Dual Cultivation

"Too much money? I thought your goal was to be rich? Your actions don't match your desires." Su Yang said with a smile on his face.

"I want money, but I also want to earn it honestly! Furthermore, this is really too much money! No matter how much it's worth, if I cannot exchange it for gold or use it properly, it's no different than being worthless!" Mei Xing said to him.

"Is that so? Then what do you suggest?" He then asked.

"I'd like to be paid in coins instead! In fact, as long as I can use them, I will be okay with it!" She said.

Su Yang nodded and said, "Alright. If a high-grade spirit stone is too much, then how about a medium-grade spirit stone? I can even do low-grade spirit stones. I don't really have any mortal currency on me, so this is the best I can do, and you should be able to exchange them."

Mei Xing then said, "That's fine, and I am satisfied with just one low-grade spirit stone since it's already worth 100 gold coins. With this much money, we can survive for months without any worries."

"You don't want a medium-grade spirit stone? They're worth about 1 million gold coins each, you know?"

Mei Xing swallowed nervously at the tempting offer, but she had her own pride.

"I-It's okay! As long as I continue working for the Manager, I will be able to save up enough!" She insisted on taking a single low-grade spirit stone.

"I understand. I won't continue trying to convince you. Here."

Su Yang then handed her a low-grade spirit stone.

After accepting the spirit stone, Mei Xing said, "Manager, I still feel like I don't deserve this much money with the amount of work I do, so I'd like to stay here and work more. I cannot go home until midnight, anyway."

"Do as you wish, but there's really nothing here for you to do." Su Yang said.

Mei Xing then looked around before speaking, "I can clean the place."

"But the place is already sparkling clean." Su Yang smiled.

Mei Xing sighed inwardly. This is her first time experiencing a lack of work to do.

"Do you want to try cultivating?" Su Yang suddenly asked her.

"Huh?" Mei Xing looked at him with wide eyes.

"That's what I do after work, and you're already past the age where one would normally start cultivating. Have you ever thought about it? Becoming a cultivator." 

"M-My mother wants me to become a cultivator because cultivators earn a lot of money, but we're too poor to buy any cultivation technique, and I don't want to burden her anymore," she responded.

"Well, I happen to have a couple of cultivation techniques with me that I don't use. If you want to borrow them, I don't mind lending it to you."

"R-Really?! You'll let me borrow a cultivation technique?! For free?!" Mei Xing's eyes flickered with excitement, as the only thing that kept her from trying out cultivation was the lack of cultivation technique and the money to buy one.

"Yes, but I will need to take a look at your body before I give you it so I can pick one for you." Su Yang nodded.

"Okay!"

Hearing his words, Mei Xing immediately began removing her clothes, becoming stark naked in just a few seconds.

Su Yang raised his eyebrows and said, "You don't need to strip naked."

"Eh?" 

Mei Xing blushed slightly when she realized that she'd acted too hastily due to sheer excitement, something that she doesn't experience often.

Once she put on her clothes again, Su Yang said, "Lay down."

Mei Xing nodded and laid on the floor like she was sleeping.

Su Yang then used one of his fingers and pressed it against her stomach before using his spiritual energy to examine her inner body.

"Mmm…" Mei Xing made a weird noise as she felt something moving around inside her body.

The instant Su Yang looked at her body, he realized that Mei Xing had almost zero talent in cultivation, as she lacked the spirit veins to absorb Profound Qi properly, and even her body was only ordinary at best.

However, Su Yang didn't care about any of that, as he knew very well that one's talent could easily be altered through treasures. The most important thing was Mei Xing's dedication and her desire to cultivate.

"Alright, I have the perfect cultivation technique for you." Su Yang removed his hand from her body a minute later.

He then retrieved a scroll and began writing on it.

Mei Xing was puzzled by his actions. Why does he need to write on this scroll?

A couple of minutes later, Su Yang handed her the scroll and said, "Here's your cultivation technique."

"Eh?"

Mei Xing accepted the scroll with a dazed look on her face.

'Did he just create a cultivation technique on the spot?'

