111 111.

"Well... Where is everyone!?"

Yang Ze who was used to the crowd waiting in front of his shop was stunned to find that the entire street has returned back to its old state. Other than Xiao Li and Yao Xiang, he could see the figure of Xia Xueqi sitting under the shade of a tree silently practicing. As usual, she was wearing a gray robe along with a veil on her face. her hair was tied up in a bun with the help of a white hairpin.

'Middle Qi Guiding.' Yang Ze finally knew her strength. It seemed the title of prodigy wasn't for nothing. She was less than thirty years old and already in the middle stage of Qi guiding. Perhaps she might be able to step into the peak before the age of fifty.

"Boss."

Looking at those two with a smile, Yang Ze nodded his head.

"Where were you guys yesterday!?"

As soon as Yang Ze asked the question, Xia Xueqi who was practicing in the corner opened her eyes before looking at Yang Ze.

"This..." Touching their nose in embarrassment, both Xiao Li and Yao Xiang gave out a hollow laugh. "We were sleeping." Replying in a mosquito-like voice, even they themselves couldn't believe what they just said. The last thing they remembered was going to the bed and when they opened their eyes, they were still on their bed huddling together. It wasn't until someone told them that they came to know that they have been sleeping for the duration of an entire day.

"Hahahahaha..." Looking at their red faces, Yang Ze gave out a laugh before walking inside the shop.

"Why aren't there any people?" Looking around, Yang Ze was confused. Unlike other days, today no one was here. For a moment he even thought that he had come back to the day when he started this business.

"They are celebrating." Xiao Li spoke in an excited voice.

"Celebrating?" Yang Ze looked at Xiao Li whose face was flushed red with excitement. He seemed to be controlling his excitement with great effort.

"Yes. Remember those bastards from the Begger sect? Well, someone wiped them out. And now everyone in the town is celebrating." Xiao Li looked at Yang Ze before speaking slowly.

"Boss... There isn't anyone. Can you please let us go? I want to join the celebration too."

"Me too, me too."

Looking at Xiao Li and Yao Xiang, because of whom this incident took place, Yang Ze shook his head helplessly.

"Go, enjoy. I can take care if someone comes." Waving his hand, Yang Ze threw some gold pieces to them. "Bring me something too. Something that you like."

"WE WILL..." Waving their hands, both of them ran away happily, leaving Yang Ze who was looking at their disappearing figure with a smile, and Xia Xueqi whose eyes were on Yang Ze the entire time.

"Tch... Tch... If I didn't know any better, I would have assumed you were their father." Slowly walking near Yang Ze she looked at him Yang Ze from top to bottom.

"Really!?" With a black face, Yang Ze looked at her and shook his head.

"Hey... Tell me something...

Did you have something to do with what happened to the Beggar Sect?"

"Yeah! I killed them all." Without batting an eye, Yang Ze replied to her before sitting comfortably on the chair.

"....."

"..."

"Puff..... HAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHA." The entire shop was filled with her sweet laughter.

"Actually, you know what?" Controlling her laughter, she looked at Yang Ze "Don't tell anyone, but I was the one who took care of them."

As soon as she finished speaking, she burst out in a peal of laughter.

"Sigh...." Looking at Xia Xueqi who was still laughing, Yang Ze ignored her and took out a book before placing it in front of him.

"Hey!" Looking at him, Xia Xueqi sat in front of him and pulled the book away from his hand.

"Tch... What are you doing." Looking at her who was hiding the book behind her, Yang Ze asked in an annoyed tone.

Xia Xueqi didn't immediately reply but blinked her eyes before speaking softly..."Instead of reading these boring books, how about you talk with me?"

Yang Ze thought for a moment before nodding his head. Two days ago, he gained a lot from just talking to her. Now that she wants to continue their conversation, he had no reason to refuse. Perhaps today he can learn a thing or two more about the Innate realm.

"Fine. We will do just what we did the day before yesterday. You ask the question, and I will reply. Then I will ask and you will reply."

"Fine by me." Shrugging her shoulders, Xia Xueqi pulled out the white hairpin from her hair. The moment she did that, her hair slowly fell down like a waterfall. After that, she stretched out her hands and slowly relaxed her body on the chair, leaving Yang Ze to admire this beautiful scene.

"So, I will start first." Playing with the white hairpin, she thought for a moment before asking her question.

"You told me you don't have a family. But, I don't think you were completely honest with me. You must remember someone... Your father? Your mother? Anything that you could recall?"

"Why are you so interested in my family!? Do you want to marry me?"

"Haha, you wish." With a chuckle, she looked at Yang Ze "Tell me... Call it my curiosity, but I want to know."

"Sigh..." Looking at her acting like a spoiled child, Yang Ze felt a headache coming.

