"Su Chen, here are fifty copper coins for this month's salary. Sigh… I envy you, kid. As a mortal, you get to work as a cleaner in the house of an immortal. You have no idea how many people are eyeing your position. So, enjoy 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 him smiled as he took the pouch. Inside, however, he was already cursing his entire eighth generation.
'Bastard skimmed a few coins again. You steal even a servant's wages and still have the nerve to boast in front of them. How shameless. I hope you choke to death 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 someone of your size even eat? I heard you're saving money to get married next year. Kid, you are really lucky."
Steward Zhang showed the right amount of jealousy on his face, his shifty eyes lingering on Zhiran's body.
'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 who 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 silver coins. 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 mouse suddenly approached him, tugging at his sleeve.
"You again? Didn't I tell you there's nothing here? Why don't you go somewhere else for food?"
Su Chen scolded the mouse, though its cute 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, the mouse hadn't left its house, freely stealing food with its charm. Unlike Earth, this 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 own 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 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..." Su Chen 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.'
"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 a bread. Give me the silver, and I'll give you another one."
Su Chen cautiously moved closer, and when the mouse seemed still and curious, he pounced suddenly, without giving it a chance.
Finally, he managed to grab it successfully.
"Squeak, Squeak!"
"Damn you! Who are you trying to blackmail? I'll teach you a lesson."
Su Chen was just getting angry, wanted to slap its small butt in anger, when something pricked his finger.
"Ouch..."
It seemed that, although he managed to retrieve the 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 all your fault.
But when it noticed the blood dripping from his finger, it crept closer and licked the wound innocently, as if trying to apologize.
'Damn! Where did it learn to act cute?'
Su Chen was dumbfounded by its behavior, his eye twitching sharply at the corner. This really was a magical world.
However, just as he was about to pull his finger away, feeling slightly uncomfortable, he noticed a bright light enveloping the mouse and his arm.
Out of nowhere, he felt a special connection with the creature. The sensation was so fleeting that he almost thought it was a hallucination.
But when he saw the mouse looking genuinely happy, as if sharing the same connection, he realized it was real.
Just as Su Chen was confused, his body froze in place.
A neutral voice echoed in his mind,
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! You have tamed an Evolrus as your first beast companion.]
[Ding!]
[Conditions met. 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 toward today's quota.]
"Beast Simulator?"