127: Chapter 127 is getting increasingly chaotic

[He watched you methodically direct the workers in the lobby, staring at your fair, slender neck and the faintly discernible waistline beneath your black dress, feeling his throat go dry.]

[He lowered his head in pain, covering his face with his hands.]

["What on earth am I doing..." he wailed in his heart.]

[Clearly, this woman was completely not his type! Clearly, she was so much older than him! Clearly, she was just a Mortal Martial Artist who didn't even have a Spiritual Root!]

[But he just couldn't control himself.]

[If he didn't catch a glimpse of her at Wangjiang Tower every day, his whole body would feel uncomfortable, and he couldn't even calm his mind to sit and Cultivate.]

[He knew it was completely impossible between them. Although the Zhao Family had suffered heavy losses in the great war nine years ago, they were still a dignified Foundation Establishment Family. His parents would never allow him to marry an old Mortal woman without a Spiritual Root.]

["If only you were... a bit better looking," Zhao Zhanming thought sourly, peeking at your profile through the gaps between his fingers. "Just a tiny bit better. Even if you were only a Origin Qi Realm Martial Artist, I would dare to beg father to grant his blessing..."]

[One afternoon a few months later, Wangjiang Tower was bustling with customers.]

[Zhao Zhanming came again, but this time he wasn't alone; he was dragged in by several of his clansmen.]

[His expression looked extremely awkward and even somewhat resistant, but he couldn't match his clansmen's strength and was pushed down at a table by the window.]

["Manager Lin!" That cousin, who had once mocked Zhao Zhanming, spotted you with his sharp eyes and immediately called out loudly, "Could you come over and take our order?"]

[Holding the menu, you walked over with a calm expression. "Young Masters of the Zhao Family, what would you like to eat today?"]

[Zhao Zhanming kept his head lowered, staring intently at the teacup in front of him as if a flower had grown inside it, not daring to look up at you at all.]

[The cousin casually ordered a few signature spiritual dishes, then changed the subject, looking at you with a grin. "Manager Lin, you've been in our Qingyue Market for five years now, right? I see you've always been alone. Have you considered getting married?"]

[You raised an eyebrow slightly and didn't speak.]

[The cousin nudged Zhao Zhanming hard with his elbow, winking as he said, "What do you think of my Seventh Brother? His talent in our Zhao Family's generation isn't bad either—he's at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, and he's honest. Recently, he's been running over to your place every day, looking like he's lost his soul!"]

["Zhao Zixuan! Shut up!" Zhao Zhanming jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his face turning red as blood, and roared stutteringly, "W-what nonsense are you talking about! Who lost their soul!"]

[Looking at Zhao Zhanming's expression, which seemed on the verge of tears, you sighed in your heart.]

[Of course you knew this kid had been acting strange lately, but you had no time or interest in playing house with a little brat right now.]

[A gentle yet distant smile played on the corner of your lips. "Young Master Zhao must be joking. I am just an old woman in my thirties and a Mortal Martial Artist. How could I be worthy of an elite disciple of the Zhao Family?"]

[Pausing, you threw out a reason that was a total dealbreaker: "Furthermore, I already have a husband in the Mortal world, and I have no intention of seeking a new love in this lifetime."]

[As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the table instantly froze.]

[Zhao Zhanming suddenly raised his head, looking at you in disbelief.]

[Those eyes, which had originally held a trace of shame, anger, and hidden hope, instantly lost their luster and became incredibly dim. He opened his mouth, seeming to want to ask something, but in the end, nothing came out. He just slumped in his chair like a deflated balloon.]

["Oh, so Manager Lin is already married. That really is a pity," the cousin let out two dry laughs, trying to smooth things over.]

["Please wait a moment, the dishes will be served shortly." You nodded slightly and turned to leave.]

[As soon as you left, Zhao Zhanming immediately went crazy, roaring at his clansmen in a lowered voice, "Are you satisfied now?! I told you not to talk nonsense! I just came here normally to have a meal! Manager Lin is old and plain-looking, completely not my type! You just had to make me look ridiculous!"]

[Seeing that he was truly furious, the clansmen exchanged glances and then burst into another round of low laughter.]

["Alright, alright, you didn't fancy her. It was just us brothers speaking out of turn."]

["Yes, yes, Seventh Brother only likes Fairies. How could he fancy a Mortal woman?"]

[Listening to the laughter behind you, you flicked the abacus beads behind the counter, thinking to yourself.]

["I've already disguised myself to look like this, yet this kid can still fancy me? Did the 'Peerless Elegance' trait exert power where it shouldn't have?" you grumbled inwardly.]

[The effect of this trait, which "greatly increases affinity and reduces the hostility of living beings," seemed to have turned into some bizarre "male-attracting" passive on certain people.]

[However, you didn't take this matter to heart. Let him look if he wanted to. As long as he didn't bother you or affect your ability to make money and gather information, it didn't matter.]

[Sure enough, after that incident, the frequency of Zhao Zhanming's visits to Wangjiang Tower decreased significantly. Even if he occasionally came, he would hide in the most remote corner, leave quickly after eating, and never look you in the eyes again.]

[Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another two years passed.]

[Over these two years, the situation in Qingyue Market had become increasingly treacherous. The friction among the Zhao, Li, and Qian families had escalated from covert bickering to open, bloody conflicts.]

[Just last month, the three families had each even lost a Qi Refining Perfection Cultivator.]

[Sitting behind the counter, you flipped through the account books, calculating rapidly in your mind.]

["Several Qi Refining Perfection Cultivators have died. This is definitely not a bloody conflict that a miniature Spiritual Vein could cause," you concluded.]

[For the three families to not hesitate to tear off their faces and even sacrifice their top-tier combat power, it had to be some kind of major treasure capable of breaking the balance of power. You didn't know what it was exactly; you only knew that Qingyue Market was about to fall into chaos.]

[In chaotic times, only strength and trump cards were the most reliable.]

[Over the past two years, you had accumulated over one hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, still about forty short of the Tier One Low Grade Talisman Dao Legacy you had been yearning for.]

[Among the Four Arts of Cultivation, although the Talisman Dao didn't make as much money as the other three, it fortunately had the easiest entry, the lowest cost, and no venue requirements at all.]

[The original copy of a Tier One Low Grade Talisman Dao Legacy was extremely expensive, but shops would sell copied transcriptions. Buying a transcription required swearing a Heart Demon oath to never pass it on to others in one's lifetime, so the price was set at two hundred Spirit Stones.]

["The situation is becoming more and more chaotic. I must speed up my plans." You closed the account book.]

[After all, what people feared most was dying with unspent money, and this was even more true for you in the simulation.]

[You decided to sell the Black-robed Puppet.]

[After years of secret inquiries, you had a clear understanding of the prices in the Cultivation World. The materials and combat power of the Black-robed Puppet were top-tier among Tier One Low Grade Puppets, and its market price could fetch at least one hundred Spirit Stones. Being inside the market and protected by Manager Liu and the Zhao Family, if anything were to happen to you even here, whether you had a Puppet to protect you would make no difference anyway.]

[One day half a month later, Manager Liu went out, leaving you in full charge of the restaurant.]

[You called over your number-one lackey, Zhou Xiaoyu, instructing him to keep a close eye on the lobby, and then turned to head back to your room in the backyard.]

[Half an hour later, you changed out of your coarse gray robe and put on a soft green silk dress, wearing a thin white veil over your face.]