“Glug!”
City God Xin Zhanting raised his cup in a toast to Lu Zheng from across the table, downing it in one go.
“Good wine!”
Lu Zheng set his cup down, picking up a piece of roasted chicken with his chopsticks to chase the drink.
Back in the modern world, he rarely drank, but in the Great Jing Dynasty, he was either drinking with old man Liu or Xin Zhanting, and now his tolerance had noticeably improved.
“Brother Lu, you’re still without an official title, no scholarly rank?” Xin Zhanting looked at Lu Zheng, astonished.
Lu Zheng shook his head. “Nope.”
Xin Zhanting blinked, puzzled. “With your literary talent, forget taking the top spot in the capital, securing a juren rank in the provincial exam would be a breeze. Are the examiners blind?”
Lu Zheng shook his head again. “Never took the provincial exam. I’ve got no interest in being an official.”
Raising his cup, Lu Zheng smiled. “My dream is to roam the East Sea in the morning, visit Cangshan by dusk, play a tune on my flute with a jug of wine, watch clouds by day and stars by night. I envy neither officials nor immortals.”
Xin Zhanting’s eyes gleamed. “What spirit!”
Then he shook his head. “A pity, a born cultivator like you, not serving the court.”
Lu Zheng laughed. “Hasn’t my wife provided plenty of incense offerings for you, Brother Xin?”
Xin Zhanting nodded, chuckling heartily. “Indeed, indeed!”
Judge Li, sipping his wine, swayed his head. “The peach blossoms bloom vibrantly, their brilliance unmatched, the lady weds, fitting for her household.”
Setting down his cup, Judge Li said with admiration, “What a poem! Not ornate, but simple and vivid, striking straight to the heart.”
Xin Zhanting nodded. “Since the Peach Blossom Shrine opened, countless people have come to burn incense and pray. Its prosperity rivals even my underworld office.”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow.
Xin Zhanting couldn’t hide his grin. “The incense energy shared with us has kept us all well-fed, cultivating non-stop!”
He raised his cup to Lu Zheng. “Once we’ve trained a bit more, I’ll lead my men into the Netherworld, taking down the Night King of Yelan Mountain! If we succeed, you and Lady Shen will share the credit!”
Lu Zheng clinked cups, then waved it off. “That’s your valor, Brother Xin, and your underworld soldiers’ efforts. What credit could my wife and I claim? Besides, per Great Jing law, the shrine’s incense offerings to the underworld are official business, not personal merit.”
He wasn’t about to claim that credit, knowing what could be touched and what couldn’t.
“Heh!” Xin Zhanting scoffed. “Plenty of court-sanctioned minor shrines exist, but their extra incense offerings are negligible. None compare to Lady Shen’s thriving Peach Blossom Shrine. Without your famous poem ‘Peach Blossom,’ her shrine’s incense would likely be like any other mountain or land deity’s. Now, your poetry and the shrine together have doubled my Tonglin County underworld’s strength. If you two don’t get credit, am I, a mere clay statue of a City God, supposed to take it?”
Lu Zheng just shook his head, clinking cups with Xin Zhanting but refusing to accept the merit talk.
“Tch, no fun. Come on, let’s spar with blades, that’s more straightforward!”
Lu Zheng grinned, stood, took a long sword from a guard, and followed Xin Zhanting to the training ground.
Another exhilarating bout ensued.
The gap in strength between Lu Zheng and Xin Zhanting was visibly narrowing, with Lu Zheng now able to draw out a fraction of Xin’s true power.
“Brother Lu, you’re a cultivation genius! How do you do it? Even with Lady Shen sharing half her incense energy, it shouldn’t be this fast!” Xin Zhanting was stunned.
Lu Zheng smiled faintly. “I ventured into the mountains recently, found a lingzhi horse, kept it at Peach Blossom Ridge, and discovered some stalactite springs. Drinking them regularly helps cultivation.”
Xin Zhanting gave a thumbs-up. “Living people cultivate fastest. Your half-year progress matches decades of my ghostly cultivation. Truly a born cultivator!”
“Also…” Xin Zhanting stifled a laugh. “Does your master know your current level?”
Lu Zheng paused, realising it had been ages since Daoist Mingzhang checked his true qi cultivation.
Since receiving the *White Cloud Sword Technique*, he’d been cultivating with incense energy and extravagantly burning through his light of fortune. Over 250 strands had dwindled to under 100, and his strength had grown to a point even he couldn’t fully grasp.
After all, his jade seal cheat didn’t come with a progress bar, and this world lacked clear cultivation stages for comparison.
“Er, no idea.”
Xin Zhanting nodded. “Well, not knowing’s fine too.”
Before Lu Zheng could respond, Xin dragged him back to the hall for more drinks.
…
Late at night, Lu Zheng returned home, slightly tipsy and unable to sleep. He sat cross-legged on his bed, meditating and refining qi.
This past month had been the dullest yet.
In the modern world, Lin Wan was getting busier but hadn’t given up her two-bedroom rental. She continued practising the *Eighteen Forms of Mountain Carrying*, with Lu Zheng teaching her every weekend.
In ancient times, Lu Zheng either cultivated or helped at Benevolence Hall. Its reputation in Tonglin County was soaring, and Liu Qingyan—kind-hearted, beautiful, and skilled—was now outshining her father, the hall’s main physician, in the eyes of the locals.
Sometimes, Lu Zheng thought he saw a golden glow on Liu Qingyan, but on closer inspection, it vanished, making him wonder if she was on the verge of sainthood.
Also, as his cultivation grew, his consumption of fortune’s light sped up.
Soon, the remaining 96 strands wouldn’t last long.
“These peaceful days, I both love and hate them…”
“You call this a cheat? Siphoning others’ fortune? If you could just steal from the Heavenly Dao, I could coast forever!”
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, wondering if yesterday’s rain meant it was time to collect more stalactite spring water.
*Whoosh!*
The room turned cold.
“Young Master Lu!”
It was Duan Zhong, the underworld patrol officer.
“Something up, Patrolman Duan?” Lu Zheng got off the bed and opened the door.
To his surprise, it wasn’t just Duan Zhong outside, but two other patrol officers and thirty City God underworld soldiers.
What was going on?
