Chapter 19: A Lesson

Because Hua Changxi would help Du Ruo fetch medicinal ingredients from the Second Bureau every day, Du Ruo turned a blind eye to Hua Changxi's habit of waking up late.

Thus, Hua Changxi's days in the Labor Hall became quite regular.

She would wake up during the hour of Si in the morning, then head to the warehouse to collect dozens of types of medicinal ingredients from Yu Hui to take back to the Sixth Bureau for cleaning. After finishing the cleaning of her own 500 medicinal plants in the afternoon, she would first report to the Second Bureau to complete her duties, and then help Du Ruo fetch medicinal ingredients. At the hour of Xu, she would go to bed punctually to begin her cultivation.

Time flew by, and ten days passed.

[Realm: Qi Refining Stage 108/1000]

[Notes on the Scripture of a Hundred Herbs (Perfection): Tasting a Hundred Herbs 1101/10000]

[Immaculate Technique (Perfection): Cleaning Medicinal Ingredients 6022/10000]

Over the course of these ten days, all her data had been steadily increasing.

During this period, when "Tasting a Hundred Herbs" broke through 1,000, a voice rang in Hua Changxi's mind once again: *The Divine Plant Chapter of the "Notes on the Scripture of a Hundred Herbs" has been unlocked.*

The Divine Plant Chapter was even more profound than the Spirit Plant Chapter; it recorded various plants, demon beasts, and spiritual treasures related to strengthening, weakening, consuming, consolidating, and repairing the primordial spirit.

At the same time, the variety of Divine Plants was much smaller than that of Spirit Plants. While the Spirit Plant Chapter recorded at least tens of thousands of items, the Divine Plant Chapter recorded only a few thousand.

"I haven't even seen a single Spirit Plant yet, and now Divine Plants have appeared."

Hua Changxi marveled at the profound depth of the path of cultivation, while simultaneously, her desire to rapidly increase her realm grew increasingly intense.

As long as her realm was high enough, she would surely be able to fully push open the great gates of the path of cultivation.

When first entering the workplace, newcomers are always bullied.

Among her roommates, there were friendly people like Lu Qingluo, but there were also those who disliked Hua Changxi's habit of sleeping late and waking late, and who were full of hostility toward her.

"What a thick-skinned pig! We're talking this loudly, and she can still sleep like the dead!"

The speaker was a young lady named Wang Yunchu.

Among the female laborers in the Labor Hall, the ratio of married women to unmarried young ladies was roughly fifty-fifty.

Generally speaking, in every dormitory, the older and more experienced women held more authority. However, in the ten-person dormitory where Hua Changxi lived, there were seven young ladies and only three married women. Because the two sides formed their own cliques, the young ladies won the numbers game.

Among the young ladies, Wang Yunchu had a more assertive personality and was more willing to stand up when trouble arose; thus, she became the de facto leader.

Aside from Lu Qingluo, Hua Changxi was indifferent to the others in the dormitory. Two days ago, when Wang Yunchu saw Hua Changxi helping Lu Qingluo wash medicinal ingredients again, she had asked her to help wash some of hers as well. To her surprise, Hua Changxi had refused outright.

This refusal had offended Wang Yunchu.

"Why is this room so messy and disorganized?"

Having worked all day, feeling both hungry and tired, Wang Yunchu's dissatisfaction grew even deeper when she returned to the room to see Hua Changxi sleeping soundly. Seeing that the room hadn't been cleaned and that everyone's clothes were piled everywhere, she immediately found an excuse to explode.

"Hua Changxi, get up!"

Seeing Wang Yunchu shouting at Hua Changxi, Lu Qingluo hurriedly tried to mediate: "Sister Yunchu, Changxi is still young..."

Wang Yunchu interrupted her: "Young what? Once you come to the Labor Hall, everyone is just a laborer. She might be young, but it's not like we asked her to be a laborer."

As she spoke, she walked to Hua Changxi's bed, reached out, and directly pulled back the quilt. Seeing that she still hadn't woken up, she began to shake Hua Changxi's body.

Hua Changxi had been immersed in the satisfaction of being enveloped by a warm current during her breathing exercises when she suddenly felt her body shaking, causing the warm current flowing within her to become unstable.

