In the eastern sky, rays of light had already begun to drive away the darkness of the night.
The brightness, which had seemed hidden for so long, began to spread through every corner.
Lying in bed, Zhang Chen began to stir, beams of light slipping through the holes in the cabin wallsâone of them shining directly on his face.
After some time, bothered by the brightness, he suddenly sat up. Looking through the half-broken window, he quickly noticed that the shining ball had yet to rise.
Zhang Chen then took the booklet and stored it under the false floor. After that, he went to the kitchen and noticed the rice jar was nearly empty.
"What a wonder. I am out of food now. How am I supposed to buy more? How will I cultivate like this? Man, lifeâs rough," he said, pondering what to do next.
Ever since he understood that this was a world of superhumans, thatâs all he had ever wanted. And crystal rice was one of the ways to begin walking that path.
âThe job gives me lunch, so Iâll save this for tonightâs session.â
With his thoughts running wild, he quickly came up with a simple plan. It wasnât that he had no moneyâhe had a faint memory that seemed important, but it still hadnât surfaced. All he knew was that it was somewhere in the house... just his luck.
For some reason, the previous owner of this body didnât seem to have a habit of cultivating. Given how long he'd worked, he shouldâve saved some moneyâbut he hadnât even bought better rice to ease his way into cultivation.
âWait... it doesnât make sense that the last guy didnât cultivate. If I think Iâm special, didnât he feel the same? Could it be that I donât have talent?!â His thoughts started to drift out of his mouth.
Shaking his head, he left the rice jar and went over to the wooden basin.
With one hand, he washed his face and rinsed his mouthâat least trying to stay a little hygienic, right?
Looking down, he noticed the water was practically gone. Letting out a helpless sigh, he went to grab two buckets.
âOnly now do I realize that everything in this house is running out... Now I get why my mom used to complain so much...â
Zhang Chen kept muttering as he stepped out, but the moment he mentioned his previous life, silence fell over him.
Sometime later, he collected himself and stepped through the door.
The first gust of wind that hit him made the hair on his arms stand up, and what little sleepiness remained was swept away with it.
His house lay to the west of Shen Jieâs, but looking at all the intersections, it was easier to say both were in the eastâthough there were still homes in every direction.
Theirs was near the road, but to reach the well, they had to walk farther west.
As he stepped outside, nothing seemed unusual. Shivering occasionally, he continued toward the well, which wasnât too far away.
The houses were packed closely togetherâsome of them practically glued side by side.
With the well at the center, the houses had spread out in four directions in a disorganized sprawl.
Zhang Chenâs and Shen Jieâs homes were already close to the road. The fact that they still had to pass several more to reach it gives you an idea of how big and messy this place really was.
Using the well as a center, there were nearly two thousand meters of houses stretching in the other directionsâthe shortest being to the north. That was not just because the land rose higher in that direction but also because the city didnât want such an unsightly sprawl of tightly packed homes.
Because his house was close to the road, he still had to walk almost a full kilometer to reach the well.
Almost fifteen minutes later, he saw the wellâand a massive line.
The most surprising part was that each line seemed to come from a different direction, meaning each quadrant could have its own lineâup to four in total.
Luckily, the eastern line seemed shorter today.
Watching how it worked, each turn belonged to one direction at a time, so no one had to wait for the others to finish completely. One curious fact: he didnât see any line from the north side.
Ten minutes later, it was finally Zhang Chenâs turn. With two buckets in hand, he stepped forward.
A bucket was already tied to a rope inside the well, with a crank beside it to help with lowering and raising. With one swing, the bucket filled with water, and he pulled hard.
As soon as he saw the bucket near the wellâs edge, he grabbed it and gave a sharp tug. Without hesitation, he poured the water into both of his buckets. The weight made him think that the large bucket could easily hold more than ten liters.
His two small ones could only hold five each.
Now that his task was done, he picked up both and walked the same path back.
Each bucket had five liters of water, yet he felt like these two were still lighter than the one he used at workâand there, it was just one bucket.
Thanks to the weight, the return trip took almost the time it takes to burn an incense stickâabout thirty minutes.
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By the time he got home, the sun had already started to rise in the sky. Zhang Chen hurried inside.
"Looks like Iâm gonna be late..." he muttered, grumbling as he poured the water into the basin and covered it. He quickly shut the door and rushed toward Shen Jieâs house.
Since the two homes werenât very far apart and the sun had already chased away most of the morning chill, Zhang Chen didnât slow his pace.
When he arrived, he found her at the door, silently staring at him.
"Letâs go..." she said simply, turning around as she headed toward the road.
Zhang Chen choked and swallowed the words he had already prepared. He could only follow her in silence, though something told him she seemed angry.
He just couldnât figure out why she would be.
The two walked the same road, descending most of the way in silence. Zhang Chen, on the other hand, was racking his brain, trying to understand what might have made her angry. Then, with a flash of inspiration, he finally grasped something.
âSorry for being late. I was delayââ he said, trying to explain himself, but just as he was about to blame the line, he caught her looking at him calmly. His words shifted, and he continued, âIt wonât happen again, I swear.â
Zhang Chen saw her turn her gaze back to the road without saying a word. Too bad he didnât catch the beautiful smile that bloomed on her face as she looked forward.
âWe should hurry, or weâll be late,â she said softly, picking up the pace.
Hearing that, Zhang Chen finally let out a sigh of relief and quickly followed behind at the same speed.
He seemed to have completely forgotten the lack of confidence he felt the day before.
No matter the world, women are complicated in all of them.
They continued on their way, and without being late, arrived at work. Without needing a reminder, Zhang Chen headed straight for his field.
There, the middle-aged man had already finished pulling out all the weeds.
