Placing a sack of spirit rice on the scale on the wooden table, Bubai took a step back as he silently waited for Manager Qin to do the calculations.

In silence, Manager Qin watched the scale sink with a satisfied smile. Then, Bubai faintly sensed some Qi flowing into Manager Qin’s eyes as Manager Qin’s attention shifted to Bubai and scanned his body up and down.

Naturally, he wasn’t taking a fancy to Bubai’s body. Instead, Manager Qin was doing his due diligence as a field manager, scanning his body with his Qi-sensing eyes to search for any hidden sources of Qi.

The Qi-sensing eyes was a basic technique mastered by many cultivators, used to vaguely perceive sources where Qi gathered, usually immobile or stationary sources with non-hidden Qi fluctuations.

This technique was almost an established requirement for spirit rice farm field managers, who used it to check if their farmers hid any grains of spirit rice.

Birds dies in pursuit of food, humans die in pursuit of wealth.

Stealing grains of spirit rice was a common practice for farmers. It’s fine if one doesn’t get caught, but if caught, being kicked out and beaten would be considered lucky.

In serious cases, one might be banned from all fields and may even have their hand chopped off. The unlucky ones might just obtain a free ride into reincarnation.

Confirming nothing wrong, Manager Qin nodded in approval as he began his calculations. Manager Qin then poured out a bit more than half of the sack into a bigger sack, “Half to the landlord…”

Then, he took out another good portion into another larger sack, “This is my share.” Tossing the now light sack onto the scale once more, Manager Qin meticulously measured out half, “This is the city tax.”

Manager Qin poured the rest of the remaining grain on the table, waving his hand over them, “And this is your final share.”

Bubai nodded, and his hand reached out.

Slap! Just before his hand could grab the grain, Manager Qin slapped it away, his palm deftly sweeping the rest of the grain into his own sack, “And this is what you pay me for your meal during this season.”

Bubai cursed inwardly. Although he ‘ate’ many buns, the sales from the remaining spirit rice would definitely cover the cost and even have excess!

However, Bubai held back his anger, his expression not even changing a bit, a silly smile etched on his face as he scratched the back of his head, “As Manager Qin says. I’m happy as long as I can eat well.”

“Hahaha!” Manager Qin chuckled happily as he waved his hand, “Good! Chen Bubai, right? I’m optimistic about you! My field will always welcome honest workers like you. As a reward, let’s skip the formalities and renew the contract…”

Walking out of Manager Qin’s house with empty hands, Bubai received the sneers and jests from the others waiting outside. He walked past them, heading towards his hut.

On the way, he passed by Old Liu leaning against the wall of his hut with his arms crossed. “What did I say? Being too honest will get you nothing. Do you regret rejecting me, Xiao Chen?”

Bubai understood Old Liu’s implications. The reason why this sly old man attempted to close the distance with him was not to help him but to pull him into his spirit rice-stealing group.

But did he have good intentions?

What use would an honest man be in a group of thieves? A scapegoat, of course.

So, Bubai rejected him because he knew better. This poked a hole in their relationship, and Bubai became isolated in the group, especially with the special overtime he was assigned with.

Not paying heed to Old Liu’s snarky remark, Bubai didn’t refute Old Liu, simply walking past him.

Behind him, Old Liu's eyes squinted as he persuaded once more, "I’m doing it for your own good, Xiao Chen. There are ways to increase our share of the harvest, to gain a little extra. Rules are meant to be bent. If you catch my drift, you can come find me anytime, Xiao Chen."

Returning to his decently repaired hut, a sneer arose on Bubai’s face as he shut his door. “A bunch of shameless leeches.”

Mentally, Bubai added Manager Qin to his mental black book, joining the many fellows who antagonized him back in the Cloud Sword Sect, “One day… Heh.”

As for Old Liu… a mere mortal isn’t worthy of being in his tiny black book. Plus, he wasn’t much better.

Sitting on the wooden box he built to serve as a bed, Bubai’s eyes glinted slightly, “Well, since I’ve been exploited and bullied so hard, it seems I don’t need to feel guilty continuing my stay on this farm.”

With a grin, Bubai delved into his seed’s storage space, and with a glance, he saw the pile of grains within. These were the spirit rice he had secretly plundered!

With a hidden storage space, what better job was there besides being a thief?

Of course, he was well aware that his current mortal strength did not allow him to perform any epic heist against other cultivators.

So, Bubai settled for the next best option.

What better job is there to fill his pocket than being a spirit rice farmer? A small grain of spirit rice is even easier to steal than a bun.

So during harvest season, for every handful he harvested, a couple of grains were discreetly moved into his storage, going unnoticed even under the scrutiny of Manager Qin.

Bubai even offered to help harvest the other fields, causing others to doubt him for his hard work. Alas, all they could confirm in the end was that he was just an honest man helping out.

But the truth was… he was a master thief pulling off the largest heist.

Grain by grain, the amount of spirit rice accumulated in his storage even exceeded the amount that every other farmer could honestly earn combined!

