Clean Broke

"Uncle Han, farewell!"

"Hey, Young Friend Li, are you really not buying any Spirit Rice?" Han Tiezhu refused to give up. "Man is iron, food is steel, Young Friend Li..."

"Next time for sure, next time for sure!"

Wu Tao cupped his hands and left Ding District with his bundle on his back. After doing the math, he realized he had sold far too few Spirit Stones to indulge in Spirit Rice.

Common rice would do. At most, he would have to dump a little more night soil.

Now, he needed to go to the Market Rental Office to pay his taxes.

Any transaction completed in the Marketplace required a Transaction Voucher before taxes could be paid. Tax evasion or underpayment, once discovered by the Marketplace, would bring consequences too dreadful to contemplate.

In both his past and present lives, Wu Tao had been a law-abiding taxpayer.

Besides, risking an investigation by the Marketplace over a ten-percent tax was not worth it.

The transaction amounted to fourteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Ten percent came to one Low-Grade Spirit Stone and forty Fragmented Spirit Stones. He carefully took out one Low-Grade Spirit Stone, then added the remaining Fragmented Spirit Stones Zhang Li had lent him. It came out exactly right.

"Here is your Tax Payment Receipt. Keep it safe. Bring it over at the end of the year for tallying. If you reach a certain amount, there will be other benefits as well." The clerk collecting transaction taxes gave Wu Tao a helpful reminder.

Wu Tao accepted it and quickly thanked him. "Thank you for the advice."

After leaving, he carefully tucked the Tax Payment Receipt close to his body and began calculating again in his heart:

Thirteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones and six Fragmented Spirit Stones left. Six Low-Grade Spirit Stones and fifteen Fragmented Spirit Stones for rent, leaving six Low-Grade Spirit Stones and ninety-one Fragmented Spirit Stones. One Low-Grade Spirit Stone to repay Zhang Li, and I still need to buy Demon Silkworm Silk and Starfire Stone...

Wouldn't that mean...

The joy of having just sold his Magic Robe vanished without a trace. His face immediately turned as bitter as a melon.

"Ah!"

With a long sigh, he came to a shop selling artifact-refining materials and asked, "Fellow Daoist, how much are Starfire Stones and Demon Silkworm Silk?"

The shop assistant answered, "Two Starfire Stones for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone. One pound of Demon Silkworm Silk for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone. How much would you like, Fellow Daoist?"

"Give me six Starfire Stones and two pounds of Demon Silkworm Silk."

It was as though he could see the words Spirit Stones -5 floating over his head. Wu Tao felt as if his heart were being carved with a knife. It hurt like hell.

With the bundle containing the Starfire Stones and Demon Silkworm Silk on his back, Wu Tao did not dare linger in the Marketplace. He twisted and turned through several more alleys, making certain no one was following him before entering New Virtue Alley.

He was carrying a "vast fortune" now. There was no harm in being cautious.

Though West Outer City was nominally governed by Wuquan Mountain Disciples, who were responsible for protecting the Rogue Cultivators living there, there were always desperadoes lurking about.

The moment he returned to his residence, he saw a plump figure standing outside his door, looking like a wealthy old gentleman. Upon seeing Wu Tao, the man immediately snorted coldly. "I thought you, kid, were going to skip out on the rent..."

Wu Tao hurried forward with a fawning smile, unconsciously bending a little at the waist as he spoke. "Manager Zhou, what are you saying? How would I dare..."

Manager Zhou from the Brokerage Agency's expression softened somewhat. "I figured you would not dare. Enough nonsense. Pay this month's rent. Two Low-Grade Spirit Stones for rent, plus the four Low-Grade Spirit Stones in deposit you owed before, along with other fees. Six Low-Grade Spirit Stones and fifteen Fragmented Spirit Stones in total."

Wu Tao immediately pulled out his Spirit Stone Bag, poured all six Low-Grade Spirit Stones into his palm, counted out another fifteen Fragmented Spirit Stones, and handed them over. "Manager Zhou, I had them ready long ago. Please count them."

After Manager Zhou finished counting, he took out a Storage Bag with his left hand. With a movement of his right hand, the Spirit Stones vanished one by one into thin air, evidently entering the Storage Bag.

Wu Tao watched enviously. This was a Storage Bag. When would he be able to own one too? Could he ask Manager Zhou to let him touch it?

