Chapter 122 — What Had Changed

CHAPTER 122

What Had Changed

“Ling Rong sent the caravan schedule for the eastern road,” Ling Qingzhu said, setting the folded sheet beside Shi Feng's commission ledger.

Shi Feng glanced up from his notes. “He still wants me sitting in the clan carriage for two full days of farewell calls?”

“Only the final morning at the residence,” Ling Qingzhu said. “I already told him you had furnace commitments for the rest.”

He looked at her with genuine appreciation. “Thank you.”

“You don't need to sound surprised,” Ling Qingzhu replied, though she lingered by the table instead of returning to her book. “If you want to check the road provisions with me, we can go after your last order.”

“We don't need Ling Rong's clerks for that,” Shi Feng said warmly. “We can go ourselves.”

She folded the schedule away, yet a quiet crease remained between her brows. He thought the matter of his hours was settled; she was still wondering why every clan request lately seemed to press against a wall he hadn't named.

At the furnace yard, Gao Yuan waited beside a pile of unused charcoal sacks. His Qi Condensation cultivation didn't keep him warm enough to stop complaining about the wind.

“A man asked whether your furnace would be free after you leave,” Gao Yuan said.

“It isn't my furnace,” Shi Feng replied. “Rent it to him.”

“He wants the same price you pay,” Gao Yuan said.

“Then charge him the same price,” Shi Feng replied.

Gao Yuan looked genuinely disappointed. He apparently expected Shi Feng to explain why the next tenant should pay more.

“He also wants your supplier's name,” Gao Yuan said.

“You can give him the shop's name,” Shi Feng replied. “The herbs won't become good because he knows me.”

“You've become very difficult to earn from,” Gao Yuan complained.

“You've become very willing to tell me,” Shi Feng said.

Gao Yuan grumbled and left. Shi Feng went inside without a hood. The capital already knew who refined here. Hiding his face wouldn't make his personal life any simpler now.

Today's order used a larger portion of the same dependable recovery formula. He divided it into smaller runs instead of filling the furnace beyond what he controlled comfortably. The extra firing took time, but it kept the medicine even.

He thought, I don't need to impress a customer by using the whole furnace. I need every promised pill to work.

The first run finished cleanly. He let the copper cool before wiping the inner lip, then began the next. Between runs, he prepared the agreed share for himself and marked the delivery boxes.

His early Foundation Establishment cultivation was settling. The qi moved readily through all his meridians and answered his hands with far less delay. There was still a vast difference between this and the cultivation Mo Tianheng remembered.

That didn't bother him today. He could see his own progress clearly, and he wasn't short of work that suited it.

After collecting the payment, he stopped at the travel office to confirm his route. Xu Wen, the clerk at the side desk, checked his representative's token and unfolded a map.

“The main party leaves through the eastern gate,” Xu Wen said. “You're expected at Qingyun City's registration hall before the final bell on the appointed day.”

“Must I ride with the party?” Shi Feng asked.

“No,” Xu Wen replied. “Your place belongs to your name, not your carriage. Arrive on time with the token.”

The clerk pointed out the safer roads and two stretches without reliable inns. He was at Bone Refinement and spoke with the bored patience of a man answering the same questions all morning.

“What happens if someone loses the token?” Shi Feng asked.

“They report it here before leaving,” Xu Wen replied. “Please don't test whether falling into a river makes it disappear.”

“Someone did?” Shi Feng asked.

“Someone claimed he did,” Xu Wen said. “Then tried to sell it.”

Shi Feng took the marked route and put it away. He wasn't planning to separate from Ling Qingzhu, but having a clear route meant they could choose their own pace instead of following every official stop.

Near evening, he left the office and bought two packets of tea on the road home. One was for travel. The other was the sort Ling Qingzhu drank without making a face.

He remembered her overly strong first attempt and smiled.

Ling Qingzhu was writing when he came in. He placed the tea beside her paper, and she immediately reached for it.

“This one?” Ling Qingzhu asked, reading the wrapper.

“The seller says it's impossible to ruin,” Shi Feng replied.

She hit his hand with the packet.

“Your tea was worse last week,” Ling Qingzhu said.

“Because you made it,” Shi Feng replied.

She stared at him, then laughed despite trying not to. He was glad to hear it. The awkward exchange from morning wasn't worth losing the evening over.

They drank the tea together. She said the seller lied about ruining it. He said she hadn't tried hard enough yet. For a while, she leaned over the table to read his notes and asked which pills he planned to carry.

He explained the ordinary travel medicines without naming what his physique could do. She knew enough cultivation to follow their uses, and her questions were good.

“You've become much busier,” Ling Qingzhu said.

“There's more demand,” Shi Feng replied.

“And your time is worth more now,” Ling Qingzhu said.

“To a customer,” Shi Feng replied.

She looked at him, waiting for more. He thought the distinction was obvious and went back to packing the medicines.

The silence left her thinking. When she first asked him to marry her, the whole capital called him a cripple. He sold little jars, argued over a few spirit stones, and slept on a rented floor. Now he was one of Great Liang's three representatives and a successful alchemist.

His circumstances changed. Of course he might dislike the old terms.

Ling Qingzhu felt she finally understood the awkwardness. He had pride, and she kept acting as if nothing needed adjusting. Perhaps he didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

She looked at the tea packet. He still remembered her preferences. He still came home with something she liked. Whatever troubled him didn't mean he wanted to stop living together.

“I'll speak to Ling Rong,” Ling Qingzhu said.

“About the afternoon?” Shi Feng asked.

“About the arrangements,” Ling Qingzhu replied.

He nodded, relieved she wasn't insisting. She felt relieved for a different reason.

Later, when he sat in the kitchen to cultivate, she opened the travel list again. Beside the supplies, she wrote a short reminder to ask about a more suitable agreement.

She thought, It should be fair to him too. She wanted him to agree readily, the way he smiled when she asked him to attend the gathering. She didn't consider that he wasn't asking to sell more hours. She put the reminder away carefully, satisfied she had finally found something useful to do.

In the kitchen, Shi Feng swallowed his retained pills and let their medicine strengthen his foundation. Tomorrow's work was already planned. He wanted enough free time afterward to ask her about the road again.