Gu An pondered for a long time before finally making up his mind. He looked up at Xiao Wenyuan and said with shame, "Brother Xiao, to be honest, I really do plan to leave early. But if I do, what will you do?"

Xiao Wenyuan laughed heartily. "No matter. My injuries healed a year ago; I should have left long ago."

Hearing this, Gu An felt even worse. Xiao Wenyuan staying here brought no benefit to himself-he had to travel back and forth every few days-yet it had greatly improved the safety of White Mirror Lake.

Gu An was well aware of this. He resolved that even if he was leaving, he had to give Xiao Wenyuan some compensation.

Steeling himself, Gu An gritted his teeth and said, "Then Brother Xiao, just take all the Spirit Stones from selling the spirit fish and Talismans this time! Consider it payment for the warning."

"How can I do that? There are nearly two hundred Spirit Stones this time. I didn't come back to warn you for this," Xiao Wenyuan said urgently, his expression turning serious.

Having stayed at White Mirror Lake for the past two years, Xiao Wenyuan had gradually come to appreciate Gu An's uncontentious, worldly-detached attitude. It made him feel very at ease. Every time he finished a bloody battle, returning to White Mirror Lake to rest for two days would dissipate much of his violent aura.

Xiao Wenyuan didn't want Gu An to think he was after Spirit Stones. He truly regarded Gu An as a friend. Over these two years, when Gu An asked him to sell fish, sell Talismans, or purchase items, he hadn't taken a single coin of profit!

Despite Xiao Wenyuan's refusal, Gu An remained insistent, adamant that he accept them. Xiao Wenyuan had helped him greatly; he couldn't play dumb and fail to repay such kindness.

He didn't dare seek revenge on behalf of Xiao Wenyuan by going after the grandson of True Person Black Flood Dragon, but he was certainly willing to part with some Spirit Stones.

A gentleman loves wealth but acquires it in a proper way. Although Gu An was hardly a gentleman-in fact, far from it-he still understood the principle of clearly distinguishing gratitude and grievances.

Xiao Wenyuan tried to persuade him a couple more times. Seeing the three parts heartache, three parts reluctance, and four parts determination in Gu An's eyes, he smiled helplessly.

"Fine, I'll accept them. You know I plan to seek revenge on Mu Jiang. Some of my family's inheritance is useless to me now. Though it can't compare to the Qingyuan Sect's, it still has some use. I'll give it all to you!"

With that, Xiao Wenyuan tossed a pouch to Gu An.

Gu An caught it without a second thought. Xiao Wenyuan hadn't brought much out with him back then; less than a tenth of his family inheritance remained. It wasn't particularly precious and was indeed useless for his revenge. Accepting it was fine-just something to keep as a memento.

Pocketing the pouch, Gu An went to catch the Blood Moon Eels and Black Spirit Fish in White Mirror Lake.

The Blood Moon Eels had incredibly strong vitality. After two years of raising them, there were still seven; not a single one had died.

The Black Spirit Fish fared much worse, with many dying off from time to time. However, this fourth batch of Black Spirit Fish had just been born, leaving nearly four hundred fry.

He returned to the house and roughly tidied up, storing some Talisman Paper, meditation cushions, and other sundries into his Storage Bag.

After thinking it over, Gu An wrote two letters and handed them to Xiao Wenyuan.

"Brother Xiao, please deliver these two letters to the Lin Clan and my Senior Brother Huang Xuan, so they can be prepared."

"Alright," Xiao Wenyuan agreed.

"Brother Xiao, the mountains are high and the rivers are long. Until we meet again!"

Gu An clasped his fists. Bidding farewell to Xiao Wenyuan, he stepped onto the Black Wind Kerchief and flew in the direction of the Qingyuan Sect.

Watching the black wind stirred up by the Black Wind Kerchief grow increasingly distant, Xiao Wenyuan stroked his chin and smiled bitterly. "I'm afraid there will be no meeting again!"

How could killing Mu Jiang be so easy? Even if he succeeded, it would be difficult to escape unscathed. How could there be a future meeting?

"What is fated to be yours will eventually be yours; what is not fated, do not force. This is fine, too."

...

