Immortality begins with raising apprentices

Chapter 39 Precipitation
After the snow cleared and the sun came out, scattered plum blossoms swirled in the morning light.

The lingering dark clouds on the horizon made the sky above seem exceptionally pure.

The blizzard that had been raging for days finally subsided.

Chen Ye warmed his hands, relieved that the blizzard had stopped.

Previously, the increasingly harsh weather had always worried him.

As the saying goes, something unusual must be going on.

Especially in the cultivation world where extraordinary powers exist, unusual weather often has some underlying reason.

Chen Ye leaned against the door frame, gazing at the scene in the courtyard. He was finally able to relax, and the fatigue from days of arduous training quietly melted away.

at this time,

Qingjun was tiptoeing to reach the remaining snow on the plum branches, while Zhiwei silently squatted in the corner, gathering the fluffy snowflakes into a small mountain.

The warm morning light shone on my face.

He suddenly felt that it was extremely quiet all around him.
The rustling sound of the wind sweeping across the blue bricks and the crisp sound of melting icicles falling to the ground became distant background noise.

"Take this, Senior Sister!"

A white shadow flashed by, and a snowball bloomed on Zhiwei's hair.

The older girl was so startled that she fell to the ground in the snow, with half a plum petal still stuck to the end of her hair.

Qingjun giggled and hid behind Lao Mei, peeking out curiously.

Chen Ye watched as Zhiwei slowly got up.

The eldest apprentice was always like this; he wouldn't get angry even when he was teased. He would just lower his head and pat the snow stains off his clothes, his fine bangs falling down to cover his eyebrows and eyes.

But when Qingjun lowered her guard, she suddenly rolled up a snowball and threw it precisely at the gnarled branches of the plum tree.

Old Mei trembled and shook off thousands of silver flakes, covering the white fluffy ball.

"Ah!" Qingjun emerged from the snow, her nose red from the cold, and the little girl puffed out her cheeks angrily: "Senior sister cheated!"

The black, furry ball of fur had no expression, which made the little girl feel uneasy.

Lu Zhiwei's face was pale, her thin lips were bloodless, and her chin was slightly pointed.

Her long, black hair, reaching her calves, fluttered slightly in the wind, adorned with fallen plum blossoms.

She looks extremely aloof.

She silently crouched down and began to gather her little snowdrift.

Slender fingers plunged into the snow, carefully experiencing the cold.

The black fluffy ball closed its eyes, its eyelashes trembling slightly.

Qingjun swallowed silently, not daring to throw the snowball she was holding.

suddenly,

The little girl glanced at her master furtively; he was staring blankly into space, seemingly lost in thought.

I really want to... smash my master.

I've always wanted to smash my master's chest.

Throw it at me with a rock! Throw it at me with a knife!

I can't take it anymore! Smash it! Smash it!

"Master!"

The white fluffy ball mustered its courage and suddenly threw a snowball at Chen Ye.

Chen Ye subconsciously pointed his fingers like a knife, releasing and then withdrawing the Geng metal energy.

Finally, the snowballs pounded on his shoulders, the coolness seeping down his collar and down his back.

"Qingjun!"

Chen Ye squinted his eyes.

The little girl was so frightened that she stood up straight, her small body ramrod straight: "Master, Qingjun knows she was wrong!"

"Are you aware of your mistake?"

Chen Ye spun a snowball and aimed it at Qing Jun's head.

It lightly hit the little girl on the head.

The little girl whimpered, closed her eyes, and took the blow hard.

But after being hit by this snowball...

Qingjun then realized that her master wasn't actually angry at all...

But the little girl dared not provoke her master anymore, and squatted alone under the old plum tree, imitating her senior sister in building a snowman.

Chen Ye was somewhat disappointed.

Actually, he would rather Qingjun continued to hit him, and the two of them would play around with each other.

“Master, Qingjun… Qingjun just wants to play with you.”

The seemingly aloof young woman couldn't stand it any longer and hurriedly ran over to wipe him with her sleeve.

"It's alright, Master isn't angry." Chen Ye grasped the girl's frostbitten hand, frowning as he spoke.

"It's fine to play in the snow, but don't get your hands frostbite."

