Making a Living

Li Banfeng sat in the Portable Abode, deeply reflecting on his recent series of crazy actions.

He had attacked people from the Dark Star Bureau. Although he didn't know what kind of organization the Dark Star Bureau was, since it had "Bureau" in its name, it was likely related to the government.

He had arrived at an incredible place and inexplicably become a Dark Energy User.

If he were just a normal Dark Energy User, that would be one thing, but he also cultivated two completely incompatible Dao Gates.

What should he do next?

Go back to Yue Province?

Find He Jiaqing, who was in the hospital bed?

How would he buy a train ticket?

His wallet, shirt, dress pants, and leather shoes were all left in the old house, and there was no way Li Banfeng could go back to get them.

All his current possessions included a top hat, a hiking hat, a set of pajamas, a T-shirt, a pair of sweatpants, a pair of sneakers, two boxes of instant noodles, a box of potato chips, a little over a bag of spicy strips, and He Jiaqing's copper lotus.

Should he sell the copper lotus for a train ticket back to Yue Province?

The key question was how much the copper lotus was worth. Selling it as scrap copper probably wasn't appropriate.

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

He didn't have a single cent on him.

Li Banfeng slept in the Portable Abode for a night.

The Portable Abode was very quiet, with almost no noise. Although there were no windows, the air was fresh, and apart from the dust accumulated over the years, there were no other smells.

What woke Li Banfeng from his sleep was hunger and thirst.

He had only eaten one bag of instant noodles yesterday and hadn't drunk much water.

Now, Li Banfeng took out another bag of instant noodles, but he didn't know how to swallow it.

Chewing it dry was definitely not an option. Li Banfeng left the Portable Abode, returned to the alley, put away the key, found a house, and knocked on the door.

Although he grew up in a welfare institute and had suffered a lot, asking for water... still made it a bit hard to open his mouth.

"Big sister, could I trouble you for a bowl of water? I don't need food, just a bowl of water."

Li Banfeng repeatedly emphasized that he didn't want food, and the big sister did indeed give him a bowl of water, but the look in her eyes made Li Banfeng feel as if dozens of needles were pricking his face.

He was asking for water now, but how far was he from begging for food?

He only had two boxes of instant noodles left.

He had to find a way to make a living.

Travel Cultivators walked at least twenty li every day. Li Banfeng ate a noodle cake and began to wander along Inner Valley Street.

"Extra! Extra! Second Miss Chu Family attempted to murder her husband on their wedding night and fled in fear of punishment! Her husband's family is offering a three million reward!

Sir, buy a newspaper! Today's extra edition has big news, fifty cents!"

Not even five cents.

Li Banfeng smiled and looked at the newsboy.

How about I sell newspapers with you?

Selling newspapers wasn't an easy job to find; many children relied on it to make a living.

Li Banfeng didn't understand the newspaper market or the techniques of selling them. In his impression, newspapers had faded from public view a decade ago.

Li Banfeng found two shops in town hiring temporary workers: a furniture store and a rice shop.

Li Banfeng's requirements weren't high; he just needed to work a few days to earn enough for a train ticket.

But neither shop hired Li Banfeng because his clothes were strange.

A short-sleeved T-shirt paired with a top hat didn't seem that strange to Li Banfeng, but the shopkeepers thought he didn't look like a decent person.

By noon, his stomach started rumbling again. Li Banfeng asked for another bowl of water and ate a flatbread. By this time, his food supply was down to a box of potato chips.

It's tough, this is really tough.

Unable to find work in Inner Valley, Li Banfeng walked to the edge of town and headed towards Outer Valley.

Outer Valley was much larger than Inner Valley.

The situation in Outer Valley was also much more complex than in Inner Valley.

Walking along the dirt road, Li Banfeng saw farmers working, low-lying houses, and forests where he didn't see a soul for miles.

He walked until dusk. The last packet of instant noodles had long been digested, and the potato chips were also gone.

The only good news was that Li Banfeng felt waves of mental energy vibrating.

This was a special sensation for cultivators, reminding Li Banfeng that he had walked twenty li, enough for the day's basic cultivation as a Travel Cultivator.

Shut-in Cultivators also had a similar sensation, but it was relatively gentler. Every time he stayed in the Portable Abode for two hours, Li Banfeng would feel a cool sense of comfort.

Ahead was a restaurant, a very small one. Inside the dark tiled house, there were five tables, and a notice was posted at the entrance saying they were hiring a waiter.

Li Banfeng was about to go over and try his luck when he suddenly heard someone call out from inside the restaurant, "Brother Li, is that you!"

Li Banfeng turned around and saw a stout young man eating noodles. There were three bowls of noodles on the table and three empty bowls that had been finished.

Qin Xiaopang!

Li Banfeng was startled!

Qin Xiaopang called out, "Brother Li, come quickly and sit down. We really are fated to meet. You like this restaurant too? I especially like it; the food here is cheap and good."

Li Banfeng spoke frankly, "Brother Qin, to be honest, I didn't come to eat. I saw they were hiring, and I came looking for work."

Qin Xiaopang was surprised, "Coming to a restaurant to look for work, what kind of thing is that?"

Li Banfeng's face showed bitterness, "I have to look. I don't have a single penny on me, and I'm about to beg for food!"

Qin Xiaopang was a righteous person. He patted his chest and said, "Waiter, bring two more bowls of noodles. Brother Li, if you don't mind, let's eat first!"

