Dao Of The Salted Fish (Salted Fish Cultivator)

Elder Liu sent a flying letter to Wen Zhihao, saying that she could test him in a month.

In a month! That was far away enough that Wen Zhihao did not yet need to cram. He felt that it was quite carefree.

In the late morning on the day where he had scheduled to have dinner with Sun Fuyu, Wen Zhihao leisurely went to one of the mortal towns.

He had with him a collection of pretty glowing pebbles and glowing flowers, intending to sell them cheaply to earn some pocket money.

It was the same town as where Wen Zhihao had carried that randomly injured person dressed in black a week ago. There was no sign of the man so he must have left already.

“Good morning, master cultivator,” the illiterate man, surnamed Li, greeted.

“Good morning,” Wen Zhihao said politely. “If Master Li can help me.”

Old Li snorted, “What, master?” Old Li couldn’t help be flattered though. “I will do my best to help.”

Wen Zhihao took out a glowing stone and a glowing flower from his spatial ring. “These are items that I’ve made. Both of them can shine brighter and more evenly than a candle, and will last at least a week.”

A week was how long Wen Zhihao had tested some earlier ones for.

Even in the daylight, one could see how these items shone. “I want to sell them for...one wen each. The calm and steady light is very suitable for anyone who has to work at night, such as scholars, since there is no fire hazard.”

Old Li rubbed his chin. “Hmmmmm.”

Wen Zhihao lifted his sleeve so that the two items were in shadow. “See? Are there any scholars in town?”

“There are.”

Old Li ended up taking him to the only bookstore in town, where scholars gathered. It was a very small bookstore, with the four essentials—paper, ink, inkstone, brush—as well as some other items such as popular books, candles and oil lamps.

The group of scholars gathering in the book store today were mostly young men and some slightly older men. They all bowed politely when they saw Wen Zhihao dressed in distinct robes.

“What problem is the Master Cultivator investigating?” one of the young scholars said naively. He was subtly jabbed by another scholar a moment later.

Wen Zhihao smiled his salesman smile and pulled out a bunch of glowing flowers. “These flowers will last at least a week, glowing brightly like a small sun. Put them on your table and study and write at ease at night, no eye strain, no flame hazard, no smoke. I can demonstrate.” Wen Zhihao went towards a relatively dark corner of the bookstore, i.e. the furthest away from the front.

“Scholar, please open and read a book.”

The young naive scholar did so curiously, while Wen Zhihao held a glowing flower over the book.

“Oh! It’s almost like the day! The contrast between the letters and paper is so clear! Master Cultivator, this flower is very beautiful, its petals delicate and glowing like the moon.”

This made the other scholars interested too. “Wow, you’re right for once!”

The young scholar pouted. “Dare you say that again!”

“These are one wen each, if you buy five, I can give one for free!” Wen Zhihao said. He pulled out more flowers and stone glowing stones too. “Of course, I can infuse light in other items too if you desire, one wen per item.”

The scholars didn’t look much at the stones, but they liked the flowers. And it was very cheap, so even these relatively poor town scholars could afford it easily.

Just like that, Wen Zhihao earned 10 wen. He didn’t sell any of the stones, but he decided he could just use them himself.

“Can you make a lamp glow as though it’s lit?” an older, more refined looking scholar asked.

Wen Zhihao nodded. “Of course! Since the glow of these is continuous, it is also suitable for indoor locations that do not get enough sunlight. I can do it right away.”

The scholars all watched curiously as Wen Zhihao powered a few ornate looking lamps with sunlight. However, since the scholars had no qi foundation, they had no idea how it was happening. Doing this wasn’t a problem for Wen Zhihao, sunlight-qi was free! And it meant that these items were all powered by solar power, very green energy.

“I’ll come back here in a week, you tell me if there is anything wrong,” Wen Zhihao told them. It definitely made him sound more credible too.

Things in a small town spread quickly, and in fact, Wen Zhihao was soon powering up miscellaneous items for one wen each just for the novelty, as many townsfolk didn’t want to miss out on the new fad. Sadly, no one wanted his poor stones…

By the end of it, Wen Zhihao collected a total of 30 wen! Five times more than last time, Sun Fuyu should be even happier with this!

With that, Wen Zhihao happily returned to the Golden Sun Sect. Somehow...making money to give others felt good? Not having to worry, money-wise, about the roof over his head also felt good?

In the evening, Wen Zhihao met Sun Fuyu at their designated meeting spot. Wen Zhihao dropped all the copper coins in Sun Fuyu’s hands. “For Sun-shidi! I know you worked hard cultivating this week.”

Sun Fuyu’s eyes glowed. “Thank you, Wen-shixiong!”

Wen Zhihao patted Sun Fuyu’s head. “Spend it on whatever you want.”

Sun Fuyu's fingers curled over the coins, his eyes smiling as he nodded.

Just as before, the two spent some time perusing the town, ate some yummy food, and camped out in the forest. In addition to the fire that Sun Fuyu created, Wen Zhihao also set out some glowing stones, creating a warm glow in the forest. They talked about the food they ate, about the topics Sun Fuyu was learning. Wen Zhihao admitted his failed attempt at finding a plant-picking mission to earn spiritual stones, but Sun Fuyu was too polite to laugh.

“I can help Wen-shixiong!” Sun Fuyu said instead with determination.

Wen Zhihao smiled. “There’s no need. After all, you’re busy cultivating, and I’m learning talisman cultivation now. I can sell talismans if I really need spiritual stones.”

Sun Fuyu slumped. “Okay…”

Wen Zhihao laughed, rubbing Sun Fuyu’s head. “But I’ll keep your offer in mind, okay?”

“Okay…”

Like a little dejected rabbit, Wen Zhihao thought. “It’s getting late. Let’s go to sleep, Sun-shidi. You can cultivate some more tomorrow.”

As the fire died down to embers, Wen Zhihao yawned as he snuggled into his makeshift bed. With his eyes closed, he breathed in the pure earthy qi-filled air. Sun Fuyu’s own qi slowly stabilised as he drifted off to sleep.

Wen Zhihao’s own mind started to drift. This is the life, he thought contentedly. I hope this peace lasts a long time.

A few nights later, a dark-robed man strolled down one of the streets in a mortal town near the Golden Sun Sect. Despite the night, the man could see clearly. However, seeing steady light coming from some of the town windows piqued his interest—candlelight and firelight both flickered, yet this light did not.

Cloaking himself in the night, he poked his head through one of the windows and blinked in astonishment. On the scholar’s desk was a glass vase with a handful of glowing flowers. He could sense the warm sun qi emanating from them, along with a particular signature. The same signature as that Golden Sect cultivator who found him in the forest over a week ago…

Yet this item was sitting benignly in a poor mortal home. Not just one mortal home, but many in the town. How baffling….was that cultivator truly a ““righteous”” cultivator? They would never be so charitable, the man thought a little bitterly.

Or maybe that cultivator was just naive, given that he had actually helped the dark-robed man without even realising who he was.

All I want is a little of the good life...