~~~

After days of travel, New Moon Town finally appears in the distance.

Liu Jin is not impressed.

As far as size goes, New Moon Town does not seem to be even a tenth of Eastern Port City’s size. Large trees grow all around it. It almost looks as if they are about to swallow the tiny town at any moment. The town walls look sturdy enough but compared to the city walls of Eastern Port City, even calling them fences may be too much.

Upon reaching the town gates, Liu Jin notices there are not many people going in or out. It does not seem like New Moon Town gets many visitors. That is why it is all too easy to spot two people wearing robes that look similar to what the Xiao Sect’s disciples wear. It looks like they are waiting for someone.

“Those are the clothes worn by Branch Sect Disciples,” Xiao Nan whispers to him. “No doubt, these two have been sent to greet us.”

When Liu Jin turns to look at Xiao Nan, he receives a surprise. Xiao Nan’s usual robes, which denote his status as a Core Disciple of the Xiao Sect, are nowhere to be found. Instead, he is wearing simple clothes with faded colors.

“Elder Brother?”

Xiao Nan smiles reassuringly.

“It is fine, Little Brother. It is fine. Just keep walking and ignore those men. We don’t need them just yet.”

Liu Jin furrows his brow, unable to comprehend Xiao Nan’s intentions. Nevertheless, he complies. Liu Jin and Xiao Nan keep on walking. They pass by the two members of the Xiao Sect’s local branch and make their way inside New Moon Town.

The first thing Liu Jin notices are the streets. They are very narrow. It is still the middle of the day, so there are many people moving about inside the town. As Liu Jin keeps having to move to avoid bumping into others, he decides he does not like cramped places very much.

“Elder Brother, why did we just do that?” Liu Jin asks once they are a few blocks away from the town gates.

“If we allowed those two to receive us, they would have treated us with reverent respect. We would already be on the way to the local branch where we would be treated to a banquet in our honor. It would all be fairly nice, but it would make us too visible right away. Right now, we can explore the town without anyone knowing who we are. It is a good chance to learn things.”

Things that may have been kept hidden from them if they went to the local branch right away. Xiao Nan does not need to say it. When an important guest is going to visit, it is natural to clean your house the day before. If there are messes that cannot be fixed in time, those messes are hidden. No one wants to be known as a person who lives in a messy house. By walking around town incognito, Xiao Nan is free to form his own opinion without anyone trying to color his perspective.

Not for the first time, it strikes Liu Jin that Xiao Nan is really amazing. Not only is he strong, but he has a sharp mind. As long as he is there, the Xiao Sect has nothing to fear from the future.

“Understood, Elder Brother.”

“Alright then!” Xiao Nan slaps his hands together. “Let’s get something to eat!”

~~~

“Mm, these are delicious. You have to try them, Little Brother.”

Liu Jin stares as Xiao Nan pops another candied kumquat into his mouth. After walking around town for about half an hour, Xiao Nan zeroed in on the restaurant they are currently eating at. Judging by the size and furnishing of the place, Liu Jin is willing to bet it is one of the nicer places in New Moon Town. Their clothes are still dirty from traveling, so the receptionist looked at them with unease at first. Xiao Nan’s money, however, took care of that little problem.

After that, Xiao Nan ordered sweets and nothing but sweets or would have had Liu Jin not been able to convince him to order some tea as well. In fact, their table is completely full of the many sweets Xiao Nan ordered

Liu Jin takes a deep breath.

“Elder Brother, I thought we were supposed to gather information.”

“Ah, but we are gathering information, Little Brother.” It amazes Liu Jin that Xiao Nan manages to say that much with all the food in his mouth. “Places where people eat are always good for finding out stuff if you care to listen. Well, there are other places we could have gone, but Little Brother is still too young for those.”

Liu Jin furrows his brow. Xiao Nan would not lie to him. Liu Jin is sure of that. At the same time, it is a bit hard to believe him since all his attention seems to be aimed at the sweets. More than anything, Xiao Nan seems to be relishing the chance to eat as many sweets as he can.

“The couple at the end of the room is having financial troubles,” Xiao Nan says, nodding to the side. The motion is so sudden Liu Jin almost misses it. Still, he follows the direction of Xiao Nan’s nod and finds an elderly couple. They are speaking in whispers. Combined with the chatter of the other customers, there is no way Liu Jin can listen to what they are saying.

“Being able to listen is an important skill,” Xiao Nan tells him while taking a moment to drink some tea. “Don’t worry. Right now, I can keep track of all the conversations happening in this room. Just enjoy yourself. I know Little Brother has to be hungry. You have only touched your tea so far. You need to try out the sweets as well.”

All the conversations in the room?

Liu Jin sighs. As expected, this person is way too amazing.

“As expected, Elder Brother is amazing.”

Xiao Nan waves a hand. “I’ve just had a few more years to live in this world than Little Brother. That is all there is to it. But really, eat some sweets. They are fairly good for something produced in a place like this.”

Liu Jin nods and pops a candied kumquat into his mouth.

It is delicious.

Liu Jin brings a hand to his cheek as his teeth sink into the treat. The sweet, citrusy taste floods his mouth in an instant.