“With this, I will have a lot more freedom when visiting the markets and stores in Ling City. And most importantly… These grains can also help me cross the chasm to level four of Qi-refining.”

Bubai sensed the vague wisps of green qi permeating his mysterious space.

When the intensity of his work reduced, the amount of Qi he could accumulate naturally increased.

Yet, even with this, the breakthrough to the mid-stage of Qi-refining seemed so far away.

In order for an early-stage Qi-refiner to enter the mid-stage, they must gather enough wisps of Qi to fill their dantian to the brim.

Once the gathered Qi is dense enough, they can then naturally condense their wisps of Qi into strands of Qi. Once a strand of Qi is condensed, it means that one has finally entered the mid-stage of Qi-refining, the Qi Condensation stage, and this is a qualitative change!

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Unlike a wisp of Qi that can only be stored in the dantian, a strand of Qi is dense enough to be circulated through the meridians in the body, finally allowing a cultivator to practice other techniques and even use strands of Qi to cast spells and activate talisman!

This is a world of difference from an early-stage Qi-refiner, as it means that one would finally be able to increase their combat power!

This is also the reason why a mid-stage Qi-refiner is the delimiter for entrance to the outer sect. The early stage is still the Qi gathering stage and is mostly considered a mortal.

Only when a mortal can begin practicing other cultivation techniques can they be recognized as a cultivator!

Alas, gathering enough Qi in the dantian is a difficult process because the limited Qi roaming in the atmosphere restricts the progress of those without resource.

Locations close to nature may have denser Qi in the air, but most of these places are occupied, with Qi gathering formation established to redirect the roaming Qi.

For example, most of the Qi on this farm is redirected to nourish the spirit rice field. After all, a normal mortal field has a low probability of growing spirit rice.

On another note, the dantian of individuals may also vary, and some with a larger dantian will also face a tougher challenge in increasing the density of their Qi.

Right now, Bubai faced the same problem because his mysterious space was a bit vast compared to a dantian in the body! No, it wasn’t just ‘a bit’...

“Based on the current appearance, I may have to gather at least three to five times more Qi than the normal Qi-refiner in order to fill my space… and who knows if the density would be enough…” Bubai had a wry smile.

His golden finger certainly wasn’t making it easier for him, but he wasn’t too disappointed. After all, he knew if he succeeded, he would have an amazing foundation, one that may not lose out to those true evildoers!

The benefits of a stronger foundation need not be mentioned.

Exiting from his mysterious space, Bubai quickly made some mental calculations, “Save some spirit rice to purchase supplies, and let’s secretly eat the rest.”

Picking up his wooden bucket, Bubai left the hut, heading to the nearby spring in the forest to get water.

Just when he entered the forest, he abruptly noticed Ah Niu stumbling out, his face pale and footsteps unsteady.

Seeing Bubai, his eyes showed some shock as he tripped on himself, almost falling over.

Reaching out a hand, Bubai supported him and asked with some curiosity as he glanced at the brightly lit forest, “Is there something wrong? Did you encounter a beast or ghost?”

Ah Niu pulled back from Bubai’s support, his eyes swiveling around as if he had a guilty conscience. He coughed lightly before he stuttered, “N-nothing is wrong. I must have not slept well yesterday…”

Ah Niu then stumbled away with brisk footsteps, running from further interrogation.

Bubai stared at his back with some confusion, “Strange. Doesn’t look like he is injured.”

Bubai turned his gaze back to the forest and hesitated slightly. Moments later, he slapped himself on the forehead, “What am I afraid of? It’s broad daylight and there hasn’t been anything wrong with this forest all these months. Plus, if a mortal like Ah Niu could leave alive, there should be no danger.”

After reassuring himself, Bubai stepped into the forest, following the familiar path and heading towards the spring.

Bubai encountered no danger the entire route. Heck, he didn’t even see critters or animals.

With so many hungry mortals and poor loose cultivators living nearby, does anyone really believe they will let go of the lively creatures serving as the important puzzle pieces to nature?

At higher levels, they plunder the heavens. At lower ranks, they plunder the life of creatures.

Unfortunately, most lower-level loose cultivators did not understand sustainability. The small forests and woodlands around Ling City had long been the victims of their hunts, resulting in their present serenity.

And for months, Bubai had truly felt the sorrow of the situation… sorry for his own stomach.

Bubai soon approached the crystal-clear shores of the spring with a deep blue center. With a sweep of his eyes, he vigilantly scanned the area but noticed nothing wrong.

“I should have known…” He breathed a sigh of relief as he squatted down, dipping his bucket into the crystal-clear water to scoop up half a bucket. “How am I so unlucky to have a random encounter after setting up a death flag? That’s something only-”

Suddenly, he heard the sound of the water being disturbed.

Bubai's eyes narrowed as he tensed up, heightening his senses. At the same time, his hand instinctively reaching for the closest weapon- his bucket.

