Chapter 4: The Village Chief's Worries

　　The dwarf-eared rabbit that Shen Jingbin had just caught clearly meant a lot to the man. A look of joy filled his face, to the point where even the corners of his eyes and brows seemed to have been infected by his mirth.

　　It was said that everything had the tendency to look nicer when a person felt happy. Sure enough, when he looked at Shen Jingbin once again, he now felt that she looked somewhat kind-hearted and cute.

　　"Do you know who I used to be?"

　　Shen Jingbin shook her head and said, "No, I don't."

　　"I was originally a disciple of the Swordmaster Pavilion. At that time, during the great war between the Celestials and the Demons, I sustained a severe injury that destroyed my foundation. The Swordmaster Pavilion had always been filled with talented people. Back then, I was proud and arrogant. I couldn't bear the destruction of my foundation and the embarra.s.sment of being ridiculed by others, so I made up my mind to leave the sect. Fortunately, I chanced upon a pill recipe that allowed me to reconstruct my foundation. As such, I started touring the world in search of medicinal ingredients."

　　"Over the next few years, I'd almost managed to gather all of the required ingredients. All except the catalyst — the dwarf-eared rabbit. I'd previously heard my junior disciples from Spirit Beast Garden say that the dwarf-eared rabbit fed on spiritual gra.s.s, which allowed them to acc.u.mulate an abundant amount of spiritual energy. However, their exceptionally timid nature caused them to dash away at the sight of anything. Not only was it a near impossible task to catch them, even seeing them was a challenge in itself. Most people would have only heard of it, but never seen one before."

　　"However, when I was still in the sect, I discovered from an ancient bamboo strip ¹ that the dwarf-eared rabbit could only be found in the vicinity of a small frontier settlement called Evening Sun Village. As a result, I made my way over here to look for it."

　　The man paused for a moment before continuing, "Putting aside the fact that Evening Sun Village was situated in a remote location, it bordered the realms of both the Human and Celestial races. However, both of them had subconsciously neglected the commoners living here. When I first came, these people were still living within an abyss of suffering as a result of their neglect."

　　"The Swordmaster Pavilion has always paid great attention to fated encounters, righteousness, and benevolence. Using that as a pretext to stay here and heal, I naturally couldn't disregard the dire straits that the village was in. As such, I took on the responsibilities of the Village Chief once I found a place to stay. I tried to provide some help while at the same time giving guidance to youths who wished to travel the world. This could also be considered as my bit of contribution to the Swordmaster Pavilion."