At his words, Yi Feng, who had been about to rise and leave, stirred.
The author of Dream of the Red Chamber?
Wasn't that himself?
He had not expected Mao Yun'er to be one of his readers. Perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope for getting his books printed. After all, his finances were already stretched beyond their means.
Sure enough, when Mao Yun'er mentioned Dream of the Red Chamber in front of Yi Feng, Mao Lin's expression became rather colorful. He quickly coughed twice and lightly rebuked her, "Yun'er, I told you I'm receiving a guest. Go out first."
Mao Yun'er glanced at Yi Feng, puffed out her little cheeks, and retreated outside.
Once Mao Yun'er had left, Mao Lin forced a smile at Yi Feng and said, "Master Yi, to be honest, my daughter truly is one of your readers. When she read your Dream of the Red Chamber, she practically forgot to eat and sleep!"
But at that point, his tone abruptly changed.
"But..."
"As the jewel of our Merchant Association, she bears great responsibilities. Spending all day absorbed in books about love and romance is simply improper, not to mention neglecting her proper duties."
"I'll be frank with you as well. Part of the reason I don't want to help print that... whatever it is, Supreme Treasure, is because of my daughter. Once your book comes out, she'll become immersed in it again, so I hope you can understand."
Hearing this, Yi Feng nodded. Without saying much, he prepared to stand and leave.
"Wait."
Mao Lin called out again.
Yi Feng stopped and turned back to look at him.
Mao Lin rose and walked toward Yi Feng, waving a hand as he did so. His subordinate understood and went out. Before long, he brought over a jade tray upon which lay two rows of Gold Coins—perhaps over a hundred in all.
Yi Feng looked at him in confusion.
"You saw it just now. My daughter was looking for you, the original author." Mao Lin took the jade tray and held it out to Yi Feng, continuing, "Don't reveal your identity in front of my daughter. There are one hundred Gold Coins here. Take them."
Yi Feng frowned slightly and looked at the jade tray.
After hesitating briefly, he reached out and took only ten Gold Coins. Then he said, "These ten are payment for the herbs from last time. There's no need for the rest."
With that, Yi Feng turned and left.
Those who walked different paths could not make plans together. There was no need to say anything more.
At the entrance, he ran into the waiting Mao Yun'er. Yi Feng gave her a polite nod, a gesture of respect and gratitude toward a reader—toward the patrons who fed and clothed him.
Nothing more.
After Yi Feng left, Mao Yun'er went to find Mao Lin again.
"Father, you promised you would introduce me to the author of Dream of the Red Chamber. Why is there still no news?" Mao Yun'er pouted her red lips and wheedled.
"Yun'er, you should focus on learning how to do business from the elders of the Merchant Association. Why read those idle, improper books?" Mao Lin softly rebuked her.
"Business, business—you only ever know to make me do business! I don't like doing business at all! Besides, even if I have to do business, reading doesn't affect it!" Mao Yun'er stomped her jade foot in adorable anger.
"It's useless no matter what you say. You won't get to see him, and he probably won't publish any more books either." Mao Lin said with a stern face.
"Why?" Mao Yun'er asked anxiously.
"He's merely a poor country bumpkin from some mountain village. If I hadn't helped him last time, where would he have found the means to publish books?" Mao Lin said disdainfully. "Besides, it doesn't bring much profit to the Merchant Association, so we won't work with him again."
"But... but Dream of the Red Chamber clearly sold very well! The Merchant Association earned quite a bit because of it too!" Mao Yun'er said unwillingly. "Why won't you cooperate with him?"
"Although there was indeed some profit, it isn't the focus of our Merchant Association. Compared to our main priorities, those profits are far too meager." Mao Lin explained solemnly. "Moreover, this is a critical period in our competition with the Baofeng Merchant Association. The Merchant Association cannot afford to divide its attention."
Seeing that Mao Yun'er still wanted to say something, he waved his hand with authority and shouted, "Enough. I still have matters to attend to. Take the young miss back to her room to rest."
No matter how Mao Yun'er struggled, two servants directly took her away.
After walking out of the Merchant Association, Yi Feng was struck by the autumn wind, his figure looking somewhat forlorn.
Life.
It was never easy anywhere.
It seemed that if he wanted to publish books and earn money, he could only think of another way.
Just as he reached the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall, he saw two familiar figures. One tall and one small, they sat before the Martial Arts Hall steps, propping their chins in their hands as though waiting for something.
They were Luolan Xue and Yin Luoli from the Qingshan Sect.
They were cultivators to begin with, possessing extraordinary temperaments and beauty born of nature. Their figures were graceful and enchanting, drawing the eyes of every passerby.
When they saw Yi Feng return, joy appeared on their pretty faces, and they hurried over to greet him.
"Greetings, sir."
Luolan Xue offered a salute, though she did not quite dare meet Yi Feng's eyes.
Yin Luoli, on the other hand, studied Yi Feng like a curious child. More than once, she had heard her master and elder sister say that the man before her was a Peerless Expert, and that she had to be courteous and respectful whenever she met him.
"So it's you two."
Yi Feng nodded and asked with a smile, "Where is Old Brother Qingshan? Why didn't he come?"
"Master... my uncle has been recuperating at home recently. He specifically asked the two of us to come see you first." Luolan Xue held out an exquisitely wrapped basket and said softly, "These are fruits gathered from the mountains. My uncle asked us to give them to you."
"You're too kind, too kind."
Yi Feng smiled as he accepted the fruit basket. Without ceremony, he opened it and took a look. Inside lay several crystal-white fruits shaped like little dolls, looking quite delicious.
Seeing Yi Feng smile, Luolan Xue became less restrained.
She had to admit that being around this senior was truly comfortable. Thinking of this, she simply began chatting with Yi Feng about everyday matters and asked, "Where have you come from, sir?"
"Me..."
Yi Feng gave a bitter smile and said, "With nothing better to do, I wrote a book to help support my household, but I'm having trouble finding a place to publish it."
"Sir wrote a book to support your household, yet cannot find a place to publish it?"
Luolan Xue was slightly startled.
But then she thought it over. Yi Feng had immersed himself in mortal life so thoroughly and had always been unwilling to reveal his identity. That was probably why he faced such troubles.
Human relations and worldly affairs, firewood, rice, oil, and salt; joy and sorrow, hardship and confusion—this was what truly experiencing life meant!
For a moment, Luolan Xue seemed to gain another insight.
Sure enough, every time she came into contact with sir, she gained something unexpected.
"Sir, how about we help you?" After recovering herself, Luolan Xue cautiously asked.
"Oh?"
Yi Feng's eyes brightened slightly.
"It's like this: Luoli's father is the president of the Baofeng Merchant Association. How about we go find him together?" Luolan Xue explained. Since sir was living as a mortal, helping him through the ordinary mortal method of connections should not break any rules, right?
"That would be wonderful."
The gloom in Yi Feng's heart was instantly swept away. Beyond the willow shade, another village appeared!
Before you continue