Chapter 127: My Apologies, Calling You Paupers Was Hasty of Me (II)

Luo Chen was blissfully unaware that, once again, someone was plotting his marriage behind his back.

With a few bodyguards in tow, he swaggered back to the inner city. Since it was still early in the day, he made a stop at the Yuan family residence first to settle the previous month's accounts.

As he reviewed the ledger, he noticed an unexpected surplus—fifty spirit stones more than usual.

"I met someone who said the celestial beans were delicious and wanted to buy more," Yuan Xiaoyue explained. "I told him I couldn't sell everything since we had regular customers, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. In the end, he insisted on buying out the whole stock, even paid extra. That's where the fifty spirit stones came from."

Luo Chen's expression turned strange.

So they were willing to pay more just to rob me?

After a moment of reflection, Luo Chen began splitting the earnings.

Gross income, seven hundred spirit stones.

Now that he no longer paid a fixed wage, he gave Yuan Xiaoyue her thirty spirit stone salary, plus a profit share after deducting costs. The cost of celestial beans and popcorn? No more than a hundred spirit stones total.

The profit margins were impressive—no wonder so many had started imitating his business. If the market weren't limited and harder to expand, Luo Chen would've already set up a factory behind the Alchemy Hall.

He handed over the payout with a casual wave. "Here, your thirty spirit stones fixed salary, plus a thirty spirit stone dividend—take it!"

Yuan Xiaoyue received the spirit stones with visible excitement. She was no longer the clueless girl from before. After months at Whitestone Plaza dealing with countless customers, she now understood the average income for rogue cultivators.

Sixty spirit stones a month easily surpassed what most early-stage Qi-Refining cultivators earned. Even those in the mid-stage with no special skills often made less. Sect shop attendants only earned a fixed fifty spirit stones a month. With this income, her cultivation resources were secured, and breaking through to the fourth stage of Qi-Refining was finally within reach.

Luo Chen smiled faintly at her enthusiasm, then asked, "How's the milk tea I dropped off mid-month selling?"

Her bright mood immediately dimmed. "Not so well... It's too expensive. Most customers would rather drink pineapple wine while shopping."

Hearing this, Luo Chen felt a bit puzzled.

The milk tea recipe he'd created used top-grade ingredients—century-old tea leaves from the Medicine Hall's mountains, fresh milk from the Beast Hall's yellow cows, and even a sprinkle of leftover spirit herb powder from refining Jade Essence pills.

It was delicious. He knew because he'd taste-tested every batch himself.

Five spirit stones a cup, and people still wouldn't buy it?

Damn, must be boars not appreciating fine food.

If they don't appreciate high-end "Chayanyuese"

[1].

I'll lower the price and make it "Mixue Bingcheng"

[2]

instead!

The idea took root instantly.

He pulled several storage pouches from his bag, filled with celestial beans, popcorn, and beef jerky—all prepared by the Alchemy Hall's internal cultivators.

"Here are the goods for next month.

"Here's the stock for next month," he said. "Also, I might be too busy to do deliveries in the future. Memorize this old man's face—what's your name?"

He turned to the new bodyguard standing at attention nearby.

The man flushed, clearly nervous. "My name is Dongfang Liang. I may look old, but I'm only in my fifties."

Luo Chen raised an eyebrow and clapped the man on the shoulder. "Liangzai, you're in charge of deliveries from now on. This is Yuan Xiaoyue—you probably know her. She's the daughter of your former Medicine Hall leader, Leaping Tiger. She's my business partner and the lady boss of Chen Yue Snack Stall. Treat her the way you treat me. Understood?"

Dongfang Liang's face turned even redder as he nodded quickly.

"Yes, Hall Leader!"

Luo Chen smirked and slapped him lightly on the back. "Don't look so aggrieved. You won't lose out on following me."

He wasn't wrong.

Liu Qiang was still stuck at home, recovering from injuries that had nearly killed him. The rest of the bodyguards didn't dare complain, not when the Gang Leader had personally ordered them to guard Luo Chen as if their lives depended on it.

After Luo Chen and his group left, Yuan Xiaoyue prepared to open the shop for the day. But as she passed through a narrow alleyway, an elderly woman with a sharp gaze stopped her.

"Xiaoyue, you need to be careful going to and from work these days."

"I overheard some young cultivators talking earlier," the woman said, lowering her voice. "One of them pointed at that fair-faced young man you were with and asked if he had his eye on you."

Yuan Xiaoyue froze mid-step. Her cheeks reddened almost instantly.

"Auntie! Don't say that—he's my boss!"

"That's your boss?" The woman was stunned, then waved her hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter. Just make sure your grandfather keeps an eye on him. He looks handsome, but who knows what mischief he's hiding inside."

Brother Luo, full of mischief?

Yuan Xiaoyue couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself.

That might not be entirely wrong.

***

"What?! Interested in her? Yuan Xiaoyue's not even of age! Stop spouting nonsense."

"But, Hall Leader," Dongfang Liang muttered, "girls come of age at fifteen..."

"You talking back to me now?!"

Luo Chen jumped up and thumped Dongfang Liang's shoulder. The guy might look like a middle-aged uncle, but he was well over two meters tall—just like Wang Yuan!

"She's my business partner. Business, got it? How could you mix emotions with that? Anyway..." Luo Chen's tone softened just a little. "Look after her a bit more from now on. Her dad passed away, her grandpa's crippled—it's not easy for her."

"Oh, alright," Dongfang Liang responded pitifully.

Why was Luo Chen always bossing him around and bullying him?

Because of all the bodyguards, Dongfang Liang was the only one at the seventh stage of Qi-Refining—same as Luo Chen. Naturally, the easiest one to bully.

"Alright, enough of that. You can all head back now."

