Learning To Live As A Cultivator

Leon had eaten rice in his old world, but as far as types of rice were concerned, his knowledge was simple . There was long-grain rice, which seemed to be most common in supermarkets, but he a.s.sumed there was also short-grained rice somewhere . There was Basmati rice, which came from the Middle East and all types of rice came in brown and white versions . Oh, he"d seen on a menu once "wild rice", but as he"d been ordering cheapish salad and some chips (with potato skins on), he didn"t know what the difference was .

Still, all of these versions contained the word "rice . "

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So who could a.s.sociate Celestial Pearl Grains as a type of rice? Hence he thought the name silly . Celestial Pearl Rice would suit it better, surely .
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Jin Li didn"t know Leon"s long-winded thoughts, but he still couldn"t control the upward turn of his lips as well as the laughter in his eyes . "Yes, it is . Very silly . "

"How dare you both!" The young Master was clearly very angry . Not only had the tall one declared him a fool in front of others, the small one had dissed his family business . That was right, this young Master came from the other continent and his grandfather was the patriarch of a very wealthy family that successfully grew and supplied these grains to the elite of the elite! His grandfather was a proud man, who valued this grandson above all others as he had become the first in their family line to be able to cultivate . Not only that, the youth had a pure fire root .

While he was not technically n.o.ble born, he was drowning in wealth and he had very good prospects in both marital terms and as a future alchemist . He was quite high within the hierarchy of the social order within the inner alchemist school . He did not really look down on Medicinal Cusine, he just didn"t care for it, however he liked to remind others of his blessed background and the fact that he was able to eat very rare cuisine, superior to this woman"s common Medicinal dishes . His Grandfather even sent him a small portion of those coveted grains each New Year . Yet these two peasants not only ridiculed him in front of everyone, but dare ignore him!

He could not be completely be considered at fault for thinking that Jin Li was a common person; his clothing was, while well cut, made of hemp and the red jade pin in his hair was not particularly valuable either . Both youths wore simple wood carvings from their belts (the young Master had yet to notice the sword) and were currently lazy of posture as they lounged about drinking tea . Actually, they"d had fairly good manners, until the young master"s disturbance, out of respect for the girl serving them, but she had poured the tea then huddled in the shadows with her friend, hoping not to be noticed by the bullying youth .

As usual, though, Jin Li didn"t care what others thought, he was telling Leon where the name of the rice came from . In the High Realm, some thousand years ago, there was a man who managed, by either luck or hard work, to breed a type of rice that absorbed spiritual energy from water and from the earth . He knew this rice would be valuable, especially to Cultivators and thought to get obscenely rich off the back of his creation . However, the Cultivators he dealt with were extremely cunning, wanting his rice, but not pay through the nose for it . They even spread rumours that his claims were unfounded and untrue, trying to monopolise as well as reduce the value of the rice .

The man was dumbfounded and furious! However, rather than fall to the schemes of these Cultivators, he instead sent some as tribute to the Emperor . Now the Emperor believed that rice was the food of the commoners and refused to eat it . Not even the best quality and rarest rice would appease him . Thus, the only way that the farmer could get his rice through the imperial gates was to change its name .

"The Emperor was apparently enraged when he discovered the truth," Jin Li was saying . "But he"d already declared in a decree that the rice should be sent in tribute to the palace each and every year until the end of his family"s imperial reign . He also could not imprison or behead that farmer on trumped up charges as the rice is very difficult to grow and maintain and his yield was always by far the best in the whole of the realm . So the Emperor would instead send letters of complaint each year to express his bitterness and the farmer could only send gifts in order to appease him . "

"Was the Emp-peror ever ap-appeased?" Leon asked him, clearly amused .

"No," Jin Li replied . "It"s been a thousand years and as far as I"m aware, the two men are still playing this game . So long as it amuses them . " He shrugged his shoulders as t.i.tters of laughter eased the tension within the air about them .

"You . . . ! You . . . !" The young Master was pointing accusingly at Jin Li, who, in his eyes had mocked the main product of his family"s business to such a degree .

"Me, me," Jin Li sneered . "Do you have something to say to me?" He rose to his feet, reattaching his sword to his waist as he looked down upon the arrogant young Master . His imposing aura ripped through the anger that the youth had surrounded himself with and suddenly all of his delusional self-worth seemed so cra.s.s all of a sudden . But it was for a brief moment, the young Master refused to be looked down upon by peasants!

"Bow down and beg for forgiveness, cur!" The young Master demanding, his finger curving until it clearly pointed to his feet . His chin tilted upwards haughtily, still believing he had the right to put these peasants in their place . It was the one thing he disliked about this school, how every year they would let such poor and unworthy individuals through the door . It was G.o.ds will that he was in a position of privilege and they were not, so why should he share what the school provided with those G.o.d deemed unworthy?

Jin Li"s eye"s flashed as he stepped down from the raised platform into his boots, then lent a hand to Leon, that he might do the same . He then gently ushered Leon behind him and tilting his head as if to speak to his small alchemist when in actual fact, his words were for all to here . "Although I speak of a matter that is of an embarra.s.sment to the Emperor of the High Realm," he drawled, in a careless tone, "he is actually a wise and brilliant ruler . His people love him, his women adore him and his officials respect him . His armies are also loyal to him . He is worthy of this Lord"s kowtow . This young Master on the other hand, what have you done to gain this Lord"s respect?" These words were directed at the correct recipient .

The youth"s face was alternating between red and purple as one of his lackeys sidled up to him and whispered something into his eyes as his eyes glanced warily at Jin Li . The youth paled a little, then coughed into his hand . "Laozi will let you off this time!" He said and sauntered away, quickly followed by the crowd of troublemakers .

"Thank you," the woman bowed to Jin Li . She was from a commoner family and had suffered in the last few years since that Young Master had appeared . As he was quick to throw around his wealth and was favoured by his Teacher, small victories like this were hard to come by .

Jin Li raised a hand dismissively . "If you want to thank me, serve this Lord another bowlful of your Cuisine . It should be sufficient to restore one"s lost appet.i.te . " Leon rolled his eyes, but smiled as he withdrew a bottle of Blood Pills, not wanting to steal food for free .