Zhiwei awkwardly nestled in Chen Ye’s embrace, her cheeks burning fiercely.
Master... why is he holding me again?
And in front of Qing Jun!
Annoyed, she lightly hammered Chen Ye’s chest with her small fists, the force was feeble, more like a spoiled tantrum.
"Master, let go!"
Hmph!
This ’ungrateful’ senior disciple, annoyed with the master again?
Chen Ye looked down at the bristling senior disciple in his arms, deliberately teasing:
"Oh? If Master doesn’t hold you, should Zhiwei walk back by herself? The snow is so deep outside; if Zhiwei falls, Master won’t be able to find Zhiwei!"
The big girl took a deep breath, knowing that resistance was futile.
With a cold little face, she sat on Chen Ye’s arm, saying nothing.
"Angry?" Chen Ye became a bit nervous.
The dark-haired little ball puffed up and crossed her arms, coldly turning her small face away to maintain silence.
Hmm...
Seeing this, Chen Ye felt relieved instead.
"Sis!"
Qing Jun was shocked, her sister seemed so pitiful!
If it were her, she’d be entirely uncomfortable!
Chen Ye laughed heartily, freeing a hand to pull Qing Jun into his embrace too: "Master isn’t biased!"
"Ugh!"
Qing Jun’s hair stood up, seemingly making a joyful whimper.
Chen Ye held one soft little ball in each arm, striding home.
In his arms, the two little balls exchanged a knowing glance.
Chen Ye (Master) hadn’t changed at all, still as shameless as before!
However...
Tonight, he seemed much more relaxed than before.
...
In the cold wind, Lin Qiongyu looked dazed at the scene before her.
Senior Chen, truly... has a heart of stone?
Clearly the same question as before.
But now, the meaning was entirely different.
The master and disciples merrily returned home.
Only she stood alone on Shunshui Street...
Just then, Xue Chengjun approached eagerly:
"Qiongyu, you’re back. Was today smooth? Heard that a big figure from the Jade Lizard Association specifically asked for your company!"
Despite his words, the young man’s gaze held a hint of probing.
Seeing Lin Qiongyu’s normal demeanor, he discreetly sighed in relief.
Lin Qiongyu noticed his behavior, and an unnamed fire kindled in her heart.
This trip was anything but uneventful, yet Xue Chengjun showed no concern.
His main focus was still whether she had remained chaste.
Lin Qiongyu furrowed her brows and said coldly, "Whether smooth or not, what does it matter to you? Stop your nonsense here!"
Xue Chengjun’s smile froze, but he dared not rebuke, only awkwardly retreating to the side.
After venting some anger,
Lin Qiongyu suppressed her irritation and added gently, "Chengjun... I’m in a bad mood today, don’t mind me."
"I understand! Or else, how could Qiongyu bear to be stern with me..."
Lin Qiongyu snorted coldly to herself, were it not for the fact that this person still had some value, she wouldn’t even bother to placate him.
Thinking of Xue Chengjun’s impulsive and irritable nature, if he found out that Senior Chen was the "scoundrel" he injured before, who now demanded a hundred Spirit Stones.
He’d surely become enraged and seize Chen Ye’s precious disciples to threaten him... The consequences would be unimaginable.
Yet clearly, it was Xue Chengjun who acted impulsively on his own.
Lin Qiongyu sighed slightly, opting to temporarily conceal the truth, and directly returned to her own quarters.
"Squeak—"
The door closed, shutting out the external clamor.
Inside, the room was dimly lit, the copper mirror casting her slightly haggard yet still lovely visage.
She casually removed her hairpin, her waterfall-like hair cascading over her shoulders, adding a gentle, captivating allure.
The female cultivator chewed on the end of a wooden pen, staring at a family letter spread on the table, her brows knitted tightly.
The letter was sent by her family far away in Peach Mountain District, the handwriting delicate yet urgent:
"Yu, my daughter, receiving this letter is like meeting you... Your sister’s cough has worsened lately, coughing blood incessantly, the town doctors are helpless, claiming she needs Spiritual Medicine care, yet the family is financially strapped, truly hard to bear... Heard you’ve recently gained some fortune, might send five Spirit Stones home at your convenience? As medicine expenses for your sister..."
Five Spirit Stones...
Lin Qiongyu closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, she instinctively rummaged through her purse.
The sound of Spirit Stones clattering was crisp, but pitifully scarce.
She poured all the Spirit Stones onto the table, carefully counting them.
It was exactly what she’d managed to gather with great effort, deceiving resources from Xue Chengjun and selling some of her own, barely accumulating seven Spirit Stones.
In her mind, Chen Ye’s calm and somewhat indifferent face surfaced again, along with his unyielding demand for one hundred Spirit Stones.
"Return it a hundredfold..."
She murmured to herself, rarely showing a trace of childlike grievance and helplessness as she rested her forehead powerlessly on the cold table, muttering gloomily,
"Qiongyu really has no Spirit Stones left..."
...
Returning to the small courtyard on Shunshui Street, the room inside was warm and cozy.
Every so often, the two disciples cast curious glances his way.
How could Chen Ye not understand, they were curious about what he’d experienced?
Little kids... their curiosity is always strong.
Even Zhiwei is no exception.
Chen Ye cleared his throat, vividly narrating his own thrilling experiences at the Cloud Clothing Pavilion to the two disciples:
"...You didn’t see it, did you? That Luo Heng, seeming amicable, yet when he struck, he was ruthless! That fellow Kong Hongxuan, Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, was instantly crippled by Luo Heng? Tsk tsk tsk, the sound of the Dantian shattering could be heard clearly from a distance..."
Chen Ye deliberately lowered his voice, his gaze flitting to the window, as if the Jade Lizard Association people might come at any moment.
He deliberately exaggerated the tension at that time, painting himself as the key character maneuvering cleverly in the jaws of a tiger.
And meticulously depicted Luo Heng’s ruthless cruelty, Kong Hongxuan’s outcomes, giving listeners goosebumps.
Qing Jun was indeed taken in, sitting on a small stool, her little hands nervously clutching her clothes, her big eyes wide open.
Listening to the thrilling parts, she parted her lips slightly, inhaling sharply,
Upon hearing Kong Hongxuan had been crippled, she couldn’t help but clap her hands in delight, immediately covering her mouth, timidly peeking at Master’s expression with a look of fear mixed with curiosity.
Meanwhile, Zhiwei sat quietly on the other side, seemingly indifferent.
But she occasionally paused, subtly tilting her ear to listen, betraying the turmoil in her heart.
She experienced the dangers and treachery in the world Chen Ye described, even more deeply than Qing Jun.
This so-called Cloud Clothing Pavilion banquet was clearly a trap, Chen Ye could retreat unscathed and gain benefits.
This was definitely not as easy as he portrayed...
Chen Ye spoke until his mouth was dry, downed his tea in one gulp, observing the completely different reactions from the two disciples, secretly amused.
Suddenly, he changed the subject, his expression becoming somewhat serious, sweeping his gaze over at the two still naive disciples: "By the way, do you... want to cultivate?"
Qing Jun was taken aback, tilting her small head, curiously asking: "Cultivate? Like Master? Can send out golden light like swoosh swoosh swoosh?"
She spoke while mimicking Chen Ye’s way of releasing the Geng Metal Qi with her small hands.