Small Schemes

By the time he had wandered around the market until dusk, he returned to rest.

Meanwhile, in a dark corner not far away, Jia Lie Te, who had been lurking near Xiao Family Market, followed Jia Lie Bi's orders and monitored Xiao Cheng's every move.

Xiao Cheng did not notice that someone was watching him. Even when he arrived at Ruyi Zhai, he sensed nothing unusual.

The next morning.

As usual, Xiao Cheng arrived early at Ruyi Zhai's kitchen and made some Peach Pastry and Peanut Candy. Since Honeyed Shortbread had barely sold at all, there was no need to prepare more.

After placing the pastries inside the glass covers, Xiao Cheng clapped his hands and said with a smile.

"Phew... A new day has begun. Open for business!"

He opened the shop doors, hung up the wooden sign announcing that they were open, then returned to his chair behind the glass covers and waited for customers to arrive.

Inside Xiao Yan's room in the Xiao Clan.

Ever since Xiao Xun'er had left yesterday, he had cultivated until this morning. Only then did he open his eyes and exhale a breath of stale air.

Feeling the Dou Qi within his body, Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"I'm very close to the seventh stage of Dou Qi."

"Once you reach the seventh stage of Dou Qi, I'll teach you a high-level Dou Technique. Hehe."

Old Yao's voice rang out from the ring.

"Mm. If I eat a few more pieces of Peanut Candy, I should be able to break through to the seventh stage of Dou Qi."

Then, he turned his gaze toward the Honeyed Shortbread Xiao Xun'er had brought him on the table.

Xiao Yan actually knew that Xiao Xun'er had bought this Honeyed Shortbread for him from Ruyi Zhai. She had merely made up the clumsy lie that she could not finish it herself in order to preserve his pride.

Looking at the paper package, he murmured softly.

"She really is such a thoughtful girl... sigh."

He walked to the table, picked up the package, opened it, and tossed a piece of Honeyed Shortbread into his mouth.

The fragrance of sesame spread through his mouth, followed by an increasingly rich sweetness that made Xiao Yan feel that this Honeyed Shortbread was truly sweet enough to kill.

But the next moment, he felt as though his body had become somewhat firmer, and his physical constitution had improved considerably.

"This... My body seems to have grown stronger. My Dou Qi hasn't increased, but my physical strength has improved a little."

After his initial surprise, Xiao Yan soon accepted it.

Pastries bought from Ruyi Zhai would not be strange no matter how surprising they were. After all, they were all made by the same person.

At that moment, Old Yao floated out of the ring. With a wave of his hand, he drew a piece of Honeyed Shortbread into the air above his palm and examined it carefully.

"How strange. It can actually improve your physical strength."

Old Yao muttered, equally puzzled.

"Teacher, could you at least say something when you come out? You'll scare people to death."

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes at Old Yao.

"I was merely curious about what ingredients this Honeyed Shortbread is made from, to actually be able to improve your physical strength."

Old Yao calmly explained.

"The ingredients are actually quite simple: oil, flour, and sesame. I know all of them."

Xiao Yan let it slip and revealed all the ingredients used to make Honeyed Shortbread.

Old Yao looked at Xiao Yan in surprise. His gaze clearly asked, How do you know that?

Only then did Xiao Yan remember that he was on the Dou Qi Continent, not Earth.

Under Old Yao's astonished gaze, Xiao Yan could only shift the blame to Xiao Cheng.

"Ah, well... Shop Owner Xiao told me some of the ingredients used in his pastries, so that's how I knew."

"So that's how it is."

Old Yao nodded in realization. He then told Xiao Yan to continue cultivating before returning to the ring. As a soul body, he could not remain outside for too long.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath and began cultivating with the remaining pastries and Honeyed Shortbread, preparing to break through to the seventh stage of Dou Qi.

In another room, Xiao Ning had also shut himself inside and was cultivating while munching on pastries.

His talent was considered among the best of the Xiao Clan's younger generation. It was only that, in the original storyline, he had constantly clashed with Xiao Yan over Xiao Xun'er, only reconciling with him in the end.

