Chapter 007: Attending Lectures at the Palace of Profound Purity

Watching Qin Xiyi’s figure fade into the distance, Constable Zhao sighed and said, “Actually, I could tell at a glance that this woman is no ordinary person. She doesn’t belong here. Ye, don’t hope she’ll return and marry you. Just think of it as a dream you had.”

“Now that you’re awake, you haven’t lost anything.”

Song Ye smiled faintly, saying nothing. Qin Xiyi’s flight from the wedding had long been within his expectations. Besides, he himself didn’t know when he might suddenly leave this world. If it wasn’t her escaping the marriage, it could very well have been him. Thus, the idea of marrying a female NPC here as a wife was never really reliable.

Still, being called “little husband” a few times by Qin Xiyi cost him nothing. In the end, he gained experience from three high-level spirit beasts—by any calculation, he came out ahead.

However, now that Qin Xiyi was gone, it would be hard to explain things to the village chief. They would probably think Qin Xiyi was a courtesan Song Ye had paid for.

Song Ye lifted the horned fowl and the butterfly-winged rabbit, carried them into the small yard behind the tea stall, drew his novice iron sword, and finished off the two dying spirit beasts.

“Ding! Player has slain a high-level spirit beast [Horned Black-Feathered Bird], experience +60,000.”

“Ding! Player has slain a high-level spirit beast [Butterfly-Winged Mystic Rabbit], experience +70,000.”

The experience from these two beasts wasn’t as much as the Blue-Eyed Golden-Feathered Bird, but sixty and seventy thousand each was still considerable. Song Ye’s level soared once again.

“Ding! Congratulations, player has reached level 31!”

“Ding! Congratulations, player has reached level 32!”

…

“Ding! Congratulations, player has reached level 35!”

He gained five levels in succession and earned twenty attribute points, all of which he invested in [Vitality].

…

The next morning,

Song Ye’s ears were beset with trouble as soon as dawn broke. Upon learning that Qin Xiyi had left without a word, Aunt Sun from next door was convinced that she was not a respectable woman. After all, if she were truly from an upright family, how could she suddenly disappear just after setting a wedding date with a man?

So Aunt Sun and the village chief both believed Qin Xiyi was a courtesan Song Ye had paid to bring from the brothel. Their suspicion was exactly as Song Ye had expected—nothing surprising. As a result, Aunt Sun came over early, nagging incessantly about how bringing a courtesan into Autumn Whisper Village would tarnish its century-old reputation.

Song Ye had to excuse himself, saying he needed to open his stall, barely escaping this hellish ordeal.

Not long after he opened for business, five unfamiliar youths walked past his tea stall—four boys and one girl, all dressed in pure white long robes. They must be the five students Zhao Zhigao had mentioned, bound for Xuanqing Palace to study.

According to the rules of Xuanqing Palace, students summoned for study could not bring any attendants; the journey itself was a form of cultivation. The five seemed uninterested in stopping for tea, but since Zhao Zhigao had spoken to him beforehand, Song Ye took the initiative and called out, “Young masters, stop for a bowl of tea, it’s free!”

The only girl among them paused. She had a delicate face, oval and gentle, no more than fifteen or sixteen, but already a budding beauty. She eyed the teapot in Song Ye’s hand, pursing her lips as if thirsty.

The other four soon noticed one of their group lagging behind and turned to look for the girl.

“Zhang Zixuan is thirsty. Let’s have a bowl of tea here before we go.”

So the girl's name was Zhang Zixuan.

“Boss, five bowls of tea, please!”

“Coming right up!”

Song Ye placed five empty bowls on the table and filled them with freshly brewed tea.

“Is there anything to eat?” The girl’s large eyes sparkled as she looked around.

She wasn’t just thirsty; she was hungry, too.

“There is!” Song Ye produced three freshly steamed sesame cakes. “But the food isn’t free.”

After all, Zhao Zhigao had only paid for their tea. These three sesame cakes were meant for his own breakfast.

“How much are the cakes?” the girl asked, already biting into one.

“Five copper coins each. Do you want all three?” Song Ye inquired.

“All of them!” the girl replied as she ate.

“How much is the tea per bowl?” Zhang Zixuan asked again.

“Someone has already paid for your tea. You don’t need to pay,” Song Ye replied.

“Oh!” The girl nodded, not asking who had paid for their tea.

After finishing one sesame cake herself, and finding her companions uninterested, she wrapped the remaining two in oil paper to take with her.

Before leaving, they left thirty copper coins on the table—apparently including the tea money as well.

An old man, his hair and beard snow-white, sat at the tea stall’s entrance. Watching the five depart, he murmured, “Among them, only the girl has the bearing of an immortal. She’ll likely be chosen by Xuanqing Palace and embark upon the path of cultivation.”

His words proved prophetic.

A month later, four of the five returned from Xuanqing Palace, passing Song Ye’s tea stall again. The girl, Zhang Zixuan, was not among them. Song Ye asked after her.

A square-faced youth replied, “Zhang Zixuan stayed at Xuanqing Palace to cultivate. What great fortune she has! In the future, no one in Cheng County will dare bully the Zhang family again!”

All four wore expressions of envy. They had gone together, but only Zhang Zixuan was chosen to remain at the Palace.

“Next time we see Zixuan, we’ll probably have to call her ‘Master Zhang,’” said a boy with thick eyebrows and large eyes, smiling wryly.

After each drank a bowl of tea, they departed—this time, Song Ye proactively asked them for tea money.

Song Ye, too, was curious about Xuanqing Palace and what cultivation was truly like.

On the Xuanwin Continent, cultivation was naturally the most important pursuit. Yet, as a “player,” Song Ye had to leave the novice village before unlocking the [Cultivation] function. For now, he possessed only raw physical strength; his dantian contained not the slightest trace of spiritual energy.

The blade aura cleaving earth and sky was not a manifestation of spiritual energy, but merely the effect of a skill’s mechanics. Its damage depended solely on his vitality attribute.

Thus, even without any cultivation, as long as his vitality was high enough, he could defeat any enemy in a single strike.

And since his body held no spiritual energy, in the eyes of cultivators, he was nothing more than a perfectly ordinary mortal.