Human Understanding

Chen Ye had never wanted anything to do with the Qinghe Sword Sect.

To him, cultivation came first. He had come to Cui County to refine Blood Pills, hoping to race ahead on the path of cultivation.

He had gone to great lengths to stage that little performance earlier, all to make a name for himself and find a way into the sights of wealthy merchants and magnates. With their influence, he could gather the livestock he needed for cultivation.

But this approach was time-consuming and exhausting. Now, by a stroke of luck, he had met Miss Su. Perhaps he could build a connection with her. Chen Ye had a bold idea: take a shortcut.

Although he could now eliminate the side effects of the Blood Refining Method, Qi Condensation Pills were still far more convenient. One pill would save him a great deal of effort and make his cultivation go much more smoothly.

Su Chunyi considered this briefly, then shook her head. "I don't have any Qi Condensation Pills."

Chen Ye was a little disappointed. It seemed there was no easy shortcut on the path of cultivation after all.

But Su Chunyi changed tack and continued, "However, I do have the ingredients for refining Qi Condensation Pills. If you can answer my questions, I'm willing to trade them to you."

Chen Ye's eyes lit up. He agreed without hesitation. "Deal."

Chen Ye knew how to refine Qi Condensation Pills; the only problem was that the precious Xuanji Dew was incredibly hard to find. If he could get some from Su Chunyi, forming a qi sea in his dantian would be just around the corner.

Su Chunyi readily took out several exquisite jade vials and placed them before Chen Ye. They contained all the ingredients needed to refine Qi Condensation Pills. He examined them closely. Every ingredient was top-grade, far better than he had expected.

As expected of the Qinghe Sword Sect. They were truly rolling in wealth! And Su Chunyi had handed over the ingredients so directly, as though she had no fear at all that Chen Ye might go back on his word.

Perhaps that was the confidence of a prestigious sect. There were probably only a handful of cultivators in the world who would dare to make a fool of the Qinghe Sword Sect.

Chen Ye didn't stand on ceremony. He put the ingredients into his storage pouch, then calmly told Su Chunyi, "I'm just a Rogue Cultivator with no one to rely on. I can only look for opportunities among wealthy merchants and magnates, hoping to trade with them for the resources I need to cultivate.

"The performance Wang Sanqi and I put on was really just to make a name for myself. Ordinary people don't have much money to spare, so I figured I might as well tell their fortunes for free and have them spread the word. That might bring me wealthier clients."

Su Chunyi frowned slightly and asked softly, "No matter how much money mortals have, how can it help them cultivate?"

A smile tugged at Chen Ye's lips as he patiently explained, "Miss Su comes from a prestigious sect, so you may not understand how things work in the world. Xuanji Dew is rare, but as long as you're willing to pay enough, you can still buy it."

Su Chunyi understood and nodded lightly. "I see. You want to swindle more money out of people."

Chen Ye's heart gave a sudden jolt. Was Su Chunyi trying to set a trap for him?

If he admitted to being a "swindler," would a flying sword come whistling at him and take his head off?

Who knew what standards the Qinghe Sword Sect used to judge good and evil? Chen Ye certainly didn't dare call himself a swindler. He quickly waved his hands and explained, "Of course I'm not swindling people. I'll make pills that strengthen the body and trade them in return. I may sell them at a higher price, but I'm certainly not doing it to cheat anyone."

That was the honest truth. Chen Ye had already considered that once he made a name for himself, he could drum up some publicity and package those healing pills as elixirs capable of bringing the dead back to life. Then he could sell them for a much higher price.

But Su Chunyi seemed as innocent as a child who had never seen the world. She pressed on, "If you deliberately raise the price, doesn't that count as cheating?"

Chen Ye's heart tightened. She sure knew how to ask tricky questions. He hurriedly explained, "Whether something is worth the price depends on the bargaining between buyer and seller. Business has always been about buying low and selling high. How else would merchants make a living? Who can say exactly how much of a markup counts as cheating? Take antiques worth ten thousand gold pieces. Most are just clay that's been fired, yet how much they're worth depends entirely on what people think. I don't make counterfeits. The pills are real, and whatever price I can sell them for is a matter of my own ability."

Chen Ye was speaking in a rush. He was genuinely afraid of being branded a swindler and losing his life over it.

Fortunately, Su Chunyi was reasonable. After hearing his explanation, she nodded slightly in agreement. But this sword cultivator seemed to have an endless supply of questions. She immediately asked another: "I understand what you did, but there's one thing I still don't. You said you don't actually know how to tell fortunes. So how were your readings so accurate?"