There’s something in this crystal-clear spring, and it managed to escape his perception!

“No way…”

Sight is an important part of perception, but as a mortal, sight can be easily impaired for many reasons.

Most early stage Qi refiners may also be affected by these deficiencies, and it isn’t until the mid-stage, where they could learn perception techniques, that they could resolve these weaknesses.

However, if a mortal had some special physique or have some mysterious treasure, even at early stage or below, they could even have a stronger perception than higher level cultivators.

Although Bubai couldn’t claim his perception could compare to those high-level cultivators, but with his physical body gradually being nourished by the mysterious green qi over the months, he had noticed an overall improvement in all aspects of his physique, including his senses such as his perception of external Qi!

Eye sight improvement was amongst his gains.

With his current eye sight, although Bubai still couldn’t achieve the exaggerated feat of seeing the fine details of a leaf from kilometers away, his sight could still clearly observe a radius of tens of meters around him with no problem.

Yet, his earlier scan rendered no result on the incoming threat!

Instinctively, Bubai turned his head towards the source of the disturbance and saw ripples forming on the surface not far from the shores of the spring. A moment later, a figure emerged from beneath the water, water cascading down from a head of disheveled, black hair.

Bubai’s eyes dilated as they fixated on the beauty rising out from the spring, water rolling down her fair white, slender body. The beautiful scene of spring was laid bare before his gaze!

His gaze eventually trailed upwards, greedily taking in the perfect side portrait, finally fixating on the familiar heart-shaped face, her long wet black hair draping over her shoulder, “WeiWei?!”

Despite his soft voice, WeiWei seemed to have heard him as she looked over. Noticing the entranced Bubai, a playful smile arose on her as she turned towards him, gloriously presenting a beautiful artwork to him as she waded over. “Well, if it isn’t Brother Chen...”

...

Clack. Clack. The rhythmic sound of beads sliding against each other filled the air as Manager Qin meticulously counted on the abacus. The dimly lit room was suffused with an air of impatience that clung to the manager like the dust on his worn-out robe.

As he flicked the final bead into place, Manager Qin raised his eyes, and a scowl settled on his face.

"I don't have all day to spend on you all. Don't make me wait so long next time or you will lose even your meager harvest," he grumbled, his gaze fixed on Ah Niu standing before him.

Ah Niu, a thin figure in a coarse robe, bowed in apology, his pale face reflecting the guilt that weighed on his conscience. His eyes nervously swiveled, avoiding direct contact with Manager Qin.

"Y-yes, Manager Qin, I'll make sure I'm not late next time," Ah Niu stammered, his hand sweeping the small pile of grain into a pocket sewed onto his robe.

A faintly familiar smell lingered in the air, catching Manager Qin's attention.

He frowned unhappily, but after a moment's consideration, he dismissed it and waved for Ah Niu to leave. Not everyone was as easy to take advantage of as that honest young man.

Manager Qin was well aware of the shady dealings within his group, but he chose to turn a blind eye as long as they didn't cross certain boundaries. After all, their gains didn't come out of his own pocket.

Manager Qin rose from his seat, tying up sacks of spirit rice. As he peered into the sack destined for the landlord, a hint of greed flashed in his eyes. However, he quickly suppressed the desire.

"Wait until I establish a foundation… Then, I will also have my own share," he muttered to himself, determination flickering in his gaze.

After concealing the sacks, Manager Qin glanced out at the setting sun. A self-satisfied smile played on his lips.

"I've worked hard all day, so I deserve to relax… Kaka, I guess I'll have that obedient woman wash my feet tonight."

Leaving his study, he stepped into the small square courtyard of his dwelling. His eyes scanned the side room he had assigned to WeiWei.

"Hmm? Not there? Where did she go?" Manager Qin wondered aloud, recalling the familiarity of the scent he had sensed earlier from Ah Niu. Frowning, he walked across the courtyard toward the entrance.

...

The heavy breathing blended with the cultural music in the forest.

Bubai’s movements abruptly came to a halt.

Wait, what the heck was he doing?! How did he end up in this situation?!

Before Bubai could react further, he felt a hollow sensation in his body as if it was drained from a day of working both fields. Had his physique not been strengthened, he might even topple over from weakness!

However, his strength was still there, so he quickly pulled back.

This time, WeiWei allowed him to escape, their gazes intersecting.

Despite sensing the hollowness within his own body, this look induced Bubai’s competitiveness once more, and he couldn’t help but think he wanted to show off more of his master thief skills!

At this critical moment, Bubai instinctively drew a wisp of qi from his mysterious space. As the refreshing sensation breezed through his mind once more, an ounce of fear was aroused in Bubai’s heart. This… evil!

With a swift motion, he tucked his robe back into place, turned around without hesitation, and rushed away as if escaping from some inexplicable horror.

Watching the escaping Bubai, WeiWei licked her lips as she recalled the amazing sensation, “So much vitality… Oh… What secrets do you have, my dear Brother Chen?”