Chapter 9: Pan Yu's Probing

The morning sunlight filtered through the old locust tree in the small courtyard, casting mottled shadows across the stone table in front of Lin Chuan. He stared at the steaming bowl of meat porridge, wondering what exactly Pan Yu was plotting.

"Brother Lin, try this. I specifically got up early to head to the market for this magical beast meat. It’s far more delicious than the usual filling."

Pan Yu’s smile was as radiant as a flower as she pushed a plate of golden, crispy meat pies toward him.

Lin Chuan looked up at the "enthusiastic" Pan Yu.

Today, she had dressed in a pale green gown, with a silver hairpin tucked into her hair that glinted in the morning light. Her expression held a perfectly calibrated smile—not overly obsequious, yet charming enough to win favor.

"Thank you."

Lin Chuan offered a brief word of thanks and took a bite of the pie. It was indeed delicious, but he knew well that there was no such thing as a free breakfast in this world, especially one served by a beautiful woman.

"Brother Lin, did your work at the Heavenly Fortune Pavilion go smoothly yesterday?" Pan Yu asked, feigning nonchalance while topping off his bowl with hot porridge.

Lin Chuan sighed inwardly. Here it was—the probing had begun.

"It was fine, just routine work," he replied vaguely, glancing at Wang Tiezhu, who was wolfing down food nearby.

His simple-hearted savior had already polished off three meat pies and two bowls of porridge and was currently launching an assault on the fourth pie.

"Brother Lin, I’ve heard that the appraisers at the Heavenly Fortune Pavilion are extraordinary people," Pan Yu said, her eyes sparkling. "Even a fifth-rank appraiser is no small feat, and given your youth, Brother Lin, your future must be limitless!"

Lin Chuan nearly choked on his porridge.

A fifth-rank appraiser? No small feat?

He thought of the measly two taels of silver he had received as a commission yesterday, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Miss Pan, you flatter me. I was just lucky," Lin Chuan said, setting down his utensils, determined to end the conversation quickly. "Actually, I only earned two taels of silver yesterday."

Pan Yu’s smile stiffened for a moment before she regained her composure. "Brother Lin is too humble. To become an appraiser at the Heavenly Fortune Pavilion, you must have an extraordinary background. May I ask which great family you hail from?"

"A great family?" Lin Chuan almost laughed aloud. "If I came from a great family, would I be sharing this small courtyard with you?"

Wang Tiezhu finally looked up from his food, his mouth stuffed with meat pie as he mumbled, "That's true, Little Brother Lin. I've been curious too. Two days ago, you didn't even know what an entry permit for the city was, so how did you come up with dozens of taels of gold?"

Lin Chuan looked at their expectant gazes and realized he couldn't avoid it today. He cleared his throat and decided to weave a story that was half-truth, half-fiction.

"Very well, since you’re so curious..." Lin Chuan put on a reluctant expression. "I actually come from a small town several hundred miles to the south called Green Forest Town. My parents passed away early, and my grandfather raised me. It was only after he passed away a few months ago that I decided to set out and make my way in the world. As for how I became an appraiser at the Heavenly Fortune Pavilion, it was because I happened to recognize a treasure that the people there had failed to identify. I had seen a record of it in an old, ragged notebook I stumbled upon when I was a child."

Pan Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly, clearly dissatisfied with such a "common" origin.

Her expression shifted subtly. "So... Brother Lin, you have no cultivation background? And no support from a great family?"

"None," Lin Chuan said candidly. "I am only at the initial stage of Body Refining, and the two taels of silver I earned yesterday are my entire savings."

The atmosphere at the stone table turned awkward.

Pan Yu tapped her fingers on the table unconsciously, her gaze drifting. Lin Chuan could clearly see the calculation and disappointment in her eyes.

"I see..." Pan Yu managed to squeeze out a smile. "Then Brother Lin is truly... quite lucky."

Wang Tiezhu, however, didn't care at all and slapped Lin Chuan on the shoulder. "Little Brother Lin is impressive! To come from a village and become an appraiser at the Heavenly Fortune Pavilion—I admire you!"

Lin Chuan smiled and continued eating his breakfast. He knew Pan Yu was currently re-evaluating his "value," but he couldn't have cared less.

Sure enough, before long, Pan Yu stood up. "Oh my, I just remembered the Drunken Immortal Pavilion has been exceptionally busy these past few days. I need to get there early to help out. Brother Lin, Brother Tiezhu, please enjoy your meal."

She packed up a few things in a hurry and left the courtyard, almost as if she were fleeing.

Lin Chuan noticed she didn't even say goodbye, her previous enthusiasm completely vanished.

"Why is she in such a rush?" Wang Tiezhu scratched his head. "There's still half a pot of porridge left."

Lin Chuan watched Pan Yu’s retreating figure, a playful smile touching his lips. "She probably just realized I’m not the golden son-in-law she imagined me to be."

"What kind of son-in-law?" Wang Tiezhu looked blankly at him.

Just then, the teasing voice of Little Fatty echoed in Lin Chuan’s mind: "Oh my, oh my, Young Master Lin, look at that—what a missed opportunity. If you had just played along, Pan Yu could have been in your bed tonight. Now look, she didn't even leave you the porridge."

Lin Chuan rolled his eyes internally. "Shut up. I have no interest in such a snobbish woman."

"Tsk, tsk, don't act so high and mighty," Little Fatty persisted. "In this strange world, it’s a fool who doesn't take advantage of what's offered. Look at that figure, that face..."

"If you keep babbling, I'll toss this ring into an outhouse," Lin Chuan thought viciously.

Little Fatty immediately went silent, but Lin Chuan could feel him struggling to suppress his laughter.

Wang Tiezhu watched Lin Chuan’s ever-changing expression and asked with concern, "Little Brother Lin, what’s wrong? Is your face cramping?"

"Nothing, just thought of something funny," Lin Chuan shook his head and finished the last of the porridge. "Brother Wang, I have to go to work at the branch office, I’ll be heading out now."

"Alright, take care," Wang Tiezhu said with a simple smile, already beginning to clear the bowls.

Lin Chuan stepped out of the courtyard and took a deep breath of the morning air. After two nights of medicinal baths, he felt his body was much lighter and his strength had clearly increased.

Having reached the third stage of Body Refining, he finally had a shred of self-preservation in this world.

The streets were becoming crowded as vendors began to set up their stalls.

Lin Chuan wove through the bustling crowd, feeling surprisingly good. The change in Pan Yu’s attitude actually brought him a sense of relief—at least he wouldn't have to deal with those deliberate overtures and probes anymore.

"Seriously," Little Fatty couldn't help but chime in again, "you just cut off your own romantic prospects with that speech. You could have enjoyed a beauty's favor, but instead, you chose to expose your own shortcomings."

As he walked, Lin Chuan responded in his mind: "First, I have no interest in a woman who only cares about status. Second, my priority is to increase my strength, not to pursue romance. Third..."

"Third what?" Little Fatty asked curiously.

"Third," Lin Chuan said, his lips curling upward, "I thought the meat pies she made were too salty."

Little Fatty rolled around laughing inside the ring, while Lin Chuan continued toward the Heavenly Fortune Pavilion branch.

The sunlight shone on him, casting a long shadow. In this strange world, he knew exactly what he wanted: strength, freedom, and the path home.

As for passersby like Pan Yu, they were nothing more than a fleeting scene on his journey of cultivation.