Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 816 - Chapter 816 Chapter 816 Reunion with Ji PingAn

Chapter 816: Chapter 816: Reunion with Ji PingAn Chapter 816: Chapter 816: Reunion with Ji PingAn Feng Jun initially speculated that it might have been a leak from the Tiantong Commerce Alliance.

Whether he was the owner of the lovesick title or he had recently made a large sum of Spirit Stones, such a “massive” fortune was enough to provoke malicious intentions.

However, he also felt that, given Huang Fu Flawless’ capabilities, it shouldn’t have been so easy to let such information slip.

So… could it have been Master Xu or some other craftsmen who let the news out?

After all, he had advanced to the Auspicious Clouds Realm, not only greatly improving his cultivation level and combat strength but also his privileges–taking two mortals through checkpoints was no issue, so there was no need to worry about others nitpicking over the details.

But passive defense was never his style; he didn’t start trouble, but he wouldn’t just wait for others to pick a fight either.

Thus, carrying invitations, he went to Tiantong to invite Huang Fu Flawless and Master Xu to come over tomorrow night to celebrate his housewarming joy.

On the way back, unluckily enough, he ran into Ji PingAn.

After returning from the battlefield, Ji PingAn had also healed for twenty days. Only recently, as his injuries stabilized, did he start to move about.

His situation was somewhat similar to that of Lang Zhen, hailing from a small clan, where due to certain reasons, his father had split from the family.

Out of the three brothers, only Ji was the one who, at age twenty-three, reached the pinnacle of the Mortal Shedding Realm. Because his family lacked the conditions for breakthrough, he chose to join the cultivators who guarded the city wall year-round.

Twenty years passed on that wall, and with his help, both of his older brothers managed to break through the Qi Refinement Realm. However, they were the type that entered Qi Refinement after the age of twenty-five, and big influential forces that flaunted their wealth disdained to cultivate them, let alone ordinary people.

Something reassuring was that once they entered the Qi Refinement Realm, his two brothers also stood on their own, no longer simply “mortals,” and could easily find light jobs–of course, landing a better job was practically impossible.

This time, Ji PingAn retired due to his injuries. In addition to the merit points from this time, he also received a severance pay, but he was still somewhat at a loss–he didn’t know what to do next.

Living off his savings was out of the question, but having guarded the wall since twenty-three, he was unskilled in jobs from the outside world. His two brothers could barely make ends meet and had no major prospects.

Unless something unexpected happened, after half a year of recuperating, he might only be able to become a Spirit Beast Hunter–similar to Lang Zhen taking up bodyguard work.

But being a hunter, he was still reluctant. It wasn’t that he feared danger; rather, the job’s income wasn’t very substantial, yet it consumed a lot of time–as a cultivator who entered the Qi Refinement Realm before twenty-five, he aspired to reach the Auspicious Clouds Realm.

If he gave up on his dreams and sought only to scrape by, or took each day as it came, becoming a hunter was not a bad choice. But he had to consider his family’s three children even if he gave up trying himself.

If he didn’t earn some family wealth, the three children would most likely spend their entire lives in the Mortal Shedding Realm.

So he paced the streets in irritation, unable to make up his mind.

Just then, he heard someone calling him, “Old Ji, out for a stroll?”

Ji PingAn turned his head and saw it was Feng Jun, his face lighting up with joy, “Hey, Lao Feng? I went looking for you at that camping spot you mentioned… but you weren’t there, what are you busy with?”

“Don’t mention it,” Feng Jun felt a bit embarrassed. After buying the house, he had rushed to the cultivation cave and had indeed put Ji PingAn aside, “Bought a house, just got organized… Got a housewarming tomorrow, coming?”

“You actually found a place to settle down?” Ji PingAn was joyous once more, “Yes, definitely. Let me come check it out first.”

Of their five-man squad, Xia Pingan had died in battle, and the two initial-stage Qi Refining cultivators were conscripted from elsewhere and had left after leaving the battlefield.

In Fang Market, there were only the two of them left who had shared life and death in battle. Feng Jun, a high-level expert, had said he wanted to establish residency here, and now that he really had, Ji PingAn was truly happy.

Ambling back, they arrived at Feng Jun’s courtyard, which even Ji PingAn couldn’t help but marvel at, “Must’ve cost at least eighteen thousand Spirit Stones, didn’t expect you to be a small tycoon, Lao Feng.”

Feng Jun just smiled, not saying much, and asked Mi Yunshan to prepare dinner.

There was much to talk about with the reunion of comrades. After a while, Feng Jun remembered that Old Ji was a local of Qiuchen and asked, “By the way, Old Ji, I want to ask about someone… do you know Zhu Yifei? An Innate Expert.”

“Zhu Yifei…” Ji PingAn furrowed his brow in thought, “Sounds familiar, but as you know, I’m out of Fang Market ten months of the year. I’ll have someone inquire for you when I can.”

After chatting some more, Ji PingAn then asked, “By the way, what do you need with Zhu Yifei?”

Feng Jun truly trusted him unconditionally, not just because of their comradeship in battle but also because he knew that Old Ji, while having a bit of a ruffian streak, used his scheming solely to trap Spirit Beasts, and as a person, was very straightforward.

