Offering tribute

Wang Ba crouched before the flock, carefully feeling the four Precious Chickens before him.

No, strictly speaking, they could no longer be considered Precious Chickens.

They were Spirit Chickens.

Their formerly gray-black feathers now bore a few streaks of iridescent light.

They looked full of spirit.

They were half again as large as ordinary Precious Chickens.

Hefting them, Wang Ba was even more surprised to discover that one Spirit Chicken weighed as much as two or even three ordinary Precious Chickens.

Their lifespans were indeed roughly three times those of ordinary Precious Chickens as well.

The four Spirit Chickens' lifespans were [56.1], [55.7], [58.2], and [59.3], respectively.

The first two were roosters, while the latter two were hens.

Among them, the hen Jia Four left the others in the dust, with a lifespan approaching sixty years.

Since yesterday, however, these figures had stopped changing.

Their appetites had also plummeted, leaving them eating only about twice as much as the other ordinary Precious Chickens.

That matched their size.

The increase in lifespan seems to have reached its limit.

Or rather, this was the lifespan a Spirit Chicken was supposed to have all along. It kept increasing before because the Precious Chickens were gradually transforming into Spirit Chickens, and their lifespans changed along with them.

Holding a charcoal pencil made from carbon, Wang Ba wrote and sketched on an open patch of ground at the manor.

Based on the information he already had, he came up with more conjectures.

First, he had confirmed that as long as he deposited lifespan into a Precious Chicken, it would transform into a Spirit Chicken.

Moreover, once the transformation was complete, it would not revert even if he extracted its lifespan.

A Spirit Chicken's maximum lifespan was probably between fifty-eight and sixty years.

If he drained a Spirit Chicken completely, he could gain five to six years of lifespan at a ratio of one to ten.

The cost was 0.1 years of lifespan.

A killing!

If he used other Precious Chickens' lifespans to pay the cost, it would essentially be a business requiring no capital.

Of course, the biggest problem at present was that there were simply too few Precious Chickens in the manor.

Limited by their numbers, he had no way of depositing lifespan into Precious Chickens on a large scale and then extracting lifespan from them.

He also had to consider the Sect's attitude.

If the Sect learned that he, a mere mortal, could turn a Precious Chicken into a Spirit Chicken at will, how would it react?

Would it be delighted, then promote him and value him?

Or would it use immortal methods to dig out every last one of his secrets?

The human heart was hard to fathom!

Wang Ba's gaze filled with worry as he looked at the four Spirit Chickens.

For now, I absolutely cannot let Steward Li find out about these four Spirit Chickens!

At least, not within the next year!

Otherwise, if he offered one up right on the heels of Old Sun having bred one, anyone would know something was wrong with him.

But he could not give up this special advantage entirely, either.

Otherwise, he would never have any hope of mastering the Body-Strengthening Scripture in his lifetime.

Since depositing lifespan allowed these Spirit Chickens to break through once, could they break through again?

Wang Ba stroked his chin, pondering silently.

Putting thought into action, he immediately reached out to feel the hen Jia Four.

To his surprise, however, a slight change had appeared in the panel.

[Target lifespan: 59.3 years]

[Current remaining lifespan of self: 60.3 years]

[Available expenditure: Body-Strengthening Scripture, level 2; accounting for overall aptitude and Root Bone, the converted cost is 18 years]

[Extract/deposit (depositing lifespan can only accelerate growth)]

This path is a dead end.

Wang Ba shook his head helplessly.

Still, the news was not all bad.

While collecting eggs, he unexpectedly discovered a hen huddled motionless in a corner.

His heart gave a sudden leap!

Lifting the hen, he saw an egg with a dull-colored shell beneath her, just as he had expected.

Not daring to move it carelessly, he spread some straw beside it for warmth, then put the hen back.

Two more days passed.

Steward Li arrived late, his belly thrust out.