It bears noting Liu Jin has never been one for sweets. That is not because Liu Jin hates them. Not at all. Rather, Liu Jin has never had the time for them. During his early years, the clinic did not make much money, enough to afford the food they needed but rarely more. Even now, due to his father’s very affordable rates, the clinic is not exactly swimming in money. Furthermore, between his many duties, Liu Jin never has the time to spoil himself. The very notion is something foreign to Liu Jin.

As he swallows the candied kumquat, however, that changes. Xiao Nan looks at him with a knowing smile.

“Good, it is not?”

Liu Jin manages to spare time for a nod before digging in. Both Liu Jin and Xiao Nan have been walking all day, so they have built up quite an appetite. The sight of them stuffing their mouths with as many sweets as they can is not pretty, but no one can deny they are enjoying their food.

On that day, Liu Jin decides that even if he reaches a point in his cultivation where food is no longer necessary, he will still make time for sweets in the future.

Sweets are good.

The two eat in silence for the next few minutes, far more interested in the food than in making conversation with each other. They are so hungry they finish all the sweets. Xiao Nan looks like he is about to order some more. At that moment, a crashing sounds calls their attention.

“What do you Hu Clan people think you are doing here?”

All conversation immediately ceases. Gazes turn towards the origin of the sound. A group of people has barged into the restaurant. All of them look to be somewhere between their late teens and early twenties. The leader of the group, the one who shouted, stands at the front, his face red with anger.

The object of that anger is a group of people sitting at one of the larger tables. They are similar in age and cultivation level to the standing group. In spite of the anger aimed at them, they do not look too worried.

“What are we doing here?” One of the people seated at the table asks, looking around. “Do the people of Clan Lun not have eyes? This is a restaurant, is it not? What would we be doing here if not eating?”

The angry man growls. His Qi flares violently although Liu Jin does not find it particularly impressive. The man is only in the Foundational Realm.

“Do I not have eyes?” He yells. Some of the customers wince at the volume. A few have started to discretely back away. “I should be the one asking that. Can you not see this restaurant is Lun Clan territory?! What does the Hu Clan think they are doing here?”

Clan Lun?

Clan Hu?

Liu Jin recognizes the names. “Elder Brother,” He whispers, “are those not-”

“Shh!” Xiao Nan motions him to be silent. “Indeed, they are, but let’s just watch for now, Little Brother.”

The members of the angry man’s group, likely his fellow clan members, voice their agreement with his words. However, the people sitting, the people from Clan Hu, do not look worried. If anything, they seem amused.

“Lun Clan territory?” The seated member of the Hu Clan echoes. “Oh my, it seems like the Lun Clan is still in living in the past.”

“What did you say?”

“Was I not clear enough? The Lun Clan is living in the past. Maybe once upon a time, this was respected as Clan Lun’s territory, but that time is long gone. We came here bearing the name of our clan proudly, and no one warned us away. Instead, we were received as esteemed guests. I guess that shows how much Clan Lun’s name is worth now.”

The face of the angry Clan Lun member goes from red to purple. “Our Clan has a thousand years of history in New Moon Town! You would do well to respect it!”

The seated members of Clan Hu laugh. “A thousand years of history? Our Hu Clan can boast the same, but that does not matter. What matters is which Clan will be here in the future and which will not be. What do Clan Lun’s thousand years of history matter, if they are in the process of withering away?”

“How dare you!”

“But it is true, is it not?” Taunts the member of Clan Hu. “Have you not been losing a lot lately. To our Clan Hu? To the Xiao Sect?”

It is amazing how the room seems to go even quieter after that. Just the mention of the Xiao Sect appears to cast a spell which paralyzes everyone for an instant.

“You dare say that to my face! You dare mention the Xiao Sect to me!” The Clan Lun member takes a step forward. “The only reason things are this way is because your Clan Hu shamelessly went back on their word! We were supposed to ally against the invaders! Instead, your whore went and spread her legs for the Xiao Sect! I suppose I should not be surprised. Clan Hu has always been full of dogs.”

“Oh, my!” This time the Clan Hu member stands up, a dangerous smile on his lips. “Clan Lun certainly has a funny way of saying things. It was the son of the Xiao Sect’s Branch Master who fell for our Little Miss, and our Little Miss fell for him in turn. Who are we to deny our Little Miss’ wishes? If you are going to insult our Little Miss, we will not take it lightly.”

By the time he finishes speaking, all the members of Clan Hu have stood up. Some of the customers abandon discretion and flee for the door. Violence seems inevitable.

Xiao Nan stands up.

“I think that is enough.”

It is not his words that do the trick.

It is his Qi.

At that moment, everyone feels Xiao Nan’s power is in the Spirit Realm, the realm after the Nascent Realm. Only Liu Jin is aware that is not even half of Xiao Nan’s true power. He is still disguising it, pretending to be much weaker than he is.

However, being in the Spirit Realm still puts Xiao Nan leagues above everyone in the room.

“I think there is no point in continuing this,” Xiao Nan says as he steps between the two groups. “This Xiao Nan does not care for having his meals interrupted.”

Everyone in the room stiffens at the mentions of his name.

“You will leave and not make any trouble,” he says to the people of Clan Lun.

“You will finish your food, pay double its worth, and leave,” he says to the people of Clan Hu. He then looks around the room. “Does anyone have any problems with that?”

No one answers. No one dares.

Xiao Nan smiles.

“Perfect.”

~~~