Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Chu Mingkong suddenly felt a little sorry for Qingse, as if he had unintentionally messed up the development strategy of her Immortal Treasure Pavilion...

Chapter 88 Another New Product

However, for Qingse herself, she felt that this had both advantages and disadvantages. Her reputation was somewhat distorted, and she began to develop into a private shop for female cultivators, no longer simply a merchant guild that gathered all kinds of rare treasures. But the benefits were also very obvious.

Because similar businesses hold the same status among all cultivators, especially since the Immortal Treasure Pavilion has so many branches, cultivators simply go to whichever branch is closest to them. After so long of development, the only way the Immortal Treasure Pavilion can win over customers, besides the personal charisma of the branch leaders, is to rely on discounts, intelligence, and other means to build good relationships.

However, the strange fame brought by selling jade has given her Immortal Treasure Pavilion a strange sense of belonging among female cultivators, who tend to treat it as a shop frequented by close female friends, resulting in a significant increase in customer traffic...

Now, seeing Chu Mingkong come to her to sell jade penises, Qingse felt both happy and sad.

"Finally, we can get supplies again. It's a pity that my dream of becoming a top-tier merchant guild in the cultivation world is fading further and further away..."

Qingse instructed her servants to change the route to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy. After confirming that the servants had complied, she continued to discuss matters with Chu Mingkong via written notes.

I'm already on my way to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy. If you're in a hurry, you can head towards Jianxuan Sect first; that way, we can meet a couple of days earlier.

Chu Mingkong did want to go there and develop clients in the Sword Profound Sect, and harm the female cultivators of the Sword Profound Sect, which could also be considered revenge for Madam Zhen.

However, his strength has not yet fully recovered, so it's best not to leave Xiaoxiang Qin Academy. Going to a place like Jianxuan Sect would be even more absurd, as another Immortal-Trapping Sword Xuan Formation would cause trouble.

He wrote:

No rush, just come over. I've been busy with cultivation lately and can't go out much.

"Your Highness, there's something I'm very curious about. Where did you get so many jade dildos? Putting aside how you obtained such high-quality spirit jade, you don't actually have someone carve them for you regularly, do you...?"

[This was a gift from an older female relative of mine, intended as a reminder to take care of my lower body and not forget to use it frequently and exercise regularly.]

Chu Mingkong thought it made no mistake; the system mother was also an elder, so drawing it was like receiving a gift from her.

Qingse didn't take his words seriously, considering them nonsense.

[By the way, Your Highness, the suggestion you made before about sending regular product information to regular customers via paper notes has been very well received. During my time overseas, I collected some potentially useful materials. Could you please see if we can improve upon it? It's indeed inconvenient to use right now, and there aren't enough of them.]

Look, this kind of thing can only be done quickly by people who have both money and free time. They've already started helping to find materials so soon. Hopefully, these materials will be useful. Chu Mingkong himself is tired from holding this thick book of papers.

Send the materials to Xiling Tianya Tower. The elders there will give you a batch of current paper templates to use temporarily. They will give you more when new ones are released. I also have some ideas, which we can discuss when we meet. Writing is so tiring.

Looking at the words emerging on the paper, Qingse could sense the "tiredness" he mentioned. At first, the handwriting was neat and upright, but after writing only a few sentences, the handwriting had become irritable and messy, like dragons and snakes dancing wildly.

"Alright, there's one more thing I'd like to trouble Your Highness to write a few more words about. Could you please let me know in advance what type of spirit jade the jade dildo you're planning to send over is made of? I'll send a message to our female regulars beforehand."

[Thunder and Water.]

"He wrote two characters in one stroke; it seems he really doesn't want to write anymore." Qingse put down Chu Mingkong's note and turned to instruct her deputy to send the message to their regular customers.

---------

When Gu Jungui found Si Chunhua, the female elder of the Punishment Hall was looking at some fragments of martial arts manuals that she had collected, drawing inspiration from the wisdom of the ancients to offer guidance.

Sensing someone's arrival, Si Chunhua closed her book. Seeing it was one of Chu Mingkong's family members, she greeted them with a gentle smile.

"Mrs. Gu, is there something you need from me?"

Gu Jungui used to live in the secular world and often asked Feihuang what the difference was between immortals who had left the world to cultivate. At that time, Feihuang said that only those who had not gone out to cultivate would think that those in the sects and holy lands were immortals. In reality, they were no different from ordinary people, except that they did different things and had different lifespans.

Ordinary people see the lives of aristocratic families as the carefree existence of immortals, while aristocratic families see their sects and sacred sites as places frequented by celestial beings. Those within sects, too, see those with extraordinary talent as possessing the bearing of immortals. Everyone is like this, living in the same world, looking up at different heights, yet never seeing the summit.

