"Huh? What’s going on?" Chen Ye was taken aback.
He saw Zhiwei tiptoeing with a measuring tape in hand, seriously... starting to measure his figure.
"Senior Sister, what are you doing?" Qing Jun, who was nearby, curiously came over, completely ignoring the master’s reward.
Zhiwei’s face turned even redder at her question. She hid the tape behind her back and stammered, "I... I want to see... if the master has grown up."
"Pfft..." Chen Ye almost coughed up old blood.
Qing Jun was laughing so hard she bent over: "Shame on you! Senior Sister is blushing! It’s the master who should see if we’ve grown up! The master is so old, how could he still grow taller? Yes! The master is an old man! So old that nobody wants him!"
"I... I didn’t!" Zhiwei stomped her foot in embarrassment and anger, yet she insisted on carefully measuring Chen Ye’s figure.
The young girl, initially amused, gradually sensed something amiss.
She...
Why did it feel like Senior Sister was about to betray her again?
It must be an illusion!
The more the young girl thought about it, the more confused she became.
Chen Ye looked at the suddenly silent young girl, sensing that the atmosphere was a bit off.
He inwardly wondered, "Strange, it’s just measuring a figure..."
Unable to make sense of it after thinking it through, Chen Ye simply waited for Zhiwei to finish measuring, then pulled the two little girls into his arms with a smile, saying:
"Alright, since that’s the case, let the master measure your figures instead."
He had the two nine-year-old girls stand back to back against the old pine in the courtyard, taking out the tape.
After a series of measurements and conversions into his previous life’s units.
Zhiwei’s height was 142 centimeters, while Qing Jun was 140 centimeters.
The two disciple’s heights were not much different, and with adequate nutrition, their height was not much different from children of the same age.
As for Chen Ye, having practiced the Body Refining technique, he was nearly two meters tall.
"Senior Sister is just a teeny bit taller than me!" Qing Jun pouted in dissatisfaction, looking at the two-centimeter difference.
Zhiwei maintained a serious face, "Senior Sister should be taller than Junior Sister!"
In fact, she felt a small sense of joy inside.
Even though...
In the master’s heart, she couldn’t compare to her Junior Sister; her cultivation was also caught up by her Junior Sister, and she wasn’t as likable as her Junior Sister.
At least, she was taller than her Junior Sister...
This meant she could grow up faster than her Junior Sister!!
Looking at the two girls’ innocent and lively demeanor, Chen Ye’s heart softened:
"Actually, the master thinks... it’s nice that you two are always little dumplings."
"Gasp!"
The young girl was shocked; indeed, the master is like Taoist Zhang!
He only likes children!
...
Just as Chen Ye was enjoying this rare "family moment," an unexpected visitor arrived outside Lisong Valley.
A figure stood gracefully at the valley entrance, hidden by the array formations.
She was draped in a wide black cloak, hiding her exquisite figure and her gentle, charming face in the shadows.
Only those eyes, peeking out under the hat brim like autumn water, revealed a hint of resolute yet apprehensive complex emotions.
Under her seemingly conservative black robe, she wore a provocative dance dress she had never worn before.
Lin Qiongyu never thought she would wear this dance dress in her lifetime...
This was her last gamble.
Since everyone already considered her a gold-digger, she might as well truly act like one this time.
Using her only capital, she hoped to exchange it for a lifeline for her sister.
Lin Qiongyu took a deep breath, ready to step forward and knock on the invisible array’s barrier when an old voice came from behind: "Who are you, girl? What business do you have here at my Lisong Valley?"
Lin Qiongyu was startled and turned to look.
She saw an elderly woman with white hair, looking at her while leaning on a cane.
Granny Li, upon seeing her face beneath the black cloak, was momentarily taken aback before uncertainly saying, "You... are you... that daughter of the Lin family who lives next to Steward Chen?"
Lin Qiongyu was even more astonished, never expecting to meet an old neighbor here.
What surprised her even more was that this family, which she remembered to be as poor as hers, would now appear in such a heavenly sect site!
"Granny Li... I, I want to see Steward Chen. I hope Granny Li can relay the message."
Lin Qiongyu’s slim fingers clutched the corner of her cloak, feeling an inexplicable shame.
Just as she finished speaking,
Granny Li’s expression shifted, wondering what it meant for a beautiful lady to visit a robust young man in the dead of night?
