The girl in blue stood unfazed by the crowd's stares.
Having been beautiful since childhood, she was long accustomed to her eye-catching appearance.
"Cousin, how was the harvest from this trip out to sea..."
She approached with a smile, greeting Luo Qingjun, and was about to say more.
Suddenly, her expression shifted when she saw Luo Qingjun's bandaged arm, a section of it clearly missing.
"Your arm?!"
"Sigh, it's a long story..."
Luo Qingjun shook his head dejectedly. A severed arm, on top of being poisoned, had caused a great loss of his physical vitality.
Even for someone from the Luo Family's main lineage, recovering from this would be extremely difficult.
Luo Qingjun's cultivation path would inevitably be affected.
Then, a grave expression appeared on Luo Qingjun's face as he lowered his voice to ask.
"By the way, Qing'e, why are you here?"
"Where is the Patriarch? And what happened to the Yunjin..."
"My father is severely injured and is currently recuperating. I am temporarily easing his burden by tallying the demon hunting profits."
"As for why? Who else could it be but the Shu Family..."
Luo Qing'e replied in a low voice, a bitter smile on her face.
She then shook her head, indicating she didn't want to say more.
Luo Qingjun nodded in understanding and fell silent.
This place was too public, and with family secrets involved, it was indeed not the right place to talk.
...
Because the two had deliberately lowered their voices and were some distance away, most of the crew could only see their lips moving and couldn't hear what they were saying.
Except for Su Ye!
With the boost from his attribute panel, his senses were much sharper than others at his level!
'Qing'e... So the girl's name is Luo Qing'e, from the Luo Family's main lineage?'
'And she calls the Luo Family Patriarch "father," so does that make her the Miss Luo of the family?'
Su Ye raised an eyebrow. After admiring Luo Qing'e's face for a few more moments, he looked away.
'Beauty is nice, but a female cultivator with such stunning looks and high status often spells trouble...'
'Unless it's necessary, it's best to keep my distance at this stage.'
Su Ye had no desire to get caught up in pointless trouble over jealousy or rivalry.
What Su Ye cared about more was the information Luo Qing'e had revealed.
"The Luo Family Patriarch was severely injured by the Shu Family, and their flagship, the Yunjin, was damaged..."
"The two families must have had a major battle recently... This is important news!"
"I wonder what the losses were..." Su Ye mused.
"I hope the Luo Family wasn't completely routed..."
His earlier plan to rise amidst the chaos was predicated on the Luo Family being in a bad spot, but still able to stabilize the situation for the time being.
If the Luo Family was at a complete disadvantage and on the verge of collapse, Su Ye would probably have to find a way to cut ties with them as soon as possible.
"But it probably hasn't come to that yet..." Su Ye thought to himself.
Unlike the world of his previous life, in the Cultivation Realm, wars between two major powers were different.
The low-to-mid-level cultivators were nothing more than pawns.
What truly decided the outcome were the high-level cultivators on both sides!
'As long as the Luo Family's Foundation Establishment Ancestor is fine, even if the situation is unfavorable, holding Donglong Island shouldn't be difficult...' Su Ye thought.
...
And while Su Ye was pondering, the Luo Family cultivators began to tally the Flying Serpent's haul from this trip.
"Demon fish meat, whale meat, bones, hides, Whale Brain Oil..."
The Luo Family cultivators led by Luo Qing'e were clearly well-trained and experienced.
In less than an hour, they had efficiently inventoried the Flying Serpent's harvest and calculated its value in Spirit Stones.
"The total profit from the Flying Serpent's demon hunting trip this time is approximately five thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones!"
Hearing this, Su Ye nodded to himself.
The total profit didn't break six thousand Spirit Stones, which was slightly lower than his highest expectations.
But considering the crew had consumed some of the Gray Ridge Whale meat during the latter part of the return journey, the number was still acceptable.
The Luo Family hadn't deliberately undervalued their haul.
And according to the contract, the master family received half of the Demon Hunting Ship's profits.
The rest was the crew's payment!
