The next day, after finishing his cultivation and chores, Ren headed to the Hall of Contribution to pick up his stipend. While there, he searched for any interesting tasks that might have been posted. It was an adequate way to get a sense of things.

  There were some tasks about going out of the sect to slay beasts. There were also requests to solve problems by those cities and villages that relied on the sect for protection. Even within the sect, the growing beast tide in the southern mountains was being used as a training event, calling for group expeditions. Another elder was raising a particularly untamable beast and needed assistance. It was the fourth time this task had been posted, and Ren noted to himself to stay far away from it.

  He also tried looking for tasks that had a fixed duration with stable income. There were tasks like cleaning, maintaining formations, feeding tame spirit beasts, manning a desk, crafting assistance, tending the gardens and medicinal fields of the sect or other elders, and many others. Except for the very basic tasks, they all had high requirements, with the lowest being 3rd layer qi gathering and knowing certain techniques like beast taming or herb nurturing or certain formations.

  Ren tried talking to a receptionist, but the line behind him didn’t let him chat for very long after picking up his stipend. He did manage to understand from the receptionist's attitude and hints that cushy jobs like manning desks were jealously guarded by disciples. They would usually hand their tasks over to someone of their choice when they moved on.

  Ren gave up on it for now and went to find a thick thigh to hug for help, his uncle. His uncle had told him the general area where he lived, so we went there and asked around. After what felt like hours of pointlessly being ignored or told they had no idea who Zhao Tai was, he actually spotted his uncle in the distance heading into a courtyard.

  He ran up and was about to knock on the gate, but it occurred to him that this might not be his uncle’s courtyard. He checked the nameplate outside and was relieved he had waited. It was someone else’s courtyard. He waited outside for a short time, and his uncle soon exited, looking at him in surprise.

  “Greetings, Uncle.”

  “In trouble already?” Uncle Tai said with a slight frown.

  Ren smiled ruefully, “Trying to prevent it actually. Can we talk?”

  “Let’s go to my courtyard.” They both walked a decent distance and finally arrived at their destination. Ren memorized the route in case he needed to come by again. Once they sat and his uncle poured some tea for him, Ren first offered the pouch he had received as a stipend.

  “Here, Uncle, a greeting gift.”

  His uncle observed his unusually respectful manners and quietly accepted the pouch.

  Ren began explaining what had happened the day before. Getting the wrong kind of attention was always dangerous, and he didn’t know much about Jian Feng’s family or background. He suspected from his arrogant mannerisms and his 2nd order spirit roots that he had a strong backing. Upstaging someone like that was sure to create a grudge.

  After hearing the entire explanation, his uncle spoke slowly but calmly.

  “If it’s the Jian family I know, then you did the right thing, nephew. You were already being followed just now, so they likely sent someone to learn your background. They would have seen me exit Xi Yao’s courtyard. That’s a misunderstanding that can work in your favor. Nobody messes with the Xi family lightly. And it’s not much, but I am still a peak qi gathering realm cultivator.”

  “Stay here for a stick of time or so and then head back. Try not to stand out in your next class. However, I should congratulate you. That was impressive, though, to earn the reward from those initial classes. Keep working hard, but keep your head down. You know how much our family depends on you.”

  Ren tried to ignore the reminder and asked, “While I wait, can I ask you a few questions, Uncle?”

  When his uncle gave an approving nod, he asked the most pressing question he had. “Do you know of any stable methods to earn contribution?”

  “You can try impressing an elder by learning the right technique for a job or try and bribe someone about to leave their post. If they have a good impression of you developed over time, you’re far more likely to inherit their task. I don’t have many connections like that; as you probably realized, I hunt beasts to earn my points. Also, the sect only accepts disciples every 6 months, so that’s not an option. Sorry, I can’t help much on this matter. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and you might find a good task.”

  Ren accepted that and then asked him about any particular techniques he could learn, but his uncle gave only vague answers, saying things like, "Cultivation is a lonely path." and "You have to make your own choices."

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  Ren realized his uncle was unwilling to influence his thinking with ideas or instructions, so he asked about more general things like the market and which shops to keep an eye out for and when time-sensitive missions he had heard about but never seen would appear.

  Again, Uncle Tai remained mostly vague. Ren gave up on those matters and instead talked about his own experiences and his new friends. This seemed to please his uncle more. He engaged in a lively fashion and told some amusing stories of his own. How one time they had been on the hunt for a Blaze Bear and thought they had lost it, only for it to barge into their camp later that night, roaring and setting fire to his companion's pants.

  “It’s a good thing those pants were burned, or they certainly would have been soiled from how close that Blaze Bear got!”

  They both laughed, and Ren figured it was time to return. He thanked his uncle and said his goodbyes. As Ren reached home, he saw Mei Ling walking away from his courtyard’s gate. He greeted her as he approached and invited her in.

