It was not that he disliked female company, but that he understood which women could be approached and which could not.
After all, the saying that pretty faces are a curse was not just pulled out of thin air.
It was a well-known fact that alchemists had made a killing recently.
Many female cultivators wanted to find an alchemist to take as a dao companion.
In truth, however, nine out of ten female cultivators who took the initiative to throw themselves at you came with ill intentions.
Very few genuinely wanted to find a dao companion and live a normal life.
Most of them were just trying to swindle spirit stones.
Once they had sucked dry the savings of their gullible alchemist dao companion, they would pull away without the slightest hesitation and turn to leech off the next fool.
The peers beside him, however, did not have Chen An's clear head.
They still thought Chen An was a blockhead who couldn't read the hints dropped by those female cultivators, clucking their tongues and lamenting that Fellow Daoist Chen was utterly clueless.
At the same time, they harbored a mix of envy, jealousy, and hatred, muttering about how comfortable alchemists had had it lately.
Making money left and right.
Having women throw themselves into their arms left and right.
Truly, a man fears choosing the wrong profession just as a woman fears marrying the wrong man.
*If I'd chosen the path of alchemy back then, would I be in this pathetic state now?*
At the mere thought of this, many stall owners felt utterly depressed.
Not wanting to catch their depression, Chen An quickly packed up his stall and left, heading home early to work out with his wives and concubines.
Right at that moment, a commotion broke out not far ahead.
"Will this never end? Why are these people from Black Iron Manor making trouble again?"
"Who's to blame when we're poor and can only afford to live in the cheap zone right on the border between Bamboo Leaf Forest and Black Iron Manor? It was fine when both sides stayed out of each other's way, but now that they're fighting over vein resources, how could the folks across the border not come stir up trouble?"
"There's no way to do business like this!"
"Damn it, where are the people from the Bamboo Leaf Gang? I actually paid them stall rent or whatever, how come these bastards only take money and don't do a damn thing?"
"Stop bitching, everyone! Pack up your stalls and get out of here before those bastards from Black Iron Manor walk over!"
"..."
Chen An followed the source of the commotion with his eyes.
The scene that met his gaze was a group of cultivators with large sabers strapped to their backs swaggering toward the market.
There were nine of them in total, their auras blazing openly as they walked, not concealing their cultivation realms in the slightest.
Leading them was a bearded male cultivator at the Qi Condensation 4th Layer, though his aura bordered closely on the Qi Condensation 5th Layer, making him formidable indeed.
The eight men following behind him were all uniformly at the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer.
Such a squad possessed enough strength to sweep through everyone in this market.
After all, only low-level cultivators at the early stage of Qi Condensation frequented the market in the cheap zone.
Anyone at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation would have moved to live in the ordinary zone closer to the core area, while those at the late stage would move straight into the core area itself to become guest elders of the Bamboo Leaf Gang.
Seeing the aggressive momentum of these Black Iron Manor cultivators, Chen An knew they were most likely going to smash up some stalls and cause trouble, so without a second thought, he immediately hoisted his medicine box and left.
Yet just as he turned around, a surprised shout from one of the Black Iron Manor cultivators rang out behind him:
"Senior Brother Zhang, look! There's an alchemist over there. We've struck gold this time!"
***
[Author's note: Bowls out, begging for monthly votes and recommendation votes!]
### 18. Finished in a Single Night
Hearing his fellow apprentice brother say there was an alchemist ahead, the bearded male cultivator from Black Iron Manor immediately followed his junior's gaze and spotted Chen An, who had a medicine box strapped to his back and was about to leave the market.
He immediately shouted in a commanding tone: "Hey, you with the medicine box ahead, stop right there!"
Chen An acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. Not only did he fail to stop, but he actually quickened his pace.
"Are you fucking deaf, or did you not hear me calling you?!"
Enraged by the disrespect, the bearded cultivator quickly walked toward Chen An with his eight followers in tow.
Others in the market saw this and immediately cleared a wide berth around Chen An, terrified of getting caught in the crossfire.
Soon, Chen An's path was blocked by the bearded cultivator, while the remaining eight men surrounded him tightly.
"Fellow daoists, is something the matter?"
Playing dumb, Chen An put on a friendly expression, though the fingers under his sleeves were already glowing with a layer of golden light, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
Without wasting words, the bearded cultivator drew the large saber from his back and snarled with a ferocious look on his face: "Either leave all the wealth on you, or leave your life!"
Chen An narrowed his eyes, intending to make a move.
The bearded man was at the Qi Condensation 4th Layer, and he himself was at the Qi Condensation 4th Layer.
