"Junior Brother, want to make money?"
Xu Zhimo eagerly greeted him, rubbing his hands as he scrutinized his Junior Brother like a piece of merchandise, showing not an ounce of the dignified and upright demeanor expected of a Senior Brother.
"Tsk, Old Xu, what terrible idea do you have now?"
"Let me tell you first, I'm absolutely not doing those kinds of paintings again… like the Spring Palace Fairy Scroll… or novels!"
"Last time, Senior Sister locked me in my room for three whole days of confinement… and you, you bastard, actually escaped for three days."
Yun Ming gritted his teeth; this was one of his few advantages as a transmigrator, having more memories and talents than others.
In his previous life, as a doujinshi artist and novelist, he had a brief period of immense popularity, and his works were considered art, receiving countless praises.
But this was ultimately not the path of a good disciple.
Especially since he was so young; if he were discovered, wouldn't that be social death… But as seen, Senior Brother often came to visit him, never knocking or giving prior notice, and a portrait he drew for Senior Sister years ago was accidentally discovered.
Perhaps, there was a tiny bit of artistic imagination involved, and the clothing was a bit… sparse.
But wasn't it his instigation? As a result, this guy caught him with leverage.
By some strange impulse, he became involved in that sinful trade; both online and physical art books sold like hotcakes, and money blinded Yun Ming's eyes, making him somewhat addicted to the past joy.
He couldn't stop himself… until finally, the Senior Brothers' surreptitious discussions were discovered by the Senior Sisters and reached Ye Qingxuan's ears.
The money he earned was confiscated, and he was gone.
"Cough, cough…"
Xu Zhimo poured tea for his Junior Brother, personally bringing it to his lips; he was also thinking of the sect.
Taking on commissions all day, and even helping everyone for free, was certainly good for the sect's image, but who in the sect didn't need to eat?
They couldn't let Master, with his old bones, work himself to death in the Void, and Yun Ming was still so young.
Since he recognized him as Senior Brother, Senior Brother naturally had to bear this responsibility and lead Yun Kui Mountain to common prosperity.
"Junior Brother, don't you know why Qing Xuan confined you? It's because you drew those books!?"
"Out of your ten hidden drawings, five of them strongly resembled her… We all used to say we liked Qing Xuan, after all, who wouldn't like such a beautiful Junior Sister?"
"I never expected you, kid, to be the most deeply hidden one."
Xu Zhimo gently patted his Junior Brother's shoulder, his gaze deep and meaningful.
This made Yun Ming feel completely uncomfortable; he slapped away the other's hand, speaking in an unfriendly tone.
"Shut up, you! You know those were personal items. Did I let you peek? It's bad enough you found them, but you even told Senior Sister. You're truly my good Senior Brother!!"
"…Also, hurry up and tell me what's going on, or I'm going to cultivate."
"Alas, there's no love left… You're not even willing to call me Senior Brother anymore. You're no longer the little Junior Brother who admired Senior Brother. My heart aches, Senior Brother!"
The other party continued his exaggerated performance, while Yun Ming had already adopted a poker face, expressionlessly walking into the room, picking up his sword, the cold blade unsheathed, its tip gently resting on the ground.
Ding—
"Cough, cough, Junior Brother, look at you, so impatient…"
Xu Zhimo instinctively took two steps back, casually picking up a paintbrush from the table to shield himself; it was a gift from Ye Qingxuan to his Junior Brother.
The other's face darkened even more.
A smile appeared on his lips, and then he finally got to the point.
"The Blackwood family, you should know them, right? They're one of the hidden members behind the TOPS conglomerate, responsible for mining Glazed Porcelain."
"A prominent figure in their family has suffered severe Aether erosion and wants to invite our Yun Kui Mountain to help."
"The reward is…"
Xu Zhimo deliberately paused for a moment; seeing that his Junior Brother showed no signs of refusing, he walked forward and raised one finger.
"100,000 dinnar? Can't do it… A set of Aether anti-erosion protective gear costs over a million."
Yun Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head.
In the game, 2,500 dinnar could only buy a bowl of ramen, but in the real world, it wasn't that exaggerated; 1 dinnar was equivalent to 1 RMB.
Xu Zhimo's smile grew wider, and he shook his head.
"1,000,000, that's worth considering, but how do I explain this money to Master? Never mind, let the old man think what he wants."
"Cough, cough, the reward is 10,000,000 dinnar!"
"10,000,000, not bad… Wait, 10,000,000!?"
Yun Ming quickly calculated the sum in his mind.
Even Xuan Mingzi, working tirelessly on commissions for a year, would probably only earn this much at most, and he was old and in poor health.
10,000,000 would pay off their debts and be enough to support Yun Kui Mountain for two or three years, considering there were over a hundred people and such a large area to manage!
"How about it? This time, Qing Xuan won't confine you."
Senior Brother coaxed, then added,
"It's fortunate that I found out about this first, otherwise, if Master knew, he would probably have gone off on his own."
Yun Ming nodded secretly; most of the sect's techniques required a price to be paid. Everyone in the sect, including Xuan Mingzi, wielded Aether instead of orthodox Heaven and Earth spiritual veins.
The price, of course, was to suffer Aether erosion.
The greater the power, the heavier the burden.
If used to heal the sick and save people, especially to alleviate Aether erosion, then the burden would have to be transferred to the caster.
Without relying on talismans, a cultivator would need to reach at least the Yun Zhuan Realm to cast spells.
But all of this was no problem for Yun Ming; he would not be affected by Aether erosion until his own spiritual veins were completely depleted.
And this matter was known only to Xuan Mingzi, Ye Qingxuan, and Xu Zhimo.
"Junior Brother, what do you say?"
"Hmm… I'll go to Master's place and secretly swap out the Qing Ming Sword. TOPS is, after all, a massive conglomerate, not to be trifled with."
"Excellent, with Junior Brother here, the great task can be accomplished!"
"Nonsense, thanks to Senior Brother's hard work outside, Yun Wu Senior Brother, we wouldn't be where we are today!"
Ding, the two teacups clinked, making a crisp sound.
The Senior Brothers both narrowed their eyes and pointed at each other, 'Oh, you money-grubbing fellow, so humble after being so arrogant, it's laughable~'
…As dusk fell, while the Senior Brothers were plotting their great scheme.
At Qi Yun Courtyard, in a certain room, thick steam was rising, faintly revealing three figures in a wooden tub, two small and one large.
Ye Qingxuan bathed with her two Junior Sisters, removing the dirt from their bodies. After cleaning the two girls' faces and hair, they looked quite delicate.
"From now on, just treat this place as home. This courtyard is deserted, so if you need anything, find your Senior Brother Yun Ming. If you miss Senior Sister, just ask anyone to find out where I live."
"Mm, thank you, Senior Sister."
Yi Jiang submerged half her face in the water; the warm feeling made her feel like she was losing consciousness, lying in Senior Sister's soft embrace… She looked at her sister beside her, "Yi Xuan?"
The girl didn't respond, her eyes closed, her head resting against Ye Qingxuan's chest. Drool suddenly flowed from her mouth, and she bit down.
"Barbecue pork bun… so big and soft."
She mumbled, her words slurred.
Mm~
A suppressed gasp echoed in the room. Ye Qingxuan's face was strange, perhaps from the heat of the bath or something else, her neck and ears were crimson.
"Ah, Senior Sister… Yi Xuan, she… this…"