263: Chapter 261 Celebration

Yun Ming cooked in person.

In the small courtyard of Huai Tree Alley, the kitchen light stayed on all night.

He took out ingredients from the map of mountains and rivers—Spirit Beast meat, spirit fish, spirit vegetables, and Spirit Fruit—laying them all out on a table.

Xue Ji sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, wrapped in Yun Ming's outer robe, her white hair cascading over her shoulders, her feet bare as she curled up on the bench.

Ah Yuan crouched at the kitchen doorway, hugging her knees as she watched Yun Ming busy at work, occasionally turning back to glance at Xue Ji with a smile on her lips.

Xue Ji felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze and smoothed her hair with her hand.

"What are you looking at?"

Ah Yuan said, "Looking at Big Sister."

Ah Yuan added, "Big Sister is so beautiful."

Xue Ji smiled, rubbed her cheek, and said, "You are also very beautiful."

The two laughed and played.

The dishes were served one by one.

Steamed spirit fish, braised Spirit Beast meat, spirit spring tofu, and jade marrow lotus seed soup.

There was also a jar of starry river drunken shadow dew that Yun Ming had brought from Qingyao City, which he had been reluctant to drink until now.

Xue Ji looked at the table full of dishes and was silent for a moment.

"You made this?"

Yun Ming poured the wine.

"Otherwise? Did you think you made it?"

Xue Ji huffed, picked up her wine cup, took a sip, and picked up her chopsticks.

"I must taste whether your skills have regressed."

The three sat around the stone table.

The moonlight was bright, shining into the courtyard, onto the dishes, and onto the Faces of the three people.

Yun Ming raised his wine cup.

"Celebrating Xue Ji's successful Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage and her restoration to human form."

Ah Yuan also raised her cup.

Xue Ji looked at them, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly, and she also raised her cup.

The three cups clinked together, making a crisp sound.

Yun Ming took a sip of wine, set down his cup, and picked up a piece of fish meat to put in his mouth.

Xue Ji did not eat much; she tasted each dish once and praised them with a "not bad."

Ah Yuan asked her "what does 'not bad' mean," and Xue Ji said "it means edible."

Ah Yuan stood up for Yun Ming, saying that Master's cooking was the best in the world.

Xue Ji looked at her, and seeing her serious expression, couldn't help but smile.

"Fine, it's delicious. The most delicious in the world, okay?"

Ah Yuan nodded with satisfaction.

Yun Ming didn't interrupt, just drank and ate on his own.

When Ah Yuan went to fetch rice, he put down his chopsticks and looked at Xue Ji.

"Some things happened later that you might not know about."

Xue Ji put down her chopsticks and looked at him.

Yun Ming briefly recounted what had happened after she dispersed her cultivation and started over in Qingyao City.

Shen Yizhi visited, the front line was in emergency, the Third Prince was retreating steadily, True Lord Luoyun fell, the Crown Prince broke through the defense line, and the Third Prince went missing.

Qingyao City could not be held.

On the road, he encountered some things and saved a little girl who was about to be sold—that was Ah Yuan.

Then they arrived at Tianyuan City, rented a storefront, and opened a Sundries shop.

They offended Xuanming Hall and were targeted by the Shanhai Society and the Vermilion Tower; life was not peaceful but they could still get by.

Xue Ji listened without speaking.

There was something indescribable in her eyes.

Yun Ming finished speaking, picked up his wine cup, and took another sip.

"What about you? Dispersing your cultivation and starting over, why exactly?"

Xue Ji was silent for a moment.

She didn't answer, just lowered her head and looked at the wine in her cup.

Yun Ming did not press her.

"If you don't want to say it, don't. The past is not important. What's important is that you are back now."

Xue Ji raised her head and looked at him.

Her eyes were very bright, like spring water under the moonlight.

She opened her mouth to say something, then swallowed it back.

Finally, she only said: "Thank you."

Ah Yuan came out of the kitchen with the rice, saw that neither of them was talking, and felt the atmosphere was strange.

"What's wrong?"