With the blessing of his spell-casting Golden Finger and the element of surprise, he was confident he could capture the leader first and then pick off the remaining eight one by one.
Yet at the very second he was about to strike, he thought of his wives and concubines at home, and the child in his little wife's belly.
After a moment's thought, he decided against it.
He would be moving to live in the core area in a few days; there was no need to stir up trouble in the meantime.
Anyway, he only had a little over 3 low-grade spirit stones on him—if they were gone, so be it.
He would just memorize the faces of these nine fellows and return to settle accounts after he grew strong enough one day, making them pay it back a hundredfold.
Consoling himself with these thoughts, Chen An chose to swallow his pride to avert disaster and save his skin.
Just then, however, one of the Black Iron Manor cultivators' eyes suddenly lit up:
"Senior Brother Zhang, I've been thinking: instead of robbing this alchemist's money, why don't we just drag him back to Black Iron Manor and make him brew pills for us day and night?"
"Good idea! Why didn't I think of that?"
The bearded cultivator nodded, feeling that his junior made a lot of sense, and commanded Chen An: "Kid, come back with us to brew pills, or you won't be leaving here alive tod—"
"*Thud!*"
Before the bearded cultivator could finish speaking, his words were abruptly cut short by a dull thud.
The next second, the bearded cultivator collapsed heavily onto his knees with a plop, clutching his left knee tightly with both hands as he let out a miserable scream:
"Ahhhhh, my leg!!!"
The other eight Black Iron Manor cultivators were dumbfounded.
They had no idea what had just happened.
All they knew was that they seemed to have seen a flash of golden light just a moment ago, and then their senior brother was kneeling on the ground screaming for his life, his hands clamped tightly over his left knee as blood poured out endlessly onto the ground.
"It's... it's this alchemist! He hit me with a hidden weapon! Quick... quick, catch him!"
The bearded cultivator squeezed the words out through agonizing pain.
Hearing this, the eight men immediately reached for the large sabers on their backs to attack Chen An.
However—
"*Thud... thud... thud!*"
Following a rapid succession of sounds, the eight men who had been drawing their swords a split second before all ended up just like the bearded cultivator ahead of them, suddenly dropping to their knees and clutching their knees with both hands while letting out blood-curdling screams that sounded like butchered pigs.
"Aaaaaahhhhh—!"
Their shrieks echoed through the entire market.
Some listeners looked shocked, some panicked, some utterly baffled; many had no clue what had just happened.
It all simply happened too fast, concluding in the flash of a single spark.
There simply hadn't been enough time to react.
Expressionless, Chen An walked up to the bearded cultivator and stopped, looking down at him from above as he slowly raised a glowing golden finger and aimed it between the man's eyebrows.
"Don't... don't kill me!"
"My dad is an elder of Black Iron Manor, and I'm his only son! Kill me and you'll be in huge trouble—it's not worth it, fellow daoist!"
"Fellow daoist, please spare me! I promise we'll stay out of each other's way from now on, I'll never bother you again!"
The bearded cultivator begged frantically, terrified that Chen An would take his life.
Hearing this, Chen An withdrew his finger. Just as the bearded man let out a sigh of relief, Chen An suddenly lashed out with a fierce kick.
"*Bang!*"
The bearded cultivator was sent flying with a crash, rolling over several times on the ground before finally coming to a stop, knocked completely unconscious.
If it weren't for the fact that there were so many eyes on him, Chen An definitely would have killed all nine of them without leaving a single survivor.
Having vented his pent-up anger, Chen An turned around and walked away.
People along the way gave him a wide berth as he passed.
Chen An knew that even if he let the bearded cultivator off, the fellow would definitely retaliate later.
Yet he had no choice; he had to think of his family.
If he were to commit murder right now, once the man's elder father got wind of it, he would spare no cost to come hunting for blood.
The upper echelons of the Bamboo Leaf Gang at that time would undoubtedly hand him over to avoid escalating the conflict prematurely.
By merely injuring the man instead, it wouldn't be so easy for them to retaliate.
After all, when all was said and done, the Bamboo Leaf Gang and Black Iron Manor were currently at loggerheads; they might even seize the opportunity to bite back, condemning the other side for crossing boundaries to cause trouble and demanding an explanation.
*Given the chance in the future, I must kill that bearded cultivator, wipe out his father and the entire Black Iron Manor along with him, cut the weeds, and root out the stems once and for all to leave no future troubles!*
Chen An's thoughts suddenly turned extreme, losing a bit of their usual calm.
He didn't like making enemies, preferring to settle grudges on the spot.
