We walked through the village toward the gathering point at the eastern gate. I beca the center of attention yet again. Villagers stopped their morning chores to bow respectfully. Children looked out from behind their parents with big eyes. Several elders ca up to formally thank and wish well on my journey.
"Immortal Ke," called Old Wang as he hobbled over using his walking stick. "Before you go, please take this small token of our thanks."
He put a small cloth-wrapped package in my hands. I unwrapped it and found a beautifully carved wooden pendant. It was a tiny version of Floating Reed Village's guardian stone, worn smooth from years of touching.
"This has been our village's protection symbol for hundreds of years," the old man told . "My great grandfather carved it from the original guardian stone that once stood at our village entrance, before a great flood destroyed it."
"I can't take sothing this precious," I said, trying to give it back.
"You must," he insisted, closing my fingers around the pendant. "It protected our ancestors, and now you have protected us. The circle goes on."
This happened several more tis as we continued through the village. The children gave a woven bracelet. The herb woman offered a small pouch of special tea leaves. The beekeeper gave a tiny jar of honey. These small gifts held great aning to those who gave them.
By the ti we reached the village gate, my storage ring held a small collection of these gifts. None had cultivation value, but each represented sothing much more valuable, which was the real gratitude of ordinary people whose lives I had helped save.
The Azure Peak team waited by the gate with the cultivators from the Yan clan and Heavenly Jade Sect. All had recovered enough from the battle at the shrine. Shen Xuanyu and Zhang Wei still moved a bit stiffly, showing they still had so injuries.
As I approached with my parents, Liu Chang stepped forward and bowed.
"Junior Brother Ke," he said. "We are ready to leave when you are."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Liu," I bowed back. "I'll just say my final goodbyes."
I turned back to my parents and suddenly couldn't find the right words. How do you say goodbye to people who love you completely, when you don't know when you'll see them again?
Mother sensed what I felt. She stepped forward and hugged tight.
"We raised a son who can fight monsters and protect entire villages," she whispered against my shoulder. "I think we can trust you to handle a simple trip back to your sect."
I laughed, and the tension broke. "When you say it like that..."
Father joined our hug, his hands firm on my shoulders. "Rember that no matter how strong you beco, you always have a ho with us. Cultivation realm or no cultivation realm."
"I know," I said. "Take care of each other, and take care of my little brother or sister when they get here."
"We will," Mother promised, stepping back, her hand now resting on her stomach, still flat. "And next ti you visit, one more Ke will be here to welco you ho."
I gave a final bow to my parents and the villagers, then turned to join my fellow cultivators. As we got into our traveling formation, I heard a small voice call out.
"Immortal Brother Ke!"
I looked back and saw the little girl from yesterday, the one who first asked for a flower tree. She pushed through the crowd. She held a slightly withered but still intact miniature tree in a small cup. Its white blossoms drooped a bit but remained beautiful.
"Will you make more trees when you co back?" she asked, her eyes full of hope.
I knelt down to her level and smiled. "Even better ones. With flowers that change color in the moonlight."
Her face lit up with joy. "I'll take very good care of this one until then!"
"I know you will," I said, gently touching the tiny tree with a thread of qi to give it new strength, just enough to straighten its branches. "It likes when people sing to it. Plants grow better when they hear kind voices."
She nodded seriously, as if I had shared the most important cultivation secret. "I'll sing to it every day!"
"Great," I said, standing up as Elder Wu cleared his throat. "You'll make a fine plant cultivator soday."
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The village elder was now giving a formal farewell speech, thanking all three cultivation groups for their help and courage.
"May the heavens bless your journey," Elder Wu finished, bowing deeply to us. "Know that Floating Reed Village will always welco you as honored friends."
The formalities went on for so ti. A person from each cultivation group gave the right responses. Liu Chang spoke for Azure Peak, Yan Li for the imperial clan, and Zhang Wei for Heavenly Jade Sect. Each stressed that cultivators must protect common people, but I noticed small differences in what they emphasized, Liu Chang talked about mutual responsibility, Yan Li about imperial kindness, and Zhang Wei about heavenly mandate.
When the speeches ended, Jiaxin ca up with a small package wrapped in blue silk.
"For your trip," she said, giving it to with a shy smile. "Just so dried fruit and mao tai cakes I made."
"Thank you," I said, taking the gift. "Good luck with your music training in White Sky City. I hope to hear you play again soday."
Her smile grew brighter. "Maybe when you visit the imperial capital. The music houses there sotis invite good players from across the Eastern Continent."
"I'll look for your na among the perforrs," I promised.
With that final exchange, I joined the formation of cultivators. Liu Chang gave the signal, and we headed down the eastern road. The villagers waved and called goodbyes until we went around a bend and could no longer see the village.
