Cleaning Spell

The rent collection work in the Spirit Field District was actually quite cumbersome.

After finishing with Uncle Wang, Li Yuan visited more than a dozen other spirit farmers, going door to door to verify the quantity of Spirit Grain and inspect its quality.

After making the rounds, the Spirit Grain in his storage bag was piled to the brim, and Li Yuan had received quite a few benefits as well.

The benefits given by those spirit farmers came in all shapes and sizes: Spirit Stones, ores, grains—but for now, only one item could be equipped.

[Detected equippable item: Changqing Rice (requires one jin)]

[Affix preview: Grain Qi Focus (Gray)—Mental energy consumption during cultivation reduced by 10%]

[Condition for permanence: Consume 5 jin of the same type of Spirit Grain]

The Gray Trait's effect was ordinary, but something was better than nothing.

The other grains and ores probably could not be equipped because they had not met the required conditions.

By the time he finished collecting from the last household, the sun had already begun to sink westward.

Li Yuan counted the Spirit Grain in his bag. The total was more or less the same as last year's.

After putting away the storage bag, Li Yuan followed the field ridges toward the market.

About a li after leaving the Spirit Field District, two familiar figures appeared on the official road ahead.

Both wore the same gray cloth Patrol Uniform as Li Yuan, with the character Wang embroidered on their chests, and they were talking by the roadside.

Li Yuan recognized them.

The tall, honest-looking man walking in front was Zhou Dazhuang, at the Qi Refining Third Level. He usually guarded the market's South Gate. He was an honest man of few words.

The lanky man behind him was Sun Liang, also at the Qi Refining Third Level. He was responsible for patrols on West Street, and had a somewhat flighty temperament and a glib tongue.

There were quite a few Qi Refining Third Level cultivators among the patrols. Thanks to the Spirit Guiding Art, cultivation progressed relatively quickly in the early stages.

But Mid Qi Refinement was a hurdle. Very few cultivators could reach Qi Refining, Fourth Layer.

When the two saw Li Yuan approaching, they both stopped.

"Li Yuan, you went to collect rent too?"

Sun Liang spoke first, a faint smile on his face.

Li Yuan nodded. "Just finished. What about you two?"

"So did we," Zhou Dazhuang answered in a deep, muffled voice. "We just came back from the southern side."

The three headed toward the market together. Sun Liang walked at the front with long, quick strides, humming an unknown tune. He seemed to be in a good mood.

Zhou Dazhuang was the exact opposite. He kept his head lowered, saying nothing, his expression somewhat heavy.

Li Yuan noticed, but did not take the initiative to ask.

After walking for a while, Sun Liang suddenly turned around and said excitedly, "Li Yuan, did you see the notice? This month's Guard Squad rotation list."

"I saw it."

"I'm on the list too!"

Sun Liang grinned. "Ten Spirit Stones a month—more than triple what a Patrol Inspector earns. They even issue Medicinal Pills. This is a fine assignment."

Li Yuan glanced at him without speaking.

The Guard Squad's monthly pay was indeed much higher than a Patrol Inspector's, but the danger was also far greater. The original owner of this body had rotated through four times and had personally seen two guards die during patrols. One of them had not even had his corpse recovered.

Sun Liang clearly did not see it that way.

"Besides, the Guard Squad doesn't run into Demonic Beasts or Cultivator Bandits every day. Most of the time, we're just near the market. It's not really dangerous."

"And if you hunt Demonic Beasts or kill Heretical Cultivators, you can get plenty of spoils."

The more Sun Liang spoke, the more animated he became. "I heard that last month, one Guard Squad hunted a rare Demonic Beast, and every person got a full thirty Spirit Stones!"

"Some people die outside too," Zhou Dazhuang said in a muffled voice.

The smile on Sun Liang's face froze for a moment. Then he waved his hand. "That was just bad luck. We won't be that unlucky."

"You may want to go, but I don't." Zhou Dazhuang's voice was low. "My wife is newly pregnant. If something happened to me..."

He stopped halfway through the sentence and merely sighed.

Sun Liang scratched his head, unsure how to respond. Silence fell for a moment.

Li Yuan said, "How have things been around the Yuanheng Mountains lately?"

"Not peaceful." Zhou Dazhuang raised his head, his expression grave.

"There have been many more Demonic Beasts in the mountains recently. Several more Monster Hunting Squads have appeared nearby, and there are also several groups of Cultivator Bandits on the move. A few days ago, Rogue Cultivators already started disappearing."

"The Guard Squad has increased its patrols, but they're short on manpower. That's why they temporarily recruited people from our batch."

Sun Liang added, "But don't worry. Newcomers like us won't be sent to the most dangerous places. At most, we'll make rounds around the outskirts."

Li Yuan did not respond, but his thoughts were racing.

The Yuanheng Mountains were unsettled. The Guard Squad was more dangerous than usual.

Twelve days. He had to find a way to break through within twelve days, or find another solution.

The three chatted as they walked, and before long, they reached the market entrance.

