When gossip reaches your ears, endure; play half the fool and half the deaf

Pear Blossoms covered the tree in full bloom. Whenever the wind swept past, Pear Blossoms fluttered down in showers.

Mo Chen lay with his head pillowed on the roots of an old pear tree, his clothes covered in mud.

Apart from when he had fled his home and sought refuge at the Great Qian Academy of Letters, he had never fallen into such a state in over two hundred years.

Mo Chen glanced around and found more than thirty villagers surrounding him, whispering among themselves.

What had they just said about a madman making his entrance?

A beggar had taken the madman's spot again...

Mo Chen looked down at his beggarly appearance. That was hardly an unfair description.

Then... who was the madman?

Just as he was wondering, Mo Chen heard footsteps approaching from the distance.

Even without Dharma Power to cast spells or wield supernatural abilities, a cultivator's five senses still surpassed those of ordinary people, so Mo Chen could clearly distinguish the footsteps amid the din.

The newcomer walked at an unhurried pace, utterly at odds with the noisy, joking crowd around him.

The onlookers parted, and a middle-aged man slowly approached.

The middle-aged man was thin and carried a wooden case.

"He's here, he's here! Mad Xiang's here!"

Seeing Mo Chen leaning against the tree roots, the man called Mad Xiang came closer and looked him over.

Mo Chen let Mad Xiang examine him. It was not that he was putting on airs; his whole body was numb, his limbs weak. At present, only his neck and everything above it could move.

After a moment, Mad Xiang straightened, turned toward the gathering crowd, and shouted, "Scram!"

At his shout, the crowd actually took half a step back in unison.

After a brief moment of shock, a young