Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Hibernation

“Amazing!”

After experiencing extreme sorrow and joy, the loose cultivator’s legs trembled, and he squatted in the snow, wiping his face.

It’s not his fault for being excited; for an ordinary loose cultivator, a Spirit Flower is worth half a year’s savings.

The loose cultivator had just caught his breath when he saw the smile on Chen Ye’s face.

His face flushed, and the coarse man suddenly became as shy as a new bride: “Master Chen, your exceptional skills are truly miraculous… I, Zhou, really underestimated you! I deserve a beating!”

With that, he gave himself a loud slap.

Not satisfied with just one slap, he was about to hit himself again.

Chen Ye hurriedly grabbed his wrist:

“No need, no need! It’s my fault; while concentrating, I forgot to explain it to you in advance.”

Zhou grinned sheepishly with his gapped teeth:

“No, no, no! If Master Chen had explained it beforehand, I, Zhou, would never have allowed Master Chen to continue the treatment!”

If he hadn’t seen Chen Ye’s exquisite blade skills with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have dared to let Chen Ye continue the treatment no matter what.

And now, with the freezing weather, even a small delay could have caused the Bright Flower to freeze to death.

Thinking this through.

Zhou felt even more grateful; Master Chen truly has skillful and benevolent hands! He even considered this detail for him!

The more he thought about it, the more guilty Zhou felt.

He had been too impulsive before!

He trembled as he dug out a Spirit Stone from his inner pocket and handed it to Chen Ye.

Suddenly remembering something, he untied the wine gourd he was holding against his chest: “This wine, I brewed it five years ago with half a Spirit Fruit mixed with mountain spring water, and I’ve always been reluctant to drink it… Master Chen, please don’t mind, have a sip.”

The previous one loved wine, and everyone nearby knew it.

Chen Ye took the wine gourd, still warm, and tilted his head back for a gulp. The strong liquor burned his throat painfully; he wiped his mouth and smiled: “Good wine! Much better than the Cyan Bamboo Wine from the tavern at the east end of the shanty!”

Zhou’s tense shoulders finally relaxed. He made a living in the mountains and didn’t dare offend Chen Ye, the medicinal farmer.

It’s known that Spirit Plant Masters in the market charge much higher consultation fees than Chen Ye.

They eye the valuable Spiritual Medicine, and the overly eager loose cultivators are like greedy lions when they open their mouths.

Two little girls clung to the door frame, watching intently, their clear pupils reflecting the arc of the Spiritual Light.

Until Chen Ye sheathed his blade,

Zhiwei reached out, grabbed her sister by the back collar, and hurried back inside.

The previous one never allowed them to watch him treat Spirit Plants.

“Master is so amazing!”

Qing Jun couldn’t really understand, but seeing Zhou and the neighbor’s change in expression, she also realized Chen Ye’s craftsmanship was outstanding.

Zhiwei, rarely, didn’t retort: “It seems… a bit.”

…

“Another Spirit Stone earned.”

Chen Ye joyfully tucked the Spirit Stone into his chest.

But thinking about selling the Silver Scale Flower directly for eighteen Spirit Stones, he felt quite uninterested in comparison.

Earning Spirit Stones this way was too inefficient!

The shanty area didn’t have that many Spirit Grasses needing treatment; it might take ten days or half a month to earn one Spirit Stone.

This was the method the previous one used to earn money; he had to find another way.

“Taoist Friend Chen, you really opened my eyes!” Hee Qi clasped his hands in admiration, his tone more intimate compared to the previous courtesy.

In the cultivation realm where the weak are prey to the strong, only by demonstrating value can one gain recognition from others.

The Spirit Plant Technique displayed by Chen Ye made Hee Qi feel a sense of closeness.

But wasn’t Chen Ye the same?

He capitalized on the situation:

“Brother Hee is joking. It’s just a trivial skill to feed three mouths. If you have any Spirit Plants in the future, feel free to entrust them to me!”

“Not at all; we are of a similar age, no need to call me brother. In the future, I hope Brother Chen gives me a fair price! If you ever want to eat Demon Beast meat, you can come to me!” Hee Qi laughed heartily.

Back and forth, their relationship became more familiar.

Hee Qi must have had considerable strength to come alone from Moon Rhinoceros Lake to the Three Thousand Great Mountains to hunt demons and even killed a Jade-Scaled Snake.

A make-do found a backer.

Chen Ye was in a good mood, having not only earned Spirit Stones but also made connections.

As soon as he got home, he couldn’t help but catch Qing Jun’s fluffy little head and ruffle it:

“Wait, Master will make roast rabbit for you!”

This little girl is always greedy; hearing this, wouldn’t she be drooling?

But things went against Chen Ye’s expectations.

The little girl’s face suddenly turned pale,

Earlier, when Chen Ye patted her head, the little girl would pretend to pout.

But now she was trembling, her thin legs shaking.

Like a frightened little rabbit.

Chen Ye’s heart tightened, and he instinctively withdrew his hand: “Then… then we won’t eat rabbit?”

The little girl bit her lower lip, her black and white eyes showing traces of blood.

She looked blankly at Chen Ye: “Qing Jun, always listens to Master.”

Chen Ye looked pleadingly at his eldest disciple.

The little apprentice, is she so fond of rabbits?

The girl with black hair silently grabbed the corner of her clothes, her dark pupils faintly visible between her bangs, staring intently at Chen Ye:

“Master, did you drink?”

Chen Ye awoke as if from a dream, covering his mouth, and exhaled into his palm.

The strong smell of alcohol spread between his fingers.

