The midday sun beat down mercilessly on the bustling streets of Ling City. The paved road was teeming with people, and wooden stalls lined both sides, each merchant vying for attention with their food and mortal merchandise.
Amidst the lively chaos, a stall owner named Zhang, a portly man with a thick mustache, scowled at the beggar who had dared to linger too close to his precious wage-earner.
"Hey, you! Shoo! Shoo! Don’t disturb my business!" Zhang bellowed, swatting at the air as if the beggar were a bothersome fly. In his pudgy hand, he clutched a steaming bun, which he promptly hurled at the beggar, hitting him square in the chest and bouncing off. “Scram!”
The beggar, with his dirt-streaked face, tattered clothing, and his bare, pitch black feet, didn't flinch. He picked up the bun from the dusty ground, shooting Zhang a silent look of gratitude.
Without a word, he shuffled away to another corner.
Zhang, seemingly satisfied with having chased the beggar away, turned his attention back to his customers, muttering to himself. “I’m just doing honest business here, but beggars these day are becoming more and more audacious…”
Finding solace in the shade of a nearby building, the beggar squatted down to enjoy his meager meal.
Naturally, this beggar was Fang Bubai.
Despite Bubai's destitute appearance, his eyes still shone with intelligence and serenity.
From his vantage point, Bubai observed the place of interest nearby - the employment bureau in the market district of Ling City.
Cultivators strolled in and out, their robes billowing in the wind. Meanwhile, mortals huddled in groups outside, anxiously waiting for an opportunity.
As Bubai nibbled on the bun, he noticed other beggars lurking in the shadows, eyes shrewdly fixed on the activities around the employment bureau. Some were genuinely seeking employment, driven by the desperation to make a living like himself.
Others, unlike Bubai, were different.
In a city dominated by cultivators, even the most destitute individuals might be part of the Beggar Gang - a covert network serving under the Beggar's Sect, renowned as one of the largest intelligence agencies in the mortal kingdom.
Thus, some beggars were not just beggars.
Bubai's sharp eyes surveyed the scene. Now, he could barely distinguish between those genuinely seeking work and those secretly gathering information.
His gaze lingered on a group of adult beggars, their wary gazes sweeping over him while exchanging subtle signals, their seemingly random movements revealing a silent language only they understood.
Of course, Bubai hadn’t mixed with this group of beggars. The one he was looking for was...
Bubai continued his silent observation, his eyes scanning the movements of cultivators and mortals alike.
As he slowly chewed on his bun, a dirty little beggar slinked up beside him. Bubai felt the young beggar's presence but didn't avert his gaze from the employment district.
The destitute brat's eyes locked onto the eaten bun in his hand, hunger reflecting in his wide, pleading eyes.
Bubai, without a word, handed the remaining bun to the child. The young beggar's face lit up with gratitude as he took the offering, hastily wiping off the saliva before devouring it.
Once the child had satisfied his hunger, Bubai leaned in, his voice barely audible. "Any news?"
The child nodded, eyes darting around cautiously. "According to the conversations I overheard in the Beggar's Gang, someone recently bought a good farm. There might be a chance today."
Bubai's expression changed subtly.
There had been many other opportunities to become a servant, and with his years of experience, Bubai naturally wouldn’t mind bending and stretching.
However, he had been squatting here observing so long, just for this moment. A farm job was what he sought. This was not only because it was a relatively safe job, but because of his unlocked golden finger.
“Good. If I manage to land the job, I will naturally not forget about you.” Bubai nodded appreciatively, “You did say a beggar’s appearance had a higher chance of being chosen, right?”
“I can’t be wrong. Even the seniors have mentioned this, but they didn’t say why,” The small beggar child, his eyes still filled with longing, couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "If only I wasn't..."
Bubai understood. The child harbored dreams of finding work on a farm, a rare opportunity that seldom came to those of his age.
Alas, a farming job wasn’t always available, and in the end, the child was recruited into the Beggar’s gang with many other children.
Although the Beggar's Gang was a rather powerful group, the treatment for a child within the gang wasn't ideal. Payment came only for valuable information, and even then, it was meager.
Over the weeks, Bubai had formed a camaraderie with the young beggar, sharing a portion of his daily bun.
The child, in turn, was willing to share non-confidential information gleaned from the gang members’ mouths and recent rumors in the city.
It wasn't Bubai's initial intention to befriend the child, but he quickly recognized the advantage.
The act of sharing the bun wasn't just an act of kindness; it was a strategic move to exploit the stall owner's sympathy for the destitute children. Bubai displayed his uniqueness, doing something the other selfish, older beggars weren’t willing to do.
In doing so, he secured a small daily portion of the bun. As a bonus, his act of kindness also netted him a newbie guide that was a reliable source of information… at least sometimes.
Of course, due to sharing most of the bun, the remaining was hardly enough to sustain him.
Low-level cultivators still need to eat and Bubai wasn’t an exception. This small bun was certainly not enough for Bubai, but it was just a part of his camouflage.
Not long after unlocking his golden finger, Bubai discovered the wisps of green qi generated from his seed could be used to partially satiate his hunger by dispersing them in his dantian.
This had a similar effect as the Bigu or grain avoidance pills – a time efficient but slightly more expensive alternative to food consumed by richer cultivators.
Of course, consuming these wisps of Qi had delayed Bubai’s cultivation.
However, Bubai knew it didn’t affect his overall situation much even if he used them.
Getting started with Qi refining and reaching level two wasn’t too difficult.
