Gon exited the mine, satisfied with what he had achieved and arrived at the camp. He looked around and noticed everyone had stopped eating.

  “Why the long faces guys?” He couldn’t help but ask.

  Bom looked down at his feet, thinking back to the day when he thought everything was over.

  “Nothing, Boss Gon. Just… That elder appeared here, to meet with Old Qiang.” Bom replied with a trembling voice.

  “That elder… You mean the one you tried to steal from?” Remembering Bom’s story, Gon said.

  “Y-yeah. I thought he came to punish me, but he actually… Didn’t do anything. Ha, look at me.” Bom held a hand to his face, calming his nerves down. “I’m actually gd I get to live as a mere sve of the sect. I’m too much of a damn coward.”

  Gon had to consider that Bom’s fear also stemmed from his secret of stealing Spiritual Jades from the mines. If a powerful elder just casually inspected it, they’d probably realise what was up.

  Gon crossed his arms, thinking on what to say. “Hey, as long as you're alive, things can always change. You said this elder came to meet Old Qiang? I reckon we can convince him to at least let you have some freedom in the city.”

  Walking over, he patted Bom’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”

  Persimmon also had a grim face, with sweat coming down his forehead. “You’re too jolly. You should understand the most out of all of us here Gon. You used to be from the sect.”

  Seeing how the mood hadn’t changed, Gon wasn’t sure what to say.

  “It’s an elder from the Ethereal Life Sect. If he killed us all on a whim, we couldn’t do anything about it. If he figured out what we were doing, none of us would be alive right now.” Persimmon gritted his teeth, his eyes shivering from humiliation. “I didn’t even notice him until he was already sitting amongst us.”

  Gon had a stern gaze, thinking back on the fact he taught them all the Tradies Body Manual. It could easily be construed as him causing treason by spreading an unknown cultivation manual, especially strengthening mere mortals to a level where they can content with the sect’s cultivators.

  Gon thought to himself, eyebrow raised. It makes sense why they’re all on edge. The responsibility for that also lies with me.

  And another realisation dawned on Gon.

  Could a powerful elder from the sect be able to detect his System and strange cultivation methods?

  I’ll have to make sure to take precautions. An elder’s appearance was a surprise, so they can come and go as they wish. I have to keep that in mind.

  “So where’s Old Qiang?” Gon changed the topic.

  “He left with that elder,” stated Persimmon. He clenched his fists and muttered under his breath. “I have to get stronger.”

  “Since this elder is on good terms with Old Qiang, it should be fine. Even in the worst case scenario, Old Qiang would be implicated. That elder could very well be the one who could look out for us. I mean, look, he didn’t even kill Bom when any other cultivator would have.” Gon had a smile, and watched the atmosphere slowly improve. “If you’re all going to worry about potentially suffering, then aren’t you all already suffering from that fear?”

  Gon went over to grab a pte of food, although getting a bit cold. “Don’t let the food get cold at least. Eat some grub.”

  Seeing the miners shift their posture to try to get back in routine, Gon dug in for a bite. So Old Qiang’s gone for now. Well, that sucks. He would’ve been managing the mine when I left to sort out my team. But I gotta organise that now myself.

  Seeing everyone’s mood go back to normal, they all continued to finish off their meal. Though Bom finally eased up, Gon noticed Persimmon go back to training the Tradies Body Manual.

  After everyone finished eating up, Gon stood up to announce his pns..

  “Listen up guys, I’m going to be leaving to go to town for a bit. I’m sure you can all manage fine without me, but just in case I’ll be pcing Lil Hu to take over my role.” Gon reached over and pulled Lil Hu towards him.

  “M-me? You sure, Boss?” Lil Hu asked shakily.

  “You’ll be fine. Just make sure to keep the work you’ve been doing. I won’t be gone long. Just a day or two. I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.” Since Old Qiang had left, Gon didn’t want to leave the mine and his crew unattended for too long.

  “Now, let’s finish off dinner.” Gon reached for the st cold pte of grilled meat and gobbled it down.

  The night passed by uneventfully and the sun rose again like any other day. It was the dawn of Gon’s trip. He had already eaten his breakfast and was ready to go. But first, he waited to receive the paperwork from Quma and Guam.

  Mainly, getting a list of materials needed from Quma and Guam to sort out the new forge.

  Gon made his way towards the twins after finishing his breakfast. “Have you prepared what we need to build a forge here?”

  Quma took out a piece of paper, handing it over to Gon. “Yes… With everyone’s help, it won’t take too long to build. But it’s expensive… I can give you my savings.” Quma fidgeted on the spot, unsure of how to help.

  “Don’t worry about that. I got it covered. Just need youse to do the bcksmithing business for me, aye.” Gon took the piece of paper, having a quick rundown of the materials he needed. Hmm, quite a fair bit. To be honest, I should take someone with me just to help with taking all the materials back, but I need to do a few things on my own. Also, I have to test what exactly I can put in my Inner World.

