Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 212 Drunken Cloud Gathering, Tofu Beauty!

The official robes Zhao Qi was holding were a unique style of the Xuanjing Division.

The black brocade was made of exquisite material, with a ferocious beast emblem embroidered in silver thread on the chest, and dark red cloud-patterned trim on the cuffs and collar.

This signifies the identity of the Zhaowu Colonel.

"Just put it there." Chen Ye's gaze shifted from the file to the official robes.

Zhao Qi carefully placed his official robes on the table, then bowed and left, closing the door behind him.

Chen Ye got up and changed into the official robes that represented his status as a sixth-rank military officer.

The clothes were well-tailored, fitting him perfectly without being too loose or too tight. The black color made his skin appear even whiter and his figure even more upright.

He walked to the bronze mirror. The young man in the mirror had a handsome face and calm eyes. His black official robes added to his solemn and imposing aura.

Chen Ye nodded in satisfaction, then pushed open the door and walked out of the study.

"Sir, are you going out?" Zhao Qi saw him change into his official robes and hurriedly came to greet him.

"Let's go to Zuiyunlou," Chen Ye said succinctly.

"Alright!" Zhao Qi quickly went to prepare the horse.

When Chen Ye appeared at the door wearing a brand-new Zhaowu Colonel's uniform and riding his snow-white steed, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"Oh, isn't this Lord Chen?" The shopkeeper, with his sharp eyes, jogged over to greet him. "Lord Chen, it's been quite a while since you've been here!"

"Young Master Hou and Young Master Qian have arrived and are waiting for you in the No. 1 private room!"

"Hmm." Chen Ye dismounted, tossed the reins to Zhao Qi, and went straight up to the second floor. Led by the shopkeeper, he arrived at the door of the No. 1 private room.

"Lord Chen, please." The shopkeeper bowed and pushed open the door.

Chen Ye stepped inside.

The private room was quite large, and there were already twenty or thirty people sitting inside.

Without exception, these people were all richly dressed young people, but their brows all carried a sense of frustration and dejection.

It was Hou En and Qian Yi who, following Chen Ye's instructions, gathered those noble sons who were not valued by their families.

As soon as Chen Ye entered the room, the noisy discussion inside abruptly stopped.

All eyes turned to him.

Envy, jealousy, scrutiny, curiosity... all sorts of emotions intertwined.

Just a month ago, Chen Ye was in the same boat as them, and his reputation was even worse than most of them.

But now he is already a promising Colonel of the Xuanjing Division.

This shift in identity happened so quickly that it took some people a while to catch up.

"Lord Chen... Lord Chen!"

Hou En and Qian Yi were the first to react, jumping up from their chairs and greeting them with beaming smiles.

"Sit down." Chen Ye walked to the head seat and sat down naturally.

His sitting down eased the atmosphere in the room a little.

Hou En and Qian Yi also sat down, their backs ramrod straight.

Although the others didn't speak, they all subconsciously straightened their posture.

"I think Hou En and Qian Yi have already explained to you the reason why I called you all here today." Chen Ye's gaze swept over everyone present.

He didn't put on any airs of officialdom, and his voice was very calm.

"We all know our own family situations."

"Whether it's a legitimate son or a son born out of wedlock, I don't think I need to elaborate on their status in the family or whether they have a voice."

Chen Ye's words were very blunt, directly hitting the sore spot of everyone present.

The room was silent, and many people's expressions turned rather unpleasant.

Because what they hate most is having others mention this.

“A month ago, I was just like you,” Chen Ye continued, “I was even worse off than you.”

"Everyone knows the situation of the Chen family; it's just an empty shell now."

“My father scolds me, my sister is worried, and outsiders think I’m a joke.”

His words, which revealed his painful past, eased the tension among the crowd considerably.

The initial hostility and jealousy have largely dissipated.

“But now I’m sitting here.” Chen Ye pointed to his official robes, “and have become the Zhaowu Captain of the Xuanjing Division, a sixth-rank military officer personally appointed by His Majesty.”

"I'm not saying this to show off to you all. I want to tell you that people like us are not without opportunities, it's just that no one has given us opportunities before."

"If our family won't give it to us, and our elders won't give it to us, then we'll create our own opportunities!"

Chen Ye stood up and picked up the wine glass on the table.

"I, Chen Ye, am making this clear today: it's nothing for me to get up on my own."

"What I want is for us, who are looked down upon by our families and laughed at by outsiders, to be able to stand up!"

"I need manpower, I need help, I need us to work together as one and make a name for ourselves in Yunzhou City!"

"And if I eat meat, I will absolutely not let my brothers drink the soup! I want everyone to eat the meat together!"