Since he couldn't settle it now, he would have to come back to settle accounts when he had the strength, completely eliminating any future worries.
Leaving the market, Chen An did not go straight home.
Instead, he walked straight toward Manager Zhang's office in the cheap zone to consult him about moving to live in the core area.
Before long, Chen An arrived at his destination.
He was in luck; he happened to catch Manager Zhang at the office, so his trip wasn't wasted.
"Yo, Alchemist Chen, what a rare visitor! What brings you over here?"
"Manager Zhang, I'd like to move to the core area to live starting tomorrow morning."
"Huh?"
Manager Zhang was momentarily stunned.
Recovering his wits, he said to Chen An: "Alchemist Chen, the rent in the core area is 100 low-grade spirit stones a month. Are you sure you want to move there?"
Chen An: "Positive."
Manager Zhang: "Well, you can certainly move, but the earliest you can get in is the day after tomorrow. I still need to take you to look at the properties first, and process the relevant paperwork afterward."
"Understood."
Chen An nodded, thinking to himself that the core area really was different—they even provided housing.
Manager Zhang: "How about this, Alchemist Chen? Bring 100 low-grade spirit stones and look for me tomorrow morning. If we find a suitable place then, I'll process the paperwork for you right on the spot."
"Alright, I'll come over tomorrow morning then. Sorry to trouble you, Manager Zhang."
Having settled the matter simply thus, Chen An didn't linger and turned back toward home.
When he stepped into the front yard, he saw his two wives sitting on either side of the doorway chatting, seemingly chatting while waiting for him to come home.
The two women were so engrossed in their conversation that they were completely unaware their husband had already returned and was standing right in front of them.
Not wanting to interrupt them, Chen An simply stood to the side and listened.
They weren't talking about intimate matters with their husband.
They were talking about pregnancy.
Mostly, Song Huaying was chattering away sharing her experiences while Gu Xinyue listened intently.
Whenever the topic of pregnancy came up, Gu Xinyue would occasionally reach out to stroke her flat lower belly, finding it hard to imagine that her own stomach would one day swell up like a ball just like Song Huaying's.
Seeing her bewildered expression, Song Huaying somehow found it quite amusing.
With a smile, she immediately urged Gu Xinyue to reach out and touch her big belly to feel the unborn child inside.
Gu Xinyue touched it gingerly, and midway through, the baby inside gave her a kick right through the belly wall, startling her so much she instinctively snatched her hand back.
Her reaction thoroughly amused Song Huaying, who immediately began explaining the phenomenon to her.
Gu Xinyue found it all quite miraculous as she listened.
Chen An listened from the side as well.
Seeing that his wives still hadn't noticed him after all this time, he could only let out a helpless, light cough to announce that the husband they had been longing for had finally returned.
The two wives were startled by the sudden cough.
But upon seeing that it was their husband back home, they both stood up immediately and showered him with dutiful, attentive questions.
Song Huaying took charge of the warmth, while Gu Xinyue took charge of the inquiries.
After dinner, Chen An took his wives for a stroll in the courtyard.
During the walk, he mentioned the matter of going to view properties in the core area tomorrow.
After walking for a while, feeling that the time was right, Chen An had Song Huaying return to her room to sleep and get some proper rest for the sake of her pregnancy.
After all, the child in her belly would be born in three months at most.
She needed to take good care of herself.
Once Song Huaying had fallen asleep, Chen An immediately led Gu Xinyue into the woodshed, diligently working to raise the strength of his divine sense.
He had set a small goal for himself: to break through his divine sense realm to Rank 1 Intermediate tonight.
It was an easily achievable goal, since he was only lacking a little over 10 points of progress to make the breakthrough.
A single night would easily complete the task.
***
[Author's note: Bowls out, begging for monthly votes and recommendation votes!]
### 19. A Less-Than-Friendly Female Neighbor
*[You communicated with your wife Gu Xinyue through the night. Divine sense strength +1.] x18*
*[Divine sense: Rank 1 Intermediate (100/500)]*
"Hoo~"
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Chen An sat cross-legged on a cotton mat inside the woodshed, letting out a long breath with a gratified smile on his face.
After a whole night of strenuous training, he had finally broken through with his divine sense.
Gathering his wits slightly, Chen An closed his eyes and savored the changes brought about by the breakthrough in his divine sense.
His hearing had grown sharper.
Across a distance of over ten meters, through two thick wooden doors, he could still hear Song Huaying talking in her sleep inside the bedroom, murmuring "husband" over and over in a groggy voice filled with sleepiness and affection.
