Sewing Peak lay beside a water vein and was heavy with Yin Qi. Once winter came, the cold was brutal, worse than elsewhere.
Zhou Can wrapped himself tightly in the black duty officer's robe he had worn for years and sat upright in an armchair on the Laundry Room's second floor, his eyes roaming as he watched the Mortal Laborers work.
He had arrived before dawn had fully broken.
As usual, he was the first into the workshop.
Everyone on Sewing Peak knew Duty Officer Zhou of the Laundry Room was the most diligent of all. More punctual than the Mortal Laborers rushing to draw lots, he came personally to oversee the work every day, rain or shine.
In truth, the Inspection Officers beneath him handled all these tasks. Zhou Can had no need to trouble himself.
For the duty officers of the four outer peaks, showing up seven or eight times in an entire month already counted as frequent.
Yet Zhou Can preferred doing things himself. He had specifically ordered someone to carry an armchair up to the second floor.
Whenever he entered the workshop, he sat up high and simply watched how the Mortal Laborers worked.
From morning until night, he never seemed to grow bored.
"Back when my father was a tenant farmer, the clan masters were just like this. Hands behind their backs, they strolled along the field ridges, looking about and asking, 'How is this year's harvest...'"
Zhou Can's thoughts drifted.
"A few weightless words, no increase in rent, and people would be overwhelmed with gratitude, kneeling and kowtowing.
"My ancestors' graves must truly be sending up auspicious smoke, for me to enjoy days like these too."
The workshop bustled feverishly. He rose and went downstairs, prowling back and forth like an old crow foraging for food.
The Laundry Room's main tasks were washing and dyeing, using various methods to steep fabrics in brilliant colors, so most of its workers were women.
All had their sleeves rolled up. Some stirred large dye vats, some worked pestles, and others aired and dried bolts of cloth...
In such bitter cold, this work was suffering. Most had chilblains on their hands and shivered constantly, yet still had to work briskly.
The Qianji Sect's Hundred-Shadow Dharma Robes were much loved by the female cultivators of the Acacia Sect to the south, with numerous customers and a broad market.
Sewing Peak shared in that success, enjoying ample surpluses and bulging purses year after year. Life there was far more comfortable than on Crimson Flame Peak or Soul-Nourishing Peak.
Zhou Can paced slowly, his neck habitually jutting forward, taking tiny steps as he silently calculated.
"Shifting things from one hand to the other all these years, I've skimmed off plenty. Another ten years, and I should be able to leave the mountain and retire."
He was now in his early forties, in his prime. Even if he stayed until fifty, his body would remain sturdy, and his Qi and Blood would not have declined much.
Under the sect's rules, a workshop's duty officer could continue managing affairs on an outer peak until seventy.
Yang Xun of Crimson Flame Peak's Quenching Room, for instance, had very great seniority.
But Zhou Can had thought it through. He was not from a clan. However long an insignificant mortal worked, once he was buried in the yellow earth a hundred years later, nothing would remain for him.
Better to plan early, return home to buy property, spread his branches and leaves, and enjoy his old age.
With these thoughts, Zhou Can quietly appeared behind a somewhat pretty female worker.
Pretending to inspect her work, he sidled close, pressing against her backside. His rough hand casually settled on her shoulder or closed around her wrist.
"Duty Officer..."
The worker trembled in fright and hurriedly dodged away.
"What are you afraid of? I'm teaching you how to work."
Seeing her frightened expression, not daring to speak, Zhou Can felt a surge of satisfaction.
Without changing his expression, he thrust his hips a little, rubbing against her a few times, then turned to seek out the next worker.
This time, however, he encountered a wanton woman. The moment Zhou Can approached, she squeezed out a seductive smile and came forward to meet him.
"Lowly slut!"
He retreated half a step, brows tightly furrowed, as though confronted with a platter of greasy fat. Instantly losing his appetite, he walked away with a cold face.
"You think clinging to a high branch means you can stop being a beast of burden... Dream on! As the dignified duty officer of a workshop, why would I sample common painted trash like you!"
