A Chance Encounter

Seeing that Yang Jinshu's tea stall seemed to have a lot of customers every day and didn't seem to require much effort, some other villagers in Xiushui Village also set up a small stall nearby.

They don't only sell tea; they also sell homemade dried sweet potatoes and other rustic foods.

At the foot of North Mountain, the Mountain Stream that has flowed gently since Sun Yigao's private school is now being used by many scholars who come here to write poems and paint pictures. Before long, this stream, which originally lived in a remote corner at the foot of the mountain, has become a newly emerging scenic spot in Anqun County.

Many people saw a small mountain path leading up the mountain near the private school. Some curious and daring people wanted to go up and explore it, but Sun Yigao stopped them, saying that there were many snakes, insects and wild animals on the mountain and it was not safe.

Whether it was the influence of intellectuals or not, gradually, the number of tourists to Xiushui Village increased without anyone noticing, and the villagers also found themselves with a little more money.

With money in their pockets, the villagers seem to have become much more patient. The quarrels and disputes that used to frequently occur between families over trivial matters have decreased significantly, and the atmosphere in the village has gradually become more harmonious.

And so, Xiushui Village became increasingly peaceful and harmonious.

While everyone in the Lingxian Sect was making steady progress, Lin Xiao found a reasonably priced inn in Yuanling City and settled in.

He goes out for a stroll during the day.

The main purpose of going to Seven Stars Street is to hear about any new sights and stories; other places are just for exploring and getting familiar with the area.

In the evening, he would return to the inn, activate several formations such as the Isolation Formation, the Concealment Formation Spirit Gathering Formation, and then begin his day's cultivation.

To be honest, Yuanling City is really big, so much so that Lin Xiao spent three days and still couldn't see the whole city.

Although some of that time was spent sightseeing and lingering, Yuanling City was indeed very large, at least the size of ten Liaoju Prefecture.

That evening, after completing his daily map exploration, Lin Xiao was walking back to the inn.

When he arrived at the entrance of an alley, he sensed a somewhat weak presence in the alley.

He turned into the room and saw a somewhat familiar-looking person leaning against a pile of straw in the distance.

Looking closely at the man, Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised, not expecting to run into him again.

This person was none other than Liu Chun, who had caused a disturbance at the Wu Household family's banquet a few days ago when they were welcoming guests at the Immortal Fragrance Pavilion.

However, this man looked far worse than he had that day. Although he had also looked quite thin that day, he was not like this now, with sunken eyes, a face as white as paper, and bluish lips.

His clothes were torn in several places, and he lay crookedly on the ground, leaning against a pile of hay, looking as if he was about to collapse.

This person looked...

Lin Xiao hesitated for a moment, but still decided to lend a helping hand.

He saw someone seriously injured on the street, and he couldn't ignore it. He had done so in his past life, and he didn't intend to change it in this one.

But now that he's truly experiencing the cruelty of this world where cultivation is possible, he's trying to think things through more thoroughly.

However, instead of rushing to the rescue, he disguised himself and went to a nearby clinic, where he gave the doctor twenty Spirit Stone and asked him to help rescue someone in that alley.

After spending the last few days in Yuanling City, he learned that there are also clinics in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, and they are divided into clinics for cultivators and clinics for mortals. The latter are called medicine houses, and there are only a few in the huge Yuanling City, but there are many clinics of all sizes for treating cultivators.

However, given Liu Chun's condition just now, Lin Xiao felt that based on the prices at the clinics he had recently inquired about, the twenty Spirit Stone he offered were definitely not enough; at most, they would only cover the travel expenses to take the patient back to the clinic and the consultation fee.

But he couldn't possibly leave too many Spirit Stone for the clinic.

It seems that Liu Chun, being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, could afford to pay for his own medical treatment.

So after paying the Spirit Stone and giving directions to the doctor at the small clinic, Lin Xiao pretended to leave, but actually hid himself.

The doctor was somewhat surprised to see Lin Xiao leave in such a hurry.

This twelve-year-old boy looked like he had no Spiritual Power at all, but unexpectedly he spent twenty Spirit Stone in one go.

It seems this young man is either a scion of a powerful family or a senior who has concealed his cultivation level. In any case, since he, being at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, couldn't detect it at all, it means that the other person is definitely more powerful than him.

With that thought in mind, the doctor, who had initially harbored some ulterior motives upon seeing the twenty Spirit Stone he had received for free, immediately dispelled those uneasy thoughts and obediently went to the alley Lin Xiao had pointed out to rescue the person.

Seeing that the doctor had indeed run into the alley and carried Liu Chun back to the clinic, Lin Xiao, who was hiding in the shadows, breathed a sigh of relief and then turned and left.

On the way, Lin Xiao pondered why Liu Chun, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was lying so pathetically in the alley.

Judging from his appearance, he must have been injured.

However, as Senior Liao had said before, fighting was not allowed in Yuanling City. He had been wandering around the city for the past few days and had not seen any actual fighting.

There was a time when the two sides were on the verge of exploding, but just as they were about to make their move, a flash of light appeared above them, and the two immediately changed their expressions and withdrew their offensive stance.

It seems that Liu Chun was most likely injured outside the city, or he was manipulated by someone else in the city using other means.

Regardless of the reason, Lin Xiao felt that the person who did this was most likely from the Wu Household's faction.

Just as Senior Liao said, no matter the outcome, the Wu Household will ultimately be the victor.

They have entrenched themselves here for generations, their influence changing endlessly.

Unless they have incurred the wrath of most of Yuanling City, regardless of how they treat individuals or small groups, the final judgment of right and wrong will likely be made by them.

Those things at most became topics of conversation among the townspeople over tea, with a few mild comments about the "unjustness" and "ruthlessness" of the Wu Household, and then the matter was moved on.

Many of the Rogue Cultivator to this city, often unknowingly, are misled by the preferential treatment they receive and end up joining them.

Individuals persecuted by the Wu Household can only swallow their grievances and suffer in silence; no one will truly stand up for them who have no one to rely on.

Thinking about it this way, Lin Xiao felt even more that he had to be extremely careful when choosing diplomatic partners, otherwise their small sect wouldn't be enough to be swallowed whole by these wolves and tigers.

After Lin Xiao returned to the inn, he told Liao Pantu about his encounter with Liu Chun and how he saved her.