Moreover, Lin Qiongyu didn’t have a good reputation in Yunxi District, allegedly toying with Xue Chengjun and draining him dry.
However,
Granny Li may look down on this girl, but in a certain sense, she is just Chen Ye’s attendant now, so she naturally can’t act on her own.
After pondering for a moment, she finally spoke up, "Lin Family girl, wait here for a moment. I, this old woman... will inform Steward Chen for you. But whether he wants to see you or not, this old woman cannot guarantee."
"Hmm..."
Lin Qiongyu, feeling the strange gaze of Granny Li, was immediately filled with embarrassment, and she replied softly.
Qiongyu... you can do this!
Even if Chen Ye may not be interested in women, he is still a man after all!
The girl suddenly looked at the wooden house of the Li Family inside the light curtain, spacious, bright, and with its own small courtyard. Her emotions grew more complicated.
Inside the courtyard, the Spiritual Qi was abundant, the house was tidy, and there was even a small herb garden in the corner where a few Spirit Grass were thriving. Such an environment, where Spirit Plants could be directly cultivated, might have a Spiritual Qi several times higher than even the top-grade Cave Mansions in the Market!
This family... indeed has risen to heights!
And all of this, just because they were once the neighbors of that man.
Why?
I am also his neighbor... I took care of his two apprentices when he was not around, and risked my life to warn him in the Cloud Clothing Pavilion.
Is all that still not enough to repay Xue Chengjun’s beating...
The point is, it wasn’t even her who beat him, and she never opposed him, nor did she leech off him.
The girl in the black robe lowered her head, clutching her clothes ever more tightly.
Sourness, jealousy, even resentment, all these emotions surged from her heart, twisting it for a moment.
"Chen Ye... no matter what, I must make you... bow down beneath my skirt!"
...
"Lin Qiongyu?"
Chen Ye thought he misheard when Granny Li informed him.
How long had it been since he last saw Lin Qiongyu?
He remembered this person leaving Yunxi District after killing Xue Chengjun and returning to her hometown.
Who would have thought, Lin Qiongyu’s hometown turned out to be in Peach Mountain District!
"Is this woman trying to cozy up to me because she sees me as the new manager of Lisong Valley?"
Chen Ye pondered silently.
He didn’t have a good opinion of Lin Qiongyu. In Yunxi District, he was extremely cold to her, even ignoring her plight later on.
This kind of woman relied on her looks to entrap male cultivators to obtain Spirit Stones.
In his past life, she would have been called a "gold-digger."
"I just didn’t expect, even with my cold treatment, she still tries to warm herself with coldness... Is this the allure of Spirit Stones?"
Chen Ye chuckled and shook his head,
"Please, Granny Li, send this person out of Lisong Valley. I have no past ties with her, no need for formalities."
Granny Li nodded with satisfaction.
She knew Chen Ye was strong-willed, never swayed by beauty.
From Yunxi District till now, Chen Ye had climbed to the position of Lisong Valley’s manager, yet never had any woman by his side.
Except for Li Qiuyun, who was a guard assigned by the sect and naturally did not count.
"Oh? Sister Qiongyu!"
At the moment, two apprentices were sitting obediently beside Chen Ye, listening to their master’s teachings on cultivation methods.
The little girl, upon hearing Lin Qiongyu’s name, grew a little excited:
"Master, master, why not let Sister Qiongyu come in! I really miss Miu Miu!"
Miu Miu was a black fur creature Lin Qiongyu raised.
Perhaps due to her bloodline, Qing Jun had always had a deep affection for small animals, like Yuanyuan, and this Miu Miu.
"Ah, this..."
Chen Ye hesitated immediately, seeing or not seeing Lin Qiongyu wasn’t important.
But what mattered was making Qing Jun happy.
"Qing Jun..."
Zhiwei witnessed this, tugging on Qing Jun’s sleeve.
She pursed her lips, and a rare trace of displeasure showed on her face,
"Master said not to see Lin Qiongyu, then we won’t see Lin Qiongyu! Don’t interfere with Master’s decision..."
"Uh?"
The little girl pouted unhappily, she didn’t understand, didn’t Sister had a good rapport with Sister Qiongyu before?
Why does Sister seem unhappy now hearing Sister Qiongyu’s name?
"Fine, Master doesn’t want to see her, so we won’t see her then..."