Returning to the Village

Hu Liena could only think about such things in her heart; she didn't have the guts to actually act on them.

Qian Yun carefully and meticulously treated her wounds. Fortunately, they were just simple external injuries that hadn't damaged her muscles or bones, so Hu Liena didn't need to worry about the injuries affecting the development of her legs.

"This should do it. Make sure you don't move around," Qian Yun cautioned her before setting to work on lunch.

Because they were well-prepared for this trip and the mission was already complete, he didn't need to be frugal anymore, so he tossed the remaining dried meat and vegetables into a pot to make a hearty stew.

Hu Liena, leaning comfortably against her bedding, listened to the sounds outside the tent and wrinkled her delicate nose. "It smells so good."

Just then, Qian Yun happened to walk in carrying a steaming pot.

"Here, you're the patient today, so I specifically stewed some bone soup to help you recover."

"Great, I could hardly wait... Mmm, your cooking is really good. Much better than the chefs at the Pope Hall." Hu Liena took only one sip before showering Qian Yun's culinary skills with praise.

"Heh." Qian Yun served himself a bowl and took a sip. The taste was decent, but he always felt like something was missing...

"It's alright, not as exaggerated as you say. When we have the chance, perhaps I can take you to taste something truly delicious."

Hu Liena was a bit skeptical. As someone who could also cook, she knew Qian Yun's skills were already excellent. If this didn't count as good, then what did?

She tilted her head back and finished the first bowl, then said, still wanting more, "Then I'll be waiting for that. Give me another bowl."

"Alright."

Hu Liena and he were currently at an age where they were growing rapidly, and Bibi Dong certainly wouldn't be stingy with their food, so the two of them could eat much more than they looked like they could.

After a hearty lunch, the condition of both of them improved significantly.

Next, they just had to wait for the scouts to finish processing the carcass of the Ghost Moth, and they could leave this place.

As dusk approached, Qian Yun, who had been meditating, finally heard movement outside the tent. He stood up, helped Hu Liena to her feet, and they exited the tent together.

There were quite a few people gathered outside, but what caught his attention most was the pile of gray fur and the stark white bones beside it on the ground.

"My lord, my subordinates have followed your instructions and cleaned the Ghost Moth," a scout said, stepping forward to report to Qian Yun.

Qian Yun took a rough look; it was indeed very clean. He figured they probably assumed his purpose was to collect the materials.

"You've done well. You've worked hard on this trip; take this to the Martial Soul Hall to claim your reward." Qian Yun handed over a token.

The leader's eyes lit up, but he quickly waved his hands. "No, no, my lord, we only did our duty. How could we call it hard work?"

"Take it. Besides, I'm not giving it away for nothing; I'll need to trouble you to escort us to Beast King Village on the next leg of our journey." Qian Yun smiled and pushed the token a bit closer.

"Ah, very well." He finally stopped being modest, took the token, and ordered his men to load the goods onto the carts to follow Qian Yun toward the Martial Soul Hall in Muyi City.

The Sunset Forest and Muyi City were quite far apart, and even traveling day and night would take a considerable amount of time. Fortunately, they had their status as members of the Martial Soul Hall to rely on, so although taking the main road took a bit longer, the journey was smooth and unobstructed.

A few days later.

The starry night sky was always bright. In the carriage, Qian Yun glanced at Hu Liena, who had already removed the bandages from her legs, by the dim light of a lamp and asked, "Do you have something on your mind?"

Hu Liena was silent for a moment, but eventually nodded and said softly, "We're going back soon..."

"Yes, we aren't far from Muyi City and Beast King Village now." Qian Yun agreed, then asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Hu Liena naturally knew what Qian Yun was asking. She lowered her head, looked at him, and looked somewhat conflicted. "I... first off, you aren't allowed to laugh at me!"

"Understood."

Qian Yun sat up closer to Hu Liena and waited quietly for her to speak.

Hu Liena averted her eyes before tentatively saying, "I... I want to use gold coins to compensate the villagers."

"Gold coins? You want to use money to compensate the villagers?" Qian Yun was somewhat surprised.

Thinking he didn't understand, Hu Liena quickly added, "I know this is a clumsy way to do it, but I really can't think of a better solution. You don't have to worry; I've saved up nearly thirty thousand gold coins over these years."

