The Courtyard for Sojourners

So Lin Xiao had no choice but to open his sleepy eyes and get up to steam some dry rations.

By sunrise, the four of them were ready and gathered at the village entrance.

Because Sun Yigao had previously told Landlord Sun at home about their current cultivation levels, Landlord Sun did not prepare an ox cart.

After all, an ox cart couldn't travel as fast as they could walk.

Moreover, Landlord Sun didn't plan to accompany them either.

Aunt Sun wanted to go, but Sun Yigao managed to persuade her otherwise.

It had to be said that the current Sun Yigao finally had a say in front of his mother, unlike in the past when his words carried no weight.

Landlord Sun simply handed the address and the rental slip to Sun Yigao, smiled and bid farewell to the four youths, and then took the reluctant Aunt Sun back home.

Without their elders present, the four youths looked at each other, suddenly burst into laughter, and then ran out of the village with cheerful banter, sprinting toward the county town.

The county examination was scheduled for two days later.

The county town was not close to Xiushui Village.

For an ordinary person on foot, it would take at least two or three days to barely make it.

Sun Yigao and the other three traveled quickly along the way, and because they had to accommodate Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan's speed and endurance, they hurried and managed to arrive at the county town before sunset.

The four of them entered the city just before the city gates closed.

Then, following the address, they asked around and finally found their accommodation.

They were received by an elderly, amiable man.

Upon entering the small courtyard, they discovered that although it wasn't large, it was very neat and quiet.

It was evident that someone cleaned it regularly.

The tranquil environment was perfectly suited for exam preparation.

However, because it had been uninhabited for a long time, despite being neat, the small courtyard lacked a bit of vitality.

But now, with the energetic youths coming in, the entire small courtyard seemed to become a bit livelier.

The owner of this small courtyard was the elderly man who received them. This courtyard was where he and his late wife had lived when they first got married long ago. Later, when he made some money and they had children, they moved to a larger residence.

Unfortunately, his wife passed away early, so he never sold this small courtyard, keeping it as a memento.

The elderly man was an old acquaintance of Sun Yigao's grandfather, so when he heard that Landlord Sun wanted to rent a suitable house for his son to prepare for the exam, he thought about letting the long-vacant house gather some human presence, and thus rented it to Landlord Sun.

Seeing the clear-eyed young men, the elderly man gave them a few brief instructions. Feeling very reassured, he handed them a key and left with his hands clasped behind his back.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the elderly man left and the four of them closed the courtyard door, just as they were about to go inside to organize their luggage, they were attacked!

Suddenly, Lin Xiao felt a cold gleam flash toward them from the right courtyard wall. He quickly drew his peach wood sword and swung it to the right! This barely blocked the sudden cold gleam!

"Meow—!"

Everyone looked closely and realized that the one currently scratching Lin Xiao's sword with its paw was a skinny little orange cat!

Seeing its attack fail, the orange cat immediately used the momentum to leap sideways, avoiding the edge of the peach wood sword. The moment it landed, its hind legs pushed off, sending it flying high into the air, raising its small cat paw to scratch at Lin Xiao again!

Lin Xiao immediately blocked again, lightly flicking the orange cat away.

By this time, the group, who had stepped into the ranks of cultivators for over two months, realized that this was likely a demon beast with cultivation, just like Little Luan.

The cat demon, after being flicked away, still didn't give up. It looked ready to attack again and was about to charge at the group!

Lin Xiao immediately used the Hundred Beasts Spirit Language and spoke,

"We have no enmity or grudges, why are you attacking us?"

With Lin Xiao's current perfect mastery of the Cloud Sword Art, he could easily slice off the cat demon's paw with a single strike.

But perhaps because he had spent a lot of time with Little Luan, Lin Xiao felt that although demons were always vilified in storybooks and legends, they could actually be communicated with.

So he decided to try communicating with it first.

The cat demon obviously didn't expect to understand the human's words. Its aggressive momentum instantly diminished a bit.

"Are you here to buy this house?"

Hearing this, the clever youths immediately realized that this little cat demon was actually here for the small courtyard.

As a result, the four youths in the courtyard, who had also practiced the Hundred Beasts Spirit Language, immediately shook their heads like rattle-drums in unison.

Liu Yunan was even quicker to answer,

"Absolutely not! We just rented this house from that old man for a few days. Really, we're just staying for a few days! We'll leave after a few days!"

The other three immediately nodded in full cooperation.

The little cat demon standing opposite the four of them showed a thoughtful expression.

Lin Xiao noticed this and thought to himself: It even knows about humans renting houses; it's clearly a cat demon that has lived in human society for quite a while.

This little cat demon wasn't like Little Luan, who had just unlocked its intelligence not long ago and looked completely clueless.

The little cat demon hesitated a bit and asked uncertainly,

"Are you sure you won't buy this house?"

At this moment, Sun Yigao stepped forward and bowed to the little cat demon, saying,

"I am here to prepare for the county examination the day after tomorrow. Once the results are out, I will either head to the prefectural city to continue my exams or return home. In any case, I will not stay in the county town for long, so naturally, I will not buy this place."

Seeing this upright and refined youth politely bowing and explaining to it, the little cat demon felt quite embarrassed. With a snikt, it quickly retracted its sharp, glowing claws.

"Then, then you can stay. But you can't damage this house! I'll come check on it often!"

Saying so, it leaped lightly onto the courtyard wall and then disappeared over the top with a bound.

Looking in the direction the little cat demon disappeared, everyone in the courtyard looked at each other in dismay. Jiang Youfu patted his belly and suddenly turned to ask Lin Xiao as if remembering something,

"Brother Xiao, do you know what cultivation level that little cat was at just now? I couldn't tell at all."

Hearing his question, Liu Yunan also nodded and said,

"Yeah, yeah. That little cat felt pretty fast. I almost couldn't react."

Sun Yigao held back a smile, pretending not to hear, and took out his storage bag as he walked into the house,

"I'll go inside and tidy up first."

Lin Xiao, on the other hand, scrutinized them with a profound expression for a moment, then patted their shoulders and said,

"Actually, if you hadn't asked, I wasn't planning on telling you. But I didn't expect you to ask on your own... That little cat, well, its cultivation is about the seventh level of Spirit Opening, which is equivalent to the seventh level of Qi Condensation for us humans.

You guys need to work harder. Nowadays, even a little cat has a higher cultivation level than you."

Hearing this, the two encouraged youths widened their eyes in utter disbelief!

"What? That little cat just now was actually at the seventh level of Qi Condensation?!"

Jiang Youfu dug out a roasted bean from his waistband and tossed it into his mouth. He bit down hard, making a loud crunch, and swallowed it in one gulp. Then he pulled out the Peach Blossom Spirit Gathering Array that Lin Xiao had prepared for him and Baldy the day before, and ran into the house.

"Don't stop me! I'm going to cultivate!"