Spirit Stones in a Jar

Fang Chen was immediately amazed by the taste of the rice. After swallowing the mouthful of rice, he asked Li Yanshan, "Uncle Li, your rice is too delicious! Your cooking skills are incredible!"

Li Yanshan picked up a piece of preserved sausage and took a bite, smiling as he said, "What skills do I have? The reason this rice tastes so good is because it's Spirit Rice. We don't eat this kind of rice every meal. Since you've just arrived, consider it a celebration! You've seen our conditions here, I hope you don't mind!"

"Spirit Rice?"

Fang Chen's eyes widened. He knew that Spirit Rice was milled from Spirit Grain, which contained spiritual energy. Spirit Grain needed to be planted in Spirit Fields containing spiritual energy and carefully cultivated before it could be harvested. The yield was very low, but the price was exorbitant. One Spirit Stone could only buy ten catties of Spirit Rice, which was equivalent to ten taels of silver per catty. Furthermore, Spirit Rice was much heavier; for the same volume, it weighed at least ten times more than ordinary rice.

Ten taels of silver could buy at least a hundred catties of high-quality rice.

Although Fang Chen had been at the Glazed Sword Sect for over three years, he had never tasted Spirit Rice before.

Now, he finally had.

After arriving at the Xuan Sword Sect, he had always been a handyman on Dragon Tiger Mountain. Let alone Spirit Rice, he couldn't even get enough ordinary rice and often went hungry.

But now, upon arriving at Dog Head Ridge, he was eating Spirit Rice for his first meal, and there was also delicious preserved sausage.

Back in Fang Family Village, his mother was often ill and bedridden, taking medicine. This led to their family's poverty, and they often didn't know where their next meal would come from.

When he was nine years old, his mother passed away. When he was ten, his father went out fishing during a storm and drowned.

Before the seventh day memorial for his father had even passed, his uncle sold him to a landlord in town as a cowherd. He was passed from hand to hand before finally being sold to the Glazed Sword Sect.

After arriving at the Glazed Sword Sect, he thought he would finally have enough to eat, as it was a cultivation sect, after all.

But who would have known that after becoming a handyman at the Glazed Sword Sect, his dream was shattered? Not only was there more work, but the other handymen were even more brutal, and he ate even less.

Now, he had finally endured it all. He obtained the Floating Immortal Sword, broke through to the Qi Refining Realm, became an Outer Sect Disciple, and was now eating Spirit Rice.

Fang Chen's eyes welled up slightly, as he felt a long-lost sense of happiness.

"What's wrong?"

Li Yanshan noticed Fang Chen's eyes turning red and couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing, nothing. I just remembered some sad things!"

Fang Chen wiped his eyes and then lowered his head to eat.

After eating his fill, Fang Chen let out a satisfied burp.

Li Yanshan smiled faintly at him and said, "Just leave your bowl here. You can go rest first! Come down and find me in an hour, and I'll take you for a walk then!"

"Okay!"

Fang Chen nodded, placed his bowl on the stone table, and turned to walk up the mountain along the dirt path.

Returning to his residence halfway up the mountain, Fang Chen stood at the edge of the open space by the courtyard entrance and looked down at the valley before him. The valley had been cleared into plots of farmland, with a clear stream flowing through the center. The fields were planted with rice, and the sun was shining brightly in a sky as blue as washed silk. Fang Chen tilted his head back, letting the scorching sun shine on him. He took a deep breath, feeling incredibly joyful.

He had finally climbed out of the mire of his past. From now on, he wouldn't have to endure hunger or the bullying of others.

After basking in the sun for a while, he returned to the house to continue tidying up.

Although he and Li Yanshan had tidied up for a while earlier, they had only organized the living room and bedrooms.

The courtyard wasn't large, but it had everything: a living room, bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a toilet.

Now that this courtyard was his, he had to tidy it up properly.

Half an hour later, while organizing the kitchen, Fang Chen discovered a dark, sticky object inside a black jar. When he cut open the dark object, he found over a dozen glittering stones inside, each about the size of a thumbnail.

"Are these Spirit Stones?"

Fang Chen's eyes widened, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He had seen Spirit Stones during his more than three years at the Glazed Sword Sect.

Fang Chen hadn't expected to find so many Spirit Stones in this jar.

He was incredibly excited.

There were eighteen Spirit Stones in total. Converted to silver, that would be one thousand eight hundred taels of silver.

If he were to earn money by chopping Exquisite Bamboo, he would have to chop one thousand eight hundred stalks of Exquisite Bamboo to earn that much silver.

But now, he had found so many Spirit Stones in a clay pot.

This was an absolute fortune to Fang Chen, who felt like he was dreaming.

He reached out and pinched his thigh hard. The intense pain made him flinch.

"It hurts. I must not be dreaming!"

Fang Chen looked down at the Spirit Stones before him and murmured, "These Spirit Stones were likely hidden here by the previous owner!"

He hesitated, wondering whether to keep the Spirit Stones for himself or tell Li Yanshan and Elder Yun.

Li Yanshan and Elder Yun had treated him well, one giving him cow dung incense, the other treating him to Spirit Rice.

When he was on Dragon Tiger Mountain, he often heard other handymen talk about how cultivators would often test people. Perhaps these Spirit Stones were deliberately placed here by Li Yanshan and Elder Yun to test him.

After weighing his options, Fang Chen walked out of the courtyard carrying the jar. When he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw Li Yanshan and Elder Yun sitting by the stone table playing chess.

The little donkey was quietly grazing under a large tree, and Little Six the dog was lying on the ground, looking very content.

Fang Chen walked over to the stone table and respectfully called out to Li Yanshan and Elder Yun, "Uncle Li, Elder Yun!"

Li Yanshan looked up at Fang Chen and frowned slightly. "It hasn't even been an hour yet. Why are you down here so soon?"

Elder Yun also looked up at Fang Chen, his gaze falling on the black jar Fang Chen held, and frowned slightly. "What are you holding that black jar for? It stinks!"

Li Yanshan chimed in, "Yeah, what are you doing with that jar?"

Fang Chen looked at Li Yanshan and Elder Yun, sensing they genuinely didn't know what was inside the black jar. He took a deep breath and said, "Uncle Li, Elder Yun, when I was tidying up the room just now, I found this jar in the kitchen. There are a lot of Spirit Stones inside!"

"What?"

Li Yanshan and Elder Yun's eyes widened immediately.

Fang Chen walked over to the table and tipped the earthenware jar onto the tabletop.

"Clatter!"

All the Spirit Stones inside spilled out, eighteen in total.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the large elm tree, dappling onto the Spirit Stones. The light refracting off them made the Spirit Stones appear even more dazzling.

"They really are Spirit Stones!"

Li Yanshan and Elder Yun's eyes lit up instantly.

Fang Chen looked at the Spirit Stones and asked Li Yanshan and Elder Yun, "Uncle Li, Elder Yun, these might belong to your old friend. I don't know if he has any family, but if he does, please give this money to his family!"

Li Yanshan and Elder Yun looked at Fang Chen, then exchanged a glance. A smile touched their lips.

Elder Yun spoke to Fang Chen, "Fang Chen, our old friend, he doesn't have any family anymore. And these Spirit Stones might not even be his. Since you found them, it proves you have a connection to this wealth. You keep them!"