35: Chapter 35 Foundation Building: Memories of Bygone Days Remain; A Thousand Martial Arts Gatherings End in an Autumn Leaf

She could not continue, her throat feeling as if it were blocked.

She was afraid he would misunderstand.

Afraid he would think she came to find him just to take advantage of him or to ask for his Medicinal Pill.

Seeing her looking so nervous she was about to cry, Jiang Xuan waved his hand:

"I know."

"There is no need to be so formal between us. Take it, and don't overthink it."

As he spoke, he stuffed the cloth bag directly into her palm and curled her fingers around it.

A Xiang could finally no longer hold back her tears, and they began to fall pitter-patter.

Her shoulders trembled slightly, and her voice was soft and hoarse: "The Immortal Master's kindness... A Xiang will not be able to repay it in this lifetime, not in this lifetime..."

Jiang Xuan reached out and used his thumb to wipe the teardrops from her cheeks.

"Alright, alright, don't cry at the drop of a hat." He chuckled, "Go back and live your life well; that is better than anything else."

A Xiang nodded heavily and clutched the cloth bag tightly against her chest.

Jiang Xuan personally walked her to the door.

A Xiang stepped over the threshold, walked a few paces, and stopped at the edge of the street.

The morning light was just right, and there were already scattered pedestrians on the street.

She turned around, facing the light, her almond eyes red, a gentle smile on the corners of her mouth.

"Immortal Master... I will come to see you again in a few days."

Her voice was soft and gentle, carrying a sweetness like pear blossoms.

Jiang Xuan leaned against the doorframe, smiling and nodding at her.

A Xiang's smile bloomed instantly, and she turned around, walking step by step toward the end of the street.

Her light purple skirt hem swayed gently at her ankles; she walked slowly, her steps still a bit weak.

But her entire silhouette exuded an indescribable lightness.

After walking about ten steps, she couldn't help but look back.

Jiang Xuan was still standing at the door.

She smiled, blushing, and then quickly turned into the depths of the alley.

Jiang Xuan turned back, having just walked to the front of the counter.

He discovered that Su Yue was watching him with her eyes open.

Her Phoenix eyes carried a faint, somewhat unclear expression.

It was not speechlessness, nor was it disdain.

It was as if she were looking at something she didn't quite understand.

Jiang Xuan felt a bit uneasy under her gaze and chuckled: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Su Yue looked away, her voice indifferent: "It's nothing."

She paused for a moment and added half a sentence: "I was just surprised to see you being so attentive to a mortal woman."

Jiang Xuan adjusted his collar and clicked his tongue: "Can't help it. Since this shopkeeper is kind-hearted, I can't bear to see people around me suffer."

Su Yue watched him quietly, her gaze resting on his face for a long while.

After a while, she spoke slowly, spitting out two words: "Playboy."

After saying this, she stood up and walked toward the Backyard without looking back.

Jiang Xuan shrugged helplessly behind her.

Being a playboy and being kind-hearted are not contradictory.

He poured himself a cup of cold tea and was just raising it to drink.

Su Yue's voice suddenly came from behind the door curtain, carrying a hint of confusion: "There are a few glowing things on the ground in the Backyard."

"That is the Spirit Garden I set up," Jiang Xuan replied, raising his voice.

"Planting some Spiritual Plant so I can be self-sufficient in the future."

Behind the curtain, there was silence for two breaths.

"You know how to cultivate Spiritual Plant?" Su Yue's voice came through the curtain.

"A little."

There was silence for another two breaths.

"Alright."

Su Yue tossed out the two words indifferently, and her footsteps moved away into the room.

The casual tone in her voice clearly showed she regarded this Spirit Garden matter as a whim of his.

Planting Spiritual Plant is something that even professional Spirit Planters might not be able to do well.

As a shopkeeper who spends all day cooped up in the shop doing business, he would likely abandon it after two days.

Jiang Xuan didn't explain, leaning against the counter to drink his tea, watching the street outside gradually become lively.

When the Spiritual Plant matures the day after tomorrow, we'll see what expression she has.

...

The day's business passed at an unhurried pace.

