Qin Lu returned home without incident, his mouth parched. He poured himself a cup of water and downed it in one go.

“Gulp, gulp, gulp…”

“Buuurp—!”

The cool, clear water was as refreshing as cola, chilling him to the core and lifting his spirits.

The pleasant sensation made him let out a long, involuntary belch. As the spirit-infused water settled in his stomach, his entire body relaxed, a feeling akin to euphoria.

Looking at the nearly empty water bucket, Qin Lu fell into thought.

“Looks like I need to find time to fetch water soon…”

There was no running water here. For loose cultivators at the bottom rung, getting drinking water meant going to the Little Tuo River next to the market to fetch it.

There was no need to worry about dirty or polluted water, because simply adding one 【Water Purification Pill】 to the river water could turn ordinary river water into clean drinking water imbued with faint spiritual energy.

“Eating costs money, drinking costs money too. Sigh, these Spirit Stones are never enough. It’s really tough…”

Qin Lu sighed, shook his head helplessly, dismissed his urge to complain about life, stood up, and began putting away the items he bought today one by one.

He then sat down at the redwood table, took out a sheet of rice paper, and started doing the accounts.

“Today’s income: eighteen Spirit Stones. Buying spirit rice cost five stones, spirit fruits and demon beast meat cost another two, and finally, I bought five stones worth of talisman paper. Total expenditure: twelve Spirit Stones…”

“That leaves only six stones. Adding the previous balance of two, my current assets are only eight Spirit Stones…”

“What the… this little money isn’t even enough to pay off one debt. Got excited for nothing!”

Qin Lu scratched his head, his expression somewhat troubled.

The mere thought of still owing a massive debt of nearly three hundred stones gave him a headache.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Lu came up with a plan.

“Hmm, I’ll leave early tomorrow, avoid the debt collectors, and sell these few talismans while I’m at it. That should buy me a few more days…”

“Selling talismans is still quite profitable. One 【Water Qi Shield】 costs one Spirit Stone to make and sells for one Spirit Stone profit. I can make four a day, so that means I can earn at least four Spirit Stones a day!”

“As long as I don’t eat or drink, don’t gamble or visit brothels… pah pah! I don’t visit brothels anyway! If I just persevere, I can pay off the debt in two months!”

Thinking this, Qin Lu regained his spirits and couldn’t help but break into a bright smile, as if a wonderful life was waving at him just ahead.

“Hehe! The task is arduous and the road is long!”

Qin Lu put down the brush, rubbed his hands together, and stood up. “Food first, food first!”

Under the oppressive gloom of his life, the successful sale of talismans was like a ray of redemptive sunlight shining upon Qin Lu, giving him a direction to move forward.

So for tonight’s dinner, he exceptionally cooked two dishes as a reward for his hard work.

The mouth-watering spirit rice paired with the exquisite meat dish greatly increased his appetite. In no time, he had swept all the food into his stomach.

“The future really looks promising! The outcome is not yet decided, we are all dark horses…”

Just as he finished eating, lay on the bed, and was sighing about life, a strange sensation suddenly arose in his stomach, making him sit up immediately.

“Huh?”

When nature calls!

His memory instantly flashed back. Without further hesitation, he grabbed some toilet paper and immediately walked out the door.

When the Wuji Sect initially built Wuji Market, they constructed many pit latrines in the slums to meet the living needs of the loose cultivators.

However, due to lack of management, the conditions in these latrines were concerning, with strong odors. Many people were unwilling to go there to relieve themselves, opting to use chamber pots at home instead.

This also resulted in a constant, foul stench floating throughout the slums.

The original owner, who frequented gambling dens, didn’t have a chamber pot at home. Now, with this sudden urge, Qin Lu had no choice but to go out and find a toilet.

Cultivators drank spirit water and ate spirit rice, so bowel movements weren’t frequent. For Qin Lu, who had been here for a week, this was the first time.

Soon, Qin Lu found the spot. Holding his breath against the stench, he entered the toilet and quickly took care of business.

A moment later.

He walked out.

“Ugh… damn, that stinks! I really need to move to the city center sooner rather than later!”

Pinching his nose as he walked out of the toilet, Qin Lu reaffirmed his determination to move.

Just as he hadn’t gone far, a young, boyish voice suddenly sounded beside him.

