When Fu Yang returned to the room, Shi Wen had already finished his bath and was now wrapped in a towel.
"The—there was an alarm telling me to get out," Shi Wen stuttered, avoiding eye contact with Fu Yang, fearing his anger for getting out earlier than expected.
'Hmm... It seems like his body's impurities aren't that bad. A normal person takes about 30 minutes for all their impurities to be eliminated the first time, but he took around 20 minutes... Is this because of his dormant physique?' Fu Yang wondered.
Fu Yang had set the alarm to inform Shi Wen when he was finished with his bath, but he never expected to have him finish earlier.
Fu Yang handed Shi Wen the bags of clothes he was holding. "Here, I bought you some clothes. Choose what you would like to wear."
Shi Wen was overwhelmed by the number of bags he received. He teared up slightly, as this was his first time having new clothes since his mother died.
"Thank *sob* you," Shi Wen sobbed. Memories of shopping with his mother flooded his mind.
Seeing this, Fu Yang was slightly taken aback. He didn't know how to comfort a crying person, let alone a child.
"Ahem, don't cry anymore. Go change your clothes first. In the future, I will buy you more clothes," Fu Yang cleared his throat. He didn't want to baby the child; he wanted to treat him normally to avoid him growing up spoiled.
"Thank you *sob* mister, I really appreciate *sob* what you are doing for me." Shi Wen's words were clear despite his sobs. After expressing his gratitude, Shi Wen chose a blue and white polo shirt and beige trousers.
"Mister, are there any underwear here?" Shi Wen asked, slightly embarrassed. Even though he had been a beggar, he understood the importance of wearing underwear beneath his clothes. His mother had taught him that.
"Underwear?! Sigh, I forgot to buy those. Wait here. Let me go back downstairs and buy them."
Realizing he had forgotten something, Fu Yang returned to the Cosmical Children's Wear Shop. He purchased underwear designs he saw and quickly paid for them, just as he had done earlier.
When Fu Yang returned, the cashier didn't speak and simply processed the transaction. Once the underwear was packed, Fu Yang hurried back to the room. The whole process took him five minutes.
"Here are your underwear."
Despite running at top speed, Fu Yang wasn't out of breath. He was a Nascent Realm cultivator, after all.
"Tha-thank you, again, mister."
Shi Wen took the other shopping bag and went back to the bathroom to change his clothes.
After a while, he emerged from the bathroom in his new clothes—a blue-striped polo t-shirt paired with khaki shorts. Clean and neat, he no longer looked like the beggar he had been earlier.
"Now that you're all set, let's go back to the sect."
To avoid the hassle of carrying all the shopping bags, Fu Yang took out his spatial ring and put them all inside.
"That's a spa-spatial ring? This is my first time seeing one," Shi Wen remarked.
"Don't worry, I'll get you one in the future," Fu Yang assured him. Shi Wen felt a newfound hope upon hearing this word—future. It means that he wasn't going to be discarded.
Fu Yang carried Shi Wen in his arms as they left the room. The child's legs were too short, and Fu Yang found it more convenient to just carry him.
Fu Yang and Shi Wen arrived at the lobby to check out. The receptionist didn't bother asking why they had only stayed for an hour. She already knew that Elder Fu Yang's purpose was to have the little child take a bath in order to appear presentable. It wasn't her job to pry into their private affairs, and more importantly she wasn't a member of the sect to ask such questions.
Leaving the Cosmic Pharmacy, Fu Yang took out his Energy Phone and called Wen Tao.
"Wen Tao, I have finished what I needed to do in Havenshire City. Pick me up in front of the Cosmic Pharmacy, and make sure to choose a car with a back seat. I am with someone."
"Roger that, Elder Fu."
Ten minutes later, Wen Tao arrived in front of the Cosmic Pharmacy building with a 6-seater car to pick them up.
This time, Fu Yang didn't sit in the passenger seat. Instead, he chose to sit beside Shi Wen in the back seat to make him feel more at ease. It was better to stay by his side and prevent him from getting nervous.
