Chapter 191: Senior Brother, Must You Really Do This?

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Senior Brother, Must You Really Do This?

"Oh, by the way, Grandpa, whatever you do, don’t tell anyone that Senior Brother is a Third Grade Spirit Chef. If the word gets out, he’ll probably hate me forever."

Ji Suyao couldn’t help but add one last reminder. Though her senior brother hadn’t said so explicitly, he clearly didn’t want his identity revealed, so she couldn’t afford to make a mistake. If this caused trouble for him, it wouldn’t matter if he blamed her or not—she’d be too ashamed to ever face him again.

"Don’t worry, I won’t tell."

Ji Wentao nodded. Chaos was on the horizon; the Great Xia Dynasty’s peace wouldn’t last much longer. Loose Cultivators had been trickling into the dynasty, and no one knew if Evil Cultivators or the vanguards of other dynasties were hidden among them.

"What’s this about your senior brother’s trial?"

This was what concerned Ji Wentao more. Outsiders had no idea what the Mo Family’s trial entailed. If the Great Xia Royal Family had a Third Grade Spirit Chef secretly backing them during this period, they could deal with any troublemaking Evil Cultivators or restless rival dynasties and Sects.

"I don’t know. Senior Brother never mentioned it."

Ji Suyao sounded resigned. Hearing her answer, Ji Wentao fell silent. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he left the Imperial Palace with Ji Suyao. He saw her safely to the Ye Family residence before slowly making his way back to the palace.

’Once I finish this Poria Cake, I can attempt a breakthrough.’

Ji Wentao carefully stowed away the Third Grade Spiritual Cuisine. Just a single piece had made the bottleneck in his cultivation feel as if it were beginning to loosen. If he finished the entire portion, he would almost certainly break through to the Qi Refining Early Stage.

The next morning, the entire Great Xia Imperial City was filled with the sound of gongs, drums, and firecrackers. The Great Xia Dynasty’s annual festival had officially begun.

On the day of the festival, the fifteenth of the tenth month, the Emperor of the Great Xia performed sacrifices to Heaven and Earth. Eight arenas, designed to showcase the power of the Immortal Sects and Noble Families, officially opened for competition.

The entire Imperial City had effectively become the Great Xia Royal Family’s largest Marketplace. The only issue was that prices had universally risen by ten percent.

Liu Chen’s life remained unaffected by the day’s events, as did the daily routines of his two junior sisters.

"I expect we’ll have a constant stream of visitors starting tomorrow."

Ye Linglong remarked calmly after lunch. Since her senior brother hadn’t attended the morning’s festivities, the prodigies from the various families who had learned his location would soon be arriving one after another to pay their respects. As for the Patriarchs, they wouldn’t normally show up in person.

"That’s unavoidable. But they probably won’t come calling during mealtimes."

Liu Chen nodded. He’d witnessed this sort of thing before at Fire Dragon Valley. If he hadn’t opted to sell the Spiritual Cuisine and put Senior Brother Yang out front, far more Purple Cloud Valley disciples would have "coincidentally" passed by his courtyard back then.

"We can still avoid it. Senior Brother, if you come stay at my family’s manor outside the Imperial City for a few days, the problem should basically be solved."

Ji Suyao stretched lazily at his side. Liu Chen couldn’t help glancing at her. ’It’s a good thing she’s still relatively young,’ he thought. ’In a few more years, her every move will be enough to make a man’s imagination run wild.’

"Then the people from the Royal Family will just find all sorts of excuses to see you."

Ye Linglong shook her head, already used to Ji Suyao’s behavior. After all this time together, the girl had grown even more unrestrained in front of their senior brother. ’This isn’t a good thing. It means Suyao has started to see him as one of her own.’

’That was a bit dangerous, especially for me.’

"That’s true. So, why don’t we just seal the residence?"

After a moment’s thought, Ji Suyao offered a rather blunt solution. It would, however, solve the problem. Sealing the residence would be a tacit refusal to all visitors. Anyone who didn’t want to have a falling out with Liu Chen would simply turn around and leave.

"Then how are we supposed to get in?"

Ye Linglong couldn’t help but glance at her. ’Sealing the gates is a good idea, but if we’re seen coming and going freely, people will inevitably find out. Won’t we just be offending them for no reason?’

"Climb the wall... I used to be able to climb in back when I was a Mortal, let alone now."

Ji Suyao said matter-of-factly. Ye Linglong’s lips twitched when she heard the reply. The education she had received simply wouldn’t allow her to do such a thing. Still, it was indeed the perfect solution—provided one was willing to abandon all decorum.

"That is one way to do it."

Liu Chen nodded. While he did want to sell Spiritual Cuisine, he didn’t want to be constantly disturbed. Cultivation was his top priority. As for exchanging pleasantries with the various prodigies within the Great Xia Dynasty, that was completely meaningless.

"Senior Brother, are you really going to do that?"

Ye Linglong was taken aback. She had never imagined coming and going from the residence by climbing a wall, but it now seemed her senior brother was actually considering it.

"Of course. But the Spiritual Cuisine still has to be sold. Selling it here will fetch a much higher price than in Purple Cloud Valley, so I’ll be able to get more Spirit Stones."

Liu Chen nodded. In the end, what those people really cared about was the Spiritual Cuisine. He’d just sell it while keeping the main gates closed. They should be smart enough to figure it out.

’If anyone still came to bother him under those circumstances, it could only mean they had a screw loose.’

"Are we really going to climb the wall to get in?"

Ye Linglong turned to look at Ji Suyao, who had a gleam of delight on her face. This girl was a repeat offender when it came to climbing walls—that’s how she had snuck into the Ye Family estate in the first place. But Ye Linglong had never done anything so contrary to propriety.

Besides, it was her senior brother’s wall, which for some reason made her feel a strange sense of shame.

"What else?"

Ji Suyao couldn’t help but look at her. ’It’s just climbing a wall, what’s the big deal? The first time I left the Imperial Palace, I scaled those high palace walls. Now that I’m a Cultivator, it’s even simpler. I could probably get in and out with a single easy leap.’

"Forget it. You two can just use the back door."

Liu Chen shook his head; the image was too shocking, and he couldn’t bear to watch it.

The residence did, of course, have a back door, though Liu Chen had never used it. It also opened onto a street and was likely intended as a servants’ entrance, but it could be used in an emergency.

"What if those people also try to visit through the back door?"

"In mortal etiquette, there’s no such thing as paying a formal visit through the back door."

Ye Linglong breathed a sigh of relief. Though the back door was normally used by servants, it was far more acceptable than climbing over the wall.

"I see."

Ji Suyao nodded. As long as it didn’t interfere with her senior brother’s plan, there was no problem. Now, only one last question remained: who would help her senior brother sell the Spiritual Cuisine?

"I’ll ask Senior Brother Yang to continue handling the Spiritual Cuisine sales. I’ll have to trouble you two junior sisters to send him a message, though."

Seeing their confusion, Liu Chen elaborated. Neither the Ye Family nor the Royal Family was in a suitable position to sell the Spiritual Cuisine, but Senior Brother Yang was a different story.

’Besides,’ he thought, ’I’ll need to trouble him with some future arrangements as well.’