What made her even more embarrassed was that her father had no idea that the Steward he repeatedly warned her to stay away from was the very Brother Chen with exceptional talent in the Sword Dao whom he considered a close friend!
Li Qiuyun thought to herself: "How could father be so oblivious? Logically speaking... the rumors about Uncle Chen had spread everywhere previously..."
Yet she overlooked the saying that the onlooker sees more clearly than the involved party.
Li Yanfeng didn’t pay attention to outside rumors, much less think carefully about whether the two Spirit Plant Masters of Lingyin Sect were the same person.
She took a deep breath, a bit of reckless courage sprouting in her heart, she straightened her chest and daringly said, facing her father’s stern gaze, "Father, I... accompanied Uncle Chen to Peach Mountain District."
"What?" Li Yanfeng was taken aback at first, then his brows furrowed even more, "Accompany him? Why would you accompany him? Wait a minute...
At that moment, Li Yanfeng’s mind went blank.
Hmm?
His daughter was a guiding disciple of a newly promoted Spirit Plant Cultivator, and Chen Ye was also a newly promoted Spirit Plant Cultivator.
Li Qiuyun saw her father’s old face changing from blue to white, then from white to red, as if a dye factory had opened, and felt that if she stayed any longer, she might faint from shame on the spot.
She bit her lip, and while her father was still dazed, quickly tugged at Chen Ye’s sleeve, preparing to make a hasty retreat.
"Father, we’re leaving now!"
She called out hastily to her father, who was still standing there in a daze, and then turned without looking back, pulling Chen Ye along as she walked out.
"Hey—"
Li Yanfeng stretched out his hand in the direction his daughter left, wanting to call her back for an explanation, but when the words reached his mouth, he didn’t know where to begin.
Two young girls, as exquisite as carved jade, looked at each other in confusion, then quickly shouldered their little bags and followed their master step by step.
Before leaving, Zhiwei did not forget to turn around and bow respectfully to Li Yanfeng, "Senior Li, we’re leaving first..."
"Why does... something feel off?"
Li Yanfeng, seeing his daughter’s evasive appearance, stood there muttering to himself.
He suddenly regretted giving away his Sword Dao insights.
...
Three days later.
Peach Mountain District.
As the carriage approached the outskirts of the market, it unconsciously slowed down.
Chen Ye lifted the curtain, and the scene before him made his brows furrow.
Unlike the elegant prosperity of Moon Rhinoceros Lake District built by the water, Peach Mountain District resembled a weather-beaten border town.
The tall and heavy city walls were covered with intersecting new and old claw marks and scorched imprints from magical attacks. In some places, there were even obvious collapses, patched roughly with giant Spirit Wood and stones.
At the city gate, cultivators came and went hastily, most with worried and wary expressions, without the usual hustle and bustle a market should have.
"How did it... become like this?" Li Qiuyun looked at the desolate scene before her, her clear face full of confusion.
In her memory, although Peach Mountain District was not as prosperous as Moon Rhinoceros Lake District, it was one of the notable large markets in Guang’an County, always bustling with people. When had it ever been so dilapidated?
Chen Ye sighed inwardly. He had long known from Tian Nong that Yunxi District and Peach Mountain District bore the brunt of the cold disaster and Beast Tide, suffering heavy losses.
Previously residing in the stable sect and the prosperous Moon Rhinoceros Lake District, he hadn’t felt it.
But now witnessing it with his own eyes, he truly felt the severity of that natural disaster and human calamity.
"I suppose, it was the Beast Tide triggered by the cold wave back then... But fortunately, in the past month, the Beast Tide has ended."
Chen Ye looked at the many busy Loose Cultivators outside the window, feeling a sense of emotion.
He, too, had once suffered the onslaught of the Beast Tide in Yunxi District.
Only, he quickly joined the Lingyin Sect, receiving the sect’s protection.
"Alas, my several acres of Spirit Field were all frozen to death by that damn frost, fearing not a grain could be harvested this year..."
"What’s it to you! The Zhang family in the west were all... alas, not a soul left alive!"
"How are we supposed to live..."
On the roadside, several Loose Cultivators gathered, sighing and lamenting together.
Chen Ye remained silent, looking at these figures struggling to survive in the cold wind, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He himself, not long ago, wasn’t he also one of them?
If it weren’t for the proficiency panel, he might also be running around for a few Spirit Stones’ worth of medical fees, or might have already perished in some inconspicuous conflict or accident.
"Master..."
Unbeknownst to him, Zhiwei was now beside him, lightly tugging at his sleeve.
Chen Ye turned around, seeing the dark pupils of his eldest disciple filled with a hint of anxiety.
She looked at those Loose Cultivators in situations so similar to her and her junior sister’s past, her small fist unconsciously clenched.
And Qing Jun’s bright, round eyes also stared blankly at everything around.
The scene before them undoubtedly evoked the deeply buried memories of hunger, cold, and despair within them.
Chen Ye sighed inwardly, pulling his two disciples to the front, softly saying, "Don’t be afraid, Master is here."
He led the group, crossing the desolate streets, heading directly towards the Lisong Medicine Garden located on the west side of the market.
...
When the Lingyin Sect’s carriage slowly passed by, those anxious Loose Cultivators retreated to the sides of the road like startled beasts, fearing to avoid it.
For these sect cultivators, ordinary Loose Cultivators avoided them like the plague.
Just as Chen Ye once did.
Amidst the crowd, a slender girl wrapped most of her face in a gray headscarf, exposing only a pair of dull eyes.
Her chin was sharp but obscured by the scarf, preventing others from seeing her features.
This person was Lin Qiongyu.
Currently, she anxiously squeezed inside the Herb Pavilion of the market.
Ever since the cold disaster, her sister’s coughing ailment had worsened, with regular medicine being ineffective. Only the Lung Cleansing Powder sold by the Herb Pavilion held a sliver of hope.
As for that Profound Yin Pill she had risked her life to bring back...
It turned out to be a counterfeit fake pill!
"Next!" A fatty Steward behind the counter impatiently knocked on the table.
Lin Qiongyu hurried forward, placing a worn-out bag on the counter, her voice both humble and pitiful, "Steward sir, I... I wish to request a packet of Lung Cleansing Powder. This is all my family’s possessions, still short by twenty Spiritual Sand, I wonder if... could you please make an exception? I will definitely repay double in the future!"
The Steward glanced at the pile of Spiritual Sand in the bag and looked Lin Qiongyu up and down, seeing her powdered face with apparent disdain: "Exception? Hmph, you think Lingyin Sect is running a charity hall? If you don’t have Spirit Stones, get out of here and don’t block the way for others!"
"Sirs, my sister, she..."
"So what if your sister lives or dies? That’s none of my business." The Steward interrupted her rudely, shoving her Storage Bag aside, as if not wanting her to block others behind.
Once upon a time, she was also a Fairy adored by many in the Market, never had she faced such humiliation.
Her slender fingers touched her chin gently, actually... as long as she took off her veil, with her looks, she could exchange it for many Spirit Stones.
But now because of certain Illness she developed in response to stress...
As these thoughts raced through her mind, she absentmindedly noticed a commotion on the street, and the crowd suddenly began retreating to the sides.
Looking up dazedly, she saw a Red Cloud Steed pulling a grand carriage smoothly down the center of the street.
The Fatty Steward who had just ogled her was now shouting at her to move aside and was hastily tidying himself up, ready to quickly move to the carriage and greet the new Steward.