Channeling mana into his eyes, he instantly made out the man's face.
"He means trouble!" Zhou Xun inwardly grew vigilant.
The man was named Wei Shangren, and like Zhou Xun, he was a spiritual contract laborer at Miaofu Pavilion.
The two of them did not get along at all; to be precise, this fellow was constantly giving Zhou Xun a hard time.
Normally, Wei Shangren was an arrogant and domineering figure within Miaofu Pavilion. Relying on an older brother who served as a talisman-making apprentice at the pavilion, he repeatedly bullied other laborers who lacked backing.
When Zhou Xun had first arrived, he too had suffered bullying from this person, but fortunately, he soon won the appreciation of the manager, which made Wei Shangren quite wary of him.
Even so, Wei Shangren held a grudge against Zhou Xun because of this and frequently made trouble for him, meaning their relationship had always been poor.
At that moment, Wei Shangren spotted Zhou Xun as well and called out to him from afar:
"Brother Zhou! Brother Zhou! You're finally back! Brother Wei has been waiting for you for a full hour!"
Hearing this, Zhou Xun raised his eyes slightly and gave a casual, cupped-fist salute:
"Ah, it's Brother Wei. To what do I owe the honor of your visit to my humble abode?"
"When I saw Brother Zhou wasn't at work yesterday, I was quite worried. After asking around, I learned that Brother Zhou had actually been dismissed, so I came to pay a visit and check up on you!" Though the young man spoke pleasant words, his face wore a mocking expression.
"Brother Wei's good intentions are appreciated in spirit, but I'll pass!" Zhou Xun offered a perfunctory reply and reached out to pull his token and open the door.
Hastily stretching out his arm to block Zhou Xun's path, Wei Shangren laughed heartily and said:
"Why must Brother Zhou keep people at a thousand paces? Though you and I have had our little frictions, we are former colleagues after all. Won't you invite me in for a cup of spirit tea?"
Seeing this, Zhou Xun frowned slightly and immediately flicked his right hand, brushing aside the arm barred across his chest.
"Why must Brother Wei put on such a hypocritical act? Since you're an unwelcome guest, I won't detain you any longer. Please see yourself out!" Zhou Xun couldn't be bothered to exchange further pleasantries.
"Hahahaha, Brother Zhou still has such an accurate eye for people!"
"That's right, Brother Wei came specially today to watch you make a fool of yourself! You always used to go against me, and now that you've finally met this end, it's truly satisfying. Once I get back, I'm definitely going to drink three large bowls of wine to celebrate properly!"
With a smiling face, Wei Shangren glanced toward the west and chuckled as he spoke:
"Seeing you coming back from the west today, you must have gone looking for odd jobs, right? Well, how is it? Outside work isn't so easy to do, is it? Hahaha!"
"There's no need for Brother Wei to trouble yourself over that!" Zhou Xun remained calm and composed, not letting the taunts affect him in the least. He gripped the token in his left hand, channeled mana into it, and cast a streak of cyan light at the door.
Then, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
At that moment, Wei Shangren's lowered voice came from behind him:
"Aren't you even curious about why you were dismissed?"
Hearing this, Zhou Xun chuckled softly:
"Aside from you, Brother Wei, who else could it be!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Wei Shangren nodded and laughed loudly:
"Brother Zhou is indeed sharp! Four days ago, my older brother advanced to a rank one low-grade talisman master. The moment I got the news, I went straight to the manager to have you dismissed. With my brother's standing, naturally, he didn't dare refuse!"
Every talisman master was a core figure in Miaofu Pavilion, not to mention that his brother was barely over twenty and possessed the potential to advance to a Rank One Superior in the future. Naturally, that manager was unwilling to offend him.
Hearing this, Zhou Xun's expression remained completely calm and unruffled, as if the matter had nothing to do with him at all.
Seeing this, Wei Shangren angrily snapped:
"Zhou Xun, you really know how to put on an act! Now that you've lost your shop work, I suppose you won't even be able to afford the rent on this house."
"When the time comes and you're driven out of Red Leaf Market, you'll only be able to live among those rogue cultivators outside, living from hand to mouth. Who knows, one day you might just drop dead in a gutter, and when that happens, Brother Wei will be sure to burn two sticks of incense for you!"
"But I'm different. Now my brother has recommended me to become a talisman-making apprentice, and in the future, I will become a talisman master myself, truly rising above the common herd in Red Leaf Market!" Pausing slightly, Wei Shangren's eyes betrayed an expression of arrogance.
"Then let me offer my congratulations to Brother Wei in advance!" Zhou Xun's expression remained unchanged. With those words, he strode through the doorway and ignored him entirely.
Watching Zhou Xun's retreating back, Wei Shangren cursed bitterly before turning and leaving.
Back in his room, Zhou Xun wore a solemn expression.
So it turned out that his dismissal was the handiwork of Wei Shangren. Losing his job as a spiritual contract laborer meant losing his source of income, which would inevitably hinder his cultivation.
