Your Flowers Look a Little Green

A head poked out from behind the bouquet, and only then did Chen Xian realize he had been flattering himself.

It was a man.

And someone he knew—Lin Xiaoyan.

"Martial Granduncle!" Lin Xiaoyan greeted him. He wanted to cup his hands in salute, but the bouquet in his arms was so huge that he could barely pinch two fingers together.

Chen Xian asked curiously, "Hm, have your injuries healed? What are you doing?"

"Oh! They've healed. Thank you for your concern, Martial Granduncle. It's Wanru's birthday today. Someone sent her flowers, so I'm helping deliver them."

Lin Xiaoyan gave an honest smile.

Chen Xian stroked the beard at the corner of his mouth and asked gossipily, "Who is Wanru?"

Lin Xiaoyan explained with a serious expression, "My fiancée, Zhou Wanru."

"..."

The hand stroking his beard froze. Looking at the handsome young man before him, Chen Xian fell silent. Chen Xian was baffled.

He opened Lin Xiaoyan's status panel.

[Traits: Innate Divine Strength (Mystic), Heavy Dao Artifact Mastery (Yellow), Sword Dao Affinity (Yellow), Unyielding (White), Betrothal Annulled (Gray)...]

[Betrothal Annulled (Gray): This is a fate of emotional tribulation. Its bearer is prone to broken relationships in youth and finds marriage difficult to attain, turning it into a heart tribulation! If the heart tribulation cannot be overcome, cultivation will not advance and great potential will go to waste. But if the tribulation is broken through, the bearer will leap like a fish through the dragon gate, and cultivation will advance at breakneck speed thereafter!]

That was it. Sure enough, it was a cuckold trait.

But he still had to make sure, so he continued, "Was the person who sent flowers to your fiancée a man or a woman?"

"It was Senior Brother Tang Yu from Pill Peak. He takes very good care of Wanru and me. The three of us are very close."

"Hiss..."

Chen Xian fell silent again, the wrinkles on his face bunching into a row of tiny question marks.

Lin Xiaoyan blew away a bee that had landed on the bouquet. "What is it, Martial Granduncle?"

"Xiaoyan, don't you think this bouquet looks a little green?"

After thinking it over, Chen Xian decided to probe indirectly first. What if Lin Xiaoyan's fiancée and that Tang Yu really did share nothing more than pure friendship?

Right? What if? Wouldn't he be maliciously speculating about them otherwise?

"No. I think the flowers are colorful and beautiful. Wanru will definitely like them. Senior Brother Tang is truly thoughtful."

Lin Xiaoyan looked at his Martial Granduncle in confusion, unable to understand why he said such a gorgeous bouquet looked a little green.

"Fine, then what did you give your fiancée?"

Chen Xian could not help yanking out one of his own beard hairs, trying to use the pain to tell himself that this kid was actually serious.

"Haha, Wanru didn't want me giving her all those flashy gifts, so I bought ten Mirror-Breaking Pills from Senior Brother Tang as her birthday present."

"Hiss..." Hearing that, Chen Xian nearly tore out his entire beard.

"That's utterly heaven-defying, kid."

He could not help giving Lin Xiaoyan a thumbs-up.

He had originally thought that Lin Xiaoyan was clearly gifted and had decent cultivation too. No matter how he looked at it, he did not seem like the sort to have his betrothal annulled in some underdog story.

So it was substitute-lover drama mixed with a cheating plotline!

It seemed Zhou Wanru's true love was probably Zhou Yu, while Lin Xiaoyan played the role of an "ATM machine that loves her."

Then an annulled betrothal was no surprise.

"What?" Lin Xiaoyan did not understand.

"It's nothing. If you suffer any emotional setbacks in the future, come talk to your Martial Granduncle."

"Remember this: while one lives in this world, there is no hurdle one cannot cross."

Chen Xian walked over to Lin Xiaoyan, then patted his shoulder meaningfully.

This kid at least had the template of a chosen son of heaven. Helping him out when possible would be good; forming a positive bond would not hurt either.

As everyone knew, once chosen sons of heaven with lone-star destinies took off, aside from their relatives and sworn brothers becoming fuel for their rise, every passerby who had once lent a hand would soar along with them.

"Alright, this disciple will remember. Thank you for your guidance, Martial Granduncle!"

Seeing the serious look on his Martial Granduncle's face, Lin Xiaoyan nodded solemnly despite not understanding what he meant.

"Go on. This old man still thinks those flowers are far too green."

Chen Xian patted his shoulder again, then ignored him and turned toward the Dining Hall.

"Where exactly are they green?"

Lin Xiaoyan glared at the bee that had returned to the flowers, wondering whether his Martial Granduncle might be a little color-blind.

The Outer Sect Dining Hall was where outer sect disciples ate, somewhat like a university cafeteria.

