"Third Young Master, this isn’t quite fair. How can you leave without even giving us a heads up?"

"Hahaha."

Chu Qing chuckled:

"I appreciate your concern, Second Master. Now that matters are settled here, it’s not right to keep freeloading."

"I already informed Manor Master Wen beforehand, so as not to disturb everyone."

Si Ye, who no longer carried the aloof demeanor he had at first sight, softly said:

"Though our time together was short, Third Young Master has shown great kindness to Luochun Manor, which is difficult to repay.

The martial world is treacherous; I only hope you take extra care. May fortune favor you in all adversity."

"Thank you for your concern."

Chu Qing clasped his hands and glanced at Wen Kerren, standing next to Si Ye.

The matter between them hadn’t yet been fully settled. There might be twists and turns in the future, but for now, everything seemed fine.

Wen Pingce wanted to swear brotherhood with Chu Qing before he departed.

He was eventually dissuaded by Wen Kaiyuan.

The group escorted Chu Qing all the way to Luochun Manor’s gate, bidding farewell by Star-picking Lake.

Some handed over silver notes, others offered provisions...

Chu Qing accepted each item, clasped his hands, and said:

"Well, no matter how far you see a friend off, parting is inevitable. Farewell everyone, until we meet again!"

"Third Young Master, take care on your journey!"

"Third Young Master, remember to visit often."

"Next time you come, my dear brother, we must swear brotherhood!"

Waving, he bid everyone farewell.

Chu Qing turned, his steps transforming, and his figure like a wisp of smoke, swiftly headed into the distance.

Wen Kaiyuan and the others continued watching until Chu Qing’s figure was out of sight, only then did they turn back toward Luochun Manor.

Wen Pingce glanced around and curiously asked:

"Why didn’t Rou’Er come?"

Wen Kaiyuan smiled:

"Forget it, I’m off to find my elder brother."

He entered Luochun Manor ahead of the others, heading straight for Wen Fusheng’s courtyard.

At this time, Wen Fusheng was sitting by the window, drinking tea. The stark yellow leaves were flying around, some landing on the windowsill, which he picked up to examine closely.

Upon entering, Wen Kaiyuan was softly asked by Wen Fusheng:

"Has he left?"

"Yes."

Wen Kaiyuan nodded, though seemed hesitant to speak.

"If you have something to say, just say it directly. Don’t beat around the bush."

"...Are you really letting Rou’Er go with him?"

Wen Kaiyuan said somewhat apprehensively:

"After all, they are an unmarried young man and woman. Although Third Young Master is a peerless martial arts expert and upright, not one to take advantage of the situation,

but after all, they are young men and women... Spending so much time together, some issues are bound to arise."

"If they arise, so be it."

Wen Fusheng snorted:

"At my age now, I’m worried about nothing happening rather than something happening!"

"..."

Wen Kaiyuan widened his eyes, worried about nothing happening?

After all, that’s your daughter!

You’re just going to let her go with that rascal, how could you look so pleased?

Wen Fusheng shrugged, some thoughts weren’t appropriate to express...

The key is that the youngster is hard to pin down, promising something easily, who knows if he will follow through and go to the Little Cold Valley?

Because of the Ghost Emperor’s edict, he couldn’t leave Luochun Manor.

If that youngster paid lip service but didn’t follow through, where could he be found later?

Rather than fretting over that, better to let the girl go along... With a beautiful girl by his side every day, it would be a constant reminder for him to indeed go to the Little Cold Valley.

If something were to develop, that would be an added bonus.

After all, a young master willing to lend a hand to Luochun Manor and oppose the Celestial Evil Cult just for a bit of camaraderie with Gentle.

How could that not be beneficial for his daughter!

Moreover, once the relationship is solidified, he wouldn’t ignore them in times of need!

Wen Fusheng, shrewd and calculating, never makes a losing deal, though he can’t share these thoughts with Wen Kaiyuan.

Let Wen Kaiyuan wonder if his elder brother’s mind had been damaged by the scoundrels of the Celestial Evil Cult...

...

...

After leaving Luochun Manor, Chu Qing headed north.

He had traveled about twenty miles when he sat on a large roadside rock to rest.

Occasionally, he would take some food from his pouch, eating and drinking by the clear water.

