That evening, Chen Xingyun stewed the wild boar meat early, adding spices like Sichuan peppercorns and star anise. As expected, the gaminess was largely masked, and the flavor improved significantly.
Having white rice with meat for two consecutive meals made the siblings feel so blessed they nearly wept. They had never imagined they would one day live such a life.
Even if they were to die now, they felt it would be worth it.
At that moment, both simultaneously thought of their younger siblings—how wonderful it would be if they could also eat such meals, and they wondered how they were faring now.
“Tomorrow, we’ll all go to town together,” Xiao Ying remarked casually after the meal.
“Mother, can we really go?” Chen Xingyun’s eyes sparkled with excitement. In all her years, she had actually visited the town only a handful of times.
“Yes, we have quite a bit to do tomorrow,” Xiao Ying replied without going into detail, though she had already planned everything in her mind.
The siblings exchanged a glance, both showing hints of joy. They had stopped overthinking—following their mother was the right thing to do.
That night, Xiao Ying entered the Immortal Abode Space again. She needed to seize the time to enhance her strength; Qi Refining Stage One was still too weak.
Based on her current progress, cultivating for eight hours each night (equivalent to four hours in the outside world) and supplementing with Spiritual Spring Water and Spirit Rice, she estimated it would take about seven or eight days to reach Qi Refining Stage Two.
The first three stages were considered the early phase of Qi Refining, achievable primarily through accumulation.
Transitioning from Stage Three to Stage Four presented a minor bottleneck, marking the boundary between the early and middle phases, which might slow her progress.
Upon reaching Qi Refining Stage Two, she could begin learning spells—something that came naturally to Xiao Ying.
She first worked for an hour, harvesting all the remaining Spiritual Rice and stacking it in the wooden hut. Only after depleting her spiritual power did she sit down to meditate and cultivate.
This approach had the benefit of increasing her capacity for spiritual power, serving as a form of training in itself.
The field left bare after harvesting couldn’t be left idle; she planned to deal with it the following night.
She intended to burn the rice straw as fertilizer and then sow the seeds for replanting.
The next morning, Xiao Ying returned to the outside world.
She thought she had emerged early enough, but Chen Xingyun had already prepared breakfast.
After the meal, the three got ready to depart, having changed into slightly cleaner clothes, though they remained worn and tattered.
Xiao Ying carried a large backpack basket, placing the sika deer inside.
The Immortal Abode Space was rich in spiritual energy and had preservative properties, so even after a night, the sika deer remained as fresh as if newly killed.
“Mother, let me carry it,” Chen Xinghai volunteered, being the only male in the family.
“No need, you can carry this instead,” Xiao Ying replied, worried the weight might overwhelm him—the sika deer was quite heavy.
She handed him a basket with a cloth spread at the bottom, containing a black box covered with another cloth.
The siblings didn’t ask what was in the box but could guess it was something valuable.
“Alright, Mother,” Chen Xinghai said, cradling the basket as if it were a treasure, a flicker of excitement rising within him.
The three reached the village entrance by 7-9 AM, where the ox cart to Hongye Town was already waiting.
The driver, Zhao Qing, was around Xiao Ying’s age—a quiet, reserved man who didn’t speak much but was an excellent handler.
Hongye Town held markets only on even-numbered days. On market days, the town bustled with activity, especially during leisure seasons.
Thanks to this, Zhao Qing’s business was doing fairly well.
A one-way trip only cost two copper coins, which most people could afford. After all, if they had to rely on their own two feet, it would take over two hours.
Xiao Ying naturally didn’t begrudge such a small amount. She paid eight coins—for three people plus a deer—and they all got on.
The ox cart already had four or five people on it. With the three of them, it was nearly full. Zhao Qing didn’t wait any longer and set off immediately.
If they moved quickly, he could make another trip.
As soon as Xiao Ying boarded, she closed her eyes to avoid being pestered by the others. Seeing her like this, they had no choice but to drop the idea, though a few still whispered among themselves, occasionally glancing at the Sika deer.
The ox cart was far from comfortable. Xiao Ying thought to herself that once she had the money, she would buy a carriage—it would make traveling much more convenient.
The morning breeze carried the fragrance of fresh grass, brushing against her face. She took a few shallow breaths, feeling refreshed and at ease.
Sensing the faint spiritual energy in the air, a question suddenly arose in her mind: Are there cultivators in this world?
But even if there were, their strength couldn’t be too great—the limited spiritual energy would cap their potential.
So she wasn’t too worried. With her Xianfu, she was already a step ahead of everyone else.
After a slow, bumpy ride of less than half an hour, the ox cart arrived at Hongye Town.
Zhao Qing stopped just outside the entrance. After everyone had disembarked, he immediately turned around to pick up the next group.
“Let’s go to the pharmacy first.”
Xiao Ying carried the basket on her back and led the two into the town.
There were two larger pharmacies in town. Not knowing which was better, Xiao Ying went to the first one she encountered.
This pharmacy was called Renxin Pharmacy, specializing in medicinal herbs. The shop was spacious, with at least four or five attendants inside.
At first, the attendants didn’t pay much attention to the three shabbily dressed visitors. But when they spotted the Sika deer in Xiao Ying’s basket, their eyes lit up, and they practically rushed over.
In the end, the oldest among them managed to get to her first.
The attendant, around twenty years old, beamed with a smile. “Are you looking to sell this Sika deer, ma’am? Then you’ve come to the right place.”
“If you sell it to butchers for meat, it won’t fetch much. But here, just the antler velvet alone is worth at least ten taels of silver.”
Xiao Ying set down the basket and casually lifted the Sika deer out, placing it on the ground.
The attendant was taken aback, his expression shifting slightly. He hadn’t expected this woman to be so strong—she could lift a deer weighing over a hundred jin with one hand.
He carefully inspected the deer, growing more and more pleased with what he saw.
The Sika deer was injured on its hind leg and neck, but the rest of its hide was intact. The hide alone was worth a fair amount.
The antler velvet was also in excellent condition, estimated to weigh around three jin.
“If you sell the whole deer to our pharmacy, ma’am, how about this price?”
He held up two fingers, indicating twenty taels of silver.
Xiao Ying remained silent, but Chen Xinghai and his sister were thrilled. They hadn’t expected the Sika deer to be so valuable.
With this money, their mother could pay off her gambling debts and never have to worry about the loan sharks coming after her again.
“Ma’am, this price is quite generous. Shall I break it down for you?”
Seeing Xiao Ying’s lack of reaction, the attendant grew anxious.
“This Sika deer weighs about a hundred and fifty jin. Meat and bones together are twenty coins per jin, which comes to three taels of silver.”
“The hide is well-preserved, so I’ll offer you eight hundred coins for it. Then there’s the deer’s penis, which is worth about five hundred coins.”
“The most valuable item is this antler velvet, weighing about three catties. We purchase it at 500 copper coins per tael, so that comes to fifteen taels of silver.”
“All these together still amount to less than twenty taels. No matter where you go, you won’t get a higher price than this.”
The clerk was counting on his fingers as he spoke. After listening, Xiao Ying felt the offer was reasonable and that the other party wasn’t deliberately lowballing, so she nodded in agreement.
The clerk immediately brightened up: “Then it’s settled. I’ll go fetch your money.”
“Not so fast.”
Xiao Ying suddenly spoke up, taking the basket from Chen Xinghai and opening the box inside.
“Take a look at this as well.”
The clerk’s eyes instantly lit up, his face beaming with delight. Inside the box lay a ginseng root with exceptionally perfect features—it appeared to be at least fifty years old!