They had arrived at an unfortunate time; the Dao debate had already ended.
Thus, the reception cultivator brought Yang Yuanhong to stay at an inn beside the Stone Man Dojo first.
Once they had settled in, the reception cultivator took out four hundred from the thousand Spirit Crystals he had received earlier and returned them.
This action made Yang Yuanhong regard the man more highly. Money that had already gone into his pocket, yet he was willing to take it back out.
"I hope you will not blame me, fellow Daoist. Earlier, I used a scheme to ascertain your identity; it was not my intention to swindle Spirit Crystals from you. I shall now return this excess entrance fee."
The reception cultivator apologized.
Yang Yuanhong immediately broke into a smile. He did not accept the Spirit Crystals, only asking, "You are a man of principles, fellow Daoist. Yet I do not know your name. How should I address you?"
"Sun Fubo. And you, fellow Daoist?"
"Yang Hu."
Having exchanged names like this, the two could be said to have made a connection.
Seeing that Yang Yuanhong would not accept the Spirit Crystals, Sun Fubo continued, "You should still take them, fellow Daoist. This is a rule passed down since my ancestor's time: when one encounters a good affinity, one must not profit from it."
"The reason my Sun Clan has been able to hold onto Yanlai City's family estate is also because our ancestor made friends far and wide back then, earning protection from many sides."
"Though you have not said so outright, I can tell that you too come from a background of great depth. Traveling through Yanlai City together today is the affinity between us. Should matters arise in the future, we may extend each other a convenience."