At the time, Gu Jun Gui didn't understand, but now, seeing the sect elders in front of her treating her with such friendliness and kindness, she felt that it was just as Zhong Fei Huang had said back then: everyone is human, only their lives are different.

"Elder Si, I apologize for disturbing you. I just wanted to ask if there's a market or something similar within the Xiaoxiang Qin Academy?"

"Yes, but I may not be able to buy what Madam Gu needs. What would you like to buy? I can ask my disciple to purchase it when he goes down the mountain."

"That's too much trouble. I just wanted to buy some ingredients and herbs to make soup for Mingkong to nourish him." Gu Jungui felt that it wouldn't sound good to say that Mingkong needed to nourish his kidneys in public, so he changed his words: "He's been recuperating these days, so I wanted to make some soup to strengthen his bones and nourish his essence... to build up his strength, hmm."

Si Chunhua's smile remained unchanged. In her heart, she felt that this kind of stew would have little effect on Chu Mingkong's constitution unless it was made with some rare and precious spirit beast herbs. Otherwise, ordinary stew would have very little medicinal effect. Moreover, Chu Mingkong was still suffering from the injury of the Abyss, so even pills with concentrated medicinal power might not be able to work on him.

Rest is the most effective way for Chu Mingkong to recover, but many things are done with good intentions, and Si Chunhua didn't say it outright. Plus, this was a good opportunity to meet with Mingkong...

"Our sect keeps some medicinal spirit beasts. Madam Gu, please come with me to fetch them!"

------------

Chu Mingkong put away the paper slips. Now that he had nothing to do and had been slacking off for so long, he was finally ready to do another ten-pull of blind boxes.

Wow! There's purple! My luck is turning around!

Chu Mingkong's expression finally showed surprise, and the purple light dissipated—

A jade dildo of purple quality.

His smile vanished, and he reverted to his expressionless face.

Great, we can provide Qingse with another new one.

"At least it's starting to show purple hues; it's starting to feel like the lucky guy it used to be!"

Chu Mingkong stretched, his mind flashing back to the information he had overheard in the emperor's bedchamber, and he sighed again.

"Rong'er has spent a lot of time with Madam Zhen these past few days, but she hasn't been able to ask her much. It seems she can't remember anything at all. But that's alright, since none of these things are happy anyway. Whether she can ask about what happened back then or not, it doesn't change the fact that the Emperor is now my enemy. It's good that Madam Zhen can't remember anything now."

Go visit her.

Chapter Eighty-Nine Steamed...Mother

Madam Zhen was browsing through some books from the Xiaoxiang Qin Academy in the courtyard. She could occasionally see female disciples of the sect flying in the sky, but she did not find it noisy or disturbing.

Xiaoxiang Qin Academy, or rather most sects that practice detachment from worldly affairs, is generally peaceful and pleasant. The environment is vast, and there are relatively few people. You might feel uneasy if you don't see a single person pass by all day.

When I get tired of reading, looking at the female cultivators passing by in the air actually makes me feel better.

Just as she closed the book, Madam Zhen heard footsteps. Turning around, she saw Chu Mingkong approaching her.

The beautiful woman's mature and serene face blossomed into a joyful smile as she said, "Mingkong, you're here~ You're not the tiny little thing you used to be."

She's seen a lot of Xiao Mingkong these past few days. Apart from Aunt Gu, she's the one who's held Xiao Mingkong the most. Since Chu Mingkong has shrunk, she can use excuses like "curiosity" and "liking Linglong and his well-behaved nature" to get close to him. Plus, it's quite fun to hold him because of the novelty.

"I need to change back to my old size and relax a bit. I'm always moving around like that. If I change back to my old size and can't walk anymore, I'll be in big trouble. I feel like my legs are floating now. I've suddenly grown a lot taller."

"...Can't walk?" Madam Zhen's expression turned serious. "I originally thought it was cute and fun, but it turns out there's such a drawback?"

Chu Mingkong quickly waved his hand and explained:

"Madam Zhen, please don't take this seriously. I was just exaggerating. I've lived my whole life this way. How could I forget something I've learned my whole life in just a few days?"

However, I'm actually glad I showed you all what I look like when I'm small. With so many elders around, I'll be busy showing it to each of you later!

At least for now, Aunt Gu and the others are only asking him to change things because it's a novelty. After a while, they won't find it strange anymore. These kinds of things are all about novelty. Once they get through these few days, there won't be any problems.

Just like Zuo Qiuchi and Feng Ying, they were just people who thought it was fun back then.

However, it's Master's wife Shen Xuejun and her sister Xiao Yunhan who really have problems...

