Wind rustled through the courtyard leaves, making a soft rustling sound.

Kong Hou stuffed a Qi Condensation Pill into Huan Zong’s mouth and sighed: “Huan Zong, I hope you can understand that helping friends is what one should do. When you yourself encounter difficulties or physical problems, seeking help from friends is not something difficult to speak about.”

“So you go back and think carefully about what you did wrong today. I’m now unilaterally declaring that I won’t speak to you for ten hours.” Kong Hou released the hand gripping Huan Zong’s collar, turned around, and saw Lin Hu. “Senior Lin, if you’re going to cook, I’ll help you.”

Lin Hu: “…”

Why did he have to appear here?

Looking at the Young Master standing silently with lowered head, Lin Hu slowly opened his mouth: “Miss Kong Hou, fish has a strong fishy smell, and later when the fire is lit, there will be cooking fumes.” So she’d better not follow along.

“It doesn’t matter—just cooking fumes.” Kong Hou walked to his side and took the vegetables from his other hand.

“Cooking fumes will make a woman’s skin turn sallow.” Lin Hu stared at Kong Hou’s determined face and spoke leisurely.

“It… it doesn’t matter. I brought skin cream.” The vegetable basket in Kong Hou’s hands wavered, but she quickly became resolute again. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”

Lin Hu turned back to glance at the Young Master standing under the corridor. It seemed Miss Kong Hou’s determination not to speak to the Young Master today was very strong. Poor him, a mere attendant, caught in the middle and unable to please either side. Already a man over three hundred years old—when the young girl was unhappy, couldn’t he say some nice words to make her happy?

Entering the kitchen, Lin Hu wielded the kitchen knife with the威风 of a divine sword. He quickly scaled and gutted the fish, slicing the meat into pieces of moderate thickness and similar size. Adding seasonings, marinating, washing the wok, starting the fire—Lin Hu proceeded methodically. Kong Hou sat on a small stool beside him, feeling Senior Lin was incomparably magnificent at this moment.

“Can Miss Kong Hou eat spicy food?” Lin Hu grabbed a handful of chili peppers.

“Yes, I can.” As soon as Kong Hou spoke, she saw Lin Hu scatter a large amount of chili peppers into the oil being heated. She hurriedly said: “Huan Zong doesn’t seem able to eat very spicy food. Can he handle this much?”

Lin Hu slowly stirred with the large iron ladle. Soon a pungent spicy oil smell emerged. His tone was calm: “The Young Master made you angry, Miss. Why do you still care what he eats?”

“Being angry is being angry, but I can’t make things difficult for him when it comes to food. I’m a woman of principles.” Kong Hou coughed a few times from the spicy oil smell and stood up to rummage through the pile of meat and vegetables Lin Hu had bought. “Let me see what’s suitable to make for Huan Zong.”

Watching the young girl squatting on the ground, picking out vegetables that could nourish the body and stomach, Lin Hu’s mouth curved with a hint of a smile. He scooped out some of the spicy oil from the wok and poured the fish slices in.

With the capable Lin Hu present, the meal was quickly prepared: glistening spicy fish slices, fragrant fish head and bone soup, and several side dishes. Kong Hou helped Lin Hu bring the dishes to the table. Seeing Huan Zong enter, she didn’t acknowledge him, pushed the fish head and bone soup in front of him, and held her bowl to eat the spicy fish slices.

“Kong Hou…” Looking at the large bowl of steaming fish head soup before him, Huan Zong didn’t quite understand what this meant. Lin Hu had specially gone out to buy fish—all that was left for him was the fish head and skeleton?

Kong Hou said she wouldn’t speak to him, and she didn’t say a single word. She ate more than half the bowl of spicy fish slices, then wiped her mouth clean, didn’t even glance at Huan Zong, and walked out. A woman’s pride and principles absolutely must not surrender under a man’s beauty and grievance.

After all, she was a woman of principles.

Huan Zong had drunk less than a third of the fish head soup before him. He turned to look at Lin Hu: “Did Kong Hou say anything to you just now in the kitchen?”

“Young Master, I’m a six-hundred-year-old elderly person. I can’t chat and confide in a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young girl.” Lin Hu put down his chopsticks, his face expressionless. “Why don’t you go directly to Miss Kong Hou?”

Huan Zong stared at Lin Hu for quite a while, his brows slightly furrowed, looking somewhat aggrieved: “But she doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge me.”

Lin Hu collected the bowls and chopsticks from the table: “Young Master, although I’m already six hundred years old, I have no women around me.”

Huan Zong looked at him uncomprehendingly.

“So don’t ask me questions related to women.” Lin Hu pointed at the fish soup before him. “Still drinking?”

