Chapter 2399

Creating a sect was no easy task. Zhu Yanyi understood this well, which is why she hadn’t started immediately. She knew she lacked management experience. Yan Aohan, however, had that experience. So, she planned to let him manage the sect in its early stages. That would be fine.

Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan walked slowly. The Immortal Realm, for those living under its care, felt less mysterious and more down-to-earth.

In this Flower City, besides flowers filling the sky, there were tea houses, taverns, and snack streets.

Of course, the ingredients for these snacks were special materials from the Immortal Realm, so the flavors were quite different.

"Snack Street. Let’s go look around here," Zhu Yanyi said to Yan Aohan when she saw the sign.

Yan Aohan was accompanying her on this outing, so he agreed without hesitation. The couple walked in.

Zhu Yanyi bought two skewers of candied haws and four skewers of immortal lamb. She gave half to Yan Aohan and ate slowly.

But after just one bite, she heard someone arguing.

"Hey, shopkeeper, you’re really something. I just forgot my immortal jade. I’m not refusing to pay. I just asked to put it on credit." The speaker was a woman with a red face.

The woman was very burly, and her face was completely red. If not for her immortal robes, Zhu Yanyi might have thought she was a man, like a female Zhang Fei.

"You say I’m unreasonable? Are you reasonable? Since you came here, you’ve eaten every day. You paid for the first three days, then started putting it on credit. I thought, we’re all immortals, I wouldn’t worry about you not paying. But it’s been three months. You haven’t paid a single coin. You just come here every day to eat for free. So, today, you can’t eat unless you pay what you owe first."

The waiter in the shop glared angrily at the woman.

The red-faced woman showed no shame. Or perhaps her face was too red to hide it. She just said, "It’s hard to find work in the Immortal Realm. I haven’t found a job yet. I told you, I’ll pay as soon as I get work."

"As immortals, you don’t need to eat. If you have no money, don’t come out to eat," the waiter said directly.

Indeed, immortals could go their whole lives without eating. But sometimes, eating was just to taste things, to feel alive. It was rare to see someone like the red-faced woman eating for three months straight.

"But I’m different. I just want to eat. If you don’t let me eat, I won’t leave," the red-faced woman said shamelessly.

"You’re just too shameless," the waiter said, annoyed.

Zhu Yanyi looked at Yan Aohan. "What do you think of her?"

"She looks okay. Want to try?" Yan Aohan understood Zhu Yanyi’s meaning. Starting a sect required disciples. Given Zhu Yanyi’s personality, she wouldn’t go looking for disciples every year. It was better to buy children with poor aptitude and improve their bodies with medicine. But before that, Zhu Yanyi needed a manager. Her walk today was mostly to observe and see if she could find someone suitable.

This red-faced woman, though not beautiful, had confidence besides her shameless air. There was clearly karmic merit light around her. Such a person couldn’t be evil. Maybe her shamelessness was just a mask she wanted others to see.

Zhu Yanyi walked over and took out two pieces of top-grade immortal jade, handing them to the waiter. "Is this enough for her three months?"

"Enough, enough. Even too much," the waiter said, no longer arguing.

Zhu Yanyi looked at the red-faced woman, who was also studying her. The woman sensed this girl was not simple.

"Want to eat together?" Zhu Yanyi invited.

"You’re treating?" the red-faced woman asked.

"I have to treat. You seem to have no money," Zhu Yanyi smiled.

"Fine. As long as you don’t mind I eat a lot, I’m happy to eat for free," the red-faced woman nodded, still looking shameless.

Zhu Yanyi gestured for them to proceed. She and Yan Aohan walked in front, while the red-faced woman followed. The three entered the shop.

"Bring two jars of your immortal wine. Five jin of immortal beef, ten jin of immortal lamb, one ten-jin braised immortal carp, and a plate of stir-fried eight immortals," the red-faced woman ordered as soon as she sat down.

Since Zhu Yanyi was there, the waiter wasn’t afraid they wouldn’t pay. She quickly served the food.

"Try it. The waiter isn’t nice to me, but their food is really good. The wine is good too," the red-faced woman introduced.

"Thank you," Zhu Yanyi smiled. "But I won’t drink. My partner and I plan to have a child, so we’re avoiding alcohol for now."

The red-faced woman looked at Yan Aohan, then at Zhu Yanyi. "You’re partners?"

"Yes," Zhu Yanyi smiled. "This is my husband. You can also call her my partner."

"Husband? That term is only used in the mortal realm. Did you cultivate from the mortal realm too?" the red-faced woman asked curiously.

"Did you? So you also ascended from cultivation?" Zhu Yanyi asked with a smile.

"Yes. My name is Hong Lian. Not the 'face' character, but the 'lotus' character," Hong Lian said cheerfully.

"But you can call me Red-Faced Heroine. That’s my Daoist name." She sighed.

"It’s all because of this name. My face wasn’t this red before. When I reached the Golden Core stage, my master gave me a name: Red Lotus Fairy. I don’t know if it was because of the name, but the deeper my cultivation, the redder my face became. Later, someone changed it to Red-Faced Fairy. I was angry. If my face is red, why be a fairy? So I changed it to Red-Faced Heroine."

Hong Lian seemed unbothered by all this. She introduced herself openly and cheerfully.

Zhu Yanyi nodded slightly. "So, you’ve had a hard time." She introduced herself. "I’m Zhu Yanyi. This is my husband, Yan Aohan."

"Then I’ll call you Yanyi. You call me Hong Lian," Hong Lian said without hesitation.

"Sure, Hong Lian," Zhu Yanyi said naturally. "Hong Lian, your appetite is good. It doesn’t look like you’re cultivating."