Chapter 10

A spring rain fell all night, fine as hair; when Yulou stepped out of his room, fresh air struck his face.

“You must be Young Master Yulou?”

The female clerk from yesterday was drawing water from the spiritual well in the back courtyard of Fuyuanju; seeing Yulou emerge, she timidly greeted him.

“Yes, my brother Yuan and I will be troubling you further—what is your name, fellow cultivator?” Yulou asked with a smile.

“Bai Lu. You are noble sons of the Wang clan; you’re no trouble. I’ll bring water to the front first, then washwater for you.”

The female cultivator named Bai Lu lifted her bucket and replied, head bowed, nervously.

“No need—this small task won’t trouble you. But... are you employed by Fuyuanju, or are you an outside clansman of the Wang clan?”

Yulou knew the Wang clan often assigned lower-talent clan members to external enterprises, but he wasn’t sure if this Bai Lu was truly of the Wang clan.

“This...”

Bai Lu froze, as if Yulou’s question was hard to answer.

“What? Is there something you can’t say?”

Seeing Yulou’s brow furrow slightly, Bai Lu flinched like a startled beast and hurried to reply.

“I was picked up by Uncle Tang, took him as my adoptive father; since I was found during the White Dew season, I was named Bai Lu—I’m not an outside clansman of the Wang clan.

I just do what I can to repay Uncle Tang’s kindness, and I’m not even a clerk of Fuyuanju.”

Well now, Yulou hadn’t expected his casual question to uncover such a big secret.

Tang Nianqiu had taken in an adopted daughter, who repaid her foster father by working free at Fuyuanju—this sounded harmless enough.

According to the plots of folk tales, this Bai Lu might yet become entangled in some romantic affair with a Wang clan scion like Yulou or Yuan.

But...

The difference between four taels and a thousand jin sometimes lies only in whether it’s weighed on the scale.

If Bai Lu were Tang Nianqiu’s adopted daughter, she should have first returned to the Wang clan to receive Qi Refining training under their system, then been assigned to her post.

If Bai Lu were a freelance cultivator hired by Fuyuanju, she should be paid spirit stones through Fuyuanju’s payroll—and Tang Nianqiu’s ledgers were subject to Wang clan audit!

Bai Lu clearly didn’t understand the rules, and accidentally exposed Tang Nianqiu’s scheme of ghost payroll under the guise of adoption!

“Do what you can... So, how many spirit stones do you receive annually as payment?”

Yulou suppressed his inner turmoil and asked gently.

As a nominal adopted daughter and actual unpaid laborer, Tang Nianqiu had never explained to her the Wang clan’s external enterprise management system.

So, this foolish girl answered directly.

“Payment? I’m only at Qi Refining fourth layer; us freelancers are lucky just to have a place to cultivate in peace.

Helping at Fuyuanju is purely to repay my foster father’s kindness, Young Master Yulou—I must hurry and deliver the spiritual water to the front.”

Yulou watched Bai Lu’s retreating back, his mind churning.

Old Tang, old Tang—Rong Yuan just said yesterday you were reliable.

And now, here I am, catching your foot in the trap.

Exploiting the Wang clan’s trust and favor to pull shady tricks in their enterprises—this isn’t a small matter.

The reason the Wang clan is called the Anbei Wang clan is because their immortal lineage has endured a thousand years and even ruled a secular dynasty—Anbei Kingdom.

If the Wang clan is seen as a cultivator kingdom, Tang Nianqiu’s behavior is like a Provincial Inspector turning into a Military Governor—someone secretly raising private troops, siphoning Wang clan spirit stones to fund his own soldiers!

You’re just an outsider—how dare you secretly run ghost payroll?

Wait, maybe it’s not ghost payroll at all—what if Tang Nianqiu never listed Bai Lu on his ledger?

Only if he recorded her as a hired freelancer and paid her spirit stones from the ledger would it count as ghost payroll.

Standing at the door, Yulou fell into thought.

Should he investigate? If so, where should he start?

Forget it—keep a low profile, focus on cultivation first; talk about this after reaching Qi Refining.

