The newly replaced disciples of the Sword-Forgetting Pavilion were perhaps instructed with something, simply letting Yan Baichuan’s party pass, so that the group was able to smoothly step into the realm of cultivators, the West Spirit Illusion Continent.
It was said that thousands of years ago, the West Spirit Illusion Continent was filled with spiritual energy and possessed numerous secret realms, being far from its present appearance. But even so, when the group stepped into the West Spirit Illusion Continent, they were still nourished by the abundant spiritual energy. Lingyun stretched her waist comfortably, feeling that the injuries on her body were mostly healed. The spiritual energy in the Six-Prism Snow Realm was somewhat inferior compared to the West Spirit Illusion Continent after all, so Ying Chuang felt his movements were even faster, changing directly back into a silver wolf to run around a few times in the surroundings to go wild.
Jin You shook his head, unable to bear looking at these two. Not far away was the famous Flower Capital of the West Spirit Illusion Continent, Yijin. It was said that fresh flowers bloomed in all four seasons inside the city, being so beautiful that it was beyond compare, where cultivators often came to enjoy the scenery.
Before the group had even stepped into Yijin, the winter jasmine planted at the city gate came into view first. The fragrances of various flower petals in the city intertwined together, yet smelled without being overly rich, seeping right into the hearts and spleens of newcomers just to the right degree, as if even breath carried fragrance, so that even Ying Chuang did not feel discomfort in his nose this time.
Yan Baichuan seemed completely indifferent to this beautiful scenery, his eyes looking only toward the restaurants and food shops on the side.
Jin You, on the other hand, was quite interested in the shops on the street, stepping into one from time to time, his gaze sweeping across the dazzling array of goods, picking up a colored glass bottle in curiosity to ask the shopkeeper, “What is contained inside this colored glass bottle, to actually look so nice?”
The West Spirit Illusion Continent was the realm of cultivators, so the shopkeeper was naturally a cultivator as well, looking at the colored glass bottle in Jin You’s hand and saying cheerfully, “This is a local specialty here, Flower God Fragrance, made by taking and using various flower petals, and when smeared on clothing fabric, the fragrance does not disperse for a long time, being very popular among cultivators. The bottle in customer’s hand was made from sunset lotus, where the fragrance is rich without losing charm, so would customer consider buying it?”
Looking at the gold and red colored glass bottle in his hand, Jin You held it in his hand for a long time, reluctant to put it down, and finally gritted his teeth to buy it. Just after getting it, he rubbed a bit on his sleeve, and sure enough the fragrance was rich, yet hidden inside the richness was a trace of faint aroma, like a bit of lotus seed heart tightly wrapped by lotus seeds beneath a lotus pond, a fragrance that was rich just right, so it seemed the shopkeeper’s words were far from false.
Yan Baichuan approached to take a sniff with his nose, smelling only a wave of lotus fragrance, unable to taste half a bit of extra flavor, yet seeing the clothes on Jin You’s body, he understood in his heart, continuing to walk behind the group in a leisurely manner.
With rare leisure, Jin You was in a good mood and announced he would treat them, but when sitting in the main hall, three of the people had listless expressions, leaving only an incomprehensible Lingyun looking at the menu, asking them while reading, “What do you want to eat, I will order.”
Yan Baichuan stretched his neck to take a glance, and after a moment withdrew his gaze in boredom, “Hundred Flowers Brew.”
A fragrance of crispy roast pigeon ordered by neighboring guests drifted into Jin You’s nose, and he let out a helpless sigh, “Then bring a bowl of plain noodles.”
Remembering bad things, Ying Chuang rested his chin on the table, saying listlessly, “Vegetable-stuffed steamed buns.”
Lingyun looked at Ying Chuang as if seeing a ghost, reaching out her hand in disbelief to touch his forehead, then touching her own forehead, finding no fever, “Did the sun rise from the west? Forget about those two, you actually aren’t eating meat either?”
The handle of Jin You’s fan tapped straight onto Lingyun’s head across Ying Chuang, a dangerous tone hidden inside his lazy manner, “Shut your mouth for me, who do you think caused this? Say another word and you can go eat at the neighboring table, paying the money yourself.”
