At noon, Bai Sui waited at the agreed spot for Uncle Tian and Tian Dong.

The aroma of food drifted through the air, and at the market city gate, cultivators still bustled in and out continuously.

Just the entry fees collected each day must be quite a sum, right?

Bai Sui chose to sit down on a flagstone base, quietly watching the prosperity and clamor before her eyes.

After about 15 minutes, Uncle Tian and Tian Dong finally appeared in her vision, leading the big yellow ox over.

"Little Bai girl, made you wait a while, huh." Uncle Tian walked over cheerfully, tethered the ox, and prepared to go eat with Bai Sui first.

Bai Sui glanced at the empty cart frame and asked with a smile, "Did you sell all your things?"

"Of course, all regular customers; everything was taken!" Uncle Tian said with a smile.

Bai Sui didn't probe further into how much they sold for, but obediently chose to follow.

Afterwards they stopped in front of a roadside stall. Bai Sui chose a small bowl of beef noodles for herself and added an egg. Uncle Tian and Tian Dong ate a bit more, both using large bowls, their portions more than double Bai Sui's.

"This afternoon we're going to buy some pills and cultivation arts. Oh, and spirit rice too. From now on you'll both be cultivating, so eating spirit rice will be better."

While eating noodles, Uncle Tian shared his plan.

Pills and cultivation arts were both essential. Although Uncle Tian himself did not cultivate, he knew quite a bit about cultivator matters. In his view, Bai Sui and Tian Dong were just starting to cultivate and were still mortal flesh; things like Marrow Cleansing Pills were necessary. As for cultivation arts, the Qi Drawing Art would suffice—these were all cheap items, not costing much money.

Spirit rice, on the other hand—these special grains grew in spirit fields and required cultivators to specially tend them, so the price was a bit more expensive.

Bai Sui furrowed her brows slightly. She had been cultivating for over two years and had always eaten ordinary rice. She knew about spirit rice; it was a golden-yellow rice grain rich in spiritual energy.

Back in the South Dipper Sect, Aunt-Master Jiang had given her a handful, and when she tried eating it, she found that with her appetite she could only peck at one grain per meal; any more gave a strong feeling of fullness.

But that was when she hadn’t started cultivating yet. Now, she estimated she could eat a small half-bowl at a meal.

Unlike Fasting Pills, which were purely for satiety, spirit rice combined some cultivation functions, but eating spirit rice was too extravagant, and given Bai Sui’s current means, she likely couldn’t afford it.

"Uncle Tian, won’t spirit rice be too expensive?"

Hearing this, Uncle Tian’s brows twisted together. He nodded, "Spirit rice really isn’t cheap. Two catties of spirit rice cost one spirit stone. If a cultivator normally eats half a catty a day, that’s only enough for four days—truly too expensive. But we can’t look at it that way. You’re both still beginners; you can probably only eat a few grains at a time. And two catties of spirit rice have about eighty thousand grains, enough to eat for several years."

Seeing Uncle Tian smile as he said this, Bai Sui wasn’t so optimistic.

Uncle Tian, ah Uncle Tian, you’re underestimating my appetite. I can now eat at least one tael of spirit rice per meal. Two catties… would only last me six or seven days.

But Bai Sui couldn’t say this out loud.

After finishing the meal, Bai Sui paid the bill, and then went with Uncle Tian and the others to buy cultivation arts and pills.

Fortunately, shops of this kind were plentiful in the Outer Market. In the end they didn’t choose the Hundred Treasures Hall that Bai Sui had entered earlier.

"Uncle Tian, there’s no need for us to buy cultivation arts. Earlier when I was browsing, I already bought a copy of the Qi Drawing Art. I can share it with Brother Xiaodong when the time comes."

On the way, Bai Sui said kindly. She now had two copies of the Qi Drawing Art. The one she bought at the temporary market could be given to Tian Dong.

"Oh, you already bought a copy?" Uncle Tian looked at her in surprise. "How much did you pay?"

"Forty wen." Bai Sui thought for a moment and replied.

For her copy of the Qi Drawing Art, the stall owner had quoted twenty wen at the time, but that was after she had bargained him down. Things were a bit more expensive here in the market, so a price around forty wen should be reasonable.

Bai Sui realized that the number of times she lied had truly increased; one lie had to be covered by countless more. But she had no choice; sometimes to survive, a person couldn’t be too honest.

Besides, her lies weren’t meant to harm anyone, so even though she felt a little embarrassed, her heart held no guilt.

