5: Chapter 5 The Debt Collectors Arrive

"One hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones??"

Li Qing's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged.

Although going to the black market might yield more Spirit Stones, Li Qing was already very satisfied with this price.

After all, his spirit dew was very easy to obtain.

Seeming to notice Li Qing's hesitation, the shop assistant spoke up again:

"My apologies, Fellow Daoist, but this is the highest price our Houtu Hall can offer. Unless you have more spirit dew, we could offer 110 Low-Grade Spirit Stones for ten drops, or 150 Low-Grade Spirit Stones for one hundred drops."

Seeing the expectant look in the assistant's eyes, Li Qing said disappointedly.

"I only have this one drop."

Li Qing wasn't stupid. Although Houtu Hall claimed to be honest and fair, that saying was only meant to fool honest people.

"You are quite lucky, Fellow Daoist. Ordinary people cannot obtain such things."

The assistant's words still carried a hint of probing.

Li Qing didn't continue to bicker with him:

"Let's go with the price you mentioned, Fellow Daoist. I will sell this drop of spirit dew."

One hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones lay quietly on the counter, a pleasing sight, emitting an alluring glow.

Li Qing felt his mouth go dry. When had he ever seen so many Spirit Stones, and all of them belonged to him!

They were cool to the touch, and the Spiritual Qi slowly seeped into his body through his fingertips, making Li Qing feel invigorated.

Quickly putting the Spirit Stones into the cloth bag he carried, Li Qing bid farewell to the assistant and left Houtu Hall, his legs trembling.

Such a large sum of Spirit Stones forced Li Qing to stay alert. Although Anping Market was very safe, what if something happened?

Leaving Houtu Hall, Li Qing was cautious the entire way. He found a secluded corner, and seeing no one around, he focused his mind, and the Spirit Stones in his hand entered his Portable Cave Abode.

After a month of research, Li Qing discovered that this Portable Cave Abode could be used entirely as a Storage Pouch.

Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much lighter; at least he didn't have to live in fear anymore.

Returning to his small courtyard, Li Qing couldn't wait to enter his Immortal Cave.

Now that he had the Spirit Stones, after paying back the 13 Spirit Stones to Boss Scar, he still had 92 Spirit Stones at his disposal.

Adding the three Spirit Stones he would receive for butchering fish tomorrow, that made 95 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

For a moment, Li Qing felt a bit smug; he had never possessed so many Spirit Stones before.

It felt as if he could already see his future happy life.

At this moment, Li Qing's first thought was to build the remaining unlocked structures.

The Spirit Well had already provided him with a stable income of one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones a month, so what about the farmland, beast enclosure, and fish pond? Would they bring him even more Spirit Stones?

Opening the construction panel, Li Qing clicked "Build."

"Spend five Low-Grade Spirit Stones to build a fish pond?"

"Yes!"

"Spend five Low-Grade Spirit Stones to build a beast enclosure?"

"Yes!"

"Spend five Low-Grade Spirit Stones to build farmland?"

"Yes!"

A flash of white light passed, and three brand-new structures appeared in the Immortal Cave.

[ fish pond Lv1 ]

[ Effect: Growth speed increased by 10%, 5% chance to advance in grade, 1% chance to actively recognize owner. ]

[ Upgrade Condition: Qi Refining Stage 4, Low-Grade Spirit Stone x 50. ]

[ beast enclosure Lv1 ]

[ Effect: Growth speed increased by 10%, 5% chance to advance in grade, 1% chance to actively recognize owner. ]

[ Upgrade Condition: Qi Refining Stage 4, Low-Grade Spirit Stone x 50. ]

[ farmland Lv1 ]

[ Effect: Growth speed of spiritual plants is twice that of the outside world. ]

[ Upgrade Condition: Qi Refining Stage 4, Low-Grade Spirit Stone x 50. ]

Goodness, just like the Spirit Well, upgrading to Lv2 required 50 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, a tenfold increase all at once!

The fish pond covered an area of about one hundred square meters, and the water was crystal clear.

The beast enclosure was surrounded by rows of wooden stakes and covered an area of less than fifty square meters.

The farmland was a full mu in size, with black soil that was purely black, so rich it seemed to glisten with oil.

Looking at these three empty structures, Li Qing really wanted to go out again and buy some spirit fish, Spirit Beasts, and spirit rice.

But now that it was dark, he would have to find customers for them tomorrow!

Besides, the debt to Boss Scar was due tomorrow. Li Qing couldn't help but look forward to seeing his expression when he repaid the Spirit Stones!

...

The next day, before the sky was fully bright, with just a hint of dawn appearing in the eastern sky.

Several people were already standing at the entrance of Li Qing's small courtyard. The sounds of footsteps and voices broke the morning silence.

Just as Li Qing walked out of the room and stretched, he looked up and saw those figures at the door. He rolled his eyes on the spot, unable to help but complain internally:

"They came really fast. Are they afraid I'll run away or something? Blocking the door at the crack of dawn?"

He didn't say it out loud, but he was well-prepared in his heart and not panicked at all.

Fortunately, he had sold the spirit dew overnight yesterday; otherwise, if he had waited until today to sell it, it definitely wouldn't have been as easy as it was last night.

Li Qing recognized the people standing at the door.

The one leading them was still The Bald Man, at Qi Refining Stage 6. Behind him were two lackeys. Just standing there, they exuded a fierce Aura that would make ordinary Loose Cultivators walk the other way.

Beside The Bald Man stood an old man with a smiling face—it was Old Man Liu.

This Old Man Liu usually looked quite kind, but his smile today looked awkward no matter how one looked at it. His eyes hid a hint of calculation and impatience, completely different from usual.

Sure enough, before The Bald Man could even speak, Old Man Liu stepped forward and shouted at Li Qing in the courtyard, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the neighbors passing by or waking up early to watch the commotion to hear.

"Little Qing, the usury you borrowed from Boss Scar is due today. Can you pay it back today?"

As soon as these words came out, the surrounding neighbors, who were originally just watching from afar and not paying much attention, instantly erupted in an uproar.

Everyone looked at each other, their faces full of shock and disbelief, with expressions of sympathy for Li Qing.

"What? Little Qing borrowed usury?"

"My god, is that something you can just borrow? With compound interest, it can drive a person to their death!"

"I was wondering why he suddenly paid the rent he'd been owing for so long a while ago. So it was usury borrowed from Boss Scar... Sigh, this child, he's really muddled!"

"He just got out of trouble, and now he's jumped into a pit of fire? Isn't this just escaping the wolf's den only to enter a tiger's lair? Little Qing, this child, usually looks quite smart, so why is he so confused about this matter!"

The words "usury" made people change color at the mere mention, especially Boss Scar's usury.

Everyone in Anping Market basically knew what kind of person Boss Scar was.

For a young man like Li Qing with no one to rely on to dare to touch such a thing, in the eyes of the neighbors, it was simply seeking his own death.

It was as if they could already see Li Qing's ending: after being tortured to death by Boss Scar, his corpse would be sold to Blood Corpse Valley and eventually refined into a heartless zombie!