Cleaning Up

"In this world, safety is the most valuable thing!"

After walking out of the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall on Fragrant Spring Road, Wu Tao couldn't help exclaiming in his heart.

Once the war broke out, he shouldn't bother thinking about earning spirit stones. First he had to stay hidden to keep his life, and if Five Spring Mountain wanted to exploit him, then so be it.

After signing the contract with the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall, the steward over there told him to come over here to gather tomorrow afternoon, and then they would lead them to settle in the inner city.

After that, he would probably stay in the inner city.

Only when the war ended would he regain his freedom.

Furthermore, Wu Tao had to pray that Five Spring Mountain would not be destroyed in this battle. Otherwise, how could any unbroken eggs remain under a shattered nest? He was now a grasshopper tied to the same rope as Five Spring Mountain.

With only half a day left, Wu Tao had to rush to handle his affairs.

He needed to check out of the brokerage agency.

He also needed to notify Zhang Li so she could move to the inner city as soon as possible.

Right, there was also Uncle Han, Han Tiezhu. Uncle Han was a spirit planter cultivating the spirit fields of Five Spring Mountain, and there were protective measures over there too; he just needed to tell him not to come out to set up a stall.

Thinking of this, Wu Tao headed toward the Ding District Market.

After taking a turn around the Ding District Market, he didn't see Han Tiezhu at all. Wu Tao knew in his heart that Han Tiezhu hadn't set up a stall today, and he didn't know where his home was located. Such was fate, so he simply gave up and changed his route toward Packhorse Street.

What was rather curious was that after over a month of war brewing, Packhorse Street was still bustling.

Wu Tao walked along Packhorse Street, thinking he had come to the wrong place, and arrived at The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Beauties. This was already his second time coming to The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Beauties.

He had been very busy lately and hadn't had time to patronize Zhang Li's business.

The madam of The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Beauties had a very good memory, recognizing Wu Tao at a single glance. She hurriedly stepped forward, hooked her arm around Wu Tao's, and a pair of drooping mounds brushed against Wu Tao's arm somewhat indistinctly as she cackled, "Fellow Daoist Li, you've come to find Fellow Daoist Zhang again. You say you haven't come for so long, and Fellow Daoist Zhang misses you terribly."

"She's been missing you so much she's getting wet."

Today, Wu Tao had no heart to dally with the madam. He simply fished out three low-grade spirit stones and tossed them to her, then went straight to Zhang Li's room to knock on the door.

Soon, Zhang Li opened the door. Seeing it was Wu Tao, a flash of joy immediately crossed Zhang Li's pretty face, but very quickly, it turned from joy to anger. Her brows and eyes were filled with vexation and resentment as she pulled Wu Tao into the room and said, "Fellow Daoist Li, you really are calculating, saving up for months before coming once."

Such was Zhang Li's personality, or perhaps shaped by her environment, that her speech was so crude. Wu Tao speechless said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, I've come here today because I have an urgent matter to discuss with you."

Zhang Li smiled gracefully, but her jade hand was restless, grabbing a firm hold as she said, "It's been several months, so it must be very urgent. Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li, I understand."

Scaring Wu Tao into stepping back, he suppressed the monkeyish agitation and galloping horse of desire in his heart and said with a serious expression, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, don't mess around. I am talking to you about serious business."

Seeing this, Zhang Li knew that Wu Tao's visit to seek her out truly involved important matters, so she stopped messing around and said, "Speak then, what on earth is the matter?"

Wu Tao said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, at the latest within a few days, Five Spring Mountain will go to war with the Ghost Dao Sect. As you know, this west outer city was expanded by the disciples of Five Spring Mountain. Once it involves a sect war, how could the Five Spring Mountain disciples still have the spare capacity to protect the safety of the rogue cultivators in the west outer city? If Fellow Daoist Zhang trusts me, move to the inner city tomorrow. The inner city is guarded by Foundation Establishment Cultivators of Five Spring Mountain, making it relatively safer."

Hearing this, all playful expression vanished from Zhang Li's face. Her pretty face turned somewhat pale with fright. She opened her mouth and finally spoke of her own difficulties: "Fellow Daoist Li, naturally I trust you, but the rent in the inner city is just so expensive. Last time the evil spirits struck, it hollowed out all my savings."