In the morning, two groups of Loose Cultivator came; one group bought talisman paper, and the other bought inedia pill.

Around noon was the peak time for customer flow.

First, there was a group of Cultivator companions; the three of them chattered away while picking items in front of the shelves for a long time.

Following that came a well-dressed female Cultivator. As soon as she entered, she went straight to the counter, specifically asking for a qi-boosting pill, saying she was recommended by a friend.

Jiang Xuan glanced at the familiar bamboo slip name card in her hand, and understood in his heart.

Ye Baiyuan's connections were still continuing to ferment.

Business in the afternoon was also continuous.

Four or five more orders were completed here and there, some big and some small, and the Spirit Stone income was steadily rising.

By the time the sun was in the west and the last customer had left, Jiang Xuan flipped through the day's accounts and glanced at the System panel.

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Stage 5]

[Progress: 22.2%]

In just one day, it had already reached two-tenths.

At this rate, it wouldn't take many days to push up another level.

Jiang Xuan squinted, leaning in the rattan chair, recalling a scene from this morning.

A Loose Cultivator who came to buy Medicinal Pill in the morning had muttered a few words with his companion while waiting for him to fetch the goods from the shelf.

Jiang Xuan's hearing was not bad, and he heard bits and pieces of it.

"...Ascension Conference... October 15th... it's time for it to open again this year..."

"...That place, Ascension Valley, I wonder how many people will come this time..."

At the time, he didn't have time to ask, and that group of people paid the Spirit Stone and left in a hurry.

Ascension Conference.

Jiang Xuan thought for a moment, closed the shop door, and walked into the Backyard.

Twilight spilled over the wall, and the shadow of the old locust tree dragged long across the ground.

The five plots of the Spirit Garden glowed with a very faint fluorescence in the twilight.

The seeds inside had sprouted tender green shoots, thin little stems swaying gently in the breeze.

He didn't look much longer and walked straight to push open the room door.

Su Yue sat cross-legged on the bed, Spiritual Qi flowing slowly around her, her breath steady and long.

Jiang Xuan had only been in this world of cultivation for a month, and there were many things he didn't understand.

But he asked when he didn't understand; he didn't pretend.

He walked to the bedside, flopped onto the bed, rested his head on the pillow, turned his head to look at Su Yue:

"Fairy Su."

Hearing him speak, Su Yue's eyelids twitched, but she didn't open them.

"Hmm?"

"Do you know about the Ascension Conference?"

Su Yue opened her eyes, a hint of surprise floating in her Phoenix eyes, and she turned her head to look at him: "You don't know?"

Jiang Xuan nodded honestly.

In Su Yue's view, the Ascension Conference was a grand event known to almost everyone in the area around Tingfeng Town.

Every Loose Cultivator in the Qi Refinement Stage paid attention to this matter.

She couldn't understand how Jiang Xuan had never even heard of the Ascension Conference.

However, she was not the type to pester others, and seeing his calm expression, she didn't dwell on it.

Su Yue was silent for a moment, her gaze looking toward the darkening sky outside the window.

A faint layer of melancholy floated in her Phoenix eyes, and her voice was a few degrees softer than usual, as if she had inadvertently touched upon some old memories.

"Foundation Establishment, still recalling the travels of the past, a thousand martial contests in one autumn leaf."

"Looking back at the vast mists and clouds of Ascension Valley, where else in the world can one climb to the tower?"

She paused, her breathing slightly heavy.

"Sighing at the white pony passing the crevice, the spark from the flint, the body in a dream."

"Ten years of time have flashed by... The Ascension Conference is about to open again."

Hearing her suddenly sighing in such a literary manner, Jiang Xuan was stunned for two breaths.

He looked seriously at Su Yue's profile.

The lamplight reflected on her face, and between her heroic brows and eyes floated a thin layer of melancholy, completely different from her usual cold and arrogant demeanor.

When she said these words, her gaze was not on him, but on that small patch of twilight on the window paper.

As if through that window, she saw a certain day ten years ago.

Jiang Xuan waited two breaths before speaking: "So... what is this for?"