These words resonated deeply with these young people, each one striking a chord in their hearts.

They have been suppressed for too long and desperately need an opportunity to prove themselves.

Now that opportunity is right in front of them, it's up to them to decide what to do.

"If we drink this glass of wine today, we'll be brothers from now on."

"We share blessings and share hardships."

"Those who don't want to drink can leave now, and I, Chen Ye, will not make things difficult for them."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room stood up.

A young man who looked somewhat thin and was closest to Chen Ye was the first to raise his glass.

"Lord Chen! No, Brother Chen! I, Li Mo, will follow you from now on! I'll do it!"

After saying that, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

With the first, there is the second and the third.

"Brother Chen! Count me in! My name is Wang Song!"

"And me too, I've long disliked those powerful brothers in the family!"

"Done!"

The atmosphere in the private room instantly became extremely lively.

Everyone raised their glasses and drank the wine in one gulp.

Jealousy and scrutiny disappeared, replaced by the excitement of finding kindred spirits and anticipation for the future.

"Alright!" Chen Ye finished his drink and slammed the glass down on the table.

"From today onwards, our little group will be called the Drunken Cloud Society."

"I do not seek fame among the lords, but only to lie drunk among the white clouds, indulging in the pleasures of revenge!"

"Respect to Brother Chen!" Hou En and Qian Yi shouted in unison.

"Respect to Brother Chen!" everyone responded in unison.

At this moment, a loose alliance led by Chen Ye and composed of all the disillusioned sons of noble families in Yunzhou City began to take shape.

……

Yunzhou City, South City.

Unlike the northern part of the city, where nobles and wealthy families lived in abundance, the southern part of the city was mostly inhabited by ordinary people.

The streets here are narrow, the houses are low, and the air is always filled with the aroma of daily life.

Deep in an inconspicuous alley, there is a tofu shop that has been open for decades.

At this moment, the dim yellow soybean oil lamps had already lit up the tofu shop. A pretty young girl dressed in coarse cloth was working nimbly, planning to make another pot of firm tofu to sell at the market during this evening.

The girl's name was Yuan Xiao'e, and she was the only daughter of Old Man Yuan, the owner of the tofu shop.

The girl had very clean features, and her skin was exceptionally fair and supple because she had lived in a humid and hot environment for many years. However, there was a faint bluish tinge under her eyes, which was obviously due to long-term lack of sleep.

"Cough cough..."

A muffled cough came from the inner room.

"Father, you're awake?" Yuan Xiao'e stopped what she was doing and quickly walked into the inner room.

Lying on the bed was an old man with gray hair and a gaunt face; it was Old Man Yuan.

He overworked himself when he was young, which left him with a host of health problems, and now he even has difficulty getting out of bed.

At this moment, Old Man Yuan looked at his daughter with eyes full of heartache and guilt.

"Xiao'e, it's all my fault for being so weak, making you, a girl, do all this hard and tiring work."

"Father, what are you saying?" Yuan Xiao'e said with a smile as she tucked the blanket around Old Man Yuan.

"You raised me to adulthood, isn't it only right that I take care of you?"

"Besides, I'm very strong, and the work at the tofu shop isn't tiring at all."

Old Man Yuan sighed, took his daughter's hand, and rubbed the calluses on her palm with his rough hands.

“You’re eighteen this year. In the city, girls your age already have kids who can run errands.”

"Matchmaker Wang came again the other day and introduced me to the son of Butcher Zhang on West Street. He's an honest man and has two shops. Do you want him...?"

"Father!" Yuan Xiao'e interrupted her father, a blush rising on her face.

“Don’t listen to that matchmaker Wang’s nonsense. I’ve seen Zhang the butcher’s son. He has a face full of fat and looks scary. I’m not going to marry him.”

"Then... what kind of person are you looking for?" Old Man Yuan pressed.

Yuan Xiao'e's gaze drifted to the window, looking at the gray sky, and she said with some longing, "I don't know... Anyway, it can't be a butcher, and it can't be a blacksmith. It would be best... best to be a scholar, a refined gentleman, the kind who can write poetry."

Young girls in love are always full of fantasies about talented men and beautiful women.

Looking at his daughter's expression, Old Man Yuan sighed again and said nothing more.

Scholar?
How could a family like theirs possibly be worthy of being associated with scholars?

Moreover, given the family's current situation, how could he possibly afford to prepare a decent dowry for his daughter?

"Alright, Dad, you can rest now. I'm going to make tofu; I still need to set up my stall later."

Yuan Xiao'e helped her father lie down, then turned and walked out of the inner room.

