Chapter 9: Purple Lake Punishes the Child
Chapter 9: Purple Lake Punishes the Child
I was so tired.
Lu Hangzhi felt completely drained, both physically and mentally.
To keep the Spirit Fruit Tree in its best state, he had worked continuously from morning till night for over ten hours. Every time the Spiritual Energy Vortex disappeared, he immediately cast the spell again to form a new one, locking in the spiritual energy that was about to dissipate from the tree and continuing to nourish it.
When his magic power ran low, he drew spiritual energy from the Low-Grade Spirit Stones!
Like this, most of the day passed. The spiritual energy in two Low-Grade Spirit Stones was completely drained, turning them into dust. Lu Hangzhi had not eaten or drunk anything for two meals and had been in a state of high exhaustion continuously. He felt as if his body had been hollowed out—tired and hungry, his eyelids kept drooping heavily.
This time it wasn’t due to stubbornness; after practicing for most of the day, Lu Hangzhi discovered that whenever he exhausted his magic power, a warm current seemed to arise inside him, supporting him. The speed of spiritual energy recovery increased slightly, and after absorbing spiritual energy from the Spirit Stones, his magic power rose a little.
Although the increase was small, only about one or two percent, after trying several times, he found he could now cast seventeen or eighteen first-grade spells in a row, up from a maximum of fifteen or sixteen before.
With this exciting discovery, Lu Hangzhi couldn’t stop himself. He frantically pushed his limits until he completely drained the spiritual energy from the two Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Whew…
Finally, he could rest.
He didn’t know how long he had slept when he sensed someone opening the door and coming in. Lu Hangzhi felt his eyelids as heavy as lead weights; he couldn’t open them at all. Then he heard Lü’e’s anxious and worried call:
“Brother Hangzhi!”
“Oh no, this is exhaustion from depleted magic power… This is too much. Are you trying to kill yourself?”
While still dazed, he felt Lü’e rush out and then quickly return.
Then his mouth was opened, and a stream of sweet, delicious, cool fruit juice flowed in.
Mmm!
Tasty!
Lu Hangzhi swallowed instinctively, one mouthful after another. His body, like a deflated air sac, seemed to be filled with air again, regaining some vitality.
He scrambled up from the kang. The first person Lu Hangzhi saw was Lü’e, her face showing joy with tears like pear blossoms, and next to her was Cong Fang.
“Sister Lü’e.”
“Hmph, I told you cultivation is something to be done step by step, not recklessly. You wouldn’t listen, and now you’ve eaten all the Spirit Fruits that Lü’e saved for half a year in one go,” Cong Fang said, turning her face away with an indignant expression, complaining.
Lu Hangzhi wore a dazed expression, both touched and ashamed.
“Sister Lü’e, thank you.”
“As long as you’re okay, it’s fine. But you mustn’t be so foolish in the future. Do you know how scared I was when I came in and saw you lying on the bed, pale as a ghost!” Lü’e wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, smiling as she comforted him.
“Let’s go. If we stay here too long and don’t go to the garden, we’ll get scolded.”
Lü’e was taken away by Cong Fang.
After the two girls left, cold sweat instantly streamed down Lu Hangzhi’s back. He looked at the Spirit Fruit Tree on the kang, which was beginning to show signs of wilting again, and felt a lingering fear!
He hadn’t realized the aftereffects of such extreme cultivation would be so severe—his eyes completely unwilling to open, his mind hazy…
If Lü’e hadn’t come and used her saved Spirit Fruits, he didn’t know how long he might have remained unconscious.
No way.
He couldn’t be so reckless in the future. He needed to keep some Spirit Stones on him at all times.
After eating six Spirit Fruits in a row, his spiritual energy recovered a bit, enough to use Water Control Art and Revitalization Technique one more time each.
After restoring the Spirit Fruit Tree to its best state, Lu Hangzhi scrambled up and hurried out of the residence.
Time to earn money!
With the young lady’s order and Identity Plaque, coming and going from the Zhu Residence was quite convenient.
