A Brief, Warm Moment of Leisure

Two days later, word had spread throughout the Weiyang Realm that an Immortal had descended upon the Central Continent. The Heavenly Sword Holy Lord, Jian Wuxin, had given his life to obtain One Sword Under Heaven from the Immortal. How great he was!

And because of that sword strike, the overall strength of the Weiyang Realm continued to rise.

This sword strike, which had shaken the Weiyang Realm, became a lively topic of conversation among men and women, young and old.

Strangely enough, not one of the hundreds of thousands who had been present could draw a portrait of the Immortal.

In a medicine shop in Chu Imperial City.

"Master, Master, did you see that? An Immortal! The Immortal bestowed a blessing!"

Liao Yunxiao waved his arms and gestured excitedly. This was already the tenth time he had asked Ye Zichen.

"I saw it, I saw it. Say it again and I'll beat you up."

Ye Zichen felt a headache coming on. This kid was such a handful.

"Master, do you think I could become an Immortal someday?"

Liao Yunxiao imagined it.

If he became such a powerful Immortal, he would eat his way across the world and search it for treasures!

"If you don't get back to grinding medicine properly, I'll take action."

Ye Zichen made a show of taking out a ruler. Liao Yunxiao instantly settled down.

After a moment of peace, a lovely girl arrived at the medicine shop.

"Brother Ye, I came to see you!"

Mu Lingxi hopped into the shop and headed straight for Ye Zichen.

Since their last meeting, Mu Lingxi had begun cultivating, and as an immortal cultivator, she had more ways to earn money.

Mu Lingxi and her grandmother had moved to another rented home. She was thinking that once she earned a little more money, she would buy a house right beside Big Brother's medicine shop!

"Huh? Master, who's she?"

Liao Yunxiao looked at the little girl, who was about his age, his face full of questions.

"Lingxi, you actually found your way here."

Ye Zichen made a show of giving Mu Lingxi a hug.

"Hehe, it took me a lot of effort. The south and east sides of the city are sooo far apart!"

Mu Lingxi gestured to show the distance, looking adorable.

"Is that so? Lingxi, you're amazing."

Ye Zichen patted Mu Lingxi on the head.

"Hey! Master, pay attention to me!"

Liao Yunxiao felt that this little girl was the culprit behind Master no longer liking him!

"Huh? Brother Ye, who's this?"

Mu Lingxi noticed Liao Yunxiao and asked Ye Zichen about him.

With a look of disdain, Ye Zichen said, "Him? He's a herb-gathering boy at the shop."

Liao Yunxiao suddenly felt dejected. "Master, how can you say that? You used to dote on me so much!"

Ye Zichen paid no attention to Liao Yunxiao's sadness. This silly boy was getting big and hard to manage; raising a daughter was better, since girls were well-behaved.

"What's your name?"

Mu Lingxi stepped forward and asked Liao Yunxiao.

"Hmph! You awful person! I'm not talking to you!"

Liao Yunxiao folded his arms and turned his head away in a huff.

Mu Lingxi found it funny. She had matured quite a bit, and only in front of Ye Zichen and her grandmother did she still show her truest self.

Seeing the boy's displeasure, she whispered to Liao Yunxiao, "Oh, Big Brother really does care about you. He often mentions you to me and says all sorts of good things about you!"

How could Liao Yunxiao resist such praise? He immediately turned around. "Really? What else does Master usually say?"

And so the two little children whispered together in the corner. Watching them, Ye Zichen smiled without realizing it.

"Hmph! In that case, I forgive you!"

Liao Yunxiao put his hands on his hips as he spoke.

"Mm-hmm. So what's your name?"

Mu Lingxi asked again.

"Liao Yunxiao. Well? It sounds nice, doesn't it?"

Liao Yunxiao was very proud of his name.

"Mm-hmm, it sounds nice! My name is Mu Lingxi. Mu as in Mu Lingxi, Ling as in Mu Lingxi, and Xi as in Mu Lingxi."

Liao Yunxiao felt as though he had heard nothing at all.

"How about we write our names down?" Liao Yunxiao suggested.

"But I can't write."

Mu Lingxi gave Ye Zichen a mischievous look, then ran over and took his hand. "Big Brother, teach me how to write my name! I want to get to know Liao Yunxiao!"

Ye Zichen smiled dotingly and said, "All right. Go fetch the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."

Laughter filled the medicine shop as Ye Zichen patiently taught Mu Lingxi to write, not forgetting to criticize Liao Yunxiao for his untidy handwriting.

And so the two children, both under ten, got to know each other.

The sky gradually darkened.

"Big Brother, people are folding little wishing boats at the market outside tonight. Let's go take a look!"

"I want to go too, I want to go too! Come on, Master!"

Before Ye Zichen could answer, the two each grabbed one of his hands and tried to pull him out the door.

"Long Han, close up. Come with us," Ye Zichen instructed.

"Yes, Young Master Ye." Long Han nodded. Then he shut the door, and the four of them went out together.

"Yay!"

The two children skipped and bounded out.

The streets of the bustling market at the center of the outer city were especially lively that night. The reason was Ye Zichen's sword strike, which had benefited the Weiyang Realm, and the people had held these activities at the largest market in the outer city.

They prayed that the Immortal would bless the people with peace, so they could live and work in contentment.

"Wow! Master, I want to eat this!"

"This one, this one! Brother Ye, buy this!"

The two children darted about, wanting to buy this and have that.

In the blink of an eye, their mouths and hands were stuffed full of all kinds of tasty treats.

"Don't eat yourselves to death, you two," Ye Zichen said, trying to scare them.

"Long Han, go have a look around too. It's your first time seeing a Human Race market like this."

Seeing Long Han looking around, Ye Zichen gave him the instruction.

"Thank you, Young Master Ye!" With that, he ran off.

Ye Zichen followed the two children.

Before long, the three came to a small river. Countless little boats floated on the water, each one representing a person's wish.

"Brother Ye, I want to write one too!"

"Master, I want to write one too!"

Both raised their hands.

Ye Zichen pressed a hand to his forehead and said helplessly, "You can barely write, but you have plenty of ideas."

After that complaint, he brought them paper and brushes. The two children lay on the steps and began to write.

After a while,

"I'm done!"

"I'm done too!"

"Hmph, let's see who can fold the prettier boat!"

"Who's afraid of you?"

Another contest began. Ye Zichen sat in the pavilion, enjoying this leisurely, heartwarming time.

After folding their paper boats, the two carefully went to the riverbank and set them afloat, then began silently reciting their wishes.

"Well? Have you finished making your wishes?" Ye Zichen called out when he saw them stand up.

"We're done!"

The two trotted back to Ye Zichen.

"Come on. We'll look around a little more, then it'll be time to head back."

Ye Zichen put his arms around the two of them and returned to the crowd.

He did not know how much time had passed before Long Han carried the tired Liao Yunxiao back to the medicine shop on his back.

Ye Zichen, meanwhile, carried the already fast-asleep Mu Lingxi back to her home.

"Sorry for the trouble. This girl doesn't know any better."

Mu Lingxi's grandmother took Mu Lingxi from him and thanked Ye Zichen.

"There's no need to be polite, Grandma. That's just her nature."

After exchanging a few polite words, Ye Zichen left.

As he walked along the road, Ye Zichen looked at the brightly lit Chu Imperial City and reflected aloud, "A life like this isn't bad either."