Listening to the young man's sincere words and feeling his dependence on her, Jiang Xun'er's kind heart softened.
She pondered for a long time, thinking that Jiang Yan's cultivation had now regressed to Qi Training Early Stage, and he stayed indoors all day, so their cultivation resources all depended on her to earn alone.
With an additional helper of equal cultivation, she could indeed relieve a lot of pressure.
Moreover, Jiang Xun was a simple-minded child with such a tragic background. If she didn't take him in, this foolish child might be tricked by some Demonic Path Cultivators into becoming expendable Materials.
After clearing her thoughts, Jiang Xun'er looked at the slightly shorter, naive young man and smiled, saying, "Alright, then Jiang Xun, you can follow me from now on."
The young man saw that Jiang Xun'er had really agreed and immediately nodded heavily, saying, "Thank you, Benefactress. From now on, I will definitely repay you well."
"Mm, I know Jiang Xun is a good child who knows how to repay kindness."
The young man was praised by Jiang Xun'er and felt a little embarrassed.
As the two went together to search for herbs, Jiang Xun'er suddenly thought of something.
"Jiang Xun, since your surname is also Jiang, do you know about the Cultivation Family Jiang Family?"
"Cultivation Family Jiang Family?"
Jiang Xun recalled for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know. My parents never mentioned the Jiang Family to me."
"It seems we just share the same surname. Your Family should not be a branch of the Jiang Family that separated."
Jiang Xun'er clarified her identity, saying, "I am from the Cultivation Family Jiang Family. If you want to follow me, then you will need to join the Jiang Family."
"Are there any requirements to join the Jiang Family?"
The young man had already made up his mind to closely follow his life-saving Benefactress.
"There are no requirements for Mortals, but there are some restrictions for Cultivators."
"External Cultivators who wish to join the Jiang Family must sign a contract with the Jiang Family's Old Ancestors."
"The content of the contract is roughly: one must not intentionally harm the interests of the Jiang Family, one must not harm fellow Jiang Family members..."
After Jiang Xun'er finished explaining the contract content, Zhou Fan listened carefully but didn't take it to heart.
The contracts in this Cultivation World were not those with Laws, but rather more like a special kind of Spell.
Most contracts could only be effective on Cultivators whose Realm did not exceed their own by one major stage. A small number of contracts with stronger binding power could be effective on Cultivators two stages higher.
The Jiang Family's only Core Formation Old Ancestor was still in seclusion, so the Jiang Family's Old Ancestors who could make Zhou Fan sign a contract would at most be at Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
And this contract sounded like an ordinary one, which meant that if a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Old Ancestor cast it, it could at most bind a Cultivator at Fourth Stage Late Stage.
However, Zhou Fan's Realm had already reached Fourth Stage Early Stage. Even if he successfully established a contract with the Jiang Family, he could destroy the contract at any time if he wanted to.
After obediently listening to Jiang Xun'er's explanation, the young man said that he was willing to accept the contract, and that he would do anything as long as he could stay by his Benefactress's side.
Jiang Xun'er was in a good mood after hearing this. She asked the young man to change his address and not always call her Benefactress.
Upon hearing this, the young man blurted out, "Benefactress, can I call you Elder Sister?"
After the words left his mouth, Jiang Xun'er did not respond immediately.
The young man thought he had said something wrong and quickly bowed his head to apologize: "I'm sorry, Benefactress. You were so kind to me before. When my Elder Sister was here, she often cared for me in that gentle tone and answered my cultivation questions."
"When I saw you, Benefactress, I subconsciously thought of my Elder Sister. I'm sorry..."
"It's alright, just call me Elder Sister."
Jiang Xun'er's smile was as gentle and warm as the spring sunshine.
"Since you'll be following me from now on, let's become Family to each other, little brother."
"Elder Sister..."
The young man stared blankly at Jiang Xun'er's smile, which was so similar to his Elder Sister's, and his eyes welled up again.
He quickly wiped them with his hand, muttering incessantly, "Thank you, Elder Sister, thank you."
Seeing this, Jiang Xun'er remembered when she was little and bullied. After her older brother Jiang Yan chased those people away, he would put his hand on her head and gently stroke it when he saw her crying in a corner.
Now she also had a younger brother, she had Family.
Jiang Xun'er reached out and placed her hand on Jiang Xun's head, gently stroking it as a comfort.
Zhou Fan was caught off guard by the head pat and immediately wanted to pat back in retaliation.
But then he suppressed the instinct he had developed in his previous life, maintained his persona, stopped whimpering, and felt as if his whole being had been healed.
Jiang Xun'er roughly told Jiang Xun her experiences, and only then did the young man realize that his Elder Sister had lost her Family when she was eight years old.
And for all these years, his Elder Sister had mostly relied on herself to get by.
Jiang Xun's heart was instantly filled with admiration for his Elder Sister, as well as a hint of sympathy.
He swore that he would protect his Elder Sister from now on, stay by her side, and be her Family forever.
Jiang Xun'er was very pleased. After the two opened their hearts to each other, their relationship became much closer, and their conversations were more relaxed and casual than before.
In this pleasant and warm atmosphere, the two successfully found and collected the required herbs in the central area in just three days.
At the same time, they worked together to kill a Spirit Initiation Middle Stage Moon Demon Wolf. Jiang Xun carried it on his back, and the two quickly left the Sunset Mountains.
Upon reaching Sunset Town near the Sunset Mountains, Jiang Xun'er took Jiang Xun to the Yao Beast slaughterhouse and sold the no longer fresh Wind Demon Wolf corpse to the butcher.
Because the wolf hair of the Wind Demon Wolf could be used as Materials for making talismans, and its fangs and pelt also had some use, this Spirit Initiation Middle Stage Wind Demon Wolf earned the two 15 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Immediately after, Jiang Xun'er took Jiang Xun back to the Jiang Family's station , successfully met with an Old Ancestor, and signed the contract.
The Old Ancestor commended Jiang Xun'er for introducing a talented Cultivator to the Family, rewarded Jiang Xun'er with 30 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and upon learning that Jiang Xun did not need a residence, gave Jiang Xun a small Storage Pouch.
Jiang Xun saw that his Elder Sister, as a Qi Training Late Stage Cultivator, didn't even have a Storage Pouch. Not long after they left the main hall, Jiang Xun immediately gave the small Storage Pouch to his Elder Sister.
Jiang Xun'er initially refused, but Jiang Xun's attitude was firm. He stated that he would live in the same courtyard as his Elder Sister from now on, and this Storage Pouch would serve as the cost of housing.
This time, the Elder Sister did not win against her younger brother. Jiang Xun'er accepted the Storage Pouch and said that when she was more financially comfortable in the future, she would give her younger brother a gift.
Jiang Xun was very happy. The two went to turn in the mission, and Jiang Xun'er received the 20 Low-Grade Spirit Stones for completing the mission.
Upon returning home, Jiang Xun'er lived in the east room, and the west room was empty, perfect for Jiang Xun to live in.
At dinner, Jiang Xun'er took out fifteen Spirit Stones and handed them to Jiang Xun, saying they were for his cultivation.
Jiang Xun only took five, saying that he mainly focused on Body Refining and wouldn't need many Spirit Stones.
He knew that his Elder Sister and brother-in-Law had a good relationship, but his brother-in-Law's cultivation had regressed, and this was when he needed Spirit Stones the most.
These Spirit Stones should be saved for his brother-in-Law.