Feng Shui Chapter 115: The Immortal Master Who Courted Death Early

When she saw them return with that barbarian girl in tow, Shi Ming couldn’t help but wonder silently, had they left specifically to fetch her? Among teams of cultivators undergoing trials, it wasn’t uncommon for them to recruit extra hands on a whim. Just like their own team had done: sacrificing a share of the profits for greater ease and safety was often worth it.

Shi Ming glanced at the girl, who looked back at them with a cold expression. His thoughts wandered. He was simply curious, with no malice intended, trying to figure out what Xi Yunqing and the others had entered the mountains for this time.

None of them realized that, quite unintentionally, they had already covered up the incident of Tong Nuonuo’s disappearance.

After some brief introductions, Tang Ru got straight to the point. “I’m here to collect my payment. Have you prepared it?”

Although Tang Ru’s words were blunt, Shi Ming remained respectful toward the short-statured girl who had helped their team. “We’ve mostly prepared it." he said. “First, here’s the demon core. Please inspect it.”

He took out a jade box about the size of a ring case from inside his robe and handed it to Tang Ru.

Tang Ru showed no hesitation. She opened it right away. Standing beside her, Chen Xiao saw that there was no padding inside the box, just a single, smooth bead, about the size of a glass marble, glowing faintly with a lustrous sheen. A light energy field shimmered around it. Without that, he might’ve suspected Shi Ming of trying to pass off something fake.

Tang Ru had her own ways of verifying things. She picked up the bead and carefully examined it. After a moment, she nodded in satisfaction and gently closed the box.

Then she asked, “What about my White Spirit Fruits? When will they be ready?”

At the mention of the White Spirit Fruits, Shi Ming’s face lit up. This time's harvest had been bountiful. Even after setting aside shares for Chen Xiao’s group and Tang Ru, their team still stood to make a handsome profit.

“We haven’t finished picking them yet," he explained. “There are two options. First, we wait until all the ripe fruits are harvested. Once we’ve tallied the total weight, we’ll calculate your share proportionally. The downside is you’d need to wait a bit longer.”

Tang Ru frowned. “And the second option?”

“The second option is simple." Shi Ming replied. “Right now, each tree yields about a hundred and fifty catties. There are roughly twelve hundred trees in this grove. Based on that, we can estimate the total and directly allocate eighteen thousand catties to you from what we’ve already picked.”

From the moment he started explaining the second option, Tang Ru’s eyes had gone a little blank.

When he finished, he asked which method she preferred. After a long pause, frowning like she’d been deeply wronged, she said, “I don’t mind waiting. I’d rather wait until all the White Spirit Fruits are harvested and then take one out of every ten as originally agreed.”

Each of these fruit trees could yield three to five hundred catties under ideal conditions. But since this was the first crop of the season, many had already fallen or been eaten by beasts. The ripe fruits that could be gathered now ranged from one hundred to one hundred fifty catties per tree. Shi Ming had already shown his appreciation by estimating the yield at the higher end.

Since Tang Ru was willing to wait, Shi Ming readily agreed. The matter was temporarily settled.

At that moment, Chen Xiao took out the short flute from his storage box and handed it to Shi Ming. Having it returned thrilled Shi Ming, especially after learning that Tang Ru had snatched it back from the Black-Tailed Bat Monkey.

He said immediately, “Thank you, Tang Ru, for your righteous help. How about this: I’ll allocate an additional five percent of the White Spirit Fruit profits to you as a token of gratitude.”

Five percent? Half of a tenth?

Tang Ru didn’t look the least bit pleased. She began fiddling with her fingers, trying to figure out how much that came out to. The barbarian tribes had fallen behind in terms of culture and education, and while the short-statured people weren’t so backward as to count with knots on strings, their grasp of numbers wasn’t much better. Arithmetic beyond a hundred was already difficult, multiplication and division were often skills only a few tribal elders had mastered.

Tang Ru often got taken advantage of during trades because of her childlike appearance, and once dishonest merchants discovered how poor she was at calculations, the losses she suffered only grew. She’d originally been quite happy about the large share of White Spirit Fruits, but now this extra five percent had thrown her into mental chaos. Her forehead was even beginning to sweat, she couldn’t figure out how much more she was actually getting.

