A Major Boost

Chen Xuan did not go outside the city to meddle in the grain distribution. He trusted that Liu Shuyue had the ability to handle it well. Besides, he was the shopkeeper. To Qingzhou, and even to Liu Shuyue's world, he was an outsider and should not get too deeply involved.

However, whenever Liu Shuyue received a new batch of goods each day, she would tell him about the details of the grain distribution.

Around three or four in the afternoon, the two of them would each take a cup of coffee and sit at the bar chatting for half an hour. It had become routine over the past few days.

The facts proved that Liu Shuyue had handled the matter even better than he had expected.

"I didn't expect you to agree to let the refugees sell the relief noodles in their hands." Chen Xuan praised her as he topped off her coffee.

"Actually, I thought of that possibility the first day I tasted them." The girl said cheerfully, "Just a few seasoning packets and some boiling water can make something this delicious. Even for wealthy households, it's a novel experience. Don't be fooled by the rising grain prices. They never worry about going hungry or being unable to afford food. For the sake of something new, the young masters of great clans can always pull out a huge sum of money."

"You wouldn't know if you hadn't seen it. Quite a few restaurants and eateries in the city are serving Lotus Cloud Hot-and-Sour Noodles now. Rich people even have to line up to eat them. Fine fish and meat are actually losing out to relief food meant for famine victims. All I can say is that this world is truly absurd."

"Are you still handing out noodles now?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Not anymore. Rather than let them sell them separately, it's better for me to negotiate the sales myself, so merchants can't force down the price." Liu Shuyue did not hide anything. "Of the noodles you give me now, I store half and sell half. I use the money from the sales to buy rice, flour, flatbread, and the like. They're more filling than instant noodles. I calculated it—one serving of noodles can be exchanged for roughly five or six portions of food. It's quite a bargain."

This was Liu Shuyue's marketing strategy.

Using the two gimmicks of "miraculous food created by immortal arts" and "refugee food that tastes better than restaurant fare," she made instant noodles famous throughout the city in an extremely short time. Once the wealthy came flocking over to try them, they had effectively taken Liu Shuyue's bait. Relief noodles became a commodity, their price skyrocketing several times over. In exchange, she obtained all kinds of less delicious but longer-lasting dry rations, cured fish, and preserved meat.

Chen Xuan had originally thought he could only supply her continuously for about half a month. Now, it seemed Liu Shuyue could keep things going for a month without much trouble.

If he had provided rice instead of instant noodles from the start, he probably would not have achieved this result.

Sect disciples really did have some skills.

"But what's going on with the Prefect? You said he's seemed preoccupied lately?"

Liu Shuyue nodded. "Yes. He may think he looks no different than usual, but the chaotic aura surrounding him shows that something is troubling him."

Someone had clearly solved the refugee problem for him. He should have been laughing even in his dreams. Chen Xuan immediately imagined a grand drama in which the local official had stolen disaster relief funds for himself.

But that made no sense logically, since the disaster relief funds and grain were still on the way. Besides, Liu Shuyue had solved the refugee issue without using any of Zhangwei City's resources. It was nothing but beneficial to him. Now that the refugees had been dealt with effortlessly, he should have felt even less pressure about embezzling relief funds.

"You think there's something wrong with him?"

"I investigated briefly, but found nothing. Since Shen Fang took office as the Prefect of Zhangwei, his reputation has always been excellent. He is incorruptible, fair in handling cases, and the common people privately call him Shen the Azure Sky."

Perhaps the Voice of Trust he had traded from Joan of Arc could help? Chen Xuan thought. It could not tell whether someone was lying, but it could sense whether they harbored hostility.

Before he could speak, however, Liu Shuyue waved her hand. "Forget it. I don't really care what he thinks. I just found out that Qingzhou's first batch of disaster relief grain will arrive in Zhangwei in two days. By then, my goal will have been achieved."

Right... the refugees were never her responsibility.

She had stepped forward to take over this mess only because she did not want to see living beings suffer.

Once the funds and grain allocated from other regions arrived, the crisis here would naturally be resolved.

"Where do you plan to go next?" Chen Xuan asked casually.

"I haven't decided yet. I heard there are evil cultivators in neighboring Yuanzhou. Maybe I'll go take a look." She took a sip of coffee with a smile. "In the end, this matter was resolved so smoothly thanks to you. Without Broadly Read Through the Ages, I doubt I would have come up with the idea of promoting Lotus Cloud Immortal Noodles. And without Liberty Leading the People, I could never have united thousands of refugees in a single day."

