Night Rain, Sudden Change

Chen Xu believed that, in the short term, the Rat Demon in his home could serve as a steady source of daily likes.

But that was merely a safety net. He still needed to blaze new trails as soon as possible.

Just then, the fragrance of meat porridge rose steaming from the pot, and the child next door began shouting again.

"Granny, meat, it smells like meat! Meat! The scholar's house is eating meat! It smells so good, so good! Shi Tou wants some!"

The next moment, Old Madam Lai climbed up the wall and poked her head over, her familiar voice following close behind.

"Scholar, Scholar Chen, you're eating meat? Oh my, you're actually eating meat! Scholar Chen, did you strike it rich?"

Chen Xu remained seated beside the stove and did not go out. He merely raised his voice and replied leisurely, "Let Granny Lai know this: the way of a gentleman is to guard against greed and anger. I ask Granny Lai not to speak recklessly.

"Otherwise, I shall have to ask your Second Brother Lai whether the family of a potter may simply spout nonsense as they please."

Second Brother Lai was Old Madam Lai's only surviving son. The moment Chen Xu mentioned him, she immediately did not dare make a fuss.

She pulled her head back and no longer tried to beg for porridge.

Little Shi Tou continued crying on the other side of the wall, repeatedly saying that the meat smelled good and that he wanted some.

Chen Xu sat in the kitchen and secretly shook his head. What a pity. Ordinary mortals had a daily cap of only five likes. No matter how much little Shi Tou shouted, he could not give him another like.

Still, though little Shi Tou could not add likes, he might not be without other uses.

A thought crossed Chen Xu's mind. Once the crying beyond the wall had died down, he leaned on his cane and walked out of the kitchen.

He called aloud, "Granny Lai, I have a business deal for you. Would you like to hear it?"

"What?" Old Madam Lai immediately sprang back up onto the wall, sticking out her head as she said in surprise, "The scholar wants to make a deal with this old woman? What sort of deal? Will it make money?"

Chen Xu walked to the wall and had Old Madam Lai lean her head closer. Then he said in a low voice, "Take this meat-and-vegetable porridge of mine and sell it for me. One coin a bowl..."

Before he could finish, Old Madam Lai let out a shrill cry. "So cheap? Even plain porridge costs one coin a bowl!"

Chen Xu only said, "One coin a bowl. Can you sell it?"

"Of course I can sell it! At one coin a bowl, only a fool wouldn't buy it! This old woman wants to buy some herself."

"Then I have counted it already. That pot can fill thirty-five bowls of porridge. Granny Lai, help me sell it honestly. Afterwards, as long as you give me twenty-five coins, the rest will be your wages. How about it?"

"How about it? That's wonderful!" Granny Lai immediately shot upward, so excited that she was about to climb over the wall straight into Chen Xu's yard.

Chen Xu hurriedly stopped her and instructed, "When you sell the porridge, ask the diners whether it smells good. Sell only to those who say it does. If they do not say so, do not sell it."

Chen Xu made this demand because he wanted to test something. If diners praised the porridge somewhere he could not see, without him being present, would the Cauldron Scripture still respond?

If it could, then he would have vastly more room to maneuver.

Regarding Chen Xu's additional requirement, Granny Lai said, "Hah, scholars really are particular!"

Afterward, Granny Lai brought over a large wooden barrel from her own home and used it to carry away the pot of porridge. She then pushed over a one-wheeled cart, loaded it with the porridge barrel and several coarse porcelain bowls, took little Shi Tou with her, and bustled off in great haste.

During this, Chen Xu did not forget to leave a bowl of meat porridge for the Rat Demon, a bowl for himself, and another bowl for little Shi Tou.

All that remained was to wait for feedback from Old Madam Lai's side.

Of course, Chen Xu did not sit idle either. He went to South Market Street once more, this time deliberately spending eight hundred coins to buy a batch of fresh ingredients.

When he ran into a familiar vendor on the street and exchanged a few casual words, the man said, "Young Master Chen, that pancake you made this morning was truly excellent. Even now, thinking about it makes me feel like it was delicious. Will there be more tomorrow?"

[Like +1]

In such scattered bits and pieces, he gained another seven or eight likes.

[Free Attribute Point: 4]

[Accumulated Likes: 200]

[Firework Value: 20]

Chen Xu felt that he had discovered a new track. It turned out that as long as diners mentioned his food in later conversation and said it was delicious, he could receive likes as well.

