66 Yan City

The next morning Shen accompanied by Su Rou, Wenren Wushuang and Mingyue Gelou left for the Greencloud City. At first, he planned to take Yiye Jiange with him but considering that Huan Jing or the Joyous Sect might attack the Skysword Sect again, he decided to leave her here. Besides either he or Yiye Jiange must stay behind to take care of Luan Luan. Also, he had Kaidi with him, with the help of Red Agate Necklace, her power level was comparable to peak Marital King.

Shen passed one Energy Enhancing, Energy-Circulating and Defense Enhancing fruits, with the One Nurturing Will to Zhu Qing. He also gave one Defense Enhancing fruit to Yiye Jiange. She already received each of Energy Enhancing and Energy-Circulating fruits from Shen, but yet to consume them since her meridians were sealed. The effects of the fruit would be hugely diminished at that time. Beside the Defense Enhancing fruit, Shen advised her to not take the other two before she stabilizes her cultivation. When she finishes stabilizing her power, he will personally help her to breakthrough, in addition to the fruits.

Even though Yiye Jiange was confused as to how he would help her, she didn't underestimate him, nor did she think about disobeying his instructions.

In two days, Shen left the border of the Cang Lang Country and was flying above the Yan Jiang Country. Shen sighed in admiration, if he wanted to cover the same amount distance from ground, he would at least need three or more months. It was also because of the superior endurance of the Black Bird, combined with the cheat Immortal Realm. Shen could travel much faster than high-level flying beasts. Just by resting five minutes inside the Immortal Realm, it can always fly at its best. After all, 5 minutes in the outside world was equal to more than one and half a day.

The strong wind in the air was nothing to those who had attained Xiantian. If it was an ordinary person, he would not be able to withstand the strong gales. He would not even be able to breathe and would only feel as if he were being cut through by a blade. If they weren't sitting together, they would even be hardly able to talk. It goes to show how fast the black bird was.

Yet he felt that he won't be able to return to the Hundred Miles City before the new year. As disappointed as Shen felt, he didn't let it bother him. He just had to take care of Su Rou's family problem and return quickly.

"Sister Wushuang, that's the Yan City, the capital of Yan Jiang Country." Su Rou explained to Wenren Wushuang. It was Wenren Wushuang's first time outside the Cang Lang Country or even Hundred Miles City. She looked at everything with anticipation, Su Rou happily accompanied her and explained everything she knew of.

"That's right! Since it's already evening, do you girls want to spend the night in Yan City?" Shen offered.

The girls agreed happily. Exploring a new city was always enjoyable. Shen was a little concerned that Su Rou will be worried during the journey, but she looked rather cheerful. He didn't know whether she was pretending or the situation really wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. Since worrying won't take him anywhere, he decided to put it in the back of his head.

Being near the Greencloud Capital, Yan city naturally flourished. Yan city is one of the top 15 cities among all the cities of the Greencloud Continent!

An hour later, they got off at a less busy location, rented a covered horse carriage, and went off to Yan City's largest restaurant, "Red Maple Inn".

Shen sat in the coach together Mingyue Gelou, and Su Rou and Wenren Wushuang took the seat opposite to him.

"Let's go with the plans again. We will spend the night in Yan city before continuing our journey tomorrow. With this speed, we can probably reach Greencloud City in 5-7 days. We help the Su family in any way possible. After that our next priority will be to return to the Hundred Miles City. Is that right?" Shen thought for a moment before saying.

"Yes. That's the plan," affirmed Mingyue Gelou.

"Hmm, I only hope that we will be able to follow this plan." Shen sighed as he leaned against the window and looked out at the passing traffic and stalls. There was a large variety of items on sale. There were plenty of voices from people calling out for customers as well as from those who were bargaining for a better price.

They passed by another stall, and he noticed that there seemed to be an unusual crowd over there. And the voice that came out caused Shen to strain his ears.

"...the Yan Clan's Young Miss is selling tea leaves. This is really a disgrace to the Yan Clan." A scathing female voice rang out.

"She's only Yan Clan's Young Miss in name. How does she look like Yan Clan's Young Miss? She can't even be compared to a servant in the Yan Clan. She even has to rely on herself to fill her stomach." Explained a middle-aged man calmly.

