Farewell

As the group walked out of the auction house, they were met with a bustling, lively crowd on the plaza that had yet to disperse.

Just as Master Ji was about to take out the Light Cloud cloud boat, Shi Yu suddenly heard a commotion coming from not far away.

“Stinky brat! I'll teach you to steal from me!”

“Damn filthy beggar! Looking for a death wish, putting your filthy paws on me?!”

Accompanied by the cursing were dull thuds of fists hitting flesh, along with the muffled, pained gasps of the victim: “Stop... please stop hitting me...”

Shi Yu felt the voice sounded somewhat familiar. Turning her head to look, her brows knit slightly.

The person being beaten was indeed a familiar face—it was the young boy who had stolen her empty storage bag last time.

Seeing the burly man punching and kicking with spiritual energy coursing through his limbs, clearly intent on beating the boy to death, Shi Yu paused in her tracks. She turned to Master Ji and the others, asking, “I spotted an acquaintance. Could you wait a moment for me?”

The others naturally agreed, staying where they were to wait for her.

Spiritual energy coated the burly man's fist. Gathering his power for a moment, he was about to strike down again.

However, a pair of slender, fair hands gently caught his arm.

The burly man turned to look, and seeing a young woman, he glared at her with a booming, muffled voice: “What do you think you're doing?!”

Just as Shi Yu was about to speak, Master Ji, worried she might get hurt, raised his voice from a distance: “Little Yu, make it quick!”

The burly man followed the voice and recognized Master Ji. His expression instantly changed, and lowering his fist, he spoke with a somewhat stiff politeness: “Miss, why are you stopping me?”

Noticing a storage bag clutched in his other hand, Shi Yu understood the situation and said, “Brother, it was certainly wrong of him to steal your belongings.”

“Now that you have your item back and the boy has received a beating to teach him a lesson, why not... let him off this once and give him a chance to mend his ways?”

The young girl's voice was as pleasant as gurgling stream water, and her words were polite. By the time she finished, most of the burly man's anger had melted away.

Considering that she knew Master Ji and not knowing her true background, the man changed his tune and said, “Fine. Out of respect for you, Miss.”

With that, he glared fiercely at the boy on the ground and dropped a line—“Don't let me catch you again!”—before turning around and walking away.

Seeing him leave, Shi Yu squatted down. “We meet again.”

The young boy on the ground was bruised and swollen. He turned his face with a wince, looking at her and speaking weakly: “We meet again, Big Sister.”

“Not running this time?”

“Can't run, can't run anymore.” Grimacing in pain, he reached into his shirt, pulled out a storage bag, and said glumly, “Here, giving it back to you.”

This was precisely the empty storage bag he had stolen from her last time.

Shi Yu took it and casually tucked it into her sleeve.

Lying on his back and gasping for breath, the boy didn't forget to gripe at Shi Yu: “Who keeps a storage bag completely empty like that?”

Shi Yu merely smiled without saying a word.

Catching his breath for a moment, the boy struggled to sit up. “Anyway, thanks for saving me, Big Sister. I'll definitely repay you in the future—well, if there's ever a chance.”

Shi Yu gave a soft hum and didn't ask why he was stealing. She simply said, “Where is your home? Looking at you, I doubt you can walk more than a few paces.”

The young boy let out a bitter smile. “My home... my home was in Changxu Village. It's long gone...”

Changxu Village.

Shi Yu's brows furrowed tightly.

“What a coincidence...”

Changxu Village happened to be that eerie village she had passed on her way from the market to the main city.

At the time, she had thought it was just an ordinary village where the inhabitants grew spiritual grain for a living. But after stepping inside, she discovered that every living creature in the vast village had vanished without a trace.

Judging by the cooked food left unserved on the stove and the half-washed laundry in the yard, the disappearance of all living beings seemed to have happened in an instant, sending a chill down one's spine.

Even stranger, when she had sensed something amiss and immediately left, looking back at the village revealed it to be illusory and intangible—hard to perceive, as if it was uncertain whether it truly existed at all.

Noticing her unusual expression, the boy called out, “Big Sister?”

Shi Yu snapped back to her senses and asked, “What happened to Changxu Village?”