Ying Chuang also nodded along, grabbing the vegetable-stuffed steamed bun into his hand with impatience as soon as it arrived, only to be startled by the rising hot steam, hurriedly putting the bun back into his bowl and blowing toward his palm.
Catching sight of the served plain noodles, Jin You picked at them with his chopsticks in quite some interest. Worthy of being the Flower Capital, even a bowl of plain noodles was embellished with flower petals, and the taste smelled like it was not bad either. Jin You glanced at the Hundred Flowers Brew on Yan Baichuan’s table, finding this guy still loved drinking wine as always.
Meeting his gaze, Yan Baichuan knew he somewhat wanted to say a few words to him, so he spoke, “Suddenly remembered you and I had a bet before, does it still count now?”
Jin You forgot what bet it was for a moment, and Yan Baichuan reminded him, “Chen Zheng, you said you would not run out from inside this bead, otherwise the moneybag would be managed by me, but what was the result?”
Stuck for a word, Jin You suddenly thought of something, arguing back, “That was you calling me out!”
Yan Baichuan raised an eyebrow, “Wanting to play rogue?”
Jin You thought of another matter instead, eating the plain noodles in small bites with calm composure, taking time to reply to him, “It wouldn’t work for others, but who asked me to be your life-saver.”
Lingyun had always been curious about what was going on with the life-saver mentioned by Jin You. She got to know these two late, and merely had a basic understanding regarding some past matters of Yan Baichuan, so at this moment she could not care about eating the flower cake in her mouth, asking directly, “Speaking of which, how on earth did Jin You save you, I haven’t heard you mention it before.”
Ying Chuang nodded along in agreement, as he did not know either.
Yan Baichuan did not take up the conversation, but Jin You mocked him while eating plain noodles, “A certain person was ambushed by a ghost while eliminating ghosts in the past, falling into the Yin River, and it was I who jumped in to fish the person up, yet after being saved by me, he was still very fierce.”
Jin You still remembered that Yan Baichuan was fighting a water ghost at that time. That water ghost had taken root in the Yin River for many years, relying on familiarity with the Yin River to pull a trick on Yan Baichuan, and only when Yan Baichuan fell into the Yin River did he discover that quite a few water ghosts and vines were still hidden in the water, attempting to drown him inside the Yin River.
It was right at this time that Jin You arrived and jumped down to save him, relying on his ability to control water to stir up a whirlpool and bring Yan Baichuan to the shore.
Who would have known that upon seeing Jin You, Yan Baichuan seemed not to expect there was someone else here besides himself and the water ghost, freezing for a moment first, then asking in a fierce tone, “Who did it!”
Who else could it be besides that water ghost! Jin You responded in annoyance, yet heard Yan Baichuan say a word of “Thanks.”
Alright, at least there was a word of gratitude.
Yan Baichuan also seemed somewhat embarrassed, picking up his wine cup to take a sip in an attempt to change the topic, suddenly noticing the content of the conversation at the neighboring table, “You truly don’t plan to go give it a try?”
The other person picked up the conversation, “Sigh, I don’t know how to fish, so I won’t go join in the excitement. But I heard the rewards for the top three on the Dragon Gate List are truly quite a lot, though it is a pity spiritual power cannot be used.”
Gaining interest, Yan Baichuan poured a cup of wine and approached, “What is the Dragon Gate List mentioned by the two brothers just now, it sounds quite interesting, may I ask if you could say a few more words?”
The two looked down at the Hundred Flowers Brew filled in Yan Baichuan’s wine cup, smiling with gentle friendliness, “Easy to say, easy to say. Outside the city there is a place called Clear Water Pool, with a waterfall upstream, and for these three days a fishing competition is being held, scoring points according to the weight, species, and quantity of fish caught, where those with high points can ascend the Dragon Gate List, and the gifts for the top three are all provided by the shops in town, with cultivators even taking out spirit stones as prizes. Tomorrow is the last day of the competition, so if brother wants to go, you better hurry.”
