"Brother Yuan is truly… unfathomable…" Xiao Hua could barely stand still at this moment, feeling as though her common sense regarding the Cultivation world had been flipped upside-down by Yuan's profound existence.
"Are you okay, Xiao Hua? Your expressions are more exaggerated than usual." Yuan suddenly said to her, completely unaware of how heaven-defying his own existence is.
"X-Xiao Hua is fine…" she nodded a moment later, and she continued, "But is Brother Yuan really fine? Does your body feel weird? You did just breakthrough three times in the blink of an eye, after all…"
"I feel perfectly fine," he said. "In fact, I feel even better than normal!"
And then he said, "By the way, Xiao Hua, remember that Spirit Crystal you bought from the auction house? Since it's similar to a monster core, maybe I can eat it too?"
When Xiao Hua heard his words, she immediately shook her head with a horrified expression and spoke in a stern voice, "Absolutely not, Brother Yuan! You cannot eat the Spirit Crystal! It contains spiritual energy that rivals even Spirit Grandmasters! And it's nothing like a monster core! Brother Yuan will definitely explode into a million pieces after eating it!"
"If you say so…" Yuan said with a slightly disappointed expression, as he was curious about the Spirit Crystal's taste.
__
A few minutes later, Xiao Hua suddenly said, "Brother Yuan, he's coming back."
Yuan turned to look at the cave, and the middle-aged man slowly walked out of the cave with an emotionless expression, almost as though he'd lost all of his will to continue living.
When Yuan saw the hopelessness in the middle-aged man's blank eyes, he also felt a slight pain in his heart, as he understood what the middle-aged man was feeling at this moment very well.
After living for so many years as a cripple who cannot even leave his own bed without another's assistance, even the world's toughest man would experience depression, much less someone as young and innocent as Yuan, and it was inevitable that he would have thoughts about ending his own life to make things easier for his little sister.
"That man… he's lost the will to live," Yuan mumbled in a low voice. "If only there's something we can do to relieve that sorrow."
Xiao Hua gently shook her head and spoke, "There is nothing we can do for him, Brother Yuan. This is the harsh reality for those without power — the weak will be consumed by the strong. There's only one way to avoid this kind of situation, and that is to become strong enough to protect the things you love."
"..."
Yuan was speechless, but he was beginning to understand this world better and why people—Cultivators thirst for power. If one was weak, they might experience the same situation as this middle-aged man, losing their loved ones to a stronger existence that's beyond their own abilities.
And somewhere within Yuan's heart, the desire for strength—the desire to protect this peaceful life he's living—began to bud.
"Ah… you're still here…" The middle-aged man stopped in front of Yuan and Xiao Hua.
"I'm sorry for your loss… If only I came to this place earlier…" Yuan sighed.
The middle-aged man shook his head and spoke in a low voice, "No, this is entirely my fault. If only I didn't bring her to this dangerous place to pick herbs with me…"
"But for poor people like us, this is the only way for us to continue living."
"Anyway, I would like to apologize for tricking you into the Demonic Spider's cave." The middle-aged man got on his knees and kowtowed to them with a sincere feeling, not daring to lift his head even many moments later.
"Please, you don't need to apologize for something you were forced to do. If I were in your shoes, I would've done the same thing." Yuan said while pulling the man off the floor.
"Then allow me to thank you for killing the Demonic Spider — for avenging my daughter's death…"
The middle-aged man reached into his pockets before taking out a beautiful plant with seven colorful leaves that resembled a rainbow.
"That's the Seven Colored Herb, Brother Yuan!" Xiao Hua immediately recognized this beautiful plant and said in an excited voice while pulling his sleeves.
"Is it valuable?" he asked.
"The Seven Colored Herb is an extremely rare medicine that does not grow in any specific location in this world! Most people live their entire life without seeing one! It's a priceless treasure!" she said.
"Are you sure that you want to part with such a precious item?" Yuan asked the middle-aged man, feeling hesitant about accepting such a priceless treasure. "Don't you need money? If you sell it…"
However, before Yuan could even finish his sentence, the middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Without my daughter, I no longer have any need for money. And this medicine was found by my daughter. I'm sure that she would want you to have it, too."
"..."
"Please, young man, accept it." The man lowered his head and extended his arms until the Seven Colored Herb was right before Yuan's body.
Seeing this, Yuan sighed and accepted the herb.
"Thank you..."
Once Yuan accepted the Seven Colored Herb, the middle-aged bowed to him one last time before turning around and walking away.
"Please wait!" Yuan suddenly shouted at him.
When the man stopped walking and turned around, Yuan tossed a small pouch at him and said, "It may be nothing compared to your gift, but I hope you can live a carefree life for the rest of your life!"
The middle-aged man did not say anything and merely nodded his head before disappearing into the woods.
"I don't know how much money was inside that pouch since I didn't look in it after it was given to me by that Spirit Master, but I hope it was enough." Yuan sighed afterward.
"Don't worry, Brother Yuan. There was plenty of money inside." Xiao Hua said with a smile.
"Eh? How do you know? You didn't even touch it."
"A storage pouch without any protection is no different than an open book for Cultivators who can control their spiritual sense. Just like how Xiao Hua uses her spiritual sense to locate monsters for Brother Yuan, Xiao Hua can also use her spiritual sense to sense things that cannot normally be seen with the naked eyes." Xiao Hua said.
"Anyway, there were about 3,000,000 gold coins inside that pouch. But compared to the Seven Colored Herb he gave to Brother Yuan, it's akin to buying a priceless treasure with a grain of rice."
"This thing is that valuable…?" Yuan looked at the colorful plant in his grasp.
[Seven Colored Herb]
[Tier 7 Medicine]
[Description: An extremely rare herb with countless uses]
'Tier 7 medicine! Even the Soul Strengthening Pill Xuan Wuhan gave me is only Tier 3!' Yuan cried inwardly.
A few more moments later, a notification appeared before him.
«You have completed the Quest: Unknown Man's Plea»
«You have been rewarded with: 1x Seven Colored Herb»
«Fame +10»
«'Mu Qing' has been added to your Bond!»
«Mu Qing's Bond level has increased to Acquaintance!»
«Congratulations! You have gained the following effect from Mu Qing's Bond level: 'Mu Qing's Approval'»