In the Fang Clan's Guest Hall, Jun Xie and Wu Qingwu were quietly sitting in the room.
The guard had informed them to wait here while someone brought Fang Chen to the hall.
"This guy sure is from a big clan." Jun Xie smiled and glanced at Wu Qingwu. He asked, "How's your health?"
"I am fine now." Wu Qingwu replied.
"You should have told me it's hard for you to adjust to a new environment," Jun Xie frowned, "Things wouldn't have been so complicated."
Wu Qingwu let out a wry smile, "It's alright."
Jun Xie glanced at her for a moment and didn't say anything.
Just then, they heard a few pairs of footsteps approaching the Guest Hall.
The curtains moved, and the first person to enter the hall was Ye Tian Yun.
He smiled at Jun Xie as soon as he saw the latter, "You're finally here."
Jun Xie gave a wry smile. "Things came up, delaying my arrival by a few days."
"Did something happen while you were traveling?" Ye Tian Yun asked.
Jun Xie shrugged, "Well, a lot happened, but we safely arrived here."
"Hmm, that's what matters most." Ye Tian Yun nodded.
While they were chatting, three more figures entered the Guest Hall - Zheng Xiang, Bai Qing'er, and Fang Yunru.
Ye Tian Yun gestured for them to take a seat and then introduced them to Jun Xie.
"This is my Second Brother, Fang Yunru. You can call him Second Young Master Fang."
"These are Zheng Xiang and Bai Qing'er - both are our fellow inner court disciples from the Gracious Sword Sect."
Jun Xie cupped his fists at them.
Ye Tian Yun smiled and then pointed at Jun Xie; he introduced the latter to the other, "This is Jun Xie, Core Disciple of the Gracious Sword Sect, and the one beside him is…."
Ye Tian Yun turned towards Jun Xie.
"She's my… friend." Jun Xie replied, "You can call her Miss Wu."
Ye Tian Yun cupped his fists at Wu Qingwu, "Nice to meet you, Miss Wu. We met last time in the Sect about two and a half months ago."
Wu Qingwu frowned for a moment, but then her expression returned to normal as she greeted everyone back, "Hello everyone, it's my pleasure to meet everyone."
She took a double look at Ye Tian Yun.
'Where have I seen this guy?'
She felt as if the Young Master Fang Chen in front of her was someone she was very familiar with.
A face appeared in her mind, but she instantly rejected it.
'No, that guy was another Core Disciple.'
After a while, once everyone was done introducing and getting acquainted with each other, Ye Tian Yun glanced at Jun Xie and asked, "What happened on the way?"
Jun Xie let out a wry smile, "About a month ago, we left the Gracious Sword Sect in Fu Kai's carriage."
"Fu Kai?" Fang Yunru frowned, "Is he the one from the Fu Clan, which are famous for their merchant caravans?"
"Yes," Jun Xie nodded.
"Oh?" Fang Yunru asked, "Are you close friends with him?"
"Well, you can say that," Jun Xie shrugged, "We were once part of a mission escort, and we survived a few life and death situations."
"Hmm," Fang Yunru nodded.
Ye Tian Yun smiled while saying, "Brother Jun, you might not know but the Fu Clan and the Fang Clan don't get along pretty well."
"Yeah," Jun Xie nodded, "Fu Kai told me a few things about it. Anyway, along the way, we are ambushed quite a lot of times. Apparently, the goods that Fu Kai was bringing were of immense value."
"The intensity of assassins increased, and soon came a time when we were overwhelmed by the enemies."
"It was at that time two mysterious people helped us. Well, only one of them helped, but it was clear that he was under the command of the other."
"The guy was clearly a young master of a power organization but wanted to keep his identity hidden so didn't flaunt too much. However, the old man with him was able to take down all the enemies in an instant."
"Wow, they must have a powerful background then," Zheng Xiang exclaimed.
"What was the guy's name?" Fang Yunru asked.
"Feng Yun."
"Feng Yun?" He thought for a moment and then shook his head, "I don't think I have heard such a name among the well-known people of our generation."
"He was most probably using a fake alias." Ye Tian Yun concluded.
Jun Xie nodded, "Yes, that's what I think too. Well, after the Old Man killed the enemy assassins, Feng Yun joined the caravan while the old man with him guarded the caravan."
"We didn't face any more assassinations, but I think that's because the old man didn't let the enemy get close to the caravan."
"This whole thing happened just two days ago. And for the rest of the two days, Feng Yun joined the carriage and was with us, while the old man never showed himself again."
