The youth pondered these things. Far away in the group, the old man hesitated to speak, wanting to come over but not daring to... Once, he had enjoyed the honored status of a cultivator's family member; now, a fallen phoenix was worse off than a chicken.
It was hard to say they were entirely innocent. Who knew how much compensation money they had enjoyed during their former lives of luxury? Because of the Quanzhen Sect's influence, the customs of Shan Kingdom were generally strict, with little tolerance for such things.
They also worried that staying in Jincheng would expose them to reprisals from hotheads, their neighbors' scornful looks, the authorities' indifference, abandonment by the cultivation world... In that case, they really would be better off starting a new life in Anhe. At least they would not have to spend every day in fear.
Yet a journey of a mere one or two thousand li had now become an impassable chasm. Only when their former glory was gone did they discover that their lineage could accomplish nothing without cultivators. When a wall fell, everyone gave it a shove.
Time passed amid despair. Toward evening, the group began sharing their dwindling food, not knowing how many more days they could hold out.
Beyond White Poplar Forest, the villages and towns on the Anhe side were much more densely clustered, and the people were friendly. As long as you had valuables, there was nothing you could not buy. But this White Poplar Forest...
After dusk, with the sky half light and half dark, dust suddenly rose in the distance. Judging by the direction in which it trailed, it was heading straight toward the little hill where they had stopped. The group did not quite understand what this meant. If they encountered a band