Wait a minute, where is my master?

The husky, sitting cross-legged among the dogs and wolves, suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the newcomers with his light brown eyes.

He had actually smelled the strangers earlier, but after his trip to Shangjing City, he felt he should be more composed, so he didn't report to Jin Xu.

In plain language, his trip to Shangjing City had made him realize just how formidable their temple master was. He felt the group before him posed no threat at all, so he didn't bother to inform Jin Xu.

To put it more simply, the husky was showing off!

Of course, the main reason was that the young Taoist had said before heading back to his room that he shouldn't be disturbed today unless it was something urgent.

...

"Are you the people who have been bringing food to Big Black and Fat Wolf for the past half-month?"

Little White asked the newcomers, restraining the term she wanted to address them with, due to the bump on her head.

Yu Yaoer had just finished hitting her and specifically forbade her from recovering until tomorrow.

"Yes, little girl, do you remember me?"

Among the group, two girls led the way; one wearing a long black and red dress with her hair tied up, and the other wearing a bell flower and dressed neatly.

These two were none other than the owner of the Immortal Robe Pavilion and the granddaughter of Gusu City's City Lord Su Liebo.

"Are you the owner?"

Little White didn't recognize her by sight; she knew by smell, which explained why she felt a familiar scent among the newcomers.

"Yes, that's me. Is your young Taoist back at the temple?"

The Immortal Robe Pavilion owner's face brightened with joy. Initially, she came to the temple for Jin Xu, but after spending eight or nine days outside and not seeing the young Taoist, she developed affection for the temple's guard wolves instead.

So, she brought people to feed them daily.

And her close girlfriend, who was also the granddaughter of City Lord Su Liebo, shared her affection for these increasingly plump canine creatures and accompanied her every day.

However, these days, she had an additional task; her grandfather had asked her to watch out for Jin Xu's return, so she could quickly inform him, as Su Liebo wanted to meet Jin Xu personally.

"He is back, but the temple master might be resting right now, so..."

The husky hesitated a bit; after all, these were the friends who had fed his pack for half a month, and etiquette dictated he should notify Jin Xu of their arrival.

But the temple master had specifically said not to disturb him unless it was urgent.

"No worries, no worries, we just came to bring them some food today, we won't disturb the young Taoist's rest."

The owner and the girl wearing the bell flower looked at each other and then simultaneously pointed to the wolves and dogs on the ground, saying in unison.

Both of them had watched the broadcast at Tingfeng Building a couple of days ago. While others might not know the real identity of the young Taoist in the formations shown, these two definitely did, one of them being acquainted with Yu Yaoer and the other's grandfather being the city lord.

So naturally, they were very humble this time.

"Oh, that works too."

Little White, seeing that she wouldn't be put in a difficult position, happily nodded.

The owner quickly had her attendants distribute the food they had brought, and then they departed.

...

On the way down the mountain.

The girl wearing the bell flower laughed and said to the owner, "Sister, you must be missing the young Taoist a lot. How come today, knowing he is back, you still managed to hold back from going to meet him?"

The Immortal Robe Pavilion owner knew her friend was teasing her, so she rolled her eyes and replied, "Little sister, you weren't talking about the young Taoist less in front of me either, especially two days ago before that broadcast formation. Your shouts were the loudest of all; how come today you also held back from going to meet him?"

"Humph, doesn't sister know why?"

The girl snorted and returned an eye roll.

The two continued down the mountain for a while and then said in unison, "It's because we left in a hurry today and didn't even put on makeup when we learned that the young Taoist had returned!"

The two were truly best friends, showing a closeness and understanding far superior to the threesome who couldn't even understand each other's hints.

A woman dresses to please those she admires, and having finally gotten the chance to meet someone they revered, naturally they wanted to present themselves in the best state possible.

Thus, the two had already decided to get dolled up the next day before paying a visit to Jin Xu; there was no rush.

Chatting and laughing along the way, they playfully made their way back to Gusu City.

...

Xuanxu Temple, the back courtyard.

At this moment, Jin Xu was asleep in his room.

That's right, he was neither cultivating nor studying the ink jade rod, but rather, he was sound asleep in bed.

Although he had rested during his time in Shangjing City, the young Taoist always felt that his rest was not sufficient. Therefore, upon returning to his room, he decided to simply go to sleep.

The night passed without incident, and the next morning came.

"Yawn~~~"

Jin Xu got out of bed stretching widely; it had been a long time since he had slept this extensively since he had started his cultivation, and he felt like the whole world was much more refreshing after he got up.

The young Taoist got out of bed, walked to the door, first stepped out to check Guan Ling and the Bronze Gate with his Spiritual Eyes, and upon seeing no signs of them waking up, he glanced at Little White who was lying by the well, then proceeded to the front courtyard to offer incense to the ancestral statues.

Afterward, like he suddenly remembered something, Jin Xu went back to his room, reached under the bed, and pulled out that ink jade fishing rod.

He planned to fish for the woman who had self-destructed in front of the valley.

Previously in Shangjing, he had intended to have Xia Yunzhao connect him with Tingfeng Building to buy information about the Demon Sect, such as where they might be hiding. However, Tingfeng Building informed him they didn't have such detailed information—only basic stuff like names, strengths, and tactics, and even this was not guaranteed to be current.

If Tingfeng Building had information about the hiding places of the Demon Sect, the cultivators of the Righteous Path would have eradicated them a thousand years ago; they wouldn't still be hopping around the Nine Provinces Realm.

Latterly, the cultivator from Tingfeng Building even proposed a special interview with the young Taoist, which Jin Xu immediately declined without hesitation.

So, he hoped that today there wouldn't be any monkey business with this ink jade fishing rod.

With a water bucket in hand, the young Taoist went to the well, and after hitting the beauty-sleeping Yu Yaoer three times, he finally fetched a bucket of Spiritual Liquid.

"Guess I'll have to keep Little Yu in a tank from now on."

Thinking this, Jin Xu was about to activate the already-prepared fish hook and toss it into the bucket.

At this critical moment, there was a sudden knock at the gate.

"Is Taoist Jin Xu home? I am City Lord Su, from Gusu City."

The young Taoist glanced at the fishing rod in his hand, then looked towards the front courtyard. After hesitating for a moment, he placed the fishing rod on a stone table and went to open the front gate.

"Visiting so early to offer incense, are we?"

Jin Xu muttered to himself as he walked to the front courtyard and opened the temple gate.

"City Lord Su."

The young Taoist calmly watched the visitor at the door, noting that there was a pair of girls with sullen eyes and drooping brows standing behind him.

One was the proprietress of Immortal Robe Pavilion, and the other was... well, he didn't recognize her.

"Taoist, I apologize for visiting so abruptly," said Su Liebo in a courteous manner.

Then he saw Jin Xu nod in agreement.

"...Umm."

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.