“I immediately joined their Gang. They gave me food, a place to live, and even a Cultivation Secret Manual, telling me to Cultivate in my free time. Of course, I also needed to help them with work; everyone understands this principle. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
“What did you do?”
“Just some manual labor, moving things, carrying goods, pretty much like a stevedore. It was tiring, but they provided food and lodging and let me Cultivate. Where else could I find such a good deal?!”
As he spoke, Wang Zhaoyang even pulled open his clothes to show the abrasions on his shoulder.
“These are from when I rubbed against boxes while carrying them.”
Wang Zhaoyang was from the north, tall and well-built. A high school senior's physique isn't much different from an adult male's, and he looked like someone capable of manual labor.
“Although I was quite tired after work, when I returned to the dormitory they arranged for me in the evening, I took some time to try Cultivating according to that Cultivation Secret Manual, and it really felt effective!”
He raised his arm and flexed his biceps.
“I feel like my strength has increased!”
An Chen was speechless.
Carrying things all day long, that's comparable to lifting weights at the gym for a whole day, so of course he'd feel his strength increase.
And this Gang…
“Wait, listening to you, I feel a bit strange… Isn't this Gang of yours just a factory that provides food and lodging? You're moving goods every day, do you get paid?”
Sun He, next to An Chen, voiced An Chen's doubt.
“No.”
Wang Zhaoyang shook his head.
“But our Boss said we should treat the Gang like family. If you work for your family, would you ask for a salary?”
Well, Wang Zhaoyang wasn't very bright.
An Chen covered his forehead, almost laughing out loud.
“Then aren't you just free labor?!”
Someone burst into laughter, causing everyone else to laugh as well.
But Wang Zhaoyang was displeased; he stood up with his hands on his hips.
“But I can Cultivate! After a while, when my divine Cultivation reaches Major Achievement, I’ll be able to manipulate objects like those guards in the city, and even fly through the air. Then I’ll show you my strength!”
An Chen could almost certainly conclude that this Gang was purely scamming big fools into becoming free labor, and Wang Zhaoyang was that fool.
It was fortunate that Wang Zhaoyang hadn't exposed his identity as a Transcendent, otherwise, it might have caused an even bigger mess.
However, none of this concerned him anymore.
Although Qingfeng City and Qingfeng Sect were very close, just down the mountain, people usually didn't travel between the two places. Disciples only went down the mountain for purchasing supplies or completing missions.
An Chen also didn't have to worry about Wang Zhaoyang running into Qingfeng Sect one day, suddenly discovering him, and then exposing his identity.
Losing interest in Wang Zhaoyang, An Chen left first, leaving Sun He to continue listening to the story.
An Chen returned to his class and found that only a few people were left, and on the podium, the Head Teacher's face was dark.
“Where are they?”
The Head Teacher looked at An Chen and asked.
He still trusted An Chen, this excellent student, relatively well. After all, An Chen usually behaved very honestly, and although he did a little business, he didn't violate school rules and listened to the teachers, earning their favor.
“At the door of Class Nine. Class Nine has a Transcendent, and they're all there listening to a story-sharing session.”
The Head Teacher slammed the table.
“Nonsense! Transmigration events are dangerous and full of uncertainty. What's so good about listening to such things! Do they want to lose their lives for no reason like those people?!”
An Chen remained silent, simply walking back to his seat and sitting down.
The Head Teacher turned to leave for Class Nine, but halfway there, he suddenly turned back and asked:
“Did Ye Xinning come to school today?”
“No, is something wrong with her?”
An Chen was a little puzzled.
Ye Xinning, like him, had no parents, and her parents hadn't left her even a house, so she usually lived in the school dormitory.
If she came or not, couldn't he just ask the dorm supervisor if Ye Xinning was in the dormitory?
“She didn't stay in the dormitory last night. The dorm supervisor told me about it and asked me to see if Ye Xinning came this morning.”
Since Ye Xinning always lived in the dormitory, her suddenly not returning one day made it hard not to think of something.
“Nothing happened, did it?”
The Head Teacher felt a surge of worry, picking up his phone to text the dorm supervisor while stepping out of the classroom.
Soon after, a large group of people, like sheep herded by a sheepdog, were driven back into the classroom by the Head Teacher, sitting down obediently to begin their morning reading.
After reading for quite a while, Ye Xinning suddenly appeared at the door.
She was breathless and looked very tired.
An Chen had never seen her so exhausted.
In his impression, Ye Xinning never seemed to tire. She could study and do practice problems endlessly, only needing to eat and sleep, and even squeezing in a bit of time to run to maintain her health, doing nothing else.
She seemed always ready to learn and continue learning, never tiring.
But now, she was very tired.
“What's wrong with you? The dorm supervisor told me you didn't return to the dormitory last night.”
The Head Teacher took her outside the door to question her. After a while, Ye Xinning ran into the classroom and sat next to An Chen.
“Where did you go?”
Since she was his deskmate, he still needed to show a little concern.
“Nothing, last night… something came up.”
Ye Xinning couldn't lie, especially not in front of An Chen.
An Chen could tell when ordinary people lied just from their language, and when Ye Xinning lied… even Su Xiaojiu could tell.
“Oh.”
However, An Chen was too lazy to delve deeper. This was her own business, and he didn't need to press for details.
But just as An Chen was about to look away, he suddenly noticed that Ye Xinning had an injury on her hand.
It was September, and the weather in South City was still very hot; almost everyone was wearing short sleeves.
Not only was Ye Xinning wearing long sleeves and long pants today, but there were several blood marks on her palm.
He wasn't sure if it was due to Cultivation, but An Chen felt that his physical qualities had improved by more than just a little, though he hadn't specifically tested them yet.
His strength should have increased, but he wasn't sure by how much.
However, his improved eyesight was something he could clearly and directly perceive.
Although Ye Xinning was deliberately trying to hide it, An Chen still spotted the blood mark at a glance.
The blood mark was a bit dark red, indicating it had probably scabbed over, so the hand injury looked like it had occurred at least a day ago.
That would be yesterday.
“What happened to your hand?”
Out of concern, An Chen asked.
But Ye Xinning, for some reason, suddenly became nervous, clenching her hand into a fist and pulling it back, even hiding it under the desk, and lowering her head slightly.
“I accidentally brushed against some barbed wire and cut my hand.”