Chapter 4: Have You Offended Someone?

Lin Xiu is not a hesitant person.

When the day's events concluded, he pocketed two Red Jade Ginsengs to take back to his room.

Fortunately, he was the only one living in the room now, so he didn't have to worry about being discovered eating Red Jade Ginsengs.

The next day.

Upon waking up, Lin Xiu wiped one of the Red Jade Ginsengs with his clothes and stuffed it into his mouth.

This Red Jade Ginseng not only looked like a carrot on the outside, but it also had a somewhat similar texture.

"Start cultivation." Sitting cross-legged, Lin Xiu quickly entered a state of cultivation.

[You begin cultivation, realm experience +0.4]

[...]

[You have completed one cultivation session, experience +30]

After a long while.

Finishing his cultivation, Lin Xiu checked the panel and became excited seeing the records.

"It really works! Not only did my realm experience increase by 0.1 more than usual, but even the Basic Qi Cultivation experience has gone up by 20."

[Realm: Dou Disciple Seventh Stage (4.1-6.1/70)]

[Basic Qi Cultivation Level 3 (40-70/300)]

"With 2 points of realm experience per day, it will take another 32 days to break through. However, Basic Qi Cultivation can be upgraded in 8 days, which will also grant Attribute Points. If added to Basic Qi Cultivation, the realm experience can increase by another 0.2 per day. If added to Aptitude, it can be done 6 times."

Aptitude can increase the number of times you can practice Qi, while improving Basic Qi Cultivation can increase the realm experience gain by 0.1.

With 6 points of Aptitude paired with Level 4 Basic Qi Cultivation, it would be 2.4 realm experience per day, and this hasn't even factored in the effect of the Red Jade Ginseng. If we consider that, it would be 3 realm experience per day.

"Eight days later, and about twenty days before the Jia Nan Academy enrollment, my other two Abilities can also be upgraded to gain Attribute Points. I can totally catch up."

Counting on his fingers for a while, Lin Xiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, while Lin Xiu's days improved, it was essentially at the expense of the horse's days.

Because he found that the Red Jade Ginseng was helpful to him, Lin Xiu reduced the portion that belonged to the horse.

Originally, the horse's three meals a day could provide Lin Xiu with nearly 70 points of experience, but now it was reduced to 30.

Also, in the area of Horse Training, due to not eating well, the Red-mane Fierce Horse didn't cooperate as well as before, and the experience decreased accordingly.

Time passed quickly.

Lin Xiu was getting closer and closer to breaking through to the Eighth Stage of Dou Disciple.

During this period, all three of his Abilities had leveled up earning him 3 Attribute Points, which Lin Xiu then distributed accordingly.

On this evening, after finishing dinner, Lin Xiu sat resting in the stable. He had already learned that in three days, teachers from the Jia Nan Academy would arrive at Te Lan City to begin enrollment.

With a thought, Lin Xiu brought up the panel.

[Name: Lin Xiu]

[Age: 17]

[Realm: Dou Disciple Seventh Stage (66.2/70)]

[Constitution: 4]

[Spirit: 5]

[Aptitude: 7]

[Abilities: Basic Qi Cultivation Level 4 (390/400), Making Horse Food Level 5 (380/500), Horse Training Level 4 (140/400)]

[Attribute Points: 0]

"If it weren't for the Lin family cutting off the Red Jade Ginseng two days ago, my Basic Qi Cultivation would have already reached Level 5. Then I would have gained another Attribute Point."

As Young Master Lin left home, Lin Xiu found that the information he had heard that day was indeed true; the Lin family had directly cut off the food supply for the Red-mane Fierce Horse.

Fortunately, Lin Xiu would be able to improve his Basic Qi Cultivation level tomorrow, gaining 1 Attribute Point. His realm experience per day would increase to 4, which would be enough for him to break through to the Eighth Stage of Dou Disciple before the enrollment at the Jia Nan Academy.

Suddenly.

