[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain":3,"chapter-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-18":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Notes on Cultivation at Wulong Mountain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2272923,4440,"Chapter 18: Chapter Seventeen: One Misstep, Eternal Regret","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-18",18,"\u003Cp>Slowly lifting his head, he saw the female cultivator still far across, over ten zhang away, diligently harvesting; every so often she straightened up, one hand on her hip, wiping sweat from her brow—the moonlight fell on her face, and Liu Xiaolou felt his heart stir: So beautiful—twice as lovely as Qing Jie from the first alley in Wuchao Town!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no time to admire a beauty under the moon; Liu Xiaolou shook off his distractions, focusing on her every move. Seeing she had not noticed him, he flung out the Mysterious Scent Tendon and began harvesting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No other thieves had come to interfere; though he worked carefully, his advantage lay in steadiness—and once steady, he was certainly not slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After harvesting for nearly half an hour, the four or five fen of land before him was stripped bare; the rice ears had been carried into the woods several times, and the distance between him and the woman had narrowed to just six or seven zhang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Never be greedy!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou warned himself, tied up the last bundle of rice, and carefully turned his body to crawl back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough is enough—time to move elsewhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had barely crawled a few steps when a voice sounded behind him: “Done harvesting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou’s scalp prickled—he knew he was exposed. Well, perhaps he had been exposed all along; after all, he wasn’t a white goose, and he wasn’t skilled at this—mistakes were inevitable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, his heart unexpectedly relaxed. He stood up openly, turned around, and saw the woman standing with arms crossed, her long sword held loosely, watching him with a cold smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Caught red-handed, Liu Xiaolou was not afraid. He bowed and said, “I happened to pass by and feared you might not finish in time, missing the season—so I lent a hand. Hmm… I’ve nearly finished…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman laughed suddenly: “So you’re a righteous soul, stepping in where justice is needed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou’s expression turned serious: “Merely a small favor. No need to thank me. The night is late—I take my leave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, he turned and ran toward the dense forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woods were right ahead—Dongyang Sect’s Han guy couldn’t catch me; how could you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he dashed forward, a fierce gust of wind struck the back of his head—deadly sharp. He gasped, instinctively jerking his neck three inches sideways—a flying sword sliced past his ear, severing a cedar tree the width of a bowl!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sword’s glow circled through the woods and returned to the woman’s hand. She coldly said: “Run! Keep running!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flying sword!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou froze in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, he truly wanted to cry but had no tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining Level Ten—coming here as a laborer to harvest spirit rice?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harvesting spirit rice with clumsy hands, not releasing sword aura, not summoning a flying sword?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are you insane? Are you really insane?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just a few more steps and he’d reach the forest—but Liu Xiaolou dared not take another step forward. Instead, he slowly turned around, gazing pitifully at the woman, utterly dejected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who gave you the nerve to steal rice from me?” The woman tilted her chin, sneering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou answered honestly: “My family is poor—we can’t even afford food.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Poor? Does poverty justify stealing? No matter how poor, don’t lose your ambition!” The woman scolded without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re right, Elder…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah? Elder?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah! You’re right—I was foolish just now. I’ll surely reform completely…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me, didn’t the employer pay you enough?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, more than enough…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then why entertain such base thoughts?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone makes a momentary lapse—one misstep and you’re cursed for eternity…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go. Come with me to the manor and speak to the master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I’m willing to compensate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Compensate? You’re too poor to feed yourself—what can you possibly compensate with?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whatever spirit rice I took, I’ll return double.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing his offer, the woman laughed: “Why would I want your spirit rice? Can I even eat it all?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you don’t want the spirit rice, why even come here as a laborer? Liu Xiaolou fumed inwardly, his mind racing—yet he realized he had nothing of value to offer. As the woman urged, “Come with me,” he panicked: “Miss, spare me this once! We’re enemies now, but we can become friends—any future command, I’ll face fire and water without hesitation!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words had no effect. The woman showed no interest in his “fire and water” vow: “Will you walk on your own, or shall I bind you and drag you? Oh—and remove your face covering. Show your face, sneaky little thing…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou reluctantly removed the black cloth, tidied his messy topknot, and forced himself to blink at her—this was his last resort: charm. After all, he was known alongside Wei Hongqing as the Twin Beauties of Wulong Mountain; he couldn’t claim to be dashing, but his face was undeniably handsome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the black cloth fell away, the hazy moonlight enhanced his refined beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This tactic seemed to work—her expression froze for a moment, her gaze fixed on him, silent for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou kept blinking, pleading: “I know I’m wrong…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Turn around. Turn left…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? Yes…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman suddenly asked: “What’s your name? Where do you cultivate? Tell the truth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… am Liu Xiaolou, a wandering cultivator from Wulong Mountain.” Liu Xiaolou dared not lie—his face was exposed; she could easily verify his identity at the manor. His only hope now was to confess with utmost sincerity, perhaps salvaging something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re from Wulong Mountain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes—on Gan Zhu Ridge. Miss, give any order—I’ll obey without question!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After another silence, the woman waved her hand: “Go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did… the handsome man trick actually work? Liu Xiaolou was momentarily stunned, but dared not ask further. He crept into the forest, glancing back every few steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he looked back, he saw her gazing up at the sky, lost in thought—he didn’t care. He quickened his pace and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he departed, he also took the rice bundles he’d hidden earlier in the woods. She hadn’t said to return them, nor had she forbidden taking them—so of course he took them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou’s steps grew faster; his true qi flowed as he summoned every ounce of strength to flee. He found a secluded spot, hastily processed that night’s harvest into rice, stuffed it into a sack, and rushed toward the field manor to deliver it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two days were the final stretch of the harvest; the manor’s granary remained open even at midnight, accepting grain. Liu Xiaolou turned in fifty-six jin—still fifty jin short of his quota.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no desire to linger. He accepted a fine of one hundred and fifty taels of silver. He didn’t have that much silver, but he had gold and jade pendants taken from Jinping Manor—he exchanged all his ten-plus taels of gold and one jade pendant to cover the fine, settling his labor duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hurriedly shouldered the four sacks of spirit grain buried in the fields and fled Ye Yang Mountain overnight. By dawn, he was fifty or sixty li away, reached the Wuchao River—and finally breathed a sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>",1194,"2026-06-19T23:11:25.549Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","11fd4a6368b4cbf9df686fee95685096183ff5f1ac58331e6b2e7e2c06de2e97","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-19","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-17",638,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-cover.jpg"]