Several days later.
Ye Qingyun went down the mountain to walk his dog.
Damao strolled leisurely ahead.
Ye Qingyun followed leisurely behind.
The rabbit lay in Ye Yun's arms, looking lazy and sleepy.
Ever since the rabbit had followed Ye Qingyun home, it had done practically nothing but eat and sleep every day.
In this short time, it had already put on fat.
It had become a round, plump rabbit.
Its fur had also grown back completely.
But for some reason, it had originally been a white rabbit.
Now, however, its fur had turned gray.
This left Ye Qingyun rather puzzled.
They walked all the way to the market at the foot of the mountain.
But he discovered faint cries and a commotion coming from within the market.
Ye Qingyun immediately went over.
He saw quite a few people gathered together, their faces full of anxiety, while some women were weeping.
Ye Qingyun frowned and asked someone beside him, "What happened?"
The man sighed. "The children from these three families have all gone missing. They've been searching for several days without finding any trace of them. I'm afraid they've already met with a cruel end."
Hearing this, Ye Qingyun immediately recalled what Bai Suyi had said several days earlier.
A group of evil cultivators had appeared within the Heavenly Martial Dynasty, specifically targeting children.
Several incidents had already occurred.
Because of this, the three great sects had even dispatched disciples to help the Heavenly Martial Dynasty capture these evil cultivators.
"Could those evil cultivators have done this?"
Ye Qingyun muttered to himself.
Looking at those weeping parents, he felt quite distressed as well.
Who wouldn't be frantic if their child went missing?
Children were the flesh of their parents' hearts.
Unfortunately, Ye Qingyun could do nothing to help them. He could only silently pray that those children would return safely.
After seeing this, Ye Qingyun was no longer in the mood to keep walking his dog.
He was just about to head back up the mountain.
Suddenly.
Ye Qingyun spotted a little beggar standing nearby, filthy from head to toe, staring straight at him.
Ye Qingyun paused.
He recognized him.
This little beggar was precisely the little fellow who had tried to steal pears from his courtyard not long ago.
Ye Qingyun immediately walked toward him.
The boy also seemed to have something to say to Ye Qingyun and walked toward him as well.
"This is for you."
The little beggar spoke first, holding something in both hands.
Ye Qingyun looked closely and couldn't help smiling.
It was actually a steaming hot bun.
The little beggar had washed his hands very clean, leaving not a speck of dirt, as though afraid Ye Qingyun would find him disgusting.
"Did you steal it?"
Ye Qingyun asked with a sidelong look.
The little beggar huffed and said indignantly, "I bought it."
As he spoke, he pointed at a bun shop nearby.
Ye Qingyun was rather curious.
"Where did you get the money?"
"I picked a bundle of medicinal herbs in the mountains and sold them to an apothecary for money."
The little beggar spoke with some pride.
Ye Qingyun nodded.
"That's the way. Earning your own keep is much better than stealing food like you used to."
Ye Qingyun took the bun from the little beggar and bit into it.
"Not bad. It's delicious."
Ye Qingyun smiled.
Seeing that Ye Qingyun did not find him disgusting at all, the little beggar felt excited, and a smile appeared on his face.
"I took twenty pears from you, so I'll pay you back with twenty buns. This is the first one."
The little beggar spoke with a serious expression.
Ye Qingyun was amused.
This fellow even knew to repay kindness.
"You don't need to pay me back. Keep your money to buy yourself food."
But the little beggar stubbornly shook his head.
"I see you live on the mountain and have to farm your own land. You probably don't have it easy either, so I can't owe you."
Ye Qingyun: "..."
All right, then.
Even a beggar is taking pity on me now.
Well, I, Ye Qingyun, really am just a farmer.
"All right, then. I'll be waiting for you to buy me buns."
"Okay!"
After finishing the bun, Ye Qingyun was just about to turn and leave.
Suddenly, the little beggar followed him again.
"What's your name?"
He asked with an innocent expression.
"Ye Qingyun."
The little beggar paused. "Your name sounds so nice."
As he spoke, he lowered his head again.
"Unlike me. I don't even have a name."
Ye Qingyun stopped.
"Would you like to have a name?"
The little beggar paused, then nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining with longing.
"I don't want people to keep calling me little bastard."
Ye Qingyun patted his head.
Although his hair was a tangled mess, Ye Qingyun showed no disgust at all.
On the contrary.
He really did quite like this little beggar.
At least this little fellow had backbone.
That was what Ye Qingyun admired most about him.
"Then how about I give you a name?"
The little beggar looked eager, yet a little cautious.
"Really?"
"Would I lie? I remember you saying your father's surname was Guo, right?"
The little beggar nodded.
Of his memories of his parents, he only remembered that his father's surname seemed to be Guo, and even that he wasn't very certain of.
"All right, then. How about calling you-Guo Xiaobao?"
The little beggar pursed his lips.
"It sounds like a little kid's name."
Ye Qingyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Aren't you a little kid?
"Then let's try another. How about Guo Xiaoyun?"
The little beggar tilted his head and thought for a moment.
"That name's pretty good."
"Thank you for giving me a name."
"From now on, my name is Guo Xiaoyun."
The little beggar, Guo Xiaoyun, waved and ran happily into the distance.
Over there, several little beggars of about the same age were waving to Guo Xiaoyun.
Ye Qingyun suddenly remembered something.
"Be careful, all of you. Things haven't been peaceful around here lately."
"Got it!"
Ye Qingyun left the market, intending to head back up the mountain.
A mounted party suddenly approached from ahead.
"Right here!"
The man in black armor at their head pointed at Ye Qingyun and shouted.
Ye Qingyun looked bewildered.
What's going on?
The party came rushing over and soon surrounded Ye Qingyun.
Ye Qingyun grew somewhat wary.
"What do you want? I don't have any money."
The black-armored man stared at Ye Qingyun for a while, then gave a disdainful smile.
"So he's just a mortal without any cultivation. And here I thought this so-called expert would be something impressive."
"Just take him away."
Several burly men sprang out from behind the black-armored man, tied Ye Qingyun up, and tossed him onto a horse.
Then they rode off.
Only Damao remained standing there. He yawned and simply watched Ye Qingyun being taken away.
"Little rabbit, I'll leave Master to you."
He shook his head and ambled up the mountain, not worried in the slightest about Ye Qingyun's safety.
Ye Qingyun sat on the horse, his hands bound, unable to move easily.
The rabbit was still in his arms, though.
"Who are you? Why are you tying me up?"
Ye Qingyun asked in confusion.
The black-armored man sneered. "We're from the Song Clan. We heard there was some reclusive expert on Floating Cloud Mountain, so we came to capture you and take you back."
"The Song Clan?"
Ye Qingyun paused.
Could this be the Song Clan of Xiling that Chu Yanyu mentioned before?