Chapter 58: Fellow Daoist Ge’s Prey
Three months later.
While shopping for supplies in the marketplace, Lin Chang'an once again ran into Ge Li.
“Fellow Daoist Lin, come, let’s go have a few drinks together.”
Ge Li was covered in dust, his expression still carrying a trace of displeasure, while Lin Chang'an smiled and nodded. Inwardly, he was also a bit curious, wanting to find out where the other party had purchased the formation.
After all, advanced formations were not something ordinary cultivator clans possessed. In the entire Yue Kingdom, they were almost entirely monopolized by the three major sects.
Inside a private room in the restaurant.
After three rounds of wine, the travel-worn Ge Li could no longer hold back his grievances and began talking about his experiences over the past period.
“Those bastards clearly agreed to put in effort together. It took us great effort to lure a second-rank demon beast into the formation, yet each harbored their own schemes, causing the formation’s power to drastically weaken.
They obviously wanted to use others to do the killing and swallow everything for themselves. The beast wasn’t even dead yet, and those black-hearted scoundrels were already getting impatient. If I hadn’t run fast enough…”
As Ge Li cursed loudly, a hint of lingering fear surfaced in his expression.
Lin Chang'an, upon hearing this, consoled him, “Fellow Daoist Ge, one may know a person’s face but not their heart. In the cultivation world, we’ve both experienced much—this is something we should already understand.”
“I just couldn’t accept it.”
Ge Li looked aggrieved as he spoke about how much he had lost this time.
“Fellow Daoist Lin, you don’t understand. I nearly didn’t make it back this time, and all the belongings I painstakingly saved up over the years are gone.”
Lin Chang'an offered consolation, but inwardly he couldn’t help feeling something was off.
However, looking at Ge Li’s miserable appearance, he suppressed that thought for now.
……
Several days later.
Ge Li once again invited Lin Chang'an to meet at the restaurant.
“Fellow Daoist Lin, the more I think about it, the more unwilling I feel. I’ve lost most of my belongings. Though I’m not skilled in combat, if I don’t take a gamble, I can forget about reaching Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. You’re someone I can rely on—this old brother of yours is willing to bet once more!”
Ge Li looked like a desperate gambler, his bloodshot eyes staring at Lin Chang'an, as if saying that although he was gambling with his life, he was still willing to place his trust again in order to achieve Foundation Establishment.
“Fellow Daoist Ge.”
Lin Chang'an, who had originally wanted to offer some comfort, suddenly thought of something and became alert.
First came the invitation, revealing the intention to hunt demon beasts. After being refused, he cooperated with others, lost most of his belongings, and barely escaped with his life.
Anyone hearing this would feel sympathetic and let down their guard. Now, with another proposal for cooperation, expressing his trust in you…
This was a complete show of weakness!
At this thought, Lin Chang'an felt a chill down his spine. Looking again at the thick-browed, big-eyed Ge Li in front of him, he feigned a hesitant look and finally sighed helplessly:
“Fellow Daoist Ge, I’m not someone with great ambitions. Things are so chaotic outside right now, with Ghost Three Blades running rampant. I’d rather wait until things settle down.”
Lin Chang'an put on a worried look about the turmoil in the marketplace, which made Ge Li inwardly furious. He still refused to go?
Damn it, what a turtle.
……
After leaving the restaurant and facing the cool breeze of the marketplace, Lin Chang'an recalled Ge Li’s pitiful expression at their parting and couldn’t help growing cautious.
“Perhaps I guessed wrong, but it’s never wrong to be cautious.”
He had seen incidents of betrayal before.
Back then, he and Er Niu had experienced it firsthand—an old friend of many years lured them out and tried to kill them for their valuables.
And the reason was merely the temptation of two spirit stones. Fortunately, he and Er Niu were broke at the time and narrowly escaped.
That case was only discovered because the perpetrator was caught in the act. It turned out he had done it more than once.
“Fellow Daoist Ge, although your words are tempting, I still prefer to trust myself.”
Lin Chang'an shook his head inwardly. Ge Li, having lost most of his fortune and presenting himself as weak, raised his vigilance.
This pattern felt a little too familiar.
……
Meanwhile, inside the restaurant, Ge Li, who had put on a pitiful display, now wore a rather unpleasant expression.
“Damn it, still not taking the bait.”
As the door opened, two cultivators walked in, patting the storage pouches at their waists and speaking in low voices:
“Boss, what do we do if he doesn’t take the bait?”
“Guess that brat’s just lucky. We’ll switch to another target.”
