The ruggedly dressed man sat on the ground, covering his cheeks with his hands, sighing in pain.
It wasn’t until he saw Chen Ye standing by the stall that a glimr of hope appeared on his face:
"Fellow Daoist, do you need a Silver Scale Flower? Just selling it for... ten Spirit Stones!"
Chen Ye was quite tempted. Although the Silver Scale Flower was critically ill, it was just right for him to practice his spell proficiency.
But ten Spirit Stones were still too expensive; he currently only had twelve in savings, and if the flower died, he’d have nowhere to cry.
Besides, Chen Ye had just arrived in this world, so having more Spirit Stones gave him confidence.
"I’m just looking, just looking."
Chen Ye smiled awkwardly and hurriedly left with Qing Jun.
He had just carefully observed the Silver Scale Flower and found the situation not as dire as the goatee old man had said, likely trying to deliberately lower the price.
...
Next, Chen Ye’s heart was pounding continuously.
It was ti to take his senior disciple Lu Zhiwei ho.
The junior disciple Xu Qingjun seed dangerous at first glance, trying to feed him poison tea upon arrival.
But after getting familiar, Chen Ye found this little girl easy to get along with.
He wondered what kind of personality the senior disciple had.
In the ga, Xu Qingjun was the World-Ending Demoness, while Lu Zhiwei was the Divine Maiden.
Logically, Lu Zhiwei should be easier to get along with than Xu Qingjun, right?
After a while, Chen Ye, with Qing Jun, reached a bustling street.
Compared to the chaotic free trade zone, the environnt here was quieter, and the cultivators passing by clearly had higher cultivation levels.
Finding the shop with "Myat Pill Pavilion" written on the sign, Chen Ye hesitated at the main entrance before knocking on the side door.
A robust maid half-opened the side door, revealing half her body, scrutinizing them.
Seeing a muddy cultivator with a dirty little girl wanting to enter the side door, she made a move to close it: "Go, go! Beggars should go to East Market!"
The East Market was the official na for the Loose Cultivator Free Trade Zone.
Chen Ye quickly stuck his foot in the door gap, squeezing out a smile: "Fairy, fairy, please wait, I am Lu Zhiwei’s master."
The robust maid chuckled: "That’s novel, first ti soone called that. Lu Zhiwei’s master, huh? Fine, co in first."
Chen Ye relaxed slightly, following the maid to the shop’s backyard.
Upon entering, a sour and bitter dicinal sll hit him in the forehead.
The backyard’s blue brick floor was soaked with dark brown dicinal dregs, and two chubby maids were scrubbing half-human-tall bronze pill furnaces.
The furnace walls were caked with thick dicine residue; the scraping of the bronze brush made a creaking sound, sending chills down the spine.
"Hurry up! The Pavilion Master still needs to make pills tonight!"
The steward woman stood with hands on hips under the corridor, grinning when she saw Chen Ye,
"Yo, isn’t this Lu Girl’s master?"
Chen Ye, wearing an embarrassed smile, moved half a step back, nearly getting sprayed by the woman’s spittle.
In a corner, a heap of Fire Stones was piled up, and a small figure in a gray cloth shirt squatted there, sorting through them, suddenly shivering at the noise.
Was this his senior disciple?
Judging by the back, the senior disciple, though a year older than the junior disciple, was similar in size—equally frail and small.
The ink-black hair cascaded like a waterfall, tied together with a piece of straw rope.
From behind, it looked like a tuft of black fur.
"Zhiwei——"
The steward woman elongated her tone, picked up a weighing beam, and struck the girl’s knees,
"Are you dead? Your master is here to take you ho for comfort, why are you still fiddling, like I’ve mistreated you."
Lu Zhiwei stumbled from the strike, silently turning around.
Chen Ye studied the older girl without leaving any traces.
Hmm, still a bit taller than Qing Jun, the jet-black bangs covered her brows and eyes, exposing a cut on her sharp chin, and her ears were red and swollen, obviously yanked by Wang Po.