His sense of smell had also improved.
With just a gentle intake of air, he could parse out dozens of distinct scents and accurately trace the source of each one.
Slowly opening his eyes, he found that his vision had likewise been vastly enhanced.
Through the window, he could easily spot mosquitoes a hundred meters away, able to see every single hair on their legs.
At the same time, his concentration, reaction speed, brain processing power, and various other faculties had all grown stronger.
Chen An got up, stopped by the window, and aimed a bolt of externalized golden light at a mosquito hovering in the air dozens of meters away outside.
The next second, the golden light struck the mosquito dead center, turning it to ashes.
*Well, my aim is certainly sharper now.*
A slight thrill ran through Chen An; he hadn't expected a breakthrough in his divine sense to bring such comprehensive reinforcement.
"Husband, I want water~"
Gu Xinyue, usually so unaccustomed to expressing her emotions, suddenly spoke in a slightly spoiled, delicate whisper no louder than a mosquito's hum.
Hearing this, Chen An was somewhat surprised.
Having spent so many days and nights in bed together, this was the first time he had ever seen his little ice-queen concubine act spoiled.
Though it was only a tiny bit of pampering, it felt truly incredible.
"Hubby will get you some water right away," Chen An said, stroking Gu Xinyue's pretty face before standing up to leave the woodshed and pour her a cup of water inside the house.
He knew that Gu Xinyue wanted to experience the feeling of being doted on by her husband, and he was more than happy to indulge her in this small request.
*[You poured water for your wife Gu Xinyue to drink, making her feel deeply loved. Spousal affection +1.]*
***
After breakfast, Chen An gave his wives a reminder to stay safely at home and not go outside.
With that, he packed a little over 100 low-grade spirit stones and set out to find Manager Zhang to look at properties.
A moment later.
As soon as the two met, Chen An handed over 5 low-grade spirit stones to Manager Zhang as a token of appreciation for taking him to view properties.
Manager Zhang insisted it wasn't necessary, claiming it was simply his job and what he was paid to do as a manager.
Even so, he beamed as he accepted the 5 low-grade spirit stones, thinking to himself that Chen An was a genuinely decent fellow who understood social niceties and was well worth befriending.
Before long, the two set off.
The cheap zone where Chen An lived was quite a distance from the core area.
About twenty miles or so.
Fortunately, both of them were cultivators, traveling at speeds dozens of times faster than ordinary people.
In less than a quarter of an hour, they successfully arrived at the core area.
"Is this Alchemist Chen's first time coming to the core area?"
"Yes, my first time."
"In that case, before we look at houses, let me take you around the market first. It won't take up much time."
"Sorry to trouble you, Manager Zhang."
"You're being too formal, Alchemist Chen."
Manager Zhang beamed.
Chen An smiled back, maintaining a friendly demeanor.
Recalling how the man had previously come to collect rent, how he'd been given a foul look simply because Chen An took a moment too long to open the door, and comparing it to his current attitude—beaming from ear to ear throughout after pocketing 5 low-grade spirit stones for his trouble—Chen An could only conclude: it's great to have money.
Soon, the two arrived at the market in the core area and began strolling around inside.
A three-story women's accessory shop.
A four-story elixir pavilion.
A five-story pleasure house...
Walking along, Chen An saw many majestic and imposing structures.
Compared to the market in the cheap zone, the core area's market exuded prosperity and yearning.
"What do you think of the market here, Alchemist Chen? Much more vibrant than the one in the cheap zone, isn't it?" Manager Zhang asked with a grin.
Vibrant it was, but it still fell far short of the towering metropolises of his past life...
Calmly nodding at the thought, Chen An said, "It's indeed much more prosperous, and very lively."
Seeing that he didn't display the gawkiness of a country bumpkin entering the city for the first time, Manager Zhang praised him inwardly, deciding that this Alchemist Chen truly was extraordinary and possessed a much steadier temperament than ordinary people.
He then said to him, "Once you move to the core area tomorrow, Alchemist Chen, you can bring your wives over to browse the market here when you have free time. The core area has resident patrols, so security is relatively guaranteed, and trouble-making is rare."
Chen An smiled. "You get what you pay for."
Manager Zhang laughed heartily. "Naturally! Otherwise, how could we dare charge you a monthly rent as high as 100 low-grade spirit stones?"
At that moment, Chen An could finally deeply appreciate just how valuable a safe and secure dwelling could be in this perilous world of cultivation.
The two continued their stroll.
Along the way, facing every single cultivator they crossed paths with, Chen An would imperceptibly and covertly probe their cultivation levels.