So he shared the incident about being followed and also mentioned that the head of the locality would be visiting the next day.

“The Head of the Locality is indeed behaving rather strangely–he seems a bit too enthusiastic,” Ji PingAn understood the style of the locals in Qiuchen very well. “First think about it, do you have any enemies in Qiuchen…”

He suddenly slapped his thigh halfway through, “I remember now, this Zhu Yifei seems to be the type that makes a living off of information.”

However, he couldn’t be certain in the end, merely mentioning that he could go and ask around.

Although he didn’t have much power in Qiuchen, as a member of the local defense forces, he had many comrades in arms, many of whom he had been through life-and-death situations with.

After talking for a while longer, he hesitated before asking, “Feng Jun, you have good relations with Tiantong, could you help me find a job there?”

Tiantong’s guards are divided into two types: core and peripheral. The treatment for core guards is quite good, but the position involves handling a lot of valuables, so the screening is very strict and even requires a guarantor.

Ji PingAn’s cultivation level at the mid-stage of Qi Refining was just the bare minimum for the core guard, and in all other respects, he wasn’t even close to being qualified.

Feng Jun found this odd, “Weren’t you planning to rest for a few years? Why are you in such a hurry to make a comeback?”

“Ah, I was just saying it casually,” Ji PingAn replied with a wry smile. “With a severance pay of eight hundred Spirit Stones, it’s hard to do any business. I’m facing the danger of running out of resources, so I have to find something to do.”

“This is…” Feng Jun pondered. To tell the truth, he was willing to trust Lao Ji, but to vouch for him was another matter entirely–It had to be acknowledged that many of Tiantong’s items were very valuable.

Don’t easily test human nature! Feng Jun always agreed with this saying.

So he thought that just finding a job for Lao Ji didn’t have to be done this way. Maybe hiring Lao Ji to help watch his house was a good choice.

He pondered for a moment before asking, “Lao Ji, how many of your comrades have retired after this battle?”

“The ones I’m close with… about a dozen or so,” Ji PingAn explained, his buddies of course extended beyond just Feng Jun–they were merely comrades in this battle. “Some with serious injuries, some with light ones. Why do you ask?”

Feng Jun found it quite interesting. In those urban web novels, the protagonists always look for “veterans” to work as security guards. Instead, here he was in the Earth Plane, where it wasn’t convenient to recruit like that, and on the Mobile Phone Plane, he was actually considering hiring retired soldiers.

“I was wondering what their usual plans are after retirement,” he said.

“That’s hard to say, there are many different situations,” Ji PingAn elaborated.

Generally, cultivators who retire due to injuries can choose a few different paths.

Some return to their clans to continue helping with various matters, usually jobs that are neither good nor bad–cultivators who still have to serve in the defense forces while having a clan to fall back on don’t usually hold high status within the clan.

Others do what Ji PingAn had in mind, becoming Spirit Beast Hunters or the like, making a living off their combat strength.

There are even those who have no choice but to take their severance pay and leave Fang Market–living in Fang Market is costly, and it can be more economical to go back to their hometowns with some Spirit Stones, become farmers, and grow crops or Spirit Plants to be self-sufficient.

But Ji PingAn wouldn’t choose that path–the Fang Market was like the cities in the Earth Realm. Although the cost of living was high, there were more opportunities, especially for someone accustomed to the bustle here. It’d be indeed hard to calmly face a life concerned with farming.

Just like Lang Zhen, if he had any choice, how could he possibly resign himself to a place as remote and lonely as Small Lake Village?

Ji PingAn’s father had branched out from the Ji Clan, and it wasn’t easy for him and his two brothers to establish themselves in Fang Market–why would they be willing to go back in disgrace?

According to Ji PingAn’s analysis, at least three of his dozen or so comrades were just as confused about the future as he was.

Feng Jun thought that number was a bit high. He wouldn’t consider focusing on this location for a considerable amount of time. He intended to lie low for a while and only consider concentrating on Fang Market after sorting most things out on Earth.

Guarding such a small courtyard with Chen Junsheng, who was at the fourth level beyond the Mortal Realm, and hiring four Qi Refinement guards–this wasn’t just a matter of being conspicuous. The key point was… it was also not economical.

So he changed his mind, “Lao Ji, have you thought about going into business?”

“Of course I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know how,” sighed Ji PingAn. “A few of us brothers together can scrape together about a thousand Spirit Stones, but to honestly do business, we don’t know what to sell… There are many trades we don’t dare get involved in.”

“I can provide you with goods,” Feng Jun spoke gravely. “Some things from the Mortal Realm can also be sold for Spirit Stones. If you don’t want to do business, you can help me carry the goods… and by the way, help me take care of this courtyard.”

For Ji PingAn, as long as he could have a stable income of Spirit Stones and look after a courtyard by the way, what was the big deal? Even if he and his comrades couldn’t manage it, didn’t he still have two older brothers?

So what concerned him more was, “Things from the Mortal Realm… are you sure there’s a market for them in Fang Market?”

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