Yue Quan's Recruitment Offer; Meeting Li Zongyin Again

"Brother Li, what do you think of the Yue Household?"

His intent to recruit him could not have been more obvious.

Li Ye's expression did not change as he answered honestly,

"A great lineage of the Huan Kingdom, second only to the Purple Profound Sect."

"Second only to the Purple Profound Sect..."

Yue Quan repeated the words, an inscrutable look on his face. Then he came straight to the point.

"Brother Li, have you heard the saying, 'Better the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix'?"

"If you're interested, Brother Li, I'm willing to guarantee you a position as a guest Alchemist of our lineage, with the protection of our Attendants... Wouldn't that be better than toiling away as a spirit farmer disciple in the Purple Profound Sect?"

"And if you're willing to marry into our lineage, then, with your attainments in the Dao of Alchemy, we also have beautiful, gentle and understanding young women who could marry you..."

"Once we're family, with our lineage's influence, even if you have some grievance with the Li Household, we can step in and seek justice for you!"

The protection of Attendants, a lovely wife and beautiful concubines, and even a promise to seek justice on his behalf-taken together, the terms were truly generous.

If my golden finger were marrying wives and dual cultivating instead of farming, I'd probably have been tempted already!

Li Ye shook his head inwardly, but smiled as he looked at Yue Quan.

"Brother Yue, I'm deeply grateful for the earnest sincerity of your offer, but since you've investigated my background so thoroughly, you should know all I went through in my lineage."

"I no longer have any interest in living under someone else's roof... Many benefits come with many troubles. I'd be more at ease farming in the sect!"

Yue Quan had not expected Li Ye to refuse so decisively, and his expression changed.

He did not believe someone with Li Ye's pill-refining skills could be content to toil in the fields. Thinking Li Ye had taken offense at having his background investigated, he immediately tried to salvage the situation.

"Brother Li, I didn't mean to investigate your background, it's just..."

"It's all right! These are only minor matters, Brother Yue. There's no need to worry about them."

Li Ye waved a hand, cutting Yue Quan off.

He had expected this long ago.

Since he had shown his value without concealing his identity, this situation had been almost unavoidable.

His secret lay among the fields these people looked down upon, but who could possibly find anything out?

Li Ye pointed at the jade bottles on the table. "Let's talk about these pills instead. Even if I'm unwilling to join the Yue Household, we can still do business!"

Yue Quan felt helpless, but Li Ye's words did persuade him.

Even if he could not take credit for recruiting a pill refiner for the lineage, he could not afford to lose the shop's business!

He forced another smile. "Since you have no intention of joining the lineage, Brother Li, we won't mention it again. As for these Qi Condensation Pills and the Wood Essence Pill, we'll price them at..."

"Hahaha! Take care, Brother Li!"

Beaming and treating him warmly, Yue Quan escorted Li Ye downstairs. As they walked, he even said,

"It's a long journey. Do you need the shop's guards to escort you part of the way, Brother Li?"

Li Ye hastily shook his head. "That's too much, Brother Yue! If you made such a grand show of it, wouldn't you be heaping more honor on me than I deserve?"

The two exchanged a few more jokes.

Although the recruitment had failed, the deal had gone quite well.

Li Ye had sold a batch of Qi Condensation Pills and one Wood Essence Pill, bringing in over a hundred Spirit Stones in no time. His purse was suddenly much fuller.

Then he had gone ahead and bought a small shield Law Artifact here, making up for his lack of defensive means.

Earn it at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, spend it at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion—not a single coin was meant to make it home!

Though Li Ye had made a handsome profit, Yue Quan had also made a killing without losing a thing. He had nearly doubled over with laughter.

At first, he had been unhappy that Li Ye had refused so decisively, without leaving him or the Yue Household the slightest bit of face.

But after all that buying and selling, Spirit Stones had smashed that little bit of displeasure clean away!

Whatever else might be said, as a shopkeeper, he could hardly turn his back on money, could he?

Chatting and laughing, Li Ye had just reached the entrance and was about to step outside when he saw two people approaching. The smile vanished from his face.

"Bro... Li Ye, why are you here?"

Looking at the person before him, Li Zongyin instinctively started to call him elder brother. But as the words reached his lips, he frowned and changed how he addressed him.

