For nearly four weeks, Lei Lanfen had, without fail, taken the portal to her new job and hoed, raked, plucked, picked, watered, toted, baled, or done whatever else was required of her. At the end of her first five days of work, she’d asked for her pay, and the seemingly kind overseer, Xiong Weizhe, had showed her how to check her “bank balance” on the wrist device she’d been issued.
Frowning, Lei Lanfen had done as instructed. An image, which was explained to be Illusion qi, had popped up that showed a balance of five silver taels. Her expression immediately grew stormy, thinking she’d been cheated. She wanted real money, not just a number in the air.
Xiong Weizhe had just chuckled in response.
It turned out that it was extremely easy to turn those numbers in the air into actual silver Lei Lanfen could hold in her hands. And, at first, that was exactly what she did. Eventually, she realized how easy it was to pay for items using her wrist device, though, as seemingly overnight, every merchant in her little village accepted electronic payment.
Everything that the Rising Tide Sect members in the outpost had told her turned out to be true. Even better, the five taels a week was only for working “weekdays.” Work on the extra two weekend days earned one and a half taels per day! In twenty seven days, she’d made twenty-nine and a half taels, a sum the her of only a month prior would have considered a fortune.
As her shift ended, she swiped her wrist device near the “timeclock,” a name that seemed quite redundant, and waved to Xiong Weizhe.
“See you Monday!” the overseer said.
Lei Lanfen stopped in surprise and turned back toward the man. “But I’m coming in tomorrow? Like always?”
The overseer shook his head. “You didn’t read the rules? Employees are encouraged to only work five days a week, but it’s allowed to work more than that. It is forbidden, however, to work more than twenty-seven straight days. So see you Monday.”
Lei Lanfen opened her mouth to object.
“You’re a great worker,” Xiong Weizhe said, “and I’d love to have a hundred more just like you. But it’s out of my hands. See you Monday.”
Lei Lanfen scowled.
“Take a day off,” the overseer said. “Go to the beach. Relax. Read a book. I don’t know why you’re so desperate to work, but one day surely won’t make that much of a difference.”
That was … true, actually. Lei Lanfen was so used to putting her head down and going to work that she forgot to consider whether it was even necessary. Her mother was healthy and working, so the family was actually doing great. They’d even all bought new clothes and paid to have someone fix the drafty hut to make it weathertight. An extra one and a half taels was no longer the difference between starving and surviving.
Xiong Weizhe looked down at his tablet. “Hey, I know what you should do tomorrow. You’re close to fourteen, right?”
She nodded.
“Go to an outpost and get yourself scanned,” he said. “Maybe your roots have finished growing.”
“I doubt I’m talented enough to cultivate. Even if I were, I’m not sure I’d want to. The stories…”
“Don’t believe everything you read. Look at what the Rising Tide Sect has done for us.”
She had to admit that the improvements to her life and for all the villagers had been something special. There was a sense of optimism from almost everyone. But one thing about his statement confused her.
“I thought all three factions were responsible,” she said.
The overseer looked right and left before lowering his voice. “They’re always careful to give credit to all three equally, but look at the facts. The Poison Claw Sect and the Emperor’s faction have existed for centuries. Did they ever do anything to truly help commoners? No. Then the Rising Tide Sect was formed, and less than a decade later…” He gestured at the farm and at the tablet he held.
The cultivators Lei Lanfen had met certainly hadn’t been what she’d expected. They were as nice as any of the villagers, nicer than most, actually. At first, she’d thought it was some kind of act, but the longer they stayed in the village, the more she began to think that was just the way they actually were. And they were all from the Rising Tide Sect.
“Anyway,” Xiong Weizhe said, “becoming a cultivator isn’t the only reason to get your roots checked. While I’d love for you to stay here on the farm working for me, it’s a proven fact that people do better in jobs that match their aspect. You’ll both be more productive and happier overall in the right position, and I don’t want to hold you back from that.”