  Ren was slightly embarrassed when he realized, unlike his uncle, he hadn’t anticipated guests and had prepared no tea. There was only one extra cup in his storeroom. Living simply was nice, but he needed to fix this as soon as possible. He offered her spring water, and she politely said nothing as she recognized his dilemma.

  “I came to see how the novice farmer is doing, but it looks like it’s going well. It looks like you managed to grow that sword grass from last time too!”

  “I was lucky. I did what I could, and the heavens smiled upon me.”

  They talked some more, and Ren could tell she was trying to understand how he had earned the reward in the last class or progressed so quickly. He told her of the task he had undertaken, leaving out his personal matter, and talked about the flowers gathered and the goats they hunted.

  Meiling didn’t look satisfied exactly but seemed to understand it wasn’t anything she could replicate. Taking the opportunity, Ren asked her more about the plants he had planted and about the things he had learned on his own so far. He hesitantly showed her his experiment in planting those 3 types of herbs together.

  She nodded and agreed that trying to build these virtuous cycles was indeed a useful technique. While the idea itself was common, the real challenge was to find the right grouping of herbs that best supported each other. To explain it better, she said,

  “In a complete cycle the plant of the fire element might be nurtured by the wood, but it may not support the metal element because those plants may compete for nutrition or need conflicting environments. You cannot force that kind of harmony. Those results will always be poorer than plants that work together.”

  “Also remember that fertilizer from other plants or spirit beasts is vital and should match the plant. I recently bought some jade rabbits to raise because they are perfect for the water and yin attribute plants I’m currently growing.”

  Meiling said after a pause, “If your ghostvine does grow well, maybe I can buy it from you. Not many of the outer sect disciples grow it, and I haven’t found any good quality ones at the market so far. I have been looking for some to refine into a weapon.”

  Ren agreed to show it to her first, before he sold any. Feeling it wasn’t enough to repay her for all her guidance, Ren gave her a haunch of preserved meat. He could spare that much, and she had been very helpful. He was no longer a complete novice and could appreciate her advice better this time. Meiling left with a smile and invited him over next time to observe her garden.

  Afterward, Ren tried to plan his next month. He had taken care of immediate issues. Now his next steps needed attention. If he couldn’t get any of the stable, repeating tasks, he could maybe offer to sort the scrolls at the Hall of Scriptures. That elder might just be lazy enough to spare a few points if Ren were to basically do his duty. Ren wasn’t sure if his stinginess would win over his indolence. He could surely ask.

  His formations class was to be held tomorrow. He wondered if he needed to prepare anything for that. He didn’t even have any formation flags. He would have to look into buying some for himself but decided to wait until after class. He would have to bear the embarrassment of taking out stone tablets to carve on and look like a bumpkin in front of his classmates.

  He also considered getting a pet for fertilizer, like Meiling suggested. He still didn’t want to raise chickens, but he could read up on which ones could be useful. For the type of plants he wanted to raise. A passing comment from Meiling earlier returned to his mind.

  “If these plants absorb all the same qi you need, your cultivation will be negatively affected, so watch out.”

  If it was true, then he wondered if reducing unwanted qi could positively affect his cultivation. With the sunseeker and ghostvine absorbing the fire and water elements, leaving behind what he needed, it felt like his own absorption of metal, earth, and wood had improved slightly. It definitely merited more experimentation.

  Ren continued cultivating and dancing the silly Nurturing Rain Sutra, creating the qi rain for his plants. Since he slowly recovered qi as he slept, it only made sense to use it up each night. While meditating, he often tried to pursue the line of thought from before about understanding the choice he had made. That moment under the moon when he decided to act against his training and spare the swamp otter and its treasure.

  POV change

  “He’s a lunatic boss. He was dancing crazily and meditating and then dancing again. No serious technique should look that ridiculous. And he’s well connected too. The next day I saw him meet with an elder from his family. I asked around, and it’s rumored he’s a peak qi gathering disciple. That elder also has a connection with someone called Xi Yao of the Xi family. Nobody was willing to talk much about them even when I offered the spirit stones you gave me, boss.”

  Jian Feng grit his teeth. He recognized that name. They couldn’t be trifled with. His family wouldn’t support a feud with the illustrious Xi family. It looked like he would have to regain his honor at the competition the sect would hold in 4 months or so. That would be his best opportunity. This Zhao Ren didn’t look like a serious threat despite the backing that he was clearly trying to show off. Still, he would work hard and ensure there was no other outcome than his complete victory.

  “You did well. There’s no need to follow him any further for now. I’ll handle him later. Go back to tending my courtyard.” He tossed a pouch as a reward and then returned to cultivating.