Chapter 58: Entering the Sect
When the beggar saw the bread, he shook his head, gesturing for the children to take it back.
But the two children were insistent. With solemn expressions, they tucked the cakes into his arms and immediately sprinted away.
Lu Yunxi watched the beggar, who remained huddled with his head down. She didn’t dwell on it and headed straight home.
However, over the next two days, she witnessed the exact same scene in the same spot.
Rarely moved by curiosity, she decided to follow the two kind-hearted children back to their home. When she saw where they lived, she was stunned.
Contrary to what she had imagined, the children didn’t come from a wealthy family. Instead, they lived in a very small, dilapidated house in a remote corner of the city. She had assumed they were well-off because they gave away food every day.
Peering inside, she saw a woman with a face worn by hardship and exhaustion. There were only two pancakes on the table, which she carefully cut into three portions and placed in their bowls alongside a thin soup made of wild vegetables. This was their dinner.
It was clear that the bread given to the beggar was a significant sacrifice for this family. Lu Yunxi frowned slightly and slipped away in silence.
The next day, she waited in a secluded alley.
“Stop.”
The two children jumped at the sudden voice. Seeing it was just a girl, they relaxed slightly but remained vigilant, taking a few steps back.
“Who are you? Why are you stopping us?” the older boy asked, puffing out his chest to look brave.
“I see you two delivering food to that beggar every day,” Lu Yunxi said. She thought of the mother she had seen—the same kind woman who had stopped to help her pick up trash once when her cart broke down. “Does your mother know about this? Does she agree?”
The two children glared at her defensively. “Of course Mom knows! She makes those cakes specifically for us to take to Uncle!”
Lu Yunxi’s brow furrowed. She could tell they weren’t lying. Even in such dire financial straits, the woman was selfless enough to help a beggar? People this kind-hearted actually existed in this world.
After a long pause, she tried to persuade them. “I know you mean well, but that beggar has his health. He has hands and feet; he can find a job and make a living on his own. You shouldn’t worry about him so much when your own family is struggling.”
To her surprise, the children’s expressions shifted instantly. One of them shouted angrily, “What do you know?! If it weren’t for that uncle, my brother and I would have died a long time ago! And he can’t work at all, otherwise he wouldn’t have…”
The boy cut himself off, and both children began to sob.
Lu Yunxi felt a wave of awkwardness. “Stop crying!” she muttered. Making two children cry was giving her a massive headache.
After a while, she managed to calm them down and finally heard the truth behind their daily errands.
The story was a grim one. The two children had been playing outside one day when they were knocked unconscious and snatched away in a carriage by human traffickers.
A passerby had witnessed the kidnapping and stepped in to stop them. However, he was outnumbered and quickly beaten. Despite his injuries, the man was persistent. He endured the pain and chased the carriage on foot, screaming for help. But the people around them were either too skeptical to intervene or too afraid of the kidnappers. He was the only one who didn’t give up.
When the carriage reached the outskirts of the city, the man finally caught up. In reality, the traffickers had slowed down to deal with him, resentful of his relentless pursuit. In the deep woods, the criminals were ruthless, using poison to try and end the interference.
The man fought them with everything he had. He focused on one kidnapper at a time, knocking them unconscious before moving to the next. By the time the traffickers were defeated, the man was covered in wounds and dying from the poison. Using his final spark of strength, he untied the children before collapsing.
The children were saved, but their savior paid a heavy price. The poison left his limbs stiff and his body partially paralyzed. He lost his job and his livelihood, eventually ending up as the beggar in the alley. These were the very children he had rescued.
After hearing the story, Lu Yunxi fell silent. No wonder they shared their meager food with him. It was a debt of life. If it were her, she would do everything in her power to repay such grace.
“Take me to see this… knight,” she said. “I know some medical skills. Perhaps I can help.”
“Really? You know medicine?” The children’s wariness vanished, replaced by hope. They eagerly pulled her toward the alley.
When she reached him, she saw the man truly couldn’t move; only his eyes showed signs of life. She didn’t bother taking his pulse. Instead, she activated her health restoration skill.
The skills Yasi had taught her were now at an advanced level. They didn’t just heal wounds; they could purge most debuffs, including toxins and status effects. As the golden light faded, the poison that had plagued the man for so long vanished. He was cured.
Since he had been bedridden for so long, he was weak and shaky, but he was whole. Moved to tears, the man patted his chest and looked at Lu Yunxi. “Thank you, young lady. I am Zhang Wu. If you ever need anything, just say the word. I will never refuse you.”
“Don’t thank me,” Lu Yunxi replied. “Thank these children. They are the ones who wanted to save you.”
“I have much to thank them for as well,” Zhang Wu said, looking at the boys with a shaky smile.
With Zhang Wu recovered, the final days of the month passed quickly, marking the end of Lu Yunxi’s deadline. The elder appeared before her, nodding with satisfaction. “Well done!”
He had been secretly observing her. She had handled every situation with a calm head, neither arrogant nor impatient. She was friendly and helpful, proving her character was exactly what the sect required.
“Next is the third trial,” the elder explained. “Usually, the third stage is a team mission, but since you are alone, we will modify it to a solo task. To keep things fair, the difficulty will be adjusted. Draw your assignment.”
Lu Yunxi reached into the box and pulled out a slip of paper: Hunt a wild rabbit.
It was almost too simple. In less than fifteen minutes, she disappeared into the mountains and returned with the rabbit.
The elder had expected this. He hadn’t even bothered to leave the spot. Most newcomers to the sect were ordinary people with no martial arts training; for them, catching a rabbit was a day-long ordeal. But for someone with her skills, it was trivial.
“Excellent. Let’s go. I’m taking you to the sect to officially become a disciple. But first, pack your things,” the elder said, stroking his beard. “Once you enter, you won’t be able to leave for quite some time. Buy whatever supplies you’ll need.”
He added, “I’ll give you one hour. Meet me at the city gate.”
In truth, he needed the hour himself. He wanted to stock up on good street food, knowing he’d be stuck eating the bland cafeteria food at the sect for a long while.