Huan Zong shook his head.

Lin Hu took away the fish soup and handed it to a servant waiting outside, then turned to Huan Zong: “Young Master, I’ll thoroughly inspect all the servants in the courtyard later.” Kong Hou had already told him about what happened earlier. He hadn’t expected that the Young Master, who hadn’t drawn his sword in so long, could kill an evil cultivator at the peak of Nascent Soul stage with one strike.

“I don’t know if the evil cultivators’ arranged assassination targets all sect disciples or has fixed assassination targets.” Huan Zong’s tone was low. “If it’s only targeting exceptionally talented new disciples from sects, it means evil cultivators already have a sufficiently strong network, knowing where these disciples are and even having ways to approach them.”

Throughout their journey, they hadn’t been particularly low-key. The evil cultivators who wanted to assassinate Kong Hou had probably been looking for opportunities to strike long ago.

Lin Hu found the evil cultivator’s corpse that servants had carried to a dark room. On the body, he found concealment talismans—no wonder the cultivator could disguise himself as a servant and enter the inner courtyard without Miss Kong Hou detecting his aura. Besides the already-used concealment talismans, Lin Hu also found several magical tools reeking with blood energy on the corpse. These magical tools had been refined using who knows how many lives, emanating sinister energy.

After destroying all the harmful magical tools, Lin Hu poured out the spirit stones from the storage pouch and unceremoniously collected them. Though evil cultivators were detestable, spirit stones were innocent. Donating them to impoverished towns was better than destroying them along with the evil cultivator. Mobilizing his body’s spiritual energy, he formed a Raging Fire seal and burned the evil cultivator’s corpse completely clean. Lin Hu turned to the servant outside the door: “Sweep up the ashes cleanly.”

Don’t dirty the room.

On Yongcheng’s streets, newly admitted disciples were taking their first rest day down the mountain. Some rushed to buy things to send home to their families, while others busied themselves touring Yongcheng’s beautiful sights. All along the way, seeing others looking at their disciple robes, they proudly straightened their backs, trying hard to make their postures more elegant.

Gao Jianyan and others dragged Gui Lin down the mountain to a restaurant for a meal. After eating, they saw an elderly woman struggling to carry things. Moved by compassion and learning the old woman’s home was not far outside the city gate, they decided to escort her back.

The old woman thanked them repeatedly, praising Yunhua Sect over and over. The several new disciples blushed with excitement, wishing they could carry the old woman home on their backs.

“My home is right there.” The old woman pointed to a wooden house in the distance. The wooden house was low and dilapidated, hidden at the mountain’s foot. If she hadn’t specifically pointed it out, Gao Jianyan would hardly have seen it.

“Grandma, how can you live alone here? If it rains and rolling stones fall, it will be very dangerous.” Gao Jianyan supported the old woman. “Let me find you a new place to live.”

“No need, no need.” The old woman repeatedly declined. “I’m afraid if I move, when I die a hundred years from now, my old man won’t be able to find me when he comes to fetch me.”

Listening to the conversation between the old woman and Gao Jianyan, Gui Lin followed behind with arms crossed, staring at the low wooden house, doubt showing in his eyes. This old woman had difficulty walking on Yongcheng’s flat roads—how did she climb up to that house built at the mountain’s foot with no other households around? Wasn’t it said Yunhua Sect treated the common people under its jurisdiction very well? Why would they let an old woman live alone in such a place? This was close to the city gate—even if no one reported it, Yunhua Sect disciples should have discovered it.

Something’s wrong. Very wrong.

Gui Lin stopped and called out to Gao Jianyan: “Gao Jianyan, wait.”

“What is it?” Gao Jianyan stopped and turned to look at him. Thinking he was getting impatient, he said: “Junior Brother Gui Lin, you go sit in a teahouse for a while. I’ll come find you shortly.”

The other two fellow disciples also knew Gui Lin didn’t like meddling in affairs and nodded: “Don’t wander off later. I heard from senior brothers that there’s a Listening Wind Teahouse nearby. The storyteller’s voice skills are excellent—you can wait for us there.”

“My home is almost here. If the young immortals don’t mind, you can come to this old woman’s house for a cup of tea.” The old woman smiled. “This old woman is getting on in years. It’s been many years since I’ve talked with young people like you.”

“We can talk, but we won’t drink tea.” Gui Lin said coldly, his tone carrying some mockery. “Since you like being around young people, why not move away from the mountain’s foot?”

“Young man, do you… do you not like me?” The smile on the old woman’s face gradually disappeared. She lowered her head: “This old woman has spoken too much.”