“Hey! Qin Big Mouth! You came to take a dump too~”

Qin Lu turned his head with a dark expression. The speaker was a chubby boy of about thirteen or fourteen. His round little face looked simple and honest, and his plump figure suggested his family’s meals were quite good.

This kid was Qin Lu’s neighbor, named Cao Mo.

From his memories, the original owner was quite fond of this little fatty, often amusing himself by teasing him. It was also one of the original owner’s few happy memories unrelated to gambling.

Cao Mo very naturally patted Qin Lu’s shoulder, greeting him with a smile:

“Hey, I’ve seen quite a few people coming to your place lately. When did you get to know so many friends?”

What friends? Those are all creditors!

Qin Lu felt speechless inside. He glanced sideways at Cao Mo’s hand resting on his shoulder, his face showing even more helplessness.

“Hey hey, kid, did you even wash your hands before patting me like that…”

Cao Mo looked surprised. “Wash what hands? There’s no water in that outhouse, you know that~ Besides, isn’t this exactly what you taught me? Hehe!”

“Smack!”

Qin Lu slapped away Cao Mo’s little chubby hand and calmly continued walking forward.

I definitely need to wash these clothes!

This kid’s parents were both beast hunters, tough people who often roamed East Head Ridge, with cultivation levels as high as the late Qi Refining stage. That’s why they raised Cao Mo with this rebellious and mischievous personality.

Seeing that Qin Lu wasn’t bantering with him, Cao Mo’s expression turned a bit strange. But he still quickly caught up with Qin Lu’s pace, his mouth starting to chatter away.

“Hey, Old Qin, you still haven’t told me, when did you get to know so many friends?”

“And also, last time you said you’d take me to the gambling den to try my luck. Does that still count or not?”

“Oh right, last time we went to peek at Widow Liu bathing, we got caught afterwards. In the end, we said you were the mastermind. You don’t mind, right?”

“……”

Qin Lu wore a helpless expression, casually brushing off Cao Mo’s questions while quickening his pace towards home.

“Alright, alright, when I have some free time in a while, I’ll take you to gamble a couple of rounds.”

At the door, Qin Lu gave him a vague reply, then pushed the door open and went inside.

Once inside his home, Qin Lu let out a soft sigh, his body relaxing considerably.

Facing acquaintances of the original owner always gave him a sense of guilt, like a thief with a guilty conscience. He simply didn’t dare to communicate too much.

This included Chen Wen, and also Cao Mo.

“Is this the guilt of occupying someone else’s body?”

Qin Lu shook his head, walked to the water bucket to wash his hands, then took off the set of magic robes he was wearing. He fetched water, squatted down, and began washing them carefully.

After a full half hour of work, he finally stretched his back and ended the washing session.

After hanging the clothes to dry, he sat back down on the bed. Then, with a thought, he summoned his status panel.

【Name: Qin Lu】

【Lifespan: 35\/102 years】

【Cultivation: Qi Refining Layer 2: 65\/100】

【Cultivation Methods:】

「Mystic Sun Mantra」(Novice): 99\/100

【Skills:】

Spells:

「Ignition Technique」(Proficient): 2\/600

Talisman Crafting:

「Water Qi Shield」(Novice): 26\/100

【Talent: None】

Looking at the panel, Qin Lu’s thoughts raced.

“Right now, the 【Ignition Technique】 proficiency cap is six hundred points. If I increase it by one hundred points a day, it’ll take six days to Breakthrough.”

“As for talisman crafting, success adds two proficiency points, failure adds one. If I craft four a day, it’ll take over ten days to Breakthrough.”

“For talismans, I should just focus on making 【Water Qi Shield】 for now. The others are useless. As for spells…”

“Fwoosh!”

Qin Lu extended his hand and flicked his fingers. A fireball the size of a soccer ball immediately appeared at his fingertips. Feeling the fireball’s temperature, he couldn’t help but murmur:

“Seems like this power is about sufficient, right? Should I study some other spells?”

“Hiss~”

Casually extinguishing the fireball, Qin Lu stood up and walked slowly to the redwood table. He looked at the book “Simple Spell Cultivation Methods” on the table, remaining silent.

After a moment, he sat down lightly and opened the book.

==========