“Nephew, Mu Jiu nephew!”
They hadn’t gone far when a voice called from behind them. Mu Jiu stopped and turned to see an elderly man with graying hair hastily catching up from behind.
The old man wore hemp-gray clothing, his hair disheveled, his face etched with the marks of time. If he were in the mortal world, no one would dare believe that this had once been a world-renowned Xiantian master!
This old man was once called Nie Canghai, but now he went by Nie Tan. He belonged to Mu Jiuxiao’s father’s generation. Back in the day, he came to Luoxia Mountain together with Mu Jiuxiao’s father. Now that Mu Yunfeng had passed away, he too had given up on the immortal path, settling down to raise a family.
But he was luckier than Mu Yunfeng; at least he was still alive.
“Uncle Nie, what can I do for you?” Mu Jiuxiao stopped walking.
“Ahem, it’s just that the Gold Spirit Rice at home has ripened, and I’ve come to ask for your help.”
Nie Tan said this with an embarrassed face, his large hands-once like eagle claws-now restlessly intertwined before him like a young girl’s.
“Nie Tan, I’m truly sorry, but you’re too late. I’ve already invited Brother Jiu back!”
Li Xinyue beside him took half a step forward, clearly worried the old man would snatch Mu Jiuxiao away.
“This…” Nie Tan was immediately crestfallen. Mu Jiuxiao then said, “Uncle Nie, how about this: after I finish helping Xinyue’s family harvest their fields, I’ll come to help you harvest your spirit rice tomorrow. Is that alright?”
“But I have one mu of land, and today is the final harvesting day. Could you please help me first?” Nie Tan asked anxiously.
“My family’s land also has its final harvesting day today. Sorry about that!” Li Xinyue straightened her chest, adopting a stance of not yielding an inch.
“Uncle Nie, I’ll come help you tomorrow instead. After all, you have more land; harvesting the other few mu should still be enough to pay the rent.” Mu Jiuxiao comforted him gently.
“I suppose that’s the only way. Thank you.”
Nie Tan cupped his hands toward Mu Jiuxiao, turned, and left, a few strands of white hair fluttering in the wind, making him appear extremely desolate.
Facing his receding figure, Li Xinyue disdainfully spat lightly, then turned back to look at Mu Jiuxiao. “Brother Jiu, why bother with this kind of person? Back when your father passed away and your mother went down the mountain, when you most needed help, he didn’t lift a finger for you!”
“Enmity should be resolved, not deepened. After all, he belongs to my father’s generation.” Mu Jiuxiao replied.
“Brother Jiu, you’re just too kind!”
Li Xinyue shook her head. She and her brother had climbed up from the mortal world, witnessing too much bloodshed in the jianghu. She didn’t agree with Mu Jiuxiao’s approach. If it were her, not kicking someone when they’re down would already be generous enough-helping them? Pah!
Mu Jiuxiao simply smiled. Right now, he couldn’t defeat Nie Tan anyway, so why make an enemy of him?
“Little Jiu is here!”
Before the spirit fields, Li Shuo had long been waiting with a group of Xiantian masters. These individuals exuded extraordinary auras, each one outstanding and exceptional.
In contrast, Li Shuo at the forefront wore coarse linen clothing, holding a sickle in his hand, looking just like an ordinary, unremarkable middle-aged farmer.
Seeing Mu Jiuxiao approach, they glanced at him. Noticing he had no spiritual energy fluctuations and wasn’t a Xiantian master, their expressions immediately varied.
Some were envious, some jealous, and some disdainful.
“Brother Shuo.”
Ignoring these gazes, Mu Jiuxiao nodded toward Li Shuo and walked over.
“Young sir, at such a tender age, are you also a tenant farmer of Luoxia Mountain?”
Seeing him approach, someone couldn’t help but speak up.
Mu Jiuxiao, however, didn’t reply. Li Xinyue then said, “Hmph, don’t you dare look down on Brother Jiu! Although he’s not a Xiantian master, when it comes to harvesting Gold Spirit Rice, you can’t even compare if you ride a fast horse to catch up!”
These Xiantian masters, hearing her words, immediately felt indignant. But Li Xinyue herself was a Xiantian master, and her brother had even entered the Dao through martial arts, now already at the second level of Qi Refining. These mere mortal masters didn’t dare easily offend her.
