Chapter 12: Worldly Wisdom

Chen Ye's heart was a hundred thousand times unwilling to get entangled with the Qinghe Sword Sect.

In his heart, cultivation was the top priority; this trip to Cui County was to refine Blood Pills, seeking rapid progress on the path of cultivation.

He had previously expended great effort to stage that grand performance, aiming to make a name for himself, so he could catch the eye of those wealthy merchants and use their power to gather the livestock needed for cultivation.

However, such operations were truly time-consuming and laborious; now, by a stroke of luck, he had encountered this Miss Su, and it seemed he could cultivate a connection. Chen Ye then had a bold idea, wanting to take a shortcut.

Although the side effects of the Blood Refining Method could already be eliminated, the Qi Condensation Pill was ultimately more convenient; with just one pill swallowed, it would save him much effort and make the path of cultivation much smoother.

Su Chunyi pondered briefly, then shook her head and said, "I do not have any Qi Condensation Pills."

Chen Ye felt slightly disappointed; it seemed the path of cultivation could not easily take shortcuts after all.

However, Su Chunyi shifted her tone and continued, "However, I have the materials to refine Qi Condensation Pills. If Daoist Friend can answer my questions, I am willing to exchange them for this."

Chen Ye's eyes lit up; without a second thought, he agreed, "Deal."

Chen Ye knew how to refine Qi Condensation Pills; it was just that the precious and unparalleled Xuanji Dew was truly hard to find. Now, as long as he could get the Xuanji Dew from Su Chunyi, forming the Dantian Qi Sea was just around the corner.

Su Chunyi readily took out several exquisite jade bottles and placed them before Chen Ye; these were precisely all the materials needed to refine Qi Condensation Pills. Chen Ye took a careful look; these materials were all of the finest quality, far better than he had originally estimated.

No wonder it was the Qinghe Sword Sect; indeed, they were wealthy and bold! Moreover, Su Chunyi brought out the items so straightforwardly, seeming to have no concern at all that Chen Ye might go back on his word.

This was perhaps the confidence of a high-ranking great sect; under the heavens, there were likely very few cultivators daring to mock the Qinghe Sword Sect.

Chen Ye did not stand on ceremony with her; he openly stored these materials in his storage bag, then, with a calm expression, said to Su Chunyi, "I am merely a lone cultivator, with no backing or support, so I can only scheme with those wealthy merchants, thinking about whether I can exchange with them for some cultivation resources.

"The play I staged with Wang Wang Sanqi was actually to make a name for myself. Ordinary common people have little money in hand anyway; it is better to calculate fortunes for them for free, letting them help spread the word, so as to attract wealthier clients for me."

Su Chunyi frowned slightly and asked softly, "No matter how much money commoners have, what benefit can it bring to cultivation?"

A smile curled Chen Ye's lips; he explained patiently, "Miss Su comes from a prestigious great sect, so you may not be quite familiar with the ways of the world. Although the Xuanji Dew is rare and scarce, as long as one is willing to spend a great price, it can still be bought."

Hearing this, Su Chunyi suddenly understood and nodded lightly, saying, "So that is it; Daoist Friend wants to cheat more money."

Hearing this, Chen Ye was startled, his heart jumping violently; how did this Su Chunyi seem to be digging a trap?

If he admitted to the charge of being a "cheat," would a flying sword immediately come whistling, taking his head off?

Who knew what the Qinghe Sword Sect's standards for judging good and evil truly were; Chen Ye naturally dared not admit to being a cheat and hurriedly waved his hands to explain, "Of course it is not to cheat money; I will refine some health-strengthening pills as an exchange. Although the price might be sold a bit high, it is absolutely not for the purpose of cheating money."

This was indeed a great truth; Chen Ye had previously calculated that after making a name for himself, he would engage in some hype and packaging, blowing up those medicine pills that cured illnesses and saved lives into immortal pills capable of bringing the dead back to life; in this way, he could sell them at a higher price.

However, Su Chunyi seemed like a child ignorant of worldly affairs and continued to press, "Deliberately raising the price, does that not count as cheating?"

Chen Ye's heart tightened; this person's questions were quite tricky; he hurriedly explained, "Whether it is worth it depends entirely on the game between buyer and seller. Doing business is inherently buying low and selling high; otherwise, how do merchants make money? How much price increase in between counts as cheating, and who can say clearly? Take those antiques worth ten thousand gold; in fact, most are just made of baked earth; how much premium, it all depends on the human heart to measure. I do not forge; the pills are real; how much they can sell for, that is my skill."

Chen Ye spoke a bit urgently; in his heart, he truly feared being treated as a cheat and inviting disaster upon himself.

Fortunately, Su Chunyi was a reasonable person; hearing Chen Ye's explanation, she nodded slightly to show agreement. But this sword cultivator's questions seemed endless; she immediately asked again, "I already understand your actions, but there is one thing I do not understand. You say you actually do not understand the way of divination, yet how can you calculate so precisely?"

