Chapter 18

Lu Yaoxiang had already decided to take this young man back. Even if not for the senior to possess his body, with such potential, he could be powerful in the future and help her protect Little Ding. Once he joined the sect, he would have to protect his fellow disciples, and Little Ding was such a good person that this guy would definitely be moved to help.

So, she said, "Little Ding, I’ve been thinking, he really is too pitiful. Let you take him back."

"Ah?" Lu Xiaoding didn’t expect her to agree so easily, thinking she would have to make a fuss for a few days before her senior sister would agree.

She asked somewhat disbelievingly, "Senior Sister, are you really serious!"

"Of course, when have I ever lied to you?"

Lu Xiaoding immediately said happily to the young man, "Great, you can go back with us."

These two made the decision without considering his thoughts, and the young man, gritting his teeth, unwillingly said, "I appreciate your kindness, but I won’t go with you."

"Why? Don’t you have a place to go in Luxing City?" Lu Xiaoding asked, puzzled.

The young man lowered his head and stubbornly replied, "Yes, just let me go, don’t meddle in my affairs."

"How can you be like this..." Lu Xiaoding pouted, finding the young man very strange. He was clearly starving, yet he wouldn’t let her help.

Lu Yaoxiang’s lips curved into a smile that wasn’t very warm, and she said calmly, "In your current state, the possibility of becoming a cultivator is very low. You’re too old, and even if you pass the cultivation test next year, it will be hard to find a good sect. Besides, without food or water, whether you can survive until next spring is a question. It snows heavily here in winter."

Hearing her words, the young man suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with a fierce light. Such a look was perfect, and Lu Yaoxiang smiled even more, "Yunjian Sect, though just a second-rate sect, focuses on sword cultivation. They are quite poor at alchemy and talisman making, but when it comes to killing, they are among the best."

As soon as she finished speaking, the young man immediately responded, "I’m willing to go with you, I’ll do whatever you want."

"That’s more like it. The requirement is simple, just protect this guy and don’t let her die," Lu Yaoxiang patted Little Ding’s head, inwardly criticizing herself for not being from an evil sect, why did she have to make it sound so life-threatening.

But Lu Xiaoding countered, "Senior Sister, Yunjian Sect is a major sect with many mountains and people. How can it be a minor sect? If the senior uncles heard this, they would scold you."

"I said a second-rate sect, not a minor sect," Lu Yaoxiang glanced at her sideways, who was the one being malicious, don’t change what others have said.

Lu Xiaoding, however, said to the young man, "Anyway, our sect is very powerful. Once you join, you will definitely become a powerful person."

The two of them so casually decided to take the young man to Yunjian Sect. Seeing that he was starving, they first bought him some food to fill his stomach, then took him out of the city and back to the sect. There was no need to change his clothes, as he would have to change into the sect uniform anyway, saving a bit where they could.

From their conversation, they only knew that the young man’s parents had long passed away, and he was now alone. When asked his name, he said he had no name, and everyone called him Little Beggar. If they didn’t mind, they could call him Xiao Fan.

Lu Yaoxiang was speechless. Even if there were some hidden reasons for not wanting to reveal his real name, he should have come up with a more normal name. What kind of name is Xiao Fan, how can my junior brother have a name like Doggy.

So, she didn’t even ask Xiao Fan’s opinion and directly said, "Xiao Fan sounds too bad, from now on, you will be called Lu Huo."

"Why do I have a surname?" the young man asked, puzzled. Why give him a surname, wasn’t it enough to just give him a name?

Lu Yaoxiang pointed to Lu Xiaoding and said, "This guy was also picked up, and he follows my surname, Lu, so he’s called Lu Xiaoding. I’m called Lu Yaoxiang, so now that you’re joining the sect and don’t have a name, you should follow my surname."

Lu Dan was stunned, "Isn’t your master an alchemist?"

"Wow, you can guess that too!" Lu Xiaoding smiled at him, not knowing why, but this young man gave her a feeling of wanting to take him back. Like those pretty stones by the stream, she found them beautiful and wanted to take them back.

But the name Lu Huo wasn’t good. She was a ding (cauldron), and if he was fire, wouldn’t he be burning her all the time? She thought for a moment and said to her senior sister, "Senior Sister, let’s call him Lu Dan."

"Lu Dan?" Lu Yaoxiang glanced at her, was this hinting that he would need a lot of elixirs in the future?

"Yes, Lu Dan. With a ding and Yaoxiang, naturally, it means producing elixirs. Taking this auspicious name, the master will definitely be generous and take him in," Lu Xiaoding nodded seriously. Everyone likes auspicious things, so having a good name was also necessary.