"Forty wen…" Uncle Tian nodded. That price sounded like it wasn’t expensive.

The Qi Drawing Art circulated across the continent was all one edition, with only slight differences in annotations. Since Little Bai girl already had a copy, there was indeed no need for Xiaodong to buy one. At worst, they could copy it when they got back.

Thinking this, Uncle Tian smiled kindly at Bai Sui. This girl had gone to buy a cultivation art alone and hadn’t been cheated by the seller; her shrewdness was apparent.

If it had been his own son, he’d probably have bought it with a silly grin even if the price was double.

Thinking of his silly son, he glanced back and saw Tian Dong just looking around this way and that, his eyes seemingly bedazzled by the bustle of the Outer Market.

Ah! What a difference!

Uncle Tian sighed.

Clothes make the man, a saddle makes the horse; the key is to be well-matched!

Originally he had been quite optimistic about his own son and the Bai family girl. After all, their ages weren’t far apart, just six years. And although the Bai girl was young now, she had been through hardships, and her mind was far more mature than it appeared.

Her appearance went without saying: delicate features, beautiful bone structure, a foundation that was incredibly good, plus her skin was fair. By the time she reached her budding teenage years, she was definitely a budding beauty.

Such a girl, if she became his daughter-in-law in the future, Uncle Tian would love her from the bottom of his heart.

Unfortunately, his own son probably couldn’t hold onto her!

Ah!!

The more he thought, the more depressed he became.

Before long, the group arrived at a roadside stall selling books.

Uncle Tian pointed to a copy of the Qi Drawing Art on the shelf and asked the price.

After the stall owner quoted fifty wen, Uncle Tian nodded, now knowing that Bai Sui’s earlier "purchase" hadn’t been expensive at all.

Then the group went to a stall selling pills and bought some Marrow Cleansing Pills. At this time Bai Sui didn’t buy any, simply making the excuse that she had already bought some earlier. She also wasn’t foolish enough to offer up her own Marrow Cleansing Pills. The value of a person lies in self-awareness; indeed her relationship with the Tian father and son was good, but a basic sense of boundaries was still necessary.

Too close breeds disrespect, too distant breeds resentment. The wisdom of self-cultivation lies in the fact that in interactions between people—be it familial love, friendship, or romantic love—one must grasp the proper measure.

Especially for intimate relationships, excessive closeness and frequent interaction can blur the sense of boundaries. This is not conducive to maintaining the relationship.

Respecting the other, maintaining communication, keeping clear boundaries, sharing in moderation, and learning to say no—these are the essence of building long-term, healthy interpersonal relationships.

Thus, like a bystander, she watched Uncle Tian haggle with the stall owner.

In the end, Uncle Tian bought six Marrow Cleansing Pills for only one spirit stone, even cheaper than the price Bai Sui had asked about earlier at the Hundred Treasures Hall. The extra pill was a result of bargaining.

After the deal was struck, both sides smiled sincerely, as if each had gotten the better end.

The old ginger is indeed spicier; Bai Sui admitted she fell short in this regard. She still had much to learn.

Afterwards, they passed by a shop selling spirit rice.

Uncle Tian bought two catties of spirit rice for Xiaodong. Bai Sui thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and bought two catties as well.

Remaining spirit stones: 5 blocks ➠ 4 blocks.

Even poorer! Pounding the ground!!

But looking at the golden, plump grains packed in a small sack in her arms, her mood brightened again.

Her money hadn’t vanished; it had just changed form to accompany her.

At this point, Bai Sui’s trip to the market had been a huge success and concluded perfectly.

Borrowing the afterglow of the setting sun, the three once again boarded the ox cart pulled by the big yellow ox, exited the market city gate, and shuttled through the bustling Outer Ward.

On the way back, they again saw a group of cultivators arguing there, just like in the morning. It seemed also a dispute over trivial matters or some resource. Both sides gathered in a noisy circle, looking ready to start a fight at the slightest disagreement.

This was probably routine in the Outer Ward. In terms of public security alone, the Outer Ward had a mixed character, with a level of harmony far below the Inner and Outer Markets, and even less than the peaceful Spirit Water Village with its sparse population.

Uncle Tian, an old hand, tugged the ox’s halter and detoured around via a side path. Then he snapped the ox whip, and the big yellow ox, smarting from the pain, galloped quickly. Not long after, they left the Outer Ward.

After that, with the setting sun at their backs, they returned to Spirit Water Village.