With a stern expression, he surveyed the chicken coop, fanning his hand in front of his nose. He made a circuit, skirting the chicken droppings, and bluntly pointed out several problems, looking brisk and decisive.

Then he took stock of the two roosters, two hens, and two hundred and ten eggs Wang Ba presented, and immediately asked in puzzlement:

"Hm? Wasn't the tribute supposed to be two hundred eggs...?"

"They laid ten extra eggs this month. I thought I'd borrow these flowers to offer to the Buddha and present them to you, as thanks for your support."

Wang Ba smiled ingratiatingly.

"Well... that wouldn't be quite proper, would it...?"

Despite his words, Steward Li accepted the ten Precious Chicken eggs without the slightest hesitation.

The sternness on his face melted like ice and snow, replaced by a warm, kindly expression.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Ba inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

He had already had an inkling when Steward Li told Old Sun to change the reward previously.

If those below him did not offer tribute, where would Steward Li get the chance to skim off benefits?

Wang Ba could well imagine that if he failed to present this extra gift, there would probably be plenty of hardship waiting for him.

With the atmosphere turning cordial, conversation naturally became easier.

"Work hard. When a vacancy opens up at one of the higher-ranked manors in Dingzi Manor, you'll have a chance to compete for it if you perform well."

"Those manors produce seven or eight hundred eggs a month alone."

Steward Li smiled, stroking his large belly.

"I'll still have to rely on your guidance, Steward!"

"Oh, you mustn't put it that way. We're all working for the Sect."

"By the way, why are these few so large?"

Looking at the ten separately packed Precious Chicken eggs, Steward Li seemed somewhat surprised.

"Steward, these were laid by the Spirit Chicken Old Sun bred earlier. They weren't taken away with the last tribute, so I thought I'd hand them over to you today as well."

Wang Ba answered with a smile.

"Good! Good!"

Steward Li was even more delighted to hear this and carefully put away those few Spirit Chicken eggs.

These were treasures!

Those few Spirit Chicken eggs alone were worth more than dozens of Precious Chicken eggs!

Even among the outer sect's Qi Refining disciples, not everyone could eat them every day.

Chicken keepers like Wang Ba did not know these things, but as a steward, he knew them perfectly well.

"If anything comes up in the future, just ask, as long as it's something I can handle!"

While Steward Li was in high spirits, Wang Ba seized the opportunity and immediately cupped his hands.

"Steward, there really is something I'd like to trouble you with."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Steward Li's smile immediately vanished, and his tone turned unfriendly.

"Brother Wang, I'm only a mortal steward. I don't have much authority, so don't ask me for anything beyond my abilities."

He was laying out the unpleasant terms in advance.

Wang Ba could not help gaining a higher opinion of Steward Li.

As expected of someone who could serve as a steward despite being a mortal: one moment, he was beside himself with delight; the next, he could immediately scent danger and leave himself room to maneuver in advance.

That alertness, decisiveness, and readiness to turn his back on someone were truly worth learning from.

Wang Ba hurriedly said with a smile:

"I wouldn't put you in a difficult position, Steward. I only want to learn more about raising chickens. Does the Sect have any books on the subject that I could look through?"

"Books on raising chickens?"

Steward Li's brow relaxed, and a smile returned to his face.

"That won't be difficult. There are quite a few miscellaneous books like that in the outer sect's Classics Repository."

"Hmm, how about this? I'll bring them for you the next time I come."

"However, borrowing books costs a little something, even for me..."

"I understand!"

Wang Ba cursed inwardly, but kept smiling as he painfully took out the money he had painstakingly earned selling chicken manure and offered it to Steward Li with both hands.

It was everything he had.

But this was money he had to spend.

He had to establish an image of himself as an expert chicken keeper, so he could later give a legitimate explanation for large numbers of Spirit Chickens appearing in the coop.

And establishing that image had to begin with borrowing books.

The price was... he had no money left to buy grain this month!