But aside from meals, it also sold medicinal cuisine, spirit melons, spirit fruits, and all sorts of ingredients.

"Beep, senior card."

Chen Xian walked to the third serving window and pressed his token against a jade platform used to deduct Contribution Points, silently reciting the words with mischievous delight.

He did not actually need to spend Contribution Points to eat here. That was one of the privileges of being the sect master's martial uncle.

"Martial Granduncle, what would you like to eat?"

The one serving food was an outer sect disciple who had worked here part-time for a long time. Chen Xian knew him—his name was Lai Sanshao.

Chen Xian had accidentally discovered that Lai Sanshao possessed a trait: [Steady Hand (Common)].

Every time he served food, three huge ladlefuls went down, plentiful and steady.

Although Chen Xian could eat whatever he wanted at the Dining Hall, he appreciated talent like this.

"Just give me two buns. Then call over the person in charge of selling fruit and melons."

Lai Sanshao swiftly wrapped the buns in a paper bag and handed them to Chen Xian.

Chen Xian ate as he waited. The bun skins were soft and fluffy, their fillings thick and juicy; one bite sent broth spilling into his mouth. They were truly delicious.

Before long, two buns had gone into his stomach.

A portly old man walked up to the window. He appeared to be about the same age as Chen Xian.

"Senior Brother Chen? You were looking for me?"

Chen Xian raised a white brow. This was the first time he had encountered someone of his own generation in the sect.

The other man clearly knew him.

"Hehe, I forgot to introduce myself. This old man is Wei An, seventy-seven this year, and the deacon in charge of fruit and melon sales at the Dining Hall."

Wei An cupped his hands. Chen Xian returned the salute.

"May I ask why Senior Brother summoned me?"

"This old man wishes to buy some fruit," Chen Xian said directly.

"Haha, if Senior Brother wants fruit, just take some. Why would you need to buy it?"

Wei An beckoned. "Sanshao, go fetch some Spirit Jade Honey Melons picked today for Senior Brother to try."

"No, no, this old man is taking them to sell!"

Seeing Lai Sanshao about to move, Chen Xian hurriedly stopped him.

He knew this world had fruits identical to those from before his transmigration, even with the same names.

But he had truly never seen anyone selling candied hawthorn. Back in Chang-le Village, among dozens of nearby villages, he had been the first to sell it.

Only later, after clever vendors copied him, did it gradually spread.

"Sell them? Senior Brother doesn't want spirit melons or spirit fruits?" Wei An froze for a moment.

"No need. Ordinary fruits like the ones I mentioned will do—hawthorn, green grapes, strawberries, and the like. I plan to make a snack called candied hawthorn and sell it at the sect market."

Chen Xian shook his head and explained.

"A snack? Candied gourds? Senior Brother wants to buy gourds too? The Dining Hall truly doesn't have any."

Wei An's curiosity stirred. This was food he had never heard of before.

He had heard that Senior Brother Chen had been stranded in the mortal world for decades. Presumably, he had learned some mortal snacks and cooking methods there.

But to make these so-called candied gourds, shouldn't he be buying gourds? Why was he buying ordinary fruit instead?

He was intensely curious.

Everyone who knew him understood that he had cultivated all his life without a single hobby—except eating!

Delicious food, terrible food, things he had heard of but never seen—he would always find a way to taste them.

That belly of his had not grown so round for nothing!

"It is merely called candied hawthorn. Junior Brother Wei has never seen it? Then once this old man makes it, I'll send some over for Junior Brother to try."

Chen Xian explained with a smile.

"Wonderful! That's excellent, Senior Brother. You don't know this, but eating is this junior brother's greatest love in life. I must taste Senior Brother's handiwork."

Wei An's face filled with anticipation as he laughed and clapped his hands.

"Then it's settled."

Chen Xian finally understood that this plump old man Wei An was a foodie.

After some discussion,

Chen Xian walked out of the Dining Hall carrying a basket filled with ordinary fruits such as hawthorn, strawberries, and green grapes.

Wei An had refused to accept his Contribution Points no matter what, but Chen Xian eventually wore him down and paid one Contribution Point.

After all, he was taking these things to sell. Selling goods gifted by someone else somehow did not sit right with him.

"I'll make some of each."

Chen Xian looked at the fresh, colorful fruits in the basket. Although he was confident in his skills, he was still unsure whether candied hawthorn would sell.

Wei An had also given him an idea. If candied hawthorn made from ordinary fruits sold well, he could try making it with spirit melons and spirit fruits too.

But this was his first attempt at setting up a stall. Everything was an unknown.

"I can't focus only on making money. I can't let cultivation fall behind either."

Feeling the forty-nine Contribution Points in his token, Chen Xian thought it over and decided to buy four Spirit-Guiding Pills first.

Setting up a stall and cultivating had to proceed side by side!

He would strive to earn enough Spirit-Guiding Pills to break through into the Dao Master Realm.