Night fell.
During dinner, Shen Ping was still pondering the matter of moving. If he failed to secure a medium-sized courtyard after half a year and no vacant properties remained in the Cultivation Market, he would have to reveal his ability as a High-Grade Talisman Master. Only then would he qualify to rent a much more expensive standalone courtyard.
To this day, the number of High-Grade Talisman Masters throughout the entire Cultivation Market remained exceedingly small.
However, he would have to conceal his identity when the time came, ensuring no one discovered his past circumstances, and he could no longer even visit Xiuchun Pavilion.
After all, a Talisman Master's advancement required time to accumulate experience.
For him to advance to high-grade so quickly—if he claimed there was no secret involved, no one would believe it.
Although the Cultivation Market was safe, that did not mean he could rest easy and recklessly expose his personal information.
At that moment, Bai Yuying suddenly spoke up, "Husband, today..."
"Sister Ying'er, don't!" Wang Yun cried out urgently.
Shen Ping collected his thoughts and looked at his wives with a puzzled expression. "What is it?"
"It's nothing." Wang Yun picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Shen Ping's bowl. "Husband, try this piece of meat."
Shen Ping cast a calm glance at Wang Yun, and his wife immediately lowered her head. He then turned to Bai Yuying. "Speak, what happened?"
Only then did Bai Yuying continue, "This afternoon, Sister Yun'er and I were washing a silk scarf by the Red Stone River when it accidentally blew onto a senior female cultivator. That person slapped Sister Yun'er across the face and cursed her as a worthless cripple who couldn't cultivate, and the things she said were just awful."
"Fortunately, a female cultivator who had previously visited you was there at the time and persuaded her to calm down a bit. Otherwise, Sister Yun'er's meridians might have been crippled."
"That female cultivator used to live in Red Willow Alley, but she recently moved to Stone Wood Alley."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ping roughly understood the reason.
Stone Wood Alley consisted of two marginal alleys north of the Red Stone River. Because they bordered the wilderness, their safety was far worse. However, with housing prices rising in Red Willow Alley, many low-tier Qi Refining cultivators could no longer afford to live there and had moved to that area.
Yet Wang Yun remained merely a mortal, and she was still able to stay in Red Willow Alley.
Thus, that female cultivator grew envious and used the incident with the silk scarf to vent her frustration.
"Husband, it's all my fault for causing you trouble." Wang Yun's face was full of remorse.
Shen Ping grasped his wife's delicate, boneless hand and looked at her profile. Sure enough, the faint outline of a palm print and bruise was still visible there. He had been too engrossed in thinking about the move earlier and genuinely hadn't noticed.
"Yun'er, you needn't blame yourself. It's your husband's fault for letting you suffer a grievance."
"From now on, you must carry Protection Talismans whenever you go out. I'll give you a few later, and just tell me when you run out."
He understood Bai Yuying's intent; she hadn't wanted him to step forward and fight her battles, but rather feared that the female cultivator would subsequently seek an opportunity for revenge. Even as a 3rd Layer of Qi Refining cultivator, the other party had plenty of methods to make Wang Yun and Bai Yuying suffer deeply.
"Thank you, husband." Bai Yuying let out a sigh of relief.
Wang Yun hesitated and said, "Husband, wouldn't that be too wasteful?"
Shen Ping smiled. "Your husband is a Talisman Master, so what is there to waste? Just listen to me."
Though this matter seemed trivial, it was of great importance to his wives. If it wasn't handled properly, it could easily lead to a grave mistake.
Therefore, over the next few days, he deliberately carved out time to accompany his wives to the banks of the Red Stone River. This action caused several female cultivators to look on with envy, as they had all assumed wives and concubines like Wang Yun and Bai Yuying were merely tools for a Talisman Master like Shen Ping to pass down his lineage.
To their surprise, Shen Ping attached such immense importance to his wives—especially when they saw the multiple Protection Talismans pasted on the two women, their eyes practically glowing with covetousness, wishing they could take their places.
Protection Talismans had now risen in price to eighteen Low-Grade Spiritual Stones; a single talisman was equivalent to half a year's rent in Red Willow Alley!
When the female cultivator who had initiated the violence learned of this, she was so terrified that she did not dare show her face near the Red Stone River for several months. After all, Shen Ping was now not only a Middle-Grade Talisman Master, but also a Mid Qi Refining cultivator.
