Early Arrangements

Xiao Cheng, in the back kitchen, was in no hurry to go out and help Xiao Yi Xian sell the pastries. He also made some Flower Peach Pastries to replenish the stock. He had not expected the Peach Pastries to sell so quickly; more than half were already gone before afternoon had even arrived.

"Business has been pretty good lately, but no one is buying the pastries needed for the tasks."

With a sigh, he carried the Peach Pastries on an Iron Tray and placed them inside the Glass Counter.

"Shop Owner, you made more Peach Pastries?"

"Yeah. They were selling pretty quickly, so I made some more to restock."

"Xiao Yi Xian, do you know what happened in Wutan City? Why does it feel like things have gotten much livelier outside in just the past few dozen minutes?"

Xiao Yan asked Xiao Yi Xian in surprise.

"Shop Owner, you don't know? The Mittel Auction House announced that it had acquired a mysterious item capable of raising one's cultivation realm without side effects and would be auctioning it off. A lot of people have come because of it. I heard that people from the Misty Cloud Sect and the Mite'er Family might be coming too."

After listening to Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Cheng truly wanted to say something.

This is getting a little too big.

"The Misty Cloud Sect and the Mite'er Family... those are from the Imperial Capital, right? There also seem to be the Mu Family and the Nalan Family."

Xiao Cheng thought to himself.

"I see. Then stay here and welcome the customers. Since so many people are coming to Wutan City, our shop should be able to gain a little popularity."

"Mm, Shop Owner. I'll sell the pastries properly."

Xiao Yi Xian nodded.

Xiao Cheng casually found a spot in the shop and began thinking.

He remembered that in the original story, Yun Shan, the sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, had colluded with the Soul Hall and opposed Xiao Yan.

Now that people from the Misty Cloud Sect were coming to the auction house as well, he had a bad feeling about it.

If the Soul Hall noticed him by accident, then with his current cultivation, he would be courting death.

"At worst, I'll hole up in the shop and never leave, even if I die."

Though he thought that, he did not want to live so miserably. He still had to develop steadily.

"Should I go take a look at the auction house? It should probably be fine, right?"

Xiao Cheng rubbed his chin as he pondered.

At that moment, Xiao Lu came into the shop. When he spotted Xiao Cheng, he smiled and said,

"Shop Owner, you're quite leisurely. Eh, and this is?"

"Hello, I'm the new shop assistant Shop Owner Xiao hired. My name is Xiao Yi Xian."

She gave Xiao Lu a slight smile.

"Oh, a new shop assistant. Hello, I'm Xiao Lu. Hehe."

"What would you like to buy?"

"Give me ten Peach Pastries and three Peanut Candies."

Xiao Lu said hesitantly.

Xiao Cheng teased him from the side.

"Xiao Lu, every time you come to my shop for pastries, you either buy Peach Pastries or Peanut Candy. How about trying Honeyed Shortbread?"

Xiao Lu smiled bitterly.

"No. I'm poor. I don't earn many Gold Coins in a day of work, so I can't afford it."

"Don't say that. If you can't afford Honeyed Shortbread at a hundred Gold Coins, you can at least try these Small Fried Dough Twists. They aren't expensive, just sixty Gold Coins."

"Sixty Gold Coins for a jin of fried dough twists is still expensive. But a man has to be hard on himself sometimes. I'll buy a jin of Small Fried Dough Twists."

In the end, Xiao Lu gritted his teeth and bought a jin of Small Fried Dough Twists.

"Would you like sweet or savory?"

Xiao Yi Xian asked.

"Sweet, of course. Hehe."

"Just a moment."

Xiao Yi Xian wrapped up Xiao Lu's pastries and handed them over.

Taking the pastries, Xiao Lu turned to look at the leisurely seated Xiao Cheng and said with a smile,

"Shop Owner, the Mittel Auction House is holding an auction tomorrow. Aren't you going to join in the excitement?"

"No. I'll just focus on running my shop and selling my pastries."

He could not be bothered to join in the auction house's excitement. He was the one who had supplied the Cream Cake, and besides, there was nothing he could do even if he went. He might even bring trouble upon himself.

