Chapter 1082: Father, Aunt Ye Ling, I’m Leaving

The girl was both agitated and angry. As she pushed Ye Guan away, tears unknowingly welled up in her eyes.

Just then, Ye Guan grabbed her hand and said, "That was my fault."

The girl looked at him and stopped pushing, silently crying.

"It's my fault. The Academy Master can definitely do it."

The girl lowered her head slightly and muttered, "I heard that the Academy Master had brought someone back to life before. H-he's really amazing, so please don't say that he can't do it, okay?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Okay."

The girl looked up at him briefly and then sat down. After a moment of silence, she said, "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," said Ye Guan with a nod. "I've read quite a few books, and I memorized the majority of them. I'll write them down for you. If you don't understand something, you can go ahead and ask me. I can come out every night to teach you."

The girl was stunned, and her voice was trembling as she asked, "Really?"

"Really."

A radiant smile blossomed on the girl's face. "Alright."

"But you have to promise me something—don't steal or take things by force anymore, okay?" Ye Guan asked.

The girl remained silent.

"It's all because stealing is extremely dangerous, do you understand?" Ye Guan added.

"I'm too small," the girl said, lowering her head. "Nobody wants to hire me."

"That's okay. Now that I can earn money, if I have food to eat, so will you. How about that?"

The girl stared at him for a long time before shaking her head. "No!"

Then, she ran away with her books in her arms.

Ye Guan was stunned. By the time he left the dilapidated temple, the girl was still nowhere to be seen.

Ye Guan stood in place and remained silent for a long time. Eventually, he returned to the Ye Residence and continued his work. Every night since then, he would go back to the temple, but the girl remained missing.

Despite that, he refused to give up.

On the fifth day, the girl finally appeared, and she froze upon seeing Ye Guan.

Ye Guan smiled. "You're here."

The girl glanced at him but said nothing. However, she didn't turn around and leave.

Ye Guan took out a package containing some food.

"The meals at the Ye Residence are cheap. I bought some for us to share," he remarked with a smile.

After a moment of hesitation, the girl lowered her head and walked over. She took a steamed bun from her pocket and extended it over toward Ye Guan before staring quietly at the latter.

Ye Guan smiled faintly, but he said nothing and simply accepted the bun. He then ate it without any hesitation.

The girl sat across from Ye Guan, glancing at the food. After a while, she began eating as well.

Neither of them spoke any word to each other.

After they were done eating, Ye Guan smiled and said, "I wrote down another book for you to read over these past few days."

Ye Guan took out an ancient-looking scroll and handed it over to the girl.

The girl hesitated but ultimately accepted it.

Ye Guan asked, "Are you done reading those two books?"

"No." The girl shook her head. "I can't quite read them."

"I'll teach you how to read them, then," Ye Guan replied.

The girl stared at Ye Guan for a long while before nodding and lowering her head.

From then on, Ye Guan would visit the girl every night to teach her how to read. She wasn't especially gifted at learning, but she was earnest and diligent; she would ask whenever she was confused about something.

The two grew closer over time.

Ye Guan also secretly taught her a cultivation method. The only reason he had done it secretly was that he didn't have enough spiritual crystals at the moment.

He wanted her to familiarize herself with the basics first. Later, when they had enough resources, she could naturally begin cultivating.

Aside from teaching the girl and working, Ye Guan was secretly cultivating as well.

Ye Guan's fleshly body had reached the ninth level, and the next stage was the Xiantian Realm, which required him to ingest Xiantian Pills—pills made from pure spiritual energy.

Unfortunately, he needed two hundred Xiantian Pills, and he was too broke to purchase that many Xiantian Pills. Left with no choice, Ye Guan could only continue cultivating.

Despite his measly level nine cultivation base, Ye Guan's combat intuition far exceeded his realm. He believed that he could take on opponents three or four realms above him without much trouble.

There were only three months left before the Wanzhou Martial Contest, and Ye Guan was planning on heading to the Sword Sect before then. Only through the Sword Sect could he compete in the Wanzhou Martial Contest and perhaps become a student of the Guanxuan Academy's main branch.

The Sword Sect was also necessary to ensure that he wouldn't get into any trouble by wielding the sword.

As usual, Ye Guan returned to the temple today.

The girl was already waiting for him.

Ye Guan took out a package and smiled. "Let's eat first."

The girl nodded. "Okay."

The two ate together; the food was simple, but they enjoyed the meal.

Afterward, the girl cleaned up and then took out a book before sitting next to Ye Guan. Then, she flipped it to a certain page and said, "This page has a paragraph that says, 'To forge the character of pure gold and jade, one must be tempered by flames. To achieve earth-shaking deeds, one must tread on thin ice.'"

"What do they mean?"

