Yuchi, do you believe it?

Hmm, not really.

After all, Xiahou Xuexiang herself has an Eighth-Grade Talent. With the same Eighth-Grade Talent, not even mentioning other disciples of the Ascension Gate, just talking about the little girl Wei Qingzhu, she was sought after by so many sects because of her Eighth-Grade Talent back then, leading to the death of her parents due to sect conflicts. They had to flee from the Fourth Province to the Third Province, which shows how exaggerated this Eighth-Grade Talent is.

So in this situation, would any sect believe it? How could they possibly not want a disciple with an Eighth-Grade Talent, and instead be so afraid, treating her like the plague?

"I haven’t personally witnessed it, so asking me to directly believe your misfortune is indeed a bit of a stretch." Yuchi looked at Xiahou Xuexiang, who was slightly embarrassed, and said this.

Before Xiahou Xuexiang could speak, the old man who was the tea egg vendor beside them quietly chimed in, "Young man, give it up. She’s not someone you can control. Just do what you’re supposed to do. Don’t let your sect get tricked into extinction, or you’ll find yourself with no tears left to cry."

"Sometimes, you have to believe in destiny. What’s meant to be, will be. What’s not, don’t force it."

"Forget about it, let go, it’s tiring. Let it all end."

Yuchi: "..."

Is this vendor actually quite talkative?

Moreover, as things stand, Xiahou Xuexiang seems to be a bit of a local celebrity in Cuncha City, and even this vendor knows about her.

"Pfft, of course I know her, she’s my daughter." The vendor glanced at Yuchi with annoyance.

What? Yuchi glanced at Xiahou Xuexiang in surprise. After Xiahou Xuexiang nodded awkwardly, Yuchi looked speechlessly at the old man selling tea eggs.

Then he looked back and forth.

"You’re telling me these two are father and daughter?!!"

It’s not because the old man looks eccentric, but as the father of a daughter in the Core Formation Stage, shouldn’t he be well-off? Yet, this old man’s clothes are tattered, and he looks unkempt. Could it be... is he one of those legendary masters?

A sage hidden in the city?

"Hidden, my ass," the old man cursed.

Yuchi: "..."

For no reason, why are you cursing?

"It’s simple, really. You think I wanted this? I used to run a courtesan house. Did you know? I was quite famous throughout Cuncha City, and I had nine courtesans under me, but after her mother and I had her, her mother ran off with someone else in the first year."

"By the second year, one by one, the courtesans started leaving. When it came time to send her to a sect, even stranger things kept happening, and my entire fortune of a million silver coins dwindled to nothing. Now, this tea egg stand is the only thing I have left."

"I’m living off chickens every day!"

After the old man finished, he glanced, aggrieved, at a few hens in a not-so-distant cage. The hens clucked, flapped their wings over their heads, and seemed quite embarrassed.

Old man: "..."

He hung his head, lines of frustration marking his face.

This made Yuchi extremely awkward. He already had a basic guess. Not only had Xun Yu mentioned it before, but Sun Miaoxing had as well, saying that people have four types of destinies. Could Xiahou Xuexiang’s destiny be the black destiny? A destiny shrouded in misfortune? Is that why things turned out this way?

Xiahou Xuexiang just laughed, she had already grown used to it. These things were addictive. The first couple of times, she didn’t think it was her problem, but after it kept happening, she started to believe it. When people started avoiding her like the plague, she truly believed it.

It ended up becoming an addiction of sorts, as she completely accepted herself as someone cursed with misfortune.

"So this time, I’m going to see if Sect Leader Yuan Xuan is willing to take me as a disciple. I feel like Sect Leader Yuan Xuan is quite capable and might accept me. At this stage, I’ve been to all the other sects around Cuncha City."

"They all refuse to take me, seeing me as if I were some kind of ancient demon."

Running her fingers through her hair, she laughed foolishly. Such a beautiful and neat girl, yet her current situation makes one feel a bit sad for her.

Sad for the sects that got duped.

Ahem, back to the point, Yuchi said to the old man, "Senior, give me ten tea eggs at ten coins each. Meeting you both today has been enlightening, consider it my treat."

"Sure," the old man laughed immediately.

Yuchi watched as the old man scooped ten tea eggs out of the iron pot, brewed a cup of tea, then used the tea to rinse them off, passing the plate of tea eggs with one hand while asking Yuchi for money with the other.

Damn, can you make it any more obvious? I seriously doubt it’s Xiahou Xuexiang’s fault, it’s probably you, the old man, who has no integrity in business. Rinsing ordinary tea eggs in tea and then charging ten times more for them? This business makes one weep... Helplessly, Yuchi pulled out a piece of broken silver and placed it in the old man’s hand.