Chapter 10: Who exactly are these

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 Shi; you're no trouble. I'll bring water to the front first, then fetch 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 outsider of the Wang Shi?"

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

"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 slightly furrow, Bai Lu flinched like a startled beast and hurried to reply.

"I was picked up by Uncle Tang, took him as my adoptive father, and was named Bai Lu because I was found during the White Dew season—I'm not an outsider of the Wang Shi."

"I just do what I can to repay Uncle Tang, and I'm not even a clerk of Fuyuanju."

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

Tang Nianqiu had taken in an adopted daughter, who, grateful for his care, worked for Fuyuanju without pay—it sounded harmless enough.

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

But...

Sometimes the difference between four taels and a thousand jin 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 Shi to receive cultivation training at the Qi Gathering stage, then been assigned by the clan's standard system.

If Bai Lu were a freelance cultivator hired by Fuyuanju, she should be paid in spirit stones—Tang Nianqiu's ledgers were subject to Wang Shi audits!

Bai Lu clearly didn't understand the rules, and accidentally exposed Tang Nianqiu's scheme of ghost payroll through fake kinship!

"Do what you can... So, how many spirit stones do you receive annually as pay?"

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 Shi's external enterprise management system.

So, this foolish girl answered directly.

"Pay? I'm only at Qi Gathering Stage Four. For us freelancers, having a place to cultivate in peace is already fortune enough."

"Helping at Fuyuanju is purely to repay my adoptive father's kindness, Young Master Yulou—I must hurry to deliver the spiritual water to the front."

Watching Bai Lu's retreating back, Yulou felt a knot of frustration.

Old Tang, old Tang—Cousin Rongyuan just said yesterday you were reliable.

And now, here I am, catching your slip-up.

Exploiting the Wang Shi's trust and favor to pull shady tricks within their enterprises—this isn't a small matter.

The reason the Wang Shi is called the Anbei Wang Shi is because their immortal lineage has endured a thousand years and also governs a mortal kingdom—Anbei Kingdom.

If the Wang Shi is seen as a kingdom of cultivators, Tang Nianqiu's behavior is like an Inspector turning into a Military Governor—someone secretly raising death-soldiers and using Wang Shi spirit stones to fund private troops!

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 to begin with?

Only if he claimed 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 deep thought.

Should I investigate? If so, where do I start?

Forget it—keep a low profile, focus on cultivation first. Wait until I reach Qi Gathering before worrying about this.

The secret struggles between clan heirs and outsiders are for the Clan Chief to handle; Yulou didn't believe his combined two-lifetime age of under fifty could match the wisdom of the clan's hundred-year-old elders.

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

By the way, the Clan Chief and Yuan's father, Rongwen, are coming to Qing Xi Fang soon.

"Hmph, some people are so favored—even at Qi Gathering 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 equanimity he'd shown last night.

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

"Then let's split it half and half."

Yulou: "Who exactly are these 'some people' you mentioned? Why not be clear?"

Did Yuan want the spiritual rice?

No—he just wanted to jab at Yulou.

"No, this is Cousin Rongyuan'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 Shi."

"Don't waste this half-pound of spiritual rice, and don't betray Cousin Rongyuan's expectations."

"You understand, right?"

Yuan shook his head and swayed his ears, putting on the airs of an elder—making Yulou furious.

Say he's evil—he's just trying to get the last word.

Say he's not evil—his smug, opportunistic face is still truly hateful.

"I have spirit stones—why can't I stay here? Is this how Fuyuanju does business?"

A noisy voice rang out, drawing Yulou's gaze.

At the counter of the Fuyuan Ju main hall, Bai Lu was flushed and frantic, explaining things to a few loose cultivators.

"Fellow daoists, our Fuyuan Ju has been doing business for several decades. Normally it's three spirit stones for a month's stay — we don't cheat young or old. But the situation is different now.

The Merit Hall branch of the Red Lantern Sect is arriving at Qing Xi Fang any moment now, and because of this the garrison cultivator just collected a 'Unity Fee.'

Our recent price hike is purely out of helplessness — if we don't raise prices, we'll be closing our doors soon!"

Bai Lu grew up in Fuyuan Ju and, after all these years of receiving people and handling matters, knew very well how to shift the blame.

Fellow daoists, we don't want to raise prices either — it's all that garrison cultivator being too greedy!

If you have complaints, go take them up with the garrison cultivator!

Anyway, Gao Jian and Jiang Baobian and those people aren't going to come cause trouble for Fuyuan Ju over a few words like that — they really did collect the Unity Fee, and they didn't collect a small amount!

"Fine, I understand your price hike, but I've already stayed half a month. Can't I just renew for another half month at the old price?"

The loose cultivators causing trouble knew that anyone who could run a shop in Qing Xi Fang was no ordinary person, and they didn't dare truly make a scene.

His only demand was to continue renewing the room at the pre-hike price — nothing more.

"That's not something I can decide... how about you come back after the Red Lantern Sect's Merit Hall leaves?

By then, our prices will surely return to the original."

No money and still want to stay at the inn? You sure dream pretty!

Bai Lu was polite to Yulou, and nervous chatting with Yulou, because Yulou was the Wang family's Qilin son.

He had just finished his spiritual root test, was personally escorted by the old protector of the Rong Yuan family straight to Qing Xi Fang, and paid a heavy sum to enter the tutelage of the Red-Browed Hermit — a man who could address the garrison cultivator Jiang Baobian as a sworn brother.

If that's not a Qilin son, then what is?

A bottom-tier cultivator slaving away for a sect?

What a joke!

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

As for loose cultivators trying to take advantage, Bai Lu naturally wouldn't give them face.

At this moment, the attendant who had gone to notify Tang Nianqiu returned. He lifted the curtain on the back door of the main hall, and Tang Nianqiu—a Qi Training cultivator in a purple robe—strode out with the gait of a dragon and the tread of a tiger.

Qi Training cultivators all have divine sense. Old Tang first nodded toward the direction where Yulou sat, as a greeting.

Only then did he look toward the loose cultivators at the counter and speak in a low voice.

"So it's you lot causing trouble?"