Chapter 154: Comforting the Girl

Nodding in agreement, he looked around and muttered, “I’ll send someone immediately to renovate this room.”

This time, Li Tan did not object, merely reminding that the renovation should not be too conspicuous and should be kept low-key.

Zhang Chenghuan, whether he heard or not, nodded without hesitation and said he understood.

Li Tan sighed helplessly and asked, “You came here on purpose to find me, so you must have something to say, right?”

After all, if it was only to deliver an order about special treatment, he could have sent someone else. There was no need for him to come personally.

“That’s right. Father asked me to give you a message.”

Zhang Chenghuan nodded and continued, “He mentioned that once you reach the Xiantian stage, he will arrange for you to become an inner sect Elder. Of course, if you’re unwilling, becoming an honored guest Elder is also acceptable.”

So that was it.

The Heaven Wolf Sect Leader truly showed great sincerity. Li Tan guessed that he must have considered the possibility that Li Tan already had a master, and thus gave up on the idea of taking him as a disciple.

Li Tan was quite satisfied with this arrangement, despite his surprise. He told Zhang Chenghuan to inform Zhang Zhi that he agreed and would follow through as discussed.

This decision laid a solid foundation for many future plans. All he needed now was to seize the opportunity to “break through to the Xiantian realm” and attain the status of an Elder. Achieving this would grant him access to superior cultivation resources, entry into the inner sect, and greater ease in approaching Liu Yong.

Actually, he could have directly revealed his innate status and moved over already, but there were still a few things he cared about here, so he chose not to do so yet.

Zhang Chenghuan chatted a bit more, summoned a middle-aged man to replace Zhou Zhi, and then left.

With Zhou Zhi’s matter resolved and unexpected benefits gained, Li Tan was in a good mood. He happily left the room, intending to go see the chubby kid, but his path was blocked by his neighbor, an old man with a bad temper and a strange personality.

The old man looked at Li Tan suspiciously and asked, “Kid, what’s your relationship with Chenghuan?”

Chenghuan?

Li Tan’s eyes widened slightly, suspicion rising in his mind about the old man’s identity.

Someone who called Zhang Chenghuan so intimately must have an important identity, likely an elder in Zhang Chenghuan’s family. Judging from his age, his status in the family must be quite high.

But why would such a person come to a place like this and become a mere cook?

Although curious, Li Tan understood that his relationship with the old man wasn’t close enough to warrant asking too many personal questions, so he wisely refrained from prying. Likewise, he did not reveal anything about himself and simply made up a harmless excuse to brush off the question.

The old man didn’t press further either. Seeing that Li Tan had no intention of answering, he snorted and walked away.

The reason Li Tan hadn’t left with Zhang Chenghuan immediately was partly because of this old man—he was somewhat curious about his identity. Additionally, he wanted to see things through to the end and give the chubby kid a little more help.

Once the old man left, Li Tan soon departed too, heading toward the chubby kid’s place.

Zhou Zhi’s position had been taken over by someone else, and Li Tan guessed that this replacement would gather everyone again tonight to assign their tasks for the next month.

He might miss the announcement if he were in the woods, and he didn’t want to stand out by being special, so he decided to go wait at the chubby kid’s place.

He knocked on the door. The chubby kid came out, and upon seeing Li Tan, joyfully welcomed him inside, seating him at the eight-immortal table. Without asking why Li Tan had come, he instead grinned and curiously asked, “What’s your relationship with Senior Sister Zhang?”

What kind of relationship?

Thinking about it, Li Tan realized there was no suitable answer to this question.

Calling himself her junior seemed somehow incorrect, and calling them friends also felt odd. So he simply said, “We’ve met a few times.”

The chubby kid clearly didn’t believe him, but seeing Li Tan’s cold expression, he didn’t dare to press further. He changed the topic instead, smiling with his fat cheeks squishing together, “Didn’t Zhou Zhi get sent to the Punishment Hall?”

“Do you know what kind of place that is, Brother Li?”

Li Tan replied absentmindedly, “No idea.”

The chubby kid then proudly explained, “I just finished reading the sect rules manual. The Punishment Hall is where disciples or elders who have committed offenses are punished. Hehe, I heard that no one who goes in there comes out whole. They either lose a hand or a foot, and some even lose their third leg.”

Li Tan’s face darkened, and he couldn’t help but retort, “That last part must be made up, right?”

Scratching his head, the chubby kid replied without shame, “Brother Li, you’re so amazing! You could actually tell!”

Li Tan gave him a speechless look and was about to say something when a knock on the door suddenly sounded.

The chubby kid shouted, “Coming, coming!” and hurried to open the door, then expressed surprise.

Looking toward the entrance, Li Tan saw the timid young girl who had previously been bullied by Zhou Zhi standing there nervously.

The chubby kid led her in.

The girl stood in front of Li Tan, fidgeting as if wanting to say something.

“Please sit down first, young lady,” the chubby kid said, bringing her a chair.

She sat down but remained hesitant.

Sighing, Li Tan said, “If you have something to say, just say it.”

After a long pause, the girl finally forced out a few words through clenched teeth: “Thank you, Senior Brother, for what you did earlier.”

Li Tan replied indifferently, “Don’t worry about it. It was just a small favor. I just couldn’t stand that Zhou Zhi.”

“But still, thank you. If it weren’t for Senior Brother’s kindness, I wouldn’t have known what to do.” Thinking back to the incident, the girl’s body still trembled, clearly very frightened, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Li Tan’s biggest headache was dealing with crying women, so he comforted her, “Forget about what happened. Since you’ve embarked on the cultivation path, there’s no turning back. You’ll meet many people like Zhou Zhi in the future—you must learn to overcome them.”

Rather than comfort, this was more like preaching, a habit formed from his past life.

To him, whether it was the chubby kid, this girl, or even the Heaven Wolf Sect Leader, they were all juniors.

“Thank you,” the girl said, wiping away her tears and smiling.

Though her appearance was only modest, her smile was very beautiful. Li Tan couldn’t help but look at her twice.

But what caught Li Tan’s attention wasn’t just her smile, but the vibrant energy behind it—the vitality of youth.

In the later, lifeless human race, Li Tan had rarely seen such a smile. Recalling the past, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow, but he quickly recovered and casually started brewing tea as if nothing had happened.

Before long, a loud but not harsh voice rang out.

“All new recruits, assemble at the East Square!”

It was a middle-aged man’s voice—probably the elder who had replaced Zhou Zhi.

“Let’s go.”

With a call, Li Tan led the girl and the chubby kid out the door.

As soon as they stepped out, they immediately received several strange glances.

Earlier at the recruitment plaza, Zhang Chenghuan had appeared once. Then again when Zhou Zhi was bullying him, Zhang Chenghuan showed up again. Now, everyone would be speculating about his identity. Soon, all guesses about him would likely be replaced by the label “pretty boy.”