Chen Xiao had previously promised to help Tang Ru secure her payment. Seeing that she stayed silent for a while, he spoke up, “That brings it to fifteen percent in total. Based on the earlier estimate, your final share will be twenty-seven thousand catties, right?”

Shi Ming smiled. “That’s right.”

White Spirit Fruit was a key ingredient in the Essence-Fortifying Pill and in extremely high demand. With nine thousand jin harvested, the profits from selling it would be enough to exchange for a decent magical artifact. Having reached that conclusion, Tang Ru quietly let out a breath of relief. She then glanced at Chen Xiao, feeling a touch of envy toward how effortlessly he had come up with that number.

Her expression softened considerably as she turned to Shi Ming. “Then thank you.”

They had already picked for two hours yesterday, and another two today. By now, nearly all the ripe White Spirit Fruit had been gathered. They hadn’t stripped the trees bare, though, a good number of unripe fruits remained. Besides the fact that those lacked medicinal potency, it was also a deliberate choice to leave something behind for the birds and beasts that relied on the grove to survive the winter.

All the fruit was piled together, forming a spectacular little mountain. It took several people working together to estimate the total weight, over one hundred ninety thousand jin.

After setting aside the shares for Chen Xiao and Tang Ru, the rest of the mountain was stored away by Shi Ming in a single storage pouch. He then turned to the group with a smile. “Our objective for this trip has been accomplished. It’s time to head back.”

Such a massive haul would bring in a staggering fortune once sold. And where there was wealth, there was temptation. Though their collaboration had been smooth and pleasant, Shi Ming couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

Xi Yunqing understood his meaning at once, Shi Ming intended to go his separate way. He didn’t need to ask to know that Shi Ming would not be returning to Hanshan City directly. The snow would soon block the mountain passes on this side, making it more practical to exit in a different direction and take a boat from the nearest mortal kingdom.

Even though their next stretch of travel happened to coincide, Xi Yunqing still said, “In that case, we’ll take our leave. We plan to continue training in the mountains, so we won’t be traveling with you.”

Shi Ming quietly breathed a sigh of relief, his smile growing more genuine. He gave a polite cupped-fist salute. “Then let’s have tea together next time we meet in Hanshan City. Farewell.”

With that, Shi Ming led his people away without leaving anyone behind. His team operated with remarkable efficiency. Even as Shi Ming was speaking to Chen Xiao and the others, his men had already finished their preparations. At his signal, they set off immediately.

Used to seeing more easygoing cultivators, Chen Xiao couldn’t help but be impressed by Shi Ming’s ability to manage his group. The discipline rivaled that of a trained military unit.

Aside from the two piles of White Spirit Fruit, there was also a smaller heap of semi-processed hides from the Black-Tailed Bat Monkeys. These monkeys were small, and their hides weren’t much larger than a handkerchief. Chen Xiao hadn’t been interested in them at first, but Tong Nuonuo had casually mentioned that once tanned, the hides could be stitched into a bed mat for him.

Since there were so many White Spirit Fruits, Xi Yunqing was in charge of storing them for now. Once sold, the profits would be split between him and Chen Xiao. Tang Ru’s share, however, she packed into her own storage pouch directly.

Her pouch wasn’t particularly spacious, and the fruit took up a lot of room. She had to remove a number of other items to make space.

Looking at the displaced items in frustration, Tang Ru’s eyes suddenly lit up. She turned to Chen Xiao and asked, “Where are you all headed next?”

Chen Xiao looked at Xi Yunqing before replying, “We’re going to the nearest mortal kingdom.”

Tang Ru asked directly, “Then can I travel with you?”

She now felt fairly confident in this trio. They had more fruit than she did, which meant they weren’t likely to harbor any bad intentions.

Chen Xiao smiled. “Sure, since we’re headed the same way, let’s go together.”

Satisfied, Tang Ru beamed and then asked Tong Nuonuo to help her repack her things.