As soon as she returned to the steaming tofu shop, the girlish sentiment on her face quickly faded, and she transformed back into the quick and capable tofu girl.

Grinding, filtering, adding brine, pressing... the whole process flows smoothly like flowing water.

By the time a steaming plate of tofu was ready, it was already quite late.

By this time, Yuan Xiao'e was so tired that she could barely straighten her back. She rubbed her aching lower back, picked up a wooden basin, and prepared to go to the well in the backyard to fetch some water to wash up before heading to the market. The backyard wasn't large, with a few crooked trees growing there, and some chopped firewood piled up in a corner.

The moonlight wasn't very good tonight; it was obscured by thick clouds, and it was pitch black all around. Only a few unknown insects chirped softly in the corners.

Yuan Xiao'e walked to the well and threw the wooden bucket down. The well rope rubbed against the windlass, making a creaking sound.

Just as she was pulling the water up with all her might, a strange chill rose from the soles of her feet and instantly spread throughout her body.

She instinctively shuddered and looked around.

The backyard was quiet; even the chirping of insects had disappeared.

A hazy, gray mist had somehow filled the air.

The fog was very thin, almost invisible in the night, but it exuded an indescribable eeriness and chill.

"It's getting foggy?"

Yuan Xiao'e muttered to herself, but didn't pay much attention, and continued to pull the bucket with all her might.

But the mist seemed to come alive and began to slowly drift toward her location.

Wherever the fog passed, the ground seemed to be covered with a thin layer of white frost, and even the air temperature dropped several degrees.

Yuan Xiao'e finally sensed that something was wrong.

She stopped what she was doing and looked warily at the approaching cloud of mist.

That wasn't ordinary fog.

Ordinary fog isn't this cold, and it certainly doesn't give her the feeling of being targeted by a venomous snake.

Fear surged into my heart like a tidal wave.

She wanted to run, to shout, but her body felt frozen, unable to move, and no sound came out of her throat.

She could only watch helplessly as the gray mist drifted in front of her and then suddenly lunged at her face!
"Well!"

The icy mist rushed into her body through her mouth and nose.

Yuan Xiao'e's eyes widened instantly, her eyeballs filled with blood vessels, and her face showed an expression of extreme pain.

She felt as if countless cold insects were gnawing at her flesh and tearing at her soul inside her body.

Her consciousness was rapidly fading, and the last thing that flashed through her mind was her father's aged and worried face.

"father……"

The next second, her body shuddered violently, and then she collapsed softly to the ground, losing all sound.

The gray mist swirled around inside her body before finally settling deep within her mind.

As the fog dissipated, a bewitching female silhouette in a white dress was revealed—it was Bai Yingluo from the Nine Nether Sect, who had escaped earlier.

This time, Bai Yingluo learned from her previous experience and no longer chose identities that would easily attract attention. Instead, she infiltrated the market and finally chose the girl in the tofu shop as her target for possession.

This way, you can avoid being exposed again to the greatest extent possible.

At this moment, Bai Yingluo carefully examined this new body.
He has a refined physique, and although his meridians are ordinary, they are not blocked. His Qi and blood are also quite vigorous. Most importantly, his primordial Yin has not been depleted, making him a clean vessel.

Looking into the well water in the bucket, a pure and innocent face was reflected.

But those once clear eyes were now unfathomable, exuding an eerie and cold quality that seemed completely out of place with his face.

Bai Yingluo was very satisfied with this.

From this day forward, she is Yuan Xiao'e!

Chen Ye, you interesting little guy, you didn't expect we'd meet again so soon, did you?

A strange light flashed in Bai Yingluo's eyes as she thought of this, but she quickly reverted to her weak and vulnerable demeanor.

She picked up the bucket from the ground, as if nothing had happened, and carried the basin back into the house.

Yuan Xiao'e arranged the cut tofu pieces one by one on a wooden board, and then filled a large bucket with freshly made tofu pudding, carrying it on a shoulder pole to sell at the market.

"Dad, I'm going out!"

"Be careful on the road," came Old Man Yuan's words of advice from the inner room.

"understood!"

Yuan Xiao'e responded, picked up her load and walked out of the alley, then, guided by a faint sense of direction, arrived at the market.

This market wasn't far from Zuiyun Tower. Yuan Xiao'e used to come here often, and when Bai Yingluo arrived at the market carrying tofu, she quickly attracted a crowd.

"Young lady, you look great today," a middle-aged woman buying groceries said with a smile.

"Really? Thank you for the compliment, Auntie." Bai Yingluo smiled sweetly and quickly cut a piece of tofu for the aunt.

That smile was captivating.

Many men around stared in disbelief.

