Not a word was spoken all night, and no danger befell.
Late autumn was transitioning into the winter season.
The wind was colder.
Whoosh! The cold wind howled over Yanhe City.
Liou Yuan, who had been lying on the rooftop practicing all night, had his black hair blown into disarray.
As the heavens grew pale, the starlight gradually faded, and Liou Yuan slowly opened his eyes that had been closed all night.
He stretched lazily and stood up, gazing at the vast skies beyond Yanhe City.
The ghostly wailing that lasted all night also dissipated with the brightening sky.
"Hey, that ghostly thing finally left."
After the Water Well Star Evil incident, Liou Yuan's life returned to tranquility.
He immersed himself in cultivation daily, without concerning himself with worldly affairs.
In Yanhe City, although Star Evil incidents occasionally sprung up, they were far from Liou Yuan's home and did not disturb him.
The Qinghe Division in the Yanhe Government Office wasn't just for show; whenever Star Evil appeared, they were quickly besieged and killed.
There were occasional casualties among the city's residents, but people in this world had become accustomed to it.
Only at night, the cries outside the city remained haunting, making it difficult for the residents to sleep.
Apart from this, the life of the city's residents wasn't greatly affected.
Liou Yuan's peaceful demeanor had two reasons.
First, after witnessing the true strength of Star Evil, he realized that he was nothing in front of a real Star Evil.
Thus, he deliberately kept a low profile, just as he had lived before without cultivating.
Second, the Fixed Star Compass was still recovering, and he had no need to engage in profitless ventures or take meaningless risks.
Thus, Liou Yuan safely passed the fourth month since arriving in this world.
It was at the end of this fourth month, which was also the end of the Pleiades cycle.
Liou Yuan was helping in the Xuanhu Clinic as usual.
It wasn't because he loved the clinic, but because his mother Bai Xin, after resting for less than half a month, insisted on returning to the clinic.
Concerned about Bai Xin's health, Liou Yuan could not persuade her otherwise and could only come to help.
Helping was a pretext; taking care of his mother was the real reason.
"Mr. Liou, with you here, my Xuanhu Clinic is under much less pressure now."
"You might as well stay in my clinic."
Standing before the wall filled with medicine boxes, the plump man twisted his small mustache, smiling as he watched Liou Yuan skillfully preparing medicine for the patients at the counter.
Liou Yuan's movements were quick; even the sharp-eyed Kong Dasheng couldn't find a single flaw.
This was already the fifth time Kong Dasheng invited Liou Yuan this month.
With his hands occupied, Liou Yuan replied without turning his head to Kong Dasheng: "Mr. Kong, I'm only here to help my mother with some work, not to stay here."
Kong Dasheng was indeed worthy of the name 'Iron Rooster.'
Liou Yuan was doing work equivalent to two or three people.
Yet he was only paid for one person, and Liou Yuan was no fool.
Besides, he wasn't really here for the money.
So no matter how many times Kong Dasheng asked, his answer remained the same: no.
"No rush to answer me. When you make up your mind, Xuanhu Clinic will always welcome you." Kong Dasheng, being a businessman, kept smiling despite Liou Yuan's repeated refusals.
Having said that, he shook his round belly and left the medicine wall.
Then, the sound of Kong Dasheng urging the two long-term workers responsible for concocting the medicine echoed in the clinic: "Make the fire stronger; there are people queued up behind!"
Responding to Kong Dasheng was Kong Yi with an even louder voice than his father's.
"What are you yelling about! Why don't you just come and help yourself!"
"Swindler!" Liou Yuan cast a disdainful glance at Kong Dasheng from afar.
Fortunately, since Mr. Kong returned, he hadn't yet noticed the loss of the clay idol he had treasured.
Liou Yuan touched the Buddhist beads on his wrist and mused, "These two months are just to offset the debt for the beads. My mother's health has mostly recovered, and once this month ends, I won't serve him anymore."
After a day of labor, Liou Yuan refused Kong Dasheng's invitation to stay for dinner, bid farewell to Bai Xin, and returned home alone.
His gaze landed on his bed, where a large bag of silver lay atop the blanket, totaling fifty taels.
It was a gift from Chief Constable Xin delivered to his door a few days ago, a reward from the government office for the last Star Evil eradication.
Including the remaining twenty-two taels in his pocket, Liou Yuan currently had seventy-two taels as his property.
During this period, Liou Yuan had stopped taking the medicinal soup Bai Xin brewed to aid in cultivation.
Because its help was no longer significant.
Without taking the soup, he could already maintain cultivation for four hours.
Taking the soup would only extend it by an hour, which was not much of a benefit.
"Most importantly, it's too costly," Liou Yuan expressed aloud.
Indeed, cultivation is a money-burning path. This is just the beginning of cultivation, and he'll need more money in the future, so he has to save.
Liou Yuan stowed the silver on the bed, took a bath, and by the time he finished, the sun had set in the west.
Liou Yuan climbed onto the rooftop to begin his daily routine of cultivation.
To prevent revealing the secret that he could still cultivate past the Star Evil moments.
Earlier, he had craftsmen build a concealed space at the corner of the rooftop beam, just enough to accommodate him lying flat, eliminating worry about his secret being exposed.
This month's cultivation had transformed the six strands of spiritual power inside Liou Yuan into ten, four more.
Ten strands of spiritual qi converged in his body, forming a spiritual power ribbon as thick as chopsticks.
Enabling Liou Yuan to confidently use the Lion's Roar Spell and those yellow jade Buddhist beads.
"Ten strands of spiritual power converging into a spiritual power ribbon, I've already reached the mid-stage of the First Mansion in The Five Mansions Facing the Stars Breathing Skill."
"I feel that within two or three months, I will surely reach the late stage of the First Mansion."
"Then I can break through to the Qi Cultivation Second Layer."
"I'm not far from the First Mansion Perfection as I promised Liou Zhen."
Feeling the nearly doubled spiritual power within, Liou Yuan's eyes gleamed with a smile.
It's a certainty that he will cultivate to First Mansion Perfection before the three-year deadline.
All that remains is to quietly await the return of his awaited brother.
Three months later.
Pleiades reign, bringing prosperity.
The black night sky spread like deep, boundless satin.
In a small courtyard in Yanhe City, an old man held a tobacco pipe, puffing clouds under the starlight, savoring this rare comfort of the year.
Two children with small braids chased and frolicked around the old man's knees.
Beneath the eaves, the old yellow dog stuck out its tongue, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the playful children at home.
With children and grandchildren around, and surplus grain at home, it was considered a blissful existence in this world.
The night deepened, and with the old man's scolding, the two children reluctantly returned indoors to sleep with their parents.
The courtyard night gradually calmed, leaving only the watery moonlight and starlight illuminating the modest little house.
The old dog then rose from its spot, lazily walked to the door of the room where the children were resting, its tongue extended long, filthy liquid constantly dripping from its mouth to the ground.