"I'm sorry..."

Qi Li had clearly had too much to drink. She fell into Su Xuan's arms, apologizing for some unknown reason.

"It's fine. I'm just going to find that Grand Alchemist, which is a simple task." Su Xuan assumed Qi Li felt guilty for being unable to accompany him, so he reassured her, "Just focus on helping your father with the sect's affairs. I'll come back for you after I'm done. Okay? ...Qi Li? What have you done?"

As he spoke, Su Xuan suddenly felt a slight pain in his back, as if stung by an ant. Then, his consciousness began to fade.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Qi Li whispered again as she helped Su Xuan to the bed. Then, like a little kitten, she snuggled up beside him, quietly tucking away an oddly colored needle.

「The next day, just as dawn began to break.」

A delicate silhouette stealthily slipped out of Su Xuan's room and tiptoed outside with her head down. But as soon as she stepped out of the house's front gate, she stopped abruptly.

"Li'er, last night you…" A figure stood under a tree outside the house, lifting a hand and speaking with some hesitation.

"Father, I..." Qi Li opened her small mouth, then bit her lip. "All of you got Su Xuan far too drunk last night, and I was worried about him…"

"He..." Qi Qingshan said in an extremely strange tone, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Father, I'm not talking to you anymore!"

With her head lowered, Qi Li walked toward her own residence. The morning breeze wafted by, carrying a pleasant fragrance from her.

Qi Qingshan noticed his daughter's expression was somewhat... haggard.

Ah, a grown daughter is hard to keep at home!

Qi Qingshan glanced at the door to Su Xuan's house and quietly slipped inside...

「Another hour passed.」

Bright sunshine filtered through the window lattice, shining onto Su Xuan's bed.

Su Xuan opened his eyes, blinked, and muttered to himself. Did I black out from drinking?

He remembered Qi Li visiting him, but he couldn't recall what was said after that... and then it was morning. This is the first time I've ever drunk this much. Could the alcohol on the mountain be that strong?

Afterward, he got dressed and washed up, then noticed two pieces of paper on the table. He picked them up and examined them.

They weren't ordinary paper. They were two Profound Tickets, which could be exchanged for Moon Profound Stones. With these, he could easily visit a money changer and receive 20,000 Moon Profound Stones.

Twenty thousand... Su Xuan thought, shaking his head with a chuckle.

Qi Qingshan and Yan Peng had originally planned to give him 10,000, but now they had given him 20,000. The reason... it must have been because he drove away Ji Yangping, the master of Flying Wolf Villa, and displayed his formidable strength. A person with great power receives respect no matter where they are.

I don't need this anymore.

Su Xuan didn't take the Profound Tickets and placed them back on the table. He would have taken them if they belonged to anyone else—it was foolish to turn down a freebie—but he made an exception this time. Qi Qingshan and Yan Peng ran a modest operation, and his conscience wouldn't let him accept it.

"Oh my, Su Xuan, why are you only getting up now?"

When Su Xuan stepped out of the house, he saw Qi Qingshan waiting outside.

"Come, come, breakfast is ready for you, and the carriage is prepared." Qi Qingshan grabbed Su Xuan's hand with almost excessive enthusiasm. "Once you've eaten your fill, you can head to the Nine Cauldrons Sect to find Xie Cheng. Uncle wishes you swift and resounding success!"

"Thank you for your trouble."

Su Xuan went with Qi Qingshan to eat breakfast and then boarded the carriage. During the meal, many other Floating Cloud Sect disciples stared at him, their eyes filled with admiration and reverence. A few of the female disciples blushed after stealing a few glances at him.

This is quite different from the rough mountain customs I was expecting. Their behavior seems even shyer and more reserved than in the world below the mountain.

"Where's Qi Li?" Su Xuan asked Qi Qingshan through the carriage window after boarding. He hadn't seen her come to send him off.

"Li'er is still feeling a bit unwell, so I didn't have her come," Qi Qingshan replied with a grin. "Shall I go call her?"

"No need. I'll be back soon anyway."

Su Xuan shook his head, bid farewell to Qi Qingshan, and departed.

Qi Qingshan waved at the departing carriage. He glanced behind him to see a dense crowd of people—all sect disciples who had come on their own to see Su Xuan off.

"All of you, get back to your duties!" he shouted at them. "Stop loafing around!"

With that, Qi Qingshan turned and walked back into the sect. A disciple rushed up to ask when Elder Su would return and if he would stay for good this time, but Qi Qingshan didn't know how to answer.

Although I promoted Su Xuan to an elder of the Floating Cloud Sect, he never indicated that he would stay. On the contrary, he was always thinking of going home...

Qi Qingshan's figure suddenly seemed rather lonely, for it made him think of his daughter...

CLIP-CLOP. CLIP-CLOP.

The carriage gradually left the vicinity of the Floating Cloud Sect, but then it suddenly stopped again.

Su Xuan looked out of the carriage and couldn't help but smile. Yan Peng stood a short distance ahead, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Su Xuan, I'm not a fan of seeing people off," Yan Peng said, scratching his head as Su Xuan looked at him. "But if someone comes looking for me, you can bet I'll give them the grandest welcome possible!"

Seeing Su Xuan about to get out, Yan Peng quickly added, "Don't get out, don't get out! I'm not here for anything else, just..."

Yan Peng took a step toward the carriage, stuffed a bag into Su Xuan's hand, and instructed, "Take these. I hope you never have to use them."

With that, he turned and walked away without a backward glance. He really does seem to dislike goodbyes.

Su Xuan glanced at the bag. It was filled with medicinal pills.

The carriage continued on its way, the green mountains on either side of the road sliding backward into the distance.

Su Xuan leaned back in the carriage, at times shaking his head with a wry smile and at others sighing for no reason. Eventually, he simply retrieved some Moon Profound Stones from the space within his scented pouch and began to cultivate to pass the time. After using a stone, he would place it back inside.

The bumpy journey continued. Afternoon arrived quickly, and evening followed soon after. The carriage stopped abruptly before a dense forest. The driver had stopped for rest several times along the way, but this time was different.

CRACK! CRACK!

No matter how hard the coachman whipped the powerful horse, it refused to move forward a single inch. It even kept trying to back away. Fearing Su Xuan's displeasure, the coachman began whipping the stubbornly disobedient horse even harder.

"What's going on?" Su Xuan finally asked.

"Elder Su, I don't know what's happening," the coachman answered respectfully. "I've had this horse for years, and it's always been obedient. But this time... I don't know what's gotten into it. My apologies, my apologies. I'll figure something out right away."

Su Xuan narrowed his eyes toward the forest ahead. "Is it because..." he mused aloud, "...there's something in these woods that frightened it?"

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