And that was not all. While Chen Xu was buying rice and flour at a grain shop, a flood of like notifications suddenly emerged from the Cauldron Scripture.

[Like +1]

+1+1+1...

Checking the Scripture's records, it was clear that this batch of likes had come from Old Madam Lai's side.

Sure enough, Chen Xu's test had been correct. So long as food he had made was praised, the Cauldron Scripture would respond, even if it was not said to his face!

Chen Xu returned home laden once again.

By midafternoon, Granny Lai had yet to return, but the accumulated likes on Chen Xu's Scripture panel had already reached [312].

It was not until evening that Granny Lai happily returned home, pushing the one-wheeled cart with little Shi Tou in tow.

She handed Chen Xu twenty-five copper coins. As for her own wages, she had already deducted them herself.

Though this old woman was stingy and loved taking petty advantage, she truly abided by the rules once they had been agreed upon.

Afterward, she grinned, revealing a mouthful of missing teeth, and asked Chen Xu cheerfully, "Young Master Chen, will you sell porridge again tomorrow?"

Chen Xu said, "It may not necessarily be porridge, but if there is something to sell, I will certainly ask Granny Lai for help."

Old Madam Lai went home fully satisfied.

Chen Xu was fully satisfied as well.

At this moment, the figures on the Cauldron Scripture had once again reached new highs.

[Accumulated Likes: 379]

[Free Attribute Point: 21]

[Firework Value: 132]

If he accumulated a little more Firework Value, Chen Xu would be able to purchase the Fire Control skill!

Of course, he could also spend another hundred Firework Value now to enter Embers Kitchen once more and practice the Wood Chopping Saber Technique.

At the same time, he could use the convenience of Embers Kitchen to digest the newly acquired Free Attribute Points.

After all, one quarter-hour in reality amounted to twelve hours within Embers Kitchen.

Within that void world, one could grow tired, be injured, and feel pain, but one would not grow hungry.

Nor would he have to worry in that empty world that a sudden surge in attribute values would cause all sorts of inconvenience.

Chen Xu considered it only briefly before immediately deciding to enter Embers Kitchen once more.

Better one bird in the hand than ten in the forest. He could not wait for the Fire Control skill. He needed to exhaust every resource and improve himself rapidly without stopping!

Night fell, and the spring rain began to patter down again.

The bustle of South Market Street had long since sunk into the night along with the fine rain. In Ping'an Alley, the lamplight lay silent.

Now and then, snores and the grinding of teeth rippled through the rainy night.

At some point, a dark shadow like a writhing worm slid across the wet, muddy alleyway corner.

Inside the small house, Chen Xu lay on his bed, feigning sleep.

He had practiced his saber in Embers Kitchen for another twelve hours. Whenever he felt tired in the middle of it, he added attribute points to himself.

His current Threefold Attributes were as follows:

[Essence: 21+]

[Vital Blood: 21+]

[Divine Soul: 21+]

[Free Attribute Point: 4]

[Wood Chopping Level 1 (79/100)]

Once everything was over and he had returned to reality, Chen Xu spent quite some time adapting to the changes in his body.

The night deepened, and the whole world seemed to be falling asleep. Yet he lay in bed listening to the rain, while countless thoughts raced through his mind like streams of light.

There were too many questions worth pondering.

For example, since demons and evil things existed in this world, did gods and immortals exist as well?

If gods and immortals did exist, at what heights did they dwell?

They said that the lesser recluse hid in the marketplace, while the greater recluse hid at court. If he wanted to use official status as a cover while walking the path of cultivation, how should he walk that road?

He had once heard that in Jade Capital, a Great Confucian of the previous dynasty had subdued a dragon with one hand, and had taken it for an exaggerated legend.

But now that he thought about it, it was plainly because he had seen too little and never witnessed the true vastness of the world.

The world... just how vast was it?

Chen Xu's thoughts flew wildly. After thinking too much, his mind became hazy, and he began to drift toward sleep.

Suddenly, he sensed that something was wrong.

It was... the sound of rain!

The pattering rain had vanished at some unknown moment.

Between heaven and earth, all sounds fell silent.

For one instant, Chen Xu even felt as though he had entered a vacuum.

In the night as thick as ink, a ghastly white blade flashed up from an oblique angle and suddenly slashed toward Chen Xu's head!