A familiar face

Port No. 1 was a forest of sails and masts.

Most belonged to fishing boats thirty feet long, however. Few luxurious black-canopied boats a hundred feet long were in sight.

As Junior Fisher-Farmers left, new ones arrived. However battered by wind and rain the Yun Household was, it could still serve as a sheltered harbor for cultivators at the bottom.

Chen Jianghe went ashore. As a veteran fisher-farmer, he had long since lost any sense of novelty about the port. Without stopping or looking around, he headed straight for the market.

"Brother Chen?!"

Just as he reached the entrance to the Welcoming Inn, he ran straight into a "familiar face," a lean, middle-aged man.

It was none other than Wang Kui, who had once asked Chen Jianghe to lend him spirit sand.

"Wha-you've become a Senior Fisher-Farmer?!"

Wang Kui saw that Chen Jianghe wore a standard-issue silk robe, with a silver cloud embroidered on his chest that reflected a dazzling gleam in the sunlight.

The aura of magical power spilling from Chen Jianghe particularly left him clicking his tongue in wonder. "A Senior Fisher-Farmer at the third layer of Qi Refining! You have a chance of becoming a late Qi Refining stage cultivator someday. Your prospects are boundless, boundless!"

A year earlier, the Yun Household had bestowed opportunities upon some of the Junior Fisher-Farmers. Some had been promoted to Senior Fisher-Farmers ahead of schedule, while others had married into the Yun Household.

Wang Kui had never imagined that Chen Jianghe had received such an opportunity too.

"Brother Wang."

Chen Jianghe gave him a practiced smile and greeted him.

He had no particular grudge against Wang Kui. After his firm refusal to lend him spirit sand the first time, the man had not made trouble for him. The second time they had seen each other from a distance, Wang Kui had even worn a friendly smile.

They had not met for several years. A few more wrinkles had appeared on Wang Kui's face, and he had visibly aged considerably. He was probably around fifty now, the age of knowing one's destiny.

Judging by the aura of magical power spilling from Wang Kui, he had yet to break through to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

It was, however, much more substantial than before. Presumably, he was close to reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining.

For a Junior Fisher-Farmer like Wang Kui, with little talent for either cultivation or aquaculture, earning some spirit sand through shady sidelines was his only option. Breaking through to the late Qi Refining stage would be difficult.

"I failed to recognize a pearl when I saw one back then. If I offended you in any way, Brother Chen, please don't hold it against me."

Wang Kui cupped his hands and declared with soaring generosity, "I have some savings on hand. If you need anything, Brother Chen, just say the word."

"All right. Thank you, Brother Wang." Chen Jianghe nodded.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Seeing that Chen Jianghe had come to the Welcoming Inn, Wang Kui knew he had arranged to meet someone and naturally would not pester him.

With someone who showed promise, it was enough to humble himself, resolve past misunderstandings, and forge a friendly connection along the way.

Only a fool would force himself on someone with fawning flattery.

Watching Wang Kui walk away, Chen Jianghe sighed inwardly. People who earned their living through shady sidelines were the best at reading faces and gauging words, knowing when to bend and when to stand tall.

Then he entered the Welcoming Inn and went upstairs to a private room.

Gao Peiyao and Zhou Miaoyun had already arrived.

Both were Junior Fisher-Farmers whose Aquaculture Waters lay closer to the port, so naturally they had arrived before Chen Jianghe.

On top of that, the potential Chen Jianghe now displayed compelled them to take him seriously.

"Brother Jianghe."

"Fellow Daoist Chen."

A year had passed, and Gao Peiyao had blossomed into a graceful young woman. Her glossy black hair fell straight to her waist, and her lively phoenix eyes shimmered like clear autumn waters as they moved. With gently lifted willow-leaf brows, a high nose, and cherry-red lips, she was a beauty who could topple a city.

Her skin was like congealed cream, her face like the moon at Mid-Autumn.

Zhou Miaoyun's figure had also grown fuller and more alluring, like a ripe apple, fragrant, delicate, and tender as jade.

"Peiyao, Fairy Miaoyun."

After sitting down, Chen Jianghe said, "Daniu's wife is about to give birth, so he can't attend this year's gathering. He asked me to apologize to you both."

