Monthly Allowance

"Be careful of eavesdroppers!" Li Shuidao said with a serious expression.

"How could that be? They've all been busy with their own things lately." After half a month, Li Shuilang had become familiar with the area and had lost his earlier apprehension.

Of course, the most crucial factor was that his Companion was a Scorpion, not a Toad.

These past few days, he had been letting the Scorpion go out to forage on its own, instead of having to pick out snails with his fingers like before.

In Li Shuilang's opinion, as long as he didn't flaunt his Companion while his cultivation was weak, there shouldn't be much danger.

In fact, there wasn't much danger, especially now that the two of them were in charge of managing the spiritual fields and were highly valued by the Golden-Faced Gentleman. Their status was equivalent to that of the two maids. However, it was better to be safe than sorry; caution ensures a safe journey.

This had to do with a person's disposition; it couldn't be forced.

Li Shuidao shook his head and reminded him again, "It's still best to be careful. I definitely won't be soaking in that stone vat. I'll find a way to practice my second Spiritual Power on my own; brother, you don't need to worry."

"Then you be careful. I won't clean up the water in that stone vat; let it breed mosquitoes and flies, which can then be used to feed insects." Li Shuilang excitedly picked up pebbles in the courtyard, preparing to practice his Flying Knife right there.

Knock, knock, knock...

The courtyard gate was knocked.

"Who is it?" Li Shuidao asked.

"It's me, Lu Qi'er."

Li Shuidao quickly opened the courtyard gate and saw a maid with snow-white skin, wearing a green-patterned loose robe, standing outside.

Lu Qi'er smiled charmingly and said, "Good news, Madam is distributing this month's wages. You two, hurry up and collect them."

"Thank you, Miss Lu," Li Shuidao and Li Shuilang said with surprise and joy.

Immediately, the two brothers walked towards the largest room in the mansion. That room was where Qin Yue'e and her two maids lived.

Soon, the two brothers arrived in front of the room.

Before they could even knock, they heard a voice from inside.

"Thank you, Madam, for the reward." Wang Tiankun, a worker from the kitchen, left happily with ten jade coins.

"You two may come in," Madam Qin Yue'e said.

The Li brothers, upon receiving the order, bowed and entered.

"Greetings, Madam." The Li brothers clasped their fists in greeting.

Qin Yue'e looked at the two of them and nodded with satisfaction. They were handsome and knew their manners. She then said, "It hasn't been easy for you two to take care of the spiritual fields. My husband specifically instructed that each of you receive thirty coins a month."

"Thank you, Madam," the Li brothers cupped their fists again to express their gratitude.

Qin Yue'e waved her hand, and the head maid beside her, Jiang Xue, took out thirty jade coins for each of them from her storage bag.

"There's a market not far from here that opens only once every half a month. Xue'er needs to take me shopping for some things, so I'll have her take you there. That way, you won't get the jade coins and have no way to buy Spiritual Object," Qin Yue'e said to the Li brothers.

The Li brothers were secretly delighted.

Back in primary school, they had learned about the general situation of the Tianyuan Cultivation Continent.

The so-called market was a temporary gathering of nearby cultivators, but such gatherings had fixed locations and times.

Although the goods in the market were inferior to those in the larger trade cities in terms of quantity and variety, local specialties were cheaper than in the trade cities.

"Thank you, Madam."

Qin Yue'e waved her hand and said, "No need for pleasantries. Go and get ready."

A quarter of an hour later.

The Li brothers followed Jiang Xue out of the cave dwelling.

"The market is more than ten li away from here. If we walk, it will take more than half an hour. You'll have to keep up with me," Jiang Xue said, looking back at the Li brothers.

"Please don't worry, Sister Jiang. We will follow closely behind you," Li Shuilang promised, patting his chest.

Then, the three of them headed down the mountain path.

Jiang Xue walked at an unhurried pace, yet a gentle breeze emanated from her skirt, carrying her faster and faster, as if she had turned into an afterimage.

