Day and night rotated, and time passed like a fleeting white horse, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
After the ***Dragon House*** matter, due to the "golden finger", Ye Anping got stuck between the early and middle stages of the *Foundation Building*.
But there was a saying among cultivators.
--- For major bottlenecks, rely on fate; for minor bottlenecks, rely on money.
He was not short of money now.
Moreover, this was a period of spiritual energy abundance and great prosperity for the ***Black Star*** Sect.
Ye Anping went to the market and bought some pills and heavenly treasures, and after half a month, he directly crossed the minor bottleneck and successfully advanced to the middle stage of the *Foundation Building*.
In order to avoid attracting attention, he bought from the market two jade talismans at a high price for him and his sister, which were used to conceal their cultivation level.
According to that cunning merchant, they could prevent detection from cultivators in the *Nascent Soul* later stage. However, he was still seen through by Elder Qin, who was only in the middle stage of *Nascent Soul*.
According to Ye Anping's real measurement, those jade talismans could only block cultivators in the later stage of *Core Formation*. Moreover, even a cultivator in the early or mid-stage of *Core Formation* with sharp perception could still see through them.
Sure enough, it was easy to go from frugality to luxury, but not the other way around.
--- Without Liang Zhu helping him run errands and buy things, he felt a little out of kilter.
In fact, it was mainly because it was too difficult to guard against everything.
If one were to make an analogy, buying magical items and talismans from informal shops would be similar to those antique markets in his past life.
And because cultivators' ability to distinguish the quality of the items was much stronger than ordinary people's, the means of counterfeiting were also more sophisticated.
"It's really as virtue rises one foot and vice rises ten."
With his nimble fingers, he rolled the "Anti-Peeping Jade Talisman" on the back of his hand, turning it around.
However, the more Ye Anping looked at this jade talisman, the more angry he became.
He had just learned that the unscrupulous merchant who sold him this talisman had already fled...
Such a wise man fell into the trap of a profiteer.
"Sigh-- tsk tsk tsk..."
Ye Anping flicked his finger, and the jade charm flew into the air. He caught it, put it into his storage bag, and then turned to look around.
His sister had been practicing in seclusion these days and should be able to reach the middle stage of the *Foundation Building* before they went to the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect.
So, with nothing to do, he was now relieving his boredom in the market. In the meantime, he continued to optimize his plans for the events of the ***Moon Shadow Sword*** Sect, also looking for a method to fill in that important position.
Unfortunately, there was no result for now.
As he just had a cup of tea, a man suddenly rushed from the first floor of the teahouse, his face covered in cold sweat and his steps heavy as if he wanted to break the floor.
*Thump thump thump--*
"Eh?"
Ye Anping turned his head when he heard the sound and saw a familiar person looking around on the second floor. Finally, their eyes met.
*It's you?!*
The scammer! It was the scammer who sold him the jade talisman!
His eyes widened slightly, and he had the urge to draw the sword and cut him down, but before he could move, he saw the scammer rushing toward him.
*Thump thump thump--*
His footsteps sounded like thunder.
Taken aback, Ye Anping frowned. Was this a trap? Or did he want to kill him to silence him?
He was still wearing the ***Black Star*** Sect's disciple uniform. Would he dare make a move on him?
Just as he was preparing the sword doubtfully and vigilantly, he saw the scammer fall to his knees by his tea table.
?
Then, "*Bang bang bang*---", three crisp sounds of the head hitting the floor followed.
The scammer presented a bag of spirit stones with both hands. "Fellow cultivator! My friend! I was blind and did not recognize a great person like you! I will return these spirit stones to you, and please forgive me. Although this jade talisman is not as described by me, it is still a good magic tool. Consider it as compensation for my wrongdoing and accept it."
"..."
Ye Anping stared in confusion at the bag of spirit stones. There was a lot in it. It was the whole sum he paid in the first place.
Although he was somewhat puzzled, seeing that many guests on the second floor were looking over because of the commotion, he didn't bother to confront him.
"Alright."
"Thank you, fellow cultivator!! Thank you, friend!! I will no longer dirty your eyes with my humble presence. I'll take my leave then!"
"...Well, take care."
Seeing the profiteer jumping out the window next to him as if his clothes were on fire, Ye Anping was stunned for a long time before coming to his senses.
Was there such a strange thing in the world? A liar actually took the initiative to admit his mistake and apologize?
Did he discover his conscience?
"What a mess of weird things..."
Shortly after, the second floor of the teahouse returned to calmness. All the guests acted as if nothing had happened and went about their own business. Ye Anping also reorganized his thoughts and looked out the window, his chin resting in his hand.
The mountains were golden and dazzling. A golden bird circled around wherever he looked, occasionally dropping a snow-white bomb from above.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Ye Anping stared at the golden bird, narrowing his eyes as if he suddenly understood what had just happened.
Just as he figured it out, a small hand rested on his shoulder.
Ye Anping pondered for a moment and looked behind with feigned surprise, only to find that no one was there. However, when he turned his head back, there was now a girl with black and white hair and yin-yang eyes, sitting across him in the initially empty seat.
"*Waa*~!!"
Si Xuanji, as if she were a tiger cub, bared her teeth and brandished her claws, opening her small mouth in a 'scary' roar.
Ye Anping thought it would be better to cooperate, so he flinched back, showing a terrified expression.
"Oh, my!"
Si Xuanji narrowed her yin-yang eyes, resting her elbows on the table and propping up her cheeks. She tilted her head and asked, "Young Master Ye, were you scared?!"
"Ah..." Ye Anping patted his chest and said, "So, it's Miss Xuanji. You startled me."
"Hehe... It's been a long time since we last met. Young Master Ye, you're becoming more handsome, really handsome."
"Miss Xuanji is still as beautiful and sweet as before."
"Why did you become so boring?"
Ye Anping shrugged. He brushed his hand over the tabletop, and an empty teacup appeared on the table, surprising Si Xuanji.
She tilted her head and looked around at the teacup before asking, "How did you do it without using spiritual power?"
"It's just a little trick of ordinary people, nothing impressive." Ye Anping pointed his hand and used spiritual energy to lift the teapot and pour a cup of tea for Si Xuanji. "Miss Xuanji, please have some tea. Consider it as a token of gratitude."
"Gratitude for what?"
"For the incident with the crook merchant who sold me the jade talisman earlier."
"It was just a small favor. I heard there was a swindling cultivator in the market. As luck would have it, I happened to pass by and took care of it. I didn't expect that he actually managed to deceive Young Master Ye. I had to teach him a lesson."
Hehe...
That scammer really had some luck. He cheated forty thousand spirit stones but ended up getting his ass kicked by a *Void Returning* cultivator, no less.
He vaguely remembered that in the normal world, even an emperor's booger would be regarded as a family heirloom.
"That's quite a coincidence."
"You could say it's fate."
"I wouldn't dare."
"It's quite boring staying here. How about taking a walk on the streets with this old... *cough*-- little girl? Last time, we had a night tour of *Heavenly Street*; maybe this time during the day, we'll have a different experience."
After a moment of silence, Ye Anping nodded. "Since it is Miss Xuanji's invitation, then I will respectfully obey."