After entering the market, they parted ways and went about their own business.

Li Yuan followed West Street inward and stopped before a secluded courtyard.

The courtyard was not large. A wooden plaque bearing the words Patrol Squad hung at the entrance. This was the Patrol Squad's base, where the captain usually worked.

Li Yuan pushed the door open. The courtyard was empty, and only the main room's door stood half-open. The sound of pages turning came from within.

Li Yuan walked to the doorway and knocked on the frame. "Captain."

"Come in."

A deep voice came from inside.

Li Yuan pushed the door open and entered. Behind the desk directly ahead sat a middle-aged man with a square face, short beard, and green robe. His aura was steady and restrained.

This was the captain of the Patrol Squad, Wang De. His cultivation was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, making him a considerable expert in Qinghe Market.

Wang De raised his head and glanced at Li Yuan. "Did you finish collecting the rent?"

"I did."

Li Yuan took out the benefits given by the spirit farmers from his storage bag.

This was an unspoken rule of the Patrol Squad.

Of the benefits received during rent collection, ninety percent had to be handed over to the captain. Only ten percent could be kept.

Wang De swept his gaze over them, collected everything, roughly calculated their value, and took out one Spirit Stone.

After Li Yuan accepted the Spirit Stone, Wang De waved a hand, signaling that he could leave.

Li Yuan turned and left the courtyard, heading straight for the Management Office. After returning the storage bag and the collected Spirit Grain, he went back to North Alley.

There were not many people in the market by evening. Most vendors had already packed up their stalls and gone home.

The crude cloth canopy at the end of North Alley was still there, but the Talismans on the stall had been put away. Only Old Zhang remained, sitting beneath the canopy and packing things into a cloth bag.

Li Yuan walked to the stall and stopped.

"Old Zhang."

Old Man Zhang looked up. Seeing Li Yuan, he was somewhat surprised. "Fellow Daoist Li, what brings you here at this hour?"

Li Yuan got straight to the point. "I want to learn the Cleaning Spell from you."

Old Man Zhang froze for a moment, set down the cloth bag in his hands, and looked Li Yuan up and down.

"The Cleaning Spell?"

"Yes."

Old Man Zhang did not answer immediately. He fell silent for a moment, as though considering something.

The Cleaning Spell was one of the most basic Entry Level spells. Nearly every cultivator who could draw Talismans knew it. There was nothing remarkable about it.

But precisely because of that, very few people were willing to spend Spirit Stones to learn the Cleaning Spell.

Most cultivators would rather spend their Spirit Stones on more useful spells. For trivial matters like cleaning, buying a few Talismans would solve the problem.

"Why do you suddenly want to learn this?" Old Man Zhang asked.

"It has its uses."

Li Yuan did not elaborate and continued.

"But I only have two Spirit Stones on me. I can only pay you after my monthly salary is issued."

Old Man Zhang nodded and did not press further.

"You can learn it. The Cleaning Spell isn't a difficult spell."

Old Man Zhang paused, took out a booklet, and continued.

"There are a few hidden pitfalls in this Cleaning Spell manual. If you're not careful, it's easy to take the crooked path."

Old Man Zhang pointed at himself. "Back then, I stepped into those pits one after another and wasted quite a bit of time for nothing."

"If you're willing to learn, I can tell you about all those pitfalls and save you from taking detours. I won't charge you any Spirit Stones either."

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Then what do you want?"

"Help me spread the word." Old Man Zhang smiled, revealing a mouthful of uneven teeth.

"You know my stall's business is only so-so. If Fellow Daoist Li can introduce a few more customers to me, my business will be easier to run."

Li Yuan looked at the weathered old man before him, feeling somewhat surprised.

No Spirit Stones, only help with publicity—those terms were far too generous.

"Deal." Li Yuan did not hesitate.

The smile on Old Man Zhang's face deepened. He took a thin booklet from his robes and handed it over.

"This is the Cleaning Spell incantation. The manual explains it in great detail, but there are several places where mistakes are easily made. Let me tell you about them..."

Li Yuan took the booklet, and the System Panel appeared once more.

[Detected equippable item]

[Item Affix grade: Gray]

[Note: Item does not belong to the user. Cannot equip. Unable to view detailed information]

Cultivation methods could be equipped too? Li Yuan was first surprised, then delighted.

He closed the System Panel and listened carefully to Old Man Zhang's explanation.

The principle of the Cleaning Spell was not complicated. Its core lay in guiding spiritual power to form a thin membrane over the body's surface, keeping dust and grime outside while releasing a special aura that drove away mosquitoes and insects.

The steps written in the booklet looked simple, but there were quite a few tricks to the actual execution.

Old Man Zhang pointed out every place where one could easily stumble. Li Yuan carefully committed them to memory, and his favorable impression of the old man grew by several degrees.

As he was leaving, Li Yuan's mind stirred, and a new line of text appeared before his eyes:

[Cleaning Spell: Not Yet Initiated (0/100)]