Chapter 88 Indifferent Treatment
Normally Li Xiaoman was extremely quiet and would handle things very calmly. But now she appeared completely startled, causing the various people around her to sense something weird. One of them was unable to stop himself from asking, “Does junior sister know this little beggar?”
Li Xiaoman quickly recovered her calm, nodding and saying, “I know him.”
“Junior sister Li, how could you know him?” One of the women asked, not understanding how she could possibly recognize such a beggar. Ye Fan’s clothes were torn and worn, and his mind and body were haggard. He seemed like one of the lowest dregs of society. The two of them were in completely different worlds.
“I come from the same place as him. We used to be…neighbors,” Li Xiaoman said indifferently.
Hearing himself called a “neighbor”, Ye Fan also dully smiled. All he said was, “Hello,” without saying anything more.
“So it was like this. This little neighbor of yours is really impatient. The street is this wide, yet he still bumped into me. Just now our senior brothers all thought he was stealing our stuff.”
“But he really is pitiful. This young, yet he’s already been reduced to a beggar.”
“All the beggars these days are thieves on top of just begging. Junior sister Li, you have to be a bit more careful to not stray from the main road.”
These cultivators considered themselves in a different world from Ye Fan, believing him to be a beggar, at the lowest level of society. Since there was no intersection between their worlds, they didn’t mind talking about him in such a manner.
“Senior sisters and brothers, if you have any money on you, can you lend me some?” Li Xiaoman received some money from her fellow disciples before placing it in front of Ye Fan, saying, “Get a change of clothes. Don’t be a beggar. I believe you are capable of earning your own living.”
“Junior sister Li is truly kindhearted.”
“Yes, junior sister Li is truly a sympathetic person. Just a neighbor, yet she gave him that much money.”
“Little beggar, you have to walk the proper path in the future. Don’t go steal from others or you’ll let down junior sister Li.”
Ye Fan’s eyes were very clear as he quietly looked at Li Xiaoman. He didn’t take the money, saying, “Thanks for your kindness, but I don’t need this.”
The man beside him immediately frowned, saying, “What’s wrong with this little beggar? Junior sister Li is giving you clean money; do you really want to steal dirty money for a living?”
Li Xiaoman’s expression was still, as tranquil as lake water without the slightest ripple. Placing the money in Ye Fan’s hand, she said, “Take it. Live properly as a mortal.”
Ye Fan didn’t pay attention to the surrounding people, once more pushing the money back and saying, “Don’t worry, I can continue surviving just fine. I wish you good luck on your cultivation path to smoothly advance without troubles.”
“This little beggar really is inflexible, trying to save his face despite being such a degenerate. As a beggar, he still says such noble words.”
“Don’t act so noble now just to turn around and become a thief.”
The surrounding disciples were all very displeased.
Li Xiaoman gazed at Ye fan, her voice calm as she said “This is helpful to you right now, so don’t refuse it. Hurry up and take it. Do you really want to earn a living as a beggar?”
Ye Fan continued to refuse, saying, “Congratulations on recovering your youth.” He sensed that Li Xiaoman was still just in the Sea of Bitterness realm and couldn’t even be compared to him, but he didn’t know just how she had covered her vitality.
“Thanks, it was just luck.” Li Xiaoman didn’t continue insisting, taking back the money.
One of the young women laughed, saying, “This little beggar really does know about a lot of things. He even knows how junior sister Li had once lost her youth and life energy. He really is a former acquaintance.”
“We were just neighbors and didn’t know each other than well. Maybe ten years from now we won’t even be able to recognize each other if we meet again…” Li Xiaoman was extremely undisturbed and indifferent, speaking as if this had nothing to do with her.
Although Ye Fan’s face was covered with splotches, he still laughed and exposed a mouth full of bright white teeth, saying, “Yes, memories will always fade. Some people and things will slowly fade with the passing of time.”
“This little beggar might be young, but he has quite the character.” One of them women looked at Ye Fan before turning to Li Xiaoman and saying, “It’s a pity that junior sister doesn’t know him very well. Or you could bring him back to the Violet Sun Paradise and let him do some part-time odd jobs. It would at least be better than his current work as a beggar.”
One of the men nodded, saying, “They are quite strict on that work. There must be a thorough background check before allowing them in.”
Li Xiaoman continued to be completely calm, saying to Ye Fan, “Don’t continue down the wrong path. Just live properly as a mortal. That can also be considered a blessing.”
Ye Fan laughed, not saying anything, and simply waving his hand before leaving.
“That little beggar gives people a special feeling…” The various men and women all unanimously evaluated him.
Ye Fan left, merging into the crowds of people. Half an hour later he appeared in an antique store and began haggling with the old man in charge.
“What? Just fifty copper coins? You have to be an honest person. Don’t be too greedy!”
“Kid, you don’t have to exaggerate. It’s just a small wooden case. How could it be worth ten gold coins?”
“This is sandalwood. If you don’t want it, I’ll go somewhere else…” Saying this, Ye Fan turned and prepared to leave.
“Don’t be so hasty! We can properly discuss the price,” The antique shop’s old owner quicklyt stopped him.
In the end, Ye Fan walked out satisfied with ten gold coins in his pocket.
It was already midday by now. His stomach was rumbling with hunger, but he didn’t want to dine and dash. He sold the sandalwood box that had held the Source and bought a common wooden box that was just a few coppers to replace it.
“Jiang Family knights!” Ye Fan lifted his hand and looked up at the sky, immediately startled to see a huge beast circling overhead. Not long after, it flew further away. He couldn’t understand just how they managed to also find clues as to where he was.
Ye Fan walked into a restaurant and placed his order, beginning to gorge himself once the food came. Having continuously fled for days without eating, he ravenously ate for over an hour before being satisfied. The restaurant’s waiter had long since been prepared for him to pay, as with his shabby clothes and appearance he looked just like someone who would eat and then quietly slip away. Ye Fan naturally wouldn’t bother with him about that. Throwing down the money, he turned and left.
But as soon as he arrived on the main road, he was startled to see a Jiang Family’s knight had already entered the city. Mounted upon his beast, he had just disappeared around the corner.
“Just what is going on? Why are they always capable of chasing after me? Although they can’t lock down on my exact location, they are apparently able to track my general whereabouts.” Ye Fan was worried, feeling as if something was fishy. He couldn’t stay in this town any longer, or something unexpected would definitely occur. Not tarrying, he directly dashed out of the city and began running away into the mountain forest.
How are they managing to track me so well? How can I throw them off my tail? Ye Fan passed over many mountains, continuing until the sky darkened before stopping.
At this moment, Ye Fan sensed that the Spiritual Qi deep within the mountains was very dense, many times denser than ordinary places. When he walked another dozen kilometers, he was amazed to see a huge bluestone with large words carved on it: Violet Sun Paradise.
“How did I end up here…?”
Ye Fan didn’t expect to arrive at the Violet Sun Paradise, the sect Li Xiaoman was at. This Blessed Paradise was actually not that far from that city.
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Author notes:
I feel compelled to say that this book will definitely have a romance aspect and there will definitely be more than one love interest.
The previous novel, World of Immortals (长生界) did not have a main female because the background of the story was not suitable for writing about wives and children.
But Shrouding the Heavens is different. Don’t worry readers, how could the main character be single forever?
Many veteran readers have told me that beautiful women can’t be lacking…
Don’t worry, this novel’s main character is definitely not some abstinent monk.