The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 158 - 109: The Wall Between

Chapter 158: Chapter 109: The Wall Between

Ning Xiaoxian bent over, gliding down the courtyard wall silently, like a giant gecko. She could control most of the muscles in her body with ease, making this basic skill effortless.

She looked at the building in front of her and decided to sneak to the wall’s shadow beside the window to squat down. If she wasn’t mistaken, her mentor was inside.

She cautiously approached and tied up her hair to avoid getting in the way before pressing her ear against the wall, making a perfect "eavesdropper" pose. Although Changtian in the God Demon Prison couldn’t see her, he could guess what she was doing and couldn’t help but sigh and touch his forehead, while Qiongqi laughed heartily, praising the current mistress for being very interesting and adorable.

The whistle was indeed inside, and he was constantly sighing. It was because Tan Qinghe was crying before him, tears streaming down her face:

"Yunfeng, don’t blame Qinghe for being impolite. In a few days, you will be leaving with the merchant team, and I don’t know how long it will be before I see you again."

Ning Xiaoxian was extremely curious, how had Sister Tan been impolite just now? Also, she had just learned that the whistle’s real name was Hua Yunfeng and found it a particularly good name.

She only heard the whistle sigh softly: "I am aware of Qinghe’s kindness, and I greatly appreciate it. However, given my line of work, with neither home nor certainty of life, I am far from a suitable match." He paused, then clenched his teeth to continue, obviously reluctant as well, "With such talent and beauty as yours, Qinghe, finding a perfect husband would be easy. Why... why waste your precious time on the likes of me?"

Wow, Whistle-brother, you really are ruthless. You’ve been caring meticulously for others these past few days, but now in front of the woman you fancy, you’re speaking such words of rejection. How heartbreaking and pretentious one must be to do such a thing. Ning Xiaoxian silently gave him a thumbs up. She just wondered if these harsh words were also meant for himself to hear.

She then heard the sound of a chair moving inside the room, clearly Whistle was about to leave. Tan Qinghe panicked, seemingly knocking over cups on the table as she heard Whistle exclaim, "Qinghe, what are you... hmm..."

Sister Tan was quite the woman of action, Ning Xiaoxian silently admired.

Very light footsteps approached, entering Tan Qinghe’s boudoir.

Tan Qinghe was still a woman after all, her breath as soft as orchids, but she remembered: "The window... Chengcheng is still asleep..."

The whistle finally said, "I’ll go close it," then stood up and walked to the window. At this moment, Miss Ning was glad she hadn’t directly eavesdropped beneath the window; otherwise, she’d have been caught red-handed. She invoked her Breathing Control Technique, holding her breath and quieting her heartbeat, becoming like a lifeless stone in the darkness.

Even so, Whistle lingered by the window for a short while, as if sensing something until Tan Qinghe softly called out "Yunfeng," and only then did he close the window. Her master did indeed have some skills; she had already reached the Small Success Realm in the Breathing Control Technique, yet Whistle, a mere mortal, was able to sense something.

However, the man’s attention was clearly not focused on this matter right now, but rather on the good times and beautiful scenery he was facing.

The girl outside the window felt her heart throbbing loudly, she embraced her face with her hands, feeling feverishly hot.

"If you have the courage to eavesdrop, make sure not to be discovered," Changtian suddenly spoke up, giving her a start. In such a moment, his voice was still calm and clear, if indifferent, like dousing her with a bucket of cold water. "Conceal your presence, just treat it as a practice for your breathing regulation technique. This kind of skill is normally refined in battle, but practicing it here... works just the same."

"Treating this kind of situation as a practice for breathing regulation! Lord Changtian is truly wise." Qiongqi, as always, unabashedly handed out flattery before seriously warning, "Mistress, if you don’t want to be discovered, you must quickly conceal your presence. The man inside has already noticed something, and your heartbeat and breathing are too fast; if this continues, he will catch you red-handed."

Her face flushing red, but knowing Qiongqi was right, she forcefully collected her spirit and practiced the Breathing Control Technique. Indeed, this technique was effective, immediately bringing her a sense of calm.

After a long while, Ning Xiaoxian made a hasty escape back to her own courtyard, without alarming anyone.

"The merchant team will be leaving Rock City in a few days. Will Whistle go with them, or will he stay?" She thought for a moment and asked Changtian.

"He will leave," Changtian said indifferently, "That man carries secrets with him, and following the merchant team might not be his own wish, perhaps it is out of necessity. If he couldn’t settle down before, he’s unlikely to stay in Rock City now."

"Couldn’t Sister Tan be a reason for him to stay?"

Qiongqi and Changtian exchanged glances, remaining silent. So she understood, and couldn’t help but feel somewhat sorry for Tan Qinghe.

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The next morning, she went to the Tan Mansion for breakfast, and of course, Whistle had already slipped away. She noticed that Sister Tan was different from usual, probably because of the joy of her recent encounter, with her brows and eyes reflecting a happiness, making her even more beautiful than normal by a good measure. Unfortunately, Ning Xiaoxian knew that Whistle would not stay, and couldn’t help but sigh for her.

The first batch of autumn tea in Rock City had actually been harvested a few days ago, and with the weather in favor these past few days, it was the perfect time for roasting and processing the tea. The tea festival was held in the north area, combining the tea house district with the mutual market as the main venue. The event lasted three days, mainly for tea farmers and tea merchants with tea leaves in hand to connect with major merchant teams and itinerant traders for business discussions. To Ning Xiaoxian, this was similar to the various expos in Huaxia, a place for making deals and signing agreements. She wondered if the City Lord Wenger was also a time-traveler with how he came up with this kind of networking method, far ahead of the times.

Approaching the tea festival venue, she couldn’t help but marvel: It was brilliant! They had even set up roadblocks to collect entrance fees. Anyone without a merchant team certificate had to pay two maces of silver to enter. While the fee wasn’t high, considering the massive crowd, one could tell the collected money would be substantial. She remembered a Western saying that the art of taxation is plucking the largest amount of feathers with the least amount of hissing from the goose, in essence making people willing to pay, and City Lord seemed to have quite a bit of expertise in this area. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and Monthly Tickets on qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

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