The Thief

Ending her cultivation, Shi Yu retrieved the spirit-measuring ruler she had refined earlier, intending to measure how much her spiritual meridian had grown.

Grasping the bottom of the delicate ruler, she injected a strand of spiritual Qi into it. A thin red line immediately appeared and slowly climbed upward.

“Between Low-grade Six-fractions and Seven-fractions.” Seeing where the red line settled on the scale, Shi Yu gained a clear idea of her progress and stowed the ruler away.

Although the spiritual meridian in her body was far from thick, it was no longer as weak, tiny, and lusterless as before.

It was getting late. After a busy day, her stomach felt completely empty. Patting her belly, Shi Yu remembered that she had forgotten to purchase spiritual grain before coming up the mountain.

Thinking it over, she mused to herself, The appliances in the cave dwelling are fairly complete, with nothing extra needed. I just need to buy some food.

Rising to open the stone door of the main chamber, she slipped out without disturbing the other three, heading down the mountain based on her memory of the path up.

The glowing rays of the setting sun bathed the sky, painting the layered sea of clouds in brilliant gold.

Circulating her spiritual Qi, Shi Yu executed the 《Swallow Walking Art》 as she sped through the mountain, her toes occasionally tapping against the tops of the forest canopy. Having deepened her mastery over this movement technique, running at full speed made her resemble a bird riding the wind—light, nimble, and swift.

Before long, she arrived at a bustling street in the city district below the mountain.

By now, the last twilight rays had vanished, and darkness fully descended. Yet the street was illuminated by a sea of candlelight and spiritual light, with an endless flow of pedestrians and continuous clamor.

Shops lined both sides of the street, crowded with people and hanging all kinds of signboards. Shi Yu lingered no longer, moving along with the crowd while glancing at the shops flanking the road.

Before long, she spotted a Spiritual Food Pavilion.

Just as Shi Yu was about to head over, she suddenly felt an odd rustle nearby and instantly went on high alert.

She glanced out of the corner of her eye and met the gaze of a filthy little face. A filthy hand was reaching toward the storage bag tucked inside her sleeve.

The owner of the face froze, seemingly surprised at being caught. Choosing efficiency over stealth, he yanked the storage bag straight out of her sleeve and prepared to bolt.

He looked about twelve or thirteen years old, only half a head shorter than Shi Yu, but his skinny frame made him as agile as a monkey. Slipping into the dense crowd with a quick duck, he vanished in the blink of an eye.

Shouts of “little brat” and “dirty beggar” rang out periodically through the crowd.

She usually kept her belongings inside the Fate-Tapping Bell, carrying a storage bag purely as a cover to mask the bell's existence, so there was nothing of value inside it.

If my divine sense weren't so sharp, I almost wouldn't have noticed him stealing from me, Shi Yu thought, her gaze remaining locked onto his fleeing silhouette. This thief has likely cultivated techniques specifically meant for stealing and concealing presence.

Although her cultivation was only at the fourth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, her divine sense was significantly stronger than that of ordinary sixth-layer Qi Refining Realm cultivators. Yet this kid had almost slipped past her perception.

She watched him deftly dodge past pedestrians as the distance widened quickly. He even had the leisure to turn around, stick out his tongue with a mischievous “Neah-neah-neah!” and laugh smugly—only to slam headfirst into a shop pillar when he turned back around. “Ouch!” he cried out, clutching his forehead in agony.

“...” With a blur of motion, Shi Yu bridged the distance in the blink of an eye. She reached down and snatched the thief firmly into her grip.

Lifted by the back of his collar, the thief grimaced and kicked wildly. “Let go of me! Let go! Murder! Murder!”

Ignoring his wailing squawking and the strange looks from passersby, Shi Yu extended her hand. “Storage bag.”

The thief played dumb. “What storage bag? I don't know what you're talking about! Let go of me! Let go!”

Unwilling to waste breath on him, Shi Yu tightened her hold on his collar and said coldly, “Will you hand it over, or should I take it myself?”

To her surprise, the thief's mouth twitched into a pout, and he shouted in distress, “Don't! Don't tear my clothes! My mom made these for me!”

As he spoke, a layer of tears welled up in his bright, dark eyes.

Shi Yu was slightly taken aback. Looking down at his tattered, faded clothes, she could faintly see the tight, meticulous stitches from when they were first made. The grip in her hand loosened slightly.

