By the time the sky began to brighten, Long Qianming had already packed his things. He had brought little: only a reasonably clean set of old clothes and a bundle weighing five or six jin.
Long Qianming knelt before the cluster of servants' graves in the burial ground behind the mountain. Looking at the epitaph carved on one of the headstones, he bowed his head to the grave with a somewhat heavy heart.
"Take care, Mother. I'm leaving."
After kowtowing three times, Long Qianming rose decisively and gazed at the gradually brightening sky. Perhaps because of his Martial Soul, he now felt a faint aversion to daylight.
Still, Long Qianming slung his bundle over his shoulder and left the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan under the watch of several clan disciples.
He walked some distance along the broad road cut through the forest. Only after the sky had gradually brightened and the dazzling sun had risen above the horizon did he reach Thunder City at the foot of the mountain.
Thunder City was one of the Four Elements Cities and could be considered the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's fief city. The architectural style of every building within it differed little from those inside the clan grounds, while Thunder Academy of the Four Elements Academy stood in the western part of the city. At this moment, recruitment notices of every description filled the city.
"Thunder Academy is recruiting students with lightning attributes. Tuition is waived for the first year. Anyone interested should register at the western city registration point."
"The Thunder Sound Clan is recruiting two live-in sons-in-law. Soul Masters of Soul Elder rank or above may apply. Generous benefits, with a monthly allowance of 200 Gold Soul Coins. An additional reward will be given to anyone who fathers a child of great potential for the clan."
"The Thunder Shadow Sect is recruiting disciples. We can help disciples obtain the five Soul Rings best suited to them. Soul Bones will also be awarded for major contributions."
Although Thunder City was a fief city, it still contained a great many small and medium-sized clans and sects. They valued lightning-attribute Soul Masters no less than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan did.
None of this had much to do with Long Qianming anymore. He was currently sitting in a roadside noodle shop, wolfing down a bowl of wontons while carefully observing the varied merchant caravans.
Yet whenever he recalled throwing away his money yesterday, Long Qianming felt somewhat regretful.
It felt great, and it really did put me in a much better mood, but now I'm desperately short of money. I have fewer than four Silver Soul Coins left.
If he wanted to leave this city now, his only option was to keep watch for merchant caravans and see whether a cheaper one, or one that charged nothing, could give him a ride.
However, not long after he started eating his wontons, an elderly man in luxurious clothing entered, accompanied by a lively, spirited girl of six or seven with orange-red hair and a petite figure.
"Little Dong, there's a seat over there. Go ahead. I'll be there in a moment."
"Okay, Grandpa Su Yuntao!"
Bibi Dong covered three steps in two as she skipped over, in a very cheerful mood.
"Little brother, may I sit here?"
With her hands behind her back, Bibi Dong looked at Long Qianming with a shy, faint smile and asked politely.
"Yes."
"Thank you, little brother."
Bibi Dong happily sat down. Her little hands alternated between tapping the table and having nowhere to settle, and even her bright, sparkling eyes constantly surveyed everything around her. At this moment, she was not only restless but also extremely curious.
Suddenly, she shifted closer to Long Qianming and stared at him curiously, a trace of sympathy flashing through her eyes.
"Little brother, where are your parents? Why are you here all by yourself?"
Long Qianming remained silent and continued eating his wontons.
"Why are you ignoring me? That's very rude!"
"They're dead. I'm an orphan."
Long Qianming was somewhat speechless at the little girl before him, who seemed like a baby brimming with curiosity. We're only passing strangers. Once we leave this restaurant, neither of us will know the other. Why ask about everything in such detail?
"An orphan? I'm an orphan too. The village chief said my parents died not long after I was born. The villagers raised me."
"Oh."
Right now, Long Qianming only wanted to eat and, while he was at it, check the departing caravans outside through the window. He was in no mood to chat idly with a girl.
Beside him, Bibi Dong looked at Long Qianming reproachfully. This little brother had gone through the same thing she had, and they were both unfortunate souls. He was just a little cold and particularly uncommunicative.
Just as Bibi Dong asked about Long Qianming's Martial Soul, the luxuriously dressed elderly man walked over carrying two bowls of noodles.
"Little Dong, casually asking about someone else's Martial Soul is very rude. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Grandpa Su Yuntao."
Like a child who had done something wrong, Bibi Dong took a bowl of noodles and began eating in an orderly manner.
Only now did Su Yuntao's anxious heart finally ease. Had he not stopped Bibi Dong's curious questioning just now, she might very well have exposed the secret that she possessed Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power.
If that happened, no one in this noodle shop would be allowed to leave, and they might even be killed.
It seemed he would have to properly remind Bibi Dong later not to reveal her Martial Souls, lest the secret of her Twin Martial Souls become known to the world before they even reached the Spirit Hall Branch he belonged to.
Su Yuntao looked at Long Qianming before him, dressed in worn clothing and looking very cold and handsome, and asked with considerable curiosity.
"Child, I see you keep watching the people on the street. Are you planning to leave this city?"
"Yes."
Long Qianming remained wary. He would speak as little as possible, and preferably not open his mouth at all.
When Bibi Dong heard this, out of sympathy and what seemed like a sense of kinship over their shared fate, she hesitated briefly before handing over a gold hairpin, as though she had made some momentous decision.
"This gold hairpin is a keepsake my mother left me. Now that I have Grandpa's help, I don't lack anything for the time being, but you need money for both travel and food. This gold hairpin can help you get by for a few more days. Take it."
"No need. I can earn my own travel money. We're complete strangers. There's no need to support me."
Long Qianming had never met such a kindhearted child, but he refused the gold hairpin outright. After all, it was a keepsake from her late parents. What would it make him if he used it?
Bibi Dong tilted her head slightly, her radiant smile growing even brighter.
"So you do know how to speak properly? This gold hairpin of mine can only show its value in the hands of someone who truly needs it."
"Besides, keeping this gold hairpin will only make me miss my parents more and more, which is very bad for my state of mind when cultivating. Since that's the case, letting you look after it for a while is a good thing too."
Beside her, Su Yuntao simply pressed the gold hairpin into Long Qianming's hand.
"Child, our meeting today can be considered fate. Since Little Dong is giving you the gold hairpin, keep it safe. If you have the chance to meet again in the future, you can return it then."
Su Yuntao approved of Bibi Dong's utterly pure kindness. With her talent, she was destined to go to Spirit City and become a candidate for Holy Maiden. When that time came, this pure kindness might no longer exist.
So, while she had yet to go to Spirit City, if the child wanted to express her true nature, he should let her.