"Master."
Zhiwei called softly, her voice calm like dead water.
Wang Po, full-faced with at, smiled until her eyes were not visible:
"Master Chen, you are our Pavilion Master’s sworn brother; how could Wang Po mistreat her? Look, this little girl is well-raised."
Seeing the black-furred tuft walking slowly, she impatiently frowned, wanting to kick it on the butt, but a long whip wrapped around her ankle.
Chen Ye gripped the Bone-Scraping Whip tightly, still smiling:
"Wang Po, my disciple is clumsy, why not let take her back for discipline? Zhiwei, co to your master."
Behind the bangs of the black-furred tuft, her eyes moved slightly; she obediently walked to Chen Ye’s side, looking down at the small girl clamped under Chen Ye’s arm.
Qing Jun’s eyes showed a trace of apology, timidly offering the oil paper package to her senior sister.
Zhiwei thought for a mont, glanced at the package, and shook her head almost imperceptibly.
"What’s happened today, Master Chen? Got so nerve? We address you as Master Chen, and you really think you’re a master."
Wang Po spat a thick phlegm, about to erupt,
Chen Ye suddenly stepped forward, interrupting her:
"Wang Po, what do you an by this? Do you want to fight to the death?"
Wang Po sneered, her eyes full of ridicule: "Who wants to fight you to the death, you lazy bum? It’s nothing, what’s Master Chen getting at?"
Chen Ye sighed: "Turns out, Wang Po knows I’m a bum. Lazy, reckless..."
Wang Po snorted, saying nothing.
Chen Ye looked at Zhiwei’s injuries, besides those from before, many were sustained at Myat Pill Pavilion.
He added: "I, Chen Ye, live carefree, just want to live freely. If Wang Po doesn’t want trouble, then don’t give trouble."
Wang Po was montarily stunned.
Why was this bum still being serious? Usually shaless...
This person truly had nothing to tie him down, despite having two disciples, yet life under him was worse than death, why would this cold-hearted scoundrel care?
Wang Po laughed: "What’s Master Chen talking about? I was just helping Master Chen discipline the disciple."
Though her tone softened quite a bit, at the core she was rely a miscellaneous worker at Myat Pill Pavilion, with only a Third-Layer Qi Cultivation, her heart was still uneasy facing a Fourth-Layer Qi Cultivation hooligan.
Chen Ye cupped his hands: "Then, I ask Wang Po to settle my disciple’s wages."
"No problem, no problem."
Wang Po had already prepared, lifting a small money bag and tossing it to Chen Ye.
Chen Ye caught it, counted it in front of her, and suddenly frowned:
"Wang Po, this isn’t right, you promised twenty pieces of Spiritual Sand per month, why are there only fifteen?"
Wang Po’s face wrinkled with fat, smiling eagerly: "I didn’t short-change Master Chen any Spiritual Sand, subtracting the dust tax, left with fifteen, right? Fine, I’ll add five Spiritual Sand for Master Chen myself."
"What a joke, what has wages got to do with dust tax? Didn’t I pay for bringing the apprentice into the city myself?"
Chen Ye put on a rogue act with a cheeky smile.
The crackling sound of the Bone-Scraping Whip smashing through the air, flew past Wang Po’s ear.
He gently shook his wrist, coiling the whip around his waist like a spirit snake.
"Oh dear! Mother of mine!"
Wang Po scread, clutching her bleeding ear, trembling while pointing at Chen Ye,
"Where did you get the nerve! Sobody, co! Go call the guards!"
The robust maid scattered in fright, calling for the guards inside Myat Pill Pavilion.
Chen Ye boldly patted Zhiwei’s furry head:
"Zhiwei worked at Myat Pill Pavilion for five months, yet you kept deducting her wages. If you treat your own like this, what of the loose cultivators outside? To think, Myat Pill Pavilion, famous among loose cultivators, is so black-hearted."
"Good! Since you’re incorrigible, I’ll make a scene, let the market know Myat Pill Pavilion’s nature!"
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