The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

"An Lan! An Lan!"

"how are you feeling?"

"Is there anything uncomfortable?"

When the old woman saw that her daughter had finally woken up, tears streamed down her face as if a dam had burst, and she rushed forward to ask her what was wrong.

"I'm fine, Grandma... Where's Antu? ​​How is he?"

An Lan held the old woman's hands and comforted her. Then she tried to get up and crane her neck to look for her younger brother, but this aggravated her injuries. She was in excruciating pain and lay back down helplessly.

“Your brother is fine, look, he’s right there.”

The old woman pointed to Antu, who was meditating and regulating his breathing.

Seeing that her younger brother was safe and sound, An Lan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Chu Xiu, who was sitting quietly to the side.

"Grandma, who is this...?"

When Chu Xiu rescued the brother and sister, An Lan had already lost consciousness and was only instinctively protecting her younger brother. Therefore, she did not know that her savior was Chu Xiu.

"It was this immortal who saved you and Antu. Without him, I can't even imagine what would have happened..."

The old woman burst into tears as she recalled the scene. When she heard from her neighbor that her children had been bullied in the street, she rushed over...

The daughter was already in a state of unconsciousness and covered in wounds, protecting her younger brother in her arms, when Chu Xiu came to her aid.

If it weren't for Chu Xiu, the three of them probably wouldn't have survived today.

"My benefactor... I am so grateful to my benefactor for saving my life!"

An Lan tried to get up again, but Chu Xiu waved his hand and released a gentle burst of magic power, pressing her back down.

"No need for formalities. Your injuries are too severe, and you need to stay in bed to recover. So please don't get up."

Just then, Chu Xiu turned his head slightly and heard a voice transmission from Ye Wujiang: "Come to the City Lord's Mansion in the North City."

Chu Xiu immediately got up, went to the bedside, and placed the blue jade pendant in An Lan's hand.

Although An Lan already possessed a rather pure vital energy within her body, she was not a cultivator and still needed external means to mobilize this vital energy in order to activate its healing effects.

"This jade pendant is no ordinary object. Wearing it close to your skin can help you recover."

An Lan took the jade pendant and held it tightly in her palm. A hint of nervousness flashed in her eyes, which did not escape Chu Xiu's notice.

Chu Xiu remained calm and instructed the old woman, "Grandma, I have some urgent business to attend to and need to leave for a while. I'll leave this place in your care. If you need anything, just tell the waiter at the restaurant to run errands for you."

"If there is any danger, smash this jade piece on the spot, and I will come immediately."

Chu Xiu handed a jade piece containing a trace of his aura to the old woman, nodded to An Lan, and then turned and left the room.

An Lan watched Chu Xiu leave before turning to her adoptive mother with tears in her eyes:

"Mother-in-law...I thought..."

"It's all in the past... poor child, it's all in the past..."

An old woman and a young boy looked at each other and wept for a long time. An Lan blinked her reddened eyes and suddenly asked:

"Grandma, I remember... I wasn't wearing this outfit before..."

"...Your mother-in-law changed it for you."

That's not wrong, it's just that your mother-in-law didn't help you take it off...

The old woman thought about it and, fearing it would only cause her daughter more trouble, decided not to tell her the truth.

After leaving the room, Chu Xiu called over a waiter from the restaurant, gave him a generous tip, and the waiter bowed and scraped as he agreed to his request.

"Rest assured, Immortal Master! Even if those guests inside ask me to go through fire and water, I will not utter a single word of refusal!"

Chu Xiu shook his head helplessly, went to the restaurant manager to deposit enough Zen Wish Crystals, and then walked towards the north of the city.

After an incense stick had burned a while, Chu Xiu stopped in front of a huge mansion.

Two griffins exuding the aura of the early stage of the Transcendent Realm stood in front of the mansion gate. When Chu Xiu stopped, the griffin on the left was about to roar, but was stopped by the other griffin.

"Oh? That's someone with good judgment."

