Someone Is Following Me

Early in the morning, Chen Mo slowly finished his exercise. A night of cultivation left him feeling more refreshed than ever. It seemed that from now on, he could simply cultivate instead of sleeping.

After washing up, he felt a bit dazed. He had been quite foolish; in the Transmission Jade Talisman, there was a spell called the Cleansing Technique. This spell could not only clean one's body but also sanitize clothing and houses. It was a simple, must-learn spell for any cultivator. One had to realize that time held no meaning during cultivation; going a long time without bathing or changing clothes would result in quite a pungent stench. With the Cleansing Technique, however, a tiny bit of True Essence was all it took to clean everything from the inside out, including his belongings and living space. It was truly an essential skill.

Since he was already at Qi Refining Layer One, learning this spell would be no problem at all. His daily morning routines of brushing his teeth, washing his face, and changing clothes could all be handled by magic—not only fast, but also convenient. I'll learn it as soon as I get back, Chen Mo told himself.

He had things to do today, a plan he had made the previous night.

The first seal on the Universe Bead had been undone, and he had fully familiarized himself with the space inside. Today, he needed to buy some seeds to conduct an experiment. In his view, although the Universe Bead had poured all its information into him, the specifics of planting required his own exploration.

He had decided to start by buying vegetable seeds to test in the space. For no other reason than the fact that vegetables had a relatively short growth cycle; some leafy greens could be ready for market in just over a month. Furthermore, vegetable seeds were easy to sell, unlike medicinal material seeds, which would require a trip to the medicinal material market.

As it happened, not far from where he lived was a large vegetable wholesale base, where all the produce was supplied for market. He could go there and take a look; perhaps there would be vegetable seeds for sale. After all, due to issues like pesticides, balcony gardening had become popular in the city, and many vegetable markets sold seeds.

Chen Mo had no vehicle, but there were plenty of shared bikes around, so he grabbed one that was lying on the ground. There were many choices for transportation nowadays, but this also exposed many problems. The most lamentable issue was the lack of civic virtue; perfectly good bikes weren't parked properly but left lying on the roadside, or piled up in a messy heap. This reflected the mindset of some people. Life had become more affluent, but their inner sense of truth, goodness, and beauty was severely lacking.

Fortunately, there were still many good, high-quality people in society; it was just a small handful who ruined the environment, which was truly pathetic. Chen Mo thought to himself with a smile, realizing he was worrying about things beyond his control. Although he could now call himself a cultivator, he was still just a Little Loser with no money or status. Why worry about all this? These weren't his concerns. His most realistic goals were to cultivate diligently and, while doing so, start some business to change his family's situation.

After arriving at the vegetable market, he followed a group of elderly men and women around. Since it was an early market, the shoppers were mostly seniors. The sound of haggling was endless, and the scene of people picking through produce was constant. The elderly were truly the masters of the trade; they were all human spirits.

Chen Mo wandered around and eventually discovered a green plant shop in a corner of the market. On one side of the storefront was a large white iron grid, hanging with many bags of plant seeds.

He checked the price: five yuan per bag, regardless of the variety. However, the quantity of seeds in each bag varied; larger seeds came in smaller quantities, while smaller seeds were packed in larger amounts.

To conduct an experiment, he needed to buy several types of seeds. Chen Mo bought common vegetable seeds, including tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, bitter gourds, lettuce, greens, and cabbage.

While he was buying the seeds, he didn't notice that a young man not far behind him had spotted his back and walked to his side to observe him. The youth was at least ten meters away, or else Chen Mo would have sensed he was being watched.

After confirming his identity, the youth turned around, took out his phone, and began to dial carefully.

"Hello? Brother Hai, it's Xiao Si."

"Xiao Si, don't you know I'm sleeping before nine? If you don't give me a damn good reason, be careful or I'll squeeze your yolks out!" Brother Hai growled from the other end.

"Brother Hai, I saw that brat who threw the first punch at the restaurant the other day at the vegetable market!" Xiao Si touched the lump on his head that hadn't faded yet, filled with resentment. They were always the ones bullying others; he never expected to be bullied himself that day, and beaten so severely at that. And the bastard students had gotten off scot-free! If he didn't settle this score, he wouldn't have the face to call himself a gangster anymore.

"Damn! Is it really that little prick?" Brother Hai's resentment was even stronger than Xiao Si's. If he hadn't been careless and taken a wine bottle to the head, how could those students have knocked his group down? This was something he hadn't encountered in over a decade of running the streets; it was a black mark on his record. If he didn't want to be a laughingstock, he had to let that student feel the wrath of a real gangster.

He touched the unhealed scar on his head and other bruised areas, grinding his teeth. It had been nearly half a month; to avoid being mocked, he had been hiding at home. Today was the day for revenge.

"Xiao Si, keep your eyes on that brat and don't you dare lose him. I'm bringing people over now!" Brother Hai shouted so loudly that Xiao Si had to pull the phone away from his ear, feeling the explosive intensity of Brother Hai's rage.

"Don't worry, Brother Hai, I'll keep a death grip on him. Come quickly, the address is..." Xiao Si reported the location of the vegetable market to Brother Hai. After hanging up, he glared viciously at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo finished buying the seeds and paid the few hundred yuan. He felt it was worth it; the variety of seeds was plentiful, and they would be perfect for his experiments. However, he felt a strange itch on his back and a tightening of his scalp. It was as if someone was watching him.

Since Xiao Si had spotted him, he had been tailing Chen Mo after making the call, and had unconsciously closed the distance to just a few meters.

A cultivator's Spiritual Sense was incredibly powerful, especially their intuition; the strength of his consciousness made his instincts sharp. It was like how primitive humans were far more alert than modern ones, so Chen Mo sensed that something dangerous was about to happen. Carrying his bag of seeds, he turned a few corners in the market and spotted Xiao Si not far behind him. From the man's presence, Chen Mo felt deep malice.

Recalling the gathering the other day, he realized this man was among those brought by the gangster he had beaten. So that was it. What a coincidence to run into an old acquaintance today; he must have been recognized and followed. He could deduce that the man was tailing him alone and had likely notified others who were on their way. This was getting interesting; it seemed he would need to find a place to stretch his limbs today.