Unsheathed

Cui Dongshan inadvertently came across an impoverished vagrant cultivator at the Lower Five Tiers who was using a lowly stealing technique. He was controlling a dozen or so small ghosts and spirits and using them to steal money from an ordinary family in the county city. Like ants moving nests, the small ghosts and spirits worked together to carry the copper coins and loose silver. Meanwhile, the vagrant cultivator was squatting at the foot of the wall and smiling widely as he weighed the two or three largest pieces of silver in his hand.

Little by little, the copper coins and loose silver would add up to a sum that was no longer little.

When he turned around, however, he was shocked to discover a young boy in white squatting beside him and... seemingly enjoying the moon with him?

The vagrant cultivator shivered in fright.

Cui Dongshan smiled with squinted eyes and asked, "You can actually bring yourself to do this? Why don't you steal from wealthier families?"

The vagrant cultivator gulped and replied in fear and unease, "Because the door gods of those wealthier families are truly far too difficult to deal with. I'll end up losing money if the money-moving ghosts and spirits that I've raised through so much hard work are killed by the door gods."

Cui Dongshan nodded and said, "That makes sense."

The eyes of the vagrant cultivator darted around as he considered how he should escape. Should he kill the strange young boy squatting behind him? However, was this worth it for the sake of a few taels of silver? Moreover, heavens knew who would end up killing whom.

Cui Dongshan extended two fingers and pinched up a small money-moving ghost that was only as tall as a thumb. He then placed it in his palm and held his hands together, chaotically rubbing it around. The eyelids of the vagrant cultivator twitched when he saw this.

Okay then, by the looks of it, one of his great generals had been martyred on the battlefield now. After all, how could it withstand being flattened in someone's hands like this? The money-moving ghosts that he had raised were all extremely low quality, or else they wouldn't have failed to navigate past the door gods of the wealthier families.

While the vagrant cultivator was feeling absolute heartache, Cui Dongshan spread his hands apart to reveal the grimacing little money-moving ghost that looked like it was now wearing an additional layer of red clothes. Cui Dongshan tossed the ghost to the ground and commanded, "Go, head over to a wealthy family and steal a block of gold for me."