"You make it sound like I gave them to you for free." Chen Xuan smiled and shook his head. "You paid a price to obtain them, so the results should belong entirely to you as well."

"Is that so?" Liu Shuyue secretly glanced at him. "I remember this shop has a rule: if you're dissatisfied with an ability, you can return it within a month for the original price?"

Chen Xuan's smile froze on his face.

"Uh, well... do you want to return them?"

"Mm... no, I'm very satisfied with both abilities." Seeing him unconsciously let out a breath of relief, Liu Shuyue suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

These past few days had been the most relaxing she had experienced in years. It was not simply because her new residence was rich in Spiritual Energy, like an immortal realm. More importantly, she had suddenly found someone with whom she could exchange ideas. She was not fighting alone to solve the refugee problem, either. Whenever she thought of that mysterious shop supporting her from behind the scenes, she felt full of confidence.

In her eyes, Chen Xuan was no longer merely a merchant. He seemed more like a friend.

Even if it was only her illusion, she hoped it could last a little longer.

After all, once they parted this time, who knew how many years it would be before they met again?

After Liu Shuyue finished chatting and went upstairs, Chen Xuan finally had some free time. He had been busy arranging purchases of instant noodles these past few days and had not had the chance to properly appreciate the new abilities in his inventory. Now, he finally had the opportunity to try them out.

He had equipped the Heavenly Cloud Skill as soon as he received it, replacing the Pure Heart Art, but overall, he did not feel any obvious change.

He could tell that this cultivation method was far more complex than the Pure Heart Art, but it was not a complete replacement in terms of function. For instance, the Pure Heart Art could calm the mind and regulate body temperature. It kept him cool in summer and warm in winter, like a portable air conditioner. The Heavenly Cloud Skill lacked that convenient feature. Its enhancement effect on other spells was stronger. If the Pure Heart Art leaned toward support, then this one leaned more toward combat.

As for the description's claim that it could evolve the self and lead toward ascension, he had not grasped the trick at all.

Everything he knew about this ability came from Liu Shuyue, and naturally, Liu Shuyue did not understand what ascension meant.

Perhaps the shop's evaluations of abilities were full of nonsense to begin with and could not be treated as absolute truth.

In any case, it was a secret cultivation method of the Lotus Cloud Sect, one that only the most outstanding disciples were qualified to master. Now that it had fallen into his hands, Liu Shuyue had, in a sense, seriously violated sect rules. Of course, Liu Shuyue had discussed this with him as well. She had neither taught him the chant nor copied out a manual, and she had not even explained the most basic techniques for circulating energy. It did not count as passing it on at all.

It had to be said, her standards of conduct were quite flexible.

The other three abilities—Divine Eye Method, Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell Technique, and Thousand Thoughts Sword—were much more straightforward. After Chen Xuan equipped the Divine Eye Method, he discovered that he could easily see clothes drying on a balcony hundreds of meters away and catch the instant a bird left its branch. The ability was somewhat like cybernetic prosthetic eyes, greatly expanding the range of visual information he could take in.

Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell Technique was a life-saving spell. Its principle was rather mysterious. In Liu Shuyue's words, it used one's fate to erase a fatal crisis. Its effect was not fully automatic, either. If the caster failed to foresee their own death, it would still not activate. This non-passive nature disappointed Chen Xuan somewhat. If it could not protect against ambushes, its practical value would undoubtedly drop considerably.

As for Thousand Thoughts Sword... it truly lived up to its name. At a high level of cultivation, it could summon a thousand meditative energy swords. Each sword was like an extension of one's consciousness; it could strike from whichever direction one wished. It was extremely flexible to use. Chen Xuan casually tested it in the shop and felt that the swords were somewhat like an alternative kind of drone, impossible to guard against.

Unfortunately, at his current level, he could summon only two or three energy swords at once. Any more, and his head would grow dizzy, making it hard to concentrate.

According to the explanation of shopkeeper levels, an LV2 shopkeeper was limited to using traded abilities at no higher than LV2. In other words, an ability might be Thousand Thoughts Sword LV10 for someone else, but only LV2 when he used it himself.

Was this shop afraid that shopkeepers would embezzle abilities?