Chapter 26: Livelihood

Li Banfeng sat inside the Portable Dwelling, deeply reflecting on his previous series of insane actions.

He had attacked someone from the Dark Star Bureau; though he didn’t know what the Dark Star Bureau was, since it carried the word “Bureau,” it must be tied to the government.

He had arrived at an unbelievable place and, inexplicably, become a Dark Energy Practitioner.

If he were a normal Dark Energy Practitioner, that would be fine—but he had also cultivated two completely incompatible Dao sects.

What should he do next?

Return to Yuezhou?

Find He Jiaqing, lying on his sickbed?

How would he buy a train ticket?

His wallet, shirt, suit pants, and leather shoes were all left behind at the old mansion; Li Banfeng couldn’t go back to retrieve them.

His entire fortune now consisted of one top hat, one hiking cap, a set of pajamas, one T-shirt, one pair of sweatpants, one pair of sneakers, two boxes of instant noodles, one bag of potato chips, a slightly larger pack of spicy strips, and He Jiaqing’s copper lotus.

Sell the copper lotus to buy a train ticket back to Yuezhou?

But how much was the copper lotus worth? Selling it as scrap copper would probably be a bad deal.

If he didn’t sell the copper lotus, what would he eat next?

He had not a single penny on him.

Li Banfeng spent the night sleeping inside the Portable Dwelling.

The Portable Dwelling was silent, almost devoid of noise; though it had no windows, the air was fresh, free of any odor except for years of accumulated dust.

Hunger and thirst woke Li Banfeng from sleep.

He had eaten only one packet of instant noodles yesterday and barely drank any water.

Now, as he reached for another packet of instant noodles, he didn’t know how to swallow it.

Since dry-chewing was impossible, Li Banfeng left the Portable Dwelling, returned to the alley, tucked away the key, found a house, and knocked on the door.

Though raised in the Fuli Academy and having endured much hardship, asking for water… still made it hard to open his mouth.

“Sister, could you spare a bowl of water? I don’t want food—just a bowl of water.”

The sister gave him the water, as requested, but the way she looked at him made Li Banfeng feel as if dozens of needles had been stuck into his face.

He was asking for water now—how far was that from begging for food?

He had only two boxes of instant noodles left.

He needed to find a way to earn a living.

Travelers walk at least twenty li per day; Li Banfeng ate one bread cake and began wandering along Neigou Street.

“Extra! Extra! Second Miss Chu tried to kill her husband on their wedding night, fled in fear of punishment—family offers three million reward!”

“Sir, buy a newspaper? Today’s special edition—big news! Fifty cents!”

Fifty cents? He didn’t have a single cent.

Li Banfeng smiled at the newsboy.

How about I sell newspapers with you?

Newspaper-selling jobs weren’t easy to find; many children relied on them to survive.

Li Banfeng didn’t understand newspaper market prices or sales techniques; in his memory, newspapers had vanished from public view ten years ago.

Li Banfeng found two shops in town hiring laborers: one a furniture store, the other a rice shop.

Li Banfeng asked for little—just a few days of odd jobs to earn train fare.

But neither shop hired him, because his clothing was bizarre.

A sleeveless T-shirt paired with a top hat didn’t seem odd to Li Banfeng, but the shopkeepers thought he wasn’t respectable.

By noon, his stomach growled again; he begged for another bowl of water, ate one bread cake, and now his only food left was one bag of potato chips.

This was hard—truly hard.

No work could be found in Neigou; Li Banfeng walked all the way to the town’s edge and headed toward Waigou.

Waigou was vastly larger than Neigou.

Waigou’s situation was far more complex than Neigou’s.

Walking along the dirt road, Li Banfeng saw farmers working, low peasant homes, and forests stretching for miles without a soul.

By dusk, his last packet of instant noodles had long been digested, and the potato chips were gone.

The only good news was that Li Banfeng felt a steady tremor in his mind.

This was a cultivator’s special sensation—reminding him he had walked twenty li; his daily basic cultivation as a Traveler was complete.

Home Cultivators felt something similar, but more gently; every time he stayed in the Portable Dwelling for two hours, Li Banfeng felt a cool, pleasant ease.

Ahead was a small restaurant: a dark, tiled house with five tables, and a notice posted at the door saying “Help Wanted.”

Li Banfeng was about to approach and try his luck when he heard someone inside call out: “Brother Li, is that you?”

Li Banfeng turned and saw a stout boy eating noodles, with three bowls on the table and three empty ones beside them.

Qin Xiaopang!

Li Banfeng froze.

Qin Xiaopang waved him over: “Brother Li, come sit! We’re truly fated to meet—you like this place too? I adore it—everything here is cheap and filling.”

Li Banfeng spoke plainly: “Brother Qin, to be honest, I didn’t come for food—I came because this place is hiring. I’m looking for work.”

Qin Xiaopang blinked: “Looking for work at a restaurant? What kind of thing is that?”

Li Banfeng’s face twisted in bitterness: “I have no choice—I have not a single coin left; I’m about to beg for food!”

