Two days later, when the man saw Chen Mu wake up from his meditation, he quickly came over with gifts to express his gratitude.
"Thank you both for saving my daughter's life. I have no way to repay you, so please accept this small amount of wine I brought from home."
Jade-Gazing City has been under attack by ferocious beasts for more than ten days. Now all living supplies have become extremely precious. The man risked going home to get wine, which he now gave to Chen Mu.
Haha, you're too kind, brother!
We happened to have the right medication on us; it was just a small favor."
After thinking for a moment, Chen Mu accepted the wine from the man and invited him to drink with him.
"Since you have fine wine, I have also brought some dried meat."
"If you don't mind, brother, how about we drink together?"
The man readily agreed and exchanged names with Chen Mu. He Xu Shi, a blacksmith from Jade-Gazing City, while Chen Mu gave his alias, " Mu Chen."
"Brother Xu, what's the situation outside?"
"Why can't we go out even though the ferocious beasts have been raging for days?"
After a few rounds of drinks, the two became much more friendly, and Chen Mu took the opportunity to inquire about the situation outside.
Because the Heavenly King's divine sense frequently patrols the Central Province, Chen Mu usually doesn't release his divine sense just in case, and therefore knows nothing about the outside world.
"They'll be here soon! The officials say the Heavenly Court soldiers and generals are already on their way. As long as we are devout enough to the gods, they will arrive in Jade-Gazing City very soon."
As Xu Shi spoke, he clasped his hands together and bowed in the direction of the Heavenly Emperor City, his expression devout.
In Chen Mu's right eye, he could see a wisp of white mist flying out of Xu Shi's body and drifting into the sky.
"More Power of Faith. What is the Heavenly Court going to do with so much Power of Faith?"
The Power of Faith is a good thing; Chen Mu had collected quite a bit of it before, and even used it to create the Taichu.
In general, however, the Power of Faith is an external force and does not benefit the gods' own cultivation. Although the gods collect it, they do not demand too much from it.
But the Heavenly Court is strange. It has been collecting Power of Faith on a large scale. After the collapse of the Kunlun Heaven Realm, it has intensified its efforts. If a city does not feel enough faith, they will even let that city die on its own.
"The will of Heaven is the will of the people. Could the Power of Faith be related to the fragments of the Heavenly Dao?"
Chen Mu couldn't help but make this guess, but based on the data he had collected so far, there was no direct connection between the two, so he could only stop thinking about it.
"That's good. I really hope they can drive the beast away soon!"
Chen Mu echoed this and continued drinking with Xu Shi.
For the next few days, Chen Mu stayed in the underground shelter. Although supplies were scarce underground, with Xu Shi there, his wife and daughter would not face the same difficult situation as before.
Three days later, news came from the outside world that the ferocious beasts roaming around the city had been killed by the heavenly soldiers, Jade-Gazing City was finally safe.
"Great, Brother Mu, we can go home now."
Xu Shi was extremely excited and warmly invited Chen Mu to his home.
Chen Mu also wanted to integrate into the local people's lives, so he agreed and asked Xu Shi to help him find a job in Jade-Gazing City.
"I've been wandering for many years, and now that I've started a family, it's time for me to settle down."
Besides my martial prowess, I also have some knowledge of talisman-making techniques...
A week later, through Xu Shi's introduction, Chen Mu became a talisman maker at a nearby Daoist temple. He only needed to make a certain number of low-level talisman papers at the temple every day to receive a stable income.
Because Jade-Gazing City had just experienced the destruction of the city by ferocious beasts, the housing prices had plummeted. Taking advantage of this, Chen Mu bought a small courtyard near Xu Shi's house and became Xu Shi's neighbor.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Mu had Jade-Gazing City for half a year. During this time, Chen Mu lived like an ordinary city resident, taking care of daily necessities and living off the meager salary from the Daoist temple.
The taxes in the Haotian Empire are very heavy, and the people have little savings beyond what they need for daily life.
Even a low-level talisman master like Chen Mu was in the same boat. His monthly salary from the Daoist temple was deducted by the imperial court for various reasons, leaving Chen Mu with very little. Therefore, he sometimes had to haggle with people when he went out to buy things.
"Brother Mu, I'm so sorry!"
My daughter has reached the age where she should open her spiritual meridians, but I'm still lacking a few essential ingredients for the Foundation Establishment pills I need. Therefore, I'd like to borrow some Spirit Stone from you. I'll definitely repay you in a couple of months when I have more money..."
Over the past six months, Chen Mu and Xu Shi's relationship has grown better and better. Because Xu Shi has a family to support, he inevitably borrows money from Chen Mu, but he always repays on time. Chen Mu trusts his credit and lends him money without hesitation.
"No problem! Then congratulations in advance on the successful pulse opening of Nannan. This will make things easier for you in the future, haha..."
Opening the spiritual veins is one of the few beneficial policies of the Haotian Empire government. Children around six years old can have their veins opened for free at the spiritual opening hall set up by the government.
During the meridian opening process, a high-level cultivator will use a secret technique to activate the child's potential, which will be of great benefit to the child.
When a child's meridians are opened, some talented children who are chosen by high-level cultivators will be given special training. If they serve the imperial court in the future, their parents will naturally rise to prominence and live a wealthy life.
"Haha, then I'll accept your kind words, brother."
After borrowing the Spirit Stone, Xu Shi went home in high spirits.
Chen Mu watched Xu Shi's departing figure, but secretly shook his head in his heart, because he had already seen Nannan's aptitude. Among ordinary people, it was only average, and he estimated that it would be difficult for her to be valued by the officials of the Haotian Empire.
Chen Mu sighed deeply, stopped thinking about it, packed his things, and went to continue working at the Daoist temple.
Half a month later, when Chen Mu saw Xu Shi again, he found that Xu Shi had aged several years. His only daughter had no aptitude for cultivation, which was a greater blow to him than Chen Mu had expected.
"Brother, I feel like this is how my life is going to be!"
If there's a next life, I don't want to be a human again; let me be a pig!
After drinking, Xu Shi became melancholic and kept rambling to Chen Mu about his despair for the future.
"Old Xu, seeing you like this makes me feel really bad."
Chen Mu sighed and gritted his teeth.
"As far as I know, the Chen Kingdom is a prosperous commercial region with low taxes. With your weapon-forging skills, it would be much easier for you to live a wealthy life than in the Haotian Empire. Why don't we..."
Absolutely not!
When Xu Shi heard Chen Mu mention Chen Kingdom, his face turned pale. He looked around to make sure no one else had heard, and then earnestly advised Chen Mu.
"To defect to a foreign land is treason, a crime that can implicate nine generations of one's family. My brother, you must not consider such a plan."
"But we don't have a good future here anyway, so why be so stubborn, brother?"
Chen Mu continued to persuade him.