Now, with Xiao Cheng's involvement, Xiao Ning had not had many conflicts with Xiao Yan. Instead, he had become a cultivation fanatic.

Suddenly, the concentration of Dou Qi within Xiao Ning's body rose sharply.

"Haha, Ninth Stage of Dou Qi!"

Xiao Ning's laughter rang out from the room. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought he had gone mad.

Feeling the power of the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi within him, Xiao Ning was ecstatic. In less than two days, with the aid of the pastries, he had reached the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi.

Moreover, after eating half a piece of Honeyed Shortbread, he felt that his body had become even stronger.

Looking at the paper package on the table, which now contained only one piece of Peanut Candy and some Honeyed Shortbread, a smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Ning's mouth.

"These pastries are incredibly effective, especially the Peanut Candy. It has doubled my cultivation speed."

Xiao Ning was still thrilled over breaking through to the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi.

Meanwhile, in her own room, Xiao Xun'er looked at the few pieces of Honeyed Shortbread on the table and fell into deep thought. In the end, she ate one piece.

The fragrance of sesame and the sweet taste gave her a feeling of happiness.

But that feeling did not last long before she sensed a slight change in her body. It seemed that her physical strength had increased.

"It can actually improve physical strength."

Although there were body cultivators among the Eight Great Clans, they all needed to combine their training with medicinal ingredients to enhance their physiques. Such gradual, subtle changes to one's constitution were rarely seen.

"Elder Ling, try it and see whether it has any effect on you."

An aged figure appeared from the air and respectfully replied.

"Yes, Miss."

Ling Ying was the guard her father had assigned to her, so naturally he obeyed Xiao Xun'er's orders.

After Ling Ying ate a piece of Honeyed Shortbread, he waited for several seconds before feeling his physical constitution gradually improve as well, though the effect was extremely weak.

"Elder Ling, how is it? Did it have an effect?"

"Miss, it did have an effect, but it was very weak. I believe this is related to the difference in each person's strength and cultivation realm."

Ling Ying thought for a moment before replying.

"Elder Ling, you may withdraw."

Xiao Xun'er waved her hand.

Ling Ying respectfully retreated and concealed himself in the shadows.

Xiao Xun'er looked at the Honeyed Shortbread and pondered for a while. She felt that she could cooperate privately with Xiao Cheng, but now was not the right time.

The shops in the markets of the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Pa Family all received a covert order from their respective families.

They were forbidden from going to Ruyi Zhai in Xiao Family Market to buy anything. Anyone who dared visit Ruyi Zhai would receive punishment from them.

These two families were the dominant powers in their respective territories, so those shops naturally obeyed without daring to defy them.

However, most of them did not know what kind of shop Ruyi Zhai was or what it sold, so this indirectly gave Xiao Cheng's shop a round of publicity.

The orders from these two families also affected the flow of customers in Xiao Family Market.

There were noticeably fewer people in the market today. It would not have much of an impact, but it still caught Payne's attention.

"It seems like there are fewer people in the market today."

Xiao Lu, who was following beside him, scratched his head.

"How come I can't tell?"

Payne smacked Xiao Lu on the forehead and laughed.

"If you could tell, you'd be the manager of this market."

Although he noticed that something was off, Payne merely assumed that fewer people had come today and did not pay it much attention.

He led his men off to patrol.

Xiao Cheng sat in the shop, wrapping pastries for several Xiao Family Disciples who had come in. At the same time, he overheard some gossip.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"It seems something happened in the markets of the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Pa Family. The atmosphere in many shops is strange."

"Something like that happened? How did you find out?"

That Xiao Family Disciple said proudly.

"I have a friend who owns a small shop in Jia Lie Family territory. He told me this morning, so that's how I know."

"Looks like something really happened."

"Who knows? Alright, stop chatting. Let's buy our pastries and head back."

Hearing the muttering of those Xiao Family Disciples, Xiao Cheng was somewhat puzzled. What were the Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Pa Family up to this time?

"Forget it. It has nothing to do with me anyway."

If it did not concern him, there was no need to worry about it. He should just focus on selling pastries.

Xiao Cheng paid no attention to the gossip he had heard and continued immersing himself in the joy of selling pastries.