Ye Guan glanced at it and smiled. "It means that to have a noble and flawless character, one must endure great trials and hardships. To accomplish extraordinary feats, one must face extreme challenges and dangers."

Ye Guan fell silent. He understood what the proverb was trying to say, but he hadn't been able to practice it. The gap between knowing and doing was truly vast.

The girl nodded slightly, and her gaze was fixed on the book as she muttered, "So that's what it means..."

Ye Guan suddenly said, "I have to leave."

The girl looked outside at the sky. "It's still early."

"I mean, I'm leaving this place."

The girl froze.

Ye Guan said softly, "I told you I'm going to the Sword Sect. I want to become a swordsman."

"

Oh.

" The girl lowered her head.

Ye Guan patted her head and asked, "Do you want to come with me?"

The girl looked up at him in disbelief.

"Do you want to come with me? However, I'll have to let you know that the money I saved is only enough for us to take the teleportation array to the Sword Sect. Once we're there, I'm not sure what will happen. But I can promise you this—if I'm eating, you'll be eating as well."

The girl stared at him for a long time before suddenly running away.

Ye Guan was confused.

"Master Pagoda, why did she run away?"

Little Pagoda was silent for a while before saying,

"She's probably scared."

"Scared of what?"

"She had been living at the bottom of society for such a long time, so she must've seen all the evils of the world. She's afraid that someone treating her so kindly will leave one day.

"You gave her hope, but hope becomes despair when it's taken away. It is indeed one of the most terrifying things out there."

Ye Guan fell silent.

Just then, a tiny head peeked through the doorway—it was the girl. The girl looked at him and asked, "Are you serious?"

Ye Guan smiled. "Yes, I'm serious."

The girl nodded. "I'll go with you, then."

Ye Guan smiled. "Alright."

The girl smiled briefly. Then, she sat down next to Ye Guan again. After some reading, they both looked up to gaze at the moon.

The girl suddenly asked, "Do you have family?"

Ye Guan nodded. "Yes."

"Do you miss them?"

"Yes."

The girl went silent. She took out a gemstone necklace from under her collar. The inset featured a thumb-sized black-red gem, and it resembled an eye with a swirling black vortex in the middle of it. It was an eerie-looking gem.

The girl seemed to be lost in thought as she held the gem.

For some reason, the gem looked familiar to Ye Guan, so he couldn't help but ask, "What is that?"

"It's the only thing that my mother has left behind for me," the girl replied and put the necklace away.

Ye Guan gently patted her head, saying nothing.

The two sat quietly, and eventually, the girl fell asleep on his shoulder.

When daybreak arrived, Ye Guan returned to the Ye Residence and submitted his resignation. Once his wages were settled, he was left with twelve spiritual crystals.

The teleportation array to the Sword Sect cost five spiritual crystals per head, so he would be left with nothing but two spiritual crystals.

Life was going to be hard, but neither seemed to care.

Ye Guan walked out of the Ye Residence and smiled. "Father, Aunt Ye Ling, I'm leaving."

Then, he headed toward the street where the girl was waiting for him.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Unbeknownst to everyone, the two wooden sculptures inside a certain courtyard within the Ye Residence trembled faintly, seemingly responding to Ye Guan's words.

***

Ye Guan walked to the end of the distant street with the girl next to him.

He was still wearing the servant's uniform from the Ye Residence, and the girl was still in her coarse hemp clothes. Neither of them had chosen to change into something new, as having enough food to eat was more important than anything else for them.

Soon, they arrived at the Immortal Treasures Pavilion, which had a teleportation array that led directly to the Sword Sect.

On the way, Ye Guan suddenly asked, "Do you want a name?"

The girl turned to him. "A name?"

"Yes."

The girl thought for a moment and said, "Give me one."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." The girl nodded. "You're knowledgeable and full of wisdom."

"

Pfft!

" Ye Guan laughed heartily at that.

"Can I have the surname Ye as well?" asked the girl.

Ye Guan looked at her. "Because my surname is Ye?"

The girl nodded. "Yes."

"Haha, I see." Ye Guan chuckled. "How about taking the surname Yang instead?"

The girl looked confused.

Ye Guan leaned closer and whispered, "Actually, my real surname is Yang. For certain reasons, I flipped my surname and my first name."

The girl blinked. "Alright, I'll be surnamed Yang, then."

Ye Guan thought deeply for a while and said, "Yang Yian. It means being safe and sound, peaceful and secure. What do you think?"

The girl didn't hesitate at all and nodded. "Okay."

Ye Guan patted the girl's head and smiled. "From now on, you're part of the Yang Family."

The girl remained quiet as she held onto the hem of Ye Guan's sleeve.

Part of the Yang family? A family?

The word "family" sounded unfamiliar in her ears.