Immortality begins with raising apprentices

Chapter 5 The Crying White Fluffy Ball

In my hand was half a cold, hard taro, with clear teeth marks still visible on the skin.

He silently held the taro in his hand, his feelings complicated.

Qingjun trembled like a leaf and fell to her knees with a thud:
"Master, I was wrong! This was for my sister..."

Before she could finish speaking, her words caught in her throat, and she sobbed as she wiped away her tears.

Ugh.

Women really are made of water. This little girl looks so thin and frail, why are she crying so much?

Chen Ye skewered the cold taro onto a tree branch, pinched a bit of spiritual fire with his fingernail, and rekindled the extinguished fire, simply turning it over and roasting it.

As the aroma of roasting gradually filled the air, Chen Ye stuffed the twig into Qing Jun's hand: "Eat! I'll bring Zhiwei back later."

Qingjun's stomach growled uncontrollably, but she held the food tightly, not daring to move. She understood.

The master wants to sell her, so he wants to fatten her up and feed her instead of wasting food on his senior sister.

That must be the case!
If she doesn't eat it, her master won't sell it to her, right?
My senior sister said that I must never become a furnace for cultivation, even if it means death...

Chen Ye suddenly turned around, his shadow looming over the cowering white furball: "If you don't eat, I'll sell you today."

The little girl was so frightened that she quickly started eating, her tongue burning from the heat, and she kept panting, afraid of making a sound and being scolded, so she held back her food until her face turned red.

She stole a glance at her master's hand resting on the door latch, feeling a little strange. Why was her master hesitating to go out?

Chen Ye closed his eyes and steeled himself to push open the door.

As dawn broke, dark clouds still lingered on the horizon.

After the rain, the air in the shantytown was filled with the fresh scent of mud and grass.

Yesterday's torrential rain turned the dirt road in front of Chenye's house into a muddy mess, with animal hoofprints and cart tracks intertwined.

This was the first time Chen Ye had clearly seen his surroundings.

It's so ordinary, as ordinary as a rural village from a past life.

Inside the house behind them, a little girl was happily eating roasted taro.

Chen Ye's tense shoulders and back inexplicably relaxed.

The two sides were crowded with crooked houses. Next door, an old Taoist priest wearing a patched robe was squatting on the threshold, coughing and spitting, glancing sideways at Chen Ye.

"Hey, Old Chen's been quite diligent today."

The old Taoist priest was just as slovenly as him, his robe greasy.

He was squinting his triangular eyes and sneakily peering behind Chen Ye.

Chen Ye kicked the door shut without making a sound.

In the memories of his predecessor, the old Taoist was named Zhang Hong, and he was fond of women.

Even if they can't get enough to eat, they still have to go to brothels for pleasure, which is similar to their previous relationship.

Looking around, this shantytown is almost entirely populated by middle-aged and elderly low-level cultivators like Lao Dao and Chen Ye.

They had no desire to continue striving, and were too lazy to make a living; they just wanted to survive one day at a time in the shantytown.

A very small number of cultivators became disheartened and returned to the secular world to become wealthy men.

However, the lack of spiritual energy in the secular world will greatly shorten the lifespan they have gained through spiritual practice.

If one stays there too long, one's cultivation will even decline until one becomes a mortal.

These costs are unacceptable to the vast majority of lower-level cultivators.

"Old Zhang, if you dare to look again, I'll gouge out your eyes!" Chen Ye said with a gloomy face, pushing aside the bone-scraping whip at his waist with his thumb.

His palms were sweating, but his memories from his previous life told him that in this quagmire of a shantytown, the more he showed weakness, the more people would take advantage of him.

This is similar to some backward places in my previous life...

So-called cultivators are nothing more than human beings.

Old Zhang's expression froze for a moment, then he chuckled and took a puff of his pipe. Behind the greyish-white smoke, his cloudy eyes continued to dart around.
"Your disciple is going to be sold anyway. Why not just sell him to me for a spirit stone?"

