The line of customers moved at a steady pace as they were being given bowls of rice noodles one after another. Chen Ren felt the stall buzzing like a hive with the people who continued to come and go— making his grin grow wider.

Every time someone grabbed a bowl of steaming hot rice noodles, the sound of coins clinking into his hands was a sweet melody— the gratification of his hard work to make those dishes. What made it even sweeter was the sight of Tang Xiulan glancing at him from time to time, all the while something akin to admiration sparkled in her eyes.

Even Old Man Tian, who never treated his idea of running a stall seriously, stood frozen at a distance, mouth slightly opened while staring at the crowd gathered around his stall.

Although Chen Ren took pride in what he had done in such a short time, he didn’t let the attention he received swell his ego. With each bowl he served, he flashed a welcoming smile, heartfully thanking every customer and urging them to spread the word about his stall.

“Please tell your friends about the stall,” he said with a chuckle. “Come back tomorrow if you like it. I’ll have more ready!”

Some nodded at his words, while others, lost in the flavour of the noodles, barely acknowledged him. But none left disappointed, a fact he didn’t miss. He knew that regardless of their gratitude or the way they showed it at the end, he gained profits by selling the noodles and in return, the customers' hunger satiated— that was all that mattered.

As he reached for the next bowl, he recognised someone from yesterday— there, standing before him, was the scholar who had bought an extra bowl from him. The one who he had requested to spread the word. Behind the scholar was a small group of people, clearly drawn by his recommendation.

The scholar’s knowing smile didn’t go unnoticed by Chen Ren.

"Ah, it’s you again! Welcome back!" He said, his eyes lighting up as he gave a subtle nod towards the small group behind the scholar. “Looks like your words worked wonders!”

The scholar gave a polite smile.

“I just told the truth. Your noodles speak for themselves.”

“Ah! Thank you anyway. So, one bowl of rice noodles today?”

“Yes, here’s… five coppers.” He pulled five coppers from his pocket and handed them over.

As Chen Ren handed the scholar a bowl and collected the money, a strange warmth flooded in his chest. It wasn’t just any warmth— he felt his qi stirred, pulsing within his dantian in a way he hadn’t felt before. He blinked, the sensation catching him off guard, but quickly shook it off.

“Thank you.”

The scholar’s voice pulled him out of his thought process. Chen Ren nodded with equal enthusiasm and focused on the rest of the crowd. Soon after, he found himself back to distributing bowls one after another.

As the lunch crowd thinned, more satisfied customers left the stall with full bellies and content laughter. Each time Chen accepted their payment, the surges in his qi became more frequent, swirling stronger with every interaction.

The energy in his core felt… alive, almost reacting to the success of his little business.

It was an odd feeling altogether because he didn’t know why it was happening, and what triggered his qi to swirl inside him like that. But there wasn’t time to dwell on whatever was happening.

By the time the rush ended, Chen Ren had sold nearly two dozen bowls. Wiping his brow, he turned to Tang Xiulan, who was covered in sweat, brows raised but he didn't miss the satisfied smile on her face.

“Good job today,” he said, patting her on the shoulder. “We’ve got a bit of a break now before the evening crowd rolls in. Let’s take it easy until then.”

“Your trick worked better than I expected, young master.”

Chen Ren laughed. “If it didn’t, I would've had to try something else. But this is only the beginning. We’ve got to keep it up.”

As he spoke, movement caught the corner of his eye. A few kids stood nearby, watching the stall with wide eyes from an alley. They seemed hesitant to approach him but they were firmly fixated on him.

Those were the same kids whom he had asked for help before, the ones who agreed to spread the word in return for free food.

He waved them over with a grin. “Hey, you all up for helping out again today? Same deal as tomorrow.”

Their eager nods were all the answer he needed.

***

As the evening rolled in, the crowd grew larger than the day before.

“Please give me a bowl!”

“Is this the ‘noodle’ stall I heard about?”

“Some kids had been shouting about it all over town, talking about how it's an eastern delicacy.

“Let's try and see how it is!”

People gathered around Chen Ren's stall, eager to try his noodles— some were new faces, while others had returned for a second helping. Word of mouth was spreading like water ripples in a still pond, touching everyone in the path and the kids he had recruited earlier were doing a great job promoting his business. Their lively voices rang through the city, calling out praises for his noodles, bringing in even more customers.