"Sir, please stop the coach!" Shen suddenly shouted. He quickly got off the coach not even saying anything to the girls.

"Sister, what's wrong with Shen??" Su Rou asked Mingyue Gelou worriedly.

"Let's go, we'll go and take a look."

Mingyue Gelou, Su Rou and Wenren Wushuang got off the coach as well. "Sir, please wait for us here for 15 minutes. If we're not back by then, feel free to go off."

After saying that, Mingyue Gelou handed the coachman a silver note!

Shen walked towards the crowd. His sense of hearing was too keen, allowing him to clearly hear from such a faraway distance.

"Sigh, this child is really pitiful. Even though she is a Young Miss from the Yan Clan, she can't even be compared to a child from a commoner's family." An aunt spoke out, feeling sorry.

Shen walked very slowly, and gradually squeezed through to the front.

"Young Master Lai, is that girl really from the Yan family?" A skinny young man questioned with a disappointed voice.

"She is but she doesn't deserve that title. She is nothing but merely an illegitimate child of the Yan Clan. They don't let her cultivate. Her position is even lower than a maidservant." said young master Lai.

"Then the Yan Clan probably won't mind if we play with her, right? She is quite a beauty too. Don't you think we can use her to please ourselves for a night or two," said the skinny man lewdly.

"Mmm, I actually eyed her for a while now, but that Guo Polu warned me to not touch her. He seemed to take a fancy on this girl, but alas she didn't give him any face." Young Master Lai, Lai Chungong, seemed he really disliked it.

"Young Master, who are you?! You are the only heir of the Lai Clan! The Guo Clan and Lai Clan have same authority here in this Yan City! Why would you obey whatever that Guo Polu wants!" The young man 'greatly' encouraged Lai Chungong.

"Forget it, I owe Guo Polu once for saving me. I won't cause trouble him just for something like this," said Lai Chungong as he glared at the skinny man, "Are you trying to incite me against my lifesaver and friend?"

The skinny man instantly broke out in sweat and latched on the leg of Lai Chungong, "Young Master Lai, I dare not, I dare not! I was blinded by lust please forgive me."

"Hmph, don't let me catch you doing something fishy again. I will make sure to skin alive!" Lai Chungong gave another warning glare to the skinny man before walking away.

Shen had already joined the crowd at that moment. He saw an ordinary cart selling normal tea leaves which could be found in the mountains or near the banks of rivers. However, the tea leaves were picked out and harvested very meticulously.

When Shen saw the girl behind the cart peddling tea leaves, he had a "ah-huh" expression on his face. With just one look, he was sure that the girl was the daughter of Qing Yi who had been dearly missing her for the past 19 years. That face, which was 70% similar to that of Qing Yi, seemed a little young and was very much like Qing Shui. The tall and slender figure seemed a bit thin and frail. While she was thin, she was not bony and her figure was well-developed.

Looking at that delicate face with a maturity unfit for her age and the tinge of indifference reflected in her clear eyes, Shen could not even see any resentment and only saw an unbending will.

Shen felt very strange at that moment. There was a time Shen thought of wooing Qing Yi, she had a breath-taking beauty and unique temperament, but he shook off that idea when he saw just how much she loved Qing Shui's father.

When he saw her miserable state, Shen's heart felt pained. He did not know why it suddenly felt painful but wanted to take this girl away from here!

"Shen, is that..." Mingyue Gelou looked at the girl selling tea leaves and wondered in astonishment.

Su Rou and the girls had followed Shen to look at what he was doing and were a short distance away from him. Mingyue Gelou was surprised when she realized the girl selling tea leaves looked extremely familiar.

Mingyue Gelou lived in the Qing Village for training for months and she had a good amount of interaction with Qing Yi. Seeing this girl, she instantly noticed the familiarities they both shared.

"Yes, she is the daughter of Qing Yi, Yan QingQing. Ah, if she doesn't take the Yan name, she would be Qing QingQing," said Shen.

Shen's answer caused Mingyue Gelou to affirm her suspicion and she became shocked, "Shen, are you planning to take her with us?"