Li Banfeng felt a bit awkward. They had just met by chance; why should he eat his food?

"If you don't eat, you're looking down on me!" Qin Xiaopang pulled over a chair and motioned for Li Banfeng to sit. Steaming hot plain noodles were served shortly after.

For a Food Cultivator, eating five catties of rice a day and five bowls of noodles per meal was basic.

Li Banfeng was also starving. The plain noodles had no meat, just half a bowl of broth, a spoonful of soy sauce, and two small bok choy. Yet, Li Banfeng felt it was the most delicious meal he had ever eaten.

Two bowls of noodles were gone in a flash. Qin Xiaopang paid the bill and said to Li Banfeng, "Brother Li, this place has too many eyes. Let's find somewhere else to talk."

The two left the restaurant and found a quiet spot by the woods. Qin Xiaopang asked in a low voice, "Brother, have you entered a Dao Gate yet?"

"Yes," Li Banfeng nodded.

Qin Xiaopang lowered his voice even further, "Which one did you enter?"

Qin Xiaopang was sincere, and Li Banfeng also knew which Dao Gate Qin Xiaopang belonged to. It would be ungrateful not to tell the truth at this point.

"I entered the Travel Cultivator Dao Gate."

Li Banfeng didn't mention the Shut-in Cultivator Dao Gate. It was hard to explain and couldn't be easily revealed.

Qin Xiaopang scratched his cheek. "Logically, Travel Cultivators aren't short of work. Delivering letters, guarding, being bodyguards, or even pulling a cart if nothing else is available."

Li Banfeng smiled. He really did want to pull a rickshaw.

He had inquired about it. As a Travel Cultivator, if he were to pull a cart, he would be a cart puller with a Fire Wheel. A single trip could easily earn him several hundred yuan.

Especially with Li Banfeng's climbing hat, he had the perfect look for a cart puller!

But to pull a rickshaw, he needed a cart first, and Li Banfeng didn't have one.

He could rent a cart, but he needed a deposit, and Li Banfeng couldn't afford the deposit.

Moreover, cart pullers needed a license, which Li Banfeng couldn't get in the short term.

Most importantly, pulling a cart required knowing the way, and Li Banfeng didn't know the way.

Travel Cultivators had a talent for finding their way, but he didn't even know the most basic place names. This clearly didn't meet the basic requirements of a cart puller.

Seeing Li Banfeng remain silent, Qin Xiaopang smiled and said, "It's my fault for not speaking properly. What kind of people are we, brothers? How could we do that kind of work? Brother Li, I have a small business here. It doesn't make much money, but it can earn some emergency funds. It just depends on whether you're willing to help."

"Brother, I was already looking for food at the restaurant. What is there to be picky about? It's just that you said business, and I don't have any capital."

"No capital needed. This is a no-capital business. The capital is our lives. Have you heard of Bitter Mist Mountain?"

Bitter Mist Mountain?

Li Banfeng shook his head. "Never heard of it."

Qin Xiaopang said, "In Medicine King Gully, there's no one who hasn't heard of Bitter Mist Mountain. This mountain is covered in dense fog all year round, and there's potent poison in the fog. Ordinary people who go up the mountain are sure to die."

Li Banfeng frowned. This was practically a natural gas chamber. "What kind of business is there?"

"Have you heard of the Snake Spot Chrysanthemum on Bitter Mist Mountain?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. He definitely hadn't heard of it.

Qin Xiaopang raised his voice slightly. "This Snake Spot Chrysanthemum blooms once a year, and the flowering period is only one day.

Snake Spot Chrysanthemum is the main ingredient for refining Snake Spot Pills. One Snake Spot Pill can be exchanged for one day of cultivation.

Didn't I tell you before? It takes ten years of cultivation to advance one level. If you eat one Snake Spot Pill every day, it's like cultivating for an extra day. Calculated this way, you can advance one level in five years.

The day after tomorrow is when the Snake Spot Chrysanthemums bloom. Several pharmacies have already set prices. One stalk of Snake Spot Chrysanthemum is eighty-five yuan.

On Bitter Mist Mountain, if an ordinary person is lucky, they can find two or three stalks in an hour, and twenty or thirty in ten hours, earning two thousand yuan.

You're a Travel Cultivator, you have good stamina. In ten hours, you can earn at least three thousand, and some can even earn five thousand. What do you think of this deal?"

Three thousand yuan, that's definitely enough for a train ticket. After returning to Yue Province, I can even live a carefree life for a couple of days.

This deal is doable!

Just as Li Banfeng was about to agree, he had a change of heart: That's not right. Since the mist is highly poisonous, wouldn't going up the mountain to gather herbs be suicide?

Qin Xiaopang said, "Ordinary people would be committing suicide if they went, but we're not ordinary!

We have cultivation, our physiques are much better than ordinary people. A Travel Cultivator like you can easily last ten hours on the mountain. Gritting your teeth, you can even endure fifteen hours.

After coming down the mountain, you'll vomit for a day. If you vomit thoroughly, and rest for two more days, you'll be fine.

I'm a Food Cultivator. As long as I'm full and well-fed, staying on the mountain for twenty hours is no problem."

This business really uses one's life as capital!

Li Banfeng thought about the profit, nodded, and said, "Brother, I'll do this business."

Qin Xiaopang laughed and said, "You're fast, I can endure. This business, we brothers are sure to make a fortune!"

PS: Dear readers, let's go gather chrysanthemums with Banfeng!