Chen Ye did not hide anything; he explained frankly, "It is just some street tricks. I did not calculate the family backgrounds of those seeking blessings from the gods; rather, I inferred from their words and deeds. What people seek is nothing but wealth, safety, marriage, and offspring.

"As the saying goes: when an old man asks about offspring, though many, they are few; when a youth asks about offspring, though present, they are daughters; if the spirit is dull and the gaze lifeless, that person is currently in a predicament, and ten plans out of nine will be disastrous; if the complexion is ruddy and the voice high, this person is near good fortune, and ten out of ten will succeed..."

Chen Ye chanted these words, spouting a whole bunch at once, all methods of inferring a person's family background and current situation from behavioral details.

When an old man comes to ask about offspring, there is no need to think much; it must be that the family line is thin, with no branches spreading. When a young person comes to ask about offspring, it is mostly that they have no children, or they have given birth to a daughter.

If the seeker looks listless and the questions are complex and confusing, it must be that they have made many wrong decisions recently, causing difficulties for the family. If one meets someone with a ruddy face and a tone full of pride, that naturally means good things are happening one after another; flattering them naturally gains their trust.

There are many such tricks.

By carefully observing a visitor's speech, conduct, and eyes, one can roughly distinguish their character. When meeting a frivolous and dissolute person, praising them a few times naturally makes them overjoyed; when meeting a modest gentleman, treating them with sincerity will surely make them regard you as a soulmate.

Once the fortune-seeker feels that what Chen Ye "said was all correct," the rest is easy to handle.

For those seeking wealth, remind them to take fewer risks and be more steady; for those seeking safety, give two health-strengthening pills; for those seeking marriage, advise them to value character; for those seeking offspring, wish them a hundred sons and a thousand grandsons.

As long as one speaks vaguely, the fortune-seeker will fit themselves into the description, feeling that Chen Ye is truly a "living immortal."

Even if the guess is wrong, it does not matter; just casually make an excuse that the magic power consumption today was too great, causing an occasional mistake.

Anyway, since no money was collected, others would not hold it against him; those who thought the fortune-telling was accurate would also speak up to defend Chen Ye. However, today's luck was truly good; Chen Ye told fortunes for dozens of people and guessed eight or nine out of ten correctly for all of them.

Chen Ye's skill in worldly wisdom was not cultivated through cultivation, but forged in the ups and downs of the workplace in his previous life.

Su Chunyi had been listening quietly at first; later, she unconsciously nodded frequently; hearing the end, she even exclaimed, "Daoist Friend is highly talented; I have learned from you."

This Miss Su, for the first time, changed her tone; she was truly shocked by Chen Ye's skill in observing words and expressions. Although this was not magic, it was far more powerful than magic. If this person had the intention to bewitch, even with high cultivation, one could not guard against it.

Chen Ye was not arrogant; instead, he felt somewhat helpless.

"It is just an unrefined little trick, of no benefit to cultivation; if not for the hard life of a lone cultivator, I would rather hide in the deep mountains to cultivate, too lazy to spend this effort guessing at human hearts."

The scheming and infighting of his previous life were already exhausting enough; in this life, unless necessary, Chen Ye truly did not want to return to his old trade.

Su Chunyi heard this and said to Chen Ye, "Daoist Friend is too modest; this kind of skill cannot be cultivated even by hundreds of years of mountain cultivation."

"Miss Su flatters me."

After Chen Ye offered a few humble words, he heard Su Chunyi say in a deep voice, "I have one last question; please, Daoist Friend, answer it for me."

This tone seemed somewhat different from the previous coldness.

"Miss Su, please speak."

Chen Ye felt something; it seemed that after all this chatting, now was the key moment; he just did not know what the Qinghe Sword Sect's high disciple wanted to ask.

What surprised Chen Ye was that before asking the question, Su Chunyi actually took off her bamboo hat and met Chen Ye's gaze with a pair of eyes like autumn water.

Su Chunyi was very beautiful, but what truly made Chen Ye pay attention was her eyes.

These were the clearest eyes Chen Ye had seen in two lifetimes; they seemed able to penetrate Chen Ye's heart while also hiding nothing of her own thoughts.

Chen Ye did not know how to describe this feeling; this girl looked very easy to fool, yet also very hard to fool.

This feeling of pouring out one's heart upon first meeting made Chen Ye, a social person polluted by worldly wisdom for many years, feel somewhat unaccustomed.

Chen Ye also understood why Su Chunyi wanted to take off her bamboo hat; looking into these eyes, the difficulty of lying was not ordinary; even Chen Ye, an old hand, might not be able to do it perfectly.

So solemn; what exactly did Su Chunyi want to ask?

However, Su Chunyi only asked a question she had already asked before: "May I ask, Daoist Friend, does helping a villain like Wang Wang Sanqi also count as doing good?"