Xue Ji shook her head.

"Nothing. Eat."

She picked up a piece of food and put it into Ah Yuan's bowl.

Ah Yuan was pleasantly surprised and quickly said thank you.

Xue Ji returned to her cold and aloof appearance, lowered her head to eat, and didn't speak again.

The three ate until late at night; the food was finished, and the wine was almost gone.

Ah Yuan fell asleep on the table, hugging the outer robe Xue Ji had taken off.

Xue Ji pulled the outer robe out and draped it over Ah Yuan.

Yun Ming leaned against the back of his chair, eyes closed.

Xue Ji looked at him for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"From now on, I will watch the shop with you."

Yun Ming opened his eyes.

"You? A Nascent Soul True Lord, deigning to come to my crappy little shop?"

Xue Ji huffed.

"What, are you ashamed of me?"

Yun Ming shook his head.

"It's not that I'm ashamed of you; I'm afraid you'll scare away the customers. Who would dare to come in if they saw a Nascent Soul True Lord standing behind the counter?"

Xue Ji thought about it and felt it made sense.

But she was not reconciled.

"Then I will change my clothes and be more low-key."

Yun Ming chuckled but didn't speak, which counted as tacit agreement.

The next day, Xue Ji changed into simple green clothes, tied her hair with a wooden hairpin, wore no makeup, kept her aura restrained, and sat quietly behind the counter.

Xue Ji, when not speaking, was indeed very deceptive.

She looked like an ordinary, pretty woman; who would have thought she was a Nascent Soul True Lord?

The customers did not know.

They pushed the door open and were stunned to see a white-haired woman sitting behind the counter.

"Where is the shopkeeper?"

Xue Ji pursed her lips toward the back.

Yun Ming walked out from the back room, holding a teapot.

"What is it?"

The customer asked a few questions about Medicinal Pills, bought a few bottles, and left.

Later, other customers came, and Xue Ji just sat on the side watching, not interrupting or speaking.

Occasionally, someone would look at her twice, and she remained expressionless.

Until the third day.

A middle-aged man in gray Daoist robes walked in, acting suspiciously, his gaze scanning the shelves; he didn't look like he was buying things, but rather looking for something.

Xue Ji glanced at him but didn't speak.

The man stood in front of the Medicinal Pill shelf for a while, took a Medicinal Pill from his sleeve, and secretly stuffed it into a bottle of third-grade Medicinal Pills.

His movements were fast and practiced; it was clearly not his first time doing this.

But he was fast, and Xue Ji was faster.

Before his hand could retract, Xue Ji was already standing in front of him.

The man looked up, saw a stunningly beautiful Face, and before he could react, he was lifted up by his collar by Xue Ji.

The man's Face turned bright red; he wanted to struggle but found he couldn't move at all.

His Early Golden Core Stage cultivation, in front of a Nascent Soul True Lord, was like a chicken with its neck being strangled.

"Who... who are you?"

Xue Ji did not answer.

She carried him to the door and kicked him out.

The man fell onto Heavenly Street, rolled a few times, and lay on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

The Medicinal Pills from his bosom scattered all over the ground; some were his own, and some were stolen from Yun Ming's shop.

The patrolling soldiers walked over, glanced at the person on the ground, then looked at Xue Ji, and realizing she was a Nascent Soul True Lord, immediately understood what had happened.

They did not hold Xue Ji responsible; they lifted the man from the ground and dragged him away.

Another time, a female cultivator circled the Magical Artifact shelf several times, and when no one was paying attention, stuffed a third-grade Flying Sword into her sleeve.

Her movements were light, and her Divine Sense was concealed; she thought no one had noticed.

She didn't know that Xue Ji was standing behind her.

When she was about to go out, Xue Ji reached out and pinched the back of her neck.

The female cultivator's body stiffened, and she slowly turned her head, seeing Xue Ji's expressionless Face, her legs went soft.

Xue Ji took the Flying Sword out of her sleeve, placed it on the counter, then opened the door and pushed her out.

The female cultivator ran away scrambling.

