Wen Meihui and Ye Fan headed toward the exit at a fast but steady pace. The little boy had a skip in his step as he moved forward. He absentmindedly let Sister Wen direct his excited movements. The boy was trying his best to sort out his chaotic mind. His mind was overloaded with thoughts while trying to figure out the recent sequence of events. As they opened the door to leave, a voice came from behind them with a tinge of amusement.

  "Not even a farewell?"

  Ye Fan was startled and turned around toward the voice. The caramel-colored young man's golden irises stared directly into the little boy's eyes. The genial smile just made him feel even more guilty. Stuttering, the flustered boy hurriedly gave a response.

  "E-Elder B-Brother L-Long! I- I'm sorry! We'll be heading out!"

  Bowing low and rapidly a few times, Ye Fan was in a panicked state. Seeing the boy's actions, the ever-present smile faded from the charismatic leader's face. Brother Long walked with brisk steps up to Ye Fan before stopping the boy from continuing his actions of subservience. The young man's composure was shattered as he grabbed the boy's shoulders lightly. A sliver of panic could be seen behind those warm golden eyes. His inflection was also a bit rushed as he responded to Ye Fan's sincere apology.

  "No need little Brother. It was an honest mistake."

  The boy was ecstatic at the young man's words and hugged him with accompanying words of thanks. Brother Long blinked blankly twice before hugging the boy back lightly. Confusion was barely hidden in his expression as he accepted his fate. Ye Fan was oblivious to all of this. He was ecstatic and began rambling.

  "Hi Brother Long! You're so cool. I liked how charismatic you were. Everyone listens to you. It's really impressive. My name is Ye Fan, by the way! What's your full name, Brother Long? It must be something noble."

  Brother Long had regained his composure by this time. The genial smile had magically reappeared. Although the rambling had caught him a bit off guard, the young man didn't show any reaction to it. His words were elegant and polite as he replied to the enthusiastic little boy.

  "Not a problem, Brother Ye. There's no need for pettiness between friends. As for my name, my parents named me Long Chen."

  Ye Fan was beaming at the young man’s words. He instantly felt that Long Chen was much closer to him now that they had formally introduced themselves to each other. The young boy excitedly spoke as he continued holding onto Long Chen.

  "Brother Long! I mean- Can I call you Brother Long?"

  Staring into the little boy's eager eyes, the golden-eyed handsome young man replied promptly in a gentle and polite tone.

  "Of course you can, Brother Ye."

  A wide and innocent smile appeared on the small face. The boy tightened his embrace in a moment of intense joy. This time Long Chen didn't react. His muscles were completely relaxed as Ye Fan pressed the side of his little face into the man's clothes.

  All the while, Wen Meihui stood on the sidelines, completely stunned by the interaction. This set of circumstances was something that she had never expected. The impression that Long Chen gave her was of a scheming man with fake warmth. He seemed like someone who was extremely controlling and manipulative. Everything that he could control, he would. Anything necessary to bring all things into his grasp. Anything he couldn't obtain, he would plan contingencies for. Such people, they would rarely find themselves in situations that they hadn't expected. But today, she had witnessed this powerful supervisor of the mortal world lose his composure more than once.

  The golden-eyed supervisor gave the boy a gentle pat on the back. Ye Fan flinched before releasing his grip on the charismatic young man.

  "Nice to meet you, Brother Ye… As a meeting gift, I'll leave my token with you. It might help you if you're in a pinch."

  Ye Fan tactfully backed up as the charismatic young man fished into his robes with his right hand before pulling out a small golden coin. The nine-year-old youth held out two cupped hands with his palms up while respectfully waiting. Long Chen didn't hesitate and gently placed the coin into the youth's hands. Closing the youth's hands, the charismatic young man flashed him a gentle smile.

  "It was nice meeting you, little Brother. I have to go do some work now, but I hope we meet again soon."

  "Thank you, Brother Long! I hope to see you soon! Thanks again for the coin!"

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  The young man with the golden tan gave a short, but polite farewell before heading for the stairs. His entourage from before had dissipated, but the prestige and noble aura could still be observed by any who encountered him. His golden-yellow eyes were slightly narrowed as thoughts danced to and fro in the depths of his mind. When he left the premises of the Three-Five Pavilion, the two golden orbs flickered a bright blue as he turned his gaze to the top of the pavilion. The young man's vision was encompassed in a myriad of colors that caused him to visually recoil and shut his eyelids for a moment.

  When Long Chen recovered from his disorientation, he began to triangulate the source of the main disturbance. Most people had colorless Qi surrounding them that barely extended before him. Since there were existences from the Immortal realm, it was expected that the Qi that he observed would be obviously distinguishable as scions of great factions with immense fortune and luck. Yet, in the midst of all of this, there was still a very prominent anomaly. Its aura towered over everything else causing those colors to be but a mere backdrop. As the golden-eyed young man found the source of this anomaly, he suppressed a mouthful of blood that came up from the back of his throat by forcefully swallowing it.

