Chen Ye opened Xue Chengjun’s package, and there weren’t many items inside.
Seventeen Spirit Stones, a First Tier Middle Grade Red Flood Dragon Spear, and a book of the Red Flood Dragon Spear Technique.
"Better than nothing."
Chen Ye put away the Spirit Stones and Pills, and merely flipped through the spear technique without much interest.
However, it could be useful for Qing Jun.
As for Lin Qiongyu...
Chen Ye shook his head; a chance encounter only, and thoughts were futile.
He then inventoried the assets of the three Tribulation Cultivators.
These three were all paupers, and the only valuable item was a First Tier Middle Grade Magic Robe.
It had withstood over a dozen of his Geng Metal Qi attacks at the time.
But now it was almost destroyed, not worth many Spirit Stones.
The rest of the resources were assorted, totaling approximately one Lower Grade Magical Artifact, two Middle Grade Magical Artifacts, and ten Spirit Stones.
It wasn’t that they had only these possessions, but given they were out for murder, they must have left most of their assets at home.
So even if they failed, they could leave some resources for their families.
"Members of the Stone Mirror Association, huh..."
Chen Ye recalled the one vaguely familiar man among the three.
This man had once followed behind Tian Feng and had met him once.
But why did the Stone Mirror Association want to kill him?
Chen Ye furrowed his brow and suddenly remembered Old Man Ye.
Back when buying Spiritual Medicine at Herb Hall, the old man had recognized him at once and was very enthusiastic.
At the time, Chen Ye was puzzled,
he had changed a lot, so how did the old man recognize him?
Later, in casual conversation, he learned that it was from a banquet by Luo Heng that Old Man Ye had found out.
After all, with the Bone-Scraping Whip at his waist, the feature was quite distinct.
"In any case... the word probably got out, but it likely wasn’t Old Man Ye who spread it; he had contact with the Six-leaf Mysterious Ginseng even before I did."
It was probably because of this Mysterious Ginseng that he was targeted by the Stone Mirror Association.
But the good thing was that Stone Mirror Association wasn’t aware of his strength and only sent three cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage.
The Stone Mirror Association was cautious and prudent but never expected this medicinal farmer, Chen Ye, to have such skills.
Because by normal standards, a cultivator’s time and energy are limited.
Especially in a profession like a Spirit Plant Master,
where one must cultivate, practice the Spirit Plant Technique, and spend a lot of energy treating Spirit Plants.
The time left for sharpening techniques and combat is minimal.
But unfortunately,
Chen Ye had a proficiency panel, allowing him to practice skills rapidly.
An ordinary Spirit Plant Master takes years to achieve Great Success in a Spirit Plant Technique.
But for Chen Ye, it only took a few days!
"The Yunxi District Outer Sect disciples’ big competition is imminent; after this setback, the Stone Mirror Association won’t likely make more trouble at this juncture..."
In the stillness of the night,
Chen Ye sat cross-legged in the Cultivation Room but didn’t start cultivating immediately.
He watched the wind and snow outside gradually subside, and the moonlight once again illuminated the earth, yet his heart was not at peace.
The chaos of the day, Ping Zhuo’s tragic death, the appearance of the Demon Cultivators, the ambush by the Stone Mirror Association...
All these things left Chen Ye physically and mentally exhausted.
Recently, he hadn’t had time to play with the two little ones.
Both he and his apprentice have been busy with cultivation...
"Once I become a Spirit Plant Master Steward, there’ll surely be time to spend with them..."
Chen Ye gathered his thoughts and began practicing the Spirit Plant Technique he hadn’t touched in a while.
The assessment for becoming a Spirit Plant Master was approaching; he needed to become proficient.
But he hadn’t been practicing for long when
the door to the bedroom was gently pushed open a crack.
A small figure, holding a quilt, tiptoed in.
It was Qing Jun.
"Master..." she whispered, with a hint of fear in her voice.
"Qing Jun, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?" Chen Ye asked gently.
These days, Qing Jun had been through a lot of scares.
She was quite young, so it was normal to be frightened.
The little girl couldn’t even lift her head to look at Chen Ye: "Master, Qing Jun... Qing Jun is scared... wants to sleep with Master..."
Her voice grew softer as she spoke, almost inaudible by the end, her face flushed red with embarrassment.
Chen Ye was taken aback.
He looked at the little girl in front of him, holding her quilt, gazing at him with hopeful eyes.
But... sleeping with Master?