The young boy froze, unable to help asking, “You know our village, Big Sister?”

“I passed through there once.”

The young boy's eyes turned red, and he whispered, “They're dead... everyone is dead... In just the blink of an eye, everyone turned into smoke and dust. My mother too... A gust of wind blew, turning her into dust that coated my eyes...”

Shi Yu sighed softly and popped a Rejuvenation Pill into his mouth, asking, “Do you know why that happened?”

The boy's eyes grew hazy as he wiped his tears pitiably. “It's a long story...”

As he spoke, his eyes darted around slyly, revealing a hint of cleverness.

Shi Yu knew that his previous grief was genuine, but his tear-wiping now was half-real and half-staged, carrying a flair of performance.

Without exposing him, she played along with his thoughts and asked, “So, do you have anywhere to go right now?”

“No!” He immediately answered, beaming happily. “Thank you for taking me in, Big Sister! Oh, by the way, my name is Ji Yu. You can just call me Ah Yu—that's what my mother used to call me!”

Shi Yu stared at him calmly. “I never said I was taking you in.”

“Just staying temporarily, temporarily!” Ji Yu said, quick on his feet.

Shi Yu stood up and walked back, with Ji Yu obediently following behind her.

Master Ji sized up the person following Shi Yu. Seeing the grime-covered, filthy boy, he hesitated before asking, “This is...?”

Ji Yu pulled up his sleeve, gave his face a quick wipe to clear away the dirt, and grinned broadly. “Uncle, I'm Big Sister's friend!”

His sweet call of “Uncle” instantly softened Master Ji's expression, and he gave the boy a fairly friendly nod.

Shi Yu shot him a look without saying anything, but noticed that once the grime was wiped off his face, the boy was actually quite handsome.

Ji Yu then used his sweet talk to greet everyone else one by one, coaxing smiles out of all of them.

Qingzhou was the only one who didn't fall for his charm. With his eyelashes lowered, he stood quietly off to the side.

“Alright, I'll send you back.” Master Ji maneuvered the cloud boat and bade everyone get aboard, steering it directly to Shi Yu's Chilie Cave Dwelling.

“Girl Wen mentioned that you tamed that earth fire so thoroughly it's entirely obedient now?” As the cloud boat hovered and everyone stepped off, Master Ji cast a glance at the cave dwelling. “You really have quite the skill, young girl.”

“You flatter me, Master Ji. The earth fire was simply cooperative.” After stepping off the cloud boat, Shi Yu gave a gentle smile and bowed respectfully to Master Ji. “Thank you for looking after me today.”

The others followed suit, offering their respects as junior disciples.

Master Ji waved his hand and stroked his beard. “Alright, it's getting late. This old man will be taking his leave as well.”

With a hearty laugh, he turned and stepped back onto the cloud boat, bidding farewell to everyone.

Watching the cloud boat gradually vanish from sight, the three Zhou siblings also turned around and cupped their hands, saying:

“Little Yu, the three of us ought to express our proper gratitude, but our clan is still waiting on this Blood Cloud Ginseng. Furthermore, regarding the Lesser Longevity Pill you mentioned, we must report back to our clan as soon as possible so they can make an early decision. Therefore...”

Knowing they were about to leave, Shi Yu nodded. “You should set off early. Don't delay, lest you miss important matters.”

Deeply moved, the three shared heartfelt words of blessing before departing with reluctant expressions.

As they left, Zhou Yang remained relatively calm, but Zhou Shuo and Zhou Yue felt a tightness in their noses and redness in their eyes, visibly despondent.

Zhou Yang offered a word of comfort: “We might see each other again before long. There's no need to be like this.”

Hearing this, the two felt much better.

...

After seeing the three members of the Zhou family off, Shi Yu turned around and looked at the remaining two. Taking out her token, she led them into her cave dwelling.

“Qingzhou, your body is still weak. Go rest first. Pick whichever guest room inside you like.”

With his silver hair falling loose, Qingzhou clutched his chest and coughed softly twice. He gave a gentle assent and walked slowly deeper into the cave dwelling.

Shi Yu then turned to look at Ji Yu. “Now tell me, what exactly happened to Changxu Village?”