"Ha~"
Lin Li opened his bleary eyes and sat up from the sofa after yawning.
He turned his head toward the clock hanging on the wall behind the television and found that it was already half past one in the afternoon.
"I only meant to take a nap. I didn't expect to sleep for nearly two and a half hours."
The nap had left him completely refreshed, sweeping away his earlier drowsiness and fatigue.
"Grrrr..." The growling from his stomach reminded Lin Li to hurry up and eat lunch.
He picked up the phone beside him and opened the food-delivery app. Just as he was about to place his usual order, his hand suddenly stopped.
"I only have five hundred thousand left in savings, and there are still plenty of places where I'll need money later. I have to be more frugal. Forget ordering delivery—I'll cook for myself!"
Lin Li closed the food-delivery app, locked his phone, and set it aside before getting up and heading for the kitchen.
He had put the three-hundred-yuan portion of Exotic Boar Meat he bought that morning in the refrigerator. After tidying it up, he decided to cook himself a bowl of egg and shredded-meat noodles that was at least passable.
He heated the wok and poured in oil, then added scallions and ginger to bring out their fragrance. Next, he put in the sliced Boar Beast meat and stir-fried it until it changed color before adding water.
Once the water boiled, he added the noodles. When they were cooked, he poured in the beaten egg, then added salt and chicken bouillon and sprinkled on chopped scallions. A steaming, fragrant bowl of egg and shredded-meat noodles was ready.
Lin Li carried the freshly cooked noodles out of the kitchen and placed the steaming bowl on the dining table.
After sitting down, he picked up his chopsticks. Just as he was about to dig in, the doorbell rang.
"Ding-dong..."
Who is it? Can't you wait until I finish lunch before ringing the doorbell? Lin Li grumbled inwardly. He then put down his chopsticks, got up, and walked toward the door.
"Click."
When he opened the door, a beautiful unfamiliar woman appeared before him. She looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old and stood around one hundred sixty-eight centimeters tall. She wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and she had an oval face and a scholarly air about her. At a glance, one could tell that she had a rather gentle and delicate personality.
"Hello. Is there something I can help you with?" Lin Li asked the unfamiliar woman before him.
"Hello, my name is Xia Qing. I moved in next door last night. Please look after me from now on. Thank you." Xia Qing smiled as she greeted Lin Li.
The apartment that had been vacant for nearly two years finally has someone living in it... Lin Li nodded at her and replied politely.
"Hello, my name is Lin Li. Neighbors should help each other out. If you run into any trouble in the future, you can come to me."
Xia Qing was naturally timid. She had dawdled around at home for quite a while before finally summoning her courage to ring her neighbor's doorbell.
She had not expected the person who opened the door to be a young man in his early twenties who looked as though he was still in college. This gave Xia Qing, who was several years older than him, a little more confidence.
Now that she had also heard Lin Li's courteous response, she felt that her new neighbor was a kindhearted person.
"Mommy, didn't you go out to buy soy sauce? Why haven't you left yet?"
A little girl around five or six years old poked her small head through the gap behind Xia Qing. She had a tiny braid, wore a white dress, and had chubby cheeks. She asked in confusion,
So the new neighbor who just moved in is a whole family... Lin Li smiled gently at the adorable little girl.
Seeing this, Xia Qing called out to her daughter, "Zhou Tongtong, this is Brother Lin Li. We're neighbors from now on, so hurry up and say hello to him."
"Hello, Brother Lin Li." The little girl named Zhou Tongtong raised her head and looked at Lin Li with large, round, jet-black, sparkling eyes as she greeted him very politely.
"Hello." No one could dislike such an adorable little girl. Lin Li replied with a cheerful smile, then turned to his new neighbor and said, "I have extra soy sauce at home. I'll get you a bottle."
"How could I trouble you? I can just go out and buy some." Xia Qing hurriedly shook her head. She had only just moved in and finished introducing herself to her neighbor—how could she immediately trouble him?
"It's fine. I bought several bottles during the 6/18 shopping festival," Lin Li said with a smile.
Before she could say anything else, he turned around and went back inside. He walked into the kitchen, opened a cabinet, and took out an unopened bottle of soy sauce.
"Go ahead and use it!" Lin Li returned to the doorway and handed the soy sauce to Xia Qing.
"Thank you. How much was it? I'll transfer the money to you." Seeing that Lin Li had already brought out the soy sauce, Xia Qing stopped refusing. After accepting it, she took out her phone to transfer him the money.
"No need. It's only a bottle of soy sauce—it didn't cost much." Although Lin Li was somewhat strapped for cash at the moment, he could still afford the price of one bottle of soy sauce.
"No, Mr. Lin. If you won't take the money, I won't accept the soy sauce." Xia Qing spoke with great seriousness.
"All right. It was discounted when I bought it during the last shopping festival. Nine yuan ninety per bottle." Sensing her resolute attitude, Lin Li took out his phone and opened his payment code.
After she paid, the two exchanged a few more pleasantries before returning to their respective homes.
"Oh no, I'd better eat my noodles quickly, or they'll get soggy."
As soon as he closed the door, Lin Li ran to the dining table and sat down. He picked up his chopsticks and began wolfing down the noodles.
"Swish, swish..."
The sound of rushing water came from the kitchen. Before long, it stopped.
After washing the dishes and chopsticks, Lin Li came out of the kitchen. He first wiped his water-covered hands with a dry towel, then walked into the living room.
"I'm well-rested and well-fed. I'm in excellent shape now. I can start cultivating."
Lin Li sat down on the living-room sofa and picked up the exquisite gift bag. From it, he took out the gift box containing the spirit stones.
When he opened the box, ten crystal-clear spirit stones, each the size of a pigeon's egg, appeared before him.
He took out one spirit stone and examined it up close. It was breathtakingly beautiful, gleaming with crystal clarity.
At fifty thousand yuan each, how could they not be beautiful?
After muttering inwardly, Lin Li sat cross-legged and held the spirit stone in his right palm.
He then mobilized the Spiritual Energy within his body and gathered it in his right hand. Pale golden Spiritual Light blossomed across his palm.
The Spiritual Energy within his body began drawing out the energy contained in the spirit stone. Very soon, the energy within the stone was pulled out and slowly absorbed by Lin Li.
Ten minutes later, the Spiritual Energy in Lin Li's body had been fully restored. He continued absorbing the energy contained in the spirit stone while expending the Spiritual Energy in his body to temper himself and increase his maximum Spiritual Energy reserve.
Nearly fifty more minutes passed before the spirit stone in Lin Li's hand was completely drained, unable to yield even a trace more Spiritual Energy.
"What the fuck?!!!"
"Fifty thousand yuan only let me cultivate for one hour? Is cultivation really this expensive for a Cultivator?"
Before you continue