The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 185: Finishing Errands

After exiting the Brushweaver Guild, Li Lang sped through the streets with his Skyrunner. He was headed for the address Wei Ping had left him with. It was where he could find one of the agents who rented out various properties in the city. There were numerous such agents throughout Emberglow, so Li Lang was thankful his friend had narrowed down a few with a good reputation.

He arrived at a modest-looking house just off the main road. It was two stories with bright orange-brown tiles decorating the roofs. The front doors were wide open, with a man sitting inside, fanning himself as he watched people walk by.

“Greetings, Sir. Are you Cuo Zi, who manages some properties available for rent?”

The man gave him a few slight nods before lazily turning to grab a biscuit off the table. His demeanor said it all. He was used to his position of power as the one who rented out various properties on behalf of his patron. He could literally choose who to rent the places to on a whim.

Seeing this, Li Lang wasted no time. He had to get him to take him seriously.

He took a deep breath and began channeling the Qi inside of him. The energy surrounding him flared up, and a cultivator had to be blind not to perceive it. If Cuo Zi hadn’t noticed before, he definitely noticed Li Lang’s cultivation now.

His expression quickly changed to that of a businessman. He normally dealt with mortals, so he hadn’t paid too much attention to the young man who had suddenly appeared. Realizing the truth, he was quick to change his tune. He was a classic example of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

How did Wei Ping come to the conclusion that this guy was reliable?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Please excuse me, I was just too hungry, as this was my first meal of the day. How can I assist you today, Young Master—err?”

“I am Li Lang. I’m here because I want to take a tour of some of the properties you manage.”

“Of course I can help you with that! I’ll bring you to the finest place currently available right away!

“No need. I want to check out these places.” Li Lang handed over a piece of paper Wei Ping had given him. It was the address of the properties he had scouted out.

“No problem, no problem. Right this way.”

Cuo Zi was the type of person Li Lang never liked being around. It reminded him of those so-called relatives who suddenly appeared back when he had achieved some success. That’s why he urged the man to move quickly, using his Skyrunner.

However, as their destination was on the outskirts, far away from the main roads, congestion was unavoidable. The roads were only so wide.

“Umm, Young Master, why don’t we take to the skies? There’s no need for you to wait for the foolish mortals ahead.”

It was only at his words that Li Lang realized he could fly over the traffic. He had gotten too used to Polarity City and the other orthodox cities. In Emberglow, everyone had to fly up in order to leave the underground city, so there weren’t any stringent restrictions on it.

He didn’t respond to Cuo Zi, but proceeded with his suggestion. During the entire trip, Cuo Zi didn’t stop his attempts at buttering up to the cultivator, who had suddenly shown up. It made Li Lang pretend to be meditating, closing his eyes and ignoring his every word. Unfortunately, the man didn’t shut up despite it.

Li Lang let out a sigh of relief upon arriving at the first destination. A modest two-story house, much like the one he had found Cuo Zi in.

Touring the place didn’t take long at all. There weren’t any additional amenities here, nor was there much of a view. The place was simply four walls and some windows. There was no furniture or anything notable inside.

Taking a brief moment to jot down some notes within Ruby’s artifact space, the two moved on.

“Hmm, not bad and spacious enough, but the building is way too close to others. We’d probably be able to hear our neighbors if they got rowdy, which means the reverse is true.”

“Master deserves a much better place!” Ruby cried out. “Maybe one of those penthouses on those tall buildings I’ve seen from the memories?”

“Those—aren’t that spacious, and out of the question here. I doubt there are any condos around.”

“Maybe Master should buy a plot of land and build one, then.”

“Ha, trust me, I’d love that. However, that’d take too much time away from my research. I’d rather go with something with less maintenance.”

Not wanting to listen to Cuo Zi’s voice any longer, Li Lang resorted to retreating to Ruby whenever he could. The little house shopping trip lasted all the way until the sky began to dim.

