After seeing Lu Xiuyuan off,
Lu Xuan and Yan Jiangxue looked at each other, and for a moment, neither knew what to say.
The two strolled in silence across the empty campus. The rain was still falling, but neither of them paid it any mind, simply walking on quietly.
The young man couldn't help but tilt his head. He saw raindrops slide down the girl's temples, and a sliver of faint sunlight splashed haphazardly across her face, accentuating a trace of joy.
"Um..." Yan Jiangxue began timidly, "I brought you something good to eat today, too."
As she spoke, she carefully pulled a small bag of jerky from her pocket and clumsily offered it to him.
"This is really, really good, and it's beneficial for cultivation. But you have to take small bites. It's too potent!"
Lu Xuan's eyes widened.
"Hey, how come you're not stuttering this time?"
"You!"
Yan Jiangxue's face flushed red, and she said in a small voice,
"I don't have a stutter. I'm just scared. When I talk about things I like, I'm not scared anymore."
The young man scratched his head, seeming to only half-understand.
"So you like to eat this much?"
He felt like something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on it...
After a moment's thought, Lu Xuan waved his hand.
"No, it's okay. This is just too valuable."
In this era, Cultivators were greater than heaven itself, and anything beneficial to cultivation was typically extremely expensive.
"N-No!" Yan Jiangxue said urgently. "It's a specialty from my family. It didn't cost anything! Besides... aren't we friends?"
As she said this, her face was full of anticipation.
Seeing the girl's anxious, red-rimmed eyes, Lu Xuan scratched his head, feeling too embarrassed to refuse any longer. He took the jerky and said a solemn "thank you."
"You don't have to thank me. Next time, you have to bring me something good to eat," Yan Jiangxue said timidly.
The two continued their stroll across the empty campus without a word. It wasn't due to any distance between them, but a beautiful, tranquil silence.
The rain continued to fall. Peach trees were in bloom. The young man and woman walked quietly under the trees in the rain, stepping on fallen peach blossoms, just like a scene from a breathtaking painting.
"I should be getting back." Lu Xuan glanced at the darkening sky. Despite Elder Chu's assurances, he was still a little worried about the situation in the shanty town.
"Okay." The girl nodded brightly. "Are you coming again tomorrow?"
"Things have been unstable lately. The Immortal outside the city has declared he won't leave for ten days. I have a feeling there might be more trouble in the coming days, so it's best to stay indoors. Besides, there's a lockdown... We probably won't see each other for another ten days."
Yan Jiangxue pouted.
"Then can't we just drive that guy outside the city away?"
Lu Xuan shook his head and explained gently,
"That's an Immortal. He's incredibly powerful."
"Oh." Yan Jiangxue looked thoughtful.
The two walked to the school gate. Lu Xuan had planned to walk the girl home, but Yan Jiangxue pointed to a small car parked by the roadside and said in a crisp voice,
"Someone's here to pick me up!"
After a pause, she asked cautiously,
"Let me give you a ride, okay?"
"Okay." Lu Xuan gave a brilliant smile.
He opened the car door, and they both sat in the back. In the driver's seat was a short old man, who turned around with a hard-to-read expression and greeted them.
"You must be Lu Xuan. My young mistress mentions you often... My surname is Ao, and my name is Ao Chengzhong. The shanty town, right? I'll take you back first."
Lu Xuan quickly returned a polite greeting. He didn't pay much mind to the old man's use of the words "young mistress," nor did he feel that living in the shanty town was anything to be ashamed of.
The car quickly drove toward the Lower City District and stopped at the border of the shanty town.
"See you next time." The girl waved gently and said timidly, "I still want to eat that roasted sweet potato."
"Okay." Lu Xuan got out of the car, his smile brilliant. "I'll bring you some next time."
"Mhm!"
After another polite farewell to Ao Chengzhong, he watched the car drive away before hurrying back to the shanty town.
The moment he stepped into the shanty town, Lu Xuan froze. 'This is...'
The burned houses had all been restored, even renovated to look brand new—better than they had been before the disaster. Even the sour, foul stench that hung in the air year-round was gone.
Due to the rain, there were very few people on the street, but a few figures were still there. Looking closer, he saw it was Uncle Zheng and Wu Xiaoxu, seemingly waiting for him.
Lu Xuan hurried over.
"Uncle Zheng, Xiaoxu, I'm back."
The two, who had been sitting idly under the eaves, quickly got to their feet. Butcher Zheng's face lit up with excitement.
"Good, good. It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back..."
Wu Xiaoxu also lunged forward, saying eagerly,
"Brother Xuan! Tell me what happened! Xiaobao and the others all said Zhu Wudi from Soaring Snake Martial Arts Hall helped out, but I don't believe it, and Uncle Zheng won't tell me the truth..."
Lu Xuan gave a helpless smile.
"Zhu Wudi? Since when was that Elder Chu's name?"
"Hehe!" Wu Xiaoxu scratched his head. "Brother Xuan, you must not know. They say he's undefeated throughout East Sea City, the most powerful Cultivator in the entire city. That's why a lot of people call him Zhu Wudi..."
After a pause, he asked impatiently,
"So, Brother Xuan, what exactly happened at the White Elephant Martial Arts Hall?"
"Nothing much." Lu Xuan smiled calmly. "I just killed a few pests."
"I knew it was you!" Wu Xiaoxu leaped up in excitement. Beside him, Butcher Zheng slapped him, annoyed. "Keep your voice down!"
Wu Xiaoxu grinned foolishly and sniffled.
"Uncle Zheng, I guess we share a secret now..."
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and slapped his head.
"Oh, right, Brother Xuan, my dad's back! And the Inspectorate canceled his arrest warrant. An inspector came by earlier and said Sakata Heavy Industries told them to cancel it, claiming it was all a misunderstanding!"
"Uncle Wu is back?" Lu Xuan's eyes lit up. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine, just a little injured. My dad said he tripped on the way back and hurt his leg, but it's just a minor injury, nothing serious!"
'He's injured, huh...'
Lu Xuan's heart stirred, but he didn't say more, just smiling.
"That's good, that's good..."
The three of them chatted idly for a while longer. Butcher Zheng remarked with some emotion,
"That Elder Chu is really fast. By the time we got back, almost everything was taken care of. The Five Elders and the other injured have mostly been treated... Lu the Kid, you've become the savior of our entire shanty town now."
'How could he not see that Zhu Wudi had come for Lu Xuan?'
Looking at the young man's clean, bright face before him and then recalling the hundreds of corpses at the White Elephant Martial Arts Hall, Butcher Zheng felt a sense of dazed disbelief.
Lu Xuan was silent for a moment before speaking softly,
"I'll pay him a visit later to thank him."
After chatting for a bit, Lu Xuan said goodbye to Uncle Zheng and arranged with Wu Xiaoxu to visit his home the next day. Then, he returned to his own small, shabby, but clean hut.
He sat on his bed, slightly dazed.
'This world...'
'I'm still too weak. Today, I showed my sword to the ruler and to this city, and perhaps no one will come looking for trouble in the shanty town for a short while, but...'
'As long as the world remains in a state where rites are not followed and the law is not upheld, trouble will come sooner or later. The wicked will come sooner or later.'
'I must uncover everything about Qianlong City and demand justice for its people. I must become strong enough—strong enough to bring peace to the world by myself...'
As the young man murmured to himself, his head began to throb more and more. Forcibly overdrawing his spirit to use the Mediation of Creation today had been too much of a strain.
He held on to his last bit of consciousness, carefully placing the jerky the girl had given him under his pillow. Then, he fell onto his bed and was instantly asleep.
Sleep took him straight into a dream.