"Hua Changxi, get up! Don't play dead on me. I'm telling you, this isn't your home, you—"

Before she could finish, Wang Yunchu saw Hua Changxi's eyes snap open. A cold light flashed in her eyes, shooting toward her like a sharp sword.

Before Wang Yunchu could recover from that piercing gaze, in the next moment, she felt the world begin to spin, followed by intense pain in her arm and body.

"Ah~!"

On the earthen kang, Hua Changxi stood in a lunging stance. Wang Yunchu had been practically dragged by her arm and thrown onto the kang. Currently, her right hand was being twisted behind her back, and her lower back was being pinned down firmly by Hua Changxi's knee.

At this moment, Hua Changxi's expression was indifferent. The cold light in her eyes did not look like that of a young girl in her teens at all, leaving the others in the room feeling unsettled.

"Why did you disturb my sleep?"

Hua Changxi's voice held no warmth. She pushed Wang Yunchu's twisted arm toward her head, increasing the pressure in her hand.

"Ah~!"

Fearing that her screams would attract attention from the neighboring room, Hua Changxi grabbed a pillowcase and stuffed it into Wang Yunchu's mouth just as she started to scream.

"Mmph, mmph~!"

With her arm twisted and her body pinned, sweat began to bead on Wang Yunchu's forehead from the pain.

Hua Changxi looked at Wang Yunchu expressionlessly, then glanced at the others in the room: "Are you still going to scream?"

While making muffled "mmph" sounds, Wang Yunchu shook her head rapidly.

Hua Changxi loosened her grip and pulled the pillowcase out of Wang Yunchu's mouth: "Speak. Why did you disturb my sleep?"

Instead of answering, Wang Yunchu shouted, "Hua Changxi, let me go!"

Seeing this, Hua Changxi let out a cold laugh and increased the pressure on her hand again.

"Ah! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Wang Yunchu relented. Once Hua Changxi loosened her grip, she said, though not very confidently, "You didn't clean the room. I came to remind you to clean it."

Hua Changxi's eyes turned cold again, and she snorted, "If I remember correctly, I just cleaned the room the day before yesterday. There are ten people in this room; if each person cleans for one day, how is it my turn again?"

Wang Yunchu retorted, "You return to the room so early every day, while the rest of us are busy until dark. Since you come back first, shouldn't you take on more of the cleaning duties?"

"Besides, you're a newcomer."

"Go ask the other dormitories. Whenever a newcomer arrives, don't the newcomers handle all the cleaning for the first two months?"

Hua Changxi sneered, "What is your relation to me? Why should I shoulder the tasks that should be yours?"

"And as for other newcomers handling all the cleaning, that's because they rely on the help of the veterans. Have you ever helped me with anything?"

"You want to reap benefits without contributing anything. You shouldn't be laborers; you should go home and be ancestors."

Hua Changxi threw Wang Yunchu off.

As soon as she regained her freedom, Wang Yunchu scrambled off the kang and scurried away from Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi sat on the kang and looked at the people in the room: "I don't like bullying people, and I like being bullied even less. If anyone tries to bully me, I will return it tenfold."

"It isn't easy for anyone working in the Labor Hall. I know you all work hard, but your hardships are not caused by me. Don't vent the anger you've accumulated onto me."

"I have a bad temper. Don't think you can push me around just because I'm young."

"Remember, don't provoke me again, especially don't disturb my sleep."

It was true that her constitution had improved due to cultivation, but she still got tired from working. She was no saint; she had neither the obligation nor the inclination to help others for free.

To integrate into the group, she didn't mind doing a bit more, but only if she was willing to do so. She was quite repulsed by the mindset of people like Wang Yunchu, who felt it was only natural for her to do more because she could.

After that, Hua Changxi said nothing more. She disdainfully tossed the pillowcase aside, lay back down on the bed, closed her eyes, and resumed her cultivation.

Seeing Hua Changxi's outburst, the others in the room simply continued sleeping as if nothing had happened, though their expressions were somewhat strange.

"Hurry up and clean up so we can sleep."

Someone in the room patted Wang Yunchu's shoulder in consolation, and after that, the voices in the room were deliberately lowered.

Looking at Hua Changxi's sleeping face, Wang Yunchu's eyes held both resentment and fear.

(End of Chapter)