23: Chapter 23 Neighbor Zhou Datong

Li Qing suppressed his excitement.

Looking at the neatly arranged farmland, he felt incredibly at ease.

After upgrading the farmland, Li Qing had 132 Low-Grade Spirit Stones remaining.

He still had 1,400 jin of Spirit Rice.

Li Qing decided to take out 80 Low-Grade Spirit Stones to Breakthrough to Qi Refining Level 5.

Then, he would go out to set up a stall and sell the Spirit Rice.

Just like that, Li Qing began his first closed-door cultivation in Xiuchun Market.

The small courtyard he lived in was already remote, and the courtyard walls were high. Plus, he usually made no sound, so the neighbors had no idea that someone had already moved into this long-vacant courtyard, all thinking it was still empty.

...

Early in the morning, the sky in the east just began to show a faint fish-belly white. Before the sky was fully bright, the entire Xiuchun Market slowly began to bustle.

Most of the people living here were Loose Cultivators with no background or Sect. They all relied on waking up early to work, going into the mountains to hunt or gather herbs to trade for Spirit Stones. A new day began, and these Loose Cultivators started their arduous and busy routine, each face carrying the fatigue of struggling for a livelihood.

Next to the small courtyard where Li Qing lived was Zhou Datong's home.

Early this morning, Zhou Datong and his wife had just packed their things and pushed open their front door, ready to leave, when they ran into a good friend they were on good terms with.

When the friend saw their attire, he immediately smiled and greeted them:

"Brother Zhou, are you two preparing to head into the mountains again? Judging by this setup, are you going deep into the Yunling Mountain Range?"

A hint of helplessness and a glimmer of hope appeared on Zhou Datong's face as he sighed and said:

"There's no other way. Our little Tiger is about to Breakthrough to Qi Refining Stage 4. The child needs resources to Cultivate, and he needs to be steady when breaking through. If we two don't make a few more trips into the mountains to earn more Spirit Stones, how can we afford to prepare a Low Grade Magical Artifact for little Tiger? Without a decent Magical Artifact, the child will be at a disadvantage when he goes out to gain experience or spar with others in the future."

Upon hearing this, the friend's eyes widened, and his face was full of disbelief:

"What? Little Tiger is only thirteen this year, right? At such a young age, he is already about to reach Qi Refining Stage 4? My heavens, as expected of a one-in-ten-thousand true Spiritual Root, his talent is truly different! When the Houtu Sect opens its mountain gates to recruit Disciples in a while, little Tiger will definitely have a chance to pass the exam and become a Disciple of the Houtu Sect. By then, you two will finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!"

These words hit home for Zhou Datong and his wife. The couple's faces instantly beamed with joy, and they stood a little straighter. Hearing their friend's praise for their son, they felt wonderful inside, thinking that no matter how hard they worked, it was all worth it.

Just as the couple was chatting happily and preparing to say a few more words to their friend, a crisp "crack" sound suddenly came from the side.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was particularly noticeable in the quiet morning. It turned out to be the courtyard door of their neighbor, Li Qing, which had suddenly been pushed open from the inside.

Zhou Datong was stunned for a moment. He turned his head to look, exchanged a puzzled glance with his wife, and muttered softly:

"Is this a new neighbor? When did they move in? How come I didn't know at all?"

Their courtyard was separated from Li Qing's by a high wall, but he had never noticed anyone coming in or out of this courtyard, always assuming it was an empty house. He hadn't expected that someone had actually been living inside for a long time.

Li Qing walked out of the courtyard and immediately saw Zhou Datong, his wife, and that friend standing at the door—three people in total.

He was naturally low-key and didn't like dealing with strangers. He just nodded politely to the three of them as a greeting, didn't say a single extra word, turned, and walked quickly towards the market.

Zhou Datong and the others looked at Li Qing's back, but they didn't find it strange.

Among those who Cultivate, there were too many weirdos who were eccentric, didn't like to talk, and kept to themselves. Some Cultivators would go into closed-door cultivation for months, and some wouldn't say a few words to others in their entire lives. They were long used to this, just assuming Li Qing was a Loose Cultivator who liked peace and quiet, and didn't think much of it.

