Chapter 7 - A little Maid

Luo Mei stared at Xin Jin for a full 20 seconds before she said "You can buy it if you want, but may I ask, why?"

"You can. It's not like it's a secret." Xin Jin said with a chuckle

"Have you ever heard the term, 'Money is Power'?"

Luo Mei stared at Xin Jin blankly before slowly shaking her head.

"Well that's okay. Suffice it to say, the more money you have, the more power you possess."

"I see." said Luo Mei after having a realization.

"So your buying businesses so that you'll earn more in return?"

"Exactly." Xin Jin confirmed. "However, today is just for sight seeing." He said with a smile.

After finishing up, the two walked around, Xin Jin had his arm around her waist, and they came upon a street nearby with a bunch of vendors and stall owners selling all kinds of doodads and trinkets.

Xin Jin watched as Luo Mei poked through some jewelry that a young lady was selling when all of a sudden, something from the next stall down caught his eye.

Sitting in front of a tan middle age man who was nodding off, was a stone made of quarts. Xin Jin wasn't sure what it was, but it called to him.

"Mister, how much for the rock?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Hmm? oh, whatever you want kid. just leave me alone." He said with an irritated tone.

Xin Jin just shook his head before dropping a gold tael on the counter and picking up the rock before walking back over to Luo Mei.

"Find anything interesting?" he asked as he approached

"Mmm. I found a pair of pearl earrings and a matching bracelet." Luo Mei said as she showed them off.

"Nice." Replied Xin Jin as they continued their walk.

After a while it was looking like it was time to head home.

However, on the way back they saw something that shocked them both momentarily. Not far from the front gate of their home, near the street corner was a young girl, maybe 13-14 years old, who was sitting on the muddy ground wearing tattered clothes, next to the body of a woman who appeared to be in her late 20s or early 30s.

Most likely the girls mother who recently died, and now she's begging for burial funds.

Xin Jin wanted to ignore the situation since it wasn't any of his business, but before he could move, he felt a hand tug at the hem of his robes. He looked over to see the emotions in Luo Mei's eyes.

With a silent sigh, he walked over before crouching in front of the young girl who seemed quite dirty, like she hadn't bathed in weeks.

"Here." Xin Jin said as he placed a gold piece in her hands. "Use this to bury your mother. If you don't have a place to stay you can come back to our place and we'll give you a bath and something to eat." He said with a kind smile.

As he stood up, he could hear the sound of the young girl sobbing, he didn't do anything more for her however, since only we can deal with our own feelings.

Soon after they returned to their courtyard while the young girl ran to fetch a grave digger to bury her mother's body.

It took her over an hour to return after having paid and seen off the cart.

Now she had a decision to make. Here she stood at the crossroads of that wonderful couples home.

She may be young and doesn't really understand the value of money, but she wasn't stupid either. The money left over from her mother's burial expenses was still enough to live 4 or 5 years easy without working if she saved.

Sometimes too much kindness can be a burden.

She decided that she was going to work as that Young Master and his Wife's maid until she paid off this debt until she was satisfied.

*Knock Knock*

When the young girl knocked on the gate, Xin Jin was practicing the sword technique he learned with the Blade of Impermanence. Even though he used the System to learn his techniques perfectly, he still needed to practice in order to feel comfortable using them.

While he did this, Luo Mei was reading a book she bought titled 'Flavor-The difference between Northern and Southern cuisine'

When he heard the knocking, Xin Jin immediately went to open the door.

There, he saw the girl from earlier cowtowing..

"You?" He asked with a raised eyebrow

"My Name is Han Yi! Please Young Master! Young Miss! allow me to serve you in order to repay my debt!" She cried startling both Xin Jin and Luo Mei slightly

"Come now." Xin Jin said kindly as he helped her up.

"Let's not talk about this here. Please, come inside." He said with a smile

"Come, I'll help with the bath. We can talk later." Said Luo Mei with a motherly tone as she took Han Yi's hand.

As Xin Jin watched Luo Mei escort Han Yi to go get cleaned up, he decided to cultivate and break through to the next realm. He needed to close the gap with Luo Mei.

After arriving in his room, he sat on his bed.

"Okay System, How do I cultivate?" He asked

[The way you cultivate is different than other people. You are closer to a Daemon Beast. However unlike them who get stronger as they age, as a Divine Beast Inheritor, you will get stronger with every breath since your Primordial Qilin Soul gives you the ability to absorb Spirit Energy directly.]

"So in other words I just have to wait and get stronger passively?" Xin Jin asked

[Yes and no. you still need to meditate to break through a major realm. Plus, Meditation will increase your overall absorption speed, since the higher your realm, the longer it takes. Sometimes it could take years or decades to break through.] the System reminded him.

"I see." He said quietly.

He then sat cross legged on the bed, closed his eyes and started meditating.

By the time Luo Mei and Han Yi returned in New clothes, his aura was completely different. He had broken through to the first level of Spirit Warrior.