A shadow fell over him, and Lin Xiu noticed someone standing in front of him, though he didn't know when they had arrived.

"Lin Xiu, pack your things today. Get ready to go to the mine tomorrow." The person's tone was cold, delivering the message before turning away, then remembering something else. "Oh, and don't even think about following in Lin Dong's footsteps. You know what happened to him."

'How could this be?!'

Being told to go to the mine, Lin Xiu felt as if struck by lightning, completely beyond his expectations.

The last time he heard about fatalities in the mine was three days ago. According to the usual schedule, the next batch of replacements should come in four days. There should have been a week in between.

"Um, I need to take care of the horse."

Lin Xiu stopped the person, the shorter intervals between replacements at the mine meant that deaths were becoming more frequent, making the mine even more dangerous.

About to break free from the Lin family, Lin Xiu didn't want his efforts of nearly a month to go to waste.

The person glanced at the stable, "Forgot to tell you, the clan head has already sold it. The buyer will come to take it away tomorrow."

With that, he simply walked away.

The twilight sun cast its rays upon Lin Xiu by the stable, seemingly enveloping him in a melancholic aura.

The next day.

After packing his things, Lin Xiu stood in the crowd, with Steward Lin ahead explaining the situation about going to the mine.

Though they were all servants, without the freedom to choose for themselves, the Lin family wouldn't miss any opportunity to sway hearts. At the moment, Steward Lin was talking about how good the treatment at the mine was.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Lin Xiu felt Steward Lin's gaze sweep over him several times.

He had thought all night but ultimately didn't run away because fleeing would mean certain death, which was worse than the life he would face at the mine.

Steward Lin didn't talk for too long before having someone lead Lin Xiu and the others away from the Lin family.

It took almost half a day to walk from Te Lan City to the Lin Family Mine.

Around noon, they arrived at the mine.

Next to a dug-out pit, there were a dozen or so wooden cabins built, where the miners usually rested.

There were many figures around, armed with weapons. They wore clothes with the Lin family emblem, all in sturdy attire, unlike Lin Xiu and the others in their coarse servant clothes.

These people were the Lin family's guards, and their task at the mine was to prevent any disturbances.

Nowadays, their main task was to prevent absenteeism and escape attempts.

With his luggage on his back, Lin Xiu found the house assigned to him, pushed open the door, and found someone lying on the bed.

"I didn't know there was someone inside." Lin Xiu felt a bit apologetic as gazes turned towards him.

"It's alright, it's about time for the next shift down in the mine." A middle-aged man near the door sat up from the bed, and the others in the room also rose to their feet.

Lin Xiu placed his belongings on the empty bed. Before coming, he had already learned that the mine operated in three shifts; people rested, but the mining never stopped.

Not long after Lin Xiu had just finished arranging his things, someone came to inform him that it was time to go down into the mine.

"Hey, you there, yeah, what are you standing around for? Get down in the mine and work."

Looking at the person at the door, Lin Xiu pointed to himself, and after receiving a confirming nod, he felt somewhat bewildered.

Without further ado, Lin Xiu was handed a set of tools and followed the others into the dimly lit tunnel.

The passageway was quiet, with sounds of footsteps and tools clashing against rock filling his ears.

Torches were mounted on the walls, but their light didn't reach every corner. Occasionally, he could see areas covered in shadows.

"Kid, did you offend someone?" a voice sounded beside him, and Lin Xiu looked to the middle-aged man speaking.

He slung the tools over his shoulder. "Normally, new guys like you would have at least two days of training before going down into the mine."

"I'm not sure," Lin Xiu said truthfully. He had been in the Lin family for a while since crossing over, quietly cultivating and taking care of the horse. It seemed he hadn't had the chance to offend anyone.

"Then maybe you're just unlucky," the middle-aged man said, feeling there was no gossip to dig into and losing interest in chatting.

'Could it be him?'

At that moment, Lin Xiu remembered one person, Steward Lin. When he had just crossed over and learned about going to the mine, he had refused him on the grounds of taking care of the horse...