The five little ones exchanged looks with one another.
In the end, it was a little boy with somewhat withered, yellowish hair who stepped forward and said timidly, "Gouzi was turned into this by bad people."
"The rich families in the city all keep these 'human hounds.'"
"Human hounds are more obedient, smarter, and stronger than regular dogs."
"So they're very popular."
"Becoming a human hound requires transformation through immortal arts, and it's agonizingly painful."
"If you can't endure it, you lose your mind and go completely mad."
"Then you get thrown out to fend for yourself."
Though young, the boy spoke with clear logic.
*Immortal arts...* Li Fan sneered inwardly.
He saw no trace of spiritual energy at work on this Gouzi.
It was nothing more than crude stitching of a dog's limbs onto a human torso.
The so-called "immortal arts" were merely rhetoric used to dupe mortals.
If Senior Brother Zhang saw such methods, he would surely roar in fury: "Wicked fiends and heretics, fit only to be put to death by all!"
"Gouzi is a defective product that was abandoned. If not for Xiao Bai—"
As the yellow-haired boy spoke, someone kicked him hard from behind.
Patting his backside, his expression turned a little embarrassed.
The boy quickly corrected himself. "If not for Mr. Bai stepping in to treat him, Gouzi would have lost his life long ago."
Li Fan's expression stirred.
Mr. Bai?
Had he heard that name before in this Fallen Immortal Realm?
Light swirled through the blue crystal in his sea of consciousness, instantly retrieving the relevant information from the depths of his memories.
During the run where he had obtained the Purple Empyrean Soul Observation Technique, after the great battle between the two cultivators Zhang Qianmo and Song Hesong, Ningyuan City had been reduced to an expanse of ruins. Suddenly, several beggar children around ten years old had emerged, shouting amid everyone's despair,
kindling the people's will to survive and methodically organizing relief efforts.
And they had been following the orders of this very "Mr. Bai."
Li Fan's interest was piqued at once. He asked, "Who is Mr. Bai?"
At the mention of Mr. Bai, the yellow-haired boy grew excited.
The floodgates opened, and words tumbled out without end. "Mr. Bai is the best, kindest person in the entire world!"
"He has the greatest medical skill in the entire world!"
"And he's the best-looking person in the entire world!"
The children behind him chimed in one after another: "Mr. Bai speaks the most gently of anyone in the world!"
"He's also the smartest person in the world!"
...
Hearing the children heap praises on Mr. Bai without reserve, Li Fan found it somewhat amusing.
In these children's eyes, this little Ningyuan City was probably the entire world.
Still, it was evident that this Mr. Bai possessed truly extraordinary qualities and treated these children exceptionally well.
Could such a figure be the master of this temporal space of lingering thoughts?
Li Fan's curiosity deepened.
"This Mr. Bai sounds remarkable indeed! Could you introduce me to him?" Li Fan asked with a smile.
Instantly, all five children went silent.
They subconsciously took a step back, sizing Li Fan up with wary eyes,
as if he were a villain harboring ill intent.
Li Fan chuckled softly. "No need to fear me. Just like your Mr. Bai, I'm a good person too."
"I only want to meet him."
The children exchanged looks once more before the yellow-haired boy finally spoke up.
"Actually, we don't know where Mr. Bai lives either."
"We live in a small temple in the eastern part of the city, and Mr. Bai often comes to see us."
"If you want to see Mr. Bai, you can wait at the temple."
Li Fan narrowed his eyes slightly and made his judgment.
The yellow-haired boy was not lying.
"Lead the way!"
Li Fan said in a low voice, tossing the still-sleeping Gouzi over to them.
The yellow-haired boy caught Gouzi and checked him. Seeing that he was indeed merely asleep, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Only after confirming that Li Fan was no great villain did he truly set his mind at ease.
Thus, guided by them, Li Fan arrived at a small temple in the east of Ningyuan City.
It seemed to be an abandoned shrine.
The enshrined stone statue was already battered and broken, reduced to a mere remnant.
Inside the small temple were over a dozen other children dressed in rags, both boys and girls.
Though all were quite thin, every one of them was lively and spirited, with a bright gleam in their eyes.
Seeing the yellow-haired boy and his four companions return, they crowded around.
Chattering noisily, they asked, "Lu Ya, who is this uncle?"
"Why did you come back empty-handed? Didn't get any food this time?"
"Gouzi! What happened to Gouzi?!"
The yellow-haired Lu Ya then explained everything to the group.
Li Fan also understood why Lu Ya and the other four had trailed him for no apparent reason.
It was simply that they saw he was an unfamiliar outsider and wanted to pilfer some silver from him to buy food.
And Lu Ya's crew was not the only group.
Some of the others had not returned yet.
The children in the temple eyed Li Fan with a mix of wariness and curiosity,
but none came forward to speak to him.
Li Fan could not be bothered to trouble himself over a pack of brats. He simply stayed off to the side, waiting for this Mr. Bai.
If nothing unexpected occurred, once Senior Brother Zhang made his move and Ningyuan City was reduced to ruins under the clash of the two cultivators,
Mr. Bai would show himself.
After nearly half a day, Li Fan judged that the time was ripe, and sent a message to Senior Brother Zhang:
"Beware of Manager Song..."
Then he quietly waited for what would follow.
Sure enough, before long, Senior Brother Zhang's thunderous roar erupted over Ningyuan City.
"Wicked fiends and heretics! You seek death!"
Purple lightning, representing majestic heavenly might, flashed across the canopy of the sky.
"Fellow Daoists, strike at once!" That was Chu Liang's voice.
The battle commenced once more.
Knowing Senior Brother Zhang's strength, Li Fan did not pay it too much attention this time.
Instead, he watched with keen interest the reactions of the children in the temple.
"Quick! Quick! Hide in the cellar!"
Looking at the abnormal phenomenon in the sky, Lu Ya turned pale and shouted orders.
The children seemed well-practiced in taking refuge.
Pushing aside the half-broken stone statue, they revealed an opening in the ground.
Flustered but orderly, they slipped inside one after another.
"Uncle, you come take shelter too!"
When Lu Ya was the only one left in the temple, he looked back at Li Fan and said, "There are immortals fighting outside—it's far too dangerous!"
Li Fan smiled faintly. "No need to worry about me. Go down and take shelter yourself."
Lu Ya hesitated for a moment, nodded, and his small figure vanished into the hole.
The stone statue then slowly shifted back into place, covering the opening.
Only then did Li Fan walk slowly up to the stone statue, an inscrutable look appearing on his face.
When the children had pushed the statue aside to reveal the hidden chamber below, Li Fan had actually been taken aback.
*Interesting. This seemingly ordinary stone statue can actually block my divine sense?*
Slowly caressing the weathered stone statue, spiritual energy surged out from within his body.
Chapter 274