Afterward, Zhou Datong and his wife bid a hasty farewell to their friend, shouldered their luggage, and hurried towards the Yunling Mountain Range, thinking about getting into the mountains early to gather more Spirit Medicine and hunt some low-level Yao Beasts, so they could save enough Spirit Stones to buy a Magical Artifact for their son as soon as possible.

On the other side, Li Qing walked quickly and soon arrived at the market management office of Xiuchun Market.

Seeing that he was an ordinary Loose Cultivator, the Cultivator at the management office didn't make things difficult for him. After registering according to the rules, he approved a temporary stall in the furthest corner for Li Qing, with a rental period of one day.

Now that Li Qing had broken through to Qi Refining Level 5, he had 52 Spirit Stones left.

It was time to sell the Spirit Rice.

This time, he planned to sell 300 jin at Xiuchun Market and then go to Pingjiang City to sell the remaining Spirit Rice.

The reason for this arrangement was that Xiuchun Market was just an inconspicuous little market; the place was small, there were few Cultivators, and the purchasing power was limited, so there was no way it could digest so much of his Spirit Rice.

More importantly, if he really dared to take out over a thousand jin of Spirit Rice at once in Xiuchun Market, such a huge quantity would definitely attract others' attention. Before he could be targeted by other forces with malicious intent, he would likely be taken away and interrogated as a suspicious person by people from the Houtu Sect first. By then, as a helpless Loose Cultivator, he would have nowhere to argue his case. Having the Spirit Rice confiscated would be the least of his worries; he might even end up in danger himself.

After all, this was the temptation of over 500 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

That was why Li Qing thought it through very clearly: he would only sell 300 jin of Spirit Rice at Xiuchun Market. With his current Cultivation of Qi Refining Level 5, this amount was just right—not too much and not too little. It wouldn't attract anyone's attention, allowing him to stay low-profile.

After getting the stall number, Li Qing walked straight to the temporary stall in the corner of the market, took out the bags of Spirit Rice he had packed in advance, placed them on the stall, and waited quietly for customers to come.

He didn't need to shout or solicit business. With the quality of the Spirit Rice right there, Loose Cultivators in need would naturally come over to ask the price.

Before long, a few passing Loose Cultivators stopped. Looking at the plump, Spirit-Qi-filled Spirit Rice on the stall, they couldn't help but ask for the price.

The price Li Qing quoted was neither high nor low, just right for the market price of Xiuchun Market—neither cheating himself nor others.

The first person to come and buy Spirit Rice was an old Loose Cultivator with graying hair. Clutching a few Spirit Stones in his hand, he asked cautiously:

"Young man, how do you sell this Spirit Rice? The quality looks good, even better than the Spirit Rice at those stalls in the middle of the market."

Li Qing replied indifferently:

"One Spirit Stone for two jin. No cheating of young or old, weigh as much as you want."

The old Loose Cultivator squeezed the Spirit Rice, smelled the faint Spiritual Qi inside, and immediately nodded with satisfaction. He weighed four jin of Spirit Rice, paid the Spirit Stones, and left happily.

With the first customer, the subsequent business went smoothly. Loose Cultivators came one after another to buy rice, mostly buying two jin to take home to satisfy their hunger. After all, Loose Cultivators were poor, and few could afford to buy a lot at once.

Li Qing sat quietly guarding the stall. If someone bought rice, he would weigh it and collect the Spirit Stones; if no one bought, he would close his eyes and rest, not chatting with anyone, maintaining his consistent low-profile.

The stall owner next to him saw that he didn't like to talk and didn't take the initiative to strike up a conversation. People came and went in the entire market, with shouting and bargaining sounds rising one after another, but only Li Qing's stall was quiet, yet it didn't hinder his sales at all.

After about two hours, the 300 jin of Spirit Rice he had prepared was sold out completely, and he had a small handful of Spirit Stones in his hand.

Li Qing packed up the stall, carefully put away the Spirit Stones, left the market silently, and boarded the flying ship to Pingjiang City, without attracting anyone's attention.