Chu Yin felt that his actions were a bit rash, or rather, abrupt.
But it was a helpless decision.
At this moment, his identity was that of a Disciple whose talent did not match this place.
The Master’s impression of him was essentially a “death sentence,” making it nearly impossible for him to access the core cultivation methods of Luoshui City.
Moreover, the current situation in Luoshui City was special.
Some Disciples were hesitating to leave, their poisonous blood not yet cleansed.
To prevent any Disciple from harboring ill intentions and secretly learning techniques before leaving, Luoshui City would undoubtedly raise its guard.
If he didn’t seize this opportunity to prove his loyalty to Lady Chunhan, Chu Yin feared he would only be able to watch helplessly in the future.
Even if it was abrupt, he had to grit his teeth and fight for it!
Fortunately, Lady Chunhan showed no sign of displeasure, but she also did not hastily decide to recruit him as an Inner Sect Disciple.
The elegant, beautiful young lady in fine clothes gazed at the handsome youth before her, her eyes deep and inscrutable.
She turned and said:
“Chu Yin, follow me. Walk with me and see me back to the City Lord’s Mansion.”
“Yes.” Chu Yin bowed in response and walked behind Lady Chunhan.
Walking through the bustling streets of Luoshui City, with the steady flow of carriages and horses and the thriving prosperity, it was hard to imagine that such a city was seeing its core Disciples defect one after another.
Lady Chunhan did not want to attract attention from passersby, so she wore a veil.
For a long while, she remained silent, only walking quietly, her eyes occasionally drifting into a daze, lost in thought.
After some time, she broke the silence:
“Chu Yin, how long have you been in Luoshui City?”
“More than ten years. Back when I was wandering the streets, I happened to meet Lady Chunhan, and you kindly arranged a livelihood for me.”
Chu Yin searched his memories as he slowly replied.
He remembered being assigned to do miscellaneous work in the City Lord’s Mansion’s kitchen.
Although it was tiring, at least he had steady meals and didn’t stunt his growth.
In fact, his food was better than that of many Outer Sect Disciples.
He and Lady Chunhan had no deep contact afterward.
After all, she had many matters to attend to, shouldering the operation of a large city and lacking the energy to pay attention to a child.
The beautiful lady walked with dignified steps and said:
“After that encounter, the next time I heard about you was when the Elder mentioned a kid in the kitchen who, without any instruction, learned by secretly observing the daily training of Outer Sect Disciples and one day suddenly managed to beat up one of the senior Outer Sect brothers.”
“Unfortunately, the Elder tutored you for a while and found that your talent didn’t suit Luoshui City’s Shuiyun Scripture. He was disappointed for quite some time.”
Chu Yin awkwardly forced a smile. “Lady Chunhan, you honor me…”
His talent was sufficient among Outer Sect Disciples but barely enough for the Inner Sect.
He was more suited to become a Fortune Diviner, a common way of saying a fortune teller.
And that kind of talent was something Luoshui City could not cultivate; he would have to find a good Master elsewhere.
Since then, Chu Yin had become the “gatekeeper.”
As new Inner Sect Disciples were promoted in batches, he remained the undisputed head of the Outer Sect.
Thus, the higher-ups in Luoshui City were familiar with Chu Yin but never paid much attention.
Everyone thought he would eventually leave Luoshui City to find a path suitable for himself, so there was no need to waste much effort on him.
Unexpectedly, after several upheavals and the defection of several once-promising core Disciples, Chu Yin showed no intention of leaving.
Lady Chunhan sighed deeply, her tone softening considerably, unlike her usual stern and cold demeanor:
“Chu Yin, I don’t want to use favors to bind you here and delay your future. Besides, this is only a small kindness—arranging you to work in the kitchen. You work for the kitchen, and the City Lord’s Mansion will pay your wages. Don’t feel burdened in your heart!”
“I already know that you’re different from your senior brothers and won’t blame you. So you can leave with peace of mind. When you have achieved something in the future, you can return to Luoshui City to visit.”
Chu Yin was a little surprised.
Lady Chunhan truly had his best interests at heart.
During Luoshui City’s most critical time, she generously allowed him to leave rather than hold him back, even writing him a letter of recommendation.
He had been thinking to treat Lady Chunhan differently from Aunt Wen, not mixing them up.
But feeling the concern from this older beauty, Chu Yin instinctively regarded her as an elder at home.
His mood eased, and he became somewhat bolder.
Chu Yin put on a troubled expression:
“Lady Chunhan, just now at the city gate, you were angry because you thought I wanted to leave, right? So why do you want to send me away now?”
The noble and dignified beauty recognized the joke in Chu Yin’s tone.
