Earnest Instructions

Hearing their questions, Yuan Qing lowered his eyes and said with a dejected expression:

I was framed by my fellow disciples and expelled from the sect. Left with no choice, I headed home, but who knew I would encounter assassins on the way...

Did you recognize the people chasing you? Lin Xiao asked.

Yuan Qing answered honestly:

Although I didn't recognize them, they should be people from my fellow disciple's family. I spotted their family crest on them.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Xiao asked again:

Were you chased outside Yuanling City?

Yuan Qing shook his head and said:

No, I was ambushed two cities away from Yuanling City. I only managed to escape to the outskirts of Yuanling City by using a life-saving technique.

Is your fellow disciple's family based in Yuanling City?

Hearing him ask this, Yuan Qing roughly guessed what he was worried about. He shook his head again and explained:

His family is very far from Yuanling City. They have no influence here, and the local families of Yuanling City wouldn't let them easily reach their hands in.

Hearing this, Lin Xiao felt a bit relieved.

In that case, the people chasing him shouldn't appear in Yuanling City for the time being.

Therefore, saving him didn't carry too much risk.

It wasn't that Lin Xiao would leave him to die if the risk was higher, but he would definitely have made more considerations and meticulous arrangements.

The current situation was fine and saved them a lot of trouble.

At this moment, Jiang Youfu, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, swallowed hard and spoke up:

Big Brother Yuan, your... your fellow disciples actually framed and hunted you down...

He said this purely out of shock.

After all, he had only occasionally heard such stories before. Having a person who had personally experienced it testifying right in front of his eyes made it feel completely different to him, proving that such things truly existed.

When the stories bled into Jiang Youfu's reality for the first time, he was greatly shocked.

Yuan Qing nodded slightly at him and lowered his head in low spirits, his whole person exuding an aura of despondency.

Inside the Soul Nourishing Jade, Liao Pantu thought to himself: This is nothing. You guys haven't even seen the truly outrageous things yet.

At this moment, he really wanted to go out, point at the sickly person on the bed, and shout loudly at Jiang Youfu:

See that? This kind of thing is normal in the cultivation world! It's the standard! Our sect is the anomaly! When you guys wander around outside, remember to bring your brains!

However, the over five-hundred-year-old Liao Pantu held back.

It was inconvenient with an outsider present right now.

And using voice transmission lacked the necessary imposing manner.

Anyway, they still had to go to the Talisman Master Conference later. Along the way, there would be plenty of opportunities to experience the harsh beatings of the real cultivation world.

Seeing that Yuan Qing was already showing signs of fatigue after just a short conversation, Lin Xiao stood up and said:

You probably know by now that you are currently inside Yuanling City and are safe for the time being. Your injuries are too severe for you to move around. Just rest well here for a while. Once you are better, I will escort you home.

Jiang Youfu also chimed in:

Rest well!

As they spoke, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu had already walked to the door. With one foot about to step out, Lin Xiao suddenly seemed to remember something, poked his head back in, and asked:

By the way, you are from the main Yuan family, the largest in Yuanling City, right?

Yuan Qing nodded.

He wanted to say something but paused and ultimately kept his mouth shut.

He didn't tell Lin Xiao which branch of the Yuan family he belonged to.

Lin Xiao didn't ask further. He nodded to show he understood, then led Jiang Youfu out of the room and closed the door.

Outside the door, Lin Xiao turned around and set a restriction on the room to prevent others from entering.

Afterward, the two returned to their own room next door.

Back in the room, after resetting the array restrictions, Lin Xiao sat at the table, resting his chin on his hand and staring blankly at a certain spot.

Liao Pantu was finally able to drill out of the Soul Nourishing Jade to get some fresh air, pacing back and forth in the room.

Seeing Jiang Youfu happily run over to a nearby armchair as if nothing had happened, sit down, and pull out a pile of snacks from his storage bag to place on the small table, Liao Pantu felt his temples throb violently a few times.

Just how much food did your mother prepare for you? All I've seen you do these past few days is eat.

Jiang Youfu meticulously ate his snacks while shaking his head at him:

Senior, my mother didn't prepare this. My grandma did. It has to be non-perishable and tasty; she prepared it for a long time.

Saying that, he picked up a fried dough twist and offered it to Liao Pantu:

Senior, do you want some?

Liao Pantu looked at the large, golden-fried dough twist sprinkled with fragrant sesame seeds. He tried to resist but failed, raising his hand to take it. As he ate, he said to Jiang Youfu:

You heard what happened just now, right?

Heard what? Jiang Youfu didn't understand, blinking his bright, watery eyes at him in confusion.

Liao Pantu pointed to the next room and snorted:

That kid. Did you see the injuries he got from being hunted down? Did you hear what he said about being framed and hunted by his fellow disciples?

Jiang Youfu looked at him in confusion, took a bite of his large dough twist, and nodded.

Do you know how dangerous the cultivation world is now? You still think we're here to play... Be careful and cautious when you go out on normal days! Don't foolishly let your eyes be deceived by all those messy things. Don't stare at passersby, no matter how strangely they dress!

Also, when you go out, you have to follow Brother Xiao closely, understand? Don't just freeze up when you see something new!

Later, we still have to go to the Talisman Master Conference. That place won't be like this Yuanling City, which is remote and where people generally have low cultivation levels. There will be many cultivators with much higher cultivation levels than you and us. You can't be as casual as you are now, understand?

And let me tell you...

Just like that, Lin Xiao sat on the side, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Jiang Youfu ate the snacks Grandma Jiang prepared for him while being lectured by Senior Liao for over half an hour.

The next day, they prepared to go out to the ticket office to buy boat tickets to the Talisman Master Conference.

But before leaving, Lin Xiao thought about it and decided to visit the next room first to check on Yuan Qing.

Do you have any messages you need me to pass on to your family or anything like that?

Since being rescued by Lin Xiao that day, Yuan Qing had slept for three days. With the healing pills provided by Lin Xiao, he had spent the last two days mostly resting. Now, his spirit was much better, and he had woken up early in the morning.

Hearing Lin Xiao's question, Yuan Qing hesitated a bit before speaking:

Originally, I should try my best to repay Fellow Daoist Lin for saving my life. But in my current state, bearing false charges and expelled from my sect, I truly have no face left to call myself a disciple of the Yuan family.

He looked up at Lin Xiao:

I will repay Fellow Daoist Lin's great kindness with all I have in the future. It's just that regarding my family... it's better not to disturb them.

Hearing this, Lin Xiao knew his pride was acting up, so he nodded and said:

Alright then, you rest and recover well. I'll head out first.

As he spoke, he remembered something, took out a positioning voice transmission talisman from his storage bag, and handed it to Yuan Qing:

If you need anything, use this talisman to contact me.