"Master, please accept a bow from your disciple, Guo Xiaoyun!"
Ye Qingyun had only said it offhandedly.
He had not expected the little fellow to climb right up the pole offered to him, dropping straight to his knees and kowtowing to Ye Qingyun.
It caught Ye Qingyun somewhat off guard instead.
"Uh, all right. From now on, you're my disciple."
Ye Qingyun patted Guo Xiaoyun's head.
Then he hurried back into the house.
Before long, he came back out with a red envelope.
"This is for you."
Guo Xiaoyun accepted it in puzzlement.
"Master, what's this?"
"A red envelope for you."
A red envelope?
Guo Xiaoyun was utterly bewildered.
Ye Qingyun smiled. "According to the customs of my hometown, since you've taken me as your master, I should naturally give you a red envelope."
"Oh."
Guo Xiaoyun opened the red envelope and found a banknote inside.
One hundred taels!
Guo Xiaoyun's eyes immediately widened.
One hundred taels!
So much!
Guo Xiaoyun panicked.
Both his hands shook wildly.
Too much!
He had given him far too much!
Ye Qingyun, however, thought nothing of it.
He had plenty of banknotes.
Chi Yanyu had given them all to him.
Ye Qingyun had not refused them and had accepted them all.
In his eyes, these banknotes were nothing more than a pile of paper.
But in Guo Xiaoyun's eyes, they were downright frightening.
"Keep it safe. Now that you're my disciple, you won't have to go begging at the market anymore."
Ye Qingyun said.
"Yes!"
Guo Xiaoyun nodded repeatedly, his heart filled with joy.
"From now on, I, Guo Xiaoyun, have a master too!"
Ever since he was old enough to understand things, Guo Xiaoyun had been all alone.
He had survived by begging on the streets.
Who knew how much bullying and mistreatment he had endured?
Only then had he barely managed to survive until now.
In fact, Guo Xiaoyun was already eight years old.
But he looked no bigger than a child of five or six.
In so many of his dreams, Guo Xiaoyun had wished for parents to keep him company and a home that did not have to be wealthy, only warm.
Countless times, he had woken in tears, only to face reality.
But now.
Guo Xiaoyun's little wish had finally come true.
He had a home.
He had a master who treated him well.
He also had a name of his own.
Guo Xiaoyun!
He wished for nothing else.
As long as he could live peacefully by his master's side, that was enough.
"Master, will you teach me to cultivate?"
"Cultivate?"
"Yes! I know there are martial artists in this world. They can all cultivate, fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth. They're amazingly powerful!"
"Uh, I don't know how to cultivate either."
"That's impossible. Didn't you rescue me from those bad people, Master?"
"I did rescue you, but I really don't know how to cultivate."
"All right."
Ye Qingyun could hear the disappointment in Guo Xiaoyun's voice.
But he could understand it.
Children of that age all longed to fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth.
When Ye Qingyun was little, he had even wanted to become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
"If you want to cultivate, I do know some people. I can send you to a cultivation sect, if you're willing."
Ye Qingyun said.
In truth, he was somewhat reluctant to let Guo Xiaoyun leave for a cultivation sect.
But if Guo Xiaoyun really wanted to go, Ye Qingyun would not stop him.
"No, I'd rather stay with you, Master."
To his surprise, Guo Xiaoyun refused on his own.
Ye Qingyun paused. "Didn't you want to cultivate?"
Guo Xiaoyun grinned. "I can be powerful without cultivating. Wouldn't it be enough to be just like you, Master?"
Ye Qingyun gave him a thumbs-up.
"Well said. You'll be just as powerful following me."
Bai Suyi was dragged to Floating Cloud Mountain by her master, Gongsun Yue.
There was no helping it.
After learning that Ye Qingyun was a reclusive master beyond the mortal world, the more Gongsun Yue thought about it, the more frightened and worried he became.
He made a decision.
He would personally pay this master a visit.
He would ease the tension between them.
And ideally, get on closer terms with him as well.
Bai Suyi, however, did not really want to come.
She simply could not swallow her pride.
Just thinking about her master's earlier attitude toward Ye Qingyun made Bai Suyi feel embarrassed.
Bai Suyi could imagine that, although Ye Qingyun had appeared as calm as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze, as though nothing had happened,
inwardly, he probably already disliked both her and her master quite a bit.
"Master, I can go with you to visit Young Master Ye, but we need to agree on a few things first."
"Yes, yes, yes. Whatever you say."
"First, Master, you mustn't expose Young Master Ye's identity. He doesn't like to present himself as a great master."
"Mm, I know that. This Young Master Ye must be the sort of reclusive master who wants to experience the mortal world. I won't say anything out of turn."
"Also, the place where Young Master Ye lives is very quiet. Once we get there, you must be cautious, Master. You can't act recklessly."
"Don't worry. I'm not that sort of person."
Looking at Gongsun Yue's foolish grin, Bai Suyi pursed her lips.
She knew this master of hers all too well.
He had always been outrageously arrogant.
And extremely crude.
But aside from that, there was not much wrong with him.
At least, deep in her heart, Bai Suyi still respected Gongsun Yue greatly.
"Young Master Ye keeps a dog and a rabbit, and neither is ordinary. Especially that dog-its cultivation is unfathomable."
Bai Suyi reminded him.
"Even a dog's cultivation is unfathomable?"
Gongsun Yue was somewhat surprised.
As they spoke, master and disciple had already reached the mountaintop.
Looking from a distance,
they saw a courtyard and a few houses that looked perfectly ordinary.
A dog lay lazily by the entrance, while a rabbit gnawed on a radish in the courtyard.
There was also a thin, frail boy holding a hoe, seemingly planting something.
Gongsun Yue and Bai Suyi approached.
Bai Suyi cupped her hands slightly toward the frail boy. "Little brother, is Young Master Ye here?"
Guo Xiaoyun raised his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Who are you?"
Bai Suyi said politely, "We're Young Master Ye's friends. We've come to visit him."
"Oh, my master went down the mountain to buy things. Why don't you come in and wait for him?"
Guo Xiaoyun said.
Ye Qingyun's disciple?
Hearing this, both Gongsun Yue and Bai Suyi froze.
But then their eyes lit up.
Since Ye Qingyun was not here, wouldn't winning over his disciple work just as well?
"So you're Young Master Ye's esteemed disciple. May I ask your name?"
Bai Suyi hurriedly cupped her hands.
Guo Xiaoyun scratched his head. "My name's Guo Xiaoyun. Master gave me that name. You don't have to be so polite. It's making me feel rather embarrassed."
Bai Suyi immediately gave Gongsun Yue a meaningful look.
Gongsun Yue understood and promptly stepped forward, taking something from his waist.
"Since you're Young Master Ye's esteemed disciple, we ought to give you a greeting gift on our first meeting. Please accept this, little brother."
Looking thoroughly puzzled, Guo Xiaoyun accepted the object from Gongsun Yue.
It was a jade bottle.
Inside were several pills.
"What's this?"
"Uh, these are Essence Profound Pills specially made by our Nine Spirits Sect. They can improve your constitution and temper your muscles and bones. They're especially beneficial for young people like you, little brother."
Gongsun Yue explained.