Zhou Can turned and returned upstairs, settling back into his armchair.
When the bell on Wavelooking Peak rang, it was time to finish work.
The Mortal Laborers filed out, and the Laundry Room instantly became empty and quiet.
A triangular-eyed man in a drab gray Daoist robe poked his head out, approached Zhou Can, and whispered:
"Reporting to you, Duty Officer, Luo Xiaoniangzi visited Crimson Flame Peak a few days ago."
This man was an "eye" Zhou Can had planted.
His purpose was to secretly watch Luo Qian'er.
"That toad?"
A faint smile rose at Zhou Can's lips as he dimly recalled the matter.
Luo Qian'er had told him several times that a Mortal Laborer on Crimson Flame Peak kept pestering her without cause, making himself unbearably annoying.
"That lad's fortunes have turned lately. I specifically asked around. Duty Officer Yang of the Quenching Room promoted him to Inspection Officer, and he often visits the Inner Peaks."
The triangular-eyed man spoke with his back bent.
"Yang Xun of the Quenching Room? The one whose son died? Lucky him!"
Zhou Can had deeply sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, giving his face a somewhat sinister look.
"What was that Mortal Laborer called again? I've forgotten."
Under Zhou Can's stare, the triangular-eyed man's confidence faltered. He answered shakily:
"Jiang Yi."
"Hmph!"
Zhou Can squeezed his knuckles, then asked:
"Have you seen him? What does he look like?"
The triangular-eyed man carefully recalled:
"When he was a Mortal Laborer, he came several times to pester Luo Xiaoniangzi. Dusty-faced and poverty-stricken, nothing special... Nowhere near as wise, mighty, and imposing as you, Duty Officer!"
Toward the end, he cleverly added some flattery.
"He's a pauper? Then why did Qian'er brave the wind and snow to go to him in the middle of the night? Are you saying I'm worse than a pauper?"
Zhou Can's gaze sharpened as he questioned him coldly.
His fondness for Luo Qian'er of the Laundry Room and his closeness to her were no secret.
Back then, transferring Luo Xiaoniangzi from Soul-Nourishing Peak to Sewing Peak had taken considerable effort.
"I spoke out of turn!"
The triangular-eyed man immediately began slapping his own face, alternating hands.
Each slap landed heavily, without mercy. After a dozen or so, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Seeing this, Zhou Can called a halt.
"Enough. Leave."
Then he stood, tossed down several bright red notes of Talisman Money, and left him with an order:
"Keep watching Qian'er. If that brat Jiang comes again, inform me immediately! Does he think having a duty officer behind him means he's risen in the world? If he dares set his sights on Qian'er again, I'll make him pay..."
Zhou Can strode out of the Laundry Room. Cold wind scraped his face, and the unspoken remainder of his words, suppressed deep inside, now rose with murderous intent-
It's not as though I can't afford an Inspection Officer's life!
His steps were quick and urgent, crunching through the thick snow.
Before long, he saw the detached courtyard at the summit.
"Qian'er is a daughter of the Lianxi Luo Clan's main line. She shouldn't fancy an insignificant Mortal Laborer.
"But I came from mortal stock too..."
Zhou Can's feelings were complicated. As a duty officer in charge of a workshop, when had he ever lacked women?
Yet he had chosen Luo Qian'er alone precisely because of her bearing as a main-line daughter of a Qi Refining Clan.
Expressionless, Zhou Can reached the courtyard gate and raised his hand to knock with the bronze ring in the beast's mouth.
Speaking of which, he was the one paying the rent for this detached courtyard.
Knock, knock, knock.
Hearing the sound, Luo Qian'er slid back the bolt and opened the gate a crack.
Seeing Zhou Can, she said softly:
"In weather this cold, with snow this heavy, what brought you here?"
Hearing this and thinking of her secret meeting with Jiang Yi was like pouring oil on the fire in Zhou Can's heart. A wicked flame suddenly leaped up.