Once outside the Zhu Residence, Lu Hangzhi quickly reached the marketplace he was most familiar with. First, he looked for his buddy Da Niu…
But when he arrived at the marketplace, he became angry.
On this bustling market street, Da Niu was crouched in an inconspicuous corner. The corner of his eye was bruised purple, blood seeped from his lips, there were over a dozen footprints on his body, and his stall seemed to have been smashed too. He looked utterly disheveled.
Lu Hangzhi stopped and instinctively looked toward another corner of the street. There, two young servants, about fourteen or fifteen years old, were whispering to each other, occasionally pointing at Da Niu and letting out arrogant, gleeful laughs.
So it was them!
Lu Hangzhi understood immediately.
These servants always liked to tease and bully Da Niu. One of them, relying on his older brother being a cultivator apprentice in a cultivator family, acted like a local bully in the marketplace. It was he who had tricked Da Niu into opening the Jade Box yesterday. Usually, even Lu Hangzhi didn’t dare provoke him.
After a moment’s thought, Lu Hangzhi decided now was not the time for revenge!
Although he belonged to the Zhu Residence’s young lady, on the surface he was still just an ordinary servant. He couldn’t reveal his identity as a cultivator.
For a servant to confront a cultivator apprentice would itself be highly suspicious!
He walked up to Da Niu’s stall, dropped the words “Purple Bamboo Forest,” and left without stopping, attracting no one’s attention.
Others didn’t hear, but Da Niu heard it clearly. It was Hangzhi! His eyes lit up, and he stretched his neck, looking left and right, but didn’t recognize his brother, who was now wearing Zhu Residence servant clothes.
With his stall smashed, Da Niu had been worried about how to report back. Now all his hopes rested on Brother Hangzhi. He packed up his things and left immediately.
“Hangzhi? Hangzhi?”
“Over here.”
In the Purple Bamboo Forest, as soon as the two met, Da Niu burst into tears, pouring out his woes.
“How many Spirit Fruits were smashed?”
“Two got crushed.”
Da Niu took out the Jade Box. Inside, two Spirit Fruits were indeed crushed out of shape…
Although the Spirit Fruits were damaged, not much spiritual energy had been lost.
“Forget it. I’ll take this box of Spirit Fruits off your hands.”
Lu Hangzhi took out twenty Spirit Coins and handed them to Da Niu, cautioning him, “From now on, every morning after you get the Spirit Fruits, come wait for me directly at the entrance of the Zhu Residence.”
“Great! Hangzhi actually got work at the Zhu Residence!”
Da Niu laughed. “We’re set now! I won’t have to crouch in the marketplace every day anymore!”
“Yeah.”
Lu Hangzhi laughed along. “Actually, it’s all thanks to that Snow Rabbit you chased out from the Purple Bamboo Forest last time!”
“Hehe.”
Da Niu scratched his head sheepishly and grinned foolishly:
“Does the Zhu Residence young lady really like Snow Rabbits? Should we try to catch another one?”
This idea aligned perfectly with Lu Hangzhi’s own thoughts.
Cultivators had few ways to earn money. Besides Spiritual Grain, Spirit Spring, and Spirit Fruits, they could only go out hunting Monster Beasts for their materials or search for mineral veins and natural treasures.
As a newcomer who had just stepped into the cultivator ranks, he had no fixed income source and no powerful spell cultivation. These paths weren’t feasible, so he had to find another way to make money.
Snow Rabbits were a good option.
A live Snow Rabbit could sell for at least fifty Spirit Coins. It might barely cover a day’s expenses, but it was much better than depleting his savings.
After discussing, the two decided: Da Niu would go into the Purple Bamboo Forest to find rabbits, and Lu Hangzhi would wait outside to ambush them—Snow Rabbits were very sensitive to cultivators and would flee from afar.
Luck was on their side today.
The Purple Bamboo Forest was rich in purple bamboo shoots, which Snow Rabbits loved to eat. So, in this vast Purple Bamboo Forest, there were quite a few Snow Rabbits, though most hid underground, only coming out to roam when no one was around.
