Shen Chu's eyes narrowed.
"Shameless people."
The owner nodded.
"Indeed."
"But there is nothing ordinary people like us can do."
Then he smiled bitterly.
"Lady Millings is a kind woman. Despite falling into hardship, she had never wronged anyone, and many people sympathize with her."
"The youngest daughter even works personally at the market nowadays."
"Had it not been for some old friends occasionally helping them, they might have starved already."
Riven went quiet for a moment and asked, "Where do they live?"
The owner immediately pointed towards the eastern district.
"The old manor near Silverleaf Street. It's easy to find."
He hesitated.
"Though... the manor isn't what it used to be."
Riven nodded and placed the empty bowl back in the owner's hands.
The owner instinctively lowered his head, but when his eyes landed on the bowl, his entire body froze.
The simple wooden bowl he had served moments ago had disappeared.
In its place was a golden bowl, accompanied by a matching golden spoon.
The owner almost dropped it from shock.
"E-Esteemed Cultivator! This... this is too much!"
Riven smiled lightly.
"It isn't little, nor is it much. It's simply enough."
After saying those words, he turned and walked away, and Shen Chu silently followed behind him.
The owner stood there with trembling hands, carefully holding the bowl as though afraid it might disappear.
He looked in the direction they had gone and muttered, "An immortal."
...
As they walked towards Silverleaf Street, Shen Chu remained quiet.
However, countless thoughts were swirling through his mind.
The immortal master seemed to belong to the Millings family. Would he raise the family into a cultivation clan?
Shen Chu had been following Riven since those days, and it has not even been a week.
But somehow it feels a lot of time has passed, as he has witnessed too many things.
The demon cultivator and sea tribe invasion, the sword immortal's departure, and now the immortal master's family.
Shen Chu suddenly felt that compared to the immortal master, his own centuries of life seemed rather uneventful, as he did nothing but cultivation.
Before long, they had arrived at Silverleaf Street.
At the end of the road stood a somewhat old manor.
Its walls were weathered, and paint had peeled from various places. Even the gates looked worn and old.
Still, one could vaguely see traces of its former elegance.
Riven smiled lightly, and without saying anything, he stood before the gates for quite some time.
Shen Chu remained silent, and eventually, Riven slowly pushed the gate open.
Creak—
The sound echoed throughout the quiet courtyard. Even several nearby residents couldn't help but turn around.
Riven stepped inside, and Shen Chu followed behind him.
The manor was in a sorry state.
The once beautiful garden had become overgrown with weeds. Although flowers still bloomed around the paths, they were nearly hidden beneath wild grass.
Broken sections of fences had been repaired using ordinary wood. It was clear that money was scarce.
As the two walked deeper inside, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded.
Bang!
The main door opened and a maid rushed outside.
The moment she saw the two strangers already inside the courtyard, her expression changed.
"Why did you enter the manor without any permission?"
Riven ignored her anger and looked at the dilapidated garden, while Shen Chu turned his gaze toward her and said, "And who are you?"
The maid examined the two carefully. She noticed that their clothing was unusual.
Especially Shen Chu's robe, which resembled those worn by legendary cultivators.
Still, she found it difficult to believe, as the Millings family had long fallen into decline and even the city lord rarely received visits from cultivators.
Why would such people come here?
Perhaps they were swindlers who had heard about the family's situation and wanted to exploit them.
Although these thoughts appeared in her mind, she didn't show them and instead asked cautiously, "May I know why both of you have come to our manor?"
Riven turned toward her.
"I'm here to visit Lady Millings. Is she inside?"
The maid narrowed her eyes and said, "Lady Millings receives no visitors, especially strangers who trespass into her property."
"Trespass?" Riven's smile widened slightly. "I assure you, we mean no harm. In fact, you can tell her it's been some time since I saw her."
The maid's face changed when she heard this, though she quickly regained her stern expression. "You know each other? Tell me your name and I will immediately inform her."
Riven sighed and shook his head. "Just tell her that someone she knows has come to visit."
The maid was now stuck in a dilemma. Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to throw these two out.
Over the past year, many people had come to the manor, and some pretended to help while others came simply to watch their misery.
But she was merely an ordinary woman, not a martial artist or cultivator, and no matter how suspicious these two seemed, she couldn't use force
So she reclutantly agreed, as who knows? Lady Millings might really know them.
"Very well."
She then let both of them inside the manor and brought them to the guest room while she hurriedly left to inform Lady Millings about them.
Inside the room, Shen Chu quietly sat on a chair.
Meanwhile, Riven slowly walked around, his gaze occasionally stopping at the paintings hanging on the walls.
Sometimes he looked out of the window and sometimes he simply stood there quietly.
No one knew what he was thinking.
After some time, footsteps approached once more, and another woman entered.
This one was clearly different from the previous maid, as she possessed a strong physique.
Although she lacked qi, her blood and muscles were far stronger than ordinary people, as she was a martial artist.
Shen Chu had already scanned the entire manor, and there were only nine people present, and among them three were martial artists.
And this woman was the strongest of them.
The woman first looked at Riven, who was walking around the room.
Seeing that he didn't emit any pressure, she instinctively thought he was an ordinary person.
But the moment her gaze landed on Shen Chu, her pupils shrank violently and her knees nearly buckled.
As a martial artist, she understood bodies far better than ordinary mortals, and what she saw before her wasn't a person.
It was like looking at an ancient mountain, and a single breath from him seemed capable of crushing her.
Cold sweat instantly covered her back, and she froze completely.
Seeing this, Shen Chu withdrew his aura.
"What are you here for?"
The pressure vanished.
The woman finally breathed again, though her face had already turned pale.
She immediately bowed respectfully.
"Esteemed guests."
"I heard from Xiaomei that visitors had arrived."
"I merely came to ask whether the two of you require anything."
Shen Chu answered simply,
"No."
The woman nodded nervously and immediately went out of the guest room.