"Moreover, after those evil spirits, I was terrified and lived in constant fear of encountering evil spirits again every day. The spirit stones I earned during this period went toward buying three more Evil-Breaking Talismans."

"I currently only have fifty low-grade spirit stones saved up on my body, and I heard that houses in the outermost tier of the inner city start at eighty or ninety low-grade spirit stones. How could I possibly afford to rent them?"

"If I sleep on the streets, as you've heard, in this west outer city, if you don't have a lease agreement, you aren't even allowed to sleep on the streets. Five Spring Mountain certainly won't protect you for free."

"Not to mention the inner city."

Hearing this, Wu Tao actually knew before coming that Zhang Li didn't have that many spirit stones at all. Doing her line of work, although her income was greater than ordinary bottom-tier rogue cultivators, her expenses were also large.

Seeing Zhang Li lower her brows and cast her eyes downward, he took out the spirit stones he had prepared, pulled Zhang Li's hand, and placed them in her palm. When Zhang Li stared with wide, incredulous eyes at him, he said, "Take these five mid-grade spirit stones. They should be enough for renting a house in the inner city."

Zhang Li looked at the five mid-grade spirit stones, refusing to accept them: "Fellow Daoist Li, this is too much, I can't take this..."

Wu Tao smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, what are you thinking? This is lent to you, and it has to be paid back. Do you remember what I told you twice before? That time we weren't well acquainted yet you were still willing to lend spirit stones to me—those one hundred fragmented spirit stones were a life-saving grace to me."

"Today, I am lending you spirit stones to repay the kindness you showed me back then."

Seeing his deep affection and sincerity, Zhang Li felt her nose sting. She put away the spirit stones and said, "Then this way the two of us are even. Fellow Daoist Li, rest assured, I will pay you back."

She figured it would take her a very, very long time to earn five mid-grade spirit stones.

When she first met Fellow Daoist Li, he had been afflicted by an evil spirit and was dirt poor. Never had she imagined that he would now strike it rich and casually pull out five mid-grade spirit stones.

Everyone had their own immortal destiny, and it wasn't fitting for Zhang Li to inquire further.

"Alright, we're even. I'll be moving to the inner city too. If there's a chance, I think we'll meet again." Wu Tao smiled and prepared to take his leave.

Zhang Li instead grabbed him and said, "Since you've already come, let me fulfill the duties of a host."

Wu Tao turned to look at her captivating, silk-like alluring eyes, and involuntarily swelled up. Yet he still shook his head and said, "It's too much of a waste of time. While this delays an hour, I still have matters to handle."

Zhang Li snorted coldly and said, "An hour? Fellow Daoist Li is really talking nonsense with his eyes open. I already know you. Besides, trust my technique—I'll make you fast when you want to be fast, and slow when you want to be slow."

Three minutes later.

Wu Tao walked out of The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Beauties feeling defeated in his heart, deeply disappointed and full of bitter regret: I fell for it, sigh...

Zhang Li was tighter than ever before, and her contraction frequency was extremely fast, which was also the reason he had suffered a swift and crushing defeat.

Sighing, he went to the brokerage agency to handle the lease cancellation.

Manager Zhou was not in the brokerage agency; another brokerage steward was there.

Wu Tao took the lease agreement and said courteously, "Hello, steward. I'm here to check out. This is my lease agreement..."

That steward took it, looked it over, and said displeasedly, "You signed a two-year contract for this agreement, and you haven't even lived here a full year. Let me tell you, for someone like you, the deposit cannot be refunded."

Wu Tao had no choice but to plead: "Hello, I truly do have urgent matters. The contract also states that if you encounter force majeure, you can cancel the lease, and the deposit can be fully refunded as well. Is Manager Zhou in? I am acquainted with Manager Zhou."

Upon hearing this, that person immediately flared up: "What? Manager Zhou is a steward, am I not a steward? I said the deposit cannot be refunded, so it cannot be refunded."

Wu Tao felt helpless, thinking: The Artifact Refining Hall still thinks things through more thoroughly.

The Artifact Refining Hall had long anticipated that these rogue cultivator artifact refiners would need to cancel their leases, and had issued a credential to them, stating that if they encountered harassment, they could present the credential.

Wu Tao had no choice but to take it out and show it to that steward. The moment that steward saw the spell seal of the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall, he was instantly cowed, and respectfully refunded the three-month deposit back to Wu Tao.