Shen thought for a moment before saying, "I am not sure, but I don't want her to stay here either..."

Both Su Rou and Wenren Wushuang had no idea what they were talking about and was itching to interrupt them. But with the exchange between them, the duo could feel it was no simple matter. Interrupting them would be foolish.

Shen left the crowd behind and walked ahead, only to be stopped by an old man, "Young fellow, you seem new here. If you want to buy tea leaves, you should try somewhere else."

"Thank you for the kind words old man, but I have to buy tea leaves from her." Shen kindly rejected the old man's offer as he proceeded to buy tea leaves.

"Young men these days don't know their limits," dejected, the old man sighed. He wasn't a person who would look after youngsters, but seeing this young man, he couldn't help but worry. He didn't know what caused him to take such action and only hoped for the young man to not suffer any mishaps.

"Young Miss, your tea leaves looks extremely fresh and harvested very meticulously. I would like to buy all of them." Shen initiated a business talk.

"It's two silver taels. Thanks for buying," the girl, QingQing smiled mildly as she started packing the whole bunch of tea leaves.

"Aiii,"— Shen facepalmed as if he realized something of great importance, —"what should I do. I forgot to bring my wallet! Young Miss, you won't reject to sell me just because of this, right?" Shen stared at her with hope.

QingQing couldn't understand the logic behind his reasoning as she innocently said, "You can return with your purse, I don't think anyone will buy from me so soon."

Her voice contained a little irony behind it, it caused him to feel upset. "Miss why not come with me to the Maple Inn? My companions are there and also my wallet."

QingQing thought for a moment before nodding. He can't do anything major to her in public and even if he wanted to do something, why go in such a roundabout way? She was, after all, just a powerless girl.

"Young Master Xiao, look that guy is buying tea leaves."

As Shen proceeded toward the Red Maple Inn, a young man in his twenties blocked their path.

"Hoh, look what we"— the young man couldn't even complete his word but was stuck half-ways as his body went heavy and he passed out at the spot.

Shen skillfully avoided the now fallen boy and kept walking. QingQing weirdly glanced at the unconscious young man and walked away. She was a little confused as to what happened. She knew that person, it was none other than the young master of the Xiao Clan.

Three years ago, Mistress Xiao, who is the aunt of the Young Master and the official Young Mistress of Yan Clan, had wanted to wed her off to a strong clan, but Yan Qingqing had opposed to the marriage. Thereafter, Mistress Xiao used despicable means to get the Yan Clan to drive Yan Qingqing out of the house while refusing to let her go off very far. Yan QingQing had even thought of dying to put an end to everything. However, Mistress Xiao had told her, "You have a mother who is very likely to come and bring you away. Don't you want to meet that woman who gave birth to you?"

She didn't leave this place because she's waiting for her mother to come for her. She was bullied but never backed down. Young Master Xiao bullied her in many ways and intimidated anyone who wished to buy from her stall. It was only when the people of Xiao clan was not present, did the people dared to purchase from her stall.

Shen and the following QingQing reached the Red Maple Inn after five minutes of walking. They didn't speak any words during this time, and Mingyue and the girls also kept their distance for the time being while Mingyue Gelou filled the girls with what she knew about Qing Yi and her family situation.

As expected of the best Inn of the Yan Jiang Country, it was extravagant and made any poor people hard to approach. The Inn was heavily guarded because of the merchants' privacy and safety. All of them were cultivators, Shen even found a few powerful experts mixed in them!

Shen slapped on a guard's chest as he slipped in two taels of silver in his pocket, "Take care of the cart properly," he turned to QingQing, "Young miss, why not wait for me inside the Inn?"

QingQing felt conflicted. For the current her, it was almost impossible to enter a high-class Inn like Red Maple Inn. She can't order even a single dish even with her monthly earning!

"It's alright, you will just be waiting," Shen said, and yanked her inside.

There was no private room on the first floor so Shen went to the second floor. The private rooms on the second floor were sound proof for "various reasons". Shen took a seat and QingQing sat on his opposite, a little uncomfortable. He called a waiter girl and ordered some dishes that caught his eyes, "I already sent news and my friends will be here anytime. Young Miss should have dinner with me while we wait."

