H. Chapter 01

Liu Ye sat on a chair, looking outside the shop. The busy shopping street was filled with noises from the high-pitched conversations of the buyers and the sellers. He was bored after rearranging and checking the herbs for no reason. Tired of waiting for buyers to enter his herbal shop, he stood up and walked onto the street. As he looked towards the entrance of the street, he could see people waiting in disorganised groups for their breakfast in front of the food stalls. The street was very busy as usual.

However, there were not many customers choosing his shop. His shop was situated at the very end of the shopping street. While large herbal shops that offered many varieties of herbs and medicinal plants were located near the entrance of the shopping street, his small shop, with a limited range of herbs for sale, could only attract a few customers.

It had been two and a half months since he came to Blazing Parasol City. He rented a house at the perimeter of Blazing Parasol valley, the forest that’s bordering the city. He was good at planting and growing medicinal herbs, so he planted herbs and medicinal plants near his house. Furthermore, he employed people to help him in taking care of the herbs when he went into the forest to search for medicinal herbs and while he was in the shop.

"‘Boss Ye’, ‘Boss Ye!’, ‘Boss Ye!!’" Just as he was blanking out, someone called him.

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A woman about twenty-three years old stood in front of him. She wore a sect uniform, and her attire was adorned with ornaments from head to toe, radiating a fiery aura.

"Hello, Miss Lan. Good morning," he quickly stood up and greeted her.

"Hey, Boss Ye. You can call me Lan Yue, I don't mind," Lan Yue said. “We have had four transactions till now. We should be more than acquaintances by now.”

"Oh, fine, Miss Lan Yue. What do you want?" he asked her.

“I came for the blue foxglove flowers. Do you have any?”

“I don’t have them, but I can get them for you if you give me three days.”

“Thank you, I agree to the arrangement.”

“I will try to obtain them as soon as possible. Do you need anything more?”

"Please pack these herbs for me," she said as she placed a storage bag and a list in front of Liu Ye.

Liu Ye started picking the herbs and packing them according to the list.

"Where's your senior brother? Didn't he come to the shop today?" Lan Yue asked.

"No, he didn't come. He's out to buy some things," Liu Ye replied while packing. He knew the question was coming from the moment she entered the shop.

"When will he return?" she inquired in a gentle tone, with anyone being able to feel the anticipation in her voice.

"Sorry, I don't know," he replied to her with a faint grin.

"Okay," she replied to him in an obviously disappointed voice while noticing his smile. “Please, say to him that I have some problems in my cultivation and I want to consult with him,” she said, paying him and leaving with her storage bag, without minding his smile that emerged from amusement.

As she reunited with her junior sister, who accompanied her to the shop, some surrounding people were surprised and looked towards the shop.

While some remained calm, having become used to seeing her there.

The woman who came to buy the herbs, Lan Yue, is a core disciple of the Phoenix Jade palace. There's a golden red disciple badge on her shoulder. With her status, Lan Yue can get many of the herbs she wants without stepping out of her sect. She doesn't need to buy at Liu Ye’s shop. His herbal shop is small, selling mostly ordinary medicinal herbs. He doesn't sell spiritual herbs regularly.

She came here for Qin Jia. He is Liu Ye’s senior brother from his former sect. They decided to stick together after their sect was disbanded. Both of them travelled to this city together. On their way to Blazing Parasol City, Qin Jia helped Lan Yue in killing a third level beast. Lan Yue developed a crush on Qin Jia and frequently visits Liu Ye’s shop as that is the only place where she can meet him.

After Lan Yue left, Liu Ye’s shop attracted enthusiastic customers due to Miss Lan’s inadvertent advertisement to his shop. He decided to pack his things and go home when the fresh medicals were sold out and the enthusiasm from the people outside decreased.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

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"Xiao Ye, how are you? How is the shop?" the old man who sells fish asked with a faint smile.

"I am good. The business is better than yesterday," Liu Ye replied with a happy tone.

"It's been nearly a week since you came to buy fish from me. I heard that your senior brother is hunting a lot these days. It's going to get boring if you only eat meat," the old man spoke with Liu Ye.

“What type of fish do you want?” he asked while pointing to the fishes that were barely alive.

“I also can’t eat fish too often,” he started checking the fish to choose. While doing that, he started conversing with the old man about general matters. As he was paying him, the old man invited Liu Ye to his home.

"There's a banquet in five days at my home. Do you want to come?" The old man asked.

"Come on, do you want to introduce my senior brother to your granddaughter again?" Liu Ye asked him with a grin.

"Haha, you don’t need to think too much. I just want to introduce my son to Mr. Qin Jia so they can have some dealings in the future," the old man grinned.

“I will ask him whether he’s free,” Liu Ye replied.

"Do you want me to introduce my granddaughter to you? How about it?" the old man asked with a cheeky grin.

"There are rumour about me. Are you not going to believe them any more? You made me so worried with your words before," Liu Ye asked. A month after Liu Ye settled in Blazing Parasol City, there were rumours that a small herbal shop owner was being kept by the city lord’s wife, and they were found having a tryst at a lake. Only a few people knew that Liu Ye was the central character in the rumour, and this old man was one of them.

"You don’t need to worry about those rumours any more, boy. It’s been over a month, and the city lord hadn’t taken any action on you. There’s no need to worry," the old man said seriously.

"But, is the rumour really false? I heard you were near the lake when that incident happened," The old man asked with a strange expression. There was a bit of curiosity and excitement in his eyes.

"Really, it’s not me. I was near the lake waiting for your younger son when I saw her. There was a beautiful girl near the lake, and I stared at her secretly. That’s it," Liu Ye said with frustration.

"Just tell us the truth, Liu Ye. We are good friends. I won’t reveal it to anyone else," Su Maoxian, the old man’s younger son who just arrived, asked with a big, wide grin.

"Get lost, bye." Liu Ye said to him.

Then he paid for the fish and left.

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Liu Ye decided to close the shop.

It was too early, but the day felt long because of the summer heat. He couldn’t bear sitting in the shop under such conditions.

After a long walk, Liu Ye reached his home.

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A newly constructed wooden house, spacious enough for two people, stood amidst the trees. A small garden with various herbs and plants surrounded the house. Beyond the garden, among the forest trees, a male figure could be seen practising under the shade of the trees.

Qin Jia wore a simple blue dress, his hair grown to shoulder-length. His handsome, charming face had the ability to captivate a woman with just a glance.

"Brother Qin," seeing the figure stopping his practice, Liu Ye shouted and walked towards him.

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"You came too early," noticing Liu Ye's arrival, Qin Jia stopped his practice and sheathed his sword.

"I sold all the fresh herbs, and I couldn't stand the heat, so I came home early," Liu Ye said, while walking towards him.

"Okay, it is better to close the shop early in this summer heat," Qin Jia said with a faint smile. He then took out the soul-strengthening fruits and some other herbs from his storage bag and passed them to Liu Ye. "Here you go. Take it."

"Thanks for these, Senior Brother. It looks like you had a good harvest today," Liu Ye said.

"Yes, there weren’t many obstacles to get the soul-strengthening fruits today. You can take your medicinal bath now. I need to complete my practice for today," Qin Jia said. Seeing Liu Ye not asking any more questions, he returned to practice, unsheathing his sword.

Liu Ye left after inspecting the soul-strengthening fruits and the other herbs.

Taking these herbs and soul-strengthening fruits, he had to try…

Once again, to step into the world of cultivation.