The Li brothers gritted their teeth and chased desperately. Fortunately, they were also young, and the path was downhill. Otherwise, even if they tumbled and scrambled, hopped and skipped, they wouldn't have been able to catch up to Jiang Xue.

A moment later, Jiang Xue's figure completely disappeared from the brothers' sight.

"Hoo... hoo..." The two brothers panted heavily, their faces filled with helplessness.

"It's a Spiritual Power! This is definitely the centipede's second Spiritual Power," Li Shuidao said with a solemn expression.

"That's right! The journey to Mufeng, when practiced to its depths, is indeed this powerful. This Spiritual Power isn't just for combat; it's also excellent for traveling," Li Shuilang said enviously.

"What do we do now?"

"What else can we do? We just follow along. This path leads down to a fork in the road; she'll wait for us there," Li Shuidao said confidently.

"What if she doesn't wait?"

"Then we'll turn back and report this to Madam."

Li Shuilang nodded. The two followed the mountain path downwards and soon arrived at a fork in the road, but they did not see Miss Jiang Xue, who had gone ahead.

"Sister Jiang Xue!"

"Sister, where are you?"

The Li brothers looked around but couldn't find Jiang Xue.

"Junior Brother Shuidao, what do we do? Miss Jiang Xue didn't wait for us," Li Shuilang said anxiously.

"Then we'll return as planned!" Li Shuidao said decisively.

"No way! I still have thirty jade coins. I need to buy a Spiritual Object to feed my Companion and improve my cultivation. How can I just turn back now!?" Li Shuilang said excitedly.

"Then what do we do? We don't even know the way!" Li Shuidao retorted.

"This... how about we just pick one?"

"No! What if we stumble into another Immortal Master's cave dwelling and get accused of trespassing? We'd be killed without any recourse," Li Shuidao shook his head, firmly opposing the idea.

"Do you think Sister Jiang swallowed Wang Tianjiao's Toad?" Li Shuilang changed the subject, gossiping.

"Don't spout nonsense!" Li Shuidao sternly rebuked him.

"Hmph!"

Suddenly.

A cold snort came from behind. Jiang Xue walked out slowly from behind a large tree, her face grim.

"Sister Jiang, why are you here?" Li Shuilang stammered in panic.

"Why can't I be here?" Jiang Xue chuckled.

"You... how much did you just hear?"

"I heard you badmouthing me behind my back, of course."

"Sister, you've misunderstood," Li Shuidao tried to smooth things over.

Jiang Xue glanced at Li Shuidao, then fixed her gaze on Li Shuilang. A faint green energy flowed around her.

This was Magical Power!

This meant Jiang Xue was at least in the mid-stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm.

Under the pressure of the Magical Power, Li Shuilang broke out in a sweat and retreated step by step.

"Look at you, you coward! Our Five Poisons Sect cultivators are forbidden from killing each other outside of trials. Violators will have their cultivation crippled. I'm not going to kill you, so what are you afraid of?" Jiang Xue moved closer and closer. Li Shuilang retreated again and again, until he was backed against a tree, with nowhere else to go.

"S-Sister, spare me," Li Shuilang pleaded.

"What kind of Companion do you have?" Jiang Xue asked coldly.

"I'm a Scorpion, a Golden Scorpion! The Five Elements' metal breaks wood. Eating my Companion won't benefit your cultivation; it will be detrimental," Li Shuilang was about to cry.

Jiang Xue then turned her attention to Li Shuidao.

"My cousin's Companion is a Gecko. Geckos belong to earth. Eating it won't improve your cultivation much either," Li Shuilang explained again.

"Hmph! Even if your Companions were Jade Toads, this Senior Sister wouldn't lay a hand on them. Do you really think the rules of the Five Poisons Sect are just for show? Do you know why Wang Tianjiao lost his Companion?" Jiang Xue retorted with a cold laugh.