"Erm... I can't afford such expensive dishes." QingQing said as she glanced sideways.

"What are you talking about? I can't have a lady pay the bills when I'm the one who invited her." Shen stated the obvious thing a gentleman would do.

"..." QingQing was left speechless. Was this man trying to hit on her?

The dishes arrived soon, but QingQing didn't touch them. As time passed only Shen alone kept enjoying the dishes, and it only caused him to get annoyed.

"Argh, this seriously isn't going anywhere! I'll ask straightforwardly," Shen frustratedly said, "Miss QingQing, do you wish to meet your mother, Qing Yi?"

QingQing looked at Shen with shock visible in her eyes. At the same time, she felt suspicious of this man who tried to buy tea leaves from her.

Shen knew at this rate she is only going to be suspicious of him and started explaining, "I'm Shen from Hundred Miles City. Qing Village is only a little distance away from the same city. Your mother, Qing Yi, has taken great care of me during my childhood. I've heard about you from your mother once. She loves you and would very much like to run to you..." Shen paused and observed her expression, looking for any change.

"Is my mother in good health." QingQing's eyes became moist with tears. She waited for her mothers from her childhood. Especially from three years ago, where could she go in this world? If she leaves to somewhere unknown, she might never able to find her mother, and could even be kidnapped somewhere unknown!

"Your mother is in good health now. When she lost you and your father, she was about to lose all her hope but then she learned that she was pregnant with your little brother. He gave her the hope to live. Your brother probably doesn't know about you yet. She kept it hidden from him for long, I think she will tell him soon."

"I-I have a little brother?" QingQing said, her voice cracked as all the held up emotion started to flow out.

"Yes, he goes with the name, Qing Shui." Shen smiled, maybe she finally started to believe in him?

QingQing silently shed her tears as her entire body shook violently. Shen felt more pained seeing her so lonely and sad. He changed his seat and sat beside her, pulling her to his embrace, he let her weep to her heart content.

QingQing was surprised by his sudden action and started bawling like a kid on his chest. Shen wondered if this room wasn't soundproof, some waiters might even came running. After about twenty minutes of crying, QingQing finally calmed down.

QingQing took a deep breath and lifted up her head while saying, "How did you know it was 'me'"— her words stuck to her throat when QingQing noticed that her face was ever so close to Shen. Her eyes stared directly at the man before her, and his eyes also looked back at her.

Her heartbeat started to quicken for some reason. Just a little forward and her lips would touch his. It was a mystical moment. They both could feel each others breathing, as a strange scent entered their nostrils which were not from the foods or themselves, it was different. It was the scent of the person before them.

Shen placed his hand on her cheek and gently caressed them. Shen's entire action was so natural that it was as if it was natural for him to do so, "I knew you are her daughter as soon as I laid my eyes on you. You might not know it but you greatly resemble your mother. Your beauty, and those eyes, everything is really similar to your mother, and this red bean-sized mark."— the finger of Shen touched the red bean-sized mark beside QingQing's eye—" Your mother mentioned it."

QingQing remained silent as if silently considering whether his words were believable or not. She indeed heard that she looks a lot similar to her mother and many even hated her for the same reason. She couldn't find the reason for Xiao family or the Yan family doing something like this either. Even if this was caused by the Xiao or Yan family, was there any way she could run away from it? It's not as if she could resist if they wanted to make her suffer directly.

"I won't force you for an answer. It's your decision, I'll respect your wish whatever it might be. I'll book a room for you, just think about it tonight." Seeing her contemplating face, She said but he added in the end, "For now at least finish the meal."

QingQing meekly finished her dinner, and later Shen booked five room before giving her a key to a room. The girls were just on the next private room, so he didn't even have to search them. He made sure that QingQing's room was in the middle of the five rooms. For all he knows, trouble might come knocking at his door anytime.

Later in the night, he sneaked in the room Mingyue Gelou was resting at. He really treated her unfairly. From the time he returned, he didn't spend enough quality time with her, it was time to make up for the unfairnesses.