"I'll cover Daniu's share of this year's gathering expenses for him." During the first half of the year, Chen Jianghe had received no letters from Gao Peiyao or the other two. Only toward the end of the year had he received a letter from Yu Daniu.

In fact, it was perfectly normal that he had received no letters.

Zhou Miaoyun, Gao Peiyao, and Yu Daniu did not know where his Aquaculture Waters were, so they could not have a white egret deliver letters to him.

Yu Daniu had only managed to send his letter because he had learned Chen Jianghe's waters number on Heart of the Lake Island.

It was not that Chen Jianghe had refused to write and tell the three of them where his waters were. The cost was simply too high: a single letter cost one grain of spirit sand.

Rather than spend three grains of spirit sand, he might as well wait until their year-end gathering to tell them.

There was one nice thing, though: Senior Fisher-Farmers did not need to pay the white egrets for receiving letters in the Inner Waters.

"About to give birth?!"

Zhou Miaoyun and Gao Peiyao exchanged a glance, both looking astonished and finding it hard to believe.

"Yes. It should happen sometime this month."

When Chen Jianghe had first read the letter, he had been quite surprised too. It was common knowledge that cultivators had difficulty conceiving.

If she was due at the end of the year, what did that mean?

Within two months of Yu Daniu's marriage at most, his wife had become pregnant. It could infuriate those cultivators who wanted children and had plowed diligently for years without results.

"Since Fellow Daoist Yu married into the Yun Household, he should put the household first. With his wife about to give birth, he should naturally stay by her side and care for her."

Zhou Miaoyun spoke mildly, not particularly concerned about whether Yu Daniu came.

Although Yu Daniu had married into the Yun Household, it was universally acknowledged in the cultivation world that live-in sons-in-law had the least promising futures.

"I never thought Brother Daniu would have a child so soon. We'll be able to see our little nephew at next year's gathering. Hehe." Gao Peiyao smiled playfully.

They did not dwell on Yu Daniu's affairs.

Chen Jianghe told Zhou Miaoyun and Gao Peiyao his number in the Inner Waters, then shared a few things about the Inner Waters with them.

These included the spiritual energy in the Inner Waters, and how Senior Fisher-Farmers could visit Heart of the Lake Island on New Year's Eve to purchase cultivation resources.

The two women's phoenix eyes gleamed, and they were filled with envy.

"Since you can visit Heart of the Lake Island, Fellow Daoist Chen, you won't need to rely on someone else to purchase a Calamity-Transcending Pill for a breakthrough to the late Qi Refining stage in the future."

Zhou Miaoyun lifted her delicate brows slightly and chuckled.

Yu Daniu lived on Heart of the Lake Island, yet Zhou Miaoyun seemed to overlook him, whether deliberately or otherwise. Clearly, she had no confidence in his future whatsoever.

Or perhaps something unpleasant had happened between her and Yu Daniu while he was trying his hand at the Talisman Dao.

Chen Jianghe noticed this, but he was not foolish enough to ask for details.

"Fairy Miaoyun, do you know what Small Blue Fish can be used for?" Chen Jianghe asked.

"Small Blue Fish that have entered a grade and become spirit beasts have a wide range of uses. Their flesh is delicious and rich in spiritual energy. Prepared by a culinary master, it is no less effective than miraculous elixirs."

"The blood of Small Blue Fish can be used to make spiritual ink, their spiritual cores can be used in pill refining, and even their scales can be used to refine defensive magical artifacts."

From Zhou Miaoyun's explanation, once a graded spirit beast Small Blue Fish was broken down into its parts, its value reached six spirit stones.

No wonder the Yun Household spent so much to raise Small Blue Fish. The profits were considerable.

Afterward, they turned to discussing the Yun Household.

It seemed that, because the Yun Household's Foundation Establishment Ancestor was nearing the end of his lifespan, an elder at the ninth level of Qi Refining had died, and the Bai Household of Qiyun Mountain was pressing aggressively against them,

the Yun Household had begun pulling back its sphere of influence. In this single year, its territory had actually shrunk from an eight-hundred-li radius to a three-hundred-li radius.

This was to guard against major powers such as the Bai Household, as well as surprise attacks by Lan Tianxiang, a surviving remnant of the Lan Household.

This information had come from Zhou Miaoyun's family.

Shixia Town, three hundred li north of Mirror Moon Lake, had become the new border between the Yun Household and the Bai Household.

(End of chapter)