Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 88: Treated Indifferently

Normally Li Xiao Man was quiet, exquisite and otherworldly, seldom showing shock when faced with many things, seeming to always be cool and composed. At this moment, she had an expression of shock on her face and the few youths by the side were very curious as one of them could not help but ask: “Junior sister, you know this little beggar?”

Li Xiao Man quickly recovered as she nodded: “I do.”

“Junior sister Li, how did you get to know him?” One of the females in the group had a puzzled expression, Ye Fan was in tatters and he seemed haggard. No matter how she looked at it, he seemed to be of the lowest hierarchy and was from a totally different world.

“We came from the same place, in the past we could be considered to be…… neighbours.” Li Xiao Man’s expression was indifferent.

Ye Fan heard her refer to him as ‘neighbour’ and faintly smiled before saying “How do you do.” before keeping silent.

“So you’re old acquaintances. Your little neighbour is really so young and impatient, the street is so wide yet he could carelessly knock into me. Earlier senior brother Yang actually thought he was attempting to steal something.”

“This youth really is quite pitiful, such a young age yet reduced to being a beggar already.”

“The beggars nowadays always beg and steal at the same time, Junior sister Li you better advise him to not walk down the crooked path.

Cultivators and ordinary humans could be considered people from two different worlds, this was especially so for the lowest in the hierarchy amongst ordinary humans, the beggars. It was difficult to have any form of interaction with them and as the few youths spoke they did not put Ye Fan into consideration.

“Senior brothers and sisters, do you have money on yourselves? Lend some to me.” Li Xiao Man took some many from the youths and handed them to Ye Fan before saying: “Go change some clothes, don’t be a beggar. I believe you can feed yourself with your strength.”

“Junior sister Li is so compassionate.”

“That’s so true, junior sister really has such a compassionate heart. They were merely neighbours but she actually gave him so much money.”

“Little beggar, in future you better walk a straight path, do not resort to stealing otherwise you would be doing wrong to junior sister Li.”

The few youths by the side constantly spoke up.

Ye Fan’s eyes were clear as he silently looked at Li Xiao Man. He did not reach forth to receive the money and said: “Thank you for your kind intentions, however, I do not require this.”

A male youth by the side frowned: “Little beggar what’s wrong with you? Junior sister Li is giving you clear money but you don’t want it. Could it be that you really want to steal for a living?”

Li Xiao Man’s expression was peaceful, her glance was calm like the waters of a lake without any waves as she placed the money in Ye Fan’s hands and said: “Keep it, be a normal person.”

Ye Fan ignored the people by the side and pushed the money back as he replied: “Don’t worry, I’m able to live. I hope you can walk further and further on the path of cultivation and that everything will be smooth.”

“This little beggar really wants to keep his dignity and would rather endure suffering. He’s already in such dire straits that he has to be a beggar but he still pretends to be virtuous and noble.”

“Don’t be virtuous and noble now but turn around and steal.”

The few youths by the side were unhappy.

Li Xiao Man gazed at Ye Fan and her voice was calm without any fluctuations as she said: “This will be useful to you right now, don’t reject it. Hurry and keep it, could it be that you really want to beg for a living?”

Ye Fan still refused to accept the money as he replied: “Congratulations on regaining your youth.” He could sense that Li Xiao Man was only at the Sea of Bitterness stage and could not compare to him, however, he did not know how she managed to regain her vitality.

“Thank you, I was just lucky.” Li Xiao Man did not insist and kept the money.

One of the female youths amongst them spoke up: “This little beggar really knows quite a bit, he even knows that junior sister Li once lost her youth, it seems they really are old acquaintances.”

“We were merely neighbours that aren’t that familiar with each other. Who knows, in ten odd years, if we meet again we may not recognise each other……” Li Xiao Man continued to be very calm as she indifferently responded as though she were speaking about something that did not concern her.

Although Ye Fan’s face was covered with blotches, he still smiled resplendently and exposed his snow white teeth as he said: “That’s right, one’s memories will fade away with time, there are some people and matters that will slowly become dull with the passing of time.”

“This little beggar isn’t that old but seems to already have quite a character.” A female by the side looked at Ye Fan before glancing at Li Xiao Man and continued: “It’s a pity that junior sister isn’t that well acquainted with him, otherwise, we’d be able to bring him back to the Zi Yang immortal sanctuary, leave him to handle odd jobs at the main gate, this would surely be better than him begging by the street and walking a crooked path.”

A male youth heard this and nodded: “Our sect is very strict in recruiting people, we must know their background before accepting them.”

There were no ripples on Li Xiao Man’s face, her expression was indifferent as she said to Ye Fan: “Don’t walk a crooked path, be a good ordinary person, that is possibly a kind of good fortune.”

Ye Fan laughed and did not reply as he waved before taking big strides and leaving.

“The feeling this little beggar gives a person is rather special……” The few youths by the side had such an evaluation.

Ye Fan took big strides as he left, merging into the endless the crowd. Half a minute later he was before an antique store, haggling with the boss.

“What? Fifteen coppers? One must be generous in their dealings, don’t be too avaricious.”

“Young man, don’t be too ambitious, it’s merely a wooden case, how could it be worth ten gold.

“This is a red sandalwood case, if you don’t want it, I’ll just go to another shop……” Having said this, Ye Fan turned and left.

“Don’t be so hasty, the price can be discussed.” The boss of the antique store hurriedly pulled Ye Fan back.

Finally, Ye Fan was satisfied as he walked away with an additional ten gold.

It was already midday and his tummy was rumbling but he did not wish to eat a meal without paying. As a result, he took out the red sandalwood case which was used to store the ‘source’ and sold it, using a normal copper case to store the ‘source’.

“A horseman from the Jiang Family!”Ye Fan lifted his head as he gazed at the sky and was shocked to see that a unique beast was patrolling in the air above the city and not long after it flew into the distance. He felt very confused and did not understand how the other party was able to keep track of his movements.

Ye Fan climbed the stairs of a restaurant and ordered a table full of dishes, eating to his heart’s content. Having run for days and nights on end, he had not eaten a single hot meal and he naturally began to gorge himself on the food.

It was only an hour later when he stood up satisfied. The waiter in the shop had been eyeing his table for a long time, seeing his tattered clothes and the way he ate like a beggar, he was afraid that Ye Fan would run away after finishing the food.

Ye Fan was naturally not calculative with him and threw down the money for the food on the table before going down. When he reached the big street he was shocked, the horseman of the Jiang Family had entered the city and sat on a unique beast as he disappeared around a bend.

“What’s going on? How could they possibly keep chasing me? Although they can’t pinpoint my exact location, it seems that they are able to find out my rough whereabouts!” Ye Fan had anxiety written on his face, he felt that the situation was becoming bad and he could not stay within this city for long, otherwise, things would certainly get out of hand. He did not tarry and immediately left the city, speedily heading towards the forest in the distance.

“Really chasing me to the ends of the earth, how am I going to get loose from them?” Ye Fan was crossing innumerable mountains and only stopped when the sky became completely dark.

At this moment, Ye Fan felt that the spiritual qi in the air was denser, denser than the other regions by several times. As he continued forward for over ten miles, he had a shocked expression as he saw four ancient characters carved on a limestone: Purple Sun Immortal Sanctuary.

“How did I arrive here……”

Ye Fan realised that he had arrived at Purple Sun immortal sanctuary. This was Li Xiao Man’s current sect and this immortal sanctuary was not considered far away from that city.