Everyone will grow into a unique version of themselves.

Jiangyue City, a somewhat secluded small courtyard.

Under the moonlight, Yuan Kong pushed open the slightly dilapidated door.

"You're back?" A slightly cold female voice came from the house inside the courtyard. "You returned quite early from your street performances today. Are you hungry?"

Chu Xingchen glanced calmly at Yuan Kong. The woman inside had no spiritual energy fluctuations; for now, she could only be considered an ordinary person with some martial arts skills.

Yuan Kong shrugged his shoulders, then chuckled lightly,

"Yes, we have guests. Little Qing, come out and say hello."

"Guests? You actually know people?" A tall silhouette walked out from the house. "Monks from which temple?"

As her voice fell, the young woman in the courtyard also stood at the doorway.

She wore coarse cloth garments, and her eyes held a hint of sharpness. While not stunningly beautiful, she was extremely pleasant to look at.

Perhaps if she changed into a nice outfit and applied a little powder to her face, she would look much prettier.

Standing at the door, the woman's originally mild expression turned somewhat guarded when she saw Chu Xingchen and Yun Xiao.

The reason was simply that these two were dressed far too luxuriously, and the divine light in their eyes, though restrained, was still too dazzling.

She had already entered the Grandmaster realm, yet she did not possess such power.

These two were highly likely to be cultivators, and extremely high-level ones at that—perhaps even in the Golden Core realm.

That hapless monk Yuan Kong claimed to be in the Great Grandmaster realm, but in reality, he might be in the legendary Martial Cultivator realm, capable of clashing with Foundation Establishment cultivators, which was why his appearance had barely changed over the past twenty-odd years.

But cultivators... were ultimately and undoubtedly above the martial dao.

Yuan Kong had always spoken of following destiny. As long as he believed it was a good deed, he wouldn't charge a single copper. When he lacked money, he would perform on the streets—a Martial Cultivator realm warrior performing brick-smashing tricks.

How could such a foolishly good person actually know any lofty cultivator friends?

They were probably just trying to trick Yuan Kong because he looked foolish and gullible.

Yuan Kong pointed at the woman and smiled,

"Qian Qing. I picked her up by the roadside when she was eight. Thinking about it carefully, it seems it's been over twenty years."

"A Grandmaster in her thirties, she can be considered to have top-tier martial talent."

Chu Xingchen first gave a light nod to Qian Qing, then smilingly teased Yuan Kong,

"It seems your experiences over the years have been absolutely splendid. I previously thought you wouldn't bring along a burden."

"I raised her the same way my senior brother raised me." Yuan Kong tossed the silver Chu Xingchen had given him to Qian Qing, then sighed. "She was quite obedient at twelve or thirteen, but once she hit twenty, she started to despise me."

"Speaking of which, Bai Qing is still the best. She never despises me." Chu Xingchen cast his gaze over the old, somewhat dilapidated house, then smiled. "Don't you plan to teach her some real skills?"

"She doesn't have the aptitude for it."

"That's a pity, but you need to keep track of the time."

Chu Xingchen didn't have any particular thoughts about Yuan Kong delaying his cultivation just to raise a daughter. If a person wanted to do it at the time, then it was worth it.

Furthermore, for Yuan Kong, saving the world was too distant a concept, but saving the person in front of him was fine.

Since the little monk Yuan Kong chose to stay, he naturally had his reasons for staying.

Cultivating the heart is also a form of cultivation; there is nothing to criticize.

Yuan Kong nodded and replied, "I have a rough idea in my heart..."

"Since you are guests, isn't it a bit too rude to be making remarks about us? Do you even deserve the word 'guest'?" Qian Qing suddenly interrupted Yuan Kong, making no attempt to hide the guarded look on her face.

Keeping track of time, having a rough idea.

This clearly implied that Yuan Kong would choose a time to leave, and this stupid monk actually agreed with them.

Over twenty years did not just pass in the blink of an eye!

Chu Xingchen chuckled lightly and pointed at Yuan Kong. "Strictly speaking, I'm not a guest. I'm a creditor. Today, I'm here to collect a debt from this hapless monk."

Qian Qing backhanded the silver she had just received back to Chu Xingchen, then said,

"How much does he owe you? I'll pay it!"

"I'm afraid you can't afford it."

"I know you are a cultivator. Is it spirit stones that this stupid monk owes you? I'll pay that too!"

"Spirit stones aren't worth much either." Chu Xingchen raised his eyebrows slightly. "The most expensive thing in this world is favors, just like how you owe this stupid monk more and more favors, eventually piling up until you would give your life for him."

"This stupid monk is the same; he owes me a favor."

Yuan Kong looked at the two of them with a depressed expression and said,

"Why are you both calling me a stupid monk? Back then, I was the smartest in the temple."

Qian Qing shot a glare at Yuan Kong, but found that this stupid monk didn't open his mouth to refute it, which meant Chu Xingchen's words were probably true.

However, this was indeed the weakness of this stupid monk, Yuan Kong.

Qian Qing said coldly, "He won't go with you."

Chu Xingchen shrugged his shoulders, took out two bottles of spirit wine from his spatial ring, shook them gently, and then asked with a smile,

"Shall we discuss this over a drink?"

Qian Qing neither agreed nor replied.

"Don't worry, this stupid monk learned eighty percent of his ways from his senior brother. He won't leave without making proper arrangements for you. It doesn't matter if you get drunk; you'll still see him when you wake up."

Chu Xingchen slightly raised his hand, and a stone table and chairs sprouted from the ground next to the courtyard. After taking a seat by himself, he continued,

"I bet this stupid monk never told you about his past foolish deeds."

"My name is Chu Xingchen. The one over there with a cold face, looking as if everyone owes him spirit stones, is Yun Xiao. In the future, you might just hear of my name."

Yun Xiao did not speak, simply taking a seat on the chair beside Chu Xingchen.

A mortal's lifespan is merely a hundred years; in the blink of an eye, they turn into dry graves like fleeting smoke.

There was no need for deep interaction, nor any need for excessive ties.

It wasn't that cultivators were heartless, but rather that cultivators needed to avoid such destined-to-be-meaningless connections as much as possible.

Especially those of deep emotion—they had to avoid it even more.

Qian Qing did not hesitate to sit down in front of Chu Xingchen. The sharp will of a martial warrior meant she would not back down even when facing the strong.

Chu Xingchen pushed a bottle of wine over, then advised,

"This is spirit wine. Your internal energy cannot process it, so drink it slowly."

Qian Qing took it and immediately took a sip, then her expression changed, and she obediently placed it back on the table.

The belongings of cultivators truly could not be underestimated in the slightest.

With just one sip, she felt it rushing to her head.

Seeing this, Chu Xingchen chuckled unceremoniously, his teasing gaze following right after:

"We have an old saying in our hometown: listen to advice, and you will eat your fill."

Fighting the dizzy feeling, Qian Qing replied,

"We also have a saying in our hometown: walk your own path firmly."

Yuan Kong shook his head helplessly and also took a seat to the side.

He had raised Qian Qing little by little, from a little girl who would nervously grab his trouser leg in fear, into her current cold and assertive demeanor.

Yuan Kong clearly remembered that he hadn't taught her to be like this; he had even taught her quite a few Buddhist scriptures back then.

How did she grow up so crookedly?

Chu Xingchen looked at Yuan Kong's depressed appearance and said knowingly,

"It's like this: everyone grows into a shape that uniquely belongs to them."

Yuan Kong shook his head helplessly and said, "Bai Qing isn't like this."

Chu Xingchen took a sip of wine and said in an indifferent tone,

"Bai Qing is the same."