The young man in front of Meng Hao was maybe a couple years younger than him. The clothing of the Southern Domain was different than what Meng Hao was used to, but he could tell the young man was a scholar.
The young man bowed low again, "Senior, please forgive me for my rudeness. I saw three men who are part of a bad group following you. I was going to try warning you, but when I caught up, I saw that all three men were knocked out on the ground!
"You are obviously very strong! Please help me get to the next village, Senior! I simply must take a test I have been studying over a year for!"
Meng Hao's expression didn't change as he considered the young man. On one hand, he didn't want to get involved in local troubles. Getting involved or standing out would not be smart while he was searching for a place to break through to Foundation Establishment. On the other hand, the young man in front of him reminded him of himself before he joined the Reliance Sect. In fact, he could even see small tears and scuff marks in the young man's clothing.
The young man was probably poor like Meng Hao had been.
When the young man stood up, Meng Hao asked, "What is your name and why are you asking for my help?"
"Apologies for not introducing myself, senior!" The young man bowed again. "My name is Zhang Jie. My father died when I was young and my family is very poor. My mother used all the money she could save to allow me to study. I want to make money to help my family's situation!
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I came to this village for a scroll to study before taking my test next week. However, the test is in the next village, and the local gang knows I am carry money to take the test! They don't dare attack me in a village, but while I am travelling I will be in danger. I have no hope but to ask someone for help, but nobody wants to get involved. Nobody is strong enough!
Please help me, senior!" The young man bowed so low he was almost bent double.
Meng Hao was conflicted. He didn't want to get involved either, but he had sharp memories of not having any money, of taking loans to move toward his own dream. Not only that, this young man, Zhang Jie was relatively selfless and seemed to have a good nature. Meng Hao made up his mind.
"I will help you."
Zhang Jie looked incredibly relieved but also somewhat guilty. He seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before finally saying, "Senior, I must tell you of a rumor I heard. The rumor is that the local gang has a family member who is an immortal. I heard the immortal may be here for a while but he is very unreliable. Naturally, If we run into an immortal, we will have no hope."
Meng Hao's expression didn't change, but he nodded and his eyes slightly glittered. He was wasting time and he should be searching for a place with thick spiritual energy to reach the next stage of his cultivation, but the situation he found himself in was getting interesting.
Any daoist that would act like a petty bandit and even mortals would call "unreliable" would absolutely be no higher than Qi Condensation. Meng Hao was utterly confident that he could completely outmatch any other cultivator in the Qi Condensation stage due to being at the extraordinary 13th level of Qi Condensation.
"Let's leave soon," Meng Hao nodded. His eyes glittered again and he got a strange expression. If they could see his expression now, several people that ran into Meng Mao in the past would tremble in their hearts!