The woman in blue was of average build, with a small, delicate nose and bright eyes as clear as water. Though her looks were ordinary, not even matching those of the pretty maid beside her, her composed bearing far surpassed the maid's.
"Shopkeeper, what is special about this Purple Mansion Spirit Spring Tea?"
The woman in blue spoke in a clear, pleasant voice, her manner gentle and courteous. The shopkeeper hurriedly explained with a smile,
"You may not know, honored customer, but this Purple Mansion Spirit Spring Tea is made from the essence of century-old divine wood and spirit spring water, then refined for three days and nights with a Foundation Establishment cultivator's innate true fire to seal all its spiritual energy inside. Once brewed, its spiritual energy immediately spills forth, along with an exquisite fragrance. Qi Condensation cultivators can even gradually improve their cultivation by drinking it. The improvement may be slow, but a cup each day produces remarkable results over time."
The shopkeeper's expression dimmed. He naturally knew this Spirit Tea was rather expensive for Qi Condensation cultivators. Quite a few customers that day had been forced to give up because of its price.
The shopkeeper's expression dimmed. He naturally knew this spirit tea was rather expensive for Qi Condensation cultivators. Quite a few customers that day had been forced to give up because of its price.
Just then, Lin He walked in. He made no attempt to conceal his Foundation Establishment cultivation. The shopkeeper glanced up, sensed his cultivation, and immediately grew excited, hurrying forward to greet him.
Lin He smiled faintly. "I came on the strength of your reputation and wanted to see for myself. Do you carry these varieties of Spirit Tea?"
Lin He smiled faintly. "I came on the strength of your reputation and wanted to see for myself. Do you carry these varieties of spirit tea?"
Lin He named the varieties Old Cai had mentioned, including Purple Mansion Spirit Spring Tea. The shopkeeper grew even more enthusiastic and hurriedly praised him. "One look tells me you know your spirit tea, Senior. If you search elsewhere, you might find one or two of these varieties, but if you want them all, this humble shop is the only place."
Lin He had not spent the past month idling away. Aside from strolling about, he had been learning the art of tea tasting from Old Cai, and by now, he could be considered to have grasped the basics.
He casually described the benefits of these spirit teas and how they were refined, drawing endless admiration from the shopkeeper, who slapped his thigh and said,
"It seems you too have devoted yourself to studying the art of tea, Senior. How about this? I'll give you twenty percent off all these varieties of Spirit Tea. What do you think?"
Lin He smiled. He was actually buying them on Old Cai's behalf, so a discount hardly mattered. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Old Cai had already given him more than enough spirit stones. Still, since the shopkeeper himself had offered a discount, Lin He was hardly foolish enough to refuse. He nodded, then suddenly seemed to think of something and added,
"Shopkeeper, why not do these two young ladies a favor and give them twenty percent off as well?"
Purple Mansion Spirit Spring Tea was also on Lin He's shopping list. This Spirit Tea only benefited Qi Condensation cultivators, so Old Cai was probably buying it for his juniors. But it was far from cheap, and it had to be consumed repeatedly, making the accumulated cost considerable.
Both the woman in blue and her pretty maid brightened at his words. The woman in blue stepped forward politely. "Thank you, Senior!"
Then she looked at the shopkeeper. "This senior bought so many varieties of spirit tea on his very first visit. Surely you wouldn't refuse to give such a valued customer a little face?"
"Well..." The shopkeeper found himself backed into a corner. Seeing Lin He looking over as well, he felt considerable pressure and hurriedly said,
"Since this senior has spoken, what more can this junior say? It's settled, then. But young lady, you mustn't tell anyone about this, or I won't be able to do business in the future."
The woman in blue smiled slyly and quickly replied, "Rest assured. Our lips will be sealed tight as bottles."
After completing their purchases, the three left the shop. Lin He was just about to leave when the woman in blue stepped forward and bowed.
"Senior, Ru Yin will remember what you did today."
The pretty maid nodded along. "Yes, Xiao Mei will remember too."
Lin He froze at their words, suddenly feeling that this was far too much of a coincidence. He had come here intending to seek out Xin Ruoyin and had still been wondering where to begin, only to run into her just like this.
At this point, Xin Ruoyin was only at the seventh level of Qi Condensation, while Xiao Mei was merely at the fourth. Their meager strength could hardly attract attention, but Lin He knew Xin Ruoyin could not be judged purely by her cultivation. Her mastery of formations was simply astonishing. In the original story, even after Han Li became a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Formation Manuals on Ancient Formations and the secret technique for cultivating a second nascent soul that Xin Ruoyin had left behind continued to prove useful.
Seeing Lin He staring at her in a daze, Xin Ruoyin frowned, seemingly having misunderstood. She spoke up to remind him,
"Senior, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with my face?"
Only then did Lin He realize he had lost his composure. He shook his head. "Forgive my rudeness, Miss Ru Yin. Such a trifling matter is hardly worth mentioning. I have other business to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
Lin He moved, swiftly shrinking into a black dot before vanishing from their sight. Startled, Xiao Mei could not help praising him,
"So fast! Just what you'd expect from a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
Xin Ruoyin's voice, however, was rather cold. "I thought he was a decent man, but he turned out to be another lecher. Xiao Mei, we should hurry and leave. We could run into either him or people from the Fu clan in this Market."
"Miss, I really don't understand. You always say the Fu clan commits atrocities and that you don't want to set up formations for them to kill people. But among the clans we helped before, which one didn't use those formations to kill its enemies?"
Seeing Xiao Mei's puzzled expression, Xin Ruoyin sighed. Walking briskly, she patiently explained, "In this world without the slightest order, the biggest fist makes the rules. As long as you're strong and have powerful backing, you can wipe out another clan down to its last member for no reason at all and suffer no punishment. I'm only a minor Qi Condensation cultivator. I can do nothing about this murky world. I only want to study the art of formations, but that requires buying large quantities of Formation Flags, Array Disks, and all kinds of Formation Manuals. All of those cost spirit stones-a great many spirit stones. That's why I have no choice but to set up formations for others. But I still have one fundamental line I won't cross, and that is-freedom!"
"Freedom?" Xiao Mei seemed thoughtful as she listened, so Xin Ruoyin simply spelled it out. "The Fu clan is far too greedy. They don't merely want to hire me to set up a formation or two. They want me to remain with the Fu clan for the rest of my life, setting up formations for them. That is something I absolutely cannot accept."
At this, Xiao Mei finally understood and immediately voiced her firm support. "Miss, you put it so well! I'm on your side. You absolutely mustn't be locked up with the Fu clan for your entire life. Just thinking about that kind of life
"makes me feel utterly terrified."
Xin Ruoyin nodded and hurried out of the Market with Xiao Mei. What neither of them knew, however, was that a group was furtively trailing them a short distance behind. At their head was a short, plump young man-Liu Ming.