Tale of an Ordinary Cultivator

Du Cuishan looked like a young man in his mid twenties, with small narrow eyes that others could hardly tell if they were opened or closed.

Though they were all inner disciples, Du Cuishan was unlike Huo Bubai and Liu Murou’s group that was dressed to the nines.

Instead, he donned a simple white robe that made him look neat and presentable. There was also a sincere air about him that made others feel naturally comfortable.

Zhao Yunxiao never had any personal interactions with Du Cuishan in the past, but he had definitely heard of the inner disciple.

Du Cuishan was widely known as a regular at the Sect Market.

To put it nicely, he was a great businessman who knew his stuff, possessing a keen eye that had helped him identify numerous gems that were hidden among trash.

To put it crudely, he was unscrupulous and loved lowballing others while buying and selling things at unreasonable profits whenever possible.

Of course, if that was all there was to him, few would want to trade with him at all.

But the confusing thing was that he does make regular trades at reasonable prices sometimes, making it difficult for others to tell when he was being sincere and truthful about his offers, or when he was trying to make a killing.

All in all, those who knew their stuff would find it pleasant working with him since he had access to a great network from where he could both obtain and offload items at great prices.

On the contrary, those who were unfamiliar with item values would be very nervous when dealing with him for fear of being scammed.

“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Du,” Zhao Yunxiao was the first to respond.

“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Du,” the two young ladies quickly added.

“May I know if there is anything we can do for you?” Zhao Yunxiao asked with a smile.

“Hahaha, do I need to have something done before I can come talk to my beloved junior martial disciples?” Du Cuishan said with a laugh. “Junior Martial Brother Zhao, we are all part of the same big family, so I just wanted to let you know that if you have anything you need in the future, you can feel free to approach me.”

“We appreciate the offer. That will help a lot,” Zhao Yunxiao expressed his gratitude with clasped fists.

At the same time, he noted that Du Cuishan had already done his research on them beforehand.

Some might feel flattered by the fact that an unfamiliar inner disciple knew them by name, but not Zhao Yunxiao.

He understood his own capabilities.

There was simply no reason for someone like Du Cuishan to be curious about him for no specific reason.

“Don’t mention it, don’t mention it. I’m more than happy to be of help to my fellow disciples!” Du Cuishan patted Zhao Yunxiao on the shoulder. “That said, is there anything in particular that you are looking for? I happen to know my way around here quite well, so perhaps I can be of help. I might even be able to get you guys some discount!”

“Thank you, Senior Martial Brother Du, but I have already purchased the things I need,” Zhao Yunxiao said before turning towards Gu Qiansi. “What about you?”

“I am done as well,” Gu Qiansi replied with a smile.

They were not.

However, they also understood that Du Cuishan was not truly here for them.

If they were to accept his help today, it would be akin to owing him a favour – a favour that Lu Zhiying might have to return in the future.

“So that’s the case. It’s good that you have managed to find all the things you need!” Du Cuishan smiled before turning to Lu Zhiying. “How about you, Junior Martial Sister Lu? Is there anything that you have taken a liking to? If there is anything like that, feel free to let me know. In fact, if it is not too expensive, I can even consider buying it for you as a welcome gift on behalf of my fellow sect members!”

Gu Qiansi looked at Lu Zhiying worriedly, afraid that the innocent young lady would say the wrong thing and end up owing a debt of gratitude.

Zhao Yunxiao, however, continued to look at Du Cuishan in a confident manner.

“Welcome gift?” Lu Zhiying observed the looks on Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi’s face before seemingly coming to a realisation. “Ah, I get it. Is he a wolf too, Senior Martial Sister Gu?”

Gu Qiansi: “...”

Du Cuishan: “...”

Zhao Yunxiao had to consciously suppress the smile that was threatening to appear on his face.

As expected of his Junior Martial Sister Lu.

By now, Zhao Yunxiao had learnt enough about Lu Zhiying to believe that she was not nearly as naive as she seemed.

Instead, he felt like she had been cleverly using her immunity status as a supposedly young and oblivious newcomer to get away with throwing subtle insults left and right!