Mentioning this, Lu Yaoxiang suddenly stopped. After arguing with the senior for a long time, she had forgotten an important thing: how to bring Lu Dan in? And how to get the master to agree to take him in, otherwise, he couldn’t even enter the mountain gate!

Lu Xiaoding, unaware that she had stopped, was still chatting with the young man, "So, your name will be Lu Dan, okay? This way, you will definitely produce a lot of elixirs, and we can focus on refining them!"

"Whatever, if you think it’s good, I don’t mind," the young man said. At this point, refusing was useless. The name Lu Dan wasn’t too bad, so he accepted it. From today, he would bid farewell to his past and become a young cultivator named Lu Dan.

Thinking about being able to join Yunjian Sect and cultivate, this was like a stroke of luck from the heavens. He could already imagine the scene of starting his cultivation.

"I have to start refining elixirs for you and Senior Sister as soon as I get back. I was planning to show you around," Lu Xiaoding was smiling when Lu Yaoxiang suddenly rushed over and grabbed her shoulder. She looked up in surprise and saw a worried face.

Then she heard Lu Yaoxiang say urgently, "Little Ding, we need to think of a way to bring Lu Dan in. The gatekeepers won’t let him in, he’s still an outsider."

"Is that so? We’re not going to their peak, do they need to be so strict?" Lu Xiaoding didn’t know that outsiders couldn’t enter the mountain gate. To her, Lu Dan was already one of them and should be able to enter directly.

Lu Yaoxiang waved her hand, this girl was thinking too simply, "We need to get the master to take in Lu Dan first, only then can he enter the mountain gate. But if we don’t see the master in person and ask him, how can he agree to take Lu Dan?"

"Oh," Lu Xiaoding looked at her blankly, not understanding the complexity.

Lu Dan stood speechless, his heart feeling like it was being trampled by a thousand horses. What were these two doing! They couldn’t bring him in, yet they had been so sure earlier. What were they going to do now?

They wouldn’t just send him back to the city, would they?

Seeing her senior sister frowning, her beautiful face slightly distorted, Lu Xiaoding patted her chest and laughed, "Senior Sister, don’t worry about such a small matter. Leave it to me, the master will definitely take in Lu Dan."

"You?" Lu Yaoxiang was very surprised. With her poor brain, how could she come up with a plan?

But Lu Xiaoding didn’t explain, just pushed her and Lu Dan forward, confidently guaranteeing that this matter would be easily resolved. "Let’s go, just watch me."

It was too suspicious, Lu Yaoxiang couldn’t imagine what Lu Xiaoding would do, but thinking about it, she seemed to have changed. After the death of the Golden Wind Horned Snake, Little Ding was different from before, seeming a bit sharper.

She suspected the senior had done something to Little Ding, but seeing her, there was nothing strange, so she didn’t think too much about it. If Little Ding could convince the master, that would be best. If not, she could tell the master about Lu Dan’s potential and try to cultivate him.

She should have thought more, was it because she was too young and lacked experience? Sixteen-year-old Lu Yaoxiang reflected, feeling that she had indeed not thought this through and had been tricked by the senior.

The senior clearly wanted Lu Dan’s body, so he deliberately mentioned his potential to lure her into bringing him back. Truly cunning people, she would have to be more careful in the future.

Lu Dan, on the other hand, was treating this as a last resort, silently following them. Despite his frail appearance, he was very stubborn. He kept up without falling behind, even though his body was swaying, he gritted his teeth and kept walking.

Lu Xiaoding glanced at him but didn’t offer to help. Although she loved helping people, in this situation, she wouldn’t act. They had walked fast to get here, and on the way back, they had to slow down to wait for Lu Dan. The three of them returned to the mountain gate in the evening.

The gatekeepers were still standing, a form of cultivation that required them to stand for six hours before they could leave. Lu Yaoxiang took out the wooden token representing her identity. As a medicine child, she could only use such a token. She hung two tokens on her fingers and lightly swung them in front of the gatekeepers, then led Little Ding and Lu Dan straight in.

Just as the three of them passed by, someone suddenly noticed something was wrong and shouted, "Wait, who is this person?"

Oh no, they were discovered!

Lu Yaoxiang was about to speak, but Lu Xiaoding beat her to it, "This is my junior brother, what’s the problem?"

"Where is his token? Why is he dressed like that?" The gatekeeper asked, as he was clearly not wearing the sect uniform.

"Because he just arrived, he naturally doesn’t have a token yet. He will have one the next time he comes out," Lu Xiaoding said confidently, this was common sense, why ask such a question.

The gatekeeper was stunned for a moment, then realized this person wasn’t a sect member yet, and said, "Then he can’t go in. You are just medicine children, how can you bring people in? You two can go in, but he can’t."