I have a panel that reduces proficiency.

Chapter 8 The Livelihood of Unaffiliated Cultivators

Fang Shi frowned and said, "Manager Tian, ​​wasn't it usually okay to submit it in the afternoon? Why the rush today?"

Steward Tian snorted and said, "I don't care if it was yesterday or yesterday. Today is today. Hand it over now and stop talking nonsense."

Fang Shi said with a bitter face, "Manager Tian, ​​I don't have enough spirit fragments on hand, I'm still short a few. Please give me a break until this afternoon, I'll gather the rest and send them to you immediately, not a single one missing."

Manager Tian straightened his face and said, "I don't care. If you don't give them now, you'll get two extra this afternoon. That's the rule, it's the same for everyone."

Fang vowed, "I'm only two pills short. Please be lenient, just half a day—"

Manager Tian interrupted him, saying, "What does that have to do with me? If you don't have the money, pay it this afternoon, two extra pills. Pay if you want, don't pay if you don't want to, I'm very busy, I don't have time to argue with you."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Fang Shi stood at the door, watching Steward Tian's figure disappear into the alleyway, speechless for a long time.

He slowly closed the door, bolted it, and returned to sit down in front of the talisman table.

Two.

He was only two Soul Shards short.

But it was these two pills that forced him to recalculate the accounts.

He originally planned to save up 25 grains for rent, and keep one extra grain to buy rice.

Then practice the "Minor Water Cloud Technique".

Now there are two more.

That's twenty-eight pills.

Five more talismans need to be drawn today to fill this hole.

Fortunately, the five spirit fragments for the stall fee were only due in the middle of the month, otherwise the hole would have been even bigger.

But in any case, don't even think about cultivating the "Minor Water Cloud Technique" today.

Fang Shi picked up his pen, took a deep breath, and suppressed those worries.

The pen tip landed on the yellow paper, and the vermilion lines spread out inch by inch without ever breaking.

……

The sun was directly overhead.

Fang Shigang had just finished drawing the fifth talisman and was resting.

Suddenly, two loud "thump-thump" sounds came from the courtyard gate.

He got up to open the door.

Wu Tong was standing outside the door.

The little monkey wasn't wearing his tattered, patched-up Taoist robe today; instead, he was wearing a blue cloth shirt that he'd picked up from somewhere, which made him look cleaner.

Fang Shi asked directly, "What's the situation with Steward Tian?"

Wu Tong glanced around to make sure no one was in the alley before lowering his voice and saying, "Brother Fang, I've found out. Manager Tian and the new array repairman don't get along!"

Fang Shi asked, "How exactly do you mean we can't get along?"

Wu Tong said, "I subtly inquired with a few people, and they said that when Li Daoyuan was around, he earned Spirit Shards from repairing arrays, and he was supposed to share 30% of the profits with Steward Tian. Now, the new Taoist Huang, I don't know if he doesn't understand the rules or if he's unwilling to give them, the matter of sharing profits hasn't been settled. Steward Tian has urged him several times, but Taoist Huang has ignored him. Steward Tian is unhappy, but he can't do anything about Taoist Huang, so..."

Fang Shi interjected, "So they're going to make up for it from us tenants?"

Wu Tong scratched his head and said, "Brother Fang, I don't understand. What does their conflict have to do with you paying rent? Why should they charge you more?"

Fang Shi sighed and said, "Earning less money even for one day is equivalent to losing money."

Wu Tong was stunned for a long while, then said angrily, "How could this be!"

Fang Shi glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Although Wu Tong was young, he had been living in Qiyuan Town for so many years, what kind of filthy things hadn't he seen?

The resentment on his face slowly turned into helplessness, and he said in a low voice, "Brother Fang, I remember now. It was the same thing when the stall fees were raised at Pan Market two years ago. The two managers upstairs were fighting over the land, and in the end, it was us stallholders who got the rent increased. I was helping an old lady who sold vegetables at the time, and she was so worried that half of her hair turned white overnight..."

Fang Shi straightened his clothes and said, "Enough of that. Come with me to set up the stall. It's the end of the month, the market is bustling, let's try our luck."

Wu Tong immediately dropped his pained expression and grinned, "Alright!"

As he spoke, he voluntarily went into the yard, lifted the cart covered with an old cloth in the corner, and pushed it out.

That cart was used by Fang Shi to set up his stall; it was a simple wooden frame with a bamboo shed, but sturdy nonetheless.

Wu Tong pushed the car to the door with quick, nimble movements.

Fang locked the courtyard gate, and the two of them walked one after the other towards the west end of Panshi.

Towards the end of the month, the western part of the market was particularly bustling.

The streets were crowded with independent cultivators setting up stalls, selling talismans, medicine, magical artifacts, animal hides, and spiritual rice and vegetables—a wide variety of things.

The shouts, bargaining, and complaints mingled together, creating a buzzing sound.

Fang Shi walked through the crowd, vaguely hearing a few words of conversation drifting over—

"...The rent went up this month..."

