A New Chapter

Li Tui squatted on a doorstep, clutching a blue-covered ledger in his hands.

The ledger's pages had yellowed, and their edges were still rough and curled. It had been written by Lin Shouyi, his father in this life. The ink had blurred a little, but the handwriting was neat.

The entries were unlike those in an ordinary household ledger. They weren't the usual firewood, rice, oil, and salt, but expenses related to cultivation, such as "three sheaves of talisman paper purchased, twenty taels of silver paid," "two low-grade spirit stones exchanged, price: two hundred taels of silver," and "rent collected from the Spirit Fields on the western slope, eight dou of Spirit Grain received."

Lin Shouyi, his father in this life, had broken through to Qi Refining more than ten years ago. He hadn't made another breakthrough since.

But Qi Refining was enough to get by in a place like this.

The county's Loose Cultivator Bureau had given him a post patrolling the streets, with five low-grade spirit stones a month, paid like clockwork. The family also had a hundred mu of paddy fields, which brought in a substantial rent. They owned a courtyard, and had even hired a tutor specifically to teach Li Tui. Their circumstances were immeasurably better than in his previous lives.

Li Tui turned a page, his fingertip pausing on the line, "One dan of spirit rice exchanged, one hundred and twenty taels of silver paid."

It was their largest fixed expense. Spirit rice cost nearly a hundred times as much as ordinary rice, but every month Lin Shouyi gritted his teeth and bought some, solely for Li Tui's cultivation.

The house was quiet.

The bubbling of rice porridge came from the kitchen, mingling with the crackle of firewood. His mother, Wang, was cooking porridge with spirit rice.

Li Tui closed the ledger and went to the camphorwood chest by the east wall. It wasn't locked. He lifted the lid and found a bundle wrapped in blue cloth beneath everything else.

When he untied it, he found three scrolls.

The words Azure Wood Art were written on the cover, the ink so faded they were almost illegible.

Li Tui sat cross-legged and spread the book across his knees. After Lin Shouyi realized he could cultivate, he had spent a fortune tracking down this cultivation method, which could take one to the third level of Qi Refining.

Li Tui had only been cultivating for half a year in this life, yet he had already opened many of the acupoints along the Tongmai meridians. His experience from previous lives had helped, but his exceptional constitution in this life had played an even greater part.

After realizing Li Tui's talent, Lin Shouyi had made him his sole hope.

That hope weighed on him like a mountain.

Lin Shouyi knew full well that, as a first-level Qi Refiner in this small place called Fengyang, he could only intimidate ordinary martial artists. Outside the county, he would amount to nothing. And the odds were that this was as far as he would get in his lifetime. But Li Tui was different. His son's natural gifts were beyond anything Lin Shouyi had ever heard of. Tongmai at ten years old—he doubted even the Zhou Family of Fengyang had anyone like that.

So even if he had to sell everything they owned, he would give his son a chance to rise.

But what comes after Tongmai? What comes after Qi Refining?

The Azure Wood Art only went up to the third level. After that, he would need to find another cultivation method. The two cultivation families in Fengyang County guarded their status fiercely; an outsider had no chance of getting a foot in the door.

His options were to register with the county's Loose Cultivator Bureau. That was a path he could see, narrow though it was; at least it led forward. Or he could attach himself to a family. But Lin Shouyi didn't want his son to lose his freedom at such a young age.

"Qingzi!"

Wang's voice came from the kitchen. Lin Qing was the name Li Tui had in this life.

Li Tui answered, carefully wrapped up the book, and tucked it back beneath everything in the chest.

"What are you spacing out for?" Wang came out carrying a bowl of porridge, thick and creamy with spirit rice. "Hurry and eat. Your father left before dawn. He said he was going to the Loose Cultivator Bureau to see Steward Liu."

Li Tui took the bowl. "So early? Is something going on at the bureau?"

Wang sat beside him, slowly breaking off pieces of a steamed bun. She lowered her voice. "It's for your sake, of course. Your father tossed and turned all night. In the middle of the night, he woke me up and said he'd made up his mind. He's going to have a proper talk with Steward Liu and see if he can pull some strings to get you registered with the Loose Cultivator Bureau early."

Li Tui's hand froze as he lifted the porridge to his mouth.

"He said that no matter how well you train at home, without an official status or anywhere to go, it can't last forever." Wang sighed. "The Loose Cultivator Bureau is at least an official institution. It has rules and a salary, and you can save up contributions to exchange for things. Your father said he doesn't care if he has to swallow his pride; he's going to beg for a chance for you... Even if you have to start out doing odd jobs and running errands, you'll be inside the door. You can figure out the rest later."

Li Tui lowered his head and slowly stirred the porridge in his bowl.

The Loose Cultivator Bureau...

In his previous life, he had seen plenty of government offices with the same sort of name.

That wasn't what he wanted.

"Mother, I understand." Li Tui looked up, his expression calm. "Father is thinking of what's best for me."

Wang looked at him, her lips parting slightly. In the end, she only nodded. "Good. Now hurry up and eat."

Li Tui finished the porridge in a few gulps, then stood and picked up his bowl. "I'm going out for a bit."

Wang watched him. "Don't go far. Remember to come back at noon."

"Mm."