Big. T was happy with his new friend. I could tell by the way he croaked to me.
"What a cutie," I said.
But Big. F couldn't stay outside. It was too dangerous for a fish to be there. He wasn't as good at defending himself as Big. T.
I made him an aquarium inside my tiny cabin. It took up some of the space, which was already scarce, but at least Big. F was safe.
The sun had set by the time I got back, and the workers were gone, but I could see their progress through the window: some materials scattered in the lot, logs, and the base of the buildings.
It had been only a day, but I was quite impressed with how fast they worked. Based on my calculations, it would take them a month to finish everything.
My stomach growled with hunger, and the dinner for that night was fish. I won't lie. I felt a bit guilty cleaning the fish while looking at Big. F. They were not his relatives or anything, but seeing his face watching me made me uneasy.
I had to eat, and it was not like I had many options to choose from.
"Big. F, I promise I'll eat less fish once my farm starts producing crops. Okay?" I whispered to him.
I could swear he nodded back. The hunger was really messing with my head.
Anyway, after cleaning the fish it was time to cook them, and for that I used my wood stove! It didn't take long for the aroma of cooked fish to fill the room and escape outside!
But I expected my system to say something about cooking, yet it did not show. Maybe I was missing something?
The smell was so tempting that Big. T jumped on my window, looking at me and Big. F.
"Croak. Croak."
He wanted to come in, and of course I let him. Big. T had been my good friend since the beginning, so why would I say no to him?
I opened the window, and he instantly hopped on my shoulder. Adorable.
While I cooked the fish, Big. T hunted the mosquitoes and other bugs that were flying near my oil lamp. He was a helpful boy.
We all ate together that night, and Big T returned to his well afterward, leaving only me and Big F. I turned off all the lights and went to bed, sleeping like a baby.
The only reason I woke up was because of the noise coming from outside. The workers I hired were not slacking off, arriving for work almost before dawn.
Big. F was in his aquarium. I gave him a few worms, and then headed back to the river.
Was I going to fish more? No, of course not. I had to take a shower!
The whole reincarnation thing was so new and exciting that I forgot to shower since the first day I came to this world!
I was glad that Big. T and Big. F, my two true friends, didn't mind my smell.
I walked through the nearby forest with ease. There were hardly any dangerous animals inside, and those that were dangerous posed no threat to me.
As a third layer Qi Condensation cultivator, I could handle them.
The river was the reason Riverside got its name. It was so wide that it was hard to spot other people while bathing.
Still, despite being early, I looked for a secluded spot, checking the area several times before taking off my clothes and entering the river.
The water was cold because the sun hadn't warmed it up yet, but it felt good. It was relaxing and refreshing. The feeling of washing off all the dirt from my body was wonderful.
I promised myself I would never go that long without showering again. Heck, with all the manual labor, I should shower every day!
The weather in Riverside was great. Not too cold and not too hot. I didn't know if it was the season, or maybe my body was more resistant to the environment, but I loved it either way.
After cleaning myself, I went to Riverside. Only then did I realize that I had only one set of clothes, and that was a big problem.
Luckily for me, the small village of Riverside had a tailor and a merchant who sold some clothing.
I spoke with the tailor, who was an older woman with a gentle smile, and ordered some nice robes, but they would take some time to finish. So I spoke with the merchant and bought some ordinary clothes.
Still, it was nice to have more clothes, so that I could finally wash the ones I was wearing. I still had no idea what I would use to wash them, though.
"So you're the new face around here," a mature-looking man said to me as I walked in the village's streets.
The man wore a leather armor and had a bow behind his back. He looked like a hunter. What caught my attention was that he was not a mortal but a first layer Qi Condensation cultivator!
He couldn't tell my level because he was too weak to do so, but I was surprised to see another cultivator in the area.
I liked him. If he was in Riverside it meant he chose a different path from everyone else, so he was a good man.
"Yes, that's me. And you are the hunter?" I said.
He laughed, looking at his own clothes. "Is it that obvious?"
"Yeah, pretty obvious."
I didn't think someone would stop to talk to me without having an ulterior motive. Why did this hunter suddenly want to talk to me?
My gut feeling was right.
"I was wondering if you have any interest in learning how to hunt. My hunting team needs a new member," he said.
There it was. A normal person would just accept the offer and be happy to help the village with the food supply, but I was not a normal person.
Why should I join something without getting something in return?
Well, I would join anyway because of my curiosity. I wanted to see if my system would work with hunting.
But I couldn't make it that easy for him.
"What's in it for me? You know I don't lack money or else I wouldn't buy the land," I said.
The man looked at me with half-closed eyes and said, "What do you want?"
I just wanted to go, but pretended to think hard about it.
"Can you help me sell the pelts from the hunting? I want you to buy them at a higher price than the other merchants."
If my system worked with hunting, then maybe I could get higher-grade pelts, and those were worth a lot of money! Depending on the grade, even cultivators would want them.
"Is that all? No problem."
The man accepted the offer, and I was glad because of it.
"How does the hunting works then? Do you go everyday or what? I have other things to attend to," I said.
I wasn't lying. The day was just starting, and my initial plan was to start my farm. The sooner, the better.
"Some people from the hunting group do go everyday, but you anyone can go at anytime, so don't worry about it. Just go when you're free," he said.
"Marvelous!"
No one liked being bonded to something, so I was pleased with the carefree aspect of that hunting group. It was not like the village was poor and suffering with food problems.
They had cows, chickens, plantations, and traded things with nearby villages. It was a simple place yet one that was good with its villagers.
After speaking with that man about the hunting thing, I headed back to my plot of land, grabbing my hoe, and starting my farm!
The first thing I chose to plant was potatoes. Potatoes were nutritious and easy to sell. They also grew fast, usually within 90 to 120 days.
That was under normal circumstances. With the help of my Qi, and maybe my system if it worked as I hoped, the growth would be much faster.
So I dug some rows with my hoe, and made a fence around my potato field to prevent anyone from stepping on it by accident.
The only thing left was to plant the potatoes, and as soon as I touched them, a notification popped up in front of my eyes!
[Farming Level 1]
[Anything you plant has a chance of becoming a Spiritual Herb.]
Yes! That was exactly what I wanted. A Spiritual Herb was a rare treasure in the cultivation world. Something hard to find and precious to alchemists who could turn them into pills.
With my system, getting a stock of Spiritual Herbs was just a matter of time.
"Maybe I should learn how to make pills too," I muttered.
The fishing part of my system showed me the percentage, but the farming part did not. Was it even lower than the fishing one? I had no clue, but considering the large plot of land I had, I was bound to get a Spiritual Herb sooner or later. It couldn't not happen.
So I got busy planting potatoes, carrots, cabbages, and herbs for cooking. While the villagers built three more houses on my property, I created my farms!
It gave the place a lovely look. My small house on a hill with a rustic well next to it. Some crops in front of the house, a forest around it with a river nearby.
The whole place gave me a peaceful feeling, much better than that room I woke up in. Just thinking about all the crap I would have to deal with in the sect made me sick.
I tended to my farm and land for two weeks in blissful tranquility. Me, Big F and Big T enjoyed every moment of our peace until something happened.
Someone knocked on my door at night. I was startled. It was raining outside and the darkness inside my tiny cabin didn't help either.
I walked toward the door with my fists ready, preparing for a fight.