In the end, Li Lang finalized a decision, as he didn’t want to drag it out. He selected a small estate towards an area of town known as the Southern Dark Spot. Emberglow City was mainly illuminated by the orange crystals hanging on the ceilings. As the name implied, Li Lang’s selected home was in an area where the light didn’t have a good reach. It wasn’t completely dark, but if one flew over the city, one would notice it as one of the dark spots found around the city.

The reason he chose an estate in this area compared to all the other places was because of its spaciousness and affordability. Regular mortals were the majority in the city. While they had some cultivation, it was often shallow. They couldn’t maintain channeling Qi to their eyes all day, so the various dark spots were naturally less desirable to live in.

To cultivators in the late stages of Energy Gathering like him, it wasn’t an issue at all. It was only their students that would have to suffer, but in a way, it was a good way to train them as well.

With this important decision made, Li Lang headed straight back to the inn to share the news. He hoped they would move in the next day after gathering their belongings. He also wanted to get them to start building a list of all the daily necessities, bedding, and furniture they would need for their new place.

However, what he didn’t expect was to walk into an awkward conversation between Wei Ping and Ouyang Jie, one of the more timid among the students.

“Um, sorry. I overheard you talking about it with the other two teachers, but if you don’t mind, can I go with you on your journey, Teacher Wei?”

Walking in, Li Lang exchanged confused glances with his two companions. They were just as surprised at the boy’s sudden request. Realizing they were all clueless, Wei Ping decided to prod for the reason.

“Why w-would you want to do that? We’re going to o-officially start teaching all of you cultivation soon.”

The young kid hesitated for a moment. It appeared his bravado of broaching the subject was quickly fading by the second. He replied with a voice that grew quieter the more he spoke.

“You could teach me the same things while on a trip as well, right?”

His words left Li Lang speechless. He gave Wei Ping a meaningful look that said, “This is your problem to solve. Good luck,” and went over to Long Yi to discuss the preparations for the move.

“Can y-you tell me the reason you want to come with me first?” Wei Ping continued.

“Umm, I just feel more comfortable with you.”

Hearing this, Wei Ping sighed and slowly walked away, appearing to be in deep thought. Ouyang Jie followed him like a baby duckling while glancing around at Li Lang and Long Yi, asking if he had said something wrong with his gaze.

Once Wei Ping reached the corner of the room, he finally spoke, but kept his back turned to the young boy.

“I’m g-going to have to decline. You will stay here and study properly w-with those of your age.”

“But I’d rather be under your tutelage.”

“You’ll have t-to learn how to work with people you’re not fond of eventually. Better now t-than later.

The kid’s breathing hastened as he got frustrated at being rejected. He tried to run off, but before he could take a step, Wei Ping grabbed onto his wrist.

“Listen. If you t-try to shun people without trying to get to know them, you’ll n-never succeed. You m-may be an introvert like me, but that’s no excuse. I’m not s-saying you have to act like the others. Even if you don’t want t-to talk, at least listen to them f-first. Trust me on this.”

After having said his piece, Wei Ping let go of the boy, but instead of running off, he just stood there with a blank look. The masked youth didn’t bother with Ouyang Jie anymore and walked away.

With the scene over, Long Yi abruptly stopped mid-sentence and dragged Li Lang closer. He double-checked to see if Wei Ping truly had left before leaning over and whispered.

“What’s up with that? I never knew Wei Ping had it in him to scold people like that. Should we do something about the boy?”

Li Lang sighed at being pulled into petty gossip.

“Just leave them be. While his stutters may make you think he is timid, he usually selects his words carefully and is adaptable. Before he met you, he used to handle my communications with a bunch of kids from the streets. I doubt it’s easy to get people to listen to you with that impediment, so he has come to know what to say and when to say it.”

Before Long Yi could respond, Li Lang quickly escaped to his room. He was too busy for any more idle conversations. It was time for him to do a final check on the materials for the cultivation course they had prepared for the students. Classes would begin the next day.