Yet Min Xian felt no effect from it at all. He shook his head and withdrew his gaze. Though he found it somewhat strange, he could only find it strange. Perhaps that farmer had once studied and could read, but under the pressure of his own learning and other burdens, had chosen another way of life.
Of course, Ji Yuan had not immediately left Dayun Prefecture either. He simply no longer appeared before Min Xian to disturb him. Since he had already seen him face-to-face and was somewhat curious about this change in him, Ji Yuan was also interested in who had sought out Min Xian not long ago. Without using any mind-bewitching technique or asking him directly, Ji Yuan still had ways to learn the true situation.
By noon, many vegetable stalls and similar stands had already packed up and gone home. There were fewer people in the streets, so Min Xian chose a spot better sheltered from the wind. Since it was lunchtime, pedestrians on the streets were either heading home or gathering around nearby restaurants and taverns.
On either side of Min Xian's stall stood a pushcart sundries stall and a stall selling women's rouge and powder. One owner looked quite young, while the other was a lean-faced, middle-aged man with a short beard. Their businesses did not conflict in the slightest, so they got along quite well. It was mealtime, and none of the three intended to close up and head to some restaurant. Instead, each took out the lunch they had prepared.
The sundries stall owner took out a bag of steamed white buns and a bamboo tube filled with water, then produced a small ceramic pot of pickled vegetables and a pair of chopsticks. The rouge and powder vendor had some cold stuffed buns.