Forcing down his anger, he said heavily:
"I told you long ago I'd arrange a female worker to sweep and look after your daily needs. It would be much more convenient, but you refused."
Before Zhou Can, Luo Qian'er always had a mild, soft, good-natured manner.
"I like peace and quiet. Besides, cultivating alone makes it easier to settle into meditation and breathing exercises."
This was exactly what Zhou Can liked. A main-line daughter of a Qi Refining Clan was different, after all, from those lowly sluts with several holes worn through their crotches.
After toying with the latter a few times, he grew bored and could never muster the slightest interest again.
Zhou Can stepped over the threshold, entered the main room, and leisurely sat down, sipping the fragrant tea Luo Qian'er brought him.
Rather than launch straight into an accusation, he casually chose a topic.
"I heard you've been going out often lately. Were you running around over your younger brother's admission to the Inner Peaks?"
Luo Qian'er gave a soft murmur of assent.
Zhou Can continued:
"Your younger brother has been in the sect for some days, but I haven't had time to entertain him. Let's find time to meet another day. I know a few elders in the Inner Peaks and can put in a word."
Luo Qian'er looked at Zhou Can and said:
"How could I have you spend favors for nothing on my younger brother's future?"
Yet inwardly, Junior Brother Jiang's face surfaced.
Compared with the vigorous, handsome Jiang Yi,
Zhou Can, in his forties, thin and somewhat gloomy, resembled a tree with withered bark, hardly a place for a phoenix to build its nest and roost.
"We'll all be family in the future. Why draw such clear distinctions?"
Zhou Can lowered his head, seemingly speaking offhandedly:
"Your younger brother is on Crimson Flame Peak, isn't he? You can visit him more often. Staying there alone, he's bound to get homesick."
Luo Qian'er's heart stirred slightly. Zhou Can had come in the middle of the night and suddenly mentioned her younger brother Luo Tong, with every few words circling back to Crimson Flame Peak.
It seems he caught wind of my secret meeting with Junior Brother Jiang.
Luo Qian'er reacted quickly but showed no panic. She was ordinary in other respects, but particularly skilled at handling men. Her bright eyes flickered a few times as she said:
"I won't be going to Crimson Flame Peak anymore. Zhou-lang, do you remember what I told you before, about a Mortal Laborer from the Quenching Room who often came to pester me?"
Surprise appeared in Zhou Can's eyes. He had not expected Luo Qian'er to bring it up herself.
"He used to keep offering me Talisman Money, hoping to win my favor."
Luo Qian'er put a touch of frailty into her expression.
"I refused again and again, but he kept clinging to me. A few days ago, my younger brother came to see me, hoping I could ask Junior Sister Li Ruohan from the Thread-Weaving Room to get him into that society that gathers in the Inner Peaks.
"I pleaded a great deal before Junior Sister Li relented. I meant to tell my brother the good news that very night, but never expected..."
The temper that had been scorching Zhou Can's insides like a raging fire was gradually soothed by these words.
"What gall that dog has! Qian'er, why didn't you tell me sooner? Had I known, I would have crippled him!"
Luo Qian'er shook her head, looking pitiful.
"He has a duty officer backing him too. Besides, his cultivation talent isn't poor. Sooner or later, he'll enter the Inner Peaks. Zhou-lang, if you made an enemy of him because of me, wouldn't I truly become a beauty who brings disaster?"
Doubts still lingered in Zhou Can's heart, but before he could speak, Luo Qian'er continued:
"I know how you see me. You think I'm vain, that I want your position as duty officer and this courtyard at the summit.
"But I, Luo Qian'er, am a proper main-line daughter of a clan. Back in Lianxi, quite a few young masters from great clans and promising cultivators from major sects came to propose.
"If I truly wanted to cling to a high branch, why would I leave home and travel hundreds of li? Why would I join the Qianji Sect?"
Zhou Can looked embarrassed and wanted to offer a few soothing words, but then he heard Luo Qian'er speak through tears, like pear blossoms drenched in rain:
"When I first entered the outer sect and was assigned to Soul-Nourishing Peak, no one cared for me.
