The cold wind howled.
Unknowingly, another winter was here.
Moon Rhinoceros Lake was shrouded in ominous clouds, and the loose cultivators hurried by with anxious expressions.
Though the situation was dire, quite a few loose cultivators still lurked about, selling spiritual objects with sly looks.
Occasionally, one could spot traces of dried blood on the corner of a spiritual object.
Perhaps they were acquired through some unscrupulous means.
Chen Ye and his group walked through the Market of Moon Rhinoceros Lake, heading towards White Poplar Villa.
"Phew—"
Qing Jun exhaled a breath of warm air, her sparkling eyes peeking out from her rabbit fur scarf,
"Master, when the winter disaster hit Yunxi District back then, were you just like them?"
She pointed at the loose cultivators setting up stalls.
The loose cultivators appeared uneasy, quickly putting on flattering smiles when they saw her gesture.
This group exuded extraordinary aura.
They were not someone loose cultivators could afford to offend.
In fact, even if they were to rob the treasures off the stalls, no one in the vast Moon Rhinoceros Lake District would dare to stand up for them.
Chen Ye looked over with a slight daze and smiled:
"Yes. Perhaps they also have children waiting at home?"
"Is that so..."
The little girl gazed at a middle-aged loose cultivator selling spirit plants. Unlike others, he wasn’t selling blood-stained magical artifacts but rather self-cultivated spirit plants.
Could it be that he also had a little one waiting for him at home?
Soon,
Qing Jun realized her assumption was wrong.
In such a world, who would dare leave a little one alone at home?
Behind the loose cultivator squatted a filthy little girl, hugging her knees, looking at her with trepidation.
"Uncle Changhe, give me some spirit stones, hurry!"
Qing Jun righteously extended her small hand to the man in brocade beside her, who chuckled wryly:
"Little ancestor, isn’t your master right here?"
Xu Changhe said with his mouth.
But he eagerly took out a Middle Grade Spirit Stone from his Storage Ring.
This little ancestor had finally come to him for help, so Xu Changhe couldn’t possibly shirk his responsibility!
Who would have thought,
The little girl snorted and shook her head: "A Lower Grade Spirit Stone is enough. A Middle Grade Spirit Stone could buy their lives!"
She remembered it clearly.
Her master used to earn only four to five spirit stones a month.
This one Middle Grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to two years of income!
To save that much, it might take four or five years.
"That’s... not necessary, right?"
Xu Changhe laughed it off, preaching,
"Qing Jun, if you want to buy the life of a Qi Refining early period loose cultivator, even with a Middle Grade Spirit Stone, it’d at least take two Middle Grade Spirit Stones."
Finally, he had a chance to educate the little girl, to show some usefulness.
He was secretly pleased, only to hear the girl scornfully say:
"Oh, you’re so stupid. If you just give it to them, someone is bound to want to kill and snatch the treasure! Isn’t that the price of their lives?"
The smile on Xu Changhe’s face stiffened slightly, turning into a bit of embarrassment.
He, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, was being taught a lesson by a little girl in return.
He lightly coughed, silently retrieving the attention-drawing Middle Grade Spirit Stone, and with a swipe on the Storage Ring, a small bag of Lower Grade Spirit Stones appeared in his palm.
"Here." Xu Changhe handed over the Spirit Stone Bag to Qing Jun, self-deprecatingly saying, "Little ancestor is right, I was mistaken."
Qing Jun nodded with satisfaction, took the Spirit Stone Bag, tossed it nonchalantly to the father and daughter, and no longer spared them a glance.
The little girl naturally wrapped herself around Chen Ye’s arm, rubbing her small face against her master’s warm crook, shielding herself from the trivial cold wind:
"Master, let’s go quickly! It’s our first time working together as master and disciple!"
Indeed.
Considering Qing Jun had already caught someone’s attention, Chen Ye simply decided to bring Qing Jun and Zhiwei with him to White Poplar Villa.
Though this seemed dangerous, it was actually the opposite.
With a number of Foundation Establishment cultivators by his side, leaving Qing Jun alone at Herb Pavilion would be truly dangerous.
Chen Ye’s gaze scanned over the delighted father and daughter, especially the little girl’s dirty face.
He sighed lightly, fearing that Qing Jun was feeling a connection from the scene.
He said nothing more, only raising his hand to gently rub the top of Qing Jun’s head:
"Hmm, let’s go."
The group didn’t linger any longer, and once they left the market, they flew with sword control towards White Poplar Villa.
The cold wind swept up the dried leaves from the ground, swirling them down at the feet of the father and daughter who were left behind.
The middle-aged loose cultivator clutched the Spirit Stone Bag tightly, his throat choked.
"Dad..." The little girl timidly tugged at her father’s clothes, "Can we... really..."
"Yes!" The middle-aged loose cultivator straightened up abruptly, nodding vehemently, "Let’s go! Daddy will buy medicine and boat tickets right away. Then... then we’ll seize the chance to leave here! Leave this damned place!"
He held his daughter, seemingly remembering something, murmuring softly: "You must remember the benefactor’s appearance. If possible, we must repay this life-saving grace someday!"
"Yes!"
...
The outline of White Poplar Villa came into view.
It was an estate built against the mountains, flourishing with spirit plants, surrounded by a grove of white poplars.
The surface of the villa seemed ordinary, with the barrier light curtain flowing steadily, and even mortals could be seen diligently working within.
"Creak—"
The heavy villa gate opened, and a middle-aged cultivator with a worried look hurried out with a few stewards, led by none other than the manor master of White Poplar Villa.
He spotted Chen Ye at a glance, as if seeing a savior, and rushed a few steps forward, bowing deeply, his voice filled with trepidation:
"Guardian Chen! You’ve finally come! We’re innocent, completely innocent! Steward Sun and the others lost contact after coming to hand over spirit plants yesterday... We would never dare to show them any disrespect! Please, Guardian Chen, investigate the truth and clear our names!"
His tone was anxious, genuine, and sincere.
If Chen Ye didn’t know there was something else going on, he might have actually believed his words.