Chapter 17 - Youth Workers

Even by the time Li Lang descended the walls and made his way out the gates, the boy who failed to be accepted by any sect was still slamming his forehead into the ground.Li Lang quickly ran up to the small group of disappointed children who had discovered they only had grade one aptitude, just like him. Their gazes shied when he looked in their direction, which made Li Lang wonder if he would've been like them if he didn't have his previous memories or the support of the Zi siblings.He pushed those depressing thoughts aside and held the suicidal boy from further smashing his face into the dirt. The strength of someone in the second stage of Energy Gathering was easily able to overcome the young boy who had yet to become a cultivator."What are you doing?""L-leave him be… It won't be easy for him to s-survive anyway if he lost the will a-already." A boy on the sideline, wearing a strange wooden mask, replied with a stutter.Li Lang glared at the boy before ignoring him, bringing his attention back to his intended target."I…don't have a future anymore." The boy in Li Lang's arm weakly muttered."You'll be fine. There are many people with grade one aptitude like us. Hurry on home before your parents become worried."The boy blinked blankly at Li Lang for a moment before responding."It's better if I don't go back. I'd rather not waste the orphanage's food on someone like me… who won't amount to anything.""...Are you trying to pick a fight with me? I said I have grade one aptitude too!"At his words, the boy gave Li Lang a confused look and tilted his head.No matter how alluring it is, keep yourself from talking them into being your test subjects, Li Lang!Meeting the boy's gaze, Li Lang couldn't help but shake his head."If you think you're a burden to your orphanage, then work to earn your keep. I happen to be hiring kids like you to sell stuff, so come back into the city with me."Upon reflection, Li Lang realized that it wouldn't hurt to gain a few helpers. He had been thinking about hiring some helpers, so this was a good opportunity.His next venture to harvest new herbs could use the extra help as well. This was especially so, seeing how the talisman's effect wouldn't change even when he was accompanied by more people. It would even be better to have some extra hands to better take advantage of it.With that thought in mind, Li Lang turned his gaze upon the other despondent children.The boy with the mask and stutter was still glaring at him, and he smiled in response."Would you like a job, too?"In the blink of an eye, over half a year had passed.On this day, Li Lang successfully stepped into the third stage of Energy Gathering and his body was gushing with power. However, he immediately felt an invisible force blocking him from further absorbing any more Qi as if he had hit a limit.It appears breaking into the mid-stage of Energy Gathering isn't as easy as just absorbing Qi nonstop…I'll need more information before continuing, or it'll be too risky to experiment when I know so little.Without being able to cultivate further, he had too much free time now. His situation was completely different from the months prior when he had been so strapped for time that he had to hire a group of kids to help him hawk his sodas.Still, Li Lang had other things to focus on besides cultivating, such as his research into the Recovery Pill. This new development only allowed him to dedicate even more time and effort to researching the properties of each herb and how they reacted with each other.A few weeks after he had stopped making progress in his cultivation, he made a breakthrough in his work. So far, he didn't have any foreknowledge of the intricacies of alchemy or how anything worked. He had relied entirely on the auto-analyzer to find the material makeup and Qi signature for him to recreate.It was a simple trial-and-error method that he was forced to employ, as he couldn't find a teacher. It wasn't the best method as it had the drawback of wasting a tremendous amount of resources, but Ruby's power to recreate the materials within its artifact space completely averted the monstrous expenditure.Without the limitation of materials, the perks of such a simple method came into play. Trial and error was a method where sometimes luck played a huge part in the research bearing fruit. He had chanced upon a combination of materials that had a very similar Qi signature to the Recovery Pill he had initially analyzed."Ruby, look! I have succeeded! Do you think my pill works just the same as a normal pill?""Master, the auto-analyzer doesn't lie. If everything is the same, then it should work just the same as well.""I see…That's right, but even if I create things in here, I won't be able to bring it back to the real world with me, right?""That's correct, master. Unfortunately, this space is similar to the simulations that you know. You can't bring anything out of here."Li Lang took a look around the lab at the artifact space generated as he contemplated how he would recreate this pill. He had used various equipment in the lab to precisely measure temperatures and time. He doubted he could easily redo the process in the real world where he didn't have any precise instruments, despite knowing the process.I'll just have to find a way to substitute the machines for each task one at a time…An alarm soon broke him from his thoughts, as it signaled it was time to get on with his‌ next tasks. He quickly exited the artifact space and prepared for the new day.He had a hearty breakfast before grabbing a case of the sodas he had made the previous night and made his way outside, stopping just short of the rain."G-good mor-morning… boss." A boy wearing a wooden mask greeted with a stutter, followed by the other kids behind him, who came every morning to help Li Lang sell his merchandise."Good morning everyone. Wei Ping, you distribute the sodas as always. "Wei Ping, the boy with the stutter, was handed the case and was then swarmed by the other kids. They quickly divided the sodas they would be selling for the day while Li Lang watched on in the back."B-boss, should I meet y-you here today too, to go b-buy the materials f-for tomorrow?"Speaking of materials, Li Lang was reminded of the small pile of alchemy materials he had left. Even if he didn't fail, it was only enough for a few pills at most. He knew his success rate, especially in the beginning, was likely going to be low as he got used to refining them in the real world with the little he had, so his thoughts then wandered towards another foraging trip.I should be able to get more if I get a few helpers to tag along."Yeah, thanks for the help. I'll wait for you here. Oh, and one more thing; tomorrow, tell them all that we're going out to help me gather some materials from the forest. Be sure they dress appropriately. I'll teach you all what you need to do tonight after work."After seeing his workers off, he wasted no time and set off into the rain to do some shopping. He would need a new talisman to ward off monsters and some baskets for the kids to carry the materials.His shopping trip ended uneventfully, and he was able to go over the techniques of how to gather the various herbs tomorrow. The children were unlikely to have learned from his explanation alone, but it was still better than having to start from scratch when the time came to harvest the materials. The expensive warding talisman had a limited duration, after all.The next morning, he found the same half a dozen kids waiting for him outside his inn.The group of children obediently followed Li Lang out of the city to the curious gazes of the onlookers. That only lasted until they began going off the well-traveled roads into the forest."Hey…aren't there Qi beasts around here? We should turn back!" A kid timidly asked."Don't be a coward! We just have to listen to the leader… I think.""I heard even adults stay away from here, though…"Li Lang quickly turned around and clapped his hand to gather everyone's attention."Don't worry. What I have here is a warding talisman. None of the Qi beasts will dare come near me once I use it." He held up the paper talisman for all to see.His audience stared on with blank expressions as they had little knowledge about the item before them. There were simply too many types of talismans, and they were too expensive. To them, it was an item they hadn't thought they would ever come into contact with.Seeing how they were veering quite a distance from the main road, Li Lang decided not to hesitate and used the talisman. He had learned his lesson from his previous encounter and channeled his Qi into it and the long rectangular piece of paper burned up in golden flames.The kids all anxiously stared around for a few moments, but found that nothing had happened. Li Lang could feel all the questioning gazes even from behind and he couldn't help but clear his throat."Don't worry. You may not be able to see anything, but it definitely works!""..."The children did not look reassured.