"Where I am doesn't seem to have anything to do with you, does it?"

Li Ye answered without expression.

"How dare you speak like that, you mud-legged peasant?"

Before Li Zongyin could react, Zhang Jingjing, who was accompanying him, had already cursed Li Ye outright.

This time, however, Li Zongyin did not stop her as he had before.

Li Ye gave Zhang Jingjing a cold glance. The sharp killing intent in it made her heart seize, and she swallowed the words she had been about to say.

"Li Ye, what are you doing?!"

Li Zongyin abruptly took half a step forward, shielding Zhang Jingjing and revealing his cultivation. There was anger in his eyes as he looked at Li Ye.

The Sixth Layer of Qi Refining? He's advanced a whole layer in such a short time, and his Qi even seems close to another breakthrough. Looks like this kid has reaped quite a few benefits from following Cai Shiwei!

No wonder he's so bold now. Looks like he thinks a down-and-out Spirit Plant disciple like me has no value anymore!

"Brother Zongyin, he dared to be rude to me! Don't let him leave just like that!"

Zhang Jingjing was still shouting.

Her round face, usually rather cute and pretty, was now filled with anger.

Li Ye looked at the two before him, but could not be bothered with them any longer. He simply walked around them toward the exit.

Li Zongyin had come to him of his own accord in the first place, taking care of the lot on Cai Shiwei's side who were always thinking of using Li Ye to build their reputations.

After so much time had passed, he and Li Zongyin had hardly crossed paths, though people sometimes mentioned Li Zongyin's name when Cai Shiwei came up.

As for the name Li Ye, few people remembered it now apart from some spirit farmer disciples.

In that respect, Li Zongyin could be said to have perfectly fulfilled Li Ye's expectations of him!

Since that was the case, it was best for the two of them to have nothing more to do with each other!

And as for his fiancée, Zhang Jingjing, the Zhang Household had nearly spoiled her stupid. If Li Ye actually paid her any attention, she would probably only become more worked up.

Seeing Li Ye ignore him outright, Li Zongyin, who had grown accustomed to outsiders fawning over him these days, became even angrier.

But as a member of the same lineage, and with so many people watching, he merely frowned, blocked Li Ye's way and put on an air as he said:

"I won't hold it against you for frightening my fiancée..."

"But as a member of my Li Household, you're content to scrape by in the spirit fields of the Purple Profound Sect. You've truly fallen short of the standards of our Li Household!"

"If you have even a little ambition, you should go apologize to Senior Brother Cai as soon as possible. With me putting in a few words for you, Senior Brother Cai certainly won't hold your repeated refusals against you!"

"With your aptitude, if Senior Brother Cai were to look after you, even a few scraps slipping through his fingers would be enough to benefit you endlessly. Why bother..."

His attitude was one of lofty condescension, as though he were offering charity.

The other cultivators nearby, drawn over by the commotion, all frowned.

This boy is far too overbearing!

"If you like being a dog, then just be a good dog yourself. Don't come bothering me..."

Li Ye had grown tired of listening to him and was about to take action when he heard Yue Quan's voice behind him.

"Fellow Daoist, this is my Yue Household's Hundred Treasures Pavilion. You're pestering a customer and disrupting our business. If you don't restrain yourself, I'll have to ask you to leave!"

Yue Quan walked over to Li Ye in a few strides and gave him a look, immediately revealing a cultivation at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.

His late-stage Qi swept out, making Li Zongyin's face turn pale on the spot. Zhang Jingjing's pretty face also lost its color.

It was not just that their cultivation fell short.

They did not dare provoke the Yue Household, either!

Li Zongyin moved his lips, but in the end he did not dare do anything more.

He cast Li Ye a dark look, then pulled Zhang Jingjing around and left.

"Thank you for your help, Brother Yue. Sorry you had to see that."

Li Ye cupped his hands to thank Yue Quan.

"It was a small matter. I've seen plenty of lineage scions like that. Even if I hadn't intervened, I'm sure you could have handled them easily enough, Brother Li."

Yue Quan smiled. "If you want to repay me, Brother Li, just refine more pills and bring them here to sell."

Li Ye did not take the bait at all, merely joking,

"In that case, next time I'll try to refine one more Qi Condensation Pill..."