Chapter 40: No One Loses

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

The war between the Bamboo Leaf Gang and the Black Iron Manor was still ongoing.

But it is no longer growing in size.

Life in the core area, which had not been affected much, had returned to a calm state of living.

Other than not being able to leave the core area, everything else was the same.

As for the problem of making money to pay rent, the Bamboo Leaf Gang gave them a way to offset the rent.

And that was— to represent the Bamboo Leaf Gang on the battlefield to kill enemies. Then, according to their performance on the battlefield, they would be exempted from the corresponding rent.

Those who performed well could even obtain various additional rewards.

For example, cultivation techniques, medicinal pills, magical artifacts, and so on.

Many advance-stage Qi Refining Cultivators with some strength were tempted and chose to become mercenaries of the Bamboo Leaf Gang to fight the enemy head-on.

The remaining Cultivators who were not strong enough and did not have any special livelihood skills went to the logistics department to do odd jobs.

As an Alchemist, Chen An’s days were relatively more comfortable. There was no need to pay the rent.

It became how many pills he had to provide to the Bamboo Leaf Gang every month.

The amount of medicine provided every month was as high as 150 low-grade spirit stones according to the market price.

But Chen An could still accept it.

This was because directly providing medicinal pills to the Bamboo Leaf Gang could save him the time to set up a stall in the market. He could also spare time to spend with his wife and concubine and watch his daughter grow up.

However, only the residents of the core area could enjoy this peace.

For example, the low-level Cultivators in the cheap district were all suffering from the war.

Being at the center of the battlefield, they had no choice but to pick up their weapons to resist the invasion of the Cultivators of the Black Iron Manor.

Unfortunately, their cultivation levels were too low, and most of them became cannon fodder.

Those who were lucky enough to survive had basically become prisoners of war of the Black Iron Manor.

The men were taken to work as coolies, and the women were taken to an indescribable place.

The days were filled with despair.

Because there was no hope of staying in the cheap district, many low-level Cultivators fled to the entrance of the core district and begged the residents there to take them in.

However, out of a hundred people, only one or two outstanding female Cultivators could be taken in.

The remaining people were all brought to the logistics department by the Bamboo Leaf Gang Cultivators to work day and night. Every day, there were people who died of exhaustion.

In this period of war, only the Cultivators in the core area were treated as humans by the Bamboo Leaf Gang.

As for the low-level Cultivators in the cheap district, they were just a group of cannon fodder that were thrown away after being used.

In the cultivation world, it was a world where the strong preyed on the weak.

It was just that cruel.

…

This morning, Chen An was going out to deliver the pills he had refined yesterday to the Bamboo Leaf Gang.

As soon as he walked out of the courtyard, he bumped into Han Sanfan, who was passing by the door.

When Han Sanfan saw him come out, he went forward and smiled:

“Alchemist Chen, many female Cultivators from the cheaper district came to the entrance seeking shelter. Do you want to go with me to take a look? If you’re lucky, you might be able to bring a beauty back to warm your bed.”

“I’ll pass. I still have a wife and concubine to take care of at home. I don’t have the extra energy to look after them.”

“Heh, that’s true. Alchemist Chen has three beauties in his family.”

“Fellow Cultivator Han, I still have something on. I’ll take my leave first.”

After saying that, Chen An walked towards the Bamboo Leaf Gang and did not chat with Han Sanfan.

He had already gone to take a look at the female Cultivators at the entrance in the first few days.

There were indeed people with outstanding looks. There were also some who had tempted him.

However, although he was tempted, he did not take in those female Cultivators.

Even if he took in one more person, it would only be a matter of adding another pair of chopsticks at home. He would not take them in.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. It was because he was now working on Wen Zhiyun.

If he suddenly took a concubine back, Wen Zhiyun would definitely explode.

She might even run away from home on the spot and not be willing to share a house with him anymore.

Well, he had to take down Wen Zhiyun first before thinking about anything else.

…

They arrived at the Bamboo Leaf Gang.

Chen An sent the refined medicinal pills in. After checking, he turned around and was about to leave.

At this moment, a Bamboo Leaf Gang Cultivator in charge of logistics stopped him and said:

“Alchemist Chen, from tomorrow onwards, the supply of this pill will increase by an additional 20%.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Chen An said casually without a trace of emotion on his face.

He glanced at the busy logistics department and quickly turned to leave.

On the way back, Chen An frowned slightly.

What did it mean to suddenly increase the supply of medicinal pills? Did that mean that the war between the two gangs was about to intensify?

This was not a good sign.

…

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

At this moment, Chen Yuejian, who was originally tiny, had unknowingly become chubby.

Although she was only three months old, she could already crawl around in bed.

A child with a spiritual root was indeed different. If it was an ordinary child, it would take at least six months to learn how to crawl.

