Chapter 91: A Reverse Psychology Play and The Cloud Piercer

Before leaving, Yu Liang lingered at the compound gate for a moment. Someone might have wondered why he had bought such a shabby looking place when he could easily afford something much better.

The answer was simple. He had chosen it this way on purpose.

He could have bought them a good loking house with silk curtains, expensive furniture and spirit arrays built into every corner. He could have filled the place with luxury pills and servants ready to handle their every need, it would have been his profit anyways. But that wasn’t what they needed right now. After everything they had been through, being suddenly surrounded by luxury and treated like they had never suffered would only make it harder for them to adjust.

As for this place, it was was simple, quiet, safe, and most importantly, it was easy to adapt.

The thought stayed with him as he walked back toward Heaven’s Table. These people had spent years in cages where even the smallest bit of kindness usually came with a price. A better meal meant the guard wanted something from them. Even a softer mat meant someone had a reason for giving it to them.

Because of this they had learned to question everything. What does this cost me? What do they want from me? When will they come asking for something in return? When will they drop act?

After living like that for years, it was hard to believe that someone could simply help them without expecting anything back. There was no such thing as a "good guy" in that world. Kindness was just a slower knife.

He remembered the day he had brought in the healers and Tier Five medicines. The warehouse had gone dead silent when he started handing out Regeneration Pills. Some of them had flinched. Others had stared at the jade bottles like they might explode. Yan Ruo later admitted it had been almost too much, the sudden flood of care after years of nothing had left them wary for days.

They still waited for the order, the command, the moment he would finally activate the seals. But that single generous act had already shaken them to the core

That’s why he had given them this worn down place instead of something grand.. Otherwise their exhausted minds would have screamed "trap." The vigilance they had built like armor would have tightened until it choked them.

They needed time to breathe without feeling "watched." They needed to fix the root themselves by doing everyday task. Every repaired thing, every weeded patch, every meal cooked and every corner of the compound cared for by their own hands slowly made the place feel less like somewhere they had been given and more like a home they had built themselves.

Surprisingly It was working, very well at that and the courtyard had become busy with little routines of its own.

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Yu Liang pushed open the side door of Heaven’s Table and found Meihua in the upper office, sorting travel documents across the table. She looked up with that soft smile she reserved only for him these days.

"You’re back earlier than I thought," she said, setting aside a stack of papers. "How was your visit?"

"It was good," he answered, closing the door behind him. "It seems the work related to roof is over and herbs are coming up nicely. They’re... finally settling."

Meihua was quiet for a while before looking at him. "You visit them pretty often."

"Do I?"

"You do." She smiled. "You always find some kind of excuse to check on them."

Yu Liang rubbed his nose. "Someone has to make sure they haven’t torn the place apart."

"They haven’t." She rolled her eyes at his terrible joke but played along anyway.

"Then I guess I’m doing a good job."

Meihua sighed. "You’re terrible at pretending you don’t care."

Yu Liang gave her a question look. "I never said I didn’t care."

"I know." She smiled and picked up her tea again. "That’s the problem."

Then Meihua slid a folded brochure across the table. "I asked around this morning. The best ship heading toward Cloudwater Sect is the Cloud Piercer. It will leave in four days from the eastern docks. For safety it has Spirit reinforced build, Nascent Soul level defensive arrays, and various other measures to ensure safety of passengers. It’s Three day journey and Private cabins are also available."

Yu Liang picked up the brochure, scanning it. "Sounds perfect. How much?"

"Fifty thousand Mid Grade Spiritual Stones for the best cabin. I already told them to hold it until tomorrow."

To ordinary cultivators, that number alone could make their breathing hitch.

Fifty Thousand Mid Grade Spiritual Stones?

That was far beyond what anyone would casually spend on a journey.

For most people, it was an absurd amount of money but Yu Liang barely gave it a second look. After everything he had spent since obtaining the system, a number like this simply wasn’t worth any attention.

But the Cloud Piercer was no ordinary vessel.

These ships were built for cultivators, not ordinary travelers. They were stronger, faster, and equipped to handle dangers that a normal vessel simply couldn’t.

According to some insider information, this ship was built for cultivators carrying valuable treasures, important secrets, or even prisoners who were too dangerous to transport on a normal vessel. Out on the open cultivation world, an ordinary ship could be destroyed in an instant by a powerful cultivator but they can guarantee safety.

Of course, all of that came at a price. And judging by the figure in front of him, quite a ridiculous one at that.

Yu Liang finished reading the brochure and placed it back on the table calmly, as if Meihua had just quoted the cost of a simple meal.

He nodded. "Good. Can you ask Chen Lu to handle the booking? Tell him to pay in full and make sure everything is taken care of."

Meihua’s eyebrows rose slightly. "Chen Lu? Not Yan Ruo?"

"Chen Lu," Yu Liang confirmed. "The others are already busy with their own work, so I figured he could handle this one."

She wrote the note quickly on a slip of paper and set it aside. "I’ll send it down to him after we finish here. Anything else you need for the trip?"

"Just that." He leaned back. Then after three days of traveling, he’ll be back to the sect that still technically is a part of his life.

Meihua watched him for another moment before letting out a small sigh. "So you’re really going."

"Yeah. I need to take care of many things back in the sect."

She nodded, though she still looked a little reluctant. "Then don’t disappear for months again."

Yu Liang smiled. "I’ll try."

"That’s not very reassuring."

"It’s the best I can do."

She shook her head, but a small smile appeared on her face as teased. "Fine. Just come back in one piece."

Before he could speak she stood, walked around the table, and rested her hands on his shoulders. "Then let’s make these remaining days count. Starting with dinner tonight?"

Yu Liang covered one of her hands with his. "Deal."