"...Who says otherwise? Last month it was the 25th, this month the 27th, and next month it might even be the 30th..."

Fang ignored them, found an empty spot, parked the cart, and set up his stall.

A wooden sign hung in front of Wu Tong's stall, which read "Fang's Talismans, Honest and Fair to All, Young and Old".

Fang Shi took out a stack of protective talismans from his bosom, five in a row, and lined them up neatly.

Just as we finished tidying up, guests arrived.

The man who came was a middle-aged man in his forties named Zhou An. He sold medicinal herbs at the west end of Panshi Market and was a regular customer.

He had a dark complexion, wore a faded gray cloth robe with frayed cuffs, and patched cloth shoes.

Behind him followed a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old. He was fair-skinned and dressed in a new blue robe. Standing next to Zhou An, they looked more like master and servant than father and son.

Zhou An walked up to the stall and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Fang, it's been quite a while. My son used up all the fifteen talismans I bought last time, so I'm here to patronize your business again."

Fang Shi also smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're too kind. How is your son's cultivation progressing?"

Zhou An said, "So-so, it's about the middle stage of the second level of Qi Refining. It's not good enough for the best, but it's not bad either."

As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag from his pocket, carefully counted out fifteen spirit fragments, and handed them over, "Same as always, fifteen."

Fang Shi took the broken spirit, took three stacks of protective talismans, and handed them over with both hands.

Zhou An took the talisman, carefully folded it, and put it in his pocket. He looked down at the boy and said, "Xiao Yuan, these fifteen talismans are enough for you for a month. Use them sparingly and don't waste them."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan frowned and said in a low voice, "Father, fifteen coins aren't enough for a month. Even if you take one a day, it'll only last for five days. Don't try to fool me."

Zhou An said, "Who told you to use one a day? Using one every other day is fine too. Be more economical; you don't need to protect your meridians every day."

Zhou Yuan pursed his lips and said, "Using one every other day slows down your progress by half. Zhao Yuan from Uncle Zhao's family next door uses one every day, and he's almost at the third level of Qi Refining, while I'm only just over the second level..."

Zhou An sighed and reached out to touch his son's head, but Zhou Yuan dodged it.

He said, "Xiao Yuan, don't compare yourself to others. Zhao Yuan's father is in the business of making pills; we can't compare to him. Just focus on your cultivation and don't think about anything else."

Zhou Yuan wanted to say more, but Zhou An had already pulled him by the hand and was walking outside.

The stall owner selling spirit meat next door suddenly asked, "Zhou An, did the family next door, the one surnamed Sun, move out this afternoon?"

Zhou An paused, turned around, and said, "Old Liu, you've heard about it too?"

Old Liu asked, "You're not living in the houses in Qiyuan Town anymore? You're not cultivating anymore?"

Zhou An said, "They're not staying there anymore. The houses are charged per person, which they can't afford. They'll have to move to a shack on the edge of the wilderness. Cultivation? The kid can do that. The couple themselves stopped cultivating a long time ago and use all their spirit stones to support that kid."

Old Liu sighed, "It's the same old story. One family left my alley last year, and another this year. They all moved to the edge of that desolate place to live in shacks. Only the child is left in the house in Qiyuan Town."

Zhou An said, "That's right. The Sun family next door, the man is at the third level of Qi Refining, and the woman is at the second level. They wouldn't spend a single grain of Qi Refining to support their child. They moved away the other day, with only two bundles of luggage, so light."

Old Liu asked, "What about that child? What's his cultivation level?"

Zhou An said, "The second level of Qi Refining is a step above my Xiao Yuan. But so what? His parents moved to a shack, and you don't know what kind of shack it is, the environment is terrible. The child lives and cultivates in Shangyuan Town, while his parents suffer on the edge of the wilderness, it's really pitiful."

Old Liu looked at Zhou Yuan beside Zhou An, remained silent for a moment, then turned around and went to greet the customers who were buying rice.

Zhou An also took Zhou Yuan's hand and slowly walked away.

Fang Shi stood behind the stall, listening to every word of the conversation without missing a single one, his expression remaining unchanged.

This is how everyone can cultivate themselves.

As long as their children have something to look forward to, parents are willing to empty their savings, saving every penny, and devoting themselves to their children.

So the reason he wasn't in a hurry to set up a stall was because he already knew this situation.

Wu Tong, who was squatting next to the stall, also heard those words. He lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.

Soon after, more people arrived.

This time it was a woman, about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, wearing a slightly worn indigo shirt.

She walked to the stall alone, her gaze sweeping over the row of protective talismans, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Fang, are these protective talismans still one shard of spirit per talisman?"

Fang swore, "That's right. We treat everyone honestly, young and old, and our goods are genuine and fairly priced."

The woman hesitated for a moment, then took out a cloth bag from her sleeve, untied the rope, poured it into her palm, and three and a half pieces of broken spirit pills rolled out.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, could you give me a discount? I'll buy four, and you can charge me three and a half pills, how about that?"

