Chi Muyao didn't pay much attention to what was happening over there. After all, the usual affairs of the male and female lead were none of his business.
He and Yi Qianxi went back to deal with the Jilingshou they had caught. Xi Huai’s group might not want the carcass, but he would cherish and use it well.
Yu Chong School cultivators like them were very good at processing and extracting all the usable parts of spirit beast carcasses. The artefacts they carried on them were also helpful, allowing them to finish in more or less three minutes.
Ming Shaoluo and her best friend were looking in Chi Muyao’s direction.
One male cultivator enamoured with Ming Shaoluo also knew that she had beef with Chi Muyao. Thus, he asked Chi Muyao rather uncharitably, “Aren’t you two from the Yu Chong School? Why are you hunting spirit beasts then?”
Chi Muyao was very puzzled by this question, but he replied nonetheless, “Take cloth for example. Some are used to make shirts, others pants. Would you wear a pair of pants on your head? Of course not. They all have their own uses, and the same logic applies to spirit beasts. We raise beasts that we can contract with and hunt the useful ones to sell their parts at the market. Each has their own uses, that’s all.”
Yi Qianxi has always had a spiteful streak in her. She was unhappy being asked such a question, so she asked Chi Muyao with feigned innocence, “Shidi, are they illiterate?”
Chi Muyao still replied in a gentle tone, "That shouldn’t be the case. They are all disciples of major sects after all.”
"But why don’t they even understand logic as basic as this then?”
A single sentence was enough to make steam come out of the male cultivator’s nostrils.
Ming Shaoluo signalled with her eyes for the male cultivator to calm down. Then she asked politely, “I see that you two are very skilled at processing spirit beasts, unlike us… If we bring down Jilingshou in the future, would you help us process them?”
Her words were impeccably polite, but they were, in truth, mocking.
They were disciples of major sects whose hands were free from calluses. Of course they wouldn’t know how to do work as dirty and disgusting as processing carcasses. The most appropriate course of action would be to pass the buck to a lowly sect like the Yu Chong School.
Chi Muyao didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled. “Of course. In the past, we charged in spirit stones when asked to process spirit beasts within the sect. Since this is an excursion, you could use other things as payment. How does a 3:7 split in your favour for processing the Jilingshou you hunt sound?”
The question rendered Ming Shaoluo at a momentary loss for words.
She was a disciple of the high and mighty Nuan Smoke Pavilion as well as a member of the Ming family.
Who in the cultivation world didn’t favour her and try to kiss up to her?
If she wanted to dump this unsavoury task on these two from the Yu Chong Sect, they were supposed to fall over themselves to accept. But now they were trying to negotiate?
Since they were being judged on the number of Jilingshou hunted, basically giving a portion to these two would lessen her battle merits directly.
Yu Yanshu knew from her words that Ming Shaoluo was trying to ‘freeload’ off the other two. But since they had brought up conditions she was unwilling to accept, she was left in an awkward position. So he spoke up, “Why don’t we all just process our own? This kind of cooperation isn’t fair for everyone.”
Chi Muyao never intended to cooperate in the first place. After finishing the processing of that Jilingshou, they sat down to rest.
Ming Shaoluo also didn’t speak another word to them. However, Yu Yanshu came over to her and quietly said, “On these expeditions, we are all equals. Watch yourself.”
Yu Yanshu was actually giving Ming Shaoluo some face by scolding her in private.
And since Yu Yanshu was also a disciple with a very good family background from the Nuan Yan Pavilion, Ming Shaoluo was all bark and no bite in front of him. The only thing she could do was endure.
Yu Yanshu also sent that male cultivator a warning glance. The male cultivators could afford to piss him off even less and scampered far away.
Ming Shaoluo was annoyed at first.
She knew that Xi Huai always had feelings for her. Gathering all the Jilingshou here might’ve just been another ploy for her attention. He was probably planning on swooping in to play the hero when she was overwhelmed. How unsophisticated.
She deliberately ignored Xi Huai and worked with disciples from her Sect to kill Jilingshou, but then Xi Huai pushed his good friend down the cliff.
That guy with the hammer was really annoying. The sparks created from his smashes hit her several times. But when she fumingly glared up at Xi Huai, she actually saw Xi Huai smirking contemptuously at her, seemingly unmoved.
Why would she like a bastard like that? The more tricks like this he played, the more her distaste for him grew.
Yet at the end, she noticed how Xi Huai stopped Chi Muyao from leaving and even seemed to tease him.
Xi Huai looked at Chi Muyao the same way he looked at her before her rebirth. A feeling of frustration suddenly rose within her.
So Xi Huai really was a facecon! He’d even make a move on other men if they were pretty enough!
Disgusting!
Absolutely revolting.
Just now, she wanted to make Chi Muyao realise the vast, insurmountable difference between them, but who would’ve thought he was so soft? It was like hitting a cloud, leaving her very unsatisfied.