Although there had been times when she almost failed to get away with it too...

“...What might she mean by wolf, Junior Martial Sister Gu?” Du Cuishan asked weakly, his calm disposition clearly impacted by what he heard.

“This...” Gu Qiansi felt the corner of her lips twitch.

What could she possibly say in this situation?

“My apologies,” Zhao Yunxiao interjected at this point. “Junior Martial Sister Lu’s train of thoughts are a little special, so we have a hard time catching on as well. That said, we have somewhere that we need to be right now, so we would have to get going. Once again, thank you for reaching out, Senior Martial Brother Du. We really appreciate it.”

“S-Sure,” Du Cuishan could only agree.

He, too, was at a loss for words.

In fact, he did not even know if he wanted to hear the answer to his previous question.

He was not sure if it would indeed be the case, but how should he react if the answer turned out to be exactly what he thought it was?

A wolf?

Him?

There were instances when people had called him a fox or a snake, but he had never been called a wolf in his entire life!

Since Zhao Yunxiao gave everyone a way out, Du Cuishan would naturally take it.

At the very least, he had established a first point of contact.

Even though the outcome of this first contact did not exactly go according to plan, there would definitely be more opportunities in the future to build the relationship further.

After all, as long as he was given enough time, he was a flexible man who could think of solutions to any unexpected situations!

“We will get going then, Senior Martial Brother Du,” Zhao Yunxiao respectfully clasped his fists at him once more. “Farewell.”

“Farewell, Senior Martial Brother Du,” Gu Qiansi added.

“Farewell and see you again soon, Senior Martial Brother Du!” Lu Zhiying added with a bright smile.

“F-Farewell...” Du Cuishan answered in a confused manner before watching the trio walk away.

However, Lu Zhiying’s excited manner of bidding him farewell only served to confuse him further.

So in the end, did he leave a good impression on Lu Zhiying or did he not?

Zhao Yunxiao’s group left the area immediately after.

Since they had used a separate appointment as an excuse to take their leave, they naturally could not afford to stay around.

Then again, they were starting to get uncomfortable from all the attention that they were getting, so they would not have wanted to stay much longer even without having had that encounter with Du Cuishan.

With no other choice, the group could only get the rest of their supplies through direct purchases from the Sect Market before making their way back to their residences.

The area for direct market purchases was far more organised than the one for free trade.

Just like how it was like when Zhao Yunxiao sold the nightspirit rat carcasses, the group queued to enter separate rooms, where they simply told the staff what they wanted to buy.

After confirming the goods and prices, they left as satisfied customers.

The entire process was clean and swift, much simpler than having to scour through rows and rows of shops in the area for free trade.

The only downside being that the prices were slightly higher in general.

Of course, there was still an entire list of items that one had to go through if they wanted to find items that suited their needs, but that was unnecessary for both Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi who were already clear about what they wanted to buy.

“Is that Senior Martial Brother Du a bad person?” Lu Zhiying asked as they were making their way back to the Outer Disciples’ Quarters.

“I wouldn’t say that, but you should always be wary about others when they make offers that seem too good to be true,” Gu Qiansi explained.

“I actually think that Senior Martial Brother Du is a good person to have connections to,” Zhao Yunxiao offered his point of view. “His network of connections means that he might be able to provide good business opportunities in the future. We just need to be careful when dealing with him and make sure not to be taken advantage of.”

“Network of connections? Do you really need his help for that?” Gu Qiansi asked.

She knew that Zhao Yunxiao knew quite a lot of people himself.

“You can never know too many people,” Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. “On a side note, I will not be able to bring you around tomorrow, Junior Martial Sister Lu.”

“What? Why not?” Lu Zhiying asked.

“It is my rest day tomorrow,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “Since I won’t be working, there is naturally no point in you following me around as well since you won’t be learning about any sect jobs.”

“How do you intend to spend the day though?” Gu Qiansi asked.

“I will be going hunting,” Zhao Yunxiao replied honestly. “That is also why I had to get some supplies just now.”

“Hunting!” Lu Zhiying lit up in surprise. “Can I go too?”