“So, it’s a trigger…”

The previous one had a peculiar habit.

When sober, his attitude towards the apprentice could only be described as indifferent.

Not close, yet not torturous either.

Only after drinking, he became disturbingly abnormal…

Qing Jun at this moment looked just the same as when Chen Ye first arrived.

After realizing something was wrong, Chen Ye hurried to the kitchen, rinsing his mouth repeatedly until there was no alcohol taste left.

Strangely enough,

once the alcohol flavor dissipated, Qing Jun’s vacant pupils gradually regained brilliance.

She blinked belatedly: “Eat… eat rabbit?”

“If you like rabbits, then master won’t grill it?”

“Like! No, I like to eat it!”

The little girl shook her head and nodded at the same time, her brain in a battle, with none of the previous gloom in sight.

Chen Ye forced a faint smile, though his heart felt somewhat heavy.

He roasted the rabbit for the apprentice right there.

With a pinch of flame, sparks landed on dry grass, sending up wisps of green smoke.

Qing Jun puffed out her cheeks and blew hard, coughing until she choked.

Zhiwei silently took off her rabbit fur coat, bundling dry firewood into bundles and stuffing them into the fire pit.

The moment flames leaped up, they lit up the eyes of the two apprentices, sparkling.

Chen Ye placed the frozen stone hare on the iron fork and suddenly said:

“From now on, Master won’t drink in front of you two.”

Droplets of oil fell onto the charcoal, sizzling quietly.

The two apprentices tacitly stared at the stone hare, not saying a word.

Perhaps they didn’t know what to say, or perhaps they didn’t want to believe his words, or maybe they were afraid to speak…

“Master.”

The tender voice made Chen Ye’s hand tremble; he looked up, full of hope.

The black-haired girl stared at the turning stone hare, the flames fragmenting into countless light spots in her pupils:

“Can Master show Zhiwei the Spirit Plant Technique?”

Chen Ye hesitated for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

He squatted down in front of the two girls, a cloud materializing in his open palm, the fine drizzle reflecting in their eyes.

“This is the Cloud Rain Technique, nourishing Spirit Plants, this is Disease Removal Saber, eliminating ailments…”

…

In the following four days, the weather did not improve.

The weather was too harsh.

Chen Ye did not go to the market but stayed with the two apprentices in the warm home.

During this time, he was not idle.

Whenever he had ample spiritual power, he would coil the Geng Metal Qi around his fingertips, increasing his proficiency in the Geng Metal Technique.

The remaining time was spent practicing the Three Spirit Plant Skills.

It’s worth mentioning that within these four days, under Zhou’s flattery, another Loose Cultivator came to request treatment of Spiritual Medicine, earning him a Spirit Stone.

Meanwhile, Hee Qi found a Spiritual Medicine in the Three Thousand Great Mountains.

But this Spiritual Medicine couldn’t be sold immediately and would gradually wither if left at home.

So, he offered three pounds of Demon Beast meat as compensation, asking Chen Ye for help with its care.

This transaction was hard to say whether it was a profit or a loss. If Hee Qi could not sell the Spiritual Medicine for a long time, Chen Ye would certainly incur a loss.

But appropriate interest exchanges can solidify relationships.

Without hesitation, he agreed to it.

“Phew, these days the improvement is not bad. The Three Spirit Plant Skills have reached Great Success, barely meeting the minimum standard of a Spirit Plant Master.”

“The Lingyin Sect annually conducts the Spirit Plant Master assessment alongside the Outer Sect competitions… But as Hee Qi said, due to heavy snowfall sealing the mountains, Lingyin Sect postponed the competition, which was originally ten days away. Now, who knows when it will be.”

Initially, Chen Ye felt a bit of regret upon hearing this news.

Once he passed the assessment, he would be officially recognized as a Spirit Plant Master, and earning Spirit Stones would be much more efficient than doing business among acquaintances.

But then, he thought that his Three Spirit Plant Skills were only at Great Success, barely meeting the standard.

Regular professional Spirit Plant Masters couldn’t possibly only know the basic Three Spirit Plant Skills.

“It’s better to wait, in case I fail, I’d have to wait another year! Once the Three Spirit Plant Skills are cultivated to Perfection, passing the assessment will be a sure thing!”

Chen Ye boosted his confidence, unfolding the panel:

[Name: Chen Ye]

[Lifespan: 40/72]

[Spiritual Root: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]

[Realm: Qi Cultivation Fourth-Layer]

[Cultivation Technique: Evergreen Technique Great Success: 80/200; Heavy Body Technique Minor Achievement: 77/100]

[Skills: Bone-Scraping Whip Minor Achievement: 30/100; Culinary Skill Great Success: 98/200; Disease Removal Saber Technique Perfection: 130/400; Fostering Technique Great Success: 2/200; Cloud Rain Technique Great Success: 2/200; Geng Metal Technique Perfection: 102/400]

Chen Ye couldn’t help but reflect.

The half-month since arriving felt like a dream, like a shadow.

Sometimes waking up from a dream, he thought he was still on Blue Star.

Until he saw the two sleeping little ones,

he finally understood that everything from the past could only remain in memories, never to return.

But fortunately, there was the ever-growing panel to give him courage, and two apprentices to ward off loneliness.

Chen Ye felt the bulging Spirit Stones,

Now, he had sixteen Spirit Stones and twenty-three Spiritual Sand!

Almost enough to rent a place at the market for eighteen Spirit Stones for half a year!

“Life is getting better and better.” Chen Ye was content.

“Brother Chen! Something terrible happened!”

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