"Madam Zhen, have you found anything you're not used to while living in the sect these past few days? They've set up a farm there, it's much more lively now. You could move there for a few days and try something different, you get tired of seeing the same thing all the time."

"...Then I'll go and bother you later. Actually, there's nothing I'm not used to here. Miss Rong'er comes over to chat with me from time to time."

What did you talk about?

“We can talk about anything. Miss Rong’er is indeed a talented and intelligent woman. You should ask her more often if you have any questions. Don’t act rashly on your own.”

"Haha~ Yes, yes, I'll steal her out too. From now on, I'll just live a carefree life and wait for her to take care of me."

Madam Zhen was so angry at his self-righteousness that she almost laughed. Being both wise and brave was something every man should strive for, and only he could talk about being brave but reckless with such pride.

However, having a trustworthy person offer advice and strategies is a kind of wisdom.

"Ah, you've really shown great wisdom in your apparent foolishness..." Madam Zhen didn't know whether she was praising her or being tactful.

As long as they're not utterly stupid or mentally challenged... Chu Mingkong smiled and glanced at the book in Madam Zhen's hand. It was a book from Xiaoxiang Qin Academy that recorded the experiences of the founders and elders.

It's somewhat similar to a biography, with some "knowledge points" about cultivation interspersed throughout. It's basically designed to allow disciples to relax while cultivating, but also absorb some useful knowledge along the way.

Meditation and spiritual practice are tedious, but they are the mainstream methods of cultivation. Killing and plundering are usually secondary activities. Disciples occasionally look at the experiences of their ancestors and predecessors, which can be considered a way to relieve fatigue and calm the mind.

However, if you're just looking at the stories, Chu Mingkong's mind is still filled with a lot of mindless, purely entertaining tales.

Chu Mingkong volunteered, "Does Madam Zhen like these kinds of stories? Would you like me to tell you a few?"

When Madam Zhen was with Chu Mingkong, she always had a gentle, smiling expression. She said:

Is it the one called "The Ingenious Chess Game"?

Chu Mingkong's face stiffened: "How did Madam Zhen know this story?"

"It's been widely circulated. It's said that the unnamed Prince of Xiling told these stories in the brothel to please the girl. I heard a lot of them when Yongzhen and I were taking a walk near our little courtyard."

The story has been passed down in a rather incomplete way; a new version appears every now and then, so the truth of the story is unknown...

It was a bit embarrassing when her family found out about her going to the brothel, especially since Yongzhen and Madam Zhen both knew about it.

"Ahem, I have to explain. Actually, the girl I was with back then wasn't from the brothel, but my master, Zuo Qiuchi. The most beautiful courtesan in the brothel is known to be hard to see, and my master has a penchant for seeing the real thing. But he was getting bored while waiting, so I just told him some stories I'd heard before to relieve his boredom."

Unexpectedly, a glimmer of hope appeared; the courtesan overheard our conversation and invited us, master and disciple, inside for a chat.

"Yes, yes, yes, the poem you just mentioned is in the story I heard."

Chu Mingkong pulled Madam Zhen to sit down and told her the original version of his story. Madam Zhen had already heard it before, but she still listened with great interest. It was unclear whether she was enjoying the dramatic story or the moment of being with this young man under the blue sky.

As the story ended, Chu Mingkong noticed that Madam Zhen seemed to be enjoying herself more. He picked up a cup of tea from the small table, and Madam Zhen wanted to remind him that it was the cup she had drunk from, but Chu Mingkong had already gulped down the tea to soothe his throat.

"I just remembered a story that an old fisherman by the river told me when I was fishing before."

Madam Zhen rested her chin on her hand, her beautiful, clear eyes calmly reflecting Chu Mingkong's figure. She nodded and said:

"What story?"

"Splitting the mountain to save his mother... Oh, I misspoke. It was supposed to be about a little boy who grows up and saves his fairy mother."

Tell me about it.

Chu Mingkong had never read the original story of "The Lotus Lantern," only watched the TV series. He had forgotten most of the plot details, except for the fact that the character of the Third Holy Mother, the mother in the series, was incredibly beautiful...

It doesn't matter if you don't remember the specific details of the plot; just make it up. Add story elements as needed, as long as Madam Zhen is happy.

Since it's a story about a mother and her child, the plot should be dramatic, with a touch of heartbreak, but a happy ending after hardship is a good story melody, and a touch of romance is also included.

The final story follows the original setting: in a celestial court where passion and desire are forbidden, the most beautiful woman in the Three Realms, the Third Holy Mother, is suppressed for falling in love. Her son, whose heart belongs only to his beautiful mother, goes through countless hardships to split mountains and rescue her. Although he is powerless against the power of the celestial court, the mother and son escape to the secluded world and live happily ever after.