“No way!” Gu Qiansi answered on his behalf. “You are still new to the sect, so it is too dang-”

“Ahem!” Zhao Yunxiao cleared his throat loudly to interrupt her. “You are new to the sect, and new disciples are not allowed to leave the sect without permission for at least a month.”

“T-That’s right, there’s such a rule,” Gu Qiansi quickly realised her mistake.

With Lu Zhiying’s personality, saying that something was dangerous would probably only make her want to go even more.

Thankfully, Zhao Yunxiao stopped her in time.

In additional, they were not lying either since there was indeed such a rule in place.

“Ah... that’s true,” Lu Zhiying revealed a look of disappointment upon hearing that, recalling that she had been told about the rule as well. “Maybe next time then!”

“We will see how it goes next time,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded.

“Junior Martial Sister Lu, you can come with me tomorrow then. I will introduce you to some of our fellow sect members,” Gu Qiansi offered.

“Thank you, Senior Martial Sister Gu,” Lu Zhiying agreed readily. “I also want to visit the Sect Library to borrow some books on the basics of dance.”

“Sure, I will bring you to the Sect Library first thing tomorrow morning,” Gu Qiansi said with a smile.

“I will go look for you guys if I am back early,” Zhao Yunxiao added. “Maybe I will bring you see someone in the evening as well, Junior Martial Sister Lu.”

“Oh? Who are you thinking of?” Gu Qiansi asked.

“I thought of someone who might be suitable to teach our little junior martial sister some dance skills,” Zhao Yunxiao answered with a smile.

“Right! Let’s do that then!” Lu Zhiying nodded excitedly.

Having decided on their plans for the next day, the group returned to their respective residences to retire for the night.

As always, Zhao Yunxiao did not intend to go straight to bed.

He did a final inventory check to make sure that he had everything he needed for tomorrow, packing everything neatly in preparation.

After he was done cleaning up, Zhao Yunxiao lit an incense before carefully bringing out a Winterterwarmth Pill.

This particular pill had been stored separately from his other pills, and he treated it with far greater care as well.

It was the common quality Winterwarmth Pill that he had received from Leng Huiqi a few days ago while performing his duties at the Alchemy Chamber.

Compared to the inferior quality ones that he was used to consuming, this pill was one level higher in terms of quality. This might not sound like much, but both its cost and efficacy were actually multiple times that of the former!

He had been reluctant to consume the pill so far as he wanted to save it for the ideal opportunity, and now was the time.

No one could say for sure how long each session of meditation would last.

If one received an epiphany of sorts, a cultivator could choose to extend his meditation to fully comprehend these new insights.

So unless the cultivator chose to consciously end it, a meditation session could potentially last for a long time.

In fact, at higher cultivation levels, it was not unheard of for cultivators to remain in a meditative state for years in one go.

While Zhao Yunxiao was not nearly at that level, it was not as if he had never spent an entire day deep in meditation as well.

It was not every day that Zhao Yunxiao could afford the luxury of consuming a common quality Winterwarmth Pill, so the last thing he wanted was to be interrupted while absorbing this pill of far higher efficacy.

The night was still young, and he also had no appointments scheduled for the next day.

This meant that he was unlikely to be interrupted during this session of meditation, no matter how long it took.

This was the best opportunity to consume the common quality Winterwarmth Pill in his possession.

Zhao Yunxiao sat cross legged on his meditation pad and slowly regulated his breathing.

When he had finally adjusted his condition to his peak state, he finally popped the common quality Winterwarmth Pill and entered a state of deep meditation.

Slowly but surely, a world of light appeared in his mind.

That alone was nothing surprising – it was the same world of light that he had always pictured whenever he performed image training.

Previously when he did his image training, it had always been through a single dark silhouette present in his imaginary world of light.

This time was no different.

Just like always, the dark silhouette kept his hands clasped behind it in a casual manner, exuding the indomitable aura of an expert simply by standing there in this world of light.

But this time, it was no longer the only thing present in this world.

Standing a short distance away and facing the original dark silhouette, there was now a second dark silhouette, albeit slightly shorter.