Qin Xiaopang was a man of honor; he slapped his chest: “Waiter! Two more bowls of noodles! Brother Li, if you don’t mind, let’s eat first!”

Li Banfeng felt embarrassed—how could he eat someone’s food after just meeting?

“If you refuse, you’re insulting me!” Qin Xiaopang pulled out a chair and dragged Li Banfeng down; steaming bowls of plain noodle soup arrived shortly after.

Food Cultivators eat five catties of food daily—five bowls of noodles per meal—this was basic for Xiaopang.

Li Banfeng was starving; the plain noodles had no meat, just half a bowl of broth, a spoon of soy sauce, and two small bok choy leaves—but he thought it the most delicious meal he’d ever eaten.

Two bowls vanished in moments; Xiaopang paid the bill and said: “Brother Li, this place is too crowded—let’s find somewhere quiet to talk.”

They left the restaurant and found a quiet spot by the woods; Xiaopang whispered: “Brother, have you entered a sect yet?”

“Yes.” Li Banfeng nodded.

Qin Xiaopang lowered his voice further: “Which sect?”

Xiaopang was sincere, and Li Banfeng already knew Xiaopang’s sect; withholding the truth now would be disloyal.

“I entered the Traveler sect.”

He didn’t mention Home Cultivation—it was too complicated, and not to be spoken lightly.

Qin Xiaopang scratched his cheek: “Normally, Travelers don’t lack work—messenger, bodyguard, escort, or even pulling a cart.”

Li Banfeng smiled—he truly considered pulling a rickshaw.

He had inquired: as a Traveler, if he pulled a cart, he’d be a motorized rickshaw driver; each trip earned hundreds of yuan easily.

Especially with his hiking cap—he had the perfect rickshaw driver look!

But to pull a rickshaw, you needed a rickshaw—and Li Banfeng had none.

You could rent one, but you needed a deposit—and Li Banfeng couldn’t afford it.

Also, rickshaw drivers needed a license—and Li Banfeng couldn’t get one in the short term.

Most importantly, you had to know the roads—and Li Banfeng didn’t know any.

Travelers had innate pathfinding ability, but he didn’t even know basic place names—clearly insufficient for a driver’s basic duties.

Seeing Li Banfeng silent, Qin Xiaopang chuckled: “I’m not good at talking—brothers like us, how could we stoop to pulling rickshaws?”

“Brother Li, I’ve got a small business opportunity—won’t make much, but enough for emergency cash. Interested?”

“Brother, I’m already begging for meals—what’s there to pick and choose? But if you’re talking business, I have no capital.”

“No capital needed—it’s a no-investment deal. The capital is our lives. Have you heard of Kuwu Mountain?”

Kuwu Mountain?

Li Banfeng shook his head: “Never heard of it.”

Qin Xiaopang said: “In Yao Wang Gou, no one doesn’t know Kuwu Mountain—it’s perpetually shrouded in thick fog, and the mist is deadly; anyone who climbs it dies instantly.”

Li Banfeng frowned—it was essentially a natural gas chamber: “What business could you do there?”

“Have you heard of the Snake-Spot Chrysanthemum growing on Kuwu Mountain?”

Li Banfeng shook his head—he’d never heard of it.

Qin Xiaopang raised his voice slightly: “The Snake-Spot Chrysanthemum blooms once a year, and only for one day.”

It’s the main ingredient in Snake-Spot Pills; one pill equals one day of cultivation.”

Didn’t I tell you before? Normally, it takes ten years to advance one level—eat one Snake-Spot Pill daily, and you gain one extra day of cultivation; that means you advance a level in five years.”

The day after tomorrow is when the Snake-Spot Chrysanthemum blooms; several pharmacies have already set prices: eighty-five yuan per plant.”

On Kuwu Mountain, an ordinary person, if lucky, finds two or three plants per hour; in ten hours, twenty to thirty plants—earning two thousand yuan.”

You’re a Traveler—your legs are strong. In ten hours, you’ll earn at least three thousand, maybe five thousand. What do you think?”

Three thousand yuan? Definitely enough for a ticket back to Yuezhou—and a few days of comfort after.

This deal was worth it!

Li Banfeng was about to agree, then paused: “Wait—if the mist is deadly, isn’t climbing the mountain suicide?”

Qin Xiaopang said: “Ordinary people die instantly—but we’re not ordinary!

We have cultivation base; our bodies are far stronger than normal people. A Traveler like you can easily last ten hours on the mountain; push hard, you can hold fifteen.”

After descending, you’ll vomit for a day—clean it out thoroughly, rest two days, and you’ll be fine.

I'm a Food Cultivator; I can easily stay on the mountain for twenty hours after eating my fill and drinking my share.

This job really is risking one’s own life for profit!

Li Banfeng considered the potential gains, then nodded and said, “Brother, I’m in on this job.”

Qin Xiaopang chuckled, “You’re fast on your feet, I can take the punishment—this job, we brothers are guaranteed to profit!”

PS: Dear readers, let’s follow Banfeng out to pick chrysanthemums!

(End of Chapter)