The snow cleared and the sun appeared, fragmented plum blossoms spun in the morning light.
The clouds hadn’t completely lifted at the horizon, making the sky above appear especially pure.
The endless blizzard had finally lost its momentum,
Chen Ye breathed on his hands, grateful for the storm’s pause.
Previously, as the weather worsened, it always filled him with worry.
As the saying goes, when something is out of the ordinary, it must have a reason.
Especially in the Cultivation Realm, behind unusual weather, there often lies some reason.
Chen Ye leaned against the door frame, looking at the courtyard scenery, rarely finding leisure, the fatigue from days of intense cultivation quietly dissolving.
At this moment,
Qing Jun was tiptoeing to reach the remaining snow on the plum branches, while Zhiwei squatted silently in the corner, accumulating the fluffy snow grains into a small mountain.
The warm morning sun brushed against his face.
He suddenly felt an extreme tranquility around,
the sound of the wind brushing the green bricks, the crisp sound of icicles melting and hitting the ground, all became a distant backdrop.
"Senior Sister, look out!"
A white shadow flashed, snow burst open at the tips of Zhiwei’s hair.
The big girl was startled into sitting in the snow, the tip of her hair still stuck with half a petal of plum blossom.
Qing Jun had already hidden behind the old plum, giggling and peeking out.
Chen Ye watched Zhiwei slowly stand up.
The eldest disciple was always like this, never angry even when teased, just brushing the snow off her clothes with a bowed head, fine hairs falling to cover her brows and eyes.
But when Qing Jun let her guard down, she suddenly formed a snowball and accurately hurled it at the gnarled branches of the plum tree.
The old plum trembled, shedding countless silver flakes, covering the White Furred Ball from head to toe.
"Ah!" Qing Jun emerged with a head full of snow foam, her nose frozen red, angrily pouting: "Senior Sister, you played tricks!"
The Black Furred Ball remained expressionless, making the little girl feel uneasy inside.
Lu Zhiwei’s face was pale, her lips lacking color, her chin slightly pointed.
Her hair, reaching her calves, fluttered gently in the wind, catching falling plum blossoms.
She looked extremely aloof.
She silently squatted down, gathering her little snow mound.
Her slender fingers sank into the snow, delicately feeling the cold.
The Black Furred Ball closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
Qing Jun nervously swallowed, not daring to throw the snowball in her hand.
Suddenly,
the little girl sneakily glanced at her master, who was staring off into space, pondering something unknown.
She really wanted... to hit the master.
She had always wanted to hit the master,
Hit with a stone! Hit with a knife!
Couldn’t hold back! Hit, hit, hit!
"Master!"
The White Furred Ball summoned her courage and suddenly hurled a snowball at Chen Ye.
Chen Ye instinctively brought two fingers together like a knife, the Geng Metal Qi released then retracted.
In the end, he let the snowball splat on his shoulder, the cold sliding down his collar and reaching his back.
"Qing Jun!"
Chen Ye narrowed his eyes,
frightening the little girl into standing straight, her little body rigid: "Master, Qing Jun knows her mistake!"
"Know your mistake?"
Chen Ye tossed a snowball, aiming at Qing Jun’s head.
It lightly tapped the little girl’s head.
The little girl whimpered, closed her eyes, and took the hit.
But after receiving this snowball,
Qing Jun understood that the master wasn’t really angry...
Yet she didn’t dare provoke him again, squatting alone under the old plum tree, mimicking her senior sister in building a snowman.
Chen Ye felt a bit disappointed.
Actually, he rather wished Qing Jun would continue hitting him, so they could play around as master and disciple.
"Master, Qing Jun... Qing Jun just wanted to play with Master."
The seemingly aloof big girl couldn’t stay put any longer, hurriedly ran over, wiping him with her sleeve.
"It’s alright, Master isn’t angry."
Chen Ye caught the girl’s frozen hand, frowning,
"Play in the snow if you want, just don’t let your hands freeze."