"You were the one who lent me a hand, Zhou-lang. I used to think men only coveted beauty and had no true feelings.
"After these years together, I saw that Zhou-lang's feelings for me were sincere, and I was grateful.
"I knew you wanted to return home and establish a clan, so I specially wrote home and asked my parents to procure the ninth-grade spiritual item, Pure Flood Lotus Root.
"And I added two mu of Spirit Fields, to serve as the foundation where you could settle!"
Zhou Can's eyes widened, as though both surprised and delighted.
Luo Qian'er turned aside and tossed out a reply letter.
"Read it yourself! There's been so much criticism in the clan over this. Plenty of people called me a money-losing daughter who only knows how to throw herself and her money at men, emptying the family coffers!
"My younger brother has neither established a career nor married, yet his elder sister has squandered the savings!"
This torrent of words caught Zhou Can completely off guard. Thinking also of how he had groped the workers in the workshop that day, even his thick skin could not withstand it, and the thought I truly deserve to die abruptly arose.
Still, he first read the letter and confirmed that the ninth-grade spiritual item, Pure Flood Lotus Root, and two mu of water Spirit Fields were indeed there.
Only then did he soften his tone:
"Qian'er, every last fault is mine! I shouldn't have doubted you..."
If they were competing in cultivation,
Luo Qian'er's late Third Level of Qi Refining would not have amounted to anything before Zhou Can.
But in a contest of reading expressions and tugging at people's hearts, however shrewd Zhou Can was, he fell far short of Luo Qian'er.
"There's no point saying more. Let's just say we were fated to meet, Zhou-lang, but not to be together. Take back this courtyard, and give the Laundry Room's Inspection Officer post to someone else too.
"Once I've served the full twelve-year term, I'll return home and agree to whatever marriage I find!"
Luo Qian'er's delicate shoulders shook as she sobbed without cease, finally unleashing her killing blow:
"Let's just... just say I misjudged you! I thought Zhou-lang was worth entrusting my life to, a great man who could establish a clan and build a legacy!"
Zhou Can's face twitched. Every trace of suspicion vanished from his heart, and he could no longer concern himself with anything else.
"I failed to understand your feelings. With your parents being so generous, I won't be stingy either. How about this? Doesn't your younger brother want to buy Essence-Nourishing Pills? I'll pay!"
Luo Qian'er's eyelid twitched slightly. In the past, this would have been the point to stop.
But remembering Junior Brother Jiang's words, if her younger brother Luo Tong could enter the Inner Peaks, why couldn't she?
"No need. I don't want to owe you anything more! I'll find another way to get my younger brother into the Inner Peaks.
"Go back, Zhou-lang. I'm a little tired..."
Zhou Can lowered his eyelids over his eyes, his thoughts racing. He was still thinking of the Ninth Grade of Qi Refining spiritual treasure, the Pure Flood Lotus Root, and the two mu of water Spirit Fields.
Those were all fine things for spreading branches and leaves and establishing a local clan!
"Qian'er, please don't say that. I've met Elder Xu of the Inner Peaks a few times. I'll make proper arrangements for your younger brother and get him into the Inner Peaks.
"Besides, you mentioned earlier that the bride price for marrying a daughter in Lianxi runs into the hundreds of thousands. I'll bring you two hundred thousand in Talisman Money for you to keep. Consider it a betrothal gift, as a token of my sincerity."
Zhou Can weighed his words as he spoke.
"Don't give it to me. You'll only change your mind later and start fretting over your purse..."
Luo Qian'er knew the heat was about right, but chose to let it simmer a little longer, leaving a lingering savor.
"Absolutely not!"
Hearing Luo Qian'er begin to waver, Zhou Can hurriedly said:
"How about I write you a note and add the words 'given freely as a gift'?"
Luo Qian'er gave a coquettish huff.
"I haven't forced you. You agreed to all of this yourself."
Zhou Can laughed heartily, putting on a show of good cheer. After exchanging a few gentle words with Luo Qian'er, he went home to fetch the money so she could send it to Luo Tong.