  Staring into the heavenly secrets, especially related to someone of such tremendous fortune would inevitably cause some consequences. Even if he currently had the cultivation of an Earth Immortal, he acted too rash. Gagging briefly at the taste of blood, he walked off with a smile on his face. His injuries were rather serious, but they would heal with time. The information that he had obtained was worth it.

  * * *

  Ye Fan and Wen Meihui were walking down the steps of the pavilion, oblivious to the turmoil that overcame Long Chen. The young boy of nine years took the steps down in a certain pattern. Three steps, then two, then one. He hummed an odd tune as he was wrapped up in his little game. Wen Meihui listened, following the little boy closely. It was a tune that she didn't recognize, but was nice and catchy. Her orange eyes were full of curiosity as she voiced her thoughts.

  "What are you humming, little Fan?"

  The tune cut off as the little boy stopped abruptly on the steps leading out of the pavilion. He curled his left index finger and placed it briefly below his lower lip before replying.

  "It's something my master taught me. I think he called it 'Rasputin'?"

  Although Wen Meihui could understand that the word that came out of Ye Fan's mouth was the title of the song, it sounded almost jarring when compared to the rest of the sentence. Her thoughts tempted her to ask the little boy if he had mispronounced something, but she refrained. Instead, the red-haired young lady just continued on with a flattering remark.

  "Your master must be a very learned man."

  Nodding vigorously, the little boy looked rather comical as he wore a look of great pride. His face was plastered with a goofy grin. Wen Meihui couldn't help, but cover her mouth and let out a small giggle while observing Ye Fan's actions. He patted his chest, seemingly not having noticed the young woman's amusement.

  "Yes! My Master is the greatest, even the strong and beautiful Elder Sister Lan wants to acknowledge him as her master."

  Although she didn't know who this "Elder Sister Lan" that this little boy held in great esteem was, Wen Meihui nodded quickly and expressed some awe as she led the goofy-looking precocious child to their destination. At this point, they were beginning to block the entrance of the pavilion. It wouldn't be long before they could be considered a public nuisance.

  "What's stone gambling like, Sister Mei? I've never actually done it myself."

  Ye Fan didn't seem to mind Wen Meihui's actions and let her steer him through the crowds of Great Divide. Her eyes flickered around rapidly as she plotted their path with great precision. Even though it would've been very exhaustive for a mortal, it wasn't much of a toll on the young lady who seemed to have ties to the Immortal Realm.

  "Hmmm. The stones are natural capsules that obscure Qi sense and distort vision techniques. They contain various treasures of Heaven and Earth. If you're lucky, you might even find a rare treasure from a previous era."

  Various bits and pieces of information flickered to the front of Ye Fan's thoughts as he recalled the information that his master had told him.

  * * *

  "What do you know about the history of this realm?"

  The red-robed male hung upside down on a tree branch. In a gravity defying manner, his clothes acted as if he was standing on the solid ground. His silk shoes seemed to be glued to the thick wooden outgrowth as he casually read the book in his hands. The title of the book in his hands read, "An Idiot's Guide to History", with the author listed as "Shi Hao".

  This wasn't noticed by the young boy in tribal looking clothes. Ye Fan's clothing was made of various pelts and had little aesthetic. Although, this was not the most striking part of this scene, instead it was the fact that a big brown bear covered his frame. Bushes rustled as small animals fled from the roars of the apex predator. The young boy's eyes bulged and his skin was flushed a deep red while he struggled against the massive animal.

  "Do I- *grunt* have permission to speak- *grunt* Master?"

  The red-robed male gave a curt reply.

  "En."

  Shi Qiongtian cast a brief glance at his disciple before flipping the page on his book. His expression showed that of one deep in thought, but his eyes remained clear and took in his surroundings without trouble. With a massive feat of strength, the brown mass on the young boy was tossed onto its back. Its head slammed into a boulder nearby, briefly stunning it. Seeing his chance, the little boy nimbly dodged around the bear and pulled its head into his embrace. Before the bear could realize what was happening, he snapped its neck in one smooth motion. As the bear's corpse fell to the ground limp, a wave of exhaustion immediately overcame the boy as the adrenaline wore out and he found himself on his back breathing heavily.

  Ye Fan's master continued to patiently wait for the little boy's response in silence. The wind made his robes gently sway. Splayed out on the ground, the boy in his ragged clothing closed his eyes and tried to regulate his breathing. A bold rabbit had come back to its burrow and stared in shock at the corpse of the bear that lay next to the small figure who had extinguished its life moments before.