Chapter 8 Renting a House

After parting from Han Jing, and walking for more than an hour, Lin Jing finally arrived at Nanshan Market.

The Fang Market was huge, almost the size of a city, and it contained not only cultivators but also many ordinary people.

Walking on the street, the crowd bustled with life, and the sound of hawkers never ceased. Shops lined both sides of the streets, dazzling the onlookers.

Now, the most important thing was to find a place to live, so Lin Jing did not wander around.

Through the bustling streets, Lin Jing arrived at the management office of the Fang Market.

"Steward, I would like to reside in the Fang Market on a permanent basis. May I inquire if there are any houses for rent or sale?"

Inside the office, an old man with white hair was playing with a jade pendant. Hearing the question, he glanced at Lin Jing and asked,

"Do you have a certificate?"

"Certificate?" Lin Jing asked, puzzled.

"You need a certificate to rent a house within the Fang Market. If you don't have one, go find a place to live on the outskirts of the market."

Having said that, the steward lowered his head and continued playing with the jade pendant, paying Lin Jing no further attention.

Lin Jing bowed and said, "Steward, my senior brother once said that residing in the Fang Market does not require a certificate. I'm not sure when the rules changed; I hope you can inform me."

Seeing that Lin Jing's attitude was quite good, the steward put away the jade pendant and looked up at Lin Jing.

"Recently, the demonic beasts have been rioting, often appearing to attack people. Many want to move within the Fang Market to seek shelter."

"There is limited space inside the Fang Market, and it cannot accommodate so many people."

"Therefore, the Fang Market has set conditions."

"Only those with a certificate issued by the Fang Market's management office can rent a house inside."

"To obtain a certificate, one either needs someone to recommend them, or they must be someone who has made contributions to the Fang Market."

"Do you understand now?"

"So that's how it is. I thank the steward for informing me."

Lin Jing expressed his thanks with another bow.

"You've arrived relatively early. If it were a few days later, even the outskirts of the Fang Market might be fully occupied. Take advantage of the current situation and rent a place quickly while it's not too tight."

"Otherwise, in a few days, there might be nothing left to rent."

The steward said.

Perhaps because he took a liking to Lin Jing, he additionally reminded him before leaving,

"Remember to rent a house as close to the center of the Fang Market as possible. The closer you are to the edge, the less safe it becomes."

"Thank you, Steward, for the warning. I will take my leave now."

Lin Jing bowed again and departed from the market management office, heading straight for the outskirts.

After asking around extensively, Lin Jing took quite a while before finally arriving at the outer management office.

After explaining his purpose, a steward immediately took him to view a house.

The courtyards in the outer region were crowded and the alleys narrow. Following the steward through twists and turns, Lin Jing arrived in front of a small courtyard.

"Here... This small courtyard fits your requirement and isn't expensive, just five low-grade Spirit Stones per year."

Lin Jing frowned, not expecting the rent in the outskirts of the Fang Market to be so expensive.

To know, when he was cultivating Spirit Rice in the Qingyuan Sword Sect, he only earned two low-grade Spirit Stones per year.

Lin Jing pondered for a moment.

"Do you want to rent it or not? If you don't, you'll have to go to the market edges near the Night Mist Mountain Range."

"They ask for less there, only one Spirit Stone per year."

"But as for safety, I can't guarantee that."

Seeing Lin Jing's hesitation, the steward thought Lin Jing didn't have enough Spirit Stones, and his face fell, his tone becoming less polite than before.

"I'll rent it."

With that, Lin Jing took out five low-grade Spirit Stones from his chest and handed them to the steward.

Upon receiving the Spirit Stones, the steward immediately brightened with a smile.

"That's more like it."

"Rest assured, this place is much safer than those perimeter areas. Soon, you'll find that these five Spirit Stones are well spent."

"Right then, this house is yours now. Whether it's for paying the rent or any other matter, I will come to notify you."

After finishing, the steward greeted Lin Jing and then left directly.

Upon opening the courtyard gate, he saw a small tree in the middle of the yard, with a circular stone table underneath. Inside, there was a room made from green bricks and tiles, and a kitchen.

Perhaps it was because no one had lived there, but the courtyard was somewhat cluttered, with leaves and branches everywhere, even blanketing the stone tables.

"Creak…"

Lin Jing pushed open the door, and a musty stench hit him, mixed with dust visible to the naked eye.

"Cough...cough, cough..."

Lin Jing stepped back and fanned the air with his hand.

"The previous owner of this house must have been incredibly slovenly,"

Lin Jing complained.

However, with the sun about to set and darkness approaching, if he didn't clean up now, he'd have to sleep in the courtyard.

Lin Jing sighed and began to clean up.

He was busy until well into the night.

After cleaning up, the house was essentially empty, and now it truly was no place to live.

He would have to wait until tomorrow to purchase the necessities for life.

"Enter System Space."

As Lin Jing's words fell, darkness abruptly dissipated, replaced by blinding sunlight that made it hard for him even to keep his eyes open.

"It would be good if I could adjust the weather and time here."

Lin Jing thought, then he proceeded forward.

Ahead lay the Spirit Field Lin Jing had planted, which he checked and found would mature in one more day; yet when he had looked yesterday, there were still three days left.

In System Space, time flowed at twice the rate of the outside world.

Exactly one day had passed since yesterday, so it seemed the harvest would be ready by tomorrow noon.

"It's perfect that Senior Han gave me a Storage Bag, once the Spirit Rice matures, I can directly pack it into the Storage Bag to sell; this will make things much more convenient."

"First, let's see how large the space in that Storage Bag is to properly prepare."

Lin Jing took out the Storage Bag, input Spiritual Power into it to open it, and then sent his Divine Sense inside.

Immediately after, Lin Jing was stunned.

Five hundred.

There were fully five hundred Spirit Stones.

"I didn't expect Senior Han to give me so much."

Looking at the pile of Spirit Stones, Lin Jing breathed heavily, as it was his first time seeing so many Spirit Stones.

And that wasn't all; there were also several talismans next to the Spirit Stones.

Lin Jing sent his Divine Sense over.

Fireball Talisman, Cleansing Talisman, Godspeed Talisman, Invisibility Talisman…

Several kinds of talisman, adding up to over twenty.

And the last two crimson talismans, which bore the words 'Five Thunder Talisman'.

The Five Thunder Technique was a spell that only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could cultivate.

And these Five Thunder Talismans were equivalent to the full-force strike of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

This was something that could save his life at a critical moment.

Lin Jing was overwhelmed with emotions, not expecting that such precious items would be given to him by Senior Han.

He made a mental note of Senior Han's kindness.

And upon further investigation, Lin Jing found the Storage Bag to be quite large, a full ten cubic meters, more than enough to fit all ten acres of his Spirit Rice.

Lin Jing estimated that just this Storage Bag alone was worth a lot.

After being moved, Lin Jing focused his mind, ready to start cultivating.

The Spiritual Energy was rich within the System Space, Lin Jing sat down cross-legged, and it didn't take long for him to enter a state of cultivation...

......

On the second day, Lin Jing left early to purchase some necessities for life, and after returning, he also took the opportunity to clean up the courtyard again.

By the time he was done, it was already afternoon.

Looking at the completely refreshed courtyard, Lin Jing smiled contentedly, now it really looked like a home.

After tidying up the house, Lin Jing had another task to do: the Spirit Rice in the System Space was ready for harvest.

Next, he planned to look around for an appropriate merchant to sell the Spirit Rice to.