Chen Ye didn't hide anything. He explained frankly, "It was just a few parlor tricks. I didn't actually divine the family backgrounds of those people who came to pray for blessings. I just made guesses based on their words and behavior. People want the same things: wealth, safety, marriage, and children.

"As the saying goes: when an old man asks about children, however many he has, they're too few; when a young man asks about children, whether he has any or not, they're daughters. A dull gaze and a withered expression mean that person is in dire straits, with nine plans out of ten doomed to fail. A healthy glow and a confident voice mean good fortune is close at hand, and nine things out of ten will go well..."

Chen Ye rattled off a whole string of observations, all ways to infer a person's family circumstances and current situation from the details of their behavior.

An old man asking about children? There was no need to think too hard: his family was small, with few descendants. A young person asking about children probably didn't have any yet—or had a daughter.

If someone seeking advice looked dispirited and asked about one confusing matter after another, they had probably made several bad decisions lately and gotten their household into trouble. If someone came in with a ruddy face and a note of smugness in their voice, good things were surely happening one after another. A little flattery would earn their trust.

There were plenty more tricks like these.

By carefully observing a visitor's speech, gestures, and eyes, Chen Ye could get a rough sense of their temperament. If he met someone frivolous and carefree, a few flattering words would make them beam with joy. If he met a modest gentleman, he would treat him sincerely, and the man would surely consider him a kindred spirit.

Once the person seeking a reading decided that Chen Ye had "got everything right," the rest was easy.

For someone seeking wealth, he advised them to take fewer risks and be more steady. For someone seeking safety, he gave them a couple of pills to strengthen the body. For someone seeking love, he told them to value character. For someone hoping for children, he wished them a hundred sons and a thousand grandsons.

As long as he kept his words vague, the people seeking readings would fit them to their own lives and decide Chen Ye really was a "living immortal."

Even if he guessed wrong, it was no big deal. He could casually claim that he had used up too much spiritual energy that day and made the occasional mistake.

Besides, he wasn't taking any money, so nobody would make a fuss. Those who thought his readings were accurate would even speak up to defend him. But his luck really had been exceptional that day: he'd read the fortunes of dozens of people and gotten almost all of them right.

Chen Ye hadn't learned these skills of reading people and handling social situations through cultivation. He had honed them in his previous life, navigating the cut and thrust of office politics.

Su Chunyi had listened quietly at first. Before long, she began nodding again and again, and by the end she couldn't help but praise him. "You're remarkably talented, fellow Daoist. I've learned a lot."

For the first time, Miss Su's tone had changed. Chen Ye's skill at reading people had truly astounded her. It wasn't magic, but it was far more powerful than magic. If he had a mind to deceive people, even someone with a much higher cultivation would have trouble seeing through him.

Chen Ye didn't feel proud of himself. If anything, he was a little helpless.

"These are just lowly tricks, useless for cultivation. If life as a Rogue Cultivator weren't so hard, I'd much rather hide in the mountains and cultivate. I wouldn't bother spending all this effort trying to read people's minds."

He'd had more than enough of office politics in his previous life. Unless he had no choice, Chen Ye truly didn't want to return to his old ways in this one.

After hearing this, Su Chunyi said, "You're too modest, fellow Daoist. You couldn't develop this kind of skill even after cultivating in the mountains for hundreds of years."

"You flatter me, Miss Su."

Chen Ye offered a few modest words, then heard Su Chunyi say in a grave voice, "I have one last question. Please help me understand."

Her tone seemed different from the cool reserve she had shown earlier.

"Please, Miss Su."

Chen Ye had a feeling that after all their talk, this was the question that really mattered. He just didn't know what the Qinghe Sword Sect's star pupil wanted to ask.

To Chen Ye's surprise, before asking her question, Su Chunyi took off her bamboo hat and met his gaze with eyes as clear as autumn water.

Su Chunyi was very beautiful, but what truly caught Chen Ye's attention was her eyes.

They were the clearest eyes he had ever seen in either of his lives, as if they could see right into his heart. At the same time, she made no effort to hide what she was thinking.

Chen Ye didn't know how to describe the feeling. This girl looked like she'd be very easy to fool, but also like she'd be very hard to fool.

This kind of heart-to-heart openness from someone he had only just met left Chen Ye, a man whose years in society had sullied him with worldly cunning, feeling rather out of his depth.

Chen Ye understood why Su Chunyi had taken off her bamboo hat. Looking into those eyes made lying extraordinarily difficult. Even a seasoned operator like him might not be able to pull it off perfectly.

With such solemnity, what exactly did Su Chunyi want to ask?

But Su Chunyi only asked a question she had already asked before: "Tell me, fellow Daoist. Does helping someone as evil as Wang Sanqi count as doing good?"