149: Chapter 149. Gone, so... he's never coming back?

[Buy Medicinal Pills, feed Medicinal Pills, buy Spiritual Plants for Spirit Beasts, stew them into soup, and force-feed it.]

[One hundred and fifty Spirit Stones, leaking away like flowing water.]

[On the third day, 120 left.]

[On the fifth day, 90 left.]

[On the seventh day, 50 left.]

[Xiao Wang's condition is improving, but extremely slowly. The light of the golden patterns is more stable than before, no longer showing signs of extinguishing at any moment, but it is still not enough.]

[You look at the dwindling Spirit Stones in your Storage Pouch, your scalp tingling.]

[But you do not stop.]

[On the tenth day, the Spirit Stones are all spent, not a single one left.]

[You sit in the empty room, staring at the bare fabric at the bottom of the Storage Pouch, remaining silent for a long time.]

[Not enough, still not enough.]

[Although Xiao Wang's golden patterns are no longer flickering, they have never fully lit up; the Awakening is stuck at the final step.]

[You start selling off your belongings.]

[Except for that trump card, the Peak Grade 'Azure Wave Slash'.]

[Three Fireball Talismans, Medium Grade offensive talismans.]

[Two Water Shield Talismans, Medium Grade defensive talismans.]

[One Spirit Binding Rope, High Grade enemy-restraining talisman.]

[Sell them all!]

[You use all the Spirit Stones you got to buy Medicinal Pills and Spiritual Plants, continuing to feed them into Xiao Wang's body.]

[You stroke its head with a heartache: "You've eaten everything clean, please pull yourself together for me."]

[Xiao Wang lies in its nest, the light of the golden patterns is much brighter than before, but it still wavers between light and dark, like a lamp running out of oil, needing just one last breath.]

[You stare at the golden pattern between its brows, clutching the last Medicinal Pill in your hand, your knuckles turning white.]

[What if this one is still not enough?]

[You have almost nothing left to sell; apart from the Storage Pouch, one Azure Wave Slash, and a few changes of clothes, you have nothing left.]

[You feed the last Medicinal Pill into Xiao Wang's mouth.]

[The golden pattern between Xiao Wang's brows suddenly lights up.]

[It lifts its head from your knee, looking at you weakly. Your reflection is mirrored in its golden vertical pupils. From the other end of the contract comes a strong surge of emotion—gratitude, attachment, and a faint but definite joy.]

[It knows you have been trying to save it all this time.]

[These past few days, your rushing in and out, your anxious aura, your warm palms, and the things you stuffed into its mouth over and over—it felt it all.]

[Xiao Wang nuzzles your side, burying its head in your arms.]

[Your fingers run through its fur, and you finally heave a sigh of relief.]

[The next moment, the golden pattern between its brows suddenly bursts into a dazzling golden light, enveloping the entire white tiger like a giant golden cocoon.]

[The light is too intense, and the entire courtyard is plated with a layer of gold.]

[The Awakening has begun.]

[You watch Xiao Wang, enveloped in golden light, your heart, which had been hanging for over ten days, finally settling back into place.]

[But the next second, you realize that if this glowing thing remains in the courtyard, any Cultivator would know it is a treasure.]

[You immediately take out the Spirit Beast Pouch and put the glowing Xiao Wang inside. The golden light faintly shines through the pouch, but separated by a layer of fabric, it only glows slightly from the outside, not too eye-catching, looking like a pale golden Spirit Beast Pouch.]

[You tuck the Spirit Beast Pouch into your bodice, pressing it against your heart.]

[Then, you look around your home.]

[It is empty.]

[You sit on the empty meditation cushion, suddenly feeling a dazed sense of falling directly from being well-off to being dirt poor.]

[No wonder people in your past life who kept pets called them money-devouring beasts.]

[Don't even think about Medicinal Pills; never mind pills, when the rent is due next year, you won't even be able to come up with 36 Spirit Stones.]

