Cultivation: I can solidify equipment attributes

The afternoon sun made people feel drowsy, and there were far fewer people in the market than in the morning.

Li Yuan walked along West Street toward the patrol team's residence.

There was still no one in the courtyard. The door to the main house was half-open, and the soft sound of a teacup being placed on the table could be heard from inside.

Li Yuan knocked on the door frame: "Captain."

"Enter."

Pushing open the door, I saw Wang De sitting behind a desk, with several documents spread out in front of him and a rough earthenware teacup beside him, the tea in which had already lost its heat.

Li Yuan closed the door and walked to the table.

Wang De looked up at him, then lowered his head again to continue flipping through the documents: "What is it?"

"There's a rogue cultivator in the North Alley who sells scrap ore. His surname is Zhao, and his name is Zhao Wu. He's at the second level of Qi Refining and comes from the Yuanheng Mountains."

Wang De didn't stop flipping through the documents, nor did he look up; he simply hummed in agreement to listen.

"I noticed a few things during my recent inspections."

Li Yuan paused briefly, then spoke concisely.

"First, this person frequently keeps an eye on the guards at the entrance of the market and the gate of the management office, not just once or twice, but for several days in a row. Second, he doesn't seem to be in a hurry even though no one is buying from his stall. Third, today he took the initiative to strike up a conversation with a passing cultivator, not about buying or selling, but about whether the market's security team was manpower-efficient."

After Li Yuan finished speaking, he did not continue his analysis.

That's all that needs to be said. As for how to make a judgment, that's the captain's job.

Commonly known as not taking the blame.

The middle-aged man looked up, picked up his teacup, took a sip of the cold tea, put the bowl down, and leaned back in his chair.

"Anything else?"

That's all.

Wang De remained silent for a few moments, then gently tapped the table twice with his index finger.

"understood."

The tone was not strong, and no emotion could be discerned from the words.

"Continue your normal patrols. Do not approach him intentionally, do not inquire about his affairs, and do not let him realize that you are paying attention to him."

Li Yuan nodded.

"Alright, go ahead."

Wang De lowered his head again and began flipping through the documents, his expression unchanged.

Li Yuan left the main room and closed the door behind him.

After leaving the courtyard, Li Yuan headed straight for the management office.

Breakthroughs to the fourth level of Qi Refining require registration at the management office; this is a rule of the Wang family.

Every outer cultivator who has signed a contract in the market must report any changes in their cultivation level. The management office will then reassess their treatment and task allocation based on their new cultivation level.

The first floor of the management office was much the same as usual, with the clerk sitting behind the counter, writing something with his head down.

But when Li Yuan entered, he noticed three inspectors sitting on a bench next to the counter. They were all familiar faces, each with a cultivation level of the third stage of Qi Refining. The three waited quietly, their waist tokens displayed in front of them.

Li Yuan walked to the counter and handed over his waist token: "Register for a change in cultivation level, Qi Refining Level 4."

The clerk took the waist tag, looked up at Li Yuan, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

He then opened the roster, found Li Yuan's entry, crossed out "Qi Refinement Level 3," and neatly wrote "Qi Refinement Level 4" next to it.

Once the ink was settled, the document clerk pulled out another booklet from under the counter and checked it against the other documents.

"You've reached level four in Qi Refining, which exempts you from this guard rotation. Do you wish to opt out?"

Li Yuan naturally agreed.

The clerk flipped through the documents at hand, pulled one out, and glanced at it.

"Perfect timing, there's a vacancy for a vice-captain above your level, I'll just put you in that position."

Li Yuan paused slightly: "Vice Captain?"

"The deputy captain of the patrol team."

The clerk handed the document to Li Yuan, which contained information about organizational adjustments. "Level 4 Qi Refining is also within the mid-stage of Qi Refining, which is enough to qualify you for the patrol team, although you usually have to wait a long time."

"But coincidentally, one of the original vice captains was transferred to the guard team last month, and the position has been vacant ever since."

"However, right now all the manpower is being transferred to the guard team, so your position as deputy captain is just a title for the time being; you don't have anyone under your command."

The clerk spoke in a flat tone, then took out a new waist tag from under the counter. It was a size larger than Li Yuan's original tag, with the words "Deputy Captain" engraved on the front and the character "Wang" on the back.

Li Yuan accepted the new waist tag and returned the old one.

After the paperwork was completed, a note was added: "Starting next month, the monthly salary will be paid according to the deputy captain's standard: six spirit stones, two Meridian Opening Pills, and ten contribution points."

Contribution points are almost equivalent to spirit stones. Generally speaking, it takes fewer contribution points to exchange for cultivation techniques than spirit stones, while it takes more contribution points to exchange for items.

Li Yuan nodded and hung the new waist tag on his waist.

As Li Yuan turned to leave, he noticed a pile of documents on the other side of the counter, most of which were about personnel reassignment.

The management office is increasing the number of security personnel.

The situation in the Yuanheng Mountains is probably more serious than what's being reported outside.

Li Yuan didn't look around much. He left the management office and walked along the North Alley.

The North Alley was much quieter in the afternoon than in the morning, with only a few vendors scattered around, some of whom had already packed up early.

When they reached the middle section, Li Yuan noticed that Zhao Wu's spot was empty.

The dirty rag that was laid on the ground was still there, but there was nothing on it.

After walking a dozen steps forward, a vendor selling dried herbs was squatting on the ground tidying up his goods. He was the same one who had argued with Zhao Wu for the stall earlier. He had a dark complexion and his gray linen short coat was patched.

Li Yuan stopped in front of the stall and casually asked, "What about the guy next to you who sells scraps?"

The vendor looked up at the new waist tag on Li Yuan's waist, then at the empty piece of coarse cloth next to him, and shook his head.

"He left early this morning. I set up my stall before dawn, and he was already packing up." The vendor gestured with his hands. "He had a bag on his back, and he was in a hurry. He didn't even say goodbye to anyone before heading east."

Has anyone come looking for him before?

The vendor thought for a moment: "There was a young man who came two or three times, he looked to be in his early twenties. He never stayed long, just said a few words and left. I haven't paid attention to anything else."

Li Yuan nodded, asked no further questions, and turned to continue walking forward.

After completing the patrol route, Li Yuan returned to the patrol team's base.

The door to the main room was still half-open. Wang De sat in his usual spot, but the documents on the table had been replaced.

Li Yuan knocked on the door and went in, saying, "Zhao Wu ran away. He left early this morning, packed up everything on his stall, and headed east."

This time, Wang De didn't look down at the documents. Instead, he looked up at Li Yuan, his gaze lingering on the new waist tag for a moment.

"I've reached level four of Qi Refining."

"I just registered today."

Wang De hummed in agreement, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of tea.

"I already know about Zhao Wu's matter."

Li Yuan's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he did not ask any further questions.

Wang De put down his teacup, picked up a document on the table, glanced at it, and casually put it aside.

"The guards and the Wang family are already keeping an eye on things; it's not your business."

Wang De paused.

"You're the deputy captain now. Just do your patrol duties well, and continue to pay attention to what you need to pay attention to, but don't go looking for things on your own. If you find anything suspicious, come to me. Don't worry about anything else."

Li Yuan nodded: "Understood."

Wang De didn't say anything more and just waved his hand.

Li Yuan left the main room and closed the door behind him.

The most important thing right now is to continue improving my cultivation and find new items to equip.