A helpless, pitiful elderly person, an aggressive youth—anyone watching would think Gui Lin was speaking and acting too excessively, completely lacking compassion.

Gao Jianyan and the two fellow disciples exchanged glances. Gao Jianyan released the old woman’s hand and said to her: “Grandma, this junior brother of mine has a bad temper. We’ll go persuade him and definitely make him apologize to you.”

“Right, our junior brother has been spoiled by us.” The other two fellow disciples also put down what they were carrying and turned toward Gui Lin, their expressions very ugly.

Gui Lin sneered inwardly. Having compassionate hearts but no brains—he didn’t know how these people had passed through the Immortal-Seeking Path.

“Junior Brother.” Gao Jianyan reached out to grab Gui Lin’s arm. Gui Lin turned to avoid him. The other two fellow disciples, seeing this, also crowded over. The three half-dragged, half-pulled him to a more distant spot. Gui Lin turned back to look at the old woman—she was smiling as she watched him.

Seeing this, his face darkened. Yet the three fellow disciples beside him who had grown tall but not smart still wanted him to apologize. No matter what, that was impossible.

The old woman heard the chubby boy shouting at Gui Lin, demanding he must apologize. Gui Lin refused and turned to leave. The three went up to pull him again, and before long they’d walked quite a distance.

“Is this far enough?” Gao Jianyan, who had just been raising his voice to shout at Gui Lin, asked quietly. “Did she follow?”

“No, but she’s watching us.” A fellow junior brother said. “I just saw her smiling at Gui Lin.”

“What are you standing there for? Hurry!” Gao Jianyan gripped Gui Lin’s arm forcefully. “Run!”

Before Gui Lin could react, Gao Jianyan and the other three were dragging him toward the city gate. He instinctively looked back—the old woman who could barely walk earlier had leaped into flight and was chasing after them. However, seeing they’d already entered the city, the old woman glared at them viciously, then turned and flew away.

“That scared me to death.” Gao Jianyan leaned against a wall, panting. “Good thing we ran fast. Otherwise, that little wooden house would have been our burial ground today.” He turned to look at Gui Lin and patted his shoulder. “Junior Brother, fortunately you were here today.”

Gui Lin snorted coldly, though his face was flushed from running and his voice still trembling: “Weren’t you going to make me apologize to that old demon woman?”

“That was acting for her to see, so we could get far from her and seize the chance to escape.” Gao Jianyan really couldn’t hold himself up anymore and sat down against the wall with a thump. Sweat dripped down his white, chubby face. “That old woman did look pitiful, but our own brothers are more trustworthy than outsiders. Even if you really did something wrong, as long as it didn’t cause bad consequences, we’d close the door and deal with you ourselves. How could we let you lose face in front of outsiders? Besides, your brain has always worked better than ours. Though your temper is a bit stubborn, you absolutely wouldn’t give a hard time to an old woman who can barely walk. So the one with a problem is definitely her, not you.”

“Right! Why would we trust outsiders instead of our own brothers?” The other two fellow disciples also sat on the ground with no regard for their image. “No wonder the sect specifically warned us not to leave the city casually. It seems the outside world really is very dangerous.”

Gui Lin looked at the three completely disheveled people sitting on the ground. He stood leaning against the wall and snorted coldly again: “You certainly have a clear understanding of your own brains.”

“Own brothers”—how ridiculous.

The next morning at breakfast, Kong Hou still didn’t speak. After finishing her meal, she put down her chopsticks and said to Lin Hu: “Senior Lin, I’m going to meditate for several days. Don’t prepare meals for me during this time.”

“Alright.” Lin Hu nodded, then turned to look at Huan Zong. Huan Zong turned his head to look at Kong Hou.

However, Kong Hou still didn’t converse with him. She stood up and walked out.

Huan Zong stared at the empty doorway in a daze until Lin Hu began clearing the table, then looked at him.

“Young Master, the ten hours aren’t up yet. Miss Kong Hou won’t speak to you.” Lin Hu had already seen that Miss Kong Hou was a young person who kept her word. If she said she wouldn’t acknowledge the Young Master, she absolutely wouldn’t say an extra word.

“But when she comes out of meditation, it will be long past ten hours.” Huan Zong frowned, feeling this was somewhat unfair.

Lin Hu raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t the party involved—the Young Master telling him this was useless.

“Young Master, have you thought about why Miss Kong Hou is angry?” Lin Hu knew the Young Master was accustomed to shouldering everything himself, but when being friends with people, one couldn’t always be like this. “You were willing to draw your sword for Miss Kong Hou, showing you care about her safety. That’s good. But you should think more carefully—you suffered internal injury relapse to save Miss Kong Hou, yet deliberately concealed it from her. How do you think that makes Miss Kong Hou feel?”