He felt relieved as he watched the growing line. If things continued like this, he'd be able to chip away at his debts sooner than he thought. Of course, that was still a distant goal, but he was finally beginning on something and it had even started to work.

Chen Ren believed that one simply needed to focus on their present and the future would change accordingly to that. With that belief in mind, he kept at the stall.

By the moment they reached evening, they had sold an additional forty bowls, far exceeding his expectation. In fact, they ran out of noodles much earlier than planned, forcing them to close the stall and heavy-heartedly rejecting a few customers who had been waiting in line.

It couldn't be helped since he hadn't bought the rice in bulk, not wanting to make such a big investment when the stall was still new. Though, now he could finally consider it.

As Chen Ren began packing up, his eyes wandered around Old Man Tian’s stall across the way— except it wasn’t Old Man Tian manning it. A younger man who shared similar features with the skewer stall owner was tending to the customers. Probably his grandson.

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Curious, Chen called out. “Hello,” he said. “Where’s the old man today?”

The young man glanced up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah, he’s sick. Told me to cover for him.”

Chen Ren smiled, wondering if Old Man Tian had run away out of dejection from doubting him, but it wasn't a big deal. He would return tomorrow and at that time, he wondered what sort of expression the old man would wear on his face. For now, there was nothing more to be done besides this small talk.

He returned to his stall, making sure to feed the kids who had helped with the advertising. Their eager faces lit up as they slurped the leftover noodles, and he was glad to share this with them. They had been the most helpful, aside from the customers who were so pleased with the noodles that they spread the word on their own, without Chen Ren having to ask.

After cleaning up, he finally left the market alongside Tang Xiulan.

The sky was already darkening, and the air had cooled considerably. Other than a slightly sore throat from yelling all day, Chen Ren couldn't feel any sort of tiredness. His body still felt as energised as new and he even had the energy to take a lap or two around the city.

Undoubtedly, this was all due to him being a cultivator and by this point, he was glad that he had been transmigrated in the body of one. It was the only good point about being Chen Ren after all.

If he had been a normal person, he would have been like Tang Xiulan who looked tired and walked slowly, probably because of her aching feet after standing in one position all day. He would have loved to lower her workload, but that would only happen if the stall got more customers.

“We’re gonna need way more rice to soak now,” Chen Ren said, breaking the silence and glancing over at her. “The demand’s only going up.”

Xiulan nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. She waited for a few beats before she replied.

“I could talk to the young miss about it. See if we can get more supplies.”

“Are you sure about that?” he asked, a bit surprised. “You’ve been following my orders all this time but never asked to help out proactively. Don't tell me you fell in love with me?”

A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. Xiulan hesitated for a moment, her head dipping slightly as she spoke.

"It's not that, young master. I wasn’t sure of your plans at first," she admitted softly. "I thought it was all just an act— a ruse. But when I saw you making noodles day after day, using every trick to market and sell them… I realised you’re serious about building a business. I want to help, if you’ll let me."

Chen Ren looked at her silently for a moment, then shifted his gaze toward the horizon, where the sun was setting in colours of red and orange. Then, in a calm voice, he asked. "Is it because you genuinely want to help, or is it to win my trust so you can report back to the Tang Clan head?"

Tang Xiulan flinched, her eyes widening in surprise.

Chen Ren’s expression remained unreadable, but inside, he debated whether he should have asked her that question or not.

No, it's better to reveal to her that I know it. There's no point hiding it.

He already knew Tang Xiulan acted as an informant for Tang Jihao since she had started following him around.

It wasn’t hard to figure out— he was living under someone else’s roof, surrounded by servants that didn't work for him. Of course, everything he did would reach the ears of the Tang Clan’s head. And Xiulan, being the closest to him, was the obvious informant.

Honestly, he didn't like it, but Tang Xiulan was extremely helpful and he would simply struggle more if he didn't ask for any help and tried to do everything himself. Either way, spying on him wasn't a hard thing and until now, Tang Clan had done nothing more to make them his enemies.

Instead, they had been helpful by giving him a place to stay. But if he wanted to bring Tang Xiulan closer to him, he needed to know her intentions better.

Chen Ren waited patiently, watching her as she grappled with his accusation.