Seizing the opportunity, the thief wriggled free. Tears still glistened in his dark eyes, but a cunning smile broke across his face. “Sister, I'll give it back next time we meet!”

With a swift twist of his body, he dissolved back into the shadows and vanished.

Shi Yu shook her head, feeling a strange hunch that she would meet this little thief again in the future.

“Try not to throw a tantrum when you find out it's completely empty,” she murmured. Turning around indifferently, she resumed her walk toward the Spiritual Food Pavilion.

Unlike the quiet Spiritual Food Pavilion in the previous market, this main city branch was packed with customers. The shop attendants were all bustling about, so no one immediately came over to greet Shi Yu as she walked in.

Shi Yu was glad for the peace and quiet, slowly sweeping her eyes across the glass counters.

In the spiritual grain section of the counter, Tier-1 Pearl Rice took up the most space and was clearly the bestseller. It seemed that even in the main city, most cultivators still relied on Tier-1 spiritual grain for daily sustenance.

Next was the White Jade Rice she had eaten for a long time. Each grain was smooth and white as jade, though looking at its quality... Shi Yu made a mental comparison and felt confident that the White Jade Rice sold here was inferior to what she had cultivated with Life Spring water.

The highest-tier spiritual grain in the shop was Tier-3 Heavenly Scent Rice.

Shi Yu had only seen Xie Cheng eat Heavenly Scent Rice a few times before. Seeing it available in the shop, she immediately decided on it.

Looking up, Shi Yu called out to the nearest attendant.

The attendant glanced sideways at Shi Yu's plain attire, curled his lip impatiently, and sauntered over with a casual, indifferent attitude. “What do you need, customer?”

Clothes make the man, a truth that held firm even in the cultivation realm.

Ever since her Fire Feather Brocade Robe was damaged in the magma, she hadn't found the time while traveling to refine another spirit robe. Consequently, her humble clothing had caused her to be looked down upon several times.

Not caring in the slightest, she lifted her gaze and said, “Heavenly Scent Rice, pack a hundred catties.”

Hearing this, the attendant froze slightly, his suspicious eyes scanning Shi Yu.

Heavenly Scent Rice cost two spirit stones per catty, something far beyond ordinary budgets. Aside from the exceedingly rare wealthy descendants of noble families in the main city who could afford to eat it daily, average people were fortunate enough just to eat Tier-2 White Jade Rice.

The woman before him wore plain clothes without a single magical tool or artifact hairpin in her hair, completely devoid of any spiritual radiance, yet she asked for a hundred catties of Heavenly Scent Rice in one go...

His suspicious gaze instantly evaporated the moment Shi Yu tossed out a heavy bag of spirit stones. In its place appeared a warm, enthusiastic smile. “Please wait a moment, Miss! I'll go weigh it right away.”

Shi Yu nodded, receiving the hundred catties of Heavenly Scent Rice and storing it inside the Fate-Tapping Bell.

The Heavenly Scent Rice emitted a refreshing aroma and overflowed with spiritual Qi, undeniably superior to Tier-2 spiritual grain.

This would keep her fed for quite a while.

She then asked, “Does the shop have Heavenly Scent Rice seeds for sale?”

The spiritual grain sold in the Spiritual Food Pavilion was inferior to what could be grown using Life Spring water. It would be ideal if she could obtain seeds, especially since there was suitable soil in her cave dwelling for planting.

Seeing that she wanted seeds, the attendant gave her a subtle, peculiar look before pausing and answering, “We do sell them, but higher-tier spiritual grain is extremely difficult to cultivate, so few people buy them. The seeds we have are rather old.”

“If Miss wants them, I can give you a discount. One liang of Heavenly Scent Rice seeds for a hundred spirit stones.”

Life Spring water nourished vitality, so stale seeds posed no problem at all; leaving them next to the Life Spring for a few days would suffice.

Shi Yu nodded and pulled out another bag of spirit stones. “I'll take them.”

The attendant grew even more attentive and enthusiastic. After packing the seeds for Shi Yu, he personally escorted her to the entrance. “Take care, Miss! Come back again if you enjoy the grain!”

With that, Shi Yu returned to the cave dwelling. Over the next few days, she and the Zhou siblings cultivated in peace until the day of the Xie Clan auction finally arrived.