Fetching water was easy for Ye Cheng, he lifted both buckets effortlessly, with fluid movements. It took him three trips to the well for him to fill the barrel. When he returned, Granny Mei raised an eyebrow and praised: "You've got strong bones for a pretty boy."
Ye Cheng smiled sweetly: "I'm flattered."
It can't be helped, he loves praise.
He went to the backyard to chop wood. The axe was old, and the blade dull. Ye Cheng felt that it might as well have been air. He channeled his qi and split the logs cleanly, stacking them neatly.
Some children curiously paused on the street to watch him.
"Are you done with the firewood already?" Granny Mei asked when she saw him come back.
"Yes, they're all stacked as requested." He replied.
Granny Mei looked at him in admiration: "I wish I had such a hard worker like you, my old bones would bloom with joy every morning."
Ye Cheng smiled but said nothing. He didn't plan to stay long in this town, so he didn't want to keep her hopes up.
He helped her with serving customers. hot bowls of noodles, bowls of millet porridge with red dates, steamed buns with pickled greens, and glutinous rice rolls dusted with bean powder. Ye Cheng is a foodie, it took him so much effort to resist the urge to eat the food. HE moved with speed and precision, ladling soup, carrying trays, pouring tea.
The customers were very satisfied with his service.
By the time the sun reached mid sky, a small crowd had gathered. Most of them came for the spectacle but ended up buying food. Who doesn't want to be served by a handsome young man?
"He's so handsome." A young lady whispered behind a fan.
"Is Granny Mei recruiting? I have four granddaughters who are of age to start working." An older woman muttered.
"Just say you're looking for a matchmaker." Her friend tapped her back lightly.
Even nearby stalls owners were glancing over enviously.
"That brat's attracting customers like honey draws bees." A fruit vendor mumbled.
"If he was your worker, you'll be smiling from ear to ear." Her competitor sneered.
Meanwhile, Ye Cheng was uninterested. His focus stayed on the job. He couldn't wait for the morning shift to be over so he could eat. A cultivator like himself doesn't need to eat everyday, but Ye Cheng refuses to eat fasting pills. Though very annoyed by their modeling, even when a nosy old man asked if he was to have their land as a betroyer gift, Ye Cheng only smiled politely and refused.
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As the last bowl was served, Granny Mei poured a cup of tea and sat on a stool beside Ye Cheng who was in the middle of eatingYe Cheng who was eating.
"You're not just some street lad."She said casually, watching the steam curl from her cup.
Ye Cheng tilted his head: "What makes you say that?"
"Only cultivators move like that. Your movements were too smooth and although you worked hard, you didn't apply any effort. If you're not a cultivator then are you a demon?"
Ye Cheng chuckled unnaturally, he sipped his water before asking: "Are there other cultivators in town?"
Her smile faded: "Not this town."
Ye Cheng's eyes narrow slightly: "None?"
Granny Mei shook her head: "Anyone born with spirit roots gets picked up by wandering sect recruiters." She explained: "As for the rest, they leave to chase their fates on the road. Taishou is quiet because all the ambitious ones have left."
Ye Cheng considered that: "No wandering cultivators passing through?"
"None recently. Not in years, I think. Taishou is on the outskirts of the continent; there's nothing here for cultivators to gain."
"Oh, I see." Ye Cheng nodded and thanked her for the tea.
Granny Mei got up and patted him on the shoulder: "You did well today. Better than most town boys I've hired."
She reached into a pouch beneath the counter and handed him several silver taels. "Here, for your help. And extra for drawing in customers. You might've earned me a record morning."
Ye Cheng blinked at the coin in his hand: "...You're paying me extra for my good looks?"
Granny Mei smiled: "Let an old woman spoil herself a little."
He couldn't help but laugh.
Lan Huo, perched atop the awning above, sent him a dry sound transmission: "You should start a business. A Demon prince who became a soup boy suits you well."
Ye Cheng ignored him, pocketed the coins, and bowed politely to Granny Mei.
"I'll return the favor someday."
Granny Mei waved him off: "Nonsense. If you ever need breakfast again, just work like today and we'll call it even."
...
By the time the sun dipped behind the western hills, the marketplace had begun to quiet. Smoke curled from rooftops, and the scent of stewed radish and rice wine drifted lazily through the streets of Taishou Town.
Ye Cheng flipped the silver taels in his palm, weighing them with a sigh.
"This much won't take me far." He muttered.
Lan Huo nodded and sighs as well: "It'll take you exactly one night in a third-rate inn and maybe breakfast. Assuming you don't eat like a beast."
Ye Cheng clicked his tongue: "You eat more than me, even with your small size."
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Ye Cheng found lodging at a quiet, worn inn called Willow Sleep, its entrance was framed by paper lanterns. The interior was plain but clean. The innkeeper was a young man with an oily smile. He accepted his coin without question and handed Ye Cheng a brass key.
The room was small, the bed stiff, and the oil lamp was dim. But to Ye Cheng, after the day he'd had, it was paradise.
He laid out the small map given to him by the Demon King, inked on dark parchment only readable by those attuned to demonic Qi. After activating it, the symbols shimmered faintly.
His fingertip traced the script.
"So this is where I am… Taishou Town." The glowing point was far from his intended target. Shenhui Academy, which stood on the other side of a series of provinces, nestled near the southern mountains. From his current location, it would take him over a month to reach.
"Father really threw me halfway across the continent." Ye Cheng grumbled.
Lan Huo sneered faintly in his head: "To be fair, you passed out during the teleportation. You're the first person in the Demons' history to excel in such embarrassment. Not to mention, you're also a prince, ouch."
Ye Cheng rolled his eyes: "You are a bald pigeon, what do you know?"
"How dare you?!" Lan Huo hiss.
Ye Cheng ignored the angry bird and blew out the lamp and lay back. The sky beyond the wooden lattice window was clear. The half moon was shining brightly.
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The next morning after checking out, Ye Cheng sat at a corner table near the inn's hearth. The breakfast was simple: rice porridge with pickled bamboo and salted duck egg. Yet it warmed his bones and pleased his hunger.
That was his last money spent. He was penniless but had no intention of going back to work for granny Mei.
As he stood to leave, the inn attendant, a wiry man with a lazy drawl leaned over and asked: "Are you a traveler, young master?"
Ye Cheng nodded.
"Then you might want to head east to Qingshi Town. It is a bigger place with markets, temples, and even a black market if you're the... adventurous sort. I heard that one can trade anything there, including: herbs, spirit stones, rare beast parts and even demonic fragments,... if you're lucky. And all currencies can be exchanged as well."
Ye Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly: "A Black market?"
The man smirked and whispered a few codes to Ye Cheng before saying: "Just don't ask too many questions. People there don't like being known and you might get into trouble by saying the wrong thing."
Ye Cheng thanked him, and gave him the low grade Shadow coin. The inn attendant left happily. Ye Cheng stared at his back for a while before pulling his cloak tighter. That inn attendant doesn't look like a local, but Ye Cheng was too lazy to care.