Chapter 40: Fate
"So I just... somehow ended up entering the Verdant Cloud Sect?"
All of Lu You's valuables were stored in the Cauldron of Cornucopia, so he only needed to pack some everyday clothes before following the fat man away.
The fat man glanced at Lu You's shabby bundle and looked even more disdainful. He didn't bother chatting along the way, leading Lu You straight into the Verdant Cloud Sect.
When they arrived at the Deep Literary Pavilion, the fat man brought Lu You to the entrance of a large shared courtyard and pointed inside. "Pick an empty bed yourself and put your things down. I'll take you to learn the rules after that."
Unlike the small wooden hut Lu You had in the spiritual fields—which at least gave him some privacy—this place was more like a shared rental compound. It was filthy and messy. There were disciples in the yard shouting as they trained, and others inside practicing talisman-drawing. The whole place felt cramped and chaotic.
Without showing anything on his face, Lu You took a quiet look around. Then he slipped a small box of spirit stones into the fat man's pocket. "Senior Brother, I'm not good with people. Could you help me find a courtyard with fewer people?"
The fat man lightly weighed the pocket and finally gave Lu You a proper look. "I didn't expect this, you're actually pretty good with people."
With a snicker, sensing there were around thirty-some spirit stones inside, he didn't make things hard for Lu You. He turned and motioned for Lu You to follow.
"As long as you've got spirit stones, everything's negotiable." The fat man, who'd barely spoken before, finally opened up. "Our Deep Literary Pavilion belongs to the Inner Sect, but everyone's status is still Outer Sect disciples. We only get to stay here because we can draw talismans."
"Here, you'd better keep your eyes open. Qi Refining cultivators are nothing in the Inner Sect. If you provoke someone you shouldn't, as long as you don't get beaten to death, nobody will care. In the Deep Literary Pavilion, just draw talismans obediently. As long as you finish the quota, you won't have to run errands like Outer Sect disciples, and you'll get cultivation methods and pill rewards."
After saying just a few sentences, the fat man shut up again. Lu You understood immediately and took out another box of spirit stones. "Thanks for the guidance, Senior Brother. This is just for tea."
The fat man accepted the spirit stones openly and continued, "Not bad, I think highly of you. The Inner Sect is like this: either you compete with strength, or you compete with spirit stones. If you've got neither, you can only go to the big shared courtyard. But if you've got money..."
The fat man stopped. In front of them was a very refined courtyard, with two small two-story buildings on the left and right. It looked a lot like a Western-style villa from before Lu You transmigrated.
"This courtyard only rents to two people at a time. Fifty spirit stones a month, it's already the least crowded option. If you want a private courtyard, your cultivation has to reach the Foundation Establishment realm first."
Then the fat man changed his tone. "The one living inside is a Peak Qi Refining realm cultivator. His temper? Not great. Watch yourself and don't provoke him."
Seeing the fat man's greedy face, Lu You sighed inwardly, but kept a smile on the surface. "Senior Brother jokes. I'm bad with people to begin with, how could I live with someone short-tempered? Here are a few bottles of spirit wine. Drinking this in winter will warm you right up. Could I trouble Senior Brother to help me find a neighbor who's easier to get along with?"
"What, already out of spirit stones?" The fat man looked displeased at first, but when he saw that Lu You had taken out three bottles of spirit wine, his face lit up again.
"Senior Brother, I haven't gone down the mountain in a long time. I still need what spirit stones I have left to pay the rent. When I do go down, I'll definitely bring some specialties from home to visit you."
Lu You deliberately made it sound like he had a family background, but kept it vague on purpose, so even if someone dug into his background later, he'd have room to maneuver.
"Good. This Zhou Lei would remember those words. If you forget, I won't."
The fat man finally gave his name—Zhou Lei—also a not-so-subtle hint for Lu You to go inquire about him, so he'd know who to keep "respecting" in the future.
Leading Lu You onward again, Zhou Lei brought him to another small courtyard identical to the previous one and introduced it. "I didn't shortchange you, Junior Brother. You're guaranteed to be satisfied with whoever lives here, but the price is higher too. The courtyard rent is fifty spirit stones a month, plus an extra fifty spirit stones as a room-transfer fee. One hundred spirit stones total."
"The person living here—not only is their temper good and their looks decent, they're also from a family in the main city district. They usually go back to their clan to stay and only live here occasionally. Most of the time, you'll be the only one here. Even though it's technically shared, it'll feel more like your own private courtyard. I may be greedy for money, but I do honest business—here in the Deep Literary Pavilion, you'd be hard-pressed to find another place like this."
Lu You didn't want to flaunt his wealth, but the idea of having a private courtyard hit his weak spot. Gritting his teeth, he put on a pained expression and didn't pay right away. "Senior Brother Zhou, this is really too expensive. Can't you make it cheaper?"
"There's a discount for yearly rent—1,100 spirit stones total."
The fat man narrowed his eyes, waiting for Lu You's response.
"I'll stick with monthly rent for now. I'll talk about long-term rent after I go home."
Lu You took out two more boxes of spirit stones, each containing exactly fifty stones, and placed them into the fat man's hands. He'd spent two hundred spirit stones in a single day—someone observant might take note of that. But at this point, Lu You felt that even without exposing his talismans, just relying on his swordsmanship, Qi Refining cultivators would have a hard time bullying him. As for Foundation Establishment cultivators... Lu You glanced at the smiling fat man. Foundation Establishment cultivators could make money lying down, there were plenty of ways for them to squeeze him dry, and they wouldn't bother draining the pond dry for small fry like him.
"Generous, Junior Brother." Zhou Lei patted Lu You on the shoulder, then took out a spirit token and handed it over. "With this token, you can enter the house. It's valid for one month. When it expires, you'll need to replenish the spiritual energy in the token, just bring money and find me. You were very straightforward today; I like that. I'll throw in a beginner's guide for you, it has the Deep Literary Pavilion's map and rules. When you renew, come find me in the building marked with 'Heaven' on the map."
With the money made, Zhou Lei didn't linger and turned to leave.
Lu You took the spirit token, swiped it across the door seal, and entered the courtyard he'd rented for a hundred spirit stones. The courtyard layout was neat and square, with red bricks and green tiles, clean and tidy. The room on the left belonged to Lu You's roommate; the door was tightly shut, and judging from the dust on the steps, no one had been back in a long time. The other side was Lu You's room, with even more dust, but he didn't mind and pushed the door open directly.
The house had two floors. The ground floor had a spacious hall suitable for cultivation. At the far end was a simple kitchen. Cultivators converted all kinds of bodily functions into spiritual energy; even those at the Qi Refining realm had metabolisms different from ordinary people, so there was no bathroom in the house.
Up on the second floor were two rooms. One was a bedroom with south-facing windows, designed quite comfortably. The other had no windows at all and looked more like a secret chamber.
"Figures, you get what you pay for."
Lu You was very satisfied with the place. It was hundreds of times better than his wooden hut in the spiritual fields. The two floors also neatly separated quiet and active spaces—downstairs was the hall for cultivation, upstairs a sealed room for doing discreet things.
After thinking for a moment, Lu You took out the spirit token and asked the Evil Eye in his mind, "You've lived a long time, take a look for me. Is there any kind of surveillance technique hidden in this token?"
When you're staying somewhere away from home, the first thing you do is check whether there are any hidden cameras in the room.
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