Carrying the little mouse back home, Mu Jiuxiao set about making a small nest for it by the bedside with no small amount of interest. He stared at it and said, “Do not steal my spirit rice again, understand? From now on, you are my pet. If you dare to run away and I catch you, I will deal with you!”
After threatening it for a bit, Mu Jiuxiao untied its bonds.
If this truly was just a variant of an ordinary ground-digging mouse, then if it ran away, so be it; if it was a spirit beast, presumably it could understand his words.
“I have never kept a pet before, so you must not let me down.”
Having decided to keep it as a pet, when Mu Jiuxiao lit the fire to cook his porridge, he also prepared a small bowl for the little mouse. He set it down before it: “Eat. I have given you a name: Little Gray-Gray.”
“Chirp chirp.”
Little Gray-Gray lifted its tiny paws to hold the bowl, extended its small tongue to lap at the porridge, and its eyes seemed to light up in an instant. Chirp, so delicious!
It rapidly licked up the spirit rice porridge until the bowl was clean, gave it one more parting lick, and then carried the bowl over to Mu Jiuxiao’s side, nudging his ankle with it.
“Finished already? You want more?”
Seeing Little Gray-Gray’s actions, Mu Jiuxiao understood immediately. He had not expected the creature to be so intelligent that it would come looking to him for another serving.
“Next time. Once I earn more spirit stones, I will treat you to proper food. You already devoured most of my spirit rice this morning, and winter has not even arrived yet.”
Mu Jiuxiao patted its head, though as he spoke, he scooped the small amount of remaining porridge from his own bowl into its dish. Little Gray-Gray soon lowered its head to lap it up again.
Seeing it behave so obediently, the corners of Mu Jiuxiao’s mouth twitched upward into a smile. Ever since his mother went down the mountain, he had lived alone for all these years. Now, with a little spirit beast by his side, life suddenly felt much more lively.
After playing with Little Gray-Gray for a short while, Mu Jiuxiao began his daily cultivation. Two hours later, he felt discomfort in his meridians, took out a Meridian-Opening Pill to consume, and then resumed cultivating.
Another three hours passed before his meridians once more began to swell and ache, forcing him to stop. The effect of this pill was simply to allow him an extra three hours of cultivation each day.
However, a single bottle of Meridian-Opening Pills cost a full five spirit stones! In other words, just to gain thirty extra hours of cultivation, he had spent five whole spirit stones!
What a loss-a massive loss!
Eating a jin of spirit beast meat previously provided enough spiritual qi to match five hours of arduous cultivation, whereas taking a Meridian-Opening Pill only bought him three extra hours!
The price of a single bottle of Meridian-Opening Pills could roughly purchase five jin of spirit beast meat. Five jin of spirit beast meat could yield the spiritual qi equivalent of twenty-five hours of hard cultivation, saving him the exhaustion of training while satisfying his appetite! Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
He had truly made a terrible purchase this time. Those people at the Pill Pavilion must have taken advantage of his lack of experience to fleece him!
It made him furious!
He had half a mind to march right back and demand an explanation!
Yet, as he reached the door, he stopped himself. Once a transaction was complete, nobody would entertain a grievance like that. Besides, spirit beast meat yielded diminishing returns the more one ate it, whereas taking Meridian-Opening Pills while cultivating not only protected the meridians but subtly strengthened them over time, making the long-term effect increasingly beneficial!
Moreover, he had the assistance of his Dao Body, Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness. Every single session of cultivation improved his efficiency and raised his aptitude. He could feel himself growing stronger bit by bit. Even if each gain was minuscule, that steady progress and positive feedback made one all the more immersed in cultivation.
Forget it. Consider it an expensive lesson about those swindlers who prey on inexperienced tenant farmers! Next time, I will bargain until I am blue in the face and secure a low price no matter what!
Calming his mind, he walked over to the table and began drawing Water Cloud Talismans. Once finished, he ate breakfast, practiced for another hour, and then picked up Little Gray-Gray to head out to the fields for Earth Spirit Spike practice!
Since he possessed Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness, diligent and arduous practice was the true path!
