Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

The four people stopped, turned around, and each had a different expression.

The bearded man, seemingly the leader, spoke first: "Is there anything else, Captain Star?"

"Yes, I will." Ning Che smiled. "I'll also tell you about the rules."

He held up one finger: "First, attacking a colleague is a serious crime. I would like to ask you all to go to the law enforcement team to confess your crimes."

"This is outrageous!" a skinny man with a sleazy appearance roared. "You've only been here a few days, and you're already trying to talk up the rules!"

Ning Che looked at the skinny man with great interest. If he remembered correctly, it was the same man who had just said that attacking a colleague was a serious crime.

Ning Che stepped forward, raising his second finger as he walked: "Secondly, they are my friends. Although I am not talented, I will repay them in the future."

The four men's expressions changed simultaneously.

The skinny guy reacted the most violently; his face turned a deep liver color.

"Star!" He took a sudden step forward. "You, a newly arrived squad leader, really think you're someone important? Ask the veterans in the camp, who respects you!"

Ning Che looked at him but didn't respond. He just walked over step by step.

The skinny man felt uneasy under his gaze, but the words were already out and couldn't be taken back. He steeled himself, reached for his waist, and pulled out a pair of iron tiger fingers.

The bearded man quickly grabbed him.

Ning Che was still closing in; in just a couple more steps, he would collide with them. But he showed no sign of slowing down, continuing to walk straight ahead, making the four people opposite him almost unable to withstand the pressure and wanting to escape.

The bearded man took a deep breath, pushed the skinny man behind him, and stepped forward himself.

The distance between the two narrowed to a single step. The bearded man was half a head taller and a full head wider than Ning Che, standing in the alley like half a wall. He didn't make a move; he simply stood there, blocking Ning Che's path.

Ning Che stopped.

The two stood face to face, extremely close, a very dangerous distance, with Ning Che's sword energy already poised to burst forth.

"Star Captain, you need to know when to stop, lest you break if you're too rigid. You're a genius with a bright future ahead of you. I apologize for what happened today and promise I'll never offend you again. Isn't that better?" The bearded man's tone remained earnest, as if he were considering Ning Che's best interests.

"If I hadn't arrived, would you have stopped?"

The bearded man fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. Ning Che looked at him and suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

"Hu Shan."

"Hu Shan, are you an eighth-rank official?"

Hu Shan did not deny it.

Ning Che shifted his gaze from the man's face and glanced at the three men behind him. The skinny man was still clenching his tiger finger tightly, so tightly that his knuckles turned white; the other two looked ashen-faced and angry.

Then, he slowly said, "Alright, you're a veteran, the old team leader, right? I'll give you a chance."

Hu Shan's brow twitched slightly.

"Three days from now, we will have a duel in the training ground," Ning Che said. "If you win, today's matter will be considered settled, and from now on, I will follow your rules."

Hu Shan remained silent.

Ning Che withdrew his gaze and looked at Hu Shan again: "If you lose, you will have to admit your crimes in front of everyone in the martial arts arena."

Hu Shan remained silent for a moment, then took a half step back and shook his head, saying, "If that's the case, none of us will be able to survive among the mountain guardians anymore. How about this, if I lose, I'll go to the enforcement team to accept the punishment, and I'll give you another spirit stone."

Ning Che had no idea what a Yuan Stone was. Could it be similar to the legendary spirit stone from his previous life?

Since I haven't heard of it, its value must be quite high.

He said decisively, "Two pieces."

The two stared at each other for a long time, the air seemed to freeze, as if a life-or-death conflict could break out at any moment.

Ning Che had long been prepared to fight to the death, honing his skills day and night, all for this moment to draw his sword.

Finally, Hu Shan made a move.

He took another half step back.

The stagnant air finally began to move again. Hu Shan nodded, his voice deep and muffled: "Two pieces then."

"See you at the training ground." Ning Che turned around, preparing to carry Zhao He on his back.

The skinny man stretched his neck, his face flushed, as if he wanted to say something, but Hu Shan pulled him away.

Ning Che shouted into the barracks, "Chen Mu, can you still move? If not, I'll take you to the clinic when I get back."

"Yes—" Chen Mu responded, shakily getting up and walking outside.

As Zhao He watched the four figures disappear, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Yuan Stone, what is that?"

"I don't know either," Ning Che answered honestly.

Zhao He was somewhat surprised: "You didn't know you'd already settled things? And that Hu Shan is so old, his skills are probably profound and extraordinary. What if you gambled with him...?"

"I'm confident," Ning Che interrupted.

Chen Mu came out of the house and explained to the two of them, "Yuan Stones are stones that contain a large amount of Yuan energy from heaven and earth. Using them to assist in cultivation can make your efforts twice as effective. They often cost ten or even twenty gold coins to buy one, and there may not be anyone willing to sell it."

After all, this stuff is effective for the vast majority of cultivators, and they themselves often find themselves in short supply, so naturally it's unlikely they'd sell it. It's only sold to powerful factions or cultivators in urgent need of money.

Ning Che was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "You don't need to worry about that. Let's go find a doctor first."

Chen Mu nodded.

The group made their way to the clinic in the mountains with great effort, walking as slowly as a tortoise in order to avoid the bumpy ride to Zhaohe and to take care of Chen Mu's pace.

They ran into Lin Ye on the way, who was unusually kind and helped carry Chen Mu, which made them speed up a little.

After taking the two to the clinic, Ning Che finally had time to ask Lin Ye about the condition of Lin Xiuer and her child.

Lin Ye said that Zhong Hongyao was indeed very wealthy and powerful. She had several spacious houses, but no one lived in them. She just picked one at random and let them stay there.

Ning Che then went to Zhong Hongyao to discuss letting Lin Caiwei move in as well.

Zhong Hongyao resolutely refused, as if avoiding a snake or scorpion.

Ning Che understood her fear, and since the two had just worked together, even though Zhong Hongyao hadn't gone voluntarily, there was still some teammate camaraderie between them, so it was naturally inappropriate to force her now.

But it was obviously not feasible to keep Lin Caiwei by his side all the time. Even if she might not be a person, she still looked like a girl, which would be inappropriate in the male camp.

Helpless, Ning Che paid out of his own pocket to find a nearby inn and booked a room for a month before finally settling her in.

What would be a very serious safety issue for an average child is nothing to Lin Caiwei.

The ability to silently and effortlessly kill two ninth-rank cultivators demonstrates a strength at least equal to, if not greater than, that of an ordinary eighth-rank cultivator. Moreover, such unpredictable power always offers an advantage in combat.

At the inn, Ning Che asked Lin Caiwei if she had any favorite foods. Lin Caiwei looked at him and only said one word.

"Meat."