Chu Xiu raised an eyebrow slightly and casually tossed out two earth-treasure fruits that he didn't need.

Upon smelling the extremely tempting aroma emanating from the two fruits, the two griffins immediately showed great joy. After each swallowing the fruits in one gulp, they knelt down on all fours in gratitude towards Chu Xiu.

Seeing that the two ferocious beasts guarding their mansion were so docile in front of a human, the guards at the gate exchanged bewildered glances, then quickly bowed respectfully to Chu Xiu.

"Forgive my poor eyesight, but you are...?"

Chu Xiu smiled and said, "My surname is Chu. Has a Mr. Ye come to visit your residence before?"

"Yes! Yes! Young Master Chu, please come in quickly. Mr. Ye and the City Lord have been waiting for quite some time."

The guards quickly ushered Chu Xiu into the mansion. From afar, Chu Xiu saw Ye Wujiang sitting unceremoniously in the main seat, drinking tea.

On the guest seat to the side sat a noblewoman with her hair tied in a coiled dragon bun, wearing a plain silk robe, meditating with her eyes closed.

This person must be the old acquaintance that Ye Wujiang mentioned earlier.

only……

Chu Xiu watched as Ye Wujiang waved to him, as if he were the master of this city lord's mansion.

"Chu Xiu, come, come, let me introduce you. This is the Lord of Luojia City—Venerable Miaoyin."

"He's a top figure in the Zen world, a great cultivator who has attained the Bodhisattva level!"

The Bodhisattva attainment in meditation, if corresponding to an ordinary state of being, is the Great Perfection of the Qiankun Realm, comparable to Ye Wujiang.

"So you are the Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound. I have long admired your name."

Chu Xiu clasped his hands together, bowed slightly, and performed a Buddhist salute to Venerable Miaoyin.

As Chu Xiu stepped into the room, Venerable Miaoyin slightly tilted his head and squinted to observe Chu Xiu's every move.

"Is this the person you spoke of, the one with great fortune?"

"To have such cultivation at such a young age is truly remarkable."

"She's quite good-looking..."

Chu Xiu was taken aback upon hearing this, then saw Ye Wujiang raise an eyebrow at him meaningfully, before smiling at Venerable Miaoyin and saying, "How is it? Are you satisfied?"

"...Hmm, it's alright."

"Wait, you two, what do you mean 'okay'?"

Chu Xiu quickly interrupted, taking a step back, feeling quite uneasy.

These two Great Perfection Realm cultivators are actually plotting something behind my back!

Seeing Chu Xiu's nervous appearance, Ye Wujiang couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Miao Yin glanced at Ye Wujiang, who lacked any semblance of a great cultivator, and smiled at Chu Xiurou:

"Young Master Chu, have you ever heard of the practice of Joyful Zen, which originated from a branch of my Zen school?"

Before Miaoyin could finish speaking, Chu Xiu immediately turned and fled, disappearing thousands of miles in an instant, leaving behind only a few curses:

"Night Without Borders! You old scoundrel!"

"You actually sold me out!"

"Hahaha, Brother Chu, what are you afraid of!"

"Countless cultivators at the Great Perfection of the Qiankun Realm in the Heavenly Continent have pursued Venerable Miaoyin, but none have succeeded."

"I finally managed to persuade her to give in, so why are you running away now?"

As Ye Wujiang's loud laughter rang out, Chu Xiu, who had ignored the rules of the Demon Zen Kingdom and fled thousands of miles away, turned around and saw a slender hand tear through the void and grab him, instantly pulling him back into the City Lord's Mansion.

The one who grabbed him back was none other than the Venerable Miaoyin, who was looking at him with beautiful, smiling eyes.

Chu Xiu hurriedly asked, "Sect Master, Venerable One, what exactly do you want to do?"

"doing what?"

"It's very simple. Brother Ye has taken charge and found you a cultivation partner who is top-notch in both looks and cultivation level to help you with your cultivation!"

"As for my willful little daughter, let her be a concubine."