  As far as Gon tested, he could put his personal equipment and things he mined in the Inner World. But what about building materials? He couldn’t collect dirt when he tried st time, but the things needed for the forge like charcoal should easily go in his ‘inventory’.

  Well, either way, I have money. I can hire a carriage on the way back. I’ll need to be a bit more careful using my powers in public, especially because of cultivators in the vicinity.

  Thinking back to the elder Gon had just missed that appeared out of nowhere, he didn’t want to test that boundary.

  “Anyone else need something from the nearby town? I’m going to grab more admin stuff like papers, pencils and some equipment.” Gon stood around, waiting for any other requests.

  “Boss! You’re forgetting the most important thing!” Mujiang, the carpenter who kept to himself, yelled out.

  “Yeah Boss, how could you forget?! It’s basically a lifeline for us!” Another miner yelled out, though Gon could only scratch his chin with confusion.

  “Don’t you guys have enough beer here? Don’t expect me to bring barrels of thousand year old wines.” Gon said the first thing that came to his mind.

  He felt a csp on his shoulder. “Come on Gon, it’s pretty obvious.”

  Gon looked over his shoulder, to see the guard Han who came earlier than expected today.

  “Well aren’t you early today?”

  “Not for long. Make sure to bring us some spices. It’s getting old eating the same seasonings on the meat.” Guard Li Han said, patting Gon’s now firm and broad shoulder. “It’s like I’m hitting a mountain.”

  “Ah, right, I should’ve figured it out from this bunch of gluttons. Yeah I’ll take a gander. I’m sure the town’s got all sorts of spices.”

  “By the way,” Li Han said. “I’ll be heading back to my guard outpost in a bit. Let’s have a chat along the way.”

  “Gotcha. I’ll see you in a bit.” Gon affirmed.

  “Let’s go Boss Gon! Get us more spices!”

  “Yeah, get me some thousand year old ginseng refined beer!”

  “Oi Han, convince Gon to invite the dies from the Serene Lotus Brothel!”

  Seeing the mood change back to normal, Gon could only smile at everyone shouting for absurd requests. Though they assumed he gained access to the funds that Old Qiang had for the mines, no one would’ve expected Gon’s ability to refine his own coins.

  “You rowdy bunch! No promises, but I’ll do what I can. I’ll head off now.”

  The other miners had also gotten up and were ready to send Gon off.

  Ever since Gon had come to this world, he hadn’t left the vicinity of the mines. It wasn’t a lie to say Gon was curious about what this world contained, and he would start by visiting his home; Heping Town.

  “Have a safe trip, Boss.” Lil Hu, or now Big Hu since he took over Gon’s role, stood in the middle of the group and waved his foreman off.

  “Stay safe, Boss Gon.” The twins said.

  “Enjoy your trip.”

  “Bring me back a souvenir.”

  Though he was only leaving for a short time, the crew felt slightly sad knowing the leader of their group would be gone. Ever since Gon had arrived in this world, he had inexplicably become a core aspect of everyone's lives.

  “Damn you guys are more clingy than an obsessed girlfriend. Alright you lot, I’m off.” Gon took in the site of his crew and mine one st time before setting off.

  But once he separated from the gang of miners that sat around during their break, he was approached by a few people.

  Namely, Bom and Persimmon.

  Bom handed over a letter to Gon. “If you have some spare time, could you please deliver this, Boss Gon? I heard you were from Heping Town, so it’s not far off from there. I’ve written directions in a separate note inside.”

  Gon took the worn out letter. He’s written this for a while huh. So this is his opportunity to send it.

  “I’ll be hanging around for a while, so I’ll swing by the pce. Is it family?” Gon asked, though he wasn’t sure if Bom even had any family. Perhaps it was a letter to a smuggler as well to deal with the Spiritual Jade ores.

  “Just someone I’m indebted to. I have no family.” Bom said.

  Persimmon shot him a gnce, though without much reaction on his face.

  “Hah, that’s not true.” Gon chuckled, patting his shoulder to ease the mood. “Come on, I’m basically like a brother to you by now. Well, I’ll make sure to deliver it in your stead.”

  Bom had an awkward chuckle, but he sheepishly nodded and left.

  It was just him and Persimmon now. “So what’s your request? Another letter to send?”

  This time, he brought out a few of his Spiritual Jades, currency received from the sect for his work as a miner. “I have a favour to ask. I need you to buy me something, if you can.”

  Gon stared at the amount Persimmon took out.

  It was clearly his savings from the past year at the very least.

  Just exactly what did he need?

  Without any words, Persimmon passed his savings over to Gon. Holding on to the jades he just received, Gon asked in a low voice. “What is it that you need?”

  Persimmon looked to the side, even looking around to make sure no one else was in the vicinity. He looked as if he struggled to even trust Gon with the words he was about to say, but in the end he let out a resigned sigh. “If I don’t take this step I’ll never make it anywhere.”

  “Boss Gon.” Persimmon said with a sincere gaze. His dark blue eyes had a glint of ambition, seeking to overcome new heights.

  He csped both his hands, bowing his head down to Gon.

  “Please buy me a sword.”

  “One fit for a cultivator.”