Naturally, the rent isn't cheap.
Five lower grade Spirit Stones a year, which is basically the fee paid for Immortal Sect protection.
Plus the few Spirit Stones used for everyday cultivation, there's hardly any left over.
Actually, it's precisely because Qin Yu spends some Spirit Stones on cultivation that he's reached the Qi Refining Second Layer—otherwise, as a lower grade Mortal Bone, he'd probably still be lingering at Qi Refining First Layer.
After organizing his things, Qin Yu didn't rush to open the door, but first observed the situation outside from the window.
Being cautious is his main approach.
He's already developed this habit.
Though the house offers some protection, the alley outside is a different story.
He glanced outside and was startled.
On the street next door, a mess of belongings were scattered—clothes, bits and pieces, as if they'd been thrown out of a house without care.
Beside the scattered items stood two slender figures, one tall, one short.
"Lin Qianqian!"
"Lin Shuishui!"
Qin Yu knew the two girls—they were the sisters living next door. Their father was a cultivator at Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
From the looks of it, something must have happened to their family.
Qin Yu opened the window a crack, listening carefully to the sounds outside.
It turned out the sisters' father had run into trouble half a year ago, and now, with their father gone, they couldn't pay the rent and so the Law Enforcement Team had forced them out of the house.
The older sister, Lin Qianqian, barely eighteen, seemed strong on the outside, but deep fear and despair flickered in her eyes—obviously, she was merely putting up a brave front.
Beside her, the younger sister Lin Shuishui, no more than twelve, was like a frightened kitten, her small body curled up behind her sister, little hands clinging tightly to her only source of support, not daring even to meet the cold stares of the enforcers, afraid a glance would lead straight to an endless abyss.
With their father gone and no roof over their heads, the sisters seemed like helpless lambs, battered by winds and rain.
Nearby, window shutters cracked just enough for threads of indifferent light to leak through, but no one was willing to lend a hand to the sisters.
The scene was like a tragic and brutal painting, silently telling of the world's coldness and the fading warmth of humanity.
However—
Everyone living out here in Spring Rain Lane is scraping by; those with ability moved into the city long ago.
And with every extra person in a house, you have to pay two more lower grade Spirit Stones per year!
If you took them in, you'd be paying four stones extra a year.
Their father from the Lin Family had taken risks precisely to earn enough Spirit Stones.
As the Law Enforcement Team left, the eyes that had been surveilling quietly closed their windows. Yet in the shadows, sly and greedy gazes settled silently on the two sisters.
All residents of Spring Rain Lane knew well—Lin Qianqian might have no Root Bone and be an ordinary person, but Lin Shuishui possessed a middle grade Mortal Bone.
Not outstanding, but she'd have no trouble becoming a cultivator one day.
Such a girl, if snatched and sold to the Flower House in the city, would fetch a good price in Spirit Stones.
Lin Shuishui hadn't realized her peril, but being forced from the house had already unsettled her deeply. She pressed tightly to her sister's side, her little hand subconsciously clutching the hem of Lin Qianqian's garment, her voice thin as a whisper yet trembling and bewildered, each word squeezing out from the softest corner of her heart, full of dependence and helplessness: "Sister… I… I'm scared…"
"Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Lin Qianqian bit her lip softly, her gaze sweeping over the staggered window frames, as if she too sensed something. Though her heart quivered, she still forced herself to appear steady.
"Creak."
A door opened beside them; Qin Yu stepped out of his house, immediately drawing the sisters' attention.
Since they were neighbors, they actually knew him, even if they hadn't interacted much. But in their current predicament, Qin Yu felt powerless to help.
He was barely a Qi Refining Second Layer cultivator—how could he protect these sisters? He'd only invite disaster onto himself; if he left with them, they might not even get out of the alley.
But just as he glanced at them and was about to leave—
[Emotion Point +1 from Lin Qianqian]
[Flame Point: 1]
"???"
Suddenly, Qin Yu's footsteps froze, deep confusion and disbelief rippling in his eyes.
What's going on?!
He wondered if he'd misread it.
He focused his mind and looked—
[Flame Point: 1]
[Lin Qianqian Romantic Point: 1 (Initial Acquaintance)]
[Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer (18%)]
[Root Bone: Lower Grade Mortal Bone (Flame Point 1/10)]
[Spiritual Power: Entry (Flame Point 1/10)]
Flame Point really did increase!
Thirty years!
A full thirty years!
Qin Yu didn't know how many times he'd tried—in all that time, he'd met Lin Qianqian before, but never ever gained any Flame Point!
Why now…?
Qin Yu looked at Lin Qianqian.
He was puzzled; Lin Qianqian had no cultivation Root Bone and was just an ordinary girl. Lin Shuishui actually had Root Bone… Could Flame Point not depend on Root Bone or cultivation?
What was the reason?
Just then, Lin Qianqian was busy gathering the things scattered on the ground with her sister.
"Qianqian, did something happen?"
At the sound of his voice, Lin Qianqian finally looked up.