"Su Chen, here are the fifty copper coins for this month as your salary. Sigh, I envy you, kid. As a mortal, you can work as a cleaner in the house of the immortal. You don't know how many people are eyeing your position. So, cherish it while you can."
A middle-aged man with a bent gait said with a smile as he handed the pouch to the youth in front of him.
"Steward Zhang, isn't it all because of your blessings? Thanks to your care, I can eat some bread and not starve."
The boy opposite smiled as he accepted the pouch, but inwardly, he was cursing his eighth generation in his mind.
'You steal even the servant's salary and boast in front of them. How shameless. I hope you die by choking while drinking water.'
A cleaner, or beast dung cleaner to be precise, was given a total of 70 copper coins per month as a salary.
However, he instead shamelessly kept 20 copper coins for himself and still acted as if he was the one living in luxury.
'If I could, I would just blow your head off.' Su Chen thought maliciously-unfortunately he couldn't.
"Haha, how much can you eat with this small body of yours? I heard you are saving money to get married next year. You kid is very lucky."
Steward Zhang acted as if he were very jealous of his status.
'No way, you bastard, even looking at my savings now? How poor and stingy are you?'
Su Chen was dumbfounded but smiled awkwardly outside, scratching his hair and acting as innocent as he could be.
"What are you saying, Steward? I am a growing youth that needs lots of nutrients every month. Moreover, cleaning beast dung is a laborious job, so how can I save anything? I even have to take a loan from Widow Hua sometimes."
He waved his hand, dismissed the accusation, and walked away with the pouch.
He was afraid that if he waited any longer, that bastard Zhang would steal his salary outright. He realized that this guy had no shame.
'Sigh! What a disaster.'
Steward Zhang squinted his eyes as he watched the boy walk away but said nothing.
After leaving the hut, Su Chen walked along the wide road, followed a narrow trail, and arrived at a small, dilapidated courtyard almost at the edge of the town.
Upon entering the shabby room devoid of furniture, Su Chen hurriedly walked to a corner, lifted a large log, and dug out a box buried in a hole.
Opening the box, he saw nine sparkling silver coins and a few copper coins inside.
"With these 50 copper coins, I now have 10 silvers. Finally, I can purchase the Essence Condensation Pill."
Su Chen felt quite happy as the door to immortality was now right in front of him.
It had taken him two years to save this much while working as a dung cleaner. If Steward Zhang hadn't deducted his salary, he could have saved it much earlier.
'Just wait, old man. Revenge is never too late.'
Remembering that bastard made his teeth itch with hatred.
Two years ago, Su Chen transmigrated to this world as a mortal after dying in a car accident.
When he first arrived and discovered this world had a supernatural cultivation system, he was ecstatic.
However, reality hit him hard as surviving here was incredibly difficult since he had no relatives. He almost starved to death, likely the same way his predecessor had died.
Fortunately, he found a job in the immortal mansion as a beast dung cleaner since no one else wanted to do it. Although the job was tiring and disgusting, he slowly adjusted and survived.
'Finally, there is hope of escaping this nightmare.'
"Squeak."
Just as Su Chen was getting emotional, a small jade-ring mouse approached him, scratching his arm.
"You again? Didn't I tell you there's nothing here? Why don't you go to another house for food?"
Su Chen scolded, though its cute and innocent look gave him a headache.
Three days ago, he had seen this little one starving outside his house. Out of either emotion or reason, he had given it bread and saved its life.
Since then, it hadn't left his house, freely stealing food with its charm. Unlike Earth, this jade-ring mouse seemed almost as intelligent as a human, understanding his intentions related to food.
"Squeak, Squeak!"
Hearing there was no food, the mouse looked anxious, its wide, pleading eyes giving it an innocent, cute appearance.
"No! Go outside and find your food. I have nothing here."
Su Chen resolved not to give in. If this continued, his expenses would exceed what he could handle.
He couldn't waste time or money on a mouse while aspiring to immortality.
As he was about to close the box and rebury it, something leaped forward, and a silver coin disappeared from his box.
"Damn!"
Su Chen cursed as he saw the jade-ring mouse holding the coin in its mouth.
"Give me my silver back!"
He hurriedly covered the lid and tried to catch the mouse, but its agility outmatched his frail body, making him even more anxious.
He tried to use the broom to strike it in anger, but its cute look made him hesitate.
He could only place it down and stride to catch its running figure. However, he was really not up to this challenge.
"Hah... Okay... Hah..." He gasped and sat down without caring about his image, then said,
"I'll give you some bread—no, two loaves. Just give me my silver back."
Seeing that he couldn't catch it, he could only relent.
'How low have I fallen in this life? Even a mouse is playing with me.' He thought bitterly.
"Squeak, Squeak!"
However, the clever mouse didn't seem swayed by his offer.
Desperate, he took out a bread and said,
"Okay, don't run away. Here's bread. Give me the silver, and I'll give you another one."
After saying that, he cautiously moved closer.
Just when it seemed still and curious, Su Chen pounced suddenly, without giving it a chance, successfully grabbing it.
"Squeak, Squeak!"
"Damn you! Who are you trying to blackmail? I'll teach you a lesson."
Su Chen was just getting angry at it when something pricked his finger.
"Ouch..."
Although he managed to retrieve the silver coin, the mouse still bit his finger in anxiety, drawing blood.
"Shh... You're finished. I saved you, and you bit me?"
Su Chen cursed.
The mouse, looking innocent and aggrieved, seemed to protest its innocence. As if to say, it was your fault.
Then it noticed the blood dripping from his finger and licked his wound innocently as if apologizing.
'Damn! Where did it learn to act cute?'
Su Chen was dumbfounded by its actions while the corner of his eyes twitched fiercely. This was really a magical world.
However, just as he was about to move his finger away as he felt quite uncomfortable, he noticed a bright light enveloping the mouse and his arm.
Suddenly, he felt a special connection with the creature. The feeling was so fleeting he thought it might be a hallucination.
However, seeing the happy mouse seemingly feeling the same connection as him, he realized it was real.
Suddenly, his body froze in place.
A neutral voice echoed in his mind,
[Ding!]
[Congratulation! You tamed an Evolrus as your first beast companion.]
[Ding!]
[Condition has been met and Beast Simulator has been activated.]
[The first activation grants a free simulation. Subsequent activations cost money based on the beast's strength.]
[Each beast companion has one simulation chance per day.]
[Current Beast Companion: 1]
[Contract Capacity: 1/1]
[Ding! Would you like to use the free beast simulation chance? It will not count towards today's simulation quota.]
"Beast Simulator?"