He's your friend despite the age gap?

Those words gave Jing Yuan, only ten years old at the time, a glimpse into the filthy world of adults.

They also left him deeply scarred.

Jing Yuan froze, realizing there was something he had overlooked.

If Xianyu knew what those bullies were doing to him, why would he let himself get caught alone and cornered in an alley?

He sucked in a breath, afraid Xianyu would fight them, and even more afraid he couldn't take them all on alone. He appealed to both reason and emotion. "There's no need to fight people like that! Fighting violence with violence is wrong!"

Xianyu seemed to belatedly realize he had said something he shouldn't, then brushed it off. "I was joking."

Jing Yuan didn't realize he was being fobbed off. Relieved, he let Xianyu coax him into going home with a few words.

The next day, Jing Yuan went to school full of nerves and apprehension. He finally made it to the end of class, only to hear that Xianyu had taken three days off.

Jing Yuan: "..."

Was this Xianyu's solution? Surely he wasn't planning to wait until they were alone after school, throw sacks over their heads, and club them one by one!

Jing Yuan could only wander around his neighborhood after school, trying to find Xianyu.

They didn't meet again until three days later.

Jing Yuan sought Xianyu out to ask him, but he said, "Don't ordinary students take time off to rest at home when they're bullied at school?"

Why were you still hung up on being an ordinary student at a time like this, Xianyu?!

Jing Yuan was speechless. He didn't even want to call him his big brother anymore; he wanted to address him by name. After a long struggle, he managed, "How does that make you an ordinary student?"

Xianyu remained unruffled. "Don't worry. Just wait. Oh, do you still have that piece of paper I gave you?"

When Jing Yuan nodded, Xianyu reminded him, "If anything happens, remember to wait until after school to find me."

Soon afterward, rumors that Xianyu, the bullying victim, was skilled in divination and talismans spread throughout the Academy.

Later, those bullies who delighted in tormenting others saw something unknown and fled the classroom screaming.

They ran so fast that anyone would have thought they had seen some terrifying beast. Even the security guard, who had only recently retired from the Cloud Knights, couldn't catch them.

The bullies took an extended leave. When they returned to school, they were completely different people.

Where they had once ostracized him, now they fawned over him.

Whenever they met Xianyu, they practically bent into a 120-degree bow on the spot. Some even wept and sobbed, insisting that he take them on as his lackeys.

Their behavior was so exaggerated that a teacher brought Xianyu into the office to question him. All sorts of rumors flew around-Xianyu had drawn talismans to curse people in his anger, summoned spirits for revenge, and so on-causing quite a stir.

Thinking back, Jing Yuan realized Xianyu had deliberately avoided talking about the yellow paper. He went to find him and asked:

"You didn't really draw talismans to curse them, did you?"

Xianyu wore the same unreadable expression as always, except... he looked rather tempted to roll his eyes at Jing Yuan.

"Of course not! Drawing talismans costs me mana! Cursing people also saddles me with karmic consequences... They didn't pay me any Strales, so why would I curse them?"

Not knowing, Jing Yuan asked, "What's mana?"

"Uh..." Xianyu stalled, thought for a moment, then began explaining.

"How should I put it? Divination and anything involving the occult come at a price. Mana is basically like stamina. Once your mana bar runs dry, you have to use your health bar-in other words, your lifespan."

Jing Yuan was shocked. He had never imagined divination could cost someone their lifespan.

"Under normal circumstances, Diviners don't expend their lifespan," Xianyu continued.

"To replenish their mana-that is, restore their stamina-Diviners usually accept something in exchange, like Strales... Wouldn't it be better to trade my talismans for money? Why spend my own mana cursing someone for free?"

Jing Yuan remained skeptical.

Xianyu could only patiently explain, "I just slipped a few talisman papers into my books, and they happened to find them."

Jing Yuan asked, "You mean they saw the talisman papers, thought you were cursing them, and scared themselves? Then they went from storybook villains to reformed men and became your lackeys?"

Xianyu was speechless. "What kind of stories are you reading? Read something better..."

Jing Yuan looked worried. "You gave me a talisman paper. What about your mana? You aren't using up your lifespan now, are you?"

Xianyu, who was older than him and had been speaking so confidently a moment ago, froze. Then he bent down slightly and held out a hand to Jing Yuan. "Pay me in Strales."

Jing Yuan was torn. He didn't know how much talismans cost or whether he could afford one. All he could do was rummage through his schoolbag. He had barely found one Strale before Xianyu took it.

He smiled. "That's enough."

Xianyu didn't pursue the bullies' misdeeds. After they publicly apologized and wrote statements of self-reflection, he magnanimously forgave them. From then on, he had several lackeys who obeyed his every command.

Only as Jing Yuan grew older did he notice something amiss.

Their routes home hadn't actually overlapped.

Xianyu had been worried about him getting caught up in the trouble.

Even if the odds were negligible, he hadn't wanted to gamble on that tiny possibility.

Perhaps because he saw himself as the older one, he looked after children younger than him.

