Chapter 42: Fists the Size of Sandbags
Seeing Chen Ming back down so readily, the freak who called himself Brother Demon Goat was briefly stunned. In his experience, very few people could recognize reality so quickly. But soon, he nodded in satisfaction.
After all, that was only natural. The strength of a newly joined Disciple was, at most, around the level of a Spirit Grandmaster. In front of a powerful Spirit Ancestor like himself, that was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Faced with such power, backing down was the correct choice.
Brother Demon Goat pocketed the gold coins that were still warm from Chen Ming's hand, along with the loose silver and bronze coins, then nodded.
"Not bad. You're a sensible kid. I've got high hopes for you."
"Xiao Si, go fix the spirit tool wiring in his room."
"Yes, Big Brother!" A wretched-looking young man immediately stepped forward.
"Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, get your ass out here!"
Following Brother Demon Goat's shout, the door of the water pavilion opened from the inside, and a voluptuous woman in revealing clothes walked out with swaying hips.
"Big Brother, what is it?"
"This kid just arrived today. I see he's sharp, so for today, give him a day's worth of water for free and clean his room properly. Understood?"
"I understand, Big Brother. I'll give him some face today." The scantily dressed, seductive female Spirit Master twisted her waist and answered in a flirtatious voice.
"Don't forget to pay the money back on time every month. The monthly interest is 30 percent. Kid, I'd better hope you can work fast enough to afford it. Don't even think about moving away. I have people above me. Even if you leave this place, you still won't be able to escape."
Without waiting for Chen Ming to say anything, Brother Demon Goat turned and left.
The pitiful looking Spirit Master called Xiao Si entered Chen Ming's room. Clearly familiar with the layout even in complete darkness, he used tools to pry open the soul tool lamp's wiring, quickly reconnected several lines, and cleared out some debris.
Obviously, the problem with the wiring in the whole room had most likely been caused by him in the first place.
With the light restored, Chen Ming was finally able to see the room clearly. Overall, it was not much different from what he had seen earlier, except that there were dark red bloodstains on the floor, in the corners, and even on parts of the ceiling. They were clearly traces left behind by the previous resident.
Chen Ming searched the room but could not find anything resembling a bucket, so he had no choice but to head to the water station, wait in line for a while, and enter the building that sold water.
The inside of the pavilion was not large. It was simply a structure built around a well. Aside from the wellhead, there were several buckets piled in the corner, a dim chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a few stools. Other than that, the room was completely empty.
"May I ask if you sell buckets here too?"
"I don't sell buckets, but if it's your first time fetching water from me, I'll give you one for free." The seductive female Spirit Master picked up a wooden bucket from the corner and tossed it to Chen Ming.
"This bucket holds 1 liter. One liter of water costs 1 silver coin. I only allow water to be fetched with my buckets. If you use a different one, you'd better be careful, or I'll kick you out."
Chen Ming weighed the bucket and immediately noticed that although it looked standard, the walls were very thick, and the inside was wide at the top but noticeably narrower at the bottom.
To put it simply, Chen Ming could tell with his toes that this bucket definitely did not hold a full liter. Calling it a "gift" was really just a trick to sell less water at a higher price.
"Thank you, Senior." Chen Ming pretended not to notice anything and stepped forward to fetch water, but he was immediately stopped by the seductive Evil Spirit Master extending a hand.
"Outsiders aren't allowed to touch the water source. That's the rule. Since you're new, I won't make an issue of it today. If just anyone could touch the water source, what would happen if someone poisoned it? Spirit Masters need to drink water too. The water source is of utmost importance."
"Don't compare this to those places outside where anyone can fetch water freely. Most people here wouldn't dare. In our kind of environment, random poisoning is nothing unusual. If you eat or drink the wrong thing, you can really die."
"Don't think charging for water is too much. Let me tell you, if I weren't watching over it, who knows what this water source would have turned into by now? Not everyone even gets the chance to pay for water."
The seductive female Spirit Master pressed a mechanism on one corner of the well structure. As she circulated her spirit power, the water lifting device rose by itself.
"Come on, catch the water. If you spill it, that's your problem."
She tipped her bucket toward Chen Ming's, and with a single pour, his bucket was filled to about ninety-five percent. It was enough that he would not easily spill it, but still clearly not full.
Seeing Chen Ming finish fetching the water, the seductive female Spirit Master waved her hand and shooed him away.
"Excuse me, Sister, I just arrived today. If I need to clean the room, can I fetch a little more water in one trip?"
"Calling me 'Sister'?" The seductive female Spirit Master let out a laugh, her chest trembling as she revealed a large expanse of pale skin. Then, her expression abruptly changed.
"You can call me whatever you want, but even if you called me Mother, it wouldn't matter. Letting you fetch water for free today was the Boss giving you face. How much more do you want? One queue, one bucket. That's the rule here. Now get out and line up again!"
"Tsk." Chen Ming clicked his tongue without hiding his displeasure, then carried the bucket back to his room.
Since he still had no way to store water, he had no choice but to go out again and look for a place that sold sundries.
There was indeed a pavilion dedicated to selling sundries. But as for the prices...
"1 gold coin for a large wooden bucket, 5 silver for a mop, 1 silver for a basin... are you trying to rob me?" Chen Ming looked at the price tags and blurted out in disbelief.
"Robbing wouldn't be this fast. Let me tell you, since you've walked through this door today, don't even think about leaving empty-handed. I'll give you the three piece set for 2 gold coins. If you don't have it, you can owe it, 30 percent monthly interest."
The shopkeeper, who looked completely ordinary, straightened his back and spoke to Chen Ming with extreme rudeness. Then, he kicked the shabbiest set of goods in the shop to Chen Ming's feet, clearly intending to force the sale.
"Just curious, what's your cultivation level?"
"I'll tell you, I'm a Rank 25 Spirit Gran..."
Before the shopkeeper could finish speaking, Chen Ming, who had looked mild and even somewhat weak just a moment ago, suddenly sprang forward like a compressed spring. His fist drew a large arc and smashed directly into the man's nose.
Although he had not yet used Spirit Possession, Chen Ming's spirit power itself carried toxicity. With spirit power concentrated in that punch, the toxin surged into the shopkeeper's body. The pain was so intense that the man instantly lost consciousness.
Whether it was a Spirit Master or a Spirit Grandmaster, the gap between them and an ordinary person was not fundamentally huge. Even in terms of physical strength, there was no real qualitative difference. Without using spirit power, their power was still limited. Only after reaching the Spirit Elder level and obtaining the 3rd Spirit Ring did the first true qualitative transformation occur.
The shopkeeper had simply been too arrogant. Chen Ming's vicious punch broke his nose, and before the man could even release his Spirit, Chen Ming had already grabbed him by the collar, slammed him to the ground, and sat on top of him while raining down punch after punch.
"You think I'm some weak cat just because I didn't show my claws?"
Thud.
"Forcing a sale, huh? A Spirit Grandmaster, huh? Who the hell do you think you are? A mere Spirit Grandmaster, and you're this arrogant?"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
.....
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