They knew before that there was a pretty girl selling tofu in the alley, but Yuan Xiao'e always kept her head down and was timid, making people afraid to look at her too much.

Today, Yuan Xiao'e seems like a completely different person.

She stood there gracefully, her eyes sparkling, her every move exuding an indescribable charm.

It was a deep-seated allure that contrasted sharply with her simple, coarse cloth dress, making her even more captivating.

"Is this...is this still the Yuan family girl who sells tofu?"

"Yeah, she looks like a celestial being descended to earth."

"Tsk tsk, that figure, that face, even more attractive than the top courtesans in Pingkang Lane!"

A murmur of discussion arose from the crowd.

More and more people are coming to buy tofu, and most of them are men.

They said they were buying tofu, but their eyes kept glancing at Bai Yingluo.

Bai Yingluo sneered inwardly, but her face always maintained a perfectly appropriate shyness and smile.

She enjoyed being the center of attention, surrounded by men.

While selling tofu, Bai Yingluo glanced at the passing crowd out of the corner of her eye, searching for that familiar figure.

She had a feeling he would show up today.

The market was bustling with people, and Bai Yingluo's tofu stall was doing exceptionally well.

Of course, it's hard to say how many of these people are genuinely there to buy tofu.

A young man wearing a short jacket with one arm exposed, who looked like a street thug, pushed through the crowd and swaggered to the tofu stall.

His name was Wang Ermazi, a notorious local thug who made a living by collecting protection money.

He had heard of the tofu beauty's reputation today and came here specifically to see for himself.

Once you start looking at it, you can't take your eyes off it.

"Hey, young lady, how much is this tofu?" Wang Ermazi asked with a lewd grin.

"Five coins a piece," Bai Yingluo replied without looking up.

"Five copper coins?" Wang Ermazi chuckled strangely. "How much would it cost if you bought the person and the tofu together?"

As soon as he said that, everyone around him burst into laughter.

Several timid women had already frowned and led their children away.

Bai Yingluo felt a surge of nausea and murderous intent, but her face revealed just the right amount of panic and fear.

"Sir, you...you must be joking. I'm just a tofu seller." Her voice was barely audible and trembled slightly.

This weak and helpless appearance further fueled Wang Ermazi's sadistic desires.

"Who's joking with you?" Wang Ermazi brought his greasy face close, almost touching Bai Yingluo's face.

"Young lady, come with me, and I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury and never have to work from dawn till dusk selling this lousy tofu again."

As he spoke, he reached out his filthy hand to touch Bai Yingluo's face.

Some of the onlookers were jeering, while others were shaking their heads and sighing, but no one dared to stand up and say a word of justice.

Just as Wang Ermazi's dirty hand was about to touch Bai Yingluo's cheek...

Bai Yingluo's body took a tiny half-step back.

At the same time, she seemingly unintentionally nudged the heavy carrying pole with her hand, and the pole moved silently by an inch.

Wang Ermazi's grab missed, and he tripped over the carrying pole.

"Ouch!"

He screamed, lost his balance, and fell flat on his face.

"puff……"

Someone in the crowd burst out laughing first.

Immediately afterwards, bursts of laughter erupted.

Amidst the laughter of the crowd, Wang Ermazi scrambled to his feet, his face alternating between pale and flushed, before venting all his resentment on Bai Yingluo.

"You bitch! You dare to scheme against me!" Wang Ermazi was furious and pointed at Bai Yingluo, cursing loudly.

Bai Yingluo was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she waved her hands repeatedly.

"No...it wasn't me...you tripped and fell by accident..."

To Wang Ermazi, her tearful appearance was nothing short of a blatant provocation.

"How dare you quibble!"

Completely blinded by rage, Wang Ermazi lunged forward and slapped Bai Yingluo's pretty face hard with his large, fan-like hand.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson today, you ungrateful wretch!"

There were exclamations all around.

A cold, murderous glint flashed in Bai Yingluo's eyes.

She's ready to make her move.

Even if her identity is exposed, she will never allow such an insignificant mortal to touch a single hair on her head.

She had even planned how to use illusion magic to deceive everyone after killing Wang Ermazi, and then quickly escape from the scene.

However, just as she was about to make her move, a clear and powerful voice came from outside the crowd.

"stop!"

Bai Yingluo was all too familiar with that voice.

She suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction from which the sound came.

The crowd parted to make way, and a tall figure dressed in the black official robes of the Xuanjing Division strode towards them.

It was Chen Ye!

Bai Yingluo's murderous intent vanished instantly, replaced by the irrepressible excitement of a hunter seeing his prey.

Because the person she was waiting for finally arrived, and the timing was absolutely perfect!
(End of this chapter)