Her distaste for Chi Muyao deepened.
Of course, she still hated Xi Huai more.
***
Night time…
The weather within the Mitian Tongyin Array suddenly worsened as a snowstorm swept through the entire Array.
Of course, ordinary storms wouldn’t hinder cultivators. After all, their bodies have been honed through many years of training.
The problem with the storm here was that it seemed to be infused with spiritual energy. There were wind elemental techniques in the wind and a strange pressure emanating from the snow. Those who were covered with snow soon found their spiritual energy partially sealed and more difficult to manipulate.
Under these circumstances, avoidance was the best option.
The combined team found a cave to hide out in, leaving a barrier at the entrance to keep out the storm.
The wind and snow sounded like fists as they hit the barrier. Enough snow soon piled up outside thanks to the wind to entirely block off the outside world like a thick, white blanket.
Spiritual artefacts that could provide illumination were placed around the cave, bathing the space in bright orange-yellow light. Long shadows shifted as the cultivators moved about.
Chi Muyao took out an animal skin cloak from his Qiankun bag and draped it over Yi Qianxi’s shoulders. But for himself, he only put on a small quilt.
Their cultivation and body refinement were inferior to the Nuan Yan Pavilion disciples, so they had to rely on other ways to stave off the cold.
At this time, the male cultivator who had a bone to pick with Chi Muyao spoke up again, “Hey, you from Yu Chong School, your cloak doesn’t look too shabby. Can you sell it to me? Shaoluo was injured in the last excursion so it wouldn’t do for her to get cold. If you can accommodate her, I’ll give you five hundred spirit stones.”
He clearly intended to buy the cloak to please Ming Shaoluo.
Buying the things they were using to stay warm under these circumstances was pretty insulting. And the amount offered obviously showed how poor he thought the Yu Chong School was.
It basically sent the message that he didn’t think their lives were worth anything, even if they froze to death.
Of course Chi Muyao didn’t want to sell the cloak. They only had this one, and who knows how long this extreme cold snap would last? And what if there was another one in the future, what were they supposed to do then?
But refusing again would definitely offend this person. He would more than likely make things difficult for him and Little Shijie for the rest of the excursion.
So Chi Muyao sighed and said, “Of course I can sell the cloak if it can help out Ming-shijie. However, this cloak really isn’t suitable for a female cultivator like her.”
The male cultivator took another look at the cloak. It was completely covered in snow white fur that appeared especially shiny and soft and seemed like a good accessory to pair with any type of enchanted vestments. How was it unsuitable?
He asked unkindly, "What do you mean it’s not suitable? Are you saying 500 spirit stones isn’t enough?”
“This is made from the fur of the Wuyan Silver Fox. As everyone knows, the Wuyan Silver Fox has an air of seduction about it. Cultivators that wear its fur would become more seductive. Ming-shijie is a pure and simple female cultivator, so an item like this that would make her appear seductive instead of warm is unsuitable.”
The male cultivator was stunned. "It can make you more seductive?”
Chi Muyao nodded. "That's right. I wouldn’t have draped it over my shijie if it wasn’t this cold. I’m usually the one wearing it due to my poor constitution, and it’s slowly changed my appearance into something more feminine. I can imagine this effect will be exacerbated if a woman wore it.”
Wearing the cloak, Yi Qianxi looked on with wide eyes as Chi Muyao spewed nonsense.
What do you mean ‘as everyone knows’? She’s never heard of it.
He’s taking advantage of the other cultivators’ lack of understanding regarding spirit beasts, but why was his words so convincing?
Even though she knew that Chi Muyao was lying, Yi Qianxi played along and nodded seriously at times.
Another female cultivator who overheard Chi Muyao was intrigued. “So you became like this after wearing that?”
Chi Muyao sighed as if he was greatly saddened. “I’m very distressed by how un-masculine I’ve become, but I can’t bear to part with such a precious cloak.”
The number of people interested in the cloak immediately spiked. Another female cultivator got straight to the point, “I’ll give you eight hundred spirit stones for it! I want to become more seductive. Everyone says I’m valiant like a boy.”
Then she turned back to that male cultivator. “Shixiong wouldn’t fight with me over it, right? Hasn’t Ming-shijie always strived for a pure, ethereal beauty and hated vixen-like looks the most?”
Chi Muyao did nothing but listen. He looked down slightly as if he was still very conflicted.
Yi Qianxi silently sat under the cloak. Listening to the price war raging on between those female disciples, she felt like the Yu Chong School didn’t have to worry about buying Hundred Flavour Grains for the next few years. She wanted nothing more than to give Chi Muyao a big thumbs up.
».. worked with disciples from her Sect to to kill Jilingshou..« – one ‘to’
Maybe the happenings are thrown around in a different way bc 1. CMY transmigrated and 2. MSL was reborn.
So Xi Huai won’t get forcefully attracted to the FL? Who knows xD
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)