No sooner had the sallow-faced young man finished speaking than the other two disciples with the lowest aptitude answered first. “Xu Ziliu and Xu Ziqi are willing to serve the distinguished disciples of the eastern courtyards. We ask Steward to arrange it for us.”
The sallow-faced young man sighed inwardly but agreed aloud. “Very well. I have a bundle of lots here bearing the names of disciples who currently need servants. Draw one for yourselves.”
The two disciples were overjoyed. They hurriedly accepted the wooden cylinder he handed them and moved aside to carefully choose their lots.
Only then did the sallow-faced young man look at Xu Ziqing again. “This disciple said nothing just now. I assume you have another choice in mind.”
Xu Ziqing lowered his head and replied with an anxious, deferential air, “Xu Ziqing lacks ability. I would rather do some miscellaneous work and help shoulder the clan’s burdens…”
Another one with no ambition, the sallow-faced young man thought with a sigh. He could only hand Xu Ziqing a yellow-covered booklet. “This lists the places in the main family that need people for miscellaneous work. Choose one for yourself.”
Xu Ziqing thanked him, took the booklet, and began reading it carefully.
Why did the sallow-faced young man find this so regrettable? Because there was more to each of the three choices the main family offered disciples with the lowest aptitude than appeared on the surface.
Part of the reason was simply that the Inner Hall needed people to maintain it, and members of the Xu family were more trustworthy. But the arrangement was also meant to test whether people with the lowest aptitude could compensate for that deficiency in other ways.
The first option was the most demanding: accepting assignments independently. It looked difficult, and indeed it was, but every assignment tempered a person in many different ways. Those who relied on their own efforts and endured the process could sometimes overcome poor aptitude through sheer determination and break through the third layer of Qi Refinement before the age of fifty. They would then be sent directly to Feijiu Mountain, where they could receive an elder’s guidance and use spiritual medicines to cleanse and nourish their bodies. If things continued smoothly after that, their prospects on the immortal path could become quite good.
The second option was serving others, but serving someone was hardly easy. If one happened to be assigned to a bad-tempered master, life would be harder still. Among the disciples who chose this path, roughly half were ambitious and half were greedy for benefits. Those in the first group might eventually succeed if they could endure humiliation and hardship, but anyone who could not endure it would be eliminated quickly. The main family certainly would not demand justice from a talented disciple for the sake of someone with poor aptitude. Those in the second group usually managed to live fairly well, but if all their attention went into currying favor, how could they cultivate seriously?
Even among those who endured humiliation and eventually succeeded, resentment over what they had suffered in the past was difficult to avoid, so their loyalty to the clan tended to be low. As for the benefit-seekers, they were opportunists by nature and were not especially likable either.
Thus, those who chose the second path were actually the group the main family liked least.
The third option was miscellaneous work. Most people who chose it were timid and content merely to get by, which was exactly what the sallow-faced young man meant by lacking ambition. Such people rarely achieved much, yet paradoxically they were also the most trustworthy group in the clan. They did not dare break away from their present circumstances, were generally honest, and could devote themselves steadily to the clan. So although the main family regretted seeing them waste what little immortal potential they possessed, it also could not do without them.
The sallow-faced young man had not been thinking for long when the other two finished making their selections. After asking whom they had chosen, he explained the routes to those disciples’ residences. The two thanked him and quickly left.
Meanwhile, Xu Ziqing continued turning through the yellow-covered booklet, choosing with great care.
Xu Ziqing was indeed someone who adapted easily to whatever circumstances he found himself in, but that did not mean he was timid or weak. He had never yearned for the immortal path in the first place, and after arriving at the main family, he found the situation there full of hidden complications. Given his temperament, he naturally had no desire to wade into those muddy waters.
When Xu Ziqing first entered the Inner Hall, he had already seen vast stretches of fertile land, along with orchards, flower gardens, and medicinal gardens, all surrounded by beautiful scenery. If he chose miscellaneous work, there would surely be tasks connected with such places. If he selected one of those and lived quietly at a distance, his days might not be all that different from his life back in Xujia Village.