"Go ahead. Try to comprehend it."

Mei Xing nodded and took a seat on the floor before opening the scroll and reading it.

About half an hour later, Mei Xing finished reading the whole thing and placed it down. She then proceeded to stare at the floor with a pondering look on her face.

"What do you think?" Su Yang asked her.

"I can read and understand the contents… but… but I cannot comprehend it," she said.

Su Yang closed his eyes and said, "To be completely honest with you, you're not very talented when it comes to cultivation. In fact, your body isn't suited for cultivation at all."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Mei Xing sighed and said, "I figured…"

"Are you going to give up?" Su Yang suddenly asked her.

Mei Xing frowned and quickly shook her head, "Of course not! So what if I am not talented? I am going to continue trying to cultivate regardless of my talents!"

Su Yang smiled upon hearing her words.

Mei Xing then picked up the scroll and began reading it over and over again until it was midnight.

"Can I take this back home with me?" Mei Xing asked him.

"Yes, go ahead. Just don't lose it." Su Yang nodded.

"I won't! I will protect it with my life!" Mei Xing said.

"Goodbye, Manager! And goodnight!"

"Goodnight. See you tomorrow."

After leaving the massage parlor, Mei Xing returned to the exchange store to exchange her low-grade spirit stones for 100 gold coins.

"Thank you!"

Mei Xing held the pouch of gold coins with trembling hands, as this was her first time holding so much money at once— not including the high-grade spirit stone.

She then raced back to her mother's room.

"Mother! Look what I got!"

Once she returned home and locked the door, Mei Xing poured all 100 gold coins onto the bed, shocking her mother.

"W-Where did you obtain so much money, Mei Xing?!" Her mother exclaimed in a shocked voice.

"D-Don't tell me you… You stole it…?"

"What?! Of course not! This is my salary from work! The Manager paid me in advance!" Mei Xing quickly explained where the money came from.

"The Manager from your new workplace…?" Her mother still doubted that she earned so much money working as a receptionist in a massage parlor.

"I am serious, mother! The Manager is a cultivator, so he has a lot of money! And he's very generous! In fact, look what else he gave me!" Mei Xing then showed her the cultivation technique she got from Su Yang.

"The Manager also lent me a cultivation technique! I can become a cultivator now!"

Her mother's jaw dropped. Just who is this manager from her place? Why is he so generous? It was hard to believe that he doesn't have any ulterior motives. 

Seeing the worried look on her mother's face, Mei Xing placed the stuff down and said to her, "It's okay, mother. The Manager can be trusted. He's not like the others— I can tell that he's a genuine person. If you don't believe me, I can ask the Manager to give you a visit whenever he's free. That way you can judge for yourself whether he's a good person or not."

Her mother nodded, "Please do send him here. If he's truly as generous as you say, I'd really love to pay him back for it."

"Okay! I will let the Manager know tomorrow!"

"As for the money… Let's not use it for now." Her mother continued.

"I will let you hold onto the money, mother." Mei Xing said.

Mei Xing then started cleaning the room while her mother went to shower.

Half an hour later, they entered the bed and went to sleep.

The following morning, Mei Xing woke up at the same time and went to work.

"Good morning, Manager!" Mei Xing greeted him.

"Good morning."

"Manager, I have something to tell you." Mei Xing then said.

"What is it?"

"My mother would like to meet you. I know the Manager is very busy, but I hope you can visit her once. She thinks you're a bad guy, and I am having a hard time trying to convince her that you're a good person."

Su Yang chuckled and said, "I don't blame her for being worried."

He then nodded, "Alright, I will give her a visit tonight after work."

"Thank you, Manager!" Mei Xing bowed to him.

Sometime later, they began working, and Mei Xing greeted every customer with a bright smile on her face.

"Welcome to Heavenly Massage!"

Despite working as a receptionist, Mei Xing was having fun doing her job, and compared to before when she had to force herself to go to work, she genuinely enjoyed working every second at the massage parlor, even feeling very enthusiastic about it.

'I hope I can work for the Manager forever…' She prayed inwardly.