The covert struggles between the main lineage and outsiders are for the Clan Chief to handle; Yulou didn’t believe his combined lifespan of under fifty years could match the wisdom of the clan’s hundred-year-old Elders.

Besides, above the Wang clan stood a Foundation Establishment Clan Chief—when the sky falls, the Foundation Establishment Ancestors will hold it up!

Speaking of which, the Clan Chief and Yuan’s father, Rong Wenjia, were about to arrive in Qingxi Fang.

“Hmph, some people are so favored—even at Qi Refining, they get spiritual rice.”

“Sigh, poor me, Wang Yuan—I’ve got the same dual elemental roots, even better talent than some, yet I don’t even get spiritual rice.”

While eating ordinary breakfast, Yuan grumbled, utterly lacking the easygoingness of last night.

Yulou was speechless; he looked at his bowl of spiritual rice, then at Yuan, and said:

“Then let’s split it, half each.”

Yulou: “Who exactly are these ‘some people’ you mentioned? Why not say it plainly?”

Did Yuan want spiritual rice?

No—he just wanted to jab at Yulou.

“No, this is Elder Rong Yuan’s earnest hope for you—I wouldn’t dare eat it!

Yulou, you must cultivate hard, reach Foundation Establishment soon, and hold up a new sky for the Wang clan.

Don’t waste this half-jin of spiritual rice, and don’t betray Elder Rong Yuan’s expectations.

You understand, right?”

Yuan shook his head and swayed, playing the elder, making Yulou furious.

Say he’s evil—he’s just trying to get a verbal edge.

Say he’s not evil—his smug, opportunistic face is still truly obnoxious.

“I have spirit stones—why can’t I stay here? Is this how Fuyuanju does business?”

A noisy voice drew Yulou’s attention.

At the front desk of Fuyuanju’s main hall, Bai Lu was urgently explaining to several freelancers.

“Fellow cultivators, Fuyuanju has operated for decades with three spirit stones per month—fair to all. But circumstances have changed.

The Red Lantern’s Merit Hall branch is arriving in Qingxi Fang soon; the Garrison Cultivator just collected a Unity Fee.

We’re raising prices out of necessity—if we don’t, we’ll shut down!”

Bai Lu had grown up in Fuyuanju; years of dealing with people had taught her how to shift blame.

Fellow cultivators, we don’t want to raise prices—it’s all because the Garrison Cultivator is so greedy!

If you’re upset, take it up with him!

After all, people like Gao Jian and Jiang Bao would never come after Fuyuanju over this—they definitely collected the Unity Fee, and plenty of it!

“Fine, I understand the price hike, but I’ve already stayed half a month—can’t I just renew at the old rate for another half month?”

The troublemaking freelancer knew shop owners in Qingxi Fang weren’t ordinary folk, so he dared not escalate.

His only demand: to renew his room at the pre-hike price.

“I can’t decide that... why not come back after the Red Lantern’s Merit Hall leaves?

Then our prices will return to normal.”

No money but still want to stay? How convenient you think you are!

Bai Lu was courteous to Yulou and nervous speaking with him because he was the Wang clan’s prodigy.

Just tested for elemental roots, directly escorted to Qingxi Fang by Elder Rong Yuan, and lavishly sponsored into the sect of Red Eyebrow Recluse—who even calls Jiang Bao brother.

If he’s not a prodigy, who is?

A lowly cultivator toiling for a sect?

Ridiculous!

The Wang clan's direct descendants receive far better resources before Foundation Establishment than the Red Lantern Sect's disciples!

For freelancers trying to take advantage, Bai Lu gave no quarter.

At that moment, the clerk sent to notify Tang Nianqiu returned, lifting the curtain at the back of the hall; Tang Nianqiu, clad in a purple robe, strode out with commanding presence.

All Qi Refining cultivators possess spiritual sense; Old Tang immediately nodded toward Yulou’s direction as a greeting.

Then he turned to the freelancers at the counter and spoke in a deep voice:

“You’re the ones causing trouble?”