Seeing the envy in his eyes, Manager Zhou did not mind it and said, "All right, I still need to collect rent from the next household."

"Manager Zhou, please wait..." Wu Tao called after him, then counted out ten Fragmented Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and presented them with both hands. "I had only just arrived in West Outer City and was short on funds. I am deeply grateful that Manager Zhou was willing to let me owe the deposit. This small token is for you to have a cup of tea."

Manager Zhou looked at Wu Tao. Only after a moment did he give a chuckle and accept the Fragmented Spirit Stones. "You, kid, are quite sensible. I did not take such a big risk letting you owe the deposit for nothing."

Seeing that he had accepted them, Wu Tao was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes. Manager Zhou is a truly good man."

After putting away the Fragmented Spirit Stones, Manager Zhou waved his hand. "All right. I know full well how hard life is for you Rogue Cultivators. First, get rid of the Evil Aura on you. Only if you stay for a long, long time can I collect rent for a long, long time."

"Ah..." Wu Tao's expression froze. "Manager Zhou, you... you knew I had Evil Possession? Then why were you still willing to rent me the house? Aren't you afraid..."

Manager Zhou gave a sly grin. "Afraid it will become a Haunted House? What is there to fear? If you die, everything on you becomes mine. Besides, the previous guest in the room you are renting died inside it."

Seeing the terror on Wu Tao's face, he laughed. "On the road of immortality, isn't it normal to encounter tribulations? Haunted House or not, there is no need to care. In West Outer City, plenty of Rogue Cultivators enter seclusion to break through a realm, only to exhaust their lifespans and die in their rooms..."

"All right, I still have rent to collect from several streets. I will not chat with you any longer."

Watching Manager Zhou's plump back recede into the distance, Wu Tao stood there in a daze for a long while before coming back to himself. He patted his numb cheeks and muttered, "Manager Zhou is right. Why should an immortal cultivator care about such things? Besides, Manager Zhou saw that I had Evil Possession and was still willing to rent me a room, even letting me owe the deposit. He has already shown me great kindness."

"Even if I die and Manager Zhou takes my possessions, then that can... count as burial expenses..."

Muttering to himself, Wu Tao came to Zhang Li's door and knocked. Knock, knock, knock.

Clang!

The door opened, revealing Zhang Li's charming, mature face. Wu Tao took a Low-Grade Spirit Stone from his robes, handed it over, and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Zhang, here is the Spirit Stone I owed you."

Zhang Li glanced at it, accepted the Spirit Stone, and said, "You are a trustworthy person, all right. You said you would repay it in two days, and you did."

"Of course. Fellow Daoist Zhang trusted me, so naturally I would not betray your trust. But all in all, I still have to thank Fellow Daoist Zhang for being willing to lend me Spirit Stones. Lending me that Spirit Stone was the same as saving my life..."

At that, Zhang Li said, "It was only one Spirit Stone. It is not as serious as you make it sound. All right, enough talking. I need to cultivate."

"Then... Fellow Daoist Zhang, farewell!" Wu Tao cupped his hands and watched Zhang Li close the door.

Wu Tao returned to his own room, took out his Spirit Stone Bag, and counted its contents. Eighty-one Fragmented Spirit Stones. He could not help sighing again. Why were Spirit Stones so hard to hold on to? In just one day, he was clean broke again.

"Life is too hard!"

After lamenting, he remembered that he had become a First-Rank Junior Artifact Refiner and could not help growing happy again. He took out the Starfire Stones and Demon Silkworm Silk and began working the abacus in his heart.

There are enough materials here for two attempts. As long as I refine one Magic Robe, I will earn fourteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones. If I use it all to buy refining materials, then refine two more Magic Robes, that will bring in twenty-eight Low-Grade Spirit Stones...

"Ha ha ha! Spirit Stones will only pile up higher and higher, and life will have more and more hope..."

"I will soon be able to buy an Evil-Breaking Talisman..."

"Right, once I remove the Evil Aura from my body, I should go to the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall and take the test for an Artifact Refiner Certificate. With a certificate, those who want to haggle will have no excuse. And the stall fees and transaction taxes can be reduced too..."

"I just wonder whether the test is difficult..."

The more Wu Tao calculated, the more he felt that his future life would only get better and better. He was so excited that his grin nearly reached his ears.