"roll!"

A nameless rage surged within Chen Ye, making him almost want to lash out at Zhang Laodao with a whip. How old is Qingjun?
The little girl is so thin and pitiful, yet Old Zhang still has such thoughts!
Old Zhang seemed somewhat wary of Chen Ye; his pipe trembled at the shout, and he helplessly spread his hands:
"Tsk, Old Chen, don't be in such a hurry. I was just joking. If you really think it's wrong, then you're wrong."

Chen Ye was too lazy to argue with this shameless old man, so he turned around and went back into the house.

The little girl was holding the unfinished taro in a daze, clearly having heard the conversation outside the door.

"Master, please don't sell me. Qingjun will be a good girl..."

She looked up at me pitifully, her mouth filthy with bits of taro.

"If I say I won't sell, then I won't sell."

Chen Ye grabbed the little girl by the back of her neck, tucked her under his arm, and looked annoyed.

"Don't think nonsense, girl. Come out with me, so that old Taoist priest won't get any wicked ideas."

"Oh."

Qingjun stood there blankly, her arms and legs hanging limply, dangling under Chen Ye's armpits.

She stared at the unfinished taro, and gradually pouted her little mouth.

If he wasn't going to sell her, why would his master take her out?

Master has always enjoyed deceiving Qingjun...

Overwhelmed with sorrow, the little girl viciously gnawed on the taro.

As they stepped out of the room, Old Zhang was still grinning, showing his yellow teeth. He said kindly, "Little Qingjun, going out to play with your master? Be careful, or your master might sell you off. Or maybe you should seek refuge with Grandpa Zhang?"

Qingjun instinctively buried her face in the taro, not daring to look the old man in the eye.

Chen Ye's temples throbbed with veins; he truly didn't know what to do with such a scoundrel.

To be frank, I am a young person living in a peaceful society.

The person who came before was a dissolute and shameless individual who didn't care about what others thought.

Unless... weed out the weeds and wipe them out completely!
Chen Ye was startled. He took a deep breath, gripped Qingjun tightly, and made his way through the crooked houses before finally escaping Zhang Laodao's covetous gaze.

But the thought from earlier kept lingering in his mind.

Yesterday I was just an ordinary office worker, how could I have this thought of killing someone to settle things today...?

The shantytown is very close to the market town. The closer it is to the market town, the better the surrounding environment and the more abundant the spiritual energy.

Correspondingly, Yunxifang will also charge a rent depending on the location, but the price is much lower than that of houses in the market.

Those who are short of money but aspire to spiritual practice often reside here.

The old man lived in this area, and Chen Ye happened to be passing by his house.

"Pah, pah, pah! What bad luck, what bad luck!"

Granny Li, who was drying animal hides in the yard, spat several times on the ground.

Without even thinking, Chen Ye knew it was aimed at him, so he could only give a dry laugh.

The old woman suddenly noticed the white hairy ball under his armpit, and her relaxed eyelids snapped open:

"You bastard! You broke the kid's leg the other day, and now you're trying to shove him into some kiln?"

Granny Li's gaze swept over Qing Jun's wrist, which was covered in bruises and discoloration, and a breath of stale air swirled in her chest.

Chen Ye smiled shyly: "Grandma, please don't misunderstand. I'm going to pick up Zhiwei and take her home. I'm worried about leaving Qingjun alone at home."

Upon hearing Chen Ye's words, Granny Li thought she had misheard.

This bastard is worried about Qingjun?
No matter how much she felt sorry for the two maids, Qingjun and Zhiwei, she was ultimately just an outsider.

They had neither the right nor the ability to interfere with Chen Ye's decision.

They could only watch helplessly as Chen Ye, carrying the white fluffy ball, walked further and further away.

"You damned bastard! May lightning strike your heart sooner or later!"

The old woman couldn't help but stomp her foot. As for Chen Ye's words?
She'd rather believe the sky was falling than believe this bastard's nonsense!

(End of this chapter)