"How strange..."
Chen Ye glanced at the somewhat nervous Zhiwei, wondering to himself why this girl seemed so anxious. She seemed increasingly tense in front of her master.
He let go of her hand and swaggered ahead, leading his disciples through the streets.
The streets of Peach Mountain District, though far less grand than those of Moon Rhinoceros Lake District, were much wider and more bustling than those of Yunxi District.
Even after a great chaos, the streets were still bustling with people and traffic.
Qing Jun was like a bird that had just been let out of its cage, filled with curiosity about everything.
"Master, look! That sugar figure looks just like a little tiger!"
"Wow! Sister, look, that shop is selling pink flying swords!"
"Master, master, what kind of fruit is that? It’s so red, it looks delicious..."
Chen Ye found her chatter headache-inducing but patiently answered her questions one by one.
He led his two disciples to the largest clothing store in the market.
The store was filled with a dazzling array of brocades and silks.
As soon as Qing Jun entered, she was captivated by an ocher yellow ruqun embroidered with a pattern of hundreds of butterflies fluttering among flowers. She clung to Zhiwei’s hand, unwilling to leave.
Amused by her eager look, Chen Ye said to a staff member nearby, "Take down that ocher yellow skirt and the azure blue one beside it for these two kids to try on."
The azure blue long dress had a simple and elegant style, with only a few pear blossoms embroidered in silver thread at the cuffs and hem, matching Zhiwei’s cool temperament.
The two little girls changed into their new clothes and seemed like different people.
Qing Jun, naturally lively, looked even more charming and cute in the bright ocher yellow ruqun. Her silver-white hair, long enough to reach her calves, shimmered like flowing light and snow.
She joyfully twirled around, her skirt and hair swirling with her, like a little sun blooming in the spring breeze, so charming that one couldn’t tear their eyes away.
Zhiwei, on the other hand, dressed in that azure blue long dress, her ink-black hair cascading like a waterfall, set against her fair skin, looked pure and exquisite.
However, her innate chilly demeanor stood out even more, making her seem more distant.
Zhiwei fluttered her long eyelashes, feeling a bit uneasy under her master’s earnest gaze. She nervously fiddled with her skirt and cautiously asked, "Master?"
Chen Ye exaggeratedly acted like he was stunned before suddenly retracting his gaze, not withholding his praise, "Zhiwei looks so beautiful, she left her master speechless!"
"Master!"
The black-haired girl was caught off guard, her face turned red with embarrassment, and she bowed her head, staring continuously at her own toes.
Chen Ye chuckled inwardly, doing this intentionally.
His first disciple had too cold a disposition and needed his master’s warm enthusiasm to melt her!
If it were in a previous life, Zhiwei would likely be an introverted and dull elementary student, and for such a student, the teacher needs to give more praise daily to help them find their presence.
"Master, master, master, master!!!"
The little girl pouted, propping her hands on her hips, glaring fiercely at her master,
"Does Qing Jun look good?"
Hiss...
Asking is one thing, but why so fierce?
Chen Ye was a fair and even-handed master. He smiled warmly, "You look great. Our Qing Jun looks good in anything."
"Stare—"
The little girl was still unsatisfied, knitting her soft brows and squinting at her master.
"Ahem, you both left your master speechless."
As an expert in handling little girls, Chen Ye instantly realized why Qing Jun was upset and promptly added.
"That’s more like it!"
Qing Jun immediately beamed sweetly and suddenly placed her little hand into her master’s big hand.
Before Chen Ye could react, her gaze shifted, and she mumbled,
"Ah... Others hold little girls’ hands, only my master looks so pitifully... Since master bought pretty clothes for Qing Jun, let me reward my master!"
Chen Ye was taken aback, feeling the warmth and reliance in his palm, and he smiled, "Alright, then master is grateful for Qing Jun’s kindness."
The little girl widened her eyes.
Her master was so good with words! His words made her feel so comfortable!
Master should always be grateful for her generosity!
Chen Ye glanced at his elder disciple, only to see her bowing her head, her black hair cascading down, hiding her expression.