Having concluded his Earth Spirit Spike training, Mu Jiuxiao returned home, only to find Li Shuo and his sister waiting right outside his door.
His heart tightened instinctively. He still owed them a Lightning Bolt Talisman; could they be here to collect the debt?
He quickly relaxed, however, remembering that he had visited the market again and purchased a Lightning Bolt Talisman specifically intending to repay them.
“Brother Shuo, Sister Xinyue.”
Mu Jiuxiao hurried forward to greet them. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I was just out in the fields practicing the Earth Spirit Spike.”
“Ninth Brother, you’ve learned a technique?”
Hearing this, Li Xinyue’s eyes lit up.
“Mm.”
As Mu Jiuxiao spoke, he raised his arm, and an Earth Spirit Spike manifested instantly right before Li Xinyue. Startled, she leaped backward, steadying herself only after she landed before letting out a delicate complaint: “Ninth Brother, at least give a warning before using a technique! You gave me quite a scare!”
“Judging by how swiftly you reacted, Sister Xinyue, you hardly looked frightened,” Mu Jiuxiao laughed.
“Scared is scared. Ninth Brother, tell me how you plan to compensate me. You learned a technique in secret and didn’t even invite us over to celebrate.”
As Li Xinyue spoke, her tone carried a mix of envy and jealousy. She was already an innate martial expert at a young age-a genius among geniuses in the mortal realm. Yet, in the cultivation world, she was no different from withered wood!
She similarly lacked cultivation talent and could only walk the path of entering the Dao through martial arts. She had no idea how long it might take her to break through that barrier and become a true cultivator. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
Perhaps a year or two; perhaps never in this lifetime. Seeing that Mu Jiuxiao had already become a Qi Condensation practitioner, how could she not feel envious?
“It is not that I wished to exclude you, but my pockets are truly empty. To pay for the technique, I even had to sell my Cold Iron Sickle.”
“What? You sold your Cold Iron Sickle?”
Li Xinyue glanced down at his waist and saw that it was indeed bare. “The Cold Iron Sickle is the magical artifact you rely on for your livelihood! Without it, what will you do for the autumn harvest next year?”
“We can worry about next year’s harvest when it arrives.”
Mu Jiuxiao remained carefree, prompting Li Shuo to speak up: “How much did you get for the sickle?”
“Eight spirit stones. After some hard bargaining with the manager, it was just enough to trade for this technique.”
“Actually, if you wanted to sell the Cold Iron Sickle, you should have consulted us first. I could have asked around among the neighboring tenant farmers; someone surely needed one. A sickle that has only harvested one season of spirit rice could easily fetch nine spirit stones.”
Hearing this, Mu Jiuxiao could only beat his chest in regret. “Ah, I didn’t think of that at the time. I sold it too cheaply again.”
“Actually, it may not have been a loss. If you hadn’t sold it directly to Manager Meng, you might not have secured the technique for eight spirit stones either. All things considered, perhaps you made the right move.”
Li Shuo meant it as comfort, but upon further thought, he realized Mu Jiuxiao might have stumbled into the correct choice.
Li Xinyue came to the same realization. “That’s right, Ninth Brother! You really do have the blind luck of the simple-minded. Manager Meng took the sickle for eight spirit stones and could easily turn around to sell it for nine. He profited, and so did you. Some people try to calculate every little detail, yet they end up having to pay ten spirit stones for a technique anyway.”
“Xinyue, are you taking a jab at your older brother?”
Li Shuo glanced sideways at her. Wasn’t she describing him precisely?
Mu Jiuxiao remained silent. If they knew he had acquired the technique for a mere five spirit stones, they would probably lose their minds!
As for whether Manager Meng suffered a loss by letting the technique go for eight spirit stones-anyone who knew the situation understood. The price of a technique belonged to the sect anyway; what did it have to do with Manager Meng?
Of course, the brother and sister could never imagine that Manager Meng wasn’t someone who merely coveted petty gains-he was profoundly greedy!
Normally, tenant farmers who broke through to the Qi Condensation stage were entitled to learn a technique for free, yet he had directly demanded ten spirit stones!