Growing up dirt poor, Lei Lanfen survived by looking out for herself and her family and expecting everyone else to do the same. She was not used to people considering her interests important. That the overseer was willing to lose a good worker simply so that worker would be happier…
She cupped her hands. “Gratitude, Esteemed Overseer.”
He smiled almost bashfully, and the two said their goodbyes, both aware that it might be their last meeting.
The next morning, she did something almost unprecedented—she slept in. It was hours past dawn when she finally woke, and she followed that by cleaning herself, and eating a leisurely breakfast in a quiet house, her mom working and little brother being watched after by a friendly adult for a small fee. Eventually, though, there was only so much lazing she could take, so she headed for the outpost.
As she got closer, a bit of nostalgia tickled her. She been so, so young and stupid upon her first visit. How could she have made such a fool of herself, doubting everything she was told and expecting a scam around every corner and, worst of all, mistaking a Golden Core as a teenager not much older than her?
Heat rose to her face. Maybe they wouldn’t remember her. It had, after all, been almost a month since she’d been inside.
The same giant of a Qi Gathering cultivator who’d been on guard duty for her previous visit was there.
He grinned as he caught sight of her. “Lei Lanfen! It’s been quiet here without you visiting. How have you been?”
So much for being forgotten.
She cupped her hands. “This lowly one has been doing well, Esteemed Cultivator. Working steadily.”
His eyes shone, and his lips were pressed tightly together, a sure sign he had something he thought clever that he wanted to tell her. In a way, he resembled nothing more than an excited puppy.
She sighed. “Just go ahead and say it.”
“This one has cut way down on his bullying since your reprimanded me.” The words practically exploded from him as he rushed to get them out. “I haven’t harassed more than a half dozen sect elders in the last month.”
Lei Lanfen rubbed a hand over her face, but she couldn’t help but laugh. If anyone deserved to be teased after her performance last time, it was her. “How long have you been wanting to tell me that?”
“Almost a month,” he said, his smile wide.
She shook her head ruefully. “Keep up the good work, Junior Brother.”
He saluted. “Yes, Ma’am!”
It felt so surreal to interact with an actual cultivator like he was one of her friends, but at the same time, it felt so right. He wasn’t much older than her, and he certainly didn’t act like some kind of pretentious snob who wanted everyone to bow down to him. None of the people she’d met in the outpost behaved like that.
“What can we help you with today?” he said.
She told him her purpose, and he nodded as she turned toward the administration area. To her immense embarrassment, the same girl as last time answered the bell and, upon seen Lei Lanfen, called for the outpost leader.
“I just need to see if I can get my official registration yet,” she said once Lin Tao appeared. “You don’t need to handle it yourself.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but a sect elder took a personal interest in you, correct?”
She sighed again. “Yes, Esteemed Outpost Leader.”
“Imagine this, I’m back at the sect giving a report about how the outpost is doing, and Zou Ai asks about you. I say, ‘I think she’s fine. She came in for something, but my assistant handled it.’ Then, Zou Ai gets angry and blasts me with a death ray.”
“I’m pretty sure that cultivators don’t use death rays, Esteemed Outpost Leader.”
“You haven’t seen the Sect Leader’s Void finisher.”
Obviously, Lin Tao exaggerated a bit as she was sure that Zou Ai wouldn’t actually kill the man, but still, Lei Lanfen could understand his perspective. Best not to chance it.
By that point, though, he was already scanning her, so there wasn’t any reason for her to respond further.
His eyes went wide. “Did Zou Ai give you her card?”
Lei Lanfen patted her pocket. “Yes…”
“You know what to do with it if you need her?”
His reactions were starting to be alarming.
“Yes,” she said.
“Do that. Now. I have to upload these results by the end of the day, but I’ll withhold it until then.”
“What? Why?”
Lin Tao met her eyes. “You’re not in any trouble or any danger, but I strongly recommend that you get someone a lot more knowledgeable than me to go over your options with you. Unlike all but a tiny, tiny percentage of mortals on this continent, you have a personal connection with someone like that who can help. Please take my advice, and go to her. Now.”