"All right, I'll be going then."

After seeing Xiao Lu off, Xiao Cheng began thinking that once the Cream Cake auction was over, many people and factions would surely inquire about Ruyi Zhai.

At that point, he needed to seize the chance to promote Ruyi Zhai's pastries. The question was how to promote them.

"Forget it. I'll deal with it when the time comes. What's the use of thinking so much now?"

He shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

The Mittel Auction House had spread the news of a mysterious item that could raise one's cultivation realm without side effects in order to further boost its own reputation.

Gu Ni was now making preparations for tomorrow's auction.

For the auction tomorrow, the Mittel Auction House had also brought out quite a few good items to bolster the event so it would not seem too shabby.

Meanwhile, in a room on the second floor of the Mittel Auction House, Ya Fei sat facing an old man.

"Miss Ya Fei, the family head sent me to ask whether the news you released is true."

"Steward, the news I released is indeed true. There is not the slightest bit of fabrication."

Ya Fei spoke calmly.

This old man was naturally the Steward Mitel Tengshan had sent to investigate the truth.

"May I have a look at the item?"

"I'm sorry, Steward, but no one will be able to see this mysterious item before tomorrow's auction. Not even me."

Ya Fei spoke firmly.

"I came under the family head's orders to inquire about it. You must let me see the mysterious item."

The Steward's tone became stern.

"Don't use the family head to pressure me. To be honest, the owner of this mysterious item—the Proxy Bidder—is someone neither you nor I can afford to offend. So just wait obediently for tomorrow's auction."

Ya Fei smiled.

The Steward rose with a cold snort, turned, and left the room.

Ya Fei stared out at the street beyond the window, lost in thought.

After Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er came out from Xiao Zhan's place, they chatted for a while before parting ways.

Xiao Xun'er went off to do something unknown, while Xiao Yan returned to his room, intending to continue cultivating and break through to Dou Zhe in one go.

At that moment, Old Yao's figure floated out of the ring. He looked Xiao Yan over, then smiled with satisfaction.

"Ninth Stage of Dou Qi. Not bad. It seems that thing the little girl brought you has greatly increased your cultivation."

"Mm. I never expected this so-called Cream Cake to be so effective."

Naturally, Xiao Yan would not say that he knew what Cream Cake was, so he pretended to be greatly surprised.

"I truly understand Xiao Cheng less and less. He's becoming more and more mysterious."

Old Yao spoke slowly.

"Teacher, don't dwell on it so much. As long as it doesn't harm me, that's enough."

"My disciple is right. As long as it benefits you, that's all that matters. Hehe."

"How is your body strength?"

"Teacher, I've been eating Honeyed Shortbread. I've already eaten a jin today."

"Mm, keep it up. However, this progress is still too slow. If you feel that it's too slow, tell your teacher. I will treat you well."

Old Yao smiled mysteriously, placing extra emphasis on the words "treat you well."

"No, no. I won't take a beating even if you kill me. Honeyed Shortbread is enough."

Old Yao said nothing further and returned to the ring to recuperate. After all, he was a soul body and could not remain outside for too long. Otherwise, those people from the Soul Hall might discover him.

Xiao Yan let out a deep breath, sat cross-legged, circulated his Cultivation Method, and entered cultivation.

The news that Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Ning had broken through to Dou Zhe spread in a very short time, making all the Xiao Family Disciples immensely envious.

While feeling envious, these Xiao Family Disciples also investigated how the two had improved. In the end, they learned that they had broken through to Dou Zhe after eating pastries from Ruyi Zhai.

This invisible wave of promotion brought another batch of customers to Ruyi Zhai.

Previously, although some Xiao Family Disciples had benefited from Ruyi Zhai, there were still people who did not believe that something capable of increasing cultivation existed.

But this time, with Xiao Ning and Xiao Xun'er as two living examples right before them, everyone believed it.

Even Xiao Cheng had not expected that just two Cream Cakes would raise Ruyi Zhai's reputation to another level.