“I didn’t want her to worry. Is that wrong?” Huan Zong didn’t understand. Bearing hardship yourself and not making others worry—what was bad about that?

“If she considers you a true friend, when she learns the truth, she’ll be sad, she’ll feel guilty, she’ll worry.” Lin Hu shook his head. “Young Master, your world shouldn’t contain only the sword. Being able to meet Miss Kong Hou is indeed your good fortune, but not because she helped you find rare medicinal materials—rather, she’s gradually helping you understand what it means to be a living person, not a cold, emotionless sword.”

Huan Zong fell silent.

“Think carefully. When you understand, and Miss Kong Hou comes out, go apologize to her.” Lin Hu said. “Otherwise, the time Miss Kong Hou won’t speak to you will change from ten hours to ten days.”

“Really?” Huan Zong’s expression finally changed.

“Young Master, if you don’t believe it, you can try.” Lin Hu was in excellent spirits. “At most ten days or half a month, Miss Kong Hou will still forgive you. The young girl is soft-hearted. Meeting a sword cultivator like you who doesn’t know how to speak or make friends, she hasn’t even disdained you.”

Huan Zong pondered for a long while before looking up at Lin Hu: “Lin Hu, I think you’ve been talking much more lately.”

“Young Master, this is called ‘those who touch ink are blackened.'” Lin Hu stood up. “I’m going to practice sword. You think slowly.”

Ten days or half a month without speaking to anyone was, for Huan Zong, a trivial matter not worth mentioning. But Kong Hou ignoring him for just one night already made him feel uncomfortable everywhere. Could it really be touching ink… no, “those near vermillion are reddened”?

Lin Hu really didn’t know how to use idioms properly. What was wrong with Kong Hou? How could she be “touching ink makes one black”?

Hefeng Studio.

Hefeng Studio’s architecture was extremely exquisite. The pavilions and towers inside were magnificent. Streams flowed around the buildings, making gurgling water sounds. Male and female cultivators didn’t live in cave dwellings but resided in towers. Flowers, grass, and trees complemented each other beautifully, making all of Hefeng Studio look like a celestial palace in heaven or a paradise on earth.

An He had succeeded as Hefeng Studio Master only a few years ago, yet had already established威望 in Hefeng Studio. However, because his title of Young Master An He was too resounding, nearly all of Yancheng’s residents loved calling him Young Master. Even after he became Studio Master, they were unwilling to change how they addressed him.

Fortunately, An He didn’t mind and let them call him as they wished. As the Hundred Flowers Festival drew nearer, all of Hefeng Studio became busy. Even An He, the Studio Master, didn’t get a moment’s leisure and hadn’t been able to cultivate peacefully for several days.

“Senior Brother, that small courtyard on East Street seems to have someone living in it.” An He’s junior brother came in. Seeing An He was resting with eyes closed, he said: “Senior Brother, if you’re too tired, why not arrange for a disciple to visit?”

“Is it that small courtyard?” An He opened his eyes, his expression becoming solemn. Over three hundred years ago, he became a disciple of Hefeng Studio. Because his talent was excellent, the studio elders didn’t let him handle miscellaneous affairs. For the first hundred-plus years, aside from cultivation, he worried about almost nothing.

In the year he turned one hundred eighty, his master returned gravely injured. After returning, he built a small courtyard in the best location on East Street and made clear to him that the courtyard’s owner was his lifesaver. Not long after, Hefeng Studio became affiliated with Liuguang Sect, yet his master’s health declined day by day.

He knew that injury had damaged his master’s foundation. So for the next hundred-plus years, he cultivated even more desperately. Just a few years ago, he advanced his cultivation to Nascent Soul stage, and his master passed the Studio Master position to him. Five years ago, his master passed away. Before dying, he specifically instructed that if the small courtyard’s master came, he must be treated as an honored guest.

He had agreed, but over these years, aside from a few servants, no one had entered or left the small courtyard. He’d even begun to suspect that perhaps his master’s benefactor had also passed away long ago. Now hearing his junior brother say the small courtyard’s master had appeared, he was truly very surprised.

“Prepare gifts. I’ll visit personally.” An He stood up. “This person is Master’s great benefactor from when he was alive. There can’t be the slightest negligence.”

“Yes.” Seeing An He’s attitude so serious, the junior brother agreed. “Then will Senior Brother change clothes?”

“Bring me my Auspicious Cloud Celestial Joy Dharma robe. Use the newest style hair crown from Yuxiao Sect.” An He thought for a moment. “Also lead out that Flying Sky照夜White horse the studio has been raising. We can’t be impolite before distinguished guests.”