After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice shaky as she replied. "I won’t lie. I do report to the master. But… I genuinely wish to work for you. Since I am a maid working for the Tang Clan, it's inevitable that I can't hide anything from him, but I do enjoy making noodles and helping with the stall. If you let me, I want to be a part of its success, young master!"

Chen Ren nodded slowly, satisfied with her answer. At least she was being honest. If she didn’t report to Tang Jihao, they’d just replace her with someone else, someone less trustworthy. He didn’t want that.

"That’s good enough," he said at last. "From now on, you’re my employee."

Xiulan blinked, clearly taken aback. "Employee?"

Chen Ren chuckled. "It means you’ll be working for me— in my stall, and whatever other businesses I end up running. In return, I’ll pay you. You can report whatever you want to the clan head as long as I’m living here, but from now on, you work for me."

"But I’m already getting paid by the clan," she said, still perplexed.

"This and that are different," Chen Ren replied, waving a hand dismissively. "I can’t pay you much since I’m still in debt, but I’ll give you five silver wen a month. I’ll raise it once I’ve cleared what I owe. Deal?"

Xiulan stared at him for a moment, clearly not expecting him to offer payment. Her expression softened, and she nodded slowly. "Yes. That’s… acceptable."

Chen Ren gave her a satisfied nod. "Good. Now, go get more rice. I’ll be sitting in the courtyard for a while."

Without another word, Tang Xiulan bowed her head slightly and headed off, leaving Chen Ren standing alone as the last light of the day faded into dark.

***

Chen Ren sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard, stretching his muscles as he looked up at the night sky.

He took a few breaths, regulating his breathing and then loosening his hands; they had been working tirelessly all day. Although he was fine physically, he was still mentally drained. He let his legs fall to the sides and relaxed them forward.

“I feel like I'm progressing everyday with my goal of making money.”

Today had been tougher than expected, but the sales had gone well, and he’d even managed to promote Xiulan as his “official employee”. If he kept it going this way, he might be able to run the stall from day to night and even establish more branches.

Cloud Mist City was big and Market Street wasn't the only place with street stalls. A small grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he thought about that.

Still, now that the day was over, he had something else weighing on his mind. Something he had pushed aside since arriving in this strange new world. He had been preoccupied with setting up the noodle stall, adjusting to his new life, and figuring out how things worked around here. But each night, he found himself poring over the cultivation manuals he’d stumbled upon while searching Chen Ren's belongings, trying to make sense of the realms and the challenges that came with them.

Fighting had never been his thing— he wasn’t the type who sought out conflict. But in this world, strength wasn’t just a luxury; it was a necessity. Sure, he was confident in his ability to amass wealth, but cultivation strength? That was an entirely different game. His talent for cultivation was abysmal, yet he knew he needed to give it a shot, at least.

Especially with the strange qi surges he’d been feeling throughout the day. It wasn’t painful, but it was certainly odd. He wasn’t even supposed to be able to sense qi at this level.

The nine realms of cultivation, as the manuals explained, were; Body Forging, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Meridian Expansion, Core Formation, Domain Manifestation, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation and Transcendence.

Only at the second realm, Qi Refinement, were cultivators typically able to sense qi. For most cultivators at his level—Body Forging— it wasn’t possible to sense qi until they reached the 9th star, which was known as the Qi Perception stage.

Until then, the focus was on strengthening the body, sharpening the mind, and chanting mantras to align with the cultivation path. But here he was, at the third star of Body Forging, already able to sense qi like it was second nature.

It made him wonder if his body had somehow gained a better talent through transmigration. He wasn’t sure how that worked, but it was a theory that seemed increasingly likely.

He closed his eyes, focusing inward, trying to peer into his own body to understand what was happening with the qi surges. But before he could delve too deeply, a sharp voice rang out, cutting through the quiet of the night.

"Imposter! I have come to judge you!"

Chen Ren’s entire body tensed, his deep focus disturbed and he heard the thrum of his raging heartbeat in his ears.

His eyes darted around the courtyard, scanning for the source of the unfamiliar voice, but there was no one in sight. Yet he could hear the sound of footsteps on the floor.

His gaze dropped to the ground, wondering if one of the debtors had hired a cultivator with a technique to turn invisible to deal with him before he noticed someone on the floor.

His eyes widened in shock.

"Aren’t you—"