Two hundred thousand in Talisman Money will be more than enough to buy Essence-Nourishing Pills...
As Luo Qian'er considered this, the image of Junior Brother Jiang, who had soared into the heavens in a single flight, surfaced in her mind again.
Jiang Yi returned to Crimson Flame Peak with a full fifty thousand more in Talisman Money. Carrying those thick bundles on his person filled him with reassurance.
One hundred and fifty thousand in Talisman Money. That's enough to prepare the ritual and use the Water Pool and Fire Marsh to refine my spirit and advance my cultivation.
Jiang Yi's heart burned with excitement, and golden light flashed in his eyes. With the deal with Heshui Cave settled, the karma from his gains in the Inner Peaks was canceled out.
Seeing that the Heavenly Book still had strength to spare, he had nothing else to do and asked another question.
[I humbly beseech the Heavenly Book: show me whether I can reap any further gains today!] [Additional condition: no specifics are needed. Only answer "yes" or "no."]
The result came quickly.
Within a few fleeting thoughts, the golden paper trembled.
[Yes.]
Jiang Yi froze briefly. He looked up at the dark, snow-laden sky. It was nearly midnight, and there were still gains to be had?
What, was money going to fall from the sky?
As these thoughts turned in his mind, Jiang Yi reached the entrance to the Large Compound.
Then he stopped short, his expression turning odd.
"Junior Brother Jiang..."
Luo Qian'er stood amid the wind and snow, her pretty face pale from the cold, yet she forced a faint, fragile smile.
"You mentioned last time that money was tight, so I brought some Talisman Money especially to tide you over."
Tide me over? This was called paying back a debt!
Jiang Yi had always kept such matters straight, and Luo Qian'er had not hoodwinked him.
He returned to his room. The hardwood plank bed in the cramped room was covered with bright red Talisman Money, a thoroughly pleasing sight.
Fifty thousand as Heshui Cave's deposit, and fifty thousand repaid by Luo Qian'er. That makes a hundred thousand.
Once the balance is settled tomorrow, I'll have two hundred thousand in Talisman Money in hand. I could be called fabulously rich!
Jiang Yi muttered inwardly. The body's original owner had given away only a little over thirty thousand, by his reckoning. He had never expected Luo Qian'er to bring fifty thousand.
It truly was an unexpected delight, a windfall dropping from the sky!
I even made twenty thousand on top. Consider it compensation for "my" lost working time.
Jiang Yi was a little reluctant to put the Talisman Money away. He wanted to lie on it and have a sleep.
In a few days, all of it would be spent.
While he was still wavering, his sharp ears picked up movement outside, as though someone were knocking and calling softly, "Senior Brother Jiang."
Who could it be?
Jiang Yi slipped on his cloth shoes, draped an outer robe over himself, and walked through the wind and snow to the entrance, where he slid the wooden bolt aside.
Someone on Crimson Flame Peak was looking for him this late?
"Senior Brother Jiang! It's me, Luo Tong! My elder sister is Luo Qian'er. Do you remember?"
"Oh... Junior Brother Luo."
Jiang Yi froze.
The Luo siblings were coming one after another. What were they up to?
"Senior Brother Jiang, when we met at Heshui Cave today, I didn't get a chance to greet you.
"I often hear your name from my elder sister, and I know you've helped her a great deal before.
"This is a small token of my regard. Please accept it, Senior Brother."
Luo Tong took a thick stack of Talisman Money from inside his robe.
"I understand that money is a vulgar thing, and using it to seek your acquaintance is far too low-class.
"In a few days, I'll bring Essence-Nourishing Pills as a gift and invite you out for drinks."
Once he finished speaking, Luo Tong did not linger. He pushed the Talisman Money into Jiang Yi's hands, cupped his hands in farewell, and vanished into the snowy night.
The sister and brother... had both changed their natures? They liked playing wealth-scattering boys now?
Holding the still-warm Talisman Money against his chest, Jiang Yi was utterly bewildered.
Before you continue