However, the amount of Qi that needed to be gathered to reach level three was exponentially more than level two. Plus, due to the limited amount of dispersed Qi around him, his Qi gathering speed was restricted to a fairly constant rate.
There were other aspects he must considered as well.
After digging into the secrets of his own cheat, Bubai still couldn’t prevent his seed from passively absorbing all traces of Qi within his body, but he discovered the preliminary control he had over Qi gathering formation within his mysterious space, allowing him to actively keep it off.
Thus, out of caution, Bubai made sure to suppress his Qi gathering in public to avoid attracting inadvertent attention. After all, drawing in all the Qi around him was a bit too ostentatious.
So, even after a week, he still hasn’t gathered enough Qi to hit level three.
Naturally, breaking through from the early stage of Qi refining to the middle stages would be another level of difficulty.
Fortunately, he had cleverly prepared his back road to leave the sect. If he had gambled all his resources, he would have still been expelled because he couldn’t reach the middle stages of Qi refining.
At that time, even if he had unlocked his golden finger… what use would it be if he was dead?
Not all golden fingers granted initial combat capabilities. Bubai knew this, so he wasn’t willing to gamble. He was glad he made the right choice.
His golden finger certainly didn’t bolster his combat power in any shape or form. Instead, he learned that it had a much higher utility value in other aspects...
And it was one of the reasons why he wanted a farming job.
The young beggar's eyes gleamed as he nodded towards the direction of the employment building. "He's here. That should be him. Good luck."
Bubai glanced over at the entrance of the building, where the crowd surged forward, gathering around an arrogant middle-aged uncle. He ruffled the child's dirty hair. "Thanks, I'm off."
"Don't forget what you promised!" The young beggar hissed softly with a dissatisfied face.
Bubai gave him a thumbs up behind his back as he rushed off to join the excited crowd. Pushing through the people, many dressed in coarse clothes better than his own rags, he heard a cacophony of excited cries, each voice vying for attention, all desperate to be selected.
"Pick me! I can work hard!" "I've got strong arms, boss!" "Choose me, and you won't regret it!" “I’m willing to do anything!”
Using the strength he had seemingly gained after weeks of absorbing the green wisps of Qi, Bubai maneuvered his way to the front of the crowd.
The middle-aged uncle was already there, standing with two men in ragged clothes. The selection had already began!
Putting on a frantic, excited appearance, Bubai raised his hand and flattered hoarsely as he spoke a very low condition, "Boss, pick me, pick me! As long as I get something to eat, I don't care about anything else!"
The middle-aged man's gaze swept over the crowd, his eyes scanning Bubai's body. Seemingly confirming that nothing was amiss, he nodded. "Just you, come up."
"Thank you, boss!" Bubai exclaimed, bowing gratefully multiple times. He happily made his way towards the man, rubbing the back of his head with a silly smile on his face.
The other hopefuls grumbled, exchanging envious glances as Bubai was chosen. As he joined the middle-aged man and the two other ragged men, the excited crowd continued to clamor, hopeful to be selected next.
Soon, a small group with ragged clothes had already gathered around the middle-aged man. "One more…"
His gaze scanned the excited crowd, and his eyes lit up slightly as he seemed to find someone that interested him, pointing towards a slender, slim lady in coarse, baggy clothes hiding within the crowd.
"Just you."
Hearing his call, the young lady seemed to panic for a bit as she glanced up, her messy, draping black hair obscuring her dirty face, but it couldn’t hide her tender countenance.
Noting the man’s choice, the rioting crowd around the young lady squeezed her as they frantically sold themselves, asking to be selected instead.
“I can do better!” “Choose me, I am willing even if it’s-”
"Silence!" The middle-aged man’s brows furrowed as he waved his hand, causing a bolt of lightning to strike the ground, forcing the panicking crowd to avoid. Zap!
Seeing the small-scale yet visible scorch marks on the ground, the rioting crowd finally calmed down, some with pale faces as they were reminded who they were dealing with.
A cultivator that could cast spells was at least in the mid-stage Qi Refining realm, and one who could manage a farm was usually at least a late-stage Qi-refiner! This was not someone a mere mortal could mess with!
The crowd silently split apart, opening a path for the chosen young lady.
The middle-aged man put on a gentle smile as he beckoned. "Come. I'll treat you well."
The slender young lady seemed to hesitate as she gripped her fist, but in the end, she took hesitant steps forward, stopping in front of the middle-aged man.
“What’s your name?” He grasped her dirty yet fair hand, rubbing it back and forth.
Weakly struggling to retrieve her hand but to no avail, the slender young lady eventually stuttered, “W-Wei Wei…”
“Good. I’ll take good care of you from now on.” As he released her hand, a grin appeared on the middle-aged man’s face. Waving his hand, he declared, "The selection this time is over. I will be back if I need more. Now, follow me to sign the contract."
The chosen lady, much like himself, had been plucked from the sea of eager faces, but the smile on her obscured face seemed forced.
Bubai sneered inwardly as he observed the scene, but outwardly, he still showed a silly smile, as if oblivious to the hidden meaning.
As the crowd dispersed, Bubai followed the middle-aged man and the young lady, keeping a discreet distance to avoid attracting his new employer’s unwarranted wrath.
The others, having witnessed the cultivator's display of power, similarly dared not interfere.
As they walked towards their destination, Bubai stole a quick glance back at the young beggar who had given him the tip. The child stood in the shadows, watching with a mix of disappointment and hope. Bubai mouthed a silent promise, "I won't forget."
As for whether he will really keep his words… it’ll depend if he can show enough value.