Yan Baichuan expressed thanks thoughtfully, “Thank you very much, may I ask where to register?”
Those two pointed in a direction, saying, “If you walk toward the east of the city, the short shopkeeper at the entrance is the one.”
Yan Baichuan thanked the two, taking his wine flask and returning to the table. Jin You looked at him strangely, “What, you want to participate in that competition?”
Yan Baichuan did not say he would go, nor did he say he would not go, “What, is it very strange?”
It was not strange, but Yan Baichuan truly did not seem like someone who could have the patience to fish. Not only did Jin You feel so in his heart, but even Lingyun and Ying Chuang were no exception.
Yan Baichuan shook his head, deliberately letting out a loud sigh, “Sigh, underestimating people is not right. Don’t look at me like this, I grew up by the seaside, and whether catching fish or going out to sea, I have never returned empty-handed.”
Is that real or fake? Lingyun let out a scoffing laugh to express disbelief, yet discovered that Jin You did not refute Yan Baichuan’s words as usual, but was eating his noodles quietly instead, which was not quite right.
Half-believing and half-doubting, Lingyun asked Jin You, “Is what Yan Baichuan said true?”
Jin You raised his head, his face calm, “I rescued him out from the Yin River, what do you think?”
Lingyun slapped her thigh, knowing for sure that Yan Baichuan was teasing them, having almost fallen for the trick. Oh well, these flower cakes of Yijin were surprisingly delicious, so she definitely had to take some along when leaving.
Ying Chuang’s gaze also shifted from Yan Baichuan’s face to the menu, and with his appetite opening up, he felt he could eat meat again.
Yan Baichuan took a glance at Jin You, neither affirming nor denying the words he spoke, merely drinking wine to himself.
Jin You, on the other hand, was far from peaceful on the surface, his heart like secretly surging sea waves at this moment, stirring him into annoyance.
Only Jin You himself knew that Yan Baichuan’s words were all true.
Lingyun did not notice Jin You’s churning thoughts, caring more about the fishing competition mentioned by those two people instead, “Why do you want to go participate in that competition, it sounds not interesting in the slightest.”
Staring at the flower cakes before Lingyun and the honey-roasted chicken ordered by Ying Chuang, Yan Baichuan said with implicit meaning, “Earning some spirit stones to save up for him, lest one day the family fortune is completely eaten away by a few big bellies. Lingyun, don’t you say so?”
Looking unconvinced at the price of the Hundred Flowers Brew, Lingyun said in annoyance, “It can’t compare to your cheap Hundred Flowers Brew, a single flask costs.”
“Thump.”
Jin You put down his noodle bowl, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the three, looking at Yan Baichuan with a slight touch of appreciation, “I think your proposal is very good, we will go to the east of the city to register in a moment.”
Lingyun hesitated a bit, “Ah? Are we really going, but my injuries are still… almost fully healed, so isn’t fishing with my left hand just the same, ha ha.” Lingyun’s words tactfully took a turn in Jin You’s calm gaze, and seeing everyone was going, Ying Chuang also took the initiative to say he wanted to go fishing.
Jin You nodded with satisfaction at the proactive Ying Chuang, promising that if he got a ranking he would order two dishes he wanted to eat most for him, Ying Chuang immediately becoming eager to try, forming a stark contrast with Lingyun on the side who clearly only wanted to slack off.
Looking at Jin You, Yan Baichuan let out an dissatisfied ‘tsh’, “Wasn’t this proposed by me, why do you only reward that wolf cub?”
Jin You took a sip from his flask of Hundred Flowers Brew, the corners of his lips curving up slightly, “Who asked the Hundred Flowers Brew to be high in price, making me reluctant to part with the money?”
Yan Baichuan laughed helplessly and shook his head, pushing the cup filled with Hundred Flowers Brew before him over as well, “Then Young Master Jin You must savor it well, to see whether it is this flower fragrance that is intoxicating, or the wine fragrance that is intoxicating.”
Jin You’s thin lips left the wine flask, pale pink wine liquid stained by his lips, looking exceedingly good.
Jin You flashed a triumphant smile at Yan Baichuan, “Naturally.”