Easily obtaining three Spirit Pills left Yang Kai feeling as though he were dreaming. Remember, only newcomers received rewards the first time they presented something to General Sichen, and even then, it was only a single pill.
Just a few days ago, Yang Kai had to feed a full five Azure Fire Silkworms just to get one Opening Heaven Pill.
But today, a mere three silkworms had earned him three pills! That was an entire year's wages for a menial laborer tending the orchards — no one would believe him if he told them.
Die You had said that when General Sichen was in a good mood, it would grant Opening Heaven Pills.
Which meant General Sichen was in a very good mood right now? Yang Kai glanced up, wanting to check, but couldn't see it — not that it mattered, because his earlier wave of resentment had already dissipated without a trace.
If this stupid chicken gave him Opening Heaven Pills from time to time, never mind perching on his head and using it as a roost — it could even move into his house and he'd welcome it.
"General, would you like to go find some more to eat?" Yang Kai's mood had improved, and his tone was considerably warmer.
General Sichen gave no reaction, neither affirming nor denying.
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. "In that case, let's go eat more, heh heh heh…" Grinning wickedly, he headed toward another orchard.
Earlier, when General Sichen had been chased down and sent tumbling by that crowd, landing right in his territory, those people had scattered like startled birds. Truth be told, every single one of them bore some responsibility for today's mess. If anything truly happened to General Sichen, Yang Kai would be the one caught in the crossfire through no fault of his own. Did they really think they could hide and be done with it? General Sichen might not go looking for them, but Yang Kai was keeping a mental tally.
Before long, he arrived at another orchard. The menial laborer there caught sight of Yang Kai and the General approaching and immediately ducked out of sight — presumably afraid of attracting the General's attention.
Hide all you want. Yang Kai couldn't be bothered with him and led General Sichen from tree to tree, searching for bugs.
He didn't find many — caught three silkworms, then swaggered off. From start to finish, the orchard's owner never once showed his face.
What shocked Yang Kai was that after eating those three Azure Fire Silkworms, General Sichen actually awarded him another three Opening Heaven Pills! He was starting to have no idea what the rooster was after.
Just a little while ago, it had fought him as though determined to put him in an early grave. Now it was being this generous?
Well, benefits freely given — no reason to refuse.
He worked his way through orchard after orchard. Some owners, like the young man named Hong, gritted their teeth and accepted their loss, allowing Yang Kai to catch bugs in their territory. Others, like the man who had hidden away, didn't dare show their faces. Regardless of their attitude, three Azure Fire Silkworms always ended up caught. Yang Kai couldn't care less whether their fruit trees suffered.
After visiting four orchards, however, General Sichen seemed to have had its fill. It let out a couple of crows and pressed down slightly with its talons, indicating a direction to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was reluctant to stop, but since the General was full, he couldn't force the issue. Now that this had started, better to take it slow and let it become a steady thing.
He brought General Sichen back to his own orchard, plopped down beneath a fruit tree, and took out twelve Opening Heaven Pills, turning them over in his hands with a dopey grin.
A few days ago he'd gotten a single Opening Heaven Pill, and before he could even warm it up Fang Tai had snatched it away. Now he had twelve in one go. What was perched on his head wasn't some stupid chicken — it was a bona fide God of Wealth!
General Sichen was actually pretty great. Yang Kai's impression of the General had shifted dramatically. Twelve pills a day — that was three hundred and sixty a month, and over four thousand a year…
But thinking about it more carefully, he knew that wasn't likely. General Sichen's Opening Heaven Pills were surely bestowed by the Exalted Masters. He had no idea how many the General actually had.
Regardless, his situation was now far better than that of the other menial laborers. The three Opening Heaven Pills per year that counted as their wages suddenly seemed laughable.
Once he'd saved up enough Opening Heaven Pills, he'd repay what he owed Die You, then treat her to a pot of fine tea at the market square as thanks! Having made up his mind, Yang Kai carefully stowed the extra pills away and kept just one to study its medicinal properties.
He was an Alchemist, after all, and he'd been scheming to obtain the Opening Heaven Pill formula from Seven Skills Land. He hadn't seen the formula yet, but that didn't stop him from researching it on his own.
The research consumed an entire day. He didn't manage to uncover anything significant — all he learned was that crafting an Opening Heaven Pill required seven primary ingredients, including Fire Spirit Fruits and spirit fruits of other elemental affinities. But beyond those seven, there had to be supplementary herbs as well. Having just entered this realm beyond the Two Worlds, he was unfamiliar with the local pharmacology and couldn't identify all the raw materials contained in the Opening Heaven Pill.
He silently committed the details to memory. If he ever encountered those ingredients, he should be able to recognize them.
Throughout that entire day, General Sichen didn't move a muscle — presumably sleeping off its meal. Only after a full day had passed did it suddenly ruffle its wings. Yang Kai couldn't see it properly; only the golden glow filling the corner of his peripheral vision gave away its presence.
Seeing it awake, Yang Kai perked up immediately. "General, are you hungry? Shall I take you to forage?"
General Sichen crowed twice in what could be taken as assent.
"Let's go!" Yang Kai got to his feet and set off. There had been thirty or forty people involved in chasing down General Sichen yesterday, and he'd only visited four orchards so far. Plenty more remained. He had to cover them all.
That day, he visited five orchards. By the time he returned, another dozen-plus Opening Heaven Pills had found their way into his hands.
Under the fruit tree, Yang Kai happily toyed with the Spirit Pills, turning them over as he spoke. "General, let me make a deal with you. Next time there's a reward, could you wait until no one's around to give it to me? You saw the way those people looked — they looked ready to pounce and snatch it right out of my hands. If this keeps happening, I'm afraid I'm going to become the enemy of every laborer in the menial quarters."