...
Days passed by.
In the blink of an eye, it was mid-October.
A cold wave swept in from the depths of the Yunshan Marsh.
The temperature in the Cultivation Market plummeted sharply.
At the end of the Zi hour, inside the warm brocade quilt, fragrance lingered.
[You engaged in Dual Cultivation with your wife once, gaining Talisman Dao experience +2]
[Current wife favorability: 100]
[Dual Cultivation bonus: 4]
[Talisman Master: first-tier superior grade (6012/50000)]
...
[You engaged in Dual Cultivation with your cultivation partner once, gaining Metal Spiritual Root aptitude improvement +2, Wood Spiritual Root aptitude improvement +2]
[Current cultivation partner favorability: 90]
[Dual Cultivation bonus: 3]
[Metal Spiritual Root: medium-grade (4052/10000)]
[Wood Spiritual Root: medium-grade (3946/10000)]
Looking at the flickering characters on the virtual panel, Shen Ping let out a soft sigh inwardly.
For a Talisman Master to break through to the high-grade required a massive surge in experience. At his current rate of diligent daily toil, it would take four or five years to achieve another breakthrough.
He didn't mind this particularly. After all, when a High-Grade Talisman Master broke through, it meant reaching the Tier 2 level, and his cultivation would also need to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage before he could continue crafting them; moreover, he was still a very long way from the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Yet judging by the Talisman Dao experience required, once a Spiritual Root reached the high-grade, the requirement would likely be the same.
Fortunately, ever since he had properly handled the incident with the silk scarf, Bai Yuying's previously stagnant favorability had increased by another five points, doubling his bonus.
Noticing the change at the time, he had been deeply moved.
A wife or concubine's care had to be tended to with genuine heart; otherwise, if she were treated purely as a tool, her favorability would plummet enough to make him weep.
"Tomorrow, I have to head out to the Cultivation Market!"
Thinking of this, Shen Ping couldn't help feeling a headache coming on.
He had to go out again!
In truth, his spiritual rice, meat, and blood-qi-replenishing ingredients had been practically exhausted half a month ago, but he had gritted his teeth and held out for another half-month.
Yet now, he had no choice but to venture out.
Otherwise, given his nocturnal nightly revelries, even the room-confinement techniques used to seal and guard one's essence could no longer sustain him.
The next day.
The biting wind was bone-chilling.
A fine, freezing drizzle mixed with snowflakes drifted down.
A thin layer of ice coated the alleys and pathways.
Shen Ping stepped out of his house and, amidst his wives' worried gazes, walked briskly toward the neighboring dwelling.
Knock, knock.
The door quickly swung open.
Yu Yan had her hair loose, and she wore only a fitted Dharma robe, the undulating contours of her figure causing Shen Ping to steal a few extra glances.
"Fellow Daoist Shen?"
"What a rare visitor, actually taking the initiative to knock on my door!"
"What, can't your pampered wives and concubines at home satisfy you?"
Leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest, she spoke with a teasing smile mixed with mockery.
Shen Ping hurriedly said, "Fellow Daoist Yu, don't misunderstand. I'm preparing to make a trip to the Cultivation Market. Are you heading out today, Fellow Daoist?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Yan instantly lost interest, turned her body to re-enter the house, and called out, "Wait outside. With your cowardice, you couldn't find a second person in the entire Yunshan Bazaar to do this!"
Shen Ping cupped his fists in a salute. "Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Yu!"
In slightly inclement weather like today, Yu Yan generally would not go out. That she agreed was entirely for the sake of being neighborhood residents.
After waiting for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Yu Yan finished grooming herself. Her plain Dharma robe set off a face tinged with a hardened, chilling murderous aura.
"Let's go!"
The two of them faced the wind and snow, walking briskly toward the Cultivation Market.
Although Yu Yan was only at the 5th Layer of Qi Refining, she had engaged in mortal combat for years, and her spell-fencing experience was far beyond what Shen Ping could match. Cultivators of this sort often possessed a unique temperament, one that fellow practitioners could almost instantly recognize at a glance.
As for bandit cultivators, when selecting their prey, they typically only made a move when their targets were two realms lower than themselves, or when their own numbers tripled those of their quarry.