[Away from the Spiritual Vein, your Cultivation speed will at least be slashed to a fraction.]

[You rub your head in irritation.]

[A thought flashes through your mind.]

[How about... using Purple Mansion Reincarnation once?]

[Go to another marketplace, find a place run by a small Family, rob them, and run. With the strength of the Purple Mansion Realm, those small marketplaces would have at most a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators; as a Purple Mansion expert, wouldn't you be able to do whatever you want?]

[As soon as the thought arises, you suppress it.]

[No.]

[You are on the territory of the Luoyun Sect; what if you trigger the Old Ancestor of the Purple Mansion Realm?]

[A trump card like this should only be used when absolutely necessary.]

[You look down at the faintly glowing Spirit Beast Pouch on your chest and take a deep breath.]

["Xiao Wang, oh Xiao Wang, you must pull through."]

[There is no response from the Spirit Beast Pouch, only a warm sensation passing through the fabric to your heart.]

[You stand up.]

[You must find a way to earn Spirit Stones.]

[At the very least, you must pay the rent; without a Spiritual Vein, it is absolutely impossible.]

[You start recalling the information you have gathered over the past few months.]

[Leaving the marketplace to hunt Yao Beasts is too dangerous, time-consuming, and laborious, and with your Aperture Opening third-layer cultivation, you can't take on any decent missions.]

[As for talisman making, you haven't reached the Qi Refining stage yet and cannot channel Qi, so don't even think about it.]

[The Zhao Family is recruiting a Guest Elder? You have to wait three more years.]

[Then there is only one path left: find a job within the marketplace.]

[But shops in the Cultivation World don't recruit like in your last simulation. Most shops sell cultivation resources, and they are afraid of hiring random people and causing trouble, so they basically operate on a referral system.]

[You are new here and don't know anyone; the people you know can be counted on one hand.]

[The only person you can talk to is that Old Man Zhou next door.]

[You ponder for a while, and finally, holding the only three remaining Spirit Stones, you head out. You stand in front of Zhou Qingyu's courtyard gate for a moment before knocking on the door.]

[The door opens.]

[Zhou Nianan opens the door.]

[The little boy looks up with his round face, his eyes lighting up when he sees you, but then they dim as if he remembered something. He timidly retreats half a step and whispers: "Hello, Fairy Sister."]

[His voice is much quieter than before, and his gaze avoids yours, not daring to look at you.]

[Looking at him like this, you feel a bit awkward.]

[A while ago, to clear yourself of suspicion, you turned him away several times. Although your attitude wasn't bad, for a five or six-year-old child, the gap between "you can come play every day" and suddenly being shut out is enough to make him sad for a long time.]

[Later, you were busy saving Xiao Wang, your mind full of Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills, so you had even less energy to attend to him.]

["Nianan." You crouch down to look him in the eye. "Sister was too busy a while ago and didn't have time to come play with you."]

[Zhou Nianan lowers his head, twisting his clothes with his fingers, not saying a word.]

[You think for a moment and say: "How about Sister makes you fried chicken another day?"]

[The little head lifts up, light returning to his eyes, but he is still a bit hesitant: "Really?"]

["Really."]

["Then... what about Dabai? Is Dabai better?"]

[You open your mouth, silently apologizing to Xiao Wang in the Spirit Beast Pouch: Sorry, Xiao Wang, I didn't mean to curse you.]

["Dabai... it..." You pause, silent for a moment, "couldn't be saved, it has gone."]

[Zhou Nianan freezes.]

[His mouth slightly agape, as if someone had pressed a pause button on him.]

[His big eyes stare straight at you, reflecting your shadow.]

["Gone?" He repeats, his voice trembling, "does that mean... it won't come back?"]

[— — Thanks to the showy one from the stubborn Dan Yun, the update-urging talisman from the immersive Lingzi, the update-urging talisman from Feather-Clad Fairy, the flowers from Ying Shi, the flowers * 2 from Melancholy, and everyone's support! Adding another chapter!]