"Thank you again, both Elders! But I must take my leave for today."

"Where are you going, Little Comrade? Should we accompany you?" As soon as Zheng-Fu said he had to leave, both middle-aged men immediately showed surprise and asked where he was going and whether they should accompany him.

"It's fine! I can return on my own. Besides, I need to go back to my sister. We'll meet again another day. If you wish to find me, you can visit me at the nameless mountain to the north of the Heavenly Command Sect. It's about a thousand lis away from the capital." Zheng-Fu raised his hand to decline their kind offer to escort him. Before leaving, he shared the location of his residence in a voice only they could hear.

"I see! So, you are the new disciple from the academy, the one who caused a stir by making the Heavenly Command Stone glow with a deep red light, right?" At that moment, Pao-Da suddenly realized. He remembered hearing about the new disciple who had made the Heavenly Command Stone shine, and when he learned that Zheng-Fu was staying in the mountain, he understood that no ordinary outer disciple would be allowed to stay there. Thus, Pao-Da guessed that Zheng-Fu must be the one who had shaken the entire Heavenly Command Sect.

"That's one way to look at it!" Zheng-Fu didn't say much, casually speaking with a mischievous smile.

"Then, until we meet again, Little Comrade! I want to return to my studies and reflect on the advice you gave me. I feel I still have room to improve!" Once Pao-Da was sure of Zheng-Fu's identity, he smiled happily, thanked him, and then said his goodbyes to return to his family to focus on his training.

"I must leave as well, as I have to go study the alchemy pot and pills I've received so I can start refining them quickly. I promised to bring them back to you, Little Comrade, and I'll also arrange for top experts to guard this place." Chou-Bing also mentioned that he wanted to return to his forces as he was eager to study the alchemy pot and pills, as the sooner he started, the quicker he would be able to complete the task.

"Good luck, Elder Pao-Da! Good luck, Elder Chou-Bing! I'll instruct the driver to take you to your carriages," Zheng-Fu said, thanking the two men once again before ordering his driver to escort them to their carriages for their return.

"Thank you very much!"

When the two middle-aged men had left, Zheng-Fu turned back to look at the old wooden building that was being rebuilt. Dozens of craftsmen worked diligently, supervised by Chen-Bing, who was also helping with the construction.

"The distance from here to the flying monster beast of burden courtyard is quite far for me to walk. If I call the purple-winged lion, I won't have to walk. But at this distance, will it hear me? Well, if I don't try, I won't know. Let's see if it works!" Zheng-Fu quietly muttered to himself.

Squeakkk!

Flap! Flap! Flap!

Grrr!

About ten breaths later, the soft roar of the purple-winged lion echoed as its large body flew eagerly toward Zheng-Fu. Its expression upon seeing Zheng-Fu was akin to a baby seeing its mother.

Thud!

Grrrr!

When the purple-winged lion landed in front of Zheng-Fu, it let out another soft roar and happily rubbed its face against him.

"Umm! That's enough, Shi-Ling! I know I was wrong to leave you in the monster beast of burden courtyard. Let's go home, and I'll get you some tasty meat as an apology!" Zheng-Fu felt a pang of guilt seeing the lion's overjoyed reaction. He realized it must have been lonely in the courtyard.

Grrrr!

"Is that a high-level purple-winged lion?"

"That's right! Does it belong to that kid? But it doesn't seem to act like a beast under a slave commitment!"

"Could it be a pet and not a monster beast of burden?"

"That's impossible. A purple-winged lion is incredibly hard to catch alive. Raising one from an offspring is even rarer, and taming it is harder still. Only big clans or powerful forces in our Heavenly Command Sect territory could manage something like this!"

"Ah! Then that kid must be from one of the big clans, right?"

"Most likely!"

The purple-winged lion's affectionate behavior toward Zheng-Fu surprised and intrigued the onlookers. Even Master Chen-Bing and the mercenary guards turned their attention toward him.

"Shi-Ling, let's go home. By now, your son must be missing you and waiting for you to return!" Seeing the growing interest of the crowd, Zheng-Fu decided to leave. He mounted the purple-winged lion and commanded it to take him back to his mountain.

Grrrrr!