"Geez... Fine. I will tell you. No need to act like that." The moment he said that Xia Xueqi's lips curled up with a crafty smile. Unfortunately for Yang Ze, he couldn't see it due to the veil.

"What do you want to know first?"

"Erm... Okay, since you don't directly want to talk about your family, you can just describe them to me. How they were, how you all lived, what was the place where you lived was like... Tell me everything."

"Hmmm...." Yang Ze didn't speak for a long time. But his eyes which were always filled with indifference, flashed with emotions for the very first time.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Ze slowly began to speak.

"The place where I lived was simple. We used to live in a mountain region that was full of wild animals and vegetation. The place wasn't big, it was a small town with a population of roughly five to six hundred people, all living in harmony and peace.

And amongst all of them, was my little happy family. Me, my mother and my father. My father was just like any other father. He appeared to be strict but secretly was much more gentle. Though he never showed it on his face, he always loved me dearly. His day was simple, every day he would go to work and return home tired. You know, he was the kind of guy that would never say 'NO' to me."

After a long pause, he closed his eyes, as if losing himself in those memories.

"My mother, on the other hand, was completely opposite. She appeared gentle on the surface, but she was the one who usually gave me a beating in case I did something wrong. We both used to fight a lot... Every small thing that you could think of, we fought on that. And despite all the fighting and beating, she was the one I loved the most."

Reaching here, Yang Ze went silent. Opening his eyes, he looked at Xia Xueqi in front of him.

"You know... Now you look more like a human instead of a puppet." Looking at him with a gentle expression, Xia Xueqi slowly spoke what she had on her mind.

"Huh!? What do you mean?" Listening to her, Yang Ze frowned for a moment.

"You see, since the day I first saw you, I felt something was wrong with you. You didn't have any emotions. Every time you laugh or express your anger, it all feels fake. It feels like you are a puppet who is being forced to express emotions that he truly doesn't feel."

"You understand what I am trying to say?" Xia Xueqi looked at him for a long time before speaking slowly... "You feel like a blank sheet of paper... Devoid of any human emotions."

"And I don't think you actually are completely devoid of emotions. I mean, just a moment ago when you were talking about home and your family, your face was filled with emotions. Those felt much more natural compared to the one that you usually display in front of others."

"....."

Yang Ze didn't speak but looked at her for a long time. Noticing his gaze, Xia Xueqi too didn't back down but looked him in his eyes.

Two people, both gazing into one another just sat there silently.

"Whatever." Yang Ze was the first one to look away. The more he looked at her, the more uncomfortable he felt. It was as if, in front of this woman, he was like an open book.

"Hehe." Giving out a small laugh, she tilted her head slightly and spoke softly. "Continue, please. I want to know more."

"NO!" Yang Ze refused her without any hesitation. "You can change your question."

"Hmm..." Xia Xueqi rested her chin on her palm and thought for a moment before asking him another question "Tell me why you opened this shop? What are your future plans? What are your ambitions? What do you wish to do?"

"Those are a lot of questions." Raising his brow, Yang Ze shook his head.

"Hey... You can keep count of the questions. I will let you ask the same number of questions."

Yang Ze hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Fine... Let me begin by answering your first question.

I opened this shop because I required a large number of spirit stones."

"Huh! That's it?" Xia Xueqi asked him in surprise. In her mind, there must be a reason other than spirit stones for opening this shop. Now looking at his face that didn't seem to be lying she gritted her teeth. It seems that the real reason was truly the lack of spirit stones.

"Okay, what about your future plans?" Xia Xueqi asked another question.

"None... I don't have any future plans. I just do what I want to do. I have never thought about what the future might hold for me."

"I see." Xia Xueqi was slowly beginning to understand the boy in front of her. "What about ambitions? What do you wish to do?"

Yang Ze went quiet for a long time. After the time it takes an incense to burn he exhaled heavily and spoke in a voice that seemed to be lost.

"I don't know...

You see, I have no ambitions. I don't even know how I reached where I am now. Everything happened and I just followed the suit, without any reason or rhyme. I do not have any wishes, I don't even know if I want to do what I am doing...

Everything feels like... I don't know how to explain it... I just feel like giving up on everything..."

"....."

"..."

"And yet, here you are, running one of the most successful businesses that I have ever seen." Xia Xueqi looked at him with a gentle gaze. "You act like you don't have any emotions, but here you are, acting as a parent to those two kids."

"Just going with the flow." Waving his hand, Yang Ze tried to dismiss her course of reasoning.

"Are you!?" Xia Xueqi looked at him for a long time. "I just feel like you are lost. You haven't truly found yourself.

"Go away." With a snort, Yang Ze stood up and walked out of the building, leaving behind Xia Xueqi sitting on the chair alone looking at his disappearing back...