"Zhao Li, an outside family member, one hundred Spirit Stones."
"Wan Yingxiang, a Loose Cultivator, eighty Spirit Stones."
Compared to outside family members, Loose Cultivators received a little less.
As the lowest rung in the Cultivation Realm, Loose Cultivators had no rights and were treated as second-class citizens everywhere.
But even so, this amount made the Loose Cultivators beam with joy.
One had to understand, the spirit farmers affiliated with the Donglong Island Marketplace, even in a good year with favorable weather and a bit of luck, would often only earn four or five Spirit Stones after a full year of diligent fieldwork!
Compared to the earnings from demon hunting, it was a difference of nearly twenty times!
"However, this was because this demon hunting trip's profit had doubled, while the number of crew members, after all the twists and turns, had been nearly halved..."
For a normal demon hunting trip, each Loose Cultivator would only get around thirty or forty Spirit Stones, nothing this extravagant.
The crew was small, and soon, it was Su Ye's turn to receive his payment!
"Su Ye, outside family member, three... three hundred Spirit Stones?!"
The Luo Family cultivator distributing the Spirit Stones stared at the astonishing number for two or three seconds.
He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't mistaken before reading it out in disbelief.
Even for a Luo Family cultivator, saving up three hundred Spirit Stones was no easy feat.
"Oh?"
At this, Luo Qing'e's feathery eyelashes fluttered, a hint of curiosity appearing in her beautiful eyes.
As the captain, Luo Qingjun immediately explained.
"On the return journey, some crew members were consumed by greed and launched a mutiny when my guard was down, nearly killing me."
"It's all thanks to Su Ye. He remained loyal and, in a battle against the odds, slew the fourth-level Qi Refining rebel leader, saving the day!"
"So that's how it is..." Luo Qing'e murmured, her lovely eyes glinting as she looked at Su Ye.
The Su Ye of today had experienced months of life at sea, hunting demon beasts, battling the waves, and slaying a rebel leader!
These trials had added a sharp, decisive air to his already handsome, jade-like features.
Such looks and temperament truly made him stand out among his peers.
"Outstanding combat talent. Such a person indeed deserves a generous reward!"
Luo Qing'e nodded, a glint in her eyes, her thoughts unreadable.
...
Regarding the two members of the Luo Family's main lineage discussing him, Su Ye heard every word clearly but had no intention of exposing this fact.
Firstly, they meant him no harm and seemed to appreciate him.
Secondly, his sharp senses were a major advantage in combat, so it was best to keep it hidden if he could.
"By the way, I would like to purchase some Gray Ridge Whale meat for my daily cultivation," Su Ye added.
After some discussion, Su Ye received two hundred and forty Spirit Stones and enough whale meat to last half a year.
At the same time, a Luo Family cultivator handed him a wooden token.
"Your Gray Ridge Whale meat will be stored in the family's Ice Crystal Library, free of charge. This is the token for withdrawal."
"As for the Spirit Stones... do you have a Storage Pouch?"
Su Ye shook his head. The origin of his Storage Pouch was not exactly reputable, so it was best not to reveal it.
"That's a bit troublesome..." the Luo Family cultivator said with a frown.
Two hundred and forty Spirit Stones were quite heavy and very inconvenient to carry.
"No matter. Give him two mid-grade Spirit Stones and forty low-grade Spirit Stones."
Luo Qing'e's voice, as clear and pleasant as a mountain stream, suddenly came from the side.
"Miss Luo?" the Luo Family cultivator asked in surprise.
The theoretical exchange rate between mid-grade and low-grade Spirit Stones was one to one hundred.
But in reality, because the Spiritual Qi in mid-grade Spirit Stones was purer and more potent, they could serve as the core for many Magical Artifacts and Arrays.
According to the prices at the Donglong Island Marketplace, it usually took one hundred and five to one hundred and eight low-grade Spirit Stones to exchange for a single mid-grade Spirit Stone!
"Thank you, Miss Luo!" Su Ye immediately expressed his gratitude, his thoughts stirring.
'Is she... trying to win me over?'