Hu Liena looked up, her expression serious. "And I've already calculated it; if we compensate each family two hundred gold coins, this money will be just enough."

Qian Yun realized, "No wonder you insisted that I accept Lina's reward back then. So that's what it was for."

Hu Liena scratched her head in embarrassment. "I had no choice; twenty thousand gold coins is truly a significant fortune..."

"Heh." Qian Yun chuckled, interrupting her. "That's not what I'm focused on. What really surprises me is that we finally thought of the same thing."

"What... could it be?" Hu Liena gasped, her eyes widening.

Under her shocked gaze, Qian Yun took a black gold card out from the Cat's Eye Stone on his chest. "Twenty thousand gold coins... I was originally thinking that using this money to compensate the villagers might be a bit too little. Now it seems that with your money and mine combined, it should be enough."

Hu Liena stared blankly at the black gold card in Qian Yun's hand and asked instinctively, "Where did you get so much money?"

Qian Yun handed the card to Hu Liena. "Although the missions for the Enforcement Team of the Pope Hall are hard to take on, the rewards are equally staggering. Over the years, I've saved up this much without even realizing it."

"Qian Yun..." Hu Liena gripped the corner of the black gold card, her lips trembling, her eyes moist and bright.

"You can't cry now. You're a little adult already; it won't be pretty if you cry."

Hu Liena quickly stopped herself and nodded vigorously. "I won't cry ever again!"

"Good." Qian Yun nodded with satisfaction, watching Hu Liena tuck the card away. Remembering something, he said, "How about we don't go back to Beast King Village first? Let's go to Muyi City instead."

"Ah, why?"

Qian Yun just smiled. "It will come in handy."

"Oh."

Two days later, Qian Yun and his group, who were originally supposed to head toward Beast King Village, suddenly changed their route to arrive at the Martial Soul Hall in Muyi City.

In front of the hall, Duomeng, who was already the acting bishop, greeted them.

"You little ones have had a hard journey." Duomeng chuckled as he helped them down from the carriage.

Qian Yun and his companion bowed, then smiled and said, "We have troubled you, Uncle Duomeng."

Duomeng waved his hand and sighed, "Eh, what trouble? I've heard about the situation. I never expected that the Ghost Moth would actually be buried by your hands. To have such ability at such a young age is truly limitless!"

"Senior Duomeng, you are too kind. If not for your life-saving grace back then, Xiao Na and I wouldn't be here today. However, I must trouble you for your assistance once more."

"Heh heh." Duomeng laughed and stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter. "It's nothing, it's nothing. You are the rising stars of our Martial Soul Hall and old acquaintances of mine; it is only right and proper that I help you. Just speak up if you need anything."

"Alright, I will be direct. I need people from the Martial Soul Hall to accompany me to Beast King Village."

After a brief gathering, Duomeng understood their intentions. He immediately stated that the relocation of the graves for the village chief and A-Qiang would be handled entirely by him, telling them to go to Beast King Village to attend to their business without worry.

Furthermore, Qian Yun received some unexpected news from him: Beast King Village had already been rebuilt.

Upon further inquiry, he learned that after the incident, the Martial Soul Hall had originally only intended to notify the empire to issue some compensation. However, after hearing about it, Bibi Dong personally ordered the Martial Soul Hall to allocate special funds to rebuild Beast King Village.

The rebuilt Beast King Village was even more beautiful than before, a feeling that Hu Liena and Qian Yun, standing in the village, felt particularly clearly.

Hu Liena stood outside Beast King Village once again, looking up at a place that felt both familiar and strange.

Qian Yun followed behind her. Perhaps to Beast King Village, he was just an ordinary passerby, but to Hu Liena, this small village was her home. She was born here and grew up here. Beast King Village held far too many memories for her.

"Beast King Village..." Hu Liena rested a hand on the pillar at the village entrance, gazing at the three familiar characters on the plaque, her heart deeply moved.

It was just as Duomeng had said; the Martial Soul Hall had completely renovated the place. Now, it seemed that everything except for that plaque was different from before. Hu Liena didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing; she only felt a sense of dissonance in her heart.

At the village entrance, an old woman carrying a basket watched Qian Yun's group from afar. She frowned as she watched Hu Liena's movements, feeling a sense of familiarity. After Hu Liena spoke the words "Beast King Village" aloud, the woman finally widened her eyes and called out in a trembling voice, "Xiao Na!"

