Chapter 30: A Debt to Repay

Lin Yue stood before the residence.

Ao Kuiba appraised her for a moment.

She had come here for a reason, her attire was well-kept but her aura was troubled and her one hand constantly gripped the strap of the satchel that hung from her shoulder.

"What happened?" Ao Kuiba asked.

Lin Yue hesitated.

"My family needs help."

Ao Kuiba leaned against the front door.

"Then find someone who can help."

Lin Yue looked down.

"I did."

Lin Yue’s voice became quiet.

"My father was arrested three days ago."

Ao Kuiba’s expression darkened slightly.

"For what?"

"They accused him of violating a city cultivation regulation."

"Did he?"

"No."

Lin Yue met his gaze.

"My family owns a spiritual herb business. We also own a small plot of land outside the western district. There’s a spiritual spring under it. Not very strong, my family has been using it for generations."

Ao Kuiba listened carefully.

"Two weeks ago, the Ironwood Clan came."

Ao Kuiba listened carefully.

"They claimed that the land belonged to them. My father showed them the ownership records, they dismissed him and offered him money."

"How much?"

"Enough to buy several pieces of property within the outer district."

"And he refused."

"Yes."

Ao Kuiba gave a simple nod.

"What happened after that?"

"Their people returned with city officials. They accused my father with illegal modification of a cultivation formation connected to the spiritual spring."

Lin Yue clenched her hand.

"My father has never touched that formation. He can barely understand it."

Ao Kuiba regarded her.

"You want me to get him out."

"I want you to help me prove that he didn’t do this."

Ao Kuiba was silent.

Lin Yue exhaled.

"I know you have no reason to get involved."

"Correct."

Lin Yue gave a simple nod.

"I thought you might say that."

She did not protest.

That caught Ao Kuiba’s attention.

Lin Yue glanced at the street.

"When you first arrived here, you did not know anyone. Elder Gu and the rest of us still helped you. We did not know what you were or where you came from or even if you were going to cause us trouble."

She gave a small smile.

"But we helped anyway."

Ao Kuiba was reminded of Azure Creek.

The first people that greeted him upon his arrival in Azure Cloud City.

The journey in, the direction’s he was given, the introductions he received.

None of which asked for anything in return.

Lin Yue noticed his silence.

"You don’t owe us anything."

Ao Kuiba looked at her.

"I dislike owing people."

Lin Yue blinked.

Ao Kuiba stepped away from the door.

"Take me there."

She smiled.

"Thank you."

"Don’t thank me yet."

Ao Kuiba shut the door behind him.

"I’m doing this to repay a debt. That is all."

They walked in silence as they passed through Azure Cloud City.

Lin Yue explained the situation along the way.

Her family was not a powerful one, they had survived by taking care of their business and avoiding trouble with larger clans. The plot of land in the outer district had belonged to them for generations.

The spiritual spring within it had always been useful, but recently it had begun to output more than usual.

That is when the Ironwood Clan came to them.

"How strong are they?" Ao Kuiba asked.

"The patriarch is at Core Formation."

Ao Kuiba said nothing.

Lin Yue glanced at him.

"There are also several in the family at Foundation Establishment."

"I asked how strong they are."

Lin Yue paused.

"The patriarch is the strongest."

"Then we will deal with him if necessary."

She looked at him.

"You sound very calm."

"I don’t see a reason to be nervous."

Lin Yue gave a faint smile.

"You really don’t know how to make people feel better."

"I’m not trying to."

Eventually, they arrived at the western district.

The buildings grew smaller as they approached the edge of the city, most were occupied by merchants, farmers and low-level cultivators.

Lin Yue’s family plot of land was near the edge, a wooden fence surrounding the property and beyond it a few fields of spiritual herbs.

At the center of them all was a small stone building.

Ao Kuiba paused at the entrance and studied the land.

Something about it felt off.

Not the land, the formation below it.

He crouched beside one of the marking points.

His fingers hovered over the surface.

The formation had been tampered with.

He could tell just by looking at it, someone had altered the flow of energy within it.

It was not very complex but the changes made did not fit with the original structure.

Lin Yue noticed his expression.

"What is it?"

"Someone changed the formation."

Her expression darkened.

"Can they tell when?"

"Recently."

She looked at the house.

"My family didn’t do that."

"I know."

Ao Kuiba stood and looked towards the spiritual spring.

The formation still operated, someone had changed it but not ruined it.

That meant that whoever had done it knew what they were doing.

Ao Kuiba said nothing else as they continued towards the city detention facility.

Lin Yue’s father sat in a small room behind an iron formation, he looked tired as he saw his daughter approach.

"Yue’er."

"I’m fine, Father."

She stepped closer.

"He’s here to help us."

Her father looked up at Ao Kuiba for a moment.

Then he seemed to notice the horns and golden eyes.

"You are the dragon from the auction."

Ao Kuiba gave a simple nod.

Lin Yue’s father looked at Ao Kuiba carefully.

"Why would someone like you help my family?"

"He doesn’t like owing people," Lin Yue said.

Lin Yue’s father looked at his daughter.

Then he laughed quietly.

"I see."

Ao Kuiba ignored the remark.

"Tell me what happened."

Lin Yue’s father recounted the events.

The Ironwood Clan had arrived two weeks ago, they had brought a group of cultivators and demanded ownership of the land. When he refused, they left.

Three days later, city officials arrived and accused him of destroying the spiritual spring formation.

He had been arrested before he could even inspect the formation.

"Did they show you any evidence?" Ao Kuiba asked.

"Only a formation report."

"Who wrote it?"

"I don’t know."

Ao Kuiba nodded.

Before he could ask another question, a couple of footsteps echoed from the outside.

Several cultivators entered the facility, the man at the front wearing dark green robes with the crest of the Ironwood Clan stitched onto his chest.

He stopped when he saw Ao Kuiba, his eyes sliding over the dragon horns.

"So you’re the outsider."

Ao Kuiba looked at him.

"Do I know you?"

The man’s face darkened.

"You don’t need to."

He stepped closer.

"This matter concerns the Ironwood Clan and the Lin family. You have no place in it."

Lin Yue stepped forward.

"You have already taken my father."

The man ignored her, his eyes still on Ao Kuiba.

"We heard you caused trouble at the Violet Cloud Summit."

"Then you heard correctly."

The cultivator smiled.

"You think buying one item at an auction makes you important?"

Ao Kuiba did not respond.

"This is Azure Cloud City. You are an outsider," the man continued. "Don’t assume people here will tolerate you simply because you managed to frighten a few weak cultivators."

Lin Yue frowned.

Ao Kuiba remained still.

Another cultivator stepped forward.

He looked at Ao Kuiba’s horns and laughed.

"Does this dragon think his bloodline makes him special?"

Ao Kuiba finally looked at him.

The man released his cultivation energy, revealing himself to be at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The pressure in the room grew, several guards backing away.

Lin Yue’s father looked concerned.

Ao Kuiba did not move.

The cultivator smiled.

"Leave."

Ao Kuiba stared at him.

"No."

The man’s smile vanished.

He stepped forward.

"Then you’ll leave after we’ve made you."

His spiritual energy exploded as his fist shot forward.

Ao Kuiba moved aside, catching the man’s wrist with his hand.

The cultivator’s eyes widened in shock as Ao Kuiba looked at his hand.

"You should have listened."

Ao Kuiba pulled the man forward, sending him flying.

Ao Kuiba released him and watched as the man’s body crashed onto the floor.

The room fell silent as Ao Kuiba looked at the remaining cultivators.

None of them moved.

Ao Kuiba’s eyes turned cold.

"Who else wants to try?"