She hadn’t expected to be teased by a Disciple. Rolling her eyes with no goodwill, she scolded:
“You child… You can’t equate those two things!”
“A Disciple wanting to betray his Master is not the same as the Master sending a Disciple to find a better path!”
The crowd on the street was gradually growing.
Chu Yin quickened his pace, instinctively shielding Lady Chunhan from being bumped by passersby.
The sudden closeness allowed Lady Chunhan to seriously examine the youth’s face, trying to discern the thoughts hidden in his eyes.
Since Lady Chunhan was attacked at her wedding banquet and her husband, the City Lord, died an untimely death, she had managed Luoshui City alone.
She had to constantly guard against outside hostility to prevent the city from becoming a pawn in someone else’s game.
Over the years, she had honed the skill of reading people.
It was hard for others’ insincerity to escape her keen eyes.
If Lady Chunhan hadn’t detected the ambitions of those core Disciples early on, the turmoil would have been far worse!
Yet no matter how she scrutinized Chu Yin, she found no flaw—
This boy’s gratitude was genuine, without a trace of falseness!
It was truly ironic that the Disciples Luoshui City had invested the most effort into had betrayed it, while Chu Yin, who had only received small kindnesses, had such sincere loyalty.
As they talked intermittently, they unknowingly arrived at a certain street.
Lady Chunhan stopped and looked around nostalgically.
Her red lips parted softly:
“Chu Yin, if I’m not mistaken, this is where I first met you, isn’t it?”
Chu Yin turned to look at the surrounding street scene, and the “strange” memories flooded his mind, making the environment suddenly familiar.
“Yes. A few steps ahead was where your carriage stopped that day. They say noble people forget things easily, but I’m surprised you still remember!”
Lady Chunhan walked a few steps forward and asked with her gaze if this was the place.
Seeing Chu Yin nod, she stopped and closed her eyes to gather her thoughts, as if weighing a decision.
“Lady Chunhan, did you suddenly think of some urgent matter to attend to?” Chu Yin lowered his voice, not wanting to disturb her.
Lady Chunhan shook her head and slowly said:
“Promoting you to the Inner Sect out of turn would only break the rules and cause other peers to resent you. Even if you are a good child loyal to Luoshui City, I can’t make an exception.”
“But I can let you serve as a guard attendant and personally instruct you regularly. Consider it as taking disciples on behalf of my late husband. But officially, you will only be a guard. Do you understand?”
Chu Yin was stunned for a moment.
He suddenly understood why Lady Chunhan had taken a few extra steps.
Back then, she had stopped here to take him in and assign him work in the City Lord’s Mansion kitchen.
Now, standing here again, she was arranging for him to serve by her side as a guard.
There was quite a sense of ceremony…
Snapping back to reality, Chu Yin replied with delight: “Understood!”
Finally, there was a way forward for cultivation!
With Lady Chunhan’s “secret teaching,” this time’s gains in his dreams would likely be substantial.
He had to seize this opportunity.
“By the way, Lady Chunhan, you mean taking me as your disciple, right? Then how should I address you in the future?”
“When I instruct you privately, you may call me Shiniang. When others are around, just the usual.”
Soon, Chu Yin moved into the City Lord’s Mansion, almost living in Lady Chunhan’s courtyard.
Considering Chu Yin’s strength was somewhat weak to be a personal guard, Lady Chunhan said he was more of a gatekeeper.
After all, it was just a title and didn’t matter much.
That night, Lady Chunhan delivered several rare ancient books, but they were not formal cultivation methods—instead, they were treatises on fate divination.
“Shiniang, these aren’t the cultivation methods of Luoshui City, are they?” Chu Yin asked in confusion, suspecting she had brought the wrong books.
Lady Chunhan reverted to her usual demeanor, the cold and authoritative expression radiating an intimidating aura.
Now it was “strict Shiniang” mode!
“These are the things you need to cultivate on your own. When you’ve finished, come to me. I will then guide you in practicing the Shuiyun Scripture. Understand?” she said seriously.
“Understood…” Chu Yin obediently agreed, not daring to joke.
Yet his heart was moved, sensing Lady Chunhan’s intentions.
She was afraid Chu Yin would blindly focus on cultivating Luoshui City’s techniques and waste his talent, achieving nothing in the end.
So she was setting him up with a fallback plan.
Even if Chu Yin later changed his mind and decided to leave Luoshui City, he would at least have a solid skill to rely on.
After the beauty left, Chu Yin flipped through the obscure and difficult treatises, sighing with a headache:
“Well, cultivation is cultivation. As long as I gain some skill, it’s all profit anyway!”