Elder Chen's Past! The Rules of Tianxiang!

He spoke slowly, his voice low and distant. "Boy, do you know why I helped you?"

Li Bufan said, "You told me my talent was good enough to make helping me worthwhile."

Elder Chen nodded, then shook his head. "That was one reason. The other was that you remind me of myself. Looking at you is like looking at myself when I was young." His voice was soft, tinged with memory and emotion.

Li Bufan's heart stirred. He ventured, "Oh? Do you mean you were tangled up with Tianxiang Tower too?" He made the joke to lighten the mood.

Elder Chen paused, then laughed and scolded him. "Boy, you dare make fun of this old man! You just want to know what happened between me and Tianxiang Tower, don't you?"

He shook his head and sighed. "Then I'll tell you. It all began years ago."

He paused. His gaze grew distant, as though it had pierced through time and returned to the days when he had been young and full of fire.

"Back then, I too rose from a small frontier city. I cultivated hard there, and in just two years, I had established myself in the state capital."

"And there, I met a woman from Tianxiang Tower. She was its Courtesan Queen at the time." Tenderness flashed in Elder Chen's eyes, as though her figure had appeared before him once more.

"From the moment we met, we took to each other. One thing led to another, and we ended up together."

Elder Chen's voice gradually fell. "But under Tianxiang Tower's rules, a Courtesan Queen could not give up her virginity before leaving the tower. We were young and reckless. One moment's folly led us to make that mistake, but fortunately, no one found out."

Li Bufan listened quietly without