Three years had changed Riven too much.
Not only had his appearance matured, but his white hair alone made him nearly impossible to associate with the young master who had disappeared years ago.
As they continued through the streets, they eventually walked through the whole eastern district and decided to walk through the central area.
Compared to the bustling eastern area, this part of the city was much quieter.
Most of the shops here belonged to old noble families.
Some were prosperous while others had already closed down.
The old master sighed.
"Some of these shops used to belong to our family, but we had to sell most of them."
"Time truly changes everything."
Riven looked around calmly.
The old master pointed toward a row of stores.
"Those three shops used to belong to us. But after your father passed away, we had no choice but to sell them."
He smiled bitterly.
"Your mother wanted to keep them, but life isn't always kind."
Riven silently listened.
Suddenly, they came across a jewelry store, and the old master stopped for a moment.
Seeing his expression, Riven asked,
"Grandfather?"
The old man sighed.
"Your grandmother used to love this place."
"When the family started declining, your mother sold nearly all her jewelry here; without that money, we wouldn't have made it through the year."
Hearing this, Riven remained silent.
He merely looked at the store for a few moments before continuing forward.
Along the way, more people began greeting the old master.
Some were old acquaintances, while some were former business partners and others simply exchanged polite greetings.
Thought everyone smiled on the surface, but anyone with eyes could see the contempt hidden beneath those smiles.
Yet the old master appeared unconcerned.
Perhaps after experiencing so much over the past year, he had long become indifferent to such things.
Eventually, the old master brought Riven to the few businesses that still remained under the Millings family's control.
One sold herbs and another specialized in weapons and tools.
Their conditions were not terrible, but they were clearly struggling.
The shelves looked sparse, the customers were few, and the employees inside wore tired expressions.
The old master looked around and sighed.
"Previously, we had many blacksmiths, many pharmacists, and even several herb merchants who worked directly with us."
"Now there are only a handful left. They believe our family no longer has a future and we can't provide enough returns."
His voice carried a trace of helplessness.
Then he looked toward Riven.
"We can't even provide enough money for you to purchase cultivation resources."
Hearing this, Riven smiled.
"Grandfather, why are you worrying about that?"
"If I need cultivation resources, I can earn them myself. You don't need to concern yourself with such things."
The old master merely smiled.
In his eyes, Riven was simply comforting him. After all, even martial artists required resources and cultivators undoubtedly required even more.
And those resources were many times more expensive.
Neither of them continued the topic.
Instead, they slowly made their way back toward the manor.
By the time they returned, the sun had already begun its descent.
As they entered through the gates, they immediately saw a young woman rushing out of the manor.
Behind her, Xiaomei chased after her with an anxious expression.
"Young Miss! Please eat something first."
"You don't have to leave so early."
The young woman didn't even stop.
"What are you talking about?"
"It's already afternoon. I still need to visit the pharmacists."
"If I arrive late, they'll sell those herbs to someone else."
Just as she hurried forward, she suddenly noticed the two figures standing near the gate.
Immediately, she stopped.
Looking at the old master, she said,
"Grandfather, you're returning from the shops? You should have told me beforehand."
As she spoke, her gaze landed on Riven, and confusion immediately appeared on her face.
"Grandfather... Who is he?"
The old master smiled.
"You don't recognize him?"
"To be honest, even I didn't recognize him at first."
Rose looked at Riven carefully.
His white hair, his calm expression, and his completely unfamiliar appearance.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't connect him to anyone she knew.
Finally, she shook her head helplessly.
"Grandfather, stop playing with me."
"I really need to leave."
The old master sighed dramatically.
"You don't even recognize your own brother anymore."
For a moment, Rose froze. Then she looked back at Riven.
Her eyes widened.
"Brother?"
She stared at him in complete disbelief.
Three years ago, she had been told that Riven had left for training, and now...
The person standing before her looked completely different.
His body was taller, his temperament was calm and mature, and even his hair had turned white.
No matter how she looked at him, she couldn't find traces of the old Riven.
Then suddenly a thought crossed her mind, and her eyes brightened.
"Did you become a cultivator?"
Seeing the old master nod, excitement immediately appeared on her face.
"Then our family can finally get out of this situation."
The old master smiled helplessly. Even now, the first thing Rose thought about was the family.
Before he could say anything, Riven spoke first.
"You are right. You don't have to worry about those things anymore."
"Now go eat, and you don't need to go anywhere today."
Rose immediately protested.
"But I still need to meet those pharmacists—"
Riven interrupted her.
"You don't have to worry about money anymore. Just focus on eating for now."
Seeing his calm expression, Rose hesitated.
Finally, she nodded.
"Fine."
Then she reluctantly followed Xiaomei back into the manor.
After they disappeared inside, the old master turned toward Riven.
"Riven."
"You really don't need to worry about the family's finances."
"You should focus on yourself. I know cultivation resources are extremely expensive."
Riven simply smiled.
Without answering, he walked toward the side of the path.
Near the garden, flowers grew among thick patches of weeds that nearly reached his waist.
The old master watched curiously.
Riven casually moved his hand through the plants, and occasionally he plucked a few leaves.
Sometimes a flower and sometimes a blade of grass. To the old master, it looked completely random.
After a while, Riven stopped.
He closed his hand, then he walked back.
Taking the old master's hand, he slowly opened his palm above it.
One object after another fell into the old master's hand, and only after everything had been transferred did Riven turn and continue walking toward the manor.
The old master blinked.
Confused, he looked down.
The next moment, his eyes widened.
Resting in his palm were dozens of shining golden leaves, and each one glimmered beneath the afternoon sunlight.
They were all real, not illusions.
Just pure gold.
The old master stood frozen.
Then he slowly looked toward Riven's retreating figure.
His mouth opened slightly.
"What kind of magic is this...?"