"Where is this guy now?" Ye Tian Yun asked. He was curious about this unexpected character introduced in the scene.
"I think he will visit the Ling Clan today," Jun Xie replied.
"Ling Clan?" Ye Tian Yun frowned.
The Ling Clan is a branch clan of the Great Ling Clan from the Middle Heavens.
'Is this Feng Yun from the Middle Heavens?'
Ye Tian Yun frowned.
Even though this was quite unlikely, it was best for Ye Tian Yun not to use his real face again, like in his meeting with Gao Xuan last night.
'Should I investigate him?'
He thought.
'Hmm.. no, I am just being paranoid.'
He inwardly shook his head, and then glancing at Jun Xie, he asked, "What about the Gracious Sword Sect? Did you settle everything with them?"
Jun Xie nodded, "Yes. As long as I don't betray the Sect, I can stay here as long as I want."
"Hmm, that's great," Ye Tian Yun smiled.
Suddenly his eyes landed on Wu Qingwu, and a frown appeared on his face, "What happened to Miss Wu?"
He asked.
Wu Qingwu had a small smile as she replied, "It's nothing much. I just have some trouble adjusting to different environments."
Ye Tian Yun raised his eyebrows and, staring at Jun Xie, asked Wu Qingwu, "Did he not concoct a pill?"
Wu Qingwu smiled, "It's a natural condition; pills won't help much."
"Oh," Ye Tian Yun asked Jun Xie, "What rank Alchemist are you?"
"Mid Second Rank Alchemist."
"Oh?" Ye Tian Yun frowned.
This was a bit low.
The alchemy ranks are divided from one to nine, and the sixth rank is highest in the Middle Heavens.
To concoct the pill needed to heal Gao Long's dantian, Jun Xie was required to become a Peak Second Rank Alchemist.
The disappointment in his eyes irked Jun Xie, "Is that not good enough?"
Ye Tian Yun didn't lie, "Yeah, it's a few levels lower."
"..."
"Anyway," Ye Tian Yun didn't worry too much, "I have a few things which will help you increase your rank."
"Oh?" Jun Xie beamed, "That will be great!"
Fang Yunru suddenly asked, "Did you apply at the Alchemy Hall?"
"No," Jun Xie shook his head, "My Master is a Mid Fourth Rank Alchemist. He's the one who evaluated my ranks."
"Ah," Fang Yunru, "I see. I think you should register yourself with Alchemy Hall. You will get a lot of resources too to learn, and there will also be alchemy manuals available for free."
"No." Ye Tian Yun interrupted.
"Why?" Fang Yunru asked.
In his opinion, someone with Jun Xie's talent should join the Alchemy Hall.
Ye Tian Yun replied, "I already said that I have enough things for him to increase his alchemy rank. I don't want him to get unnecessary attention by joining the Alchemy Hall."
"Unnecessary attention?" Fang Yunru frowned, "The Alchemy Hall will protect Jun Xie from any attempts on his life."
Ye Tian Yun nodded, "They will, but who will protect him from the Alchemy Hall?"
"What?"
"Exactly what you heard," Ye Tian Yun didn't repeat himself, "The Alchemy Hall isn't an ally. Just like the Fu and Ling Clan, it's better not to involve too much with them."
"Alright," Jun Xie agreed before FanG Yunru could argue anymore.
And seeing him agreeing, the latter didn't say anything else on this matter.
"When did you arrive here? In the morning?" Ye Tian Yun asked Jun Xie.
"No, we arrived here at midnight." Jun Xie replied, "But because it was too late, we didn't come here directly, and Fu Kai offered us some space in their clan's tavern."
"The Crown Jewel Tavern?" Fang Yunru asked.
"Yes," Jun Xie nodded his head.
"Did you have breakfast?" Ye Tian Yun asked, "Let's go and have you eat something before talking about anything else."
"Ah, don't worry," Jun Xie gestured to stop, "The breakfast was pretty extravagant in the Crown Jewel Tavern."
"Oh? Well, that's to be expected," Fang Yunru shrugged, "It's the best tavern of the Fu Clan and also one of the best in the whole Xin Kingdom."
"It lives up to its name and popularity," Jun Xie reviewed.
Ye Tian Yun nodded, "That's all good. I have already prepared a room for you guys, go and have a change of robes. I have something important to discuss after that."
"Important?" Jun Xie frowned, "What's it about?"
Ye Tian Yun shrugged, "You will know pretty soon. It's one of the main reasons why I have called you here. If things go well, you'll be one step closer to the answer you're looking for."
Jun Xie closed his eyes upon hearing Ye Tian Yun's words.