"We'll depend on you to look after them, Wei Liang!"

William waved Cao Rui off as he sat next to the piles of spirit fruits. He wasn't sure why they needed this much, but it wasn't his business. With how kind the man had been toward him the past week, the least William could do was keep his mouth shut. While stealing from the Sect was beyond stupid, there was no need to act like some volunteer guard.

He sighed and laid back on the grass with his hands under his head, preparing for another day full of nothing.

It was nice, lazing about and doing nothing productive for a whole week. Well, that was an exaggeration, but in terms of increasing his stats, it was correct.

Instead of rushing back into the depths to get demolished by a cannibalistic bunny, William spent it safely, conversing with Cao Rui about the Tianxia Empire and its notable cities. Mainly one called Qingyun City, where Cao Rui's family originated.

From what William gathered, it was the center of trade in the Empire for medicinal herbs, likely due to the Jade Healing Sect being located close by. It was no wonder Elder Huang thought of some clan with the surname Wei when he heard Wei Liang.

It was curious to William that the Tianxia Empire had two major commercial centers on opposite sides of the Empire, Xuanjing City, and Qingyun City, but they specialized in entirely different areas. That would have made sense if they were close to each other to avoid competition, but not when mortals apparently took nearly half a year to travel between them.

"Wei Liang."

William sat up in shock at the unexpected voice and stared dumbfounded at Lan Yin floating down from the sky.

"It's already been four weeks?" William blurted out in confusion.

Lan Yin seemed to ignore his question and gave him a curious look. He flinched when she was suddenly in front of him and gripped his chin to tilt his head.

"Perhaps Elder Huang was right about you," Lan Yin commented, "And I told you three weeks, not four. I was distracted, so I couldn't arrive in time."

William rubbed his sore chin after Lan Yin let go. He saw her finally look away from him to point at the amassed spirit fruits.

"Are you the one that organized this?"

William's instinct was to say no, but he stopped himself when he thought about Cao Rui. He hesitated and asked, "Am I in trouble if I did?"

"No," Lan Yin waved her hand as she looked at the empty tents around the camp, "I told you that you could do as you wish. Rather than trouble, I would congratulate you for somehow getting other mortals to this area."

With Lan Yin's amused tone, William knew that even if he covered for Cao Rui, she would know it wasn't really him that organized all this. That reminded him of what Li Xinyue told him about the Lan siblings and their preference for formalities.

"I didn't want my friend to get in trouble, Senior Lan," William said in his best thirteen-year-old tone, "I promise I wasn't going to lie."

Lan Yin hummed as she walked past him, her thin robes fluttering with each step. "Not to worry, Little Wei Liang. I am not an excessive person."

William felt a chill run down his back, knowing it generally wasn't good news when a cultivator said those words. Though, with his experience with Elder Huang and Li Xinyue, he still hoped the sentence could be taken at face value. And it surely had to be promising news that Lan Yin was becoming more familiar with him.

"The quality is adequate," Lan Yin said as she turned a spirit fruit around in her palms, "Perhaps I should start to develop this land."

William gave her a weak smile when she carelessly threw the fruit back on the pile and turned to him again.

[-1 HP]

Lan Yin poked his chest, making the pain he had gotten used to in the past week flare up with a vengeance. William hissed as he flinched back to get out of her reach.

"Now, what did you meet to grow so much stronger in such a short time? I sense that you are on the cusp of a breakthrough. All you lack is a technique to activate your spiritual energy."

William rubbed his chest, trying not to show annoyance at being prodded. He failed.

"Bold," Lan Yin commented with narrowed eyes, "Little Li told me you were a brave little fool. Watch your pride around me, boy. Now, tell me. What did you do to get this strong?"

"… It was the Sky Hares, Senior Lan," William swallowed his complaints and told the partial truth, "Those things mobbed me, and I had to kill my way out."

He touched his chest and continued, "I was almost killed when a gigantic one attacked me. Luckily it couldn't follow when I ran away."

"Sky Hares?" Lan Yin raised her eyebrows in surprise, "They're a little inconvenient if you leave bodies behind, but it shouldn't have caused such a drastic change with you."

William shrugged helplessly and added, "Maybe all the fruits I've eaten played a part?"

"That is part of the truth, but I suspect you might have a unique constitution meant for fighting. Elder Huang's plan to allow you to take the test to enter my Jade Healing Sect might be a disservice to you."

"Test?" William's eyes widened in shock. He knew that he didn't have any so-called special constitution. It was just the system allowing him to earn experience points to get through levels faster than usual.

"Yes, test," Lan Yin repeated, "Think about it and give me an answer after I finish talking with your new friends."

William wanted to accept immediately, not wanting to waste time when such an opportunity had fallen in his lap. But he didn't dare speak to Lan Yin when she so unsubtly told him to keep quiet.

He looked on with pity as the men returned, laughing and in a good mood with plenty of spirit fruits in their arms. He suspected all their spoils would be taken away, leaving all the work done over the weeks benefiting the Sect they were trying to steal from.

"Overseer Lan!" Cao Rui dropped the fruits in his arms as he started to tremble. The rest of the men were no better once they saw the otherworldly beautiful woman standing beside William.

"So you know of me," Lan Yin smiled, "Then why would you try to steal what is mine? You must know the consequences of such an action."

"I-It's not part of the Garden!" A man in the back blurted out, and Liu Ming, the constant companion of Cao Rui, continued, "We wouldn't dare take what the disciples of the Sect need, Overseer Lan. We saw this area unused for so long, so we didn't think you would mind."

William immediately knew that Liu Ming had misspoken. He wasn't sure what Lan Yin didn't like, but he sensed the woman's demeanor change for the worse.

"You think?" Lan Yin repeated slowly before turning to William, "Since I gave you free rein over the forbidden area, Wei Liang, your word will have weight. Did they ask for your permission beforehand?"

William shifted uneasily, knowing that the one-word answer might worsen the punishment the men would get. "They treated me kindly, Senior Lan. They didn't ask me, but they were more than willing to share what they found."

"I take all the blame, Overseer Lan!" Cao Rui stepped forward, trembling even more as Lan Yin focused on him, "I have a skill that lets me detect where the spirit plants are, and I convinced my brothers to accompany me. They shouldn't take any of the blame!"

William knew Cao Rui would push himself to the front with his personality, though he wished he didn't. As the men started to insist that they deserved to take the blame, he hoped that Cao Rui's skill would help soften Lan Yin.

"Very well," Lan Yin nodded as she held up a hand to stop the clamoring, "Only you will have to stay behind. The rest will be free to go back to their families."

William blinked in surprise when Lan Yin called down her spirit boat, wondering if that was it. He tried to calm Cao Rui with a smile, who had a confused and worried expression for some reason.

"Your time here is done, Little Wei Liang. Follow me," Lan Yin ordered as she elegantly jumped into her spirit boat.

William followed her and wondered why Cao Rui was left behind. Maybe Lan Yin thought it was underneath her to punish a mortal… until he heard the screams from the men he had become familiar with.

"All the Spirit Fruits you have gathered today belong to Wei Liang. I expect you all to confess to your manager of your actions. If I find that you haven't taken fifty lashes, both you and your families will join that mortal."

William didn't look away from Cao Rui even when the spirit boat started to rise, barely able to believe that the man who happily fed him steamed buns was sliced in two without any warning. His heart chilled when they started flying to whatever their destination was.

He should have expected that result but had, for some reason, believed that Lan Yin would show leniency toward Cao Rui. He couldn't have been more wrong.