The big girl instinctively tried to pull back her hand, but her little hand was firmly wrapped in her master’s rough palm:
"Zhiwei, understood."
She wasn’t playing in the snow...
But the man before her didn’t understand at all, still rubbing her small hands warm against his palm.
Zhiwei bit her lip.
Her hands, barely grown cold, were suddenly warmed by Chen Ye.
Chen Ye released his grip in satisfaction:
"Alright, go on and play. Master infused some Spiritual Power, your hands won’t get frostbite now."
"Oh..." The big girl walked away sullenly.
Chen Ye chuckled quietly to himself,
How could he not know that Zhiwei was intentionally tormenting her hands?
Yet knowing was one thing, there was nothing Chen Ye could do about it.
A simple truth,
If he were to advise Zhiwei now, would she even listen?
A single misstep and it could easily cause Zhiwei to become anxious and flustered—no one wants their darker nature exposed to others.
"Take it slow..."
Just watching the disciple grow day by day, skills improving bit by bit.
The feeling seems quite nice?
"Good disciple, grow up quickly, so Master can cling to you..."
Chen Ye glanced at the two disciples with their little short legs, deciding to increase their nurturing.
...
In the evening, the neighbor paid a visit again.
"Senior Chen, how did the little ones like the pastries this morning?" Lin Qiongyu asked with a warm smile, carrying an exquisite box.
She wore light makeup, her looks charming, exuding a youthful beauty.
Originally, he too was a young man...
Chen Ye nodded, his tone polite: "Very good, the disciples liked them. Taoist Friend Lin, if you have any matters, please speak quickly. I’m still busy cultivating."
Chen Ye was quite wary of this young female cultivator.
The prettier the female cultivator, the more trouble they bring.
Especially a female cultivator as cunning as Lin Qiongyu.
Chen Ye just wanted to level up quietly without inviting unnecessary trouble.
Even though these two had a grudge against his past self, Chen Ye was too lazy to seek revenge now.
Waiting until he was stronger to seek revenge would be more satisfying, wouldn’t it?
Fade back, build strength, rise with momentum!
"Senior, no need to be so courteous. Qiongyu came with some important news."
Lin Qiongyu, unperturbed by Chen Ye’s indifference, eagerly handed him the box, her slender fingers brushing over the back of his hand.
"Senior, have you heard of the Inner Gathering on Shunshui Street?"
"Inner Gathering?" Chen Ye hadn’t heard of it, he’d always mingled in slums and wasn’t familiar with the workings of the Market.
Lin Qiongyu began to explain:
"This morning, I inquired about your skills because of this, but couldn’t clarify earlier."
"The so-called Inner Gathering is essentially a loose circle formed by Loose Cultivators, bringing in familiar people for exchange."
Chen Ye listened and vaguely understood.
It’s nothing more than expanding business among familiar people, attracting trusted Loose Cultivators to form a circle.
Beyond trading, the more important aspect is networking.
After all, most Loose Cultivators harbor vigilance towards the outside world, making it difficult to establish connections with others.
Now, the Inner Gathering turns benefits into bonds connecting these Loose Cultivators.
"Don’t underestimate the Inner Gathering, Senior. For example, on Shunshui Street, there’s a Pill Master Hu who often needs a Spirit Plant Master to help take care of Spiritual Medicines because he’s lazy to handle it himself. If you build a good relationship with Pill Master Hu, you’ll have a continuous stream of Spirit Stone income."
Lin Qiongyu said longingly.
Chen Ye was surprised after hearing this.
An Alchemist is generally capable of some Spirit Plant skills, enough to handle everyday Spiritual Medicines.
Yet this Pill Master Hu would rather spend Spirit Stones to hire a Spirit Plant Master than do it himself, illustrating the wealth of an Alchemist.
"Speaking of Spirit Plants, I remembered the Loose Cultivator you mentioned yesterday, Taoist Friend Lin, could you tell me more?"
Chen Ye suddenly interrupted Lin Qiongyu, staring directly at her.