After waiting for a moment, seeing the little thief hiding in the dark not coming out, he smiled helplessly:

"If you don’t come out, I’m going to leave."

Gentle, carrying her small backpack, slowly walked out from the edge of the forest and approached Chu Qing, her big eyes staring at him unblinkingly:

"How did you know I was following?"

She never intended to hide the fact that she was following Chu Qing.

Given Chu Qing’s martial arts skills, how could he not know someone was behind him?

But why was he so sure it was her?

"Everyone else came to see me off, but you didn’t... naturally, you have a bigger plan."

"Ever since leaving Luochun Manor, someone has been following me.

"Even when I used Lightweight Technique to shake them off and erase my traces, they still managed to catch up... who else could do that besides you?"

Chu Qing reached out and tapped Gentle on the forehead:

"Why aren’t you at home spending more time with your father, and instead following me?"

"What I’m going to do next is quite dangerous..."

"Walking the Martial World, is there ever perfect safety and smooth sailing?"

Gentle softly said:

"Besides, it was my father who told me to follow you."

"... Your father has a rather mischievous mind."

"Mhmm."

Gentle nodded her head vigorously:

"Third Brother is right."

"..."

Chu Qing looked at this leaky little cotton-padded jacket, feeling at a loss whether to laugh or cry for a moment.

But truth to be told, walking up to this point, although the time spent together wasn’t very long, there really was a bit of reluctance to part suddenly.

Not to mention, Gentle’s personality is very comforting, most importantly, she’s also very useful.

Like a human radar...

Originally, he thought after Luochun Manor, she would stay there to accompany Wen Fusheng.

Even if Chu Qing was reluctant about the Celestial Fragrance Body, he couldn’t separate the father and daughter.

Now that she chose to follow him herself, there was no need to send her back.

As for what Wen Fusheng was thinking, Chu Qing could mostly guess.

But looking at Gentle, Chu Qing clicked his tongue:

"Your father is really generous..."

"Why wouldn’t he be?"

Gentle tilted her head and looked at Chu Qing.

"... Forget it."

Chu Qing waved his hand:

"Now that you’re here, shall we go?"

"Mhmm."

The two decided to leave immediately, packed their bags and continued north.

They were not in a hurry at the moment, even though Chu Qing wanted to deal with the Mirror of Sin, he needed the right opportunity; it wasn’t something to rush.

Therefore, they took their time, slowing down for two full days before leaving the boundaries of Luochun Manor.

At this point, they officially entered the territory of Iron Blood Hall, and not far ahead was a small town.

The town was named Iron Ring Town.

Chu Qing and Gentle didn’t follow the normal path, otherwise, the closest place to Luochun Manor should have been Dingxing City.

At that time, the reason Tie Lingyun could rush to Celestial Star Mountain overnight was because they were in Dingxing City.

Dingxing City did not originally have this name; it was renamed after the Iron Blood Hall took over, with Tie Lingyun making it plain that... if I can’t take you down, I’ll at least disgust you.

The name heavily targets Celestial Star Mountain.

Only Gentle seemed oblivious to being targeted and instead found everything intriguing and delightful.

Eventually, they decided to book two rooms at an inn in Iron Ring Town to rest for the night.

During dinner, Chu Qing noticed Gentle playing with a money pouch.

Feeling puzzled:

"Where did this money pouch come from?"

The color was not something Gentle would typically like.

Gentle handed it to Chu Qing:

"I found it earlier... still haven’t found the owner."

Chu Qing took it, about to speak, when he heard a series of footsteps approaching, turning his head, he saw a group entering the inn’s door.

The person leading looked to be around fifty years old, although his expression was calm, there was a trace of hostility in his brow.

The people behind were dressed elegantly, as if they were doing business in the Martial World... but most had fierce faces, not seeming like good people.

Although Chu Qing thought one shouldn’t judge by appearances, seeing this group, he felt that not judging them by appearances would be doing their looks an injustice.

Not only Chu Qing, but many in the inn were also watching the group with alert eyes, then quickly bowing their heads to eat and drink.

"Huh? In Iron Blood Hall’s territory, how did a group of mountain bandits show up?"

A voice suddenly came from the corner, drawing Chu Qing’s gaze; he saw a down-and-out scholar in his thirties staring bewilderedly at the door.