At this moment, Ge Li’s eyes were filled with viciousness, nothing like his previously honest appearance.
……
“Junior Sister Lu?”
Walking along the marketplace street after purchasing some supplies and preparing to return, Lin Chang'an happened to see Lu Qingqing carrying a child, and couldn’t help but pause in surprise.
Usually, this little junior sister rarely went out. Why had she come out today, and with a child no less—and even carrying a wooden box?
“Brother Lin.”
Upon running into someone familiar, a trace of awkwardness flickered in Lu Qingqing’s eyes, but she quickly smiled and brushed aside the green strands of hair at her ear.
“Shen Lie has been so busy these past few days, he’s barely been home. I saw he looked quite haggard, so I came to check on him.”
Hearing this, Lin Chang'an couldn’t help but sigh at Shen Lie’s good fortune.
“Junior Sister Lu, the marketplace hasn’t been too safe lately—let’s go together.”
Arriving at the other end of the marketplace, they soon spotted Shen Lie in front of his stall. Aside from the daily deliveries, Shen Lie spent most of his time selling leftover demon beast meat at his stall.
“Top-grade demon beast meat, guaranteed quality.”
“Old Shen, you really work hard.”
“Haha, I’ve got a son at home. If I don’t work hard while I’m young, won’t that kid suffer for it when I’m old?”
Shen Lie laughed and joked with the few fellow stallholders, but from a distance, Lin Chang'an and Lu Qingqing both came to a stop, their expressions turning quiet.
Beneath Shen Lie’s smiling face were pieces of high-grade demon beast meat on display, but he was eating dry and coarse Fasting Pills.
Fasting Pills and Fasting Elixirs differed by just one word, but the gap between them was vast.
“No wonder.” Lu Qingqing murmured softly after stopping to watch this scene. Beside her, Lin Chang'an tactfully stepped away.
“Junior Sister Lu, I’ll go purchase some talisman materials nearby. You go find Brother Shen.”
“Thank you, Brother Lin.”
Lu Qingqing took a deep breath, carrying the child and wooden box as she walked over.
“Qingqing, why are you here!”
Shen Lie looked at Lu Qingqing and their child in astonishment, awkwardly holding a cheap Fasting Pill in his hand.
“What else could I be here for? You’re a cultivator in the late-stage Qi Refinement. Don’t let your cultivation suffer.”
Lu Qingqing smiled sweetly as she took out the homemade meal from the wooden box—prepared with top-quality spirit rice and demon beast meat.
“I…”
Shen Lie’s gaze flickered in embarrassment, but when he looked down, his eyes had already turned red. Lu Qingqing pretended not to notice, her face full of smiles as she played with the child by her side.
“Go ahead and eat. I happened to run into Brother Lin, so the child and I will head back afterward. Don’t worry.”
“Alright.”
As Shen Lie lowered his head to eat, crystalline drops fell into the bowl.
Lu Qingqing, playing with the child as if nothing was wrong, had eyes already turning red.
From a distant shop, Lin Chang'an happened to witness this scene and let out a soft sigh.
A man could endure any hardship outside, but what hurt the most was when someone suddenly showed him care.
With Gathering Immortals Tower gone and the chaos in the marketplace, Shen Lie still had to pay rent each season and cover cultivation expenses. He wasn’t alone—he had a wife and child.
He didn’t want his child to follow in his footsteps. So when he discovered that his son had spiritual root talent, he started laying the foundation from an early age.
He wasn’t a talisman master, nor an alchemist. He couldn’t rely on depleting his reserves, so he had to plan ahead.
Selling high-grade demon beast meat, Shen Lie had just gotten started. That’s why he chose to earn very little in exchange for stable clientele.
So outsiders only saw that Shen Lie had once again propped up a life, but didn’t see the hardship behind it.
More importantly, after using a Barrier-Breaking Pill to break through, Shen Lie knew his potential had greatly diminished, so he shifted his focus to raising the next generation.
“Reporting only good news and not the bad—perhaps that’s the responsibility of being the pillar of a family.”
Lin Chang'an’s expression was tinged with envy, but more than that, it was filled with determination.
His path was still long. It was not yet time to stop. If he were to seek a Dao companion, it had to be someone who could walk the road with him.
Not someone who would stop halfway, adding sorrow to a lonely path.
“This cultivation world truly fills one with yearning, and yet… is somewhat detestable too.”
Looking up at the beauty of heaven and earth, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators flying by, Lin Chang'an muttered with a complicated expression.
In that moment, Lin Chang'an seemed to gain an epiphany, and the world before him felt just a little clearer.