Huo Delan was a little embarrassed about failing to acknowledge his saviour openly after the fiasco about his death. He knew he had already died once because of his brother and his fiancée. It was not a dramatic event, but he knew he was dead for a while before Yuan Haoran acted.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to expose Huo Zhizhao without severe consequences. Even though he was favoured by the emperor, he knew his limits. His imperial father hated it when the siblings had open conflicts among commoners.
His desire was for his offspring to show the image of a loving family to the continent. In his words, he wanted the commoners to have a peaceful life, and it started with the palace. So, all plots within the royal family were hidden.
Huo Delan approached Yuan Haoran with a serious expression after people dispersed. He glanced at Long Jingyi who stood behind him meaningfully, but the audacious cultivator did not seem to get the hint to walk away.
Instead, he stood there with a bright grin on his face.
Since Master Yuan did not chase him away, Huo Delan could only speak up in his presence.
"I apologise for my brother making baseless accusations." Huo Delan hesitated before continuing. "I should have acknowledged your role in saving my life in the domain, but things are not straightforward for those of us of royal blood."
Yuan Haoran nodded while Long Jingyi listened shamelessly.
Naturally, Yuan Haoran did not care about verbal accolades. Even if Huo Delan claimed that he had saved him before the public, it would not be beneficial to him. It would probably cause more problems by getting him entangled with troublesome people.
Huo Delan took out a box from his storage ring and proffered it to Yuan Haoran.
"Please accept this gift as an apology and a sign of gratitude." Huo Delan continued. "It is a Blood Obsidian dagger crafted by an ancient mage. As a warrior, I do not have much use of it, but I am sure it will serve you well."
Yuan Haoran accepted the box without qualms. He was lacking a weapon, and a dagger could be useful. He could not always rely on his spiritual power to solve problems. He was also no longer in the modern world, so he could not use a gun.
Or could he?
Yuan Haoran was contemplative for a moment as he held the box in his hands. He could not use a modern-day gun because even the lowest-level cultivators would catch the bullet. However, it was not out of the question to understand the weapons in this era and create a custom gun design.
The possibilities made him happy. Once he understood this world, he would have a lot of things to play with and do. He would use the scientific method to hack the cultivation world.
"In addition to this small gift, you are welcome to travel with my group. Even though there are a few strange characters in the team, you can be assured that you will move in the best conditions and not suffer along the way." Huo Delan offered.
He was inviting him because he wanted to take the opportunity to learn a few things from Yuan Haoran. It was clear that Yuan Haoran had a lot of unconventional methods and tricks, and they were effective.
Now that he was no longer a cultivation waste, he wanted to seek guidance from his saviour and rise to higher heights.
He did not see the reason Yuan Haoran would refuse, especially since it was clear that the man had a lot of secrets that could not be discovered by righteous cultivators. For example, it would be bad if anyone knew about the zombie snake and its role in the death of Xiao Xun from Shademantle Academy.
As an accomplice, Huo Delan felt like he was the most suitable person to travel with Master Yuan.
Long Jingyi snorted at the suggestion. "Why don't you just throw him into the forest with a pack of Giant Dire Wolves?"
"It is not your place to speak for Master Yuan." Huo Delan was a royal used to being treated well and liked doing whatever he wanted, so he did not appreciate the criticism from Long Jingyi.
"Master Yuan?" Long Jingyi asked.
Huo Delan realised he said something inappropriate, but he was not flustered. "Master Yuan saved my life. It is only right for me to acknowledge him. You are the one who keeps disrupting our conversation. So, how about it, Master Yuan?"
Long Jingyi was dissatisfied with the young prince, but he was also not in a place to make decisions for Yuan Haoran. He was not one of his juniors but an equal.
"No need." Yuan Haoran responded.
"But Master Yuan, the conditions with poor students are not good. You will experience a lot of hardships. I guarantee you will be comfortable with the royal caravan." Huo Delan could not believe that he would lose an opportunity to learn more about Yuan Haoran and the method he used to make him recover his cultivation overnight.
It would be a loss to him.
If he did not go with Yuan Haoran, he was not sure when he would meet him again and get a chance to get some pointers. The cultivation world was large, and loose cultivators tended to drift from one place to another without attachments.
Even if Yuan Haoran ended up in the Obsidian City, it was not certain they would meet.
"Enough." Yuan Haoran became irritated by the insistence. He could see through the small thoughts of the young prince, and he was not interested in indulging him. If there was anything he hated, it was useless people who did not know their limits.
While Huo Delan accomplished a simple task for him, he was still worthless to Yuan Haoran. He could not keep around someone without real value, much less spare energy to teach them.
Huo Delan felt the annoyance tinged with slight killing intent from Yuan Haoran and remembered that he was not someone to be trifled with. If he dared to use a devil technique like a zombie snake to kill someone, he dared to kill the person he saved.
"Little prince, if you cannot stand up to your brother and acknowledge Haoran's good deeds in public, you do not have the right to guarantee his comfort with the royals." Long Jingyi said, driving a sword into his heart. "Haoran is a loose cultivator, so he is used to a simple life without tricks, treachery and court intrigue."
Huo Delan choked at the statement.
Was Long Jingyi blind?
Even though he did not know Yuan Haoran was using devil techniques, he could not be so ignorant. After all, Yuan Haoran openly threatened to kill Feng Yie in front of a crowd just because Principal Feng made a few comments.
Moreover, he dared to face off with his Imperial Aunt without bowing or even speaking.
How was this person a simple cultivator?
Huo Delan almost retorted at Long Jingyi intending to point out his stupidity, but a single look from Yuan Haoran from behind the cloak made him freeze. He closed his mouth immediately. It was an uncomfortable thing not to speak his mind as he wanted, but he had to bear with it.
"In that case, I will not bother you anymore, Master Yuan. If you end up in Obsidian City, I am sure we will meet again." Huo Delan bowed slightly. Most people had left, so it was not a big deal for him to show a little more respect.
Yuan Haoran turned to walk away.
Long Jingyi looked down on Huo Delan even though he was a prince. "If you want to have value to others, you must have something to offer. Otherwise, people will think that a prince is attaching himself to commoners for benefits."
As he watched Long Jingyi walk away, Huo Delan gritted his teeth in anger. What could Long Jingyi have to offer to Master Yuan? He did not understand. Long Jingyi was just a commoner righteous cultivator with a good reputation.
However, his acerbic words gave Huo Delan an idea of how to get into Master Yuan's good graces. With that, he turned and rushed to catch up with the royal caravan.
As the Hallowflame people started on their journey, a few voices of dissent started cropping up in the team. The group was dissatisfied because they were the last ones to leave because of the stranger that Senior Long had taken in.
The loudest of these quiet voices was Wan Xiu. Outwardly, she made a few comments about wasting time for the sake of a weird individual and being in danger of not reaching the town before nightfall or failing to find food and lodging since everyone else would arrive first.
In her heart, she swore to expose Yuan Haoran and let Senior Long see his true face. She did not doubt that Yuan Haoran was a devil cultivator. But what made her even angrier was the preferential treatment he was giving an unknown character.