still, since it was a kind gesture, he was happy to accept it.

"Senior Xu, I'm Qin Tian."

"Senior Xu, I'm Jiang Taiyuan."

Qin Tian and Jiang Taiyuan both puffed out their chests as they gave their names, hoping to leave Xu Yan with as good an impression as possible.

Xu Yan nodded. "Would you two gentlemen care for another pot of tea?"

He had no idea what to talk about with these two old men. The age gap was simply too wide. Unless they brought up calligraphy and painting themselves, he might be able to offer a pointer or two.

"No, no. We'll take our leave for now and come visit you again another day, Senior Xu!" Qin Tian hurriedly replied.

He had successfully made the acquaintance of Senior Xu and achieved his goal. Staying any longer might only disturb Senior Xu and keep him from painting or writing poetry, so he decided it was time to go.

Xu Yan didn't try to stop them. "All right. Take care, all three of you."

He still couldn't quite figure out why the two old men had come. Just to meet him?

How interesting. They must be cultivators who weren't very powerful. Otherwise, why would they have the leisure to meet an ordinary man like him? He had heard that powerful cultivators spent most of their time cultivating and teaching their descendants. They would never go out of their way to visit an ordinary person.

After Qin Tian, Jiang Taiyuan, and Qin Yudie left Xu Yan's little shop, they felt as if a weight had lifted from their shoulders.

They had been unable to relax in Xu Yan's shop, constantly on edge. After all, they had been in the presence of an unfathomable senior expert.

Thinking back to the Dao charm in the paintings and calligraphy displayed in the outer hall of "Whatcha Looking At?", Qin Tian was still astonished. He smiled at Qin Yudie. "Yudie, you really are a blessing to our Tianren Sect. You actually made the acquaintance of such an unfathomable senior!"

He had never imagined that a reclusive expert like this would be living in Tianren City. If not for Qin Yudie, they would have missed the chance to meet Xu Yan.

Qin Yudie said, "I was just lucky. Really, it's because Senior Xu is so approachable. He didn't look down on a little cultivator like me, or I'd never have gotten to meet him."

If such an unfathomable reclusive expert didn't want anyone to see him, there was no way outsiders could ever meet him.

Qin Tian laughed heartily. "That's true. Senior Xu's seclusion in Tianren City is a blessing for all of Tianren Mountain."

He was in an excellent mood that day, as if he could already see a glorious future.

Jiang Taiyuan, meanwhile, was envious beyond words.

Xu Yan was right there in Tianren City, so Qin Yudie and Qin Tian would have plenty of chances to visit him. But once Jiang Taiyuan went home, coming to visit Xu Yan again would be a lot more troublesome.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He almost wished he could move his sect to Tianren City. But that was just a fantasy; Tianren City couldn't possibly accommodate a large sect.

Xu Yan hung the token Qin Tian had given him by the entrance. "Cultivators really have it good. Even little cultivators seem so much more otherworldly than ordinary people."

At first, he had wanted to become a cultivator who could soar through the skies and burrow through the earth. But he had never been able to cultivate, so he had accepted reality and decided to be a refined man of letters instead.

As Xu Yan was about to enter his shop, a boy came rushing over and dropped to his knees in front of it. He begged, "Divine Doctor Xu! Divine Doctor Xu, please save my mother!"

In Tianren City, Xu Yan was even better known for his medical skills than for his calligraphy and paintings. Most ordinary people needed a doctor at some point, after all, while not everyone was interested in calligraphy and paintings.

Treating the sick was therefore something Xu Yan did often. It brought in some income, too; he could barely make ends meet by selling calligraphy and paintings alone, let alone afford the occasional little trinket.

Xu Yan looked at the boy. "Get up and speak properly. A grown man shouldn't be kneeling so easily."

He didn't know the boy, but only the people of Tianren City called him Divine Doctor, so the boy had to be from the city.

The boy got to his feet and looked at Xu Yan. "Divine Doctor Xu, my mother suddenly fainted. Please save her!"

His family was poor. His father had died when he was young, leaving only him and his mother to depend on each other.

Just moments ago, his mother had suddenly collapsed, and no matter how he called to her, she wouldn't wake up.

Then he remembered the renowned Divine Doctor Xu, whose name was on everyone's lips in Tianren City. They said he was a kind young doctor who charged very little. So after asking for directions, the boy had hurried over to find him.

At that, Xu Yan's expression shifted. "Quick, take me to your mother."

No wonder the boy had knelt without a second thought; he was doing it for his mother. What a filial boy. Xu Yan thought this as his opinion of him warmed.

The boy nodded, then ran ahead to lead Xu Yan home.

His home was in the old part of Tianren City, just two streets away from Xu Yan's. They arrived before long.

Seeing the middle-aged woman lying on the old bed in the shabby little house, Xu Yan hurried over and gently touched her forehead. He took her pulse for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned to the boy standing nearby. "Your mother's condition isn't serious. She fainted from overwork. When she wakes, she needs nutritious food, and she must do less work."

At Xu Yan's words, the stone the boy had been carrying in his heart finally dropped. Then he looked troubled again.

His family was desperately poor. Nutritious food was out of the question; they were lucky if they had enough to eat.

He worked as a menial at a teahouse and earned very little. The other workers often bullied him and stole his wages.

His mother worked as a weaver at a shop, making cloth for the owner. To earn more, she worked twice as many hours each day as the others.

But even so, with no main breadwinner in the family, they were still destitute and could barely keep up their meager living.

Seeing the boy's face redden as he lowered his head in silence, Xu Yan took in the dilapidated little house and understood his circumstances. "Do you not have any money?"

In this world, cultivators stood high above everyone else, while ordinary people were treated like dirt. Their lot was pitiful; everything revolved around cultivators.

Families as poor as this one were no rarity in Tianren City. One sudden crisis could bring an entire household crashing down.

The boy thought Xu Yan was asking to be paid for coming to treat his mother. In a panic, he said, "Divine Doctor Xu, the teahouse pays our wages in a couple of days. Once I get paid, I'll pay your medical fee. Please give me two days."

He didn't have a single coin to his name. He had just barely been holding on until payday at the teahouse, and now his mother had fainted. It nearly broke him.

But he couldn't break down. For his mother, and for himself, he had to shoulder the whole family!