The crowd had long been aware of Lin Yan's eventual departure from the desolate Ancient Forbidden Land.
If not, how would he have become the Heavenly Emperor?
The crowd heaved a sigh as they watched Lin Yan and Xiao Bai pack their stuff to depart from the Ancient Forbidden Land.
"...The little fox has greatly influenced the Heavenly Emperor's destiny."
"That's correct… If it wasn't for this little fox protecting him, the Heavenly Emperor would have been dead already. Moreover, the Heavenly Emperor wanted to leave the desolate Ancient Forbidden Land just because the little fox wanted him to, which has later caused endless suffering to the Lingxuan continent."
"I am more interested to know what happened to the Heavenly Emperor and this little fox after they departed from the desolate Ancient Forbidden Land. Where did the little fox go afterward?"
…
The desolate Ancient Forbidden Land was the land that even the Great Saints feared to set foot on.
Between Lin Yan and Xiao Bai, she had the highest cultivation realm.
However, with her cultivation at the mere Dao Entry Realm, it was naturally difficult for the duo to make their way out of the desolate Ancient Forbidden Land.
Even if they continued to try their nine lifetimes, they would not have succeeded.
But the good thing was that the duo deeply trusted each other. Even in desperate situations, they would cling to each other.
And so, it took the duo nearly five years to make their way out of the Ancient Forbidden Land, little by little.
During this time, the duo encountered several life and death situations that even the Sages would fail to keep their life intact.
But the duo luckily managed to escape them all.
Seeing how lucky the duo were, the crowd outside the Linglong Treasure Mirror could not help themselves from heaving a sigh.
…
"Is this what it looks like outside the desolate Ancient Forbidden Land? It's so beautiful..."
Outside the desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, Xiao Bai, seeing the outside world for the first time, was almost stunned by how lovely it was.
Inside the desolate Ancient Forbidden Land, there was always dead silence, gray and dull. However, the outside world was a complete contrast to that.
The trees were green, the sky was blue, and the flowers were colorful…
As this was Xiao Bai's first time seeing such wonderful and splendid scenery, she could hardly resist taking her gaze off the scene in front of her.
"Big Stone, what is this thing?"
"This is the Twilight Sunflower. They shine under the sunlight…."
"Oh! Then, what is this? And what about that?"
…
Xiao Bai was curious about everything in the outside world. Leaning on Lin Yan's shoulder, she flooded him with numerous questions.
Lin Yan calmly explained the name of each thing that Xiao Bai asked with a smile.
Under the sun, the duo walked toward the distance as their long shadows trailed behind them.
…
"Father, I hope your soul blesses me from heaven."
Early in the morning, Qin Lan firstly burned an incense stick to her father before she began to run the household as always.
Meanwhile, a cloud of smoke appeared outside this small village, making Qin Lan frown at its smell.
Honestly, she was very uncomfortable living in such a remote mountain village.
But with her father dead, the responsibility of managing his small herb store fell on her.
So, Qin Lan had already planned to sell everything from the store and go back to the city to live alone.
That very same day.
Da da da da…
When Qin Lan was about to make her breakfast for the day, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Here comes again… From now on, this place no longer accepts any patients… You can go to another place to see a doctor." Qin Lan said as she made her way to the door.
However, her eyes instantly lit up when Qin Lan opened the door.
It was because there stood an incredibly handsome young man in the doorway, with a cute lazy little fox resting on his shoulder.
Qin Lan looked him up and down. The more she stared at him, the redder her face became.
After all, this young man had an otherworldly appearance and refined temperament. Those young men in the city couldn't compare to him.
"Could it be that my stroke of romance is finally here?" Qin Lan's heart pounded.
However, the man outside the door didn't overthink it like her.
Looking at Qin Lan, who opened the door, his expression turned strange for a few moments, and he asked suspiciously, "Excuse me, Is Doctor Qin home?"
As soon as Qin Lan heard him mention her father, her expression suddenly became solemn. She shook her head and said, "Are you here looking for my father? He has already passed away."
"...He passed away?"
Hearing what Qin Lan said, the young man at the door was startled, and his eyes showed a look of shock.
"How is that even possible? A couple of years ago, Doctor Qin seemed just fine." The young man outside the door asked anxiously.
Qin Lan said bitterly, "I'm not sure either. I don't usually live with my father… The other day I suddenly received the news of my father dying of a sudden illness. So I rushed over to handle my father's funeral."
The young man outside the door stood still for a while before he asked, "Can I go light an incense stick to Doctor Qin?"
"Sure." Qin Lan nodded and welcomed the young man into the house.
At the same time, she curiously inquired, "Sir, how did you meet my father?"
The young man who walked in said calmly, "Back then, it was your father that saved my sister and my life. In fact, he was our benefactor."
Qin Lan didn't continue asking him any more questions as she was well aware that her father saved numerous people's lives as a doctor.
These days, people came to her door to offer their condolences, so she presumed the young man to be one of them.
The young man walked up to the tablet of Doctor Qin.
Staring at the newly made tablet before him, Lin Yan stared at it for a long time before going forward and lighting an incense stick.
After doing this, he flipped his hand and took out a bag of gold and silver from his pocket, as well as a red-colored stone, and handed it to Qin Lan and said, "Miss Qin, take these, especially this stone. In case you encounter a crisis, crush it into pieces. No matter where I am, I will be there to help you."
When she looked at the bag full of gold and silver coins, Qin Lan was instantly filled with greed. But she deliberately excused herself and said, "How can I be so kind to accept these?"
The young man reached out his hands and put these things on the table to the side.
While walking towards the door, he slowly said: "Doctor Qin has shown me great kindness. Consider these things as a form of repayment."
Qin Lan blinked her eyes. She was about to speak when she noticed the young man who had just walked out of the room disappear into thin air.
Qin Lan feared that she would have encountered a ghost if it wasn't for the daytime.
She walked to the door, and only after making sure he had indeed left did Qin Lan turn back joyfully and pick up the bag of gold and silver left on the table by him.
As for the crimson stone, she ignored it because she assumed it to be just a piece of broken stone not worth more than a couple of gold coins.
…
(Outside the Linglong Treasure Mirror)
Seeing Qin Lan greedily counting the coins, the crowd shook their heads in huge disappointment.
That was what the future Heavenly Emperor promised her.
However, this Qin Lan was foolish to see the bag of gold and silver as a treasure but tossed aside the crimson stone.
"Idiot! She is really an idiot. If someone else knew about this stone, I'm afraid they would be willing to exchange it for an immortal weapon."
"This Qin Lan wasted such a great opportunity. If she had seized this opportunity, she might have even soared to the heavens in the future under the Heavenly Emperor's care."
"The Heavenly Emperor back then still retained some conscience and knew how to repay the kindness."
…
That's right.
Inside the Linglong Treasure Mirror, Lin Yan and Xiao Bai were the ones who went to Doctor Qin's residence.
At that time, when Lin Yan was chased by the Sage clothed in magnificent robes, he had to flee for tens of millions of miles.
Unfortunately, he returned to hear the news of Doctor Qin passing away.
After leaving Doctor Qin's medicine store, Lin Yan's complexion turned unsightly.
Xiao Bai resting on his shoulder, seeing Lin Yan sad, deliberately spoke, "Big Stone, what do you mean by repaying kindness just now? Does repaying kindness mean giving money to someone?"
Lin Yan knew that Xiao Bai was trying to comfort him.
Reaching his hands out, he took her in his arms and said, "Repayment is… If something happens to you, I'll kill everyone that hurt you."
"Don't kill them all. Just kill half of them, 'kay?"
"Alright, I'll kill half of them"