“Husband, Little Yuejian is crawling so fast. I wonder if she will be able to walk in another two to three months.”

Song Huaying looked at her daughter with a smile.

Chen An smiled and said,

“Definitely. After all, Little Yuejian inherited her mother’s intelligence and her father’s spiritual roots. She might even be able to run in two months.”

“I really hope that time will pass quickly so that Little Yuejian can grow up quickly. I want to hear her call me Mother.”

Song Huaying’s face was full of anticipation.

Chen An smiled and did not say anything. He went forward and picked up his daughter. He pinched her round little face and said,

“See you, Little Yuejian. I’ll take you for a walk in the courtyard outside to take a breath of fresh air.”

“Husband, I’ll go to the kitchen to make dinner.”

After Song Huaying finished speaking, she gave her daughter a peck. Then, she went to the kitchen to make breakfast with a satisfied expression.

Chen Yuejian was still young and did not rely much on her mother. She did not cry because her mother had left.

She just lay silently on her father’s shoulder, opening her toothless little mouth and biting it.

Chen An ignored her and let her bite him.

He guessed that his daughter was about to grow teeth. Her gums were itching, which was why she wanted to bite something.

They arrived outside the courtyard.

Her daughter struggled to get down. She didn’t want to be hugged. She wanted to crawl around on the ground.

The ground was too dirty, so Chen An didn’t let her crawl around.

Seeing that her father was unwilling to let her down, she struggled for a while before quickly calming down.

She didn’t cry or make a fuss. She was very quiet and calm.

Wen Zhiyun, who had just finished cultivating and was taking a walk in the courtyard, saw the father and daughter strolling in front and could not help but walk up with a smile.

She stopped in front of Chen An and said to Chen Yuejian, who was in Chen An’s arms,

“Come, Xiaoyue, let Godmother hug you.”

“What the…”

Chen Yuejian ignored her godmother and stared at a butterfly that was slowly flying past.

Wen Zhiyun didn’t care much and reached out to carry her over.

Seeing this, Chen An was unhappy and said, “I haven’t held her enough. Go away!”

“I’m her godmother. What’s wrong with letting me hold her?”

“If you like carrying children so much, can’t you give birth to one yourself?”

“If you don’t want me to hold her, then don’t. When I give birth in the future, don’t even think about holding mine!”

“I say, Fellow Cultivator Wen, you don’t even have a man now and you’re already thinking of giving birth. You’re quite good at dreaming.”

“Talking to you is so tiring!”

Wen Zhiyun rolled her eyes at him and turned around to return to her room to continue cultivating.

Looking at Wen Zhiyun’s departing figure, Chen An knew that he was about to win.

Soon, he would be able to control this arrogant beautiful woman.

He carried his daughter and walked for a while.

Chen An felt that it was about time, so he brought his daughter back to her room and gave her a sleeping spell to let her take a nap.

[You used the Sleepy Time Spell on your daughter, Chen Yuejian, to let her sleep peacefully. Sleepy Time Spell proficiency +1.]

[Sleep Assistance: Beginner (55/100)]

He covered his daughter with a blanket.

Chen An immediately walked into Gu Xinyue’s room next door impatiently.

He wanted to improve his relationship with this ice queen of a concubine.

About the time for two incense sticks to burn.

[Spiritual Sense Strength +2]

[Goldfinger Proficiency +2]

After that, Chen An planned to take a shower.

He first went to the room to get a set of clean clothes. He stopped in front of the bathroom door.

Seeing that the door was ajar, Chen An didn’t think too much about it and pushed the door open.

However, with this push, something happened!

Wen Zhiyun was standing beside the wooden barrel, untying her Taoist robe.

The belt loosened, and the Daoist robe slipped off his shoulders, revealing a patch of snow-white skin.

Chen An was stunned.

At this moment, Wen Zhiyun saw him and could not help but be stunned.

After a moment of realization, Wen Zhiyun immediately pulled up her Taoist robe that was about to fall off. She opened her mouth in shame and anger and was about to shout that Chen An was a hooligan, up to no good.

Seeing this, Chen An immediately stepped forward to cover her small mouth. At the same time, he lifted his clothes in front of her, revealing his eight firm abs.

“Come, Fellow Cultivator Wen, I’ll show you my eight-pack. Neither of us will lose out.”

“Mmph!”

Wen Zhiyun couldn’t take it anymore. She was so embarrassed that smoke was about to come out of her head. She immediately made up her mind and bit the big hand that was covering her mouth.

This bite almost crushed her teeth.

Chen An quickly pulled back his ‘Goldfinger’. Before Wen Zhiyun could react and get angry, he immediately turned around and left the bathroom.

It was enough to take advantage of her. It was not appropriate to be too hasty.

After all, haste makes waste. In his previous life, he had experienced it deeply.