Hu Liena snapped back to reality and hurriedly lowered her head in a panic, "I... I."

The woman walked a few steps closer, looked carefully, and became even more certain of her guess. "You are Xiao Na! My heavens... Xiao Na, you've returned!"

The old woman stepped forward and excitedly grabbed Hu Liena's arm, her hands, fresh from farm work, leaving a gray-black smudge on her dress.

However, Hu Liena could no longer care about such things, because she had also recognized who this haggard old woman before her was.

"Aunt Wu!" Hu Liena sobbed as she hugged the hunched old woman back.

"Eh! It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!" Aunt Wu's eyes welled with tears as she gently patted Hu Liena's back.

She looked at the young girl who had grown into an adult before her, her rough fingers tracing her fair, translucent face as she nodded repeatedly, "Xiao Na has become even more beautiful; Aunt Wu is so happy."

Hu Liena blushed slightly. Looking at the wrinkles at the corners of Aunt Wu's eyes and the graying hair at her temples, she smiled, "Aunt Wu is the most beautiful one."

"Ai, no, no. Aunt Wu is already an old woman now; I can't compare to the past." Aunt Wu waved her hand, only then noticing the group behind Hu Liena.

"And who is this?" Aunt Wu asked Hu Liena, looking at the rather handsome young man behind her.

"Oh, him... his name is Qian Yun. He is my friend and, like me, is a member of the Martial Soul Hall." Hu Liena pulled Qian Yun over to introduce him to Aunt Wu.

"Hello, Aunt Wu." Qian Yun followed Hu Liena's lead and addressed her as Aunt Wu.

Aunt Wu scrutinized the young man carefully, then looked at Hu Liena as if she understood something, her expression quite suggestive. "Oh, a 'friend', is it!"

Hu Liena immediately realized she had misunderstood something and hurriedly explained, "Aunt Wu, we really are just friends."

Aunt Wu chuckled with an "I understand" expression, "Alright, alright, I understand. You must be very close friends, right?"

Qian Yun didn't understand the implication and simply nodded blankly, "Yes, we are good friends."

"Haha."

"You..." Hu Liena, seeing him dare to admit it, felt a surge of shame and anger, and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Alright, Xiao Na and this Qian Yun, since you've finally returned, why not come to my place for a sit?"

Hu Liena said with some difficulty, "Uh, maybe not. Aunt Wu, Qian Yun and I have important matters to attend to, and I still need to trouble you to take me to see the village chief."

Aunt Wu nodded in understanding, "After that fire, I looked everywhere for you but couldn't find you. Later, I heard that you had gone to the Martial Soul Hall. You want to find the person in charge? Follow me."

Hu Liena hurried to keep up, reaching out to take her basket, and asked, "Aunt Wu, who is the village chief now?"

Aunt Wu replied, "You know him; it's Er Hu's father. In our village, Er Hu is the only Spirit Master now. Since his father wants to be the village chief, naturally, no one can compete with their family."

"Er Hu." Hu Liena murmured. She was very familiar with Er Hu. Back when the old village chief was still alive, Er Hu was one of the only two Spirit Masters in the village, so he was naturally lawless.

Hu Liena, who had been pretty since she was a child, had been particularly bothered by him, and she had been bullied by him quite a bit when she was young.

Hu Liena shook her head, trying not to think about these annoying matters. She quickened her pace to catch up with Aunt Wu and asked, "What about Uncle Kahn? Does he still drink? I remember him saying several times that he wanted to quit."

Aunt Wu's footsteps faltered, and she fell into a strange silence. After a long while, she said, "Your Uncle Kahn is no longer with us. After that fire, I was the only one left in the house."

The smile on Hu Liena's face froze instantly, and the handle of the basket she was holding creaked in her grip, "I'm sorry."

She didn't know why she was apologizing, but she had no other words to say.

After a brief moment of sadness, Aunt Wu returned to normal, "It's alright, that matter wasn't your fault."

Hu Liena said in a low voice, "You knew all along."

Aunt Wu nodded and smiled, looking somewhat detached, "Forget it, let's not talk about him. Even if that guy hadn't died in the fire, with the way he drank like his life depended on it, he would have drunk himself to death in a few years anyway."

Aunt Wu laughed, but Hu Liena couldn't smile at all.