Fang swore, "Sister-in-law, it's not that I'm unwilling. The price of this talisman has been the same since the day I set up my stall, and it has never changed. One talisman for every shard of spirit, not even half a shard less."

The woman said, "Fellow Daoist Fang, you are also a rogue cultivator, so you know how difficult things are these days. Manager Tian raised the rent by two grains this month. My family is already struggling to make ends meet, and my child needs to cultivate. Everything requires spirit stones. Please, do me a favor and give me half a grain off to help me out."

Fang Shi said, "Sister-in-law, I understand your difficulties. But I have my own problems. The cinnabar, yellow paper, and worn-out brush tip for these talismans—each one costs spirit stones! Besides, my rent has gone up. If I give you a good deal, others will too, and how will I keep running this stall?"

The woman said urgently, "I didn't ask you to give me a discount, just this once. Next time I'll buy them at the original price, not a single one less."

Fang Shi said, "Sister-in-law, rules are rules. Once this precedent is set, it's hard to stop it."

The woman's eyes reddened, and she said, "Fellow Daoist Fang, how can you be so heartless at such a young age? My son has been at the first level of Qi Refining for almost a year, but he's still stuck at the bottleneck. His teacher says he needs to use protective talismans to nourish his meridians every day, and we're just short four more. But each talisman costs one Soul Shard, so that's thirty talismans a month. Add to that rent, food, and tuition, and all the Soul Shards I earn in a month aren't enough. I've stopped cultivating myself; I give all my savings to my son. Can't you even give me half a talisman, not even half a talisman?"

Fang Shi remained expressionless, only saying calmly, "Sister-in-law, I understand your intentions. But this price is truly unacceptable."

Seeing that he remained unmoved, the woman suddenly plopped down in front of the stall, slapping her thigh and crying out, "How can you be so heartless? I've bought your talismans from this market countless times, and I've never shortchanged you by even one! Now I'm short of money, and I'm begging you to give me half a talisman at a discount, but you won't even agree! Are you even human?"

Several passersby stopped and looked over, and Old Liu, who was selling spirit meat nearby, also leaned over.

The woman continued, "Everyone, be the judge! I've been buying talismans from this stall for almost two years, and I've never haggled over the price. Now my family is really starving, so I begged him to lower the price by half a talisman, but he absolutely refused! How can you do business like this in this market? Look, everyone, look! These three and a half fragments of spirit stone are all genuine spirit stones, not fake! I didn't take his talismans for free; I paid for them!"

Fang Shi thought to himself: Two years, how come I didn't know?

He said, "This stall in the market belongs to the Sanpan Temple. I, Fang, set up a stall here and pay a monthly fee of five spirit fragments, which is collected personally by Steward He. If anything happens, you can ask him to reason with you. Are you sure you want him to reason with you? I don't have a child like you."

The woman's expression changed when she heard the words "Manager He".

She knew it perfectly well.

If we let Manager He from Sanpan Temple manage it, both sides will suffer a heavy blow. The expenses that should be paid will not be less, and the expenses that should not be paid will also have to be paid to Manager He.

The woman stood up angrily, stuffed the three and a half fragments of spirit pills back into the bottom of her bag, and turned to leave.

After the woman left, nothing more happened at the stall.

Several more groups of customers arrived one after another. They were all familiar faces. They asked about the price, paid, and took the talismans in a quick and efficient manner.

Soon, the protective talismans were all gone.

Wu Tong crawled out from behind the cart and quickly helped pack up the stall.

Fang Shi then spent a shard of spirit to buy less than a pound of Biling rice.

When he returned, Wu Tong had already packed up.

Fang Shidao said, "Let's go."

The two of them, one in front of the other, pushed the cart back home.

The market was still bustling with activity, with people coming and going, shoulder to shoulder.

This excitement had nothing to do with Fang Shi—he had already saved up enough spirit stones and would be able to start cultivating the "Minor Water Cloud Technique" tomorrow.

[Xu Xing's proficiency in defending the center +1]

【Xu Xing Shou Zhong (Beginner): 89/100】

Huh?

This walking ritual has even gained a certain level of proficiency.

Fang Shi was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized—it turned out that in his excitement, he had unconsciously walked more lightly and his body had become more relaxed, making him feel more at ease and joyful than usual.

It is evident that in spiritual practice, the mind and body are inseparable.

When he arrived at his doorstep, Fang Shi took out his key, unlocked the door, and pushed open the gate.

Wu Tong pushed the cart inside, stopped it in the corner, covered it with an old cloth, then turned around, scratched his head, and said, "Brother Fang, shall I go now?"

Fang Shi said, "Go. Behave yourself and don't cause trouble."

Wu Tong responded and shrank his neck as he walked out. Before he reached the door, he suddenly heard a rough voice from outside—

"Fellow Daoist Fang! We've been waiting for you! Business with your Spirit-Locking Array has arrived!"