“He’s just been harvesting spirit rice on Luoxia Mountain for ten years; familiarity breeds skill, that’s all.”
Someone said discontentedly, “If we could also settle on Luoxia Mountain, I believe we certainly wouldn’t be inferior to him!”
“Indeed, all of you are talented individuals. But who told me I had a good father? I was born a tenant farmer of Luoxia Mountain.” Mu Jiuxiao didn’t argue with them, merely replying lightly.
His words immediately enraged those mortal masters, their bodies surging with intense Killing Intent. But Mu Jiuxiao didn’t care in the slightest. In front of so many people, these mortal masters wouldn’t dare touch a single hair on his head.
“Dang~”
With the sound of a long, melodious bell, today’s Gold Spirit Rice harvesting time had arrived once more. Mu Jiuxiao took the lead, charging into the spirit fields, picking up the Cold Iron Sickle, and began cutting the rice stalks.
The rice stalks, hard as metal, were surprisingly docile in his hands. With each lift and drop of the blade, the spirit rice in the bamboo basket beside him gradually filled up. Soon, he had cut enough to fill a whole basket.
Those mortal masters, lacking Magical Artifacts and relying solely on their internal energy, were already drenched in sweat, sitting on the ground to rest. Mu Jiuxiao, however, didn’t pause, continuing to cut rice stalks.
Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness. Each lift and drop of the blade was an experience for him, and he naturally couldn’t waste it. When he grew weary, the energy from the bowl of spirit rice porridge he ate in the morning circulated through his Meridians, bringing him strength.
Li Shuo also witnessed this scene, nodding inwardly. This Mu Jiuxiao was diligent, resilient, and most importantly, his character was also good.
Yesterday, his own foolish sister had already negotiated the price with him. Actually, even if he slacked off today, he could still receive the same reward. But he didn’t do that; instead, he worked harder than all of them.
“Dang~”
Another bell tolled. Today’s harvesting time had ended. Li Shuo looked at the Gold Spirit Rice placed before him, finally feeling a sense of relief.
Having entered the Dao through martial arts, he was already at the second level of Qi Refining. According to the rules, he alone could cultivate four mu of land. Adding his sister’s ability to cultivate two mu, their family had a total of six mu of land.
Originally, he thought borrowing the Cold Iron Sickle would be enough to harvest all the spirit rice. Unexpectedly, these jianghu masters today were even worse than yesterday. Fortunately, his sister had invited Mu Jiuxiao over; otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have been able to finish harvesting all the spirit rice on time today.
“Earlier, you all looked down on my Brother Jiu. Now you know how capable he is, don’t you? He alone is worth three of you!”
Li Xinyue looked at these Xiantian masters invited from the mortal world, speaking with great dissatisfaction. These Xiantian masters had also witnessed Mu Jiuxiao’s ability; one by one, they hung their heads in silence, no longer daring to underestimate him.
“Xinyue, stop talking!”
Li Shuo stopped Li Xinyue, cupping his hands toward the Xiantian masters before him. “Thank you all for coming to help. This is the promised reward.”
These Xiantian masters, toiling for three days, each received only half a sheng of spirit rice.
Meanwhile, Mu Jiuxiao, relying on the Cold Iron Sickle, earned one and a half sheng of spirit rice in a single day.
These Xiantian masters, holding their half sheng of spirit rice, reluctantly departed. Except for this time each year, they rarely had another chance to obtain spiritual materials unless they ventured deep into the mountains. But going to those places could cost their lives!
Li Shuo also scooped two sheng of spirit rice and handed it to Mu Jiuxiao. “This is your reward.”
Mu Jiuxiao weighed the bag. “Thank you, Brother Shuo. It seems my performance today was quite good.”
“This year’s harvest is also good.”
Li Shuo glanced at the golden spirit rice before him, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. Not one to enjoy lecturing others, this time he couldn’t help but pat Mu Jiuxiao’s shoulder. “Little Jiu, you truly are impressive-diligent and resilient. If you switched to cultivating martial arts, you probably would have already entered the Dao through martial arts by now!”
“Thank you for the advice, Brother Shuo.”
Mu Jiuxiao said this, but clearly, he had no intention of changing his ways.
Seeing him so stubborn, Li Shuo sighed and said no more.
Everyone has their own destiny. The path he walks might not necessarily be the right one either.