The rest of the day, Xue Wei was stuck together with Shen Mu. Although Xue Wei could not cultivate, there were no signs of bullying from Shen Mu. Even when they were on their own, as the two grown-ups had left them for a bit, Shen Mu behaved in a friendly way and had an open-minded attitude towards Xue Wei.
When it was time for them to go, Xue Wei and Shen Mu felt that they had known each other for some time. Shen Mu had been speaking a lot while they had been together while Xue Wei had been listening.
Xue Wei was always eager to learn more things, and since he could learn about Tiankong City and Xiao Lei from Shen Mu, he used the time to have the other boy tell him all he could about the subjects.
Xue Wei was unsure of how to react to Shen Mu's friendliness. Although he was very friendly, Xue Wei had a hard time understanding and trusting him. He could not fully comprehend how someone would want to be friendly towards a person who could not cultivate.
Although this was the case, Xue Wei said nothing to his uncle about this doubt that had rooted itself in his mind.
Xiao Lei had his doubts, but since Xue Wei said nothing, he did not inquire into it. As they returned to the mansion, Xiao Lei allowed for Xue Wei to return to the library where he once more buried himself in the books about the hidden wonders of the world.
The rumors about Xiao Lei decapitating a mortal commoner spread through the city like wildfire. It was the most talked about topic, and no one was able to walk even two steps without hearing someone mention it.
Xiao Lei was a hero of humanity. He had killed more than ten Primordial Beasts by now, and he was known as one of the most excellent Hunters that existed. He was supposed to protect the humans, but for this useless nephew, he had slaughtered a man as easily as butchering a chicken.
Together with this rumor, more stories about Xue Wei started spreading. Everyone heard about the fact that he was useless trash that could not cultivate, but no one felt sorry for the ten-year-old boy.
Some felt that he was useless because he would be incapable of doing his duty in the war against the Primordial Beasts. Others felt jealousy over the fact that he was this cared for by a hero like Xiao Lei when he, in fact, was just a normal village boy who happened to share Xiao Lei's blood.
In the city, the rumor about Xiao Lei returning brought great joy to the younger generation. All of them looked up to this hero and wished to become like him in the future, however, when they realized that he had returned with a young nephew who was around their own age they all were filled with envy.
When they heard that this nephew was even incapable of cultivating many of them had felt that it was heavenly retribution and some even felt smug about it.
This smugness vanished when they heard about the execution of the commoner, and all of them felt jealous again. What enabled this young man to be cared for so deeply? They wanted to have Xiao Lei as their mentor, but now that he was busy looking after trash, that dream had been shattered.
Some noble-born experts would go to visit the mansion where Xiao Lei and Xue Wei lived while bringing along their sons, but when they arrived the envy from their sons was simply too obvious, and they were sent away.
Shen Mu would sometimes come to visit. He was the only one who was allowed inside, and he was also the only one who Xue Wei tolerated to be near him apart from his uncle.
Although Xue Wei did not fully trust Shen Mu's motives, he had to admit that the other boy was very persistent, and also friendly. He never tried to cling onto Xue Wei. Instead, he would just sit down in the library and read books alongside Xue Wei.
Sometimes, Shen Mu would suggest that they left the mansion and although Xue Wei did not agree at the start, he slowly gave up against Shen Mu’s persistence and went to ask his uncle for permission.
When Xiao Lei heard that Xue Wei wanted to leave the mansion on his own, and furthermore together with Shen Mu, Xiao Lei was filled with happiness.
He then went to the storage room and, after a bit of searching, found a small bag which he filled with copper, silver, and gold coins.
The bag was bulging with coins, and Xue Wei looked shocked when he received it. "What is this?" he asked in surprise, but Xiao Lei just smiled and pushed it into Xue Wei's hands. "Take this and buy whatever you want in town! Don't worry about the price, I have killed more than ten Primordial Beasts; their corpses have fetched me a pretty penny, so I can definitely support your shopping spree!"
Xue Wei knew that there was no arguing with his uncle when he saw the great smile that was spread on his lips. Xue Wei could not help but sigh. He was feeling warmth in the deepest parts of his heart. It was clear just how treasured he was. Even if he was a useless trash in the eyes of others, his uncle would never consider him as such.
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