Flap! Flap! Flap!

Whooosh! Whooosh!

Fifteen minutes later...

Flap! Flap! Flap!

Grrrrrr!

"Big Brother!"

"Master!"

As soon as Zheng-Fu reached his mountain, the small screeching roar of the little purple-winged lion echoed, accompanied by the cheerful calls of Chang-Yue and Tai-He welcoming him.

"Little Angel! Tai-He!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Big Brother is back! I missed you so much," shouted the little girl as she rushed over and hugged Zheng-Fu as he dismounted the purple-winged lion.

"I missed you too. How are you? What did you do while I was away?" Zheng-Fu asked, feeling very happy as he looked at the adorable Chang-Yue.

"After I came back, I played with Shi-Shi and Brother Tai-He's Tamil. I also took some time to practice and cultivate to increase my energy level!" The young woman immediately responded to Zheng-Fu when he asked her. During the time Zheng-Fu was away, she had spent most of her time playing with Shi-Shi and also training to increase her level.

"Very good! But if you keep running around with Shi-Shi and forget to cultivate, I'll punish you by keeping you away from Tai-He's cooking!" Zheng-Fu teased with a smile.

"Oh no! I don't only play; I spend more time practicing than playing. If you don't believe me, you can ask Brother Tai-He. Right, Brother Tai-He?" Chang-Yue hurriedly clarified and called on Tai-He to vouch for her.

"Yes, Master! Little Chang-Yue spent more time practicing than playing, sir!" Tai-He, startled by Chang-Yue's plea for support, quickly confirmed her statement.

"Hmm! That's good, then! But if I find out later that someone lied to me, there will be severe punishment—just wait and see! Well, let's go get something to eat; I'm feeling hungry!" Zheng-Fu, suspecting that Tai-He was covering for Chang-Yue, decided not to dwell on it. He knew she was still at a playful age, so he shifted the topic to food instead.

"Master, please wait a moment, sir. I'll head to the kitchen and cook for you!"

"Hmm!"

Even though Zheng-Fu had only been away for a day, he could sense that the little purple-winged lion's energy had risen to the sixth level of the Heavenly Foundation Building stage. Tamil, Tai-He's beast, also seemed to have grown very close to Shi-Shi, the purple-winged lion, as if they had known each other in a previous life.

Inside the hall of Zheng-Fu's house...

"Big Brother, how are Uncle King, Brother Xiao-He, and Brother Xiao-Lei? Did anything happen to their tavern?" Chang-Yue asked as soon as they entered the house, her concern evident.

"They're all safe. I've hired guards to protect them, Little Angel, so you don't need to worry. And soon, Gratitude Tavern will have a new look. When it's ready, we'll go back and take a look. I'm sure you'll like it!" Zheng-Fu reassured her.

Yay!

"Big Brother promised to take me there; you can't break your promise!" Chang-Yue exclaimed joyfully, relieved that the three were safe and excited by Zheng-Fu's promise.

"Of course, I promise! But first, you must become stronger than you are now. Otherwise, I won't take you with me when the time comes!" Zheng-Fu nodded and made a promise, but he also made a proposal to little Xiang-Yue. He told her that if she wanted to come along, she would need to become stronger.

"Okay! I'll cultivate even harder and make myself stronger!" Chang-Yue replied enthusiastically, determined to train so she could join Zheng-Fu.

"Very good!"

Creeeaaak!

"Your meal is ready, sir," Tai-He announced, his voice carrying the enticing aroma of food from the kitchen.

Yay!

"Food! Food! Food!"

After the food was brought to the dining table, the three of them ate together happily. Zheng-Fu felt content living this way, but it also reminded him of his wife, Fu-Er. Though it hadn't been long since they parted, it felt like decades to him.

"Big Brother, what's wrong? Why do you look so sad?" Chang-Yue asked worriedly, noticing the change in Zheng-Fu's expression.

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about how to tease Little Angel! Ha ha!" Zheng-Fu quickly masked his sadness, not wanting the little girl to worry. He smiled mischievously and reached out to tickle her waist.

Ha... Ha... Ha ha!

"No!"

Hahaha!

"Hey... Big... Big Brother! N... no! Stop... stop it right now!"

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