The older girl instinctively tried to pull her hand away, but her small hand was tightly wrapped in her master's rough palm.
"Zhiwei, I understand."

She wasn't playing in the snow...

But the man in front of her didn't understand her at all, and instead kept rubbing her small hands together in his palms to warm them up.

Zhiwei bit her lip.

Chen Ye warmed up her hands, which had finally grown cold.

Chen Ye released his grip with satisfaction.

"Alright, go back to playing. Master has infused some spiritual energy into your hands, so they won't get frostbite later."

"Oh..." The older girl left dejectedly.

Chen Ye chuckled to himself.

He knew perfectly well that Zhiwei was deliberately torturing her hands.

But knowing this was nothing Chen Ye could do.

It's a very simple principle.

He advised Zhiwei, but would Zhiwei listen to him at this point?

If things go wrong, it could easily make Zhiwei nervous and anxious—nobody wants their dark side exposed to others.

"Take it easy……"

He watched his apprentice grow up day by day, his skill level increasing day by day.

It seems pretty good?
"My good disciples, grow up quickly so your master can cling to your thighs..."

Chen Ye glanced at his two apprentices' short legs and decided to increase the amount of food he fed them.

……

In the evening, the neighbor came to visit again.

"Senior Chen, did the little girl like the pastries from this morning?" Lin Qiongyu asked with a smile, carrying an exquisite food box.

She wore light makeup, was beautiful, and radiated youthful charm.

Originally, I was a young man in my prime...

Chen Ye nodded, his tone polite: "Very good, my disciples all enjoy it. Fellow Daoist Lin, if there's anything you need, please let me know as soon as possible. I'm still busy with my cultivation."

Chen Ye was very wary of this young female cultivator.

The more beautiful a female cultivator is, the more likely she is to attract trouble.

Especially Lin Qiongyu, a female cultivator with considerable cunning and scheming.

Chen Ye has a proficiency panel and just wants to level up quietly without causing trouble for no reason.

Even though this adulterous couple had a grudge against his predecessor, Chen Ye was too lazy to seek revenge now.

Wouldn't it be better to wait until you've improved your skills before taking revenge?
They bide their time, accumulate strength, and then rise to prominence!

"You're too kind, senior. Qiongyu has come here today with important matters to discuss."

Lin Qiongyu ignored Chen Ye's coldness and warmly stuffed the food box into Chen Ye's hand, her slender fingers seemingly unintentionally brushing against the back of his hand.

"Does the senior know about the inner workings of Bishui Street?"

"Inner Market?" Chen Ye had never heard of it. He had always lived in the shantytowns and had no idea about the ins and outs of the market.

Lin Qiongyu recounted in detail:
"This morning, I inquired about your skills, fellow Daoist, for this very reason, but I didn't have time to explain it clearly."

"The so-called inner circle, simply put, is a small circle formed by independent cultivators, which brings in people they know and they share things with each other."

Chen Ye listened and roughly understood.

It's nothing more than expanding business based on acquaintances, attracting trustworthy independent cultivators, and building a small circle.

Beyond its transactional aspect, the most important feature is its social aspect.

After all, most independent cultivators are wary of the outside world and find it difficult to establish contact with other independent cultivators.

At this point, the inner circle transformed its interests into a bond connecting these independent cultivators.

"Senior, don't underestimate the inner circle. For example, on Bishui Street, there is a Master Hu who is too lazy to handle spiritual herbs and often needs a spiritual plant master to help take care of them. If you can build a good relationship with Master Hu, you will have a steady stream of spiritual stone income in the future."

Lin Qiongyu spoke with a longing expression.

Chen Ye was slightly surprised upon hearing this.

Alchemists generally possess some skills in processing spiritual plants, which is sufficient for their daily use of spiritual herbs.

But this alchemist Hu actually preferred to spend spirit stones to hire a spirit plant master rather than do it himself, which is enough to show how wealthy and powerful alchemists are.

"Speaking of spiritual plants, I am reminded of the rogue cultivator you mentioned yesterday. Fellow Daoist Lin, could you tell me more about him?"

Chen Ye suddenly interrupted Lin Qiongyu and stared straight at her.

(End of this chapter)