But Da Niu, this sturdy, simple-minded mortal, seemed to have a natural taunt aura against Snow Rabbits. Every time he entered the Purple Bamboo Forest, he managed to flush out some overconfident rabbit.
Compared to yesterday, Lu Hangzhi’s senses and hearing had improved immensely. When Da Niu chased the Snow Rabbit running in his direction, Lu Hangzhi locked onto its figure immediately. He flicked his wrist, took out a Spirit Coin, pulled back a rubber band, and the Spirit Coin shot into the bamboo forest with a “whoosh,” incredibly fast.
The Snow Rabbit was stunned on the spot, allowing Da Niu to grab it. He picked up the Spirit Coin too and ran over joyfully.
“Haha, you hit it!”
“Hangzhi, you’re amazing.”
Just then, a round of applause sounded from behind.
Lu Hangzhi’s expression turned cold.
Footsteps approached. Five servants, about fourteen or fifteen years old, came from behind and surrounded Da Niu. One of them was Lin Baogui, the little marketplace bully whose older brother was a cultivator apprentice. Lin Baogui looked pleasantly surprised, greedily eyeing the Snow Rabbit in Da Niu’s hand, and shouted:
“You brat, you dare steal my Snow Rabbit.”
Da Niu was dumbfounded!
“Grab it!”
Lin Baogui didn’t waste words, ordering his buddies to rob. There were many mortals and cultivators near the Purple Bamboo Forest. If complications arose, even his cultivator apprentice brother might not be able to cover for him.
But Da Niu’s strength was nothing to scoff at either. He kicked two servants who lunged at him to the ground. With a strong throw, he sent the Snow Rabbit flying over the three of them, landing at Lu Hangzhi’s feet.
“Lu Hangzhi?”
“Hmph!”
“Be smart and give me back the Snow Rabbit. Otherwise, I just need to tell my brother, and you’re dead,” Lin Baogui said. He hadn’t noticed the identity of the person beside them earlier. Now, seeing who it was, he felt a bit intimidated.
Lu Hangzhi was famous in the marketplace for his cunning. Several times when Lin Baogui had set traps to bully Da Niu, this guy had foiled them. Moreover, yesterday, news spread in the marketplace that Lu Hangzhi had been taken away by people from the Zhu Residence.
Zhu Residence!
One of the three great Elder families in Violet Cloud Town!
How could his brother’s minor cultivator family compare to that?
Although he didn’t know why the Zhu Residence had taken a liking to Lu Hangzhi, reason kept Lin Baogui from rushing over immediately.
“Good! Very good!”
Lu Hangzhi laughed, a cold, biting laugh with a chilling hiss.
Lin Baogui and his friends looked at each other.
The group then realized that Lu Hangzhi seemed… somewhat different from before.
Among them, an observant servant noticed that Lu Hangzhi’s clothes looked familiar. His eyes swept over them unconsciously and finally landed on a conspicuous small seal script character ‘Zhu’ on the lapel. His eyes widened, his face turned pale, his legs went weak, and his teeth chattered as he stammered, “Zhu… Zhu Residence… Hangzhi, you… you work for the Zhu Residence now?”
The group of servants was utterly shocked and terrified.
Work for the Zhu Residence?
Yes! In the eyes of these low-level mortals, the three great families were like royalty. Entering the Zhu Residence meant being a retainer of the court; even ordinary servants were regarded more highly than outside cultivators.
The thought that they had just tried to rob something belonging to a Zhu Residence servant made them feel as if struck by lightning. They went weak all over, sweating profusely.
Lu Hangzhi was quite satisfied with this servant’s reaction. He turned to stare at Lin Baogui, who was being pushed to the front by the servants, his face pale. Lu Hangzhi said:
“Truly worthy of being the bully of Violet Cloud Town’s marketplace… Relying on your brother being a cultivator apprentice, you even dare to rob the Zhu Residence young lady’s things now. Should I say you’re incredibly audacious… or incredibly audacious?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Baogui completely collapsed. With a “thud,” he fell limply to the ground.