He, a man in his forties, with his little apprentice...
Chen Ye felt hesitant, but seeing Qing Jun’s tear-filled phoenix eyes,
and her thin, still slightly trembling small body, any reservations in his heart were instantly cast aside.
He was an orphan and knew what a child needed most when frightened.
"Then... then what about Senior Sister?" Chen Ye deliberately asked.
"Senior Sister... Senior Sister said she’s not afraid! She told Qing Jun to come find Master!" Qing Jun immediately said, fearing the Master might change his mind.
Chen Ye nodded,
Indeed, Zhiwei had seen Ping Zhuo’s corpse before without fear, and she even dared to stand in front of Chen Ye and argue with Junior Brother Liu with reason.
"It’s just... Qing Jun, do you really want to sleep with Master?"
Chen Ye hesitated and asked again, feeling a bit strange.
Qing Jun... seems quite resistant to his contact, huh?
The white furred ball puffed up her cheeks: "Master is so noisy!"
"Alright, alright..."
He sighed, patting the mat beside him: "But, Master’s bed is small, it can’t fit two people. Tonight, we’ll sleep on the floor."
Saying so, he got up, spread his own bedding on the ground, and signaled Qing Jun to bring her blanket over as well.
The cultivation room wasn’t large, and as soon as the two blankets were spread, they almost filled all the empty space.
Seeing this, Qing Jun’s eyes lit up, and she immediately hugged her little blanket and laid it right next to the bedding Chen Ye had prepared.
The little girl quickly slipped into the covers, leaving only a furry little head exposed, with big bright eyes looking at Chen Ye.
Cute enough to melt Chen Ye’s heart.
Chen Ye also lay down and covered himself.
A narrow gap separated them, with each having their own blanket.
"Master, don’t look at Qing Jun, go to sleep!!"
The little girl always had to take three-tenths of the blame, even without reason.
Clearly, she was the one staring at him, yet told him not to look.
"Alright, alright..."
Chen Ye suddenly remembered,
He seemed to still need to practice the Spirit Plant Technique?
Forget it, keeping the little disciple company to sleep was more important.
Chen Ye contentedly abandoned the thought, but couldn’t help looking at the little head next to his shoulder:
"Qing Jun, about those three people’s things today, why did you say they were your treasures..."
He had been very curious at the time about why Qing Jun said that.
The little girl squinted her eyes, her voice low: "Master... things you shouldn’t know, don’t ask... ouch! Master is bullying Qing Jun again!"
Chen Ye flicked Qing Jun’s forehead in frustration, too lazy to bother with her.
This little girl is even trying to be mysterious with Master?
Chen Ye turned over, facing his back to Qing Jun, and fell into a deep sleep.
Seeing Chen Ye close his eyes,
Qing Jun let out a sigh of relief.
Hmph!
Stupid Master!
When Qing Jun masters her cultivation, isn’t everything that belongs to Master also hers then!
"Supreme... Emotion Crossing Technique? What a strange cultivation technique."
Qing Jun quietly moved closer to Chen Ye, furrowing her brows with a bit of grievance, her little nose twitching.
How annoying...
This cultivation technique even requires taking in the Master’s awful smell!
"Should I tell Master about this cultivation technique?"
But for some reason, there seemed to be a voice deep within Qing Jun urging her not to tell Master.
And this voice... sounded very much like the sister who saved her that day, whom Qing Jun trusted from the depths of her heart.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
A black furred ball lay straight on the bed, all alone.
Her eyes were lifeless as she questioned life.
What... is going on?
Why does Qing Jun not even want Senior Sister anymore!
Dare she... dare she actually let Chen Ye sleep with her!
Until late at night, Zhiwei still couldn’t fall asleep.
Her eyes opened and closed, then closed and opened again.
Finally, she carefully tiptoed out of bed,
creeping over to the cultivation room door, gently pushing it open just a crack.
The cultivation room was pitch black,
but she could see two shadowy figures lying on the floor.
Qing Jun was smacking her little lips, sleeping soundly.
Her little head kept burrowing into Chen Ye’s arm, mumbling in her sleep: "No... don’t sleep! Qing Jun needs to cultivate..."
Idiot!
Clearly she’s asleep, yet talking about cultivation!
Zhiwei pouted softly, quietly crawling back into bed.
Outside, the wind and snow howled, the bed feeling empty and vast.
The older girl, who always slept perfectly straight, gradually curled up under the covers.
"...Why, exactly, is it!"