As they entered the sect premises, Shi Wen started trembling. Concerned, Fu Yang asked, "Shi Wen, what's wrong? Are you scared? Don't worry, this will be your future home."
Shi Wen didn't respond, but he hugged his knees tightly.
"Elder Fu... I don't think it's the new environment that's making him tremble. We are now outside Havenshire City, and the pressure from your Nascent Realm cultivation is scaring him."
Finally realizing the cause, Fu Yang slowly diminished his pressure. It was his first time doing so, and he struggled a bit to stabilize it. After a while, his pressure weakened enough for Shi Wen to stop trembling.
"Sigh, I forgot that Havenshire City has a mechanism to cancel out pressure from cultivators. Wen Tao, until what realm does Havenshire cancel out the pressure?" Fu Yang asked curiously.
"Hmm... I believe it cancels out the pressure up to the level of the Mayor. The current Mayor of Havenshire is at the Peak King Realm, so the city can cancel out the pressure from those below that level."
"Do other cities have the same mechanism?"
Wen Tao thought for a moment before answering, "Most likely, cities near the capital have the same mechanism, but I'm not sure about those farther away. Fifty years ago, when I drove the Sect Master to a city far from the Capital, they didn't have the same mechanism. However, with the new King, things might have changed. Nonetheless, it's likely that all cities in our country have implemented similar mechanisms for the betterment of Celestia."
Celestia was the name of the country where the Heavenly Cosmic Sect resided. There were five major sects in Celestia: Heavenly Cosmic Sect in the East, Nebulon Sword Sect in the West, Cosmopia Saber Sect in the South, Star Seeker Sect in the North, and Celestia Haven Sect in the center.
The country's name was derived from Celestia Haven Sect. According to history, the first King of Celestia was an Elder of Celestia Haven Sect.
The five major sects had existed before the founding of the country, and they voluntarily became part of the country to avoid being continuously troubled by other nations.
Furthermore, the five major sects were not hostile to each other, and they benefited from being part of the country. After 50,000 years of development, each sect was given a region to control, and over 100 cities had been established.
Throughout Celestia's history, there had been 213 Kings, with the current King being the 213th. Some kings had reigned for over a thousand years, while others had shorter reigns of around 10 years.
Kings with shorter reigns often died or abdicated due to war or the pressure from the Five Major Sects.
The Royal Family had changed 37 times, either due to the absence of a legitimate heir or when the heir didn't meet the required standards.
The monarchy had managed to survive for 50,000 years, perhaps due to the support of the Five Major Sects, who helped stabilize the kingdom. In the past, some kings had wanted to make the sects their subordinates rather than equals. However, such kings usually met untimely deaths, so abdicating them was unnecessary as it prevented them from seeking revenge as they grew older.
47 years ago, the 213th King, King Orionis IV had declared an era of peace. He took the lead in signing peace treaties with neighboring countries. For the past 150 years, there had been no wars, and the constant threat of war had hindered the country's development.
With the Peace Treaty, the focus shifted towards maintaining peace and stability, integrating economic markets, and ensuring the development of all regions.
To foster relationships between countries, a Cultural Exchange was held every five years.
Speaking of the Cultural Exchange, Fu Yang brought it up, "Celestia is hosting this year's Cultural Exchange, right?"
"Yes, Elder Fu. That's why the Sect Master went to the Capital a week ago to discuss it with the other Sect Masters of the Five Major Sects."
Not long after their conversation, they arrived at Fu Yang's courtyard.
"Wen Tao, thank you for driving," Fu Yang expressed his gratitude as they got out of the car.
"Thank you, Mr. Wen Tao," Shi Wen added politely.
"You're welcome, little fella, and you too, Elder Fu. If you need my services again, just call me on your Energy Phone! Oh... wait, here's my calling card, little fella. I know you might need my help in the future," Wen Tao said, handing Shi Wen his calling card before driving away.
A few minutes passed, and Fu Yang and Shi Wen entered the courtyard.