Baibi City

Whoosh!

The figure landed on the ground.

He wore a green robe, his black hair cascading like a waterfall.

A sword was strapped to his back.

He gently brushed the dust from his sleeve, then moved in a flash, drifting to a stop before the wall. He looked at Ji Su, who was on the verge of losing consciousness.

"Ah, I'm a little late."

He glanced at Ji Su's battered state and sighed. With a casual wave, he grabbed one person in each hand, lifted Ji Su and the other unconscious Inner Disciple, and swept away.

At the same time, he left them with a command: "The rest of you, continue the mission."

Li Gan and the other four were utterly bewildered.

What had just happened?

"Just now, was that... the Green-Robed Elder from Yuping Peak?"

"Yes. I've seen him once before."

"He's so strong! One move wiped them all out, including a Postnatal Realm Ninth Layer expert."

"So this is the strength of the Xiantian Realm?"

The group had all been injured, though none of their wounds were serious.

After all, they had Cultivation Bases of the Postnatal Realm Fifth or Sixth Layer, while most of the men in black who had attacked them were only at the Third or Fourth Layer.

That was why they had managed to hold out for so long against the encirclement and the hidden arrows.

Only Li Gan had emerged completely unscathed.

There wasn't even a trace of blood on him.

He was a fastidious man.

Unable to bear getting blood on himself, he had expended Internal Qi to form a protective aura shield.

"If I fought him, I wonder if I could win?"

Li Gan looked at the black-clad, masked brute lying not far away and wondered.

Though he had faced only ordinary martial artists in the melee and hadn't had a chance to show his true strength, taking on a Postnatal Realm Ninth Layer expert was still far too risky.

"Fighting above my level is no fun. I still prefer crushing the weak with overwhelming strength."

Li Gan thought to himself.

He had no desire to show off.

He had stood out a little too much earlier, and that black-clad, masked brute had immediately set his sights on him.

Luckily, the Green-Robed Elder from Yuping Peak had arrived in time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been hard to predict.

So from now on, he would have to keep a lower profile.

After reflecting on what had happened, Li Gan realized how beneficial it was to go out and take on missions. They broadened his horizons and built experience. He would grow faster that way than by holing up on the mountain.

The people from the Yongcheng Firm came out of the building.

They began clearing the bodies from the courtyard.

Several Inner Disciples went inside to tend to their wounds.

"Do you think there was something strange about this Escort Mission?"

"Definitely. So many attackers showed up, and one of them was at the Postnatal Realm Ninth Layer. I wonder what the cargo was."

"Even stranger, the Green-Robed Elder came too. Could he have gotten word ahead of time?"

"There must be more to this than we know. Whatever. The danger should be over for now. Once we escort the goods to Baibi City tomorrow, the mission will be complete."

As they talked, the Inner Disciple Liu Hui suddenly looked at Li Gan.

"Junior Brother Li, you're pretty impressive. You didn't even get hurt?"

Given the ambush and their enemies' numbers, there was no way Li Gan could have sat out the fight.

There was only one possibility: he had real skill.

"I was just lucky," Li Gan said.

"In a chaotic fight like that, coming out uninjured isn't just luck," Liu Hui replied.

Li Gan, who had seemed to barely register before, now struck them as somewhat mysterious.

Early the next morning, the caravan set off again.

Only the six of them remained as escorts.

Everyone stayed on high alert along the way.

They reached Baibi City without incident.

At last, they breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts settling back into their chests.

"Come on, let's have a few drinks," Liu Hui said. "The Moonlight Brew at Dongchen Restaurant here in Baibi City is second to none."

"Isn't it bad to drink when you're injured?"

"What are you afraid of? These are minor wounds. They won't hurt anything." Liu Hui waved a hand.

The others agreed.

Li Gan had originally planned to return straight to the Divine Sword Sect, but it was hard to refuse their warm invitation, and he couldn't very well act like he wanted nothing to do with them.

Dongchen Restaurant.

As the most famous restaurant in Baibi City, it was always bustling.

It was also upscale, with prices to match.

For Inner Disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, the expense was nothing.

In Li Gan's memories, his predecessor had visited Dongchen Restaurant a few times.

"Brother Gan?"

Just as the six of them entered the restaurant, a delighted voice came from beside them.

Li Gan turned toward it and saw a girl in a pink dress, around seventeen or eighteen, with delicate, pretty features.

After a moment's recollection, he recognized her.

His younger female cousin, Li Xiaoxiao.

His second uncle's youngest daughter.

She was about the same age as him, just a few months younger.

They had grown up playing together, and they got along fairly well.

When his predecessor had left home, his cousin had already been promised in marriage.

"Brother Gan, it really is you! Where have you been all these years?" Li Xiaoxiao rushed over, speaking excitedly.

More than three years earlier, Li Gan had suddenly run away from home and vanished without a trace.

Li Gan felt a little helpless. He hadn't expected to run into someone he knew as soon as he returned to Baibi City.

"Junior Brother Li, is this your sweetheart?" Liu Hui asked with a mischievous grin.

"Senior Brother Liu, this is my cousin," Li Gan said.

"Oh, your cousin." Liu Hui immediately dropped the subject. "Junior Brother Li, we'll head upstairs first. No rush."

With that, Liu Hui and the others went into the restaurant.

"Junior Brother? Senior Brother? Brother Gan, which sect did you join?" Li Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"Xiaoxiao, you don't need to concern yourself with that. Also, don't tell anyone I've returned to Baibi City," Li Gan said.

He wanted nothing to do with the Li Family.

"Brother Gan, why? Auntie was indeed a little harsh, but Uncle still cares about you. After you left home, he was worried sick."

Li Xiaoxiao said.

She knew what her cousin's life at home had been like. His mother had died when he was young, his uncle was easily swayed, and his stepmother was a formidable woman who put on a good show in public but treated him terribly in private.

"All right, let's not talk about that. I'm going in," Li Gan said, waving a hand before turning and entering the restaurant.

Li Xiaoxiao watched her cousin's back, hesitating.

Just then, a young man in fine clothes came out of the restaurant, beaming. "Xiaoxiao, I thought you weren't coming."

"I have something to do. I'm leaving."

Li Xiaoxiao glanced at the young man in fine clothes and walked away.

He stood there, dumbfounded. What was going on?

She had clearly come all this way, so why had she suddenly turned around and left?

Li Mansion.

In Baibi City, the Li Family was a fairly prominent clan.

It was a typical scholarly family, with many members serving as officials in the province and prefecture.

Before his death, Old Master Li had been a Principal Fourth Rank Grand Education Commissioner, overseeing education throughout the province.

After Old Master Li passed away, the Li Family fell into decline. Though several members still held office, they were all minor officials of the Sixth or Seventh Rank.

What was more, this was a world where martial arts reigned supreme. The ones with real influence were inevitably the powerful Martial Dao Factions.

In the courtyard,

a woman was feeding the fish in the pond.

Suddenly, a maid ran in. "Madam, there's news of Young Master Gan."

"He's come back?" The woman set down the fish food, her brows drawing together as she asked at once.

"It was the young lady from Third Master's household who told us," the maid said. "And..."

"And what?" the woman asked.

"The young lady said... Young Master Gan was calling people Senior Brother and Junior Brother. He may have joined some Martial Dao Faction."

The maid said.

"So he's finally made something of himself. He ran away for three years without a word, and now word gets out as if I, his stepmother, had mistreated him." The woman gave a cold snort, then turned and left the courtyard.