***
The first hour of travel passed quietly. Each of us seed lost in our own thoughts, processing the end of the mission in our own way.
Later, Liu Chang called for a short rest at a stream crossing so everyone could refresh themselves before we continued.
"The Yan clan delegation will leave us here," he announced as we gathered. "Their path takes them northwest toward the capital."
Yan Li stepped forward. "It has been an honor to fight alongside Azure Peak's disciples. The alliance between our factions stays strong."
"The honor was mutual," Liu Chang replied with a respectful bow. "Please give our regards to the imperial family."
Yan Li nodded, then turned to . "Junior Brother Ke, your actions at the shrine were remarkable. The Yan clan recognizes true talent. If you ever visit the capital, you would be welco in our halls."
Coming from an imperial clan mber, this was a big deal. I bowed deeply in response. "You honor , Senior Brother Yan. I hope to deserve such recognition."
Yan Ziheng ca up next. "Thank you, Senior Brother Ke. I learned a lot during our short ti together. I hope next ti we et, I will have broken through and beco a Level 2 practitioner."
"I know you'll break through," I smiled.
I saw sothing like joy in his eyes at my belief in him before he nodded and stepped back.
After that, the Yan Clan left.
"The Heavenly Jade Sect will also be leaving," Liu Chang said once the Yan clan was out of sight. "Their path goes east toward White Sky City."
Shen Xuanyu stepped forward with much less ceremony than Yan Li. "Good hunting, Azure Peak," he said simply. "Try not to get killed before the next sect competition. I want a real rematch with you, Liu Chang."
"Looking forward to it," Liu Chang replied with a hint of a smile.
Shen Xuanyu then turned to and looked over carefully. "You're interesting, Ke Yin," he said bluntly. "Not what I expected from a village-born cultivator. Keep surprising people, it helps in our world."
Without much more ceremony, Shen Xuanyu and Zhang Wei continued eastward, leaving only our team of three at the stream crossing.
"I understand you have another mission," Liu Chang turned to . "Sothing about collecting herbs in the Black Mist Valley?"
"Yes," I confird. "I didn't ntion it earlier because I planned to split from the group and et you back at the sect."
Liu Chang nodded. "Black Mist Valley has unstable spatial fluctuations. Not a good place for to go by yourself, especially after you used so much energy in combat."
Before I could say I had recovered enough, he continued. "Su Yue and I talked about it and want to go with you. The Moonlit Dew Flower should bloom in about ten days, and we don't need to rush back to the sect."
"I thought you wanted to tell the elders about what happened at the shrine?" I asked.
"That's why we have ssenger talismans," he laughed, but before I could question how secure that thod was, he added, "Once the other mbers tell their sects, it won't be a secret anymore. Everyone will talk about it."
"I see," I said as I carefully weighed my options.
Having Liu Chang and Su Yue co with had clear benefits, Liu Chang was a powerful Qi Condensation Stage 9 cultivator. Few below the Elental Realm could match him. His fighting skills could scare off competing harvesters from other sects who might challenge a lone outer disciple like .
But risks existed too.
I had already shown more of my abilities during the shrine battle than I ant to. Being close to senior disciples for a long mission would make it hard to hide my unusual techniques, the difficult would only increase if we ran into real danger.
Then there was the matter of the reward. The sect had promised 1,000 contribution points for the Moonlit Dew flower, which was a lot for an outer disciple. By sect rules, mission rewards got divided among the participants. Does that an I need to split this bounty three ways, that seed only fair, right?
"You seem unsure, Junior Brother Ke," Liu Chang said.
"I... the mission rewards..." I began awkwardly.
To my surprise, Liu Chang's expression softened. "Don’t worry about the contribution points."
Su Yue stepped forward. "We don't want to claim your assigned rewards, Junior Brother. We can gather extra specins for separate credit."
"The truth is," Liu Chang added, his voice unusually gentle, "we feel we owe you. What you did at the shrine... Many cultivators at your level would have run away. Instead, you stayed and faced Ke Jun directly. Without your help, I doubt any of us would be here now."
Su Yue nodded in agreent. "Think of this as our way of repaying that debt. Also," she added with a rare hint of a smile, "Black Mist Valley has many fire-attribute herbs I've wanted to study. This gives the perfect excuse."
I studied their faces, looking for hidden motives but finding only honesty. Maybe they were curious about my abilities, but their offer seed truly based on gratitude.
Honestly, I would be stupid to refuse such powerful allies just because of paranoia. Liu Chang had already seen channel stellar energy, a fact I couldn't change. The smarter choice would be to accept their help whilst also being careful about what additional abilities I showed.
"When you put it that way," I said with a smile, "why not?"
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