This practically amounted to an enmity as irreconcilable as blocking one's path to the Dao!
Moreover, given Wei Shangren's personality, he certainly wouldn't stop here; he must have further moves planned.
Fortunately, Wei Shangren's brother was currently only a rank one low-grade talisman master who had yet to establish himself, so his influence was still limited.
As long as he had enough spirit stones to live within Red Leaf Market, there was nothing they could do to him.
Duels were forbidden in Red Leaf Market under extremely strict rules. Even if there was bad blood, one had to leave Red Leaf Market to fight, or step onto the life-and-death arena of Red Leaf Market.
Apart from that, any private fighting within the market was met with immediate execution.
Two hundred years ago, a rogue cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment stage, relying on his cultivation base, had stealthily killed an enemy.
When a cultivator died inside Red Leaf Market, the four major families mobilized simultaneously. Once the investigation pointed to that Foundation Establishment cultivator, the heads of the Wu, Lin, Sun, and Li families of Red Leaf Market personally took action, captured the man, and executed him in public.
Ever since then, Red Leaf Market had maintained strict order, and large numbers of cultivators took up residence there, making the market even more prosperous—ranking among the top five in the entire Xu Country.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xun relaxed slightly.
After having a simple dinner, he entered the quiet room with a touch of anticipation to begin his daily cultivation.
When he finished cultivating, Zhou Xun opened his eyes, feeling a mix of pleasant surprise and slight regret.
"I only entered that dream realm yesterday; there's no way I can get back in today. I suppose I was just being a bit impatient!"
"Still, fortunately, I've finally reached peak Level 2 Qi Condensation!"
The next day, just as Zhou Xun finished drinking his spirit rice porridge, a knock sounded at the door.
Zhou Xun got up, stepped forward, and pulled the door open, whereupon a plump figure squeezed inside.
"Ah, Manager Lin! What brings you to my humble place?", Zhou Xun hurriedly invited him to sit down and poured him a cup of spirit tea.
The place where Zhou Xun lived belonged to Green Willow Alley in the southeast district of Red Leaf Market, and this Manager Lin was the housing manager in charge of Zhou Xun's alley, possessing a cultivation base of Level 5 Qi Condensation.
Zhou Xun had no friendship with him.
Aside from collecting rent, this manager had never visited at other times.
"I heard you were expelled from Miaofu Pavilion?" Manager Lin picked up the cup of spirit tea Zhou Xun had poured him with his left hand, blew on it gently, and took a sip, an air of contentment crossing his face.
"Indeed. Manager Lin is remarkably well-informed!" Zhou Xun replied with a calm expression.
Manager Lin nodded and got straight to the point:
"You can probably guess the purpose of my visit. It's for collecting next year's rent, but—" The plump manager paused, a trace of complexity crossing his eyes as he glanced at Zhou Xun.
"But someone used connections from above to send word to me not to rent this house to you anymore."
"However, am I, Lin, the kind of person to be ordered around like that? I'm still going to rent this house to you, but the rent will be increased by fifty percent, otherwise I won't be able to answer to higher-ups either!"
"Whether you rent it or not, think it over!"
With that, he picked up his spirit tea once more and took a gentle sip.
"Fifty percent!" Hearing this figure, Zhou Xun remained silent for a long time before asking:
"Might I ask if the person who sent that message has the surname Wei?"
"Correct! That fellow advanced to become a talisman master at the age of twenty-three and is currently riding a wave of great prestige, with a high probability of advancing to Rank One Superior in the future. I advise you not to cross swords with him!"
Hearing this, Zhou Xun nodded. Having hailed from Miaofu Pavilion himself, how could he not know the status of such a Rank One Superior talisman master?
It was definitely an existence no lower than Qi Condensation Completion.
"Many thanks for the manager's warning. Zhou Xun will keep it in mind. This house... I'll rent it!"
Houses in Red Leaf Market were only cheap in the southeast district, and aside from this place, he couldn't afford to rent anywhere else.
Zhou Xun bowed respectfully and immediately took out 150 spirit essence, laying them down gently.
After counting the sum to ensure it was correct, Manager Lin put them away and turned to leave.
Once Manager Lin departed, Zhou Xun fell into deep thought.
Sure enough, as soon as these Wei brothers made a move, they struck right at his Achilles' heel.
Fortunately, this Manager Lin was accommodating; otherwise, if he couldn't rent a house, he would have been forced to live outside Red Leaf Market. With his Level 2 Qi Condensation cultivation, if the Wei brothers simply spread the word that he was a former spiritual contract laborer holding a large amount of spirit essence, he would surely die without a burial place.
At this thought, a chill ran through Zhou Xun's heart.
"I still underestimated them. I never imagined that Wei Shangren, who usually slacked off and played tricks, had such scheming capabilities!"
"Given the chance, I must get rid of them, or I will never know a moment of peace!"