The junior brother wanted to speak but stopped. He felt whether clothing was luxurious or not was a different matter from politeness. But he also knew his senior brother’s little quirk and withdrew to follow instructions.

Flower Rain Street outside East Street was very beautiful, but it wasn’t open to tourists and was very quiet. An He rode Flying Sky照夜White along Flower Rain Street, his jade-like face wearing an extremely serious expression.

Arriving outside the small courtyard, a disciple stepped forward to knock on the door. However, after waiting a long time, no one came to answer.

“Studio Master, perhaps the master isn’t home.” The disciple who knocked on the door said. “Why don’t we come again tomorrow?”

“Knock again.” An He’s expression didn’t change. Today he had specially dressed up before going out. If he couldn’t even see anyone, what was the point of dressing up?

“Yes.” Seeing An He’s grave expression, the disciple didn’t dare say more and continued knocking. Still no one answered.

“Studio Master…” The disciple’s expression could barely hold. “There really seems to be no one.”

An He looked at the tightly shut gate, his brow slightly furrowed. It probably wasn’t that no one was there—rather, they didn’t want to acknowledge him.

He cupped his hands toward the gate: “This humble one is An He of Hefeng Studio, seeking to meet the master of this residence.” His cultivation had reached Nascent Soul, so though his voice wasn’t loud, it could clearly reach inside the courtyard.

Before long, footsteps sounded behind the door. The gate opened wide, and a middle-aged man in green robes with an indifferent expression stood behind the door.

The middle-aged man glanced at An He, his face showing neither pleasure nor anger. Seeing he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, An He jumped down from his horse and cupped his hands in salute to the middle-aged man: “This humble one is An He, the new Studio Master of Hefeng Studio. May I ask if fellow Daoist is the master of this courtyard?”

“Yesterday I had the honor of seeing Studio Master once at the city gate.” The middle-aged man returned the courtesy. “However, I’m not the master of this place. My young master is the master here. I don’t know what business Studio Master has?”

Seeing the middle-aged man didn’t seem to want him to enter, An He explained: “Years ago, this humble one’s master received favor from your esteemed young master. All these years, he never forgot your master’s kindness. Even on his deathbed, he instructed me that if I met your master, I must treat him as an honored guest. Please have pity on my master’s heartfelt gratitude and allow me to meet him.”

“Studio Master’s kind intentions are appreciated by my young master, but he has never liked talking and doesn’t enjoy seeing outsiders. Please forgive us, Studio Master.” The middle-aged man sighed. “Wumi Zhenren’s passing is truly a great loss to the cultivation world. Please accept my condolences, Studio Master.”

An He smiled bitterly: “Thank you for your comfort, fellow Daoist.”

Seeing him like this, the middle-aged man couldn’t say much more. He cupped his hands: “Please return, Studio Master.”

“Since my benefactor doesn’t like talking, I won’t disturb him much. Please allow me to enter so I can pay my respects to my benefactor.” An He knew many experts in the cultivation world had quirks. This person could save his master, showing his cultivation wasn’t low. He also didn’t want to disturb him, but knowing his benefactor had already arrived in Yancheng yet not paying respects—he feared his master would appear in his dreams and scold him while pulling his ears.

“Then please wait a moment, Studio Master. I’ll go inquire with my young master.”

“Much obliged, fellow Daoist.”

“Studio Master is too polite.”

An He waited respectfully outside the door for quite a while before the middle-aged man appeared again. He hurriedly cupped his hands: “I wonder if my benefactor is willing to let me enter?”

“Please, Studio Master.” The middle-aged man made a gesture of invitation.

“Thank you, fellow Daoist.” An He entered the gate. Seeing the middle-aged man walking ahead silently, he said: “May I know fellow Daoist’s honored surname and how I should address you?”

“My humble surname is Lin. People outside all call me Old Lin.” The middle-aged man turned to look at him. “If Studio Master doesn’t mind, just call me Old Lin.”

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Lin.” An He cupped his hands toward him, his mind racing. But no matter how he thought, he couldn’t recall any Nascent Soul cultivator surnamed Lin who served as someone else’s attendant.

Throughout the cultivation world, cultivators who reached Nascent Soul cultivation were already extremely few. With such cultivation, becoming an elder at a sect would certainly be better than being an attendant.

“Studio Master, my young master is in the main hall.” Fellow Daoist Lin stopped. “Please.”

An He ascended the steps. When he saw clearly the face of the man sitting in the host’s seat, his footsteps halted.

He felt a surge of regret.

He shouldn’t have come here.

Why would there be a man of such appearance in this world?