The patrolling soldiers did not chase, because Xue Ji was not injured, and the item had been retrieved, so it was not a big deal.

The news spread quickly.

The merchants on Heavenly Street all knew that a Nascent Soul True Lord was sitting in that general store.

Those who wanted to play tricks in Yun Ming's shop dared not come again.

Xuanming Hall.

Hall Master Zhao sat on the Master chair, with a row of subordinates standing in front of him.

Zhao Shisan stood at the front, head lowered, not daring to look at him.

Hall Master Zhao's expression was terrible, gloomy enough to drip water.

His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, tap, tap, tap.

"You bunch of trash!"

He slammed the table violently; the teacup on the table jumped, and tea splashed all over the floor.

The subordinates all lowered their heads together.

"To deal with one person, you only know how to use these low-class tricks?"

Hall Master Zhao's voice was not loud, but every word was like a knife, "Finding a Loose Cultivator at the Golden Core stage, stuffing fake goods into his Medicinal Pills, stealing a few Magical Artifacts from him. Clumsy! Look at how the Shanhai Society does it? That's called insidious, that's called a scheme. You call this a strategy? This is kindergarten children playing house!"

Beads of sweat broke out on Zhao Shisan's forehead.

He opened his mouth to say something, but looking at the Hall Master's furious Face, he swallowed it back.

Hall Master Zhao took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.

"Now it's great; not only did we not get the rare beasts, but we also inexplicably offended a Nascent Soul True Lord."

He looked at Zhao Shisan, "Do you know what a Nascent Soul True Lord means in Tianyuan City?"

Zhao Shisan lowered his head, not daring to answer.

Hall Master Zhao stood up, hands behind his back, pacing in the room.

"In Tianyuan City, a Nascent Soul True Lord is the boss. The government dares not provoke them, and the royal family gives them Face. We, Xuanming Hall, have offended a Nascent Soul True Lord; have you thought about how difficult our days will be in the future?"

The subordinates didn't dare to breathe loudly.

Hall Master Zhao stopped and turned to look at them.

"Do you have any ideas?"

No one spoke.

Hall Master Zhao's gaze swept from one person's Face to another; everyone lowered their heads.

He sighed in disappointment and sat back in the Master chair.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the door.

A subordinate pushed the door open, walked to Hall Master Zhao, and whispered a few words.

Hall Master Zhao frowned.

"Shanhai Society?"

The subordinate nodded.

"The person sent by President Qian says he has something he wants to discuss with the Hall Master."

Hall Master Zhao was silent for a moment.

"Let him in."

The subordinate received the order and went out.

Before long, a middle-aged man in gray robes walked in.

His appearance was ordinary, his cultivation was not high, only Early Golden Core Stage.

He walked to Hall Master Zhao and bowed.

"Hall Master Zhao, I am under President Qian of the Shanhai Society, surnamed Sun. The President asked me to pass a message, saying there is a major matter he wants to discuss with Hall Master Zhao."

Hall Master Zhao looked at him.

"What major matter?"

The man surnamed Sun raised his head, a meaningful smile on his lips.

"A major matter concerning that Yun Ming."

Hall Master Zhao's pupils contracted slightly.

He looked at the man surnamed Sun, and the man surnamed Sun also looked at him.

The two stared at each other for a few breaths.

Hall Master Zhao's fingers tapped lightly on the table.

"Continue."

The man surnamed Sun did not continue.

He just smiled.

"Hall Master, the President said that this matter cannot be discussed here. If the Hall Master is interested, three days later, at the Shanhai Society headquarters, the President will prepare wine and food and await your arrival."

Hall Master Zhao was silent for a moment.

"Good. Three days later, I will go."

The man surnamed Sun bowed and retreated.

The door closed behind him.

Hall Master Zhao leaned against the back of his chair, eyes closed, his fingers continuing to tap on the armrest.

Many thoughts were swirling in his mind, but he couldn't grasp any of them.

Three days later, Shanhai Society.

Yun Ming's major matter.

He didn't know what it was, but he could feel that this matter would not be simple.