Gu An controlled the Black Wind Kerchief, flying steadily toward the Qingyuan Sect. The journey was smooth and unimpeded; in just two days, he arrived at the Qingyuan Sect.

Ascending the stone steps, Gu An came to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall on Qingyun Peak.

The morning mist had just dispersed. There weren't many people in the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall-just a sparse few lining up.

Gu An looked around but didn't spot Steward Zhang's figure. He sighed inwardly at the pity.

He had been hoping to ask Steward Zhang for some leniency! Now, that calculation had fallen through.

He waited in line for a while, and soon it was his turn.

"Greetings, Steward. This disciple has come to hand in a mission." Gu An bowed with cupped hands. Before him sat a steward he didn't recognize.

This steward wore a green robe. He had a youthful complexion despite his white hair, with a white beard hanging down to his chest. He possessed a thoroughly immortal air, clearly someone who knew how to maintain his vitality.

The steward's eyelids drooped as if he had woken up too early and wasn't fully awake yet. He extended a hand. "Token."

Gu An took the token from his Storage Bag and offered it with both hands.

The token was pressed against the jade tablet in front of the steward, emitting a faint glow. The steward glanced at it and asked in surprise, "Eh, this mission of yours isn't finished yet! Why have you returned?"

Gu An replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Steward, this mission was set for three years. The time has arrived. I waited and waited, but the Sect kept delaying in sending someone for the Handover, so I had no choice but to return first."

The corner of the steward's mouth lifted slightly, seemingly in a good mood, and his eyelids raised a fraction. "Hmm? Hasn't it only been a couple of days past the deadline? If you didn't wait for others to take over the Handover and ended up causing losses to the Sect, who would be held responsible?!"

"I hate people like you the most. Do you even have the Sect in your heart?"

Although his words sounded stern, Gu An was all too familiar with that half-smiling look in his eyes! Wasn't this a kindred spirit?

Gu An plastered a fawning smile on his face. "It was this disciple's lack of consideration. But my loyalty to the Sect is as clear as the sun and moon! I'm simply young and inexperienced, and made a mistake. I humbly ask the Steward for your generous guidance!"

As he spoke, Gu An stepped forward to take the token back from the steward's hand. At the same time, a Storage Bag slipped smoothly into the steward's sleeve.

The steward tucked his sleeve inward, stroked his beard, and swept his Divine Sense over the pouch. He nodded slightly, the wrinkles on his face seemingly smoothing out.

Quite sensible!

"Hmm, you are indeed quite young. A minor lapse is normal. I'll just have a word with the disciple taking over the mission later. You are not allowed to do this next time."

Having taken the money, the steward did the job. His tone became much more peaceful, and he gave Gu An a grade of Upper-Middle.

Gu An quickly smiled and played along, thanking him profusely.

Once outside the gates of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, Gu An's expression drastically changed, his eyes turning gloomy.

This Garrison Duty at Blackrock Commandery paid six Spirit Stones a month. Three years came to a mere two hundred and sixteen Spirit Stones, and this old dog had extorted a hundred all at once!

With vermin like this around, how could the Qingyuan Sect ever be run well?

Although Gu An had experienced a great awakening since Senior Sister Yun's guidance, he certainly didn't want everyone around him to be like this. After all, bad people always wished for everyone else around them to be good!

Gu An was dejected. Although escaping the massive whirlpool of the Yun Kingdom was his primary goal, being fleeced of over a year's worth of pay in one go made him extremely disgruntled.

Just you wait!

When this Daoist reaches Foundation Establishment, I'll make you spit it all back out with interest!

Cursing continuously in his heart, Gu An activated the Light Body Technique and dashed toward Little Thousand Peak.

A short while later, Gu An arrived at his own small courtyard. After three years away, the courtyard was covered in dust. The apricot tree in the front yard bore a few sparse, shriveled fruits-due to the lack of care, they were few in number and bone-dry.

Gu An formed a hand seal and cast a Cleaning Technique. A burst of spiritual light flickered, and most of the dust in the courtyard was swept away.

He followed up with two more Cleaning Techniques in quick succession. All the dust in the courtyard vanished, leaving it spotless and gleaming.

Only then did Gu An let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his gloomy mood improve considerably.