If he wanted Zhiwei to willingly offer him her little hand, that would be an impossible feat...
Chen Ye shook his head and used his other hand to hold Zhiwei’s cool little hand.
Her fingers moved slightly but remained silent, as if tacitly agreeing.
Alas...
These two little girls, how could they become the demoness and goddess of the future?
...
"Master, where are we going?"
The little girl was restless, her little hand fidgeting in Chen Ye’s palm, using her fingernail to pinch her master’s flesh stealthily, and tickling him with her fingers.
Finally, she wanted to impatiently withdraw her hand.
But the master’s hand was not a place a little girl could come and go as she pleased.
Chen Ye held Qing Jun’s little hand tightly: "Master is taking you to Peach Grove Collection, where loose cultivators usually sell their spiritual peaches."
Originally unhappy because her hand was controlled by her master, Qing Jun.
Upon hearing this, abandoned her struggle: "Ah? Spiritual peach! Master, let’s go quickly; Qing Jun has long wanted to taste the spiritual peaches from Peach Mountain District!"
Humph!
Such an undisciplined thing!
Zhiwei is better, always obedient when he holds her hand, never causing trouble.
Chen Ye shook his head and then led his two disciples toward the west market Peach Grove Collection, the most famous place in Peach Mountain District.
This time, he came out not just to help his disciples relax.
Another purpose was to observe the current spiritual peach business in Peach Mountain District.
The presence of that Cold Flame cultivator was like a thorn in the throat that Chen Ye couldn’t ignore.
If things went wrong, and that Cold Flame cultivator suddenly turned dark in a place unknown to Chen Ye, slaughtering him and his two disciples, their deaths would be too unjust.
Peach Grove Collection, as the name implies, is specifically a market for spiritual peach transactions in Peach Mountain District.
On both sides of the street were makeshift stalls, piled high with fresh red spiritual peaches, exuding an inviting fragrance.
The spiritual peaches of Peach Mountain District, though called spiritual peaches, were not of the upper grade, not even reaching Tier One Lower Grade, just peach with spiritual qi.
Of course, there were a few spiritual peaches that reached the upper grade.
It was said that in the Wei Family’s possession, there was even a tree capable of producing Tier One Upper Grade spiritual peaches, but the yield was so scarce they were mostly submitted to Lingyin Sect for use by cultivator elders only.
Chen Ye scanned the farmers one by one, perhaps one of these farmers was a relative of the Cold Flame Cultivator.
He led his disciples to a stall, seemingly by chance.
The stall owner was an old man, hair white with age, showing the marks of life’s hardships. The spiritual peaches before him were of excellent quality, full and round, yet no one paid any attention.
"Old man, how much for these spiritual peaches?" Chen Ye lowered his voice, casually asking.
The old man, hearing this, raised his muddy eyes slightly and replied weakly, "Twenty spiritual sand per pound."
This price was much cheaper than regular spirit rice.
But logically speaking,
since Peach Mountain District suffered from a cold disaster, reducing the production of spiritual peaches, their prices shouldn’t have fallen but rather increased?
A thought flickered in Chen Ye’s mind, and he asked, "I see that your peaches are of excellent quality, so why are they so cheap?"
The old man showed a bit of bitterness upon hearing this.
He sighed, glanced around, then lowered his voice, "Sigh, young friend you don’t know. The families of Peach Mountain District, under the guise of ’stabilizing prices to overcome difficulties,’ forcibly limit the sale price. If we don’t sell as they want, we have to sell at such low prices..."
He pointed to a few cultivators not far away: dressed uniformly, manning makeshift tall stalls.
"They’re the people from the Wei Family. As long as they’re around, there’s no hope for us small-time loose cultivators. Who can compete with the Wei Family?"
Chen was completely clear on the situation: the yield of spiritual peaches from Peach Mountain District was too slight to suffice.
To ensure that their benefits remained unaffected, those families devised ways to shift the loss of profit onto others. Who knows, perhaps, even when the output of spiritual peaches declines during such a calamity year, the situation only means they could reap more spirit stones by exploiting the peach farmers...