Nor had he been generous toward the bullies. Their parents worked at the Sky-Faring Commission, the Alchemy Commission, the Earth-Balance Commission, and other such places.

In the teachers' eyes, Xianyu hadn't suffered any substantial harm. It could only be classified as minor squabbling among children of the same age.

People knew their own families best. Could those parents really not know what their children were like? After hearing rumors that Xianyu could draw talismans and finding ways to obtain some, they grew even more worried.

They were knowledgeable and well-connected, with ways to determine the quality of the talisman papers.

The moment they learned what Xianyu was capable of, they swallowed their pride and sought out the youngster to apologize, terrified that their children would suffer.

Before things had even settled down, those parents watched their pampered children start running errands for someone their own age, fawning over him shamelessly...

They probably felt like coughing up blood.

What else could they do? It wasn't the likely outcome they feared, but the slightest possibility! What if he was merely biding his time? What if their children provoked this menace again? For Xianyu, cursing someone was as easy as lifting a finger! What if?

They lived in constant fear for their children.

As for what else they had paid...

All Jing Yuan knew was that back then, the talisman papers of a certain expert who preferred to remain anonymous were nearly impossible to buy, no matter the price. At the height of his business, bidding for a single talisman started at seven figures in Strales. Some people waved around untold amounts of money and still failed to get one.

Remembering the talisman paper he had bought for just one Strale, which he still kept carefully stored at home, Jing Yuan couldn't help sighing. He had really gotten the deal of a lifetime.

How much had Xianyu made? He didn't know.

He only knew that right after starting work, Xianyu had paid in full for a luxurious mansion with an eight-figure price tag.

Those people who splurged on talisman papers... and the people who had spread his reputation...

The lackeys' parents had probably contributed quite a bit.

Now this friend of his, with all his tricks, had run into trouble again.

Jing Yuan feared something might happen to him, but feared even more that something might happen to his enemies... So whenever he had the chance, he chatted with him to check on his state of mind.

Heaven only knew how shocked Jing Yuan had been when he discovered that Xianyu had no respect whatsoever for the Reignbow Arbiter.

Thanks to the Aeon's fanatical devotees and the five-hundred-thousand-Strale reward offered by the Xianzhou, nobody dared show disrespect toward the Reignbow Arbiter aboard the Xianzhou.

Jing Yuan discovered that Xianyu had no respect for any Aeon, nor had he set foot on any Path.

Yet a sharp blade with nowhere to rest and no sheath would only end up breaking and shattering.

He genuinely worried that someone might anger Xianyu one day, and he would quietly hold it in before suddenly doing something outrageous...

Before even reaching adulthood, he had been able to run circles around adults holding high positions in the various commissions. Now... Jing Yuan didn't dare imagine what sort of chaos he could stir up on the Xianzhou.

So whenever Jing Yuan had the chance, he dragged Xianyu out for a stroll.

He looked up, saw that Xianyu had finished mixing his dipping sauce, and picked up his own plate.

They had barely taken a few steps when Xianyu spotted a terrified server standing frozen in place, looking around in panic.

Jing Yuan's instincts as a Cloud Knight kicked in hard, and he stepped forward to ask what was wrong.

The server trembled. Perhaps Jing Yuan's bearing inspired confidence, or perhaps fear had left the server too rattled to think. The words came out in broken fragments:

"Just now... someone was discussing severed limbs... preserving them in ice or something... Sorry... I'm too nervous... I'll go find the Cloud Knights..."

Jing Yuan's expression hardened. "Villains daring to be this brazen in broad daylight! Don't be afraid. There's no need to look. I'm a Cloud Knight."

To make his claim more convincing, Jing Yuan showed the jade token he used to enter and leave the barracks. He solemnly promised, "Don't worry. They won't be able to cause any trouble."

The server stopped tensing up and relaxed.

Xianyu inwardly grumbled. What sort of genius managed to run into top-tier fighters like the Sword Champion and the High Elder while discussing a crime? How unlucky could they be?!

Wait...

Xianyu's smile gradually disappeared.

He had been so focused on mixing his dipping sauce that he had forgotten the most serious problem...

He didn't want to be forced to take advantage of anyone!

He happened to glimpse an apron on a nearby diner and immediately had an idea. He said to the server who had been trembling just moments earlier, "Could you bring us six aprons? Thank you."

The server nodded and quickly found six aprons.

Seeing that Xianyu and Jing Yuan had their hands full, the server even offered to carry them over.

When Xianyu returned to his seat and set down his dipping sauce dish, Yingxing spoke up beside him.

The normally taciturn Master Forger of the Artisanship Commission apparently wouldn't rest until he said something shocking. Looking as though realization had just dawned on him, he turned to Xianyu and said:

"You're that friend of Jingliu's, despite the age gap?"

Dan Feng said nothing. He kept his head down and stared at the freshly served four-section hot pot, pretending he wasn't there.

He didn't even need to look up to know how Jingliu was reacting.

If looks could cut, Jingliu would probably have already minced Yingxing into fine little pieces.