The morning flew by in the blink of an eye as Zhang Chen hauled heavy buckets of water.
Then came lunchtimeâeagerly awaited by many. This time, Zhang Chen didnât forget his bowl.
He soon found Shen Jie in the crowd, and the two of them headed toward the line. Five minutes later, they were served and getting ready to eat.
As they searched for a spot to sit, a man who looked older than he really was approached with a bowl in hand.
A gentle smile spread across his face as he looked at Shen Jie.
His name was Tan Rui. As a human warrior, his strength stood out, and because of it, he secured a job pulling weeds. A genius in the martial world, he reached a high level while still very young. Still, in his twenties, he discovered the world of cultivators, which is why he was now hereâtrying to walk that path.
Knowing about Shen Jieâs connection with someone powerful in the city, he quickly saw an opportunity. Unfortunately, he also saw an obstacle.
âHaha, so this is where Miss Jie was. I was hoping to have lunch with you. Oh⦠and who might this young man be?â he asked, approaching with a smile. Only after reaching them did he seem to notice Zhang Chen, who was sitting beside her.
âHaha, no wonder you donât know meâitâs been a while since I last worked here. I just came back recently. My nameâs Zhang Chen,â he replied with a smile, noticing the slight furrow in Shen Jieâs brow but pretending not to see it.
âSo, Brother Chen it is. Brother Chen wouldnât mind if I joined you for lunch today, would he?â
As he spoke, Tan Rui was already sitting on the nearest rockâlarge enough to fit all three of them.
Zhang Chen observed this without losing his smile. He then sat beside him and replied:
âSince Brother Rui insists on joining us, I donât see a problem. Do you, Sister Jie?â
Seeing the situation, Shen Jie simply shook her head with a faint smile and sat beside Zhang Chen.
Tan Rui froze for a moment at the intimate exchange between the two. His smile turned a bit stiff, and when she so easily sat next to Zhang Chen, his discomfort only grew.
Everyone around noticed the unexpected trio having lunch together. In truth, only two of them seemed to chat regularly. The older one, Tan Rui, looked like the odd one out as the meal went on.
Whenever Zhang Chen and Shen Jie talked, Tan Rui tried to join in, butâintentionally or notâhe ended up left out of most of the conversation.
The only time he managed to speak more comfortably was when the topic of cultivation came up.
At that point, he shared his ambitions, how he was saving money to buy a cultivation technique and complained about the cityâs outrageous prices, which seemed even worse for those living outside the city walls.
Whether he liked Tan Rui or not, Zhang Chen quickly realized there was a real struggle for outsiders to gain resources in the city. There seemed to be a clear sense of disdain toward those from the outer regions.
Lunch eventually ended, and Tan Rui left looking more downcast than when he arrived. The closeness between Zhang Chen and Shen Jie was more than he had hoped for.
All you had to do was watch them interact. The fact that, when alone, they barely exchanged words made it even clearer.
With lunch over, the afternoon shift began. Everyone seemed a bit drowsy at first, but a few rounds of hauling water buckets quickly took care of that.
When work is hard, time seems to pass faster. Before Zhang Chen realized it, the shining circle in the sky was already beginning to dip, and he was carrying his last bucket.
He noticed Shen Jie waiting for him, watching as he finished watering the plants.
âAlmost done, just a minute,â he called out without raising his head.
She simply nodded and kept waiting in silence. Exactly sixty seconds later, Zhang Chen approached her with a smile.
âLetâs go. If we take too long, itâll get dark and dangerous,â he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead and brushing away some strands of hair from his face, clearly bothered by its length.
âYouâre right. We should hurry. Nighttime here is dangerous,â replied Shen Jie with a faint smileâone she perhaps didnât even realize she had.
Zhang Chen was surprised. As they walked together, he ran his hand through the hair that kept falling over his face.
"I think Iâll cut my hair⦠Maybe itâd look better shorter, donât you think?"
"No, your hairâs fine the way it is. I donât think short hair would suit you."
"Oh, really? Then maybe Iâll leave it like this a little longer..."
After that, they walked in silence again, both with faint smiles on their faces, while the orange sky cast a serene atmosphere over the late afternoon.
After climbing nearly a thousand meters, they reached the cluster of homes. Since Shen Jieâs house was the closest, Zhang Chen walked her to the door and said goodbye.
"See you tomorrow. I promise I wonât be late," he said with a serious expression.
"You donât need to get there too early. What matters most is that you donât skip a single day of cultivation. Donât forget why weâre here. Weakness is a sin," she replied, turning and heading inside.
Zhang Chen watched her go, countless thoughts drifting through his mind. With a long sigh, he turned around and made his way home.
Inside, Shen Jie placed a hand over her face and sighed, visibly relieved. Her cheeks were flushedâthese past few days had been tense for her. But as she closed her eyes, her expression regained its usual seriousness.
"He needs to grow stronger soon. This world is destined to devour the weak," she murmured to herself, thinking about how often she had to remind Zhang Chen to cultivate, even though he kept postponing it for one reason or another.
The walk back to Zhang Chenâs home didnât take long. He resumed his routine: wiped himself down with a damp cloth, fetched a little water, and cooked what was left of the rice in the pot.
An hour later, he had finished eating. The sun had long since vanished, and the cold of night was beginning to settle in.
Sitting on his bed, Zhang Chen once again held the booklet in his hands. Today was unfolding just like the day before.
With steady breathing, he focused once more on sensing the faint spiritual energy within the crystalline rice. Guiding it through his meridians and vessels, everything flowed smoothly, as if led by an invisible handâuntil suddenly, an image flashed in his mind.
The moment he became aware of it, all the energy he was guiding scattered like smoke.