Ch28 Mundane Steward’s Life

I follow the map I was given by Gu Shan and head to the dropoff route.

It is over 6 kilometers in a new direction in these woods I haven’t traveled, both away from the Stewards Quarters and the ravine.

Once I’m 500 or so meters within range, the air around this dropoff point grows hot.

There are no trees in sight, and the ground is blackened and charred.

I stop in front of a heavy black iron gate and see a few fellow stewards lining up in front of me and behind.

Once about ten of us show up, the gate slowly opens, and another old steward greets us.

He is a level 3 qi refiner, with no notable secrets, at the old age of 77.

With a smile, he takes the storage pouch of the first steward in line, nods, then hands it back to him within half a minute.

Every steward in line does exactly the same thing.

My gaze wanders as the small crowd slowly moves forward.

I see three enormous fire pits in the distance. They have large custom-built metal contraptions over them, letting out thick smoke that smells like burning wood.

Yet, there is a 4th pit that is not burning wood at the moment. I see a group of child servants shoveling out perfectly shaped charcoal blocks and wheeling them away in metal bins.

It appears this is a large operation for turning the trees chopped into charcoal. My mind spins, trying to think if this is sold to the Alchemy Peak nearby or possibly the Forging Peak much further away. However, I don’t come to a solid conclusion by the time I hand in my pouch.

The old steward nods and hands my pouch back to me.

There is no longer any wood inside, but there are 84 spirit fragments present, and a small receipt and reference number confirming that my 42 stacks of wood collected are added to my ledger.

I walk away, back to the Stewards Quarters, now that the sky is dark and the middle of the night is nearing.

Instead of going straight back to my cave, I stop by the bathhouse.

There are a dozen private stalls for relieving yourself and cleaning up, using quite high-quality soap. It is almost as good as the bars I have used in my previous life. In Donghe Village in this world, everyone was far too poor to afford goods like these.

Past these stalls are two wide open areas, split into sections for men and women, but the men’s area is almost three times larger.

A bubbling hot spring is built into the foundation of this structure.

It doesn’t appear to be natural. There are fluctuations of qi coming from its bottom, and an unnaturally hot source of heat purifying the water.

A few stewards relax as mist fills the room like a sauna, and a few chatter back and forth.

It’s quite late, so there is plenty of free room for me to sit alone, close my eyes, and relax with the water up to my neck.

There is a natural flowing current of qi in the pool, making it even more comfortable.

–

I have the best night of sleep since arriving at this sect once I return to my cave.

My morning routine is almost identical to what it was yesterday: collecting two upgrade cards at the crack of dawn, cultivating with a perfected qi pill, heading to the dining hall for food, then returning to cultivate in my cave with a second until the sun starts to set.

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A long walk down the dirt path follows, collecting wood from servants one by one. Many are grateful for the new payout system. They will actually get paid a higher amount if they chop more wood, not just a set figure that punishes overworking like before.

I collect 48 bins from the first 26 servants.

A few that I thought would be slackers actually finished filling their bins today, but an equal amount did not chop a single tree. I don’t pressure them to change their habits, it doesn’t feel like it’s worth the hassle right now.

My mind is far more consumed with the last hut that I come across at the end of my route.

The wood bin is full, but there is no one outside.