"Is the food not to your taste?"
Seeing the boy suddenly lower his head, she was a bit surprised.
But upon hearing Tang Youyou's words, the boy quickly waved his hand. "No, it's just that I feel the young master has done too much for us. It's not worth it."
Seeing the boy's face full of shame, and passers - by showing strange expressions, Tang Youyou was not the least bit uncomfortable.
She suddenly said, "While the mansions of the rich reek of wine and meat, on the roads lie the bones of the frozen to death. It's truly extremely pathetic."
As soon as Tang Youyou finished speaking, the child stared at her intently, as if she had just said something extraordinary.
But beside her, Xiaoxiao finally couldn't bear it anymore. She whispered, "Young Master Tang, these are just beggars. If they can't survive, it's their fate. They can't blame anyone. In this place, everyone has to be capable."
Hearing this, Tang Youyou looked at the people on the street - those doing acrobatics, craftsmen, the taverns, and the amorous men and women.
Was this so - called "capability"? Not necessarily.
Tang Youyou shook her head and said helplessly, "I don't know why, within the Great Ming Kingdom, here, literature and ink have become worthless. It's truly sad."
When she said this, Xiaoxiao smiled bitterly. "Young Master Tang may not know, but this place is a remote and desolate area. Just surviving here has already taken all our strength. If we still have time for literature and ink, it might be a bit too demanding."
Hearing what she said, Tang Youyou continued, "A remote and desolate area? But aren't the border areas also doing well? Why is this place so poor and shabby?"
"It's because of the Qingyun Sect."
The old man suddenly spoke, saying only this sentence.
"The Qingyun Sect is just a medical family. What ability does it have to make the whole place impoverished?"
The old man's rough hands carefully picked up the delicate cup on the table. He just took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and then felt a bit better.
Watching the child eat, the old man smiled. "It all started when the Qingyun Sect first appeared."
"At that time, everything was fine with us. Every family lived and worked in peace. But later, when the Qingyun Sect appeared, it directly monopolized all the local medicinal herbs.
From then on, all that was left for us common people was endless torture. If we couldn't pay taxes to them, there would be only one way out for us - death.
And those above us are all well - fed by us. If you look closely, you can see that the things on them all belong to us common people."
When he said this, the old man sighed deeply. He was too tired to talk about these things. Seeing his grandson saved, he was already content.
After much thought, when Tang Youyou left, she took the boy out separately.
She looked at the boy. Knowing that the boy was precocious, she said seriously, "Child, you must study hard. In the future, become an honest and upright official and bring peace to the people here. How about it?"
Hearing this, the boy nodded without hesitation. "Xier understands. I will surely achieve it."
After saying that, Tang Youyou handed over a gold coin. She instructed, "This is the money for you to learn skills. Consider it a loan from me. When you become wealthy and an official in the future, come and pay me back in person."
After saying that, Tang Youyou was led away by Xiaoxiao. As they were leaving, the child seemed to shed tears. He stood still and watched Tang Youyou for a long time.
He didn't leave until Tang Youyou disappeared from sight.
After walking for a while, the three of them left the bustling street and came to a secluded path, which was the only way up the mountain. Although it was secluded, it was a small path that no one had discovered yet.
When they got there, it was getting late.
Seeing traces of wild animals around, Tang Youyou told the two of them to stop and take a break.
"We've walked for a long time. Let's rest for a while before continuing."
Hearing Tang Youyou's words, Xiaoxiao hesitated. "Young Master Tang, this may not be a suitable place to rest. And..."
Xiaoxiao's words suddenly stopped. A shadow suddenly appeared behind her. This person hugged Xiaoxiao, and in the next moment, Xiaoxiao was picked up.
She angrily struggled non - stop, while the person behind her kept laughing. "Look, what have you brought back this time? You've even brought back two men. You've really grown capable."
This person looked at Tang Youyou for a long time, but just glanced at Yueyue casually.
Seeing Xiaoxiao struggling so hard, the boy gently put her down.
"This boy is really handsome. A handsome boy like this will probably be completely devoured by your senior sisters as soon as he enters the Qingyun Sect. By then, there won't even be a bone left for you."
Hearing the boy's teasing words, Xiaoxiao immediately got anxious. There was a sob in her voice, but she still endured her tears and scolded angrily, "Second Brother Lin! That's impossible. I'm taking these two to see Master. Even if my senior sisters want them, I won't give them."
Seeing his junior sister so stubborn, Second Brother Lin didn't say much more. He looked at Tang Youyou and smiled. "Welcome the two of you to the Qingyun Sect. However, this place is not as sacred as you might think. I hope you think it over before deciding to join the Qingyun Sect."
Tang Youyou was a bit surprised because she was used to seeing people anxiously rushing to join the sect, but this was the first time someone had warned her not to join.
"What do you mean by that..."
Tang Youyou paused. Seeing Second Brother Lin shake his head, he followed closely behind his junior sister and climbed up to the mountain peak together.
Yueyue frowned and looked at the scenery here. It was like a desolate mountain area with no sign of human vitality. How could this be the imposing Qingyun Sect? Where were those people supported by the common people?
Thinking of this, Tang Youyou followed Xiaoxiao to a residence. This residence was the only one on the mountain peak.
When they opened the gate, she was surprised to find that there was a whole new world inside.
Behind the gate were large fields of medicinal herbs, and on the other side of the fields was another towering mountain peak.
After the group finally reached the other mountain peak, they truly experienced what it meant to be extravagantly luxurious.
On the other mountain peak, every flower, grass, and tree was a precious medicinal herb that the common people in the world would break their heads to obtain, but in the Qingyun Sect, they had become mere decorative weeds.
The deeper they went, the more exaggerated the luxury became. Tang Youyou's mouth was always wide open.
Xiaoxiao said, "Don't touch anything here."