The other bodyguards took the chance to disperse quickly. But when Luo Chen noticed Dongfang Liang still standing there, he raised an eyebrow.

"Why aren't you going back?"

Dongfang Liang looked even more pitiful. "I live around here, in that big tenement courtyard just up ahead."

Isn't this district mostly female cultivators and poor rogue cultivators?

After carefully scrutinizing Dongfang Liang, Luo Chen sighed.

So, you're not doing that well either, huh?

With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and strolled into the alley ahead.

Back in the SiHeYuan courtyard it was quiet—still afternoon, and most people were either cultivating or out working. But as Luo Chen took a deep breath, a faint scent of medicinal herbs lingered in the air.

Could it be that my sister-in-law made some medicine for me after hearing I was ambushed yesterday?

Random thoughts drifted through his mind as he entered his room and shut the door behind him.

He wasn't sleepy, but he did feel a sudden urge to take inventory.

"Storage bag—open!"

Not his own, but the one that had belonged to Lu Huaiben.

A cascade of items poured onto the ground.

Luo Chen's mouth fell open.

After a long pause, he sincerely uttered one sentence. "I'm sorry. Calling you paupers was really careless of me."

The ground was littered with spirit stones—at least a thousand of them—forming a glittering pile that made Luo Chen's throat go dry. He stared at the mound for a moment, then let out a low whistle.

"That's... quite the tip," he muttered, already kneeling to inspect the rest of the loot.

Aside from the spirit stones, five enchanted artifacts were strewn among the loot. Most were low-grade, the kind you'd expect rogue cultivators to carry, but two stood out immediately: a half-meter-long white plank and a pair of delicate, silver-hued bells.

Digging deeper through the pile, Luo Chen's hand brushed against something cloth-wrapped and oddly familiar. He unwrapped it carefully and found a scattered array of flags.

Since the flags were scattered and incomplete as a set, he hadn't noticed them initially. Now, assembling them with the formation disc, he realized it was a concealment type of formation

—

Hidden Spirit Array.

No wonder he hadn't detected Lu Huaiben's group of raiders at first. It wasn't until they got close to Luo Chen that his extraordinary soul foundation and Spirit Eyes, could barely noticed something was amiss.

Raiders having a concealment formation—makes sense!

Good stuff! Perfect for hiding the spirit vein cavern.

Hehe—this was like finding a pillow when you're sleepy.

But then, Luo Chen paused, troubled, staring at one particular pile beside the artifacts.

Yes, all those items couldn't actually form a small mountain. The real small mountain was made up of something Luo Chen was very familiar with.

Celestial beans!

"These bastards didn't even finish the beans they bought," Luo Chen muttered, half amused, half speechless.

They had spent their spirit stones on his snacks, scouted his schedule through Yuan Xiaoyue, armed themselves with enchanted gear—and in the end, everything had been returned to him. Even the snacks.

Luo Chen was deeply moved—

what kind of heartwarming acts are these in the cultivation world?

So, what to do now?

Sell them again! But this must be kept secret, or people might think Chen Yue Snack Stall is a shady shop.

With a determined huff, he began sorting the loot into neat categories.

The bells were likely sonic weapons—not suitable to test at home.

The white plank? It resembled a flying artifact. But considering Lu Huaiben hadn't used it during his escape, it was probably slow.

As for the other three low-grade enchanted artifacts, there were two flying swords and a small jar.

"These were probably stolen. No late-stage cultivator would carry low-grade artifacts around. Better sell them to the Merit Hall later!"

But it was the small jar that made him pause. "...Why does this look familiar?"

Luo Chen's memory flashed back to one of his rare visits to the Treasure Pavilion. He remembered seeing such jars displayed next to the Gentle Smoke and Sparse Rain Incense.

What was it called again?

"The Swallowing Waves and Oceans Jar?"

Yes, that was it. Sounded majestic, but the actual function was mundane: it could store liquids—just liquids—and only a few hundred jin at most. Perfect for hard-to-preserve substances, like certain alchemical liquids... or in darker circles, cultivator essence blood.

The Treasure Pavilion loved doing this—the lower the artifact's grade, the more extravagant its name. Like the "Gentle Smoke and Sparse Rain Incense"—it was just a glorified fume extractor. Or the "Lotus Cloud Incense Disc"—a low-grade flying artifact as slow as a snail.

As for the Swallowing Waves and Oceans Jar, it could hold a few hundred jin of liquid at best. It was primarily designed for cultivators to store hard-to-preserve liquids.

For example, cultivator's essence blood!

For some reason, Luo Chen thought of one of the main ingredients for the Blood Fiend pill. He shook his head vigorously, dismissing that dangerous thought.

"This could totally be used to expand my milk tea business!" Luo Chen was committed to the righteous path—his business ventures were honest and upright!

After storing the enchanted artifacts, Luo Chen examined the few bottles of pills, certain they didn't match Dahe Market's style. They seemed to be specialty pills from Snow Lotus Market. Without knowing more, it was better not to take them rashly.

Then, Luo Chen rubbed his hands together, a look of excitement on his face.

"It's time for the most thrilling part—counting spirit stones!

"Slaving away at alchemy for a month, I'd only get a cut of a thousand or so spirit stones. Nothing beats this overnight windfall!

"One... two..."

1. 茶颜悦色 is a popular Chinese tea brand, the name translates to "Tea Aroma, Delightful Color", reflecting its dedication to blending traditional Chinese tea culture with modern aesthetics while embodying its emphasis on quality tea and visual appeal ☜

2. 蜜雪冰城 translates to "Mixue Ice City" and is a highly popular Chinese beverage and dessert chain. It is known for offering affordable drinks, ice cream, and snacks, making it a favorite among students and young consumers ☜