The dilapidated house was not large, with only two rooms and a kitchen, and one of the rooms was a narrow storeroom.
Usually, he slept in the bedroom, while his two apprentices huddled together on straw mats.
Chen Ye carried the ingredients to the kitchen, which was similar to the earthen stoves in rural areas from his past life—clean and tidy, with a neat stack of dry firewood.
This was unexpected for him.
The former self rarely used the kitchen; Chen Ye thought it would be a mess.
It seems that this was again thanks to the diligent Qing Jun.
He poured rice into the empty rice urn and put the unused ingredients into the cupboard according to their categories.
Fortunately, the weather was cold now, so there was no worry about the ingredients going bad.
Standing by the water tank, Chen Ye was about to scoop water for cooking when he suddenly froze.
He looked at the face reflected in the water, feeling a weight pressing on his chest.
Why... does this Chen Ye look so much like him?
The person in the water had distinct facial features and sharp brow arches.
Yet, the face was sallow, with dark circles under the eyes, unshaven, unkempt—almost like a destitute middle-aged beggar.
He leaned on the edge of the water tank, pretended to smile at the water surface, and then cried.
The haggard middle-aged man in the water also smiled and cried, staring back at him with unblinking eyes.
"Am I Chen Ye, or am I still Chen Ye?"
Is he still the original self after merging the predecessor's memories?
Chen Ye chuckled bitterly, scooped a ladle of water, and the man in the water vanished with the ripples.
...
Rich aroma filled the air, enticing even the driest of mouths to water.
The two little girls looked toward the busy kitchen in unison.
Suddenly, Qing Jun mumbled: "Master healed Qing Jun's injury yesterday and bought Qing Jun delicious osmanthus cake today."
The tone of White Furred Ball carried hints of hope.
Zhiwei hugged her knees to her chest and sighed deeply: "Qing Jun, never harbor unnecessary hopes for bad people. The more abnormal he is, the more it shows he's up to no good."
The still immature voice sounded as though it held shards of ice.
Zhiwei was worried that if Chen Ye failed to treat the Spirit Grass, he would vent his anger on Qing Jun and her...
This was the reason she reminded Chen Ye today.
Yet this man remained stubborn and conceited as always!
He actually spent most of his savings to buy a Spirit Grass that was nearly dead!
Does he really think he's a Spirit Plant Master?
How laughable...
Zhiwei gritted her teeth tightly, and a spark flickered in her pitch-black pupils.
Qing Jun blinked her large, grape-like eyes and murmured: "But this time is different from before. Master is so gentle..."
Zhiwei covered her cheeks, and tears dripped onto the dusty ground. She suppressed her trembling voice and said:
"He is a bastard! Qing Jun, don't you get it yet? Why do you still believe him?"
"He just wants to see our unrealistic hopes, throwing us a bit of pity from time to time so we think there's hope, only to destroy it with his own hands, making things even worse!"
Qing Jun's twinkling eyes gradually dimmed: "But, sister. What else can we do?"
At least when deceiving them, Master acted like a master.
White Furred Ball softly murmured:
"Sister, self-deception might be useless, but at least it won't make us fear the future. Just like a Red-eyed Pheasant burying its head in the ground before being slaughtered. After all, it's a little less painful."
"Qing Jun, even if he truly repents, so what? Can laying down the butcher's knife eliminate crimes and instantly become a Buddha?"
Zhiwei sniffed, looked around cautiously, and took out five pieces of Spiritual Sand from her pocket, stuffing them into Qing Jun's little fist.
At this moment, her tone instead became calm:
"Master won't let me go to Myat Pill Pavilion for errands, he must be planning to sell me off. These five pieces of Spiritual Sand, you keep them well."
Qing Jun was struck as if by lightning, suddenly enlightened.
Could it be, when Master mentioned selling the apprentice while drunk, he wasn't referring to her, but to her sister?
No wonder he was willing to let sister return from Myat Pill Pavilion.
The five insignificant pieces of Spiritual Sand in the palm felt as heavy as a thousand catties; without thinking, Qing Jun knew how much effort her sister had put in at Myat Pill Pavilion to accumulate these Spiritual Sands.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh—"
White Furred Ball sobbed aloud.
Zhiwei pretended to be strong: "Silly girl, don't cry. Maybe Sister will go to a good family and escape the sea of suffering?"
But how could she possibly go to a good family.
Both girls knew that it would either be a brothel or as a Tripod Furnace.
The more Qing Jun thought, the sadder she became, unable to control her sobs even though Master was still in the house.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Ugh, ugh..."
Black Furred Ball was comforting Qing Jun, but suddenly couldn't hold it in either, a snot bubble popped from her nose, and tears streamed down her thin cheeks.
...
"?"
When Chen Ye came out filled with joy, he saw the black and white buns cuddled together, crying.
He looked down at the steaming dishes in his hands, eagerly expecting the apprentices' reactions, but he never anticipated this situation.
Could it be Old Man Zhang?
Chen Ye angrily put down the dishes and rolled up his sleeves:
"What's the matter? Did that Taoist Zhang bully you? Master will settle the score with him!"
"No... no..."
Zhiwei sobbed, wiping her tears, and whispered.
It was Qing Jun who suddenly rushed over and hugged his leg, looking up with her dirty face and weeping:
"Master, if you want to sell, sell Qing Jun, not sister! Sister can still earn Spiritual Sand for Master at the Myat Pill Pavilion, Qing Jun is just a stupid child who knows nothing!"
Chen Ye was utterly confused, squatting down to wipe the little girl's tears: "What?"
The older girl turned pale, knelt in front of him, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Master, Qing Jun is too small, she's not sellable!"
Chen Ye's head was about to explode.
He told Qing Jun several times that he wouldn't sell them, but why didn't they believe him?
Chen Ye helped Zhiwei up, and the older girl had bruised her forehead from kowtowing. Watching her, he sighed:
"Don't bring up this matter again. Whether it's Qing Jun or Zhiwei, I won't sell you! Also, take this; it's your wages for the month at Myat Pill Pavilion!"
He fished out a purse from his pocket and placed it in Zhiwei's little hand.
Black Furred Ball blinked her long lashes, her tears stopped, staring blankly at the purse in her hand.
It was heavy, much heavier than the five pieces of Spiritual Sand she had saved up.
She then heard the man's embarrassed voice: "Zhiwei, Master has been a bit strapped for cash lately. In a few days, I'll pay you all your back wages."
Did she hear it wrong?
Her wages for the past five months totaled a whole Spirit Stone!
And a frail girl like her could only sell for a whole Spirit Stone!
Zhiwei nervously licked her dry lips, and before she could say anything, she saw Master reaching out to take the purse back.
"Whew—" Seeing this, Zhiwei instead let out a long breath.
But unexpectedly, in the next moment, Master's large hand wrapped around her hand again and placed a smooth, translucent Spirit Stone in her palm.
"Forget it, I'll give it to you in advance."
Chen Ye only realized when he saw Zhiwei's stunned expression afterward:
Wasn't it just because they were worried he would sell them for Spirit Stones?
And given the former self's nature, indeed, no matter how much he explained, the two girls wouldn't believe him.
In that case, Chen Ye simply returned Zhiwei's wages directly to her, which easily dispelled their worries.