Sure enough, after going through the yellow-covered booklet once, Xu Ziqing found what he had been hoping for. Three jobs suited him reasonably well.
The first was tending fruit trees in an orchard. The work involved daily watering and fertilizing, weeding and removing pests, pruning branches, and trimming trees. Dozens of people performed the same work, all under Steward Hong.
The second was working in the spiritual fields, where he would plow and turn the soil, sow seeds, and transplant seedlings. It was not very different from the farming Xu Ziqing had seen in the countryside. Many people worked there as well, all under Steward Zhao.
The third was working in the Hundred Herbs Garden. He would tend flowers and plants, caring for them meticulously in every respect. There was only one person assigned to miscellaneous work there, under Steward He.
Xu Ziqing carefully compared the three jobs and ultimately chose the third. In his previous life, he had been confined indoors, and aside from the relatives who took turns keeping him company, only flowers and plants had remained constantly by his side, allowing him to care for them from time to time. Thinking of them now gave him a sense of familiarity. Moreover, the Hundred Herbs Garden was in a secluded location, which suited him perfectly.
He therefore turned the booklet to page eighty-seven and handed it to the sallow-faced young man. “Xu Ziqing would like to do miscellaneous work in the Hundred Herbs Garden.”
The sallow-faced young man looked at the page but said nothing more, merely telling him where the Hundred Herbs Garden was located. Only after Xu Ziqing thanked him and left did a complicated expression appear on the young man’s face.
The work in the Hundred Herbs Garden looked good on paper, but that place belonged to Old He. The old man had an extremely eccentric temperament. Quite a few disciples had chosen this seemingly pleasant assignment before, only to be driven out by him after a few days. Who knew how long this one would last?
Xu Ziqing knew nothing of the sallow-faced young man’s doubts. Following the directions he had been given, he walked for nearly an hour before finally reaching a garden.
The gate was not locked, but when Xu Ziqing stepped forward, an invisible barrier stopped him outside. A man came storming out from within, cursing loudly. “Which idiot is tampering with my restriction? Don’t you know how to use a spirit token?”
Xu Ziqing froze, then realized the mistake was his. He was too accustomed to living in the mundane world and still lacked the awareness of someone living among cultivators. He had forgotten that although the gate appeared unlocked, its defenses were actually extremely tight.
He therefore took out the wooden token the sallow-faced young man had given him and carefully extended it toward the empty space ahead. A flash of white light appeared. When Xu Ziqing tried walking forward again, nothing obstructed him.
After only a few steps, he saw an old man approaching. A dry pipe hung from his mouth, straw sandals were on his feet, and his clothes were quite worn. Since entering the main family, Xu Ziqing had not seen anyone so untidy. Was this Steward He?
The old man saw Xu Ziqing, took a few puffs from his pipe, and exhaled. “The new menial worker?”
Xu Ziqing was a newly arrived disciple, but the work he would be doing was indeed menial labor, so the description was not wrong. Seeing that Old He was elderly, Xu Ziqing naturally treated him with even greater respect and courtesy. He bowed slightly and said warmly, “Xu Ziqing greets Steward.”
A trace of surprise flashed through Old He’s eyes as he looked Xu Ziqing up and down. “Working for me isn’t easy. If you can’t endure hardship, don’t blame me for kicking you out.”
Since the old man had not denied the title, he was clearly Steward He. Xu Ziqing hurried after him. Since he had chosen to work here, he would naturally do his utmost. Besides, if he could spend his days among flowers and plants, even a little hardship would be sweet to him.
The farther they walked into the garden, the clearer and purer the air seemed to become. Xu Ziqing could not help taking a deep breath. An unusual fragrance filled his nose, leaving even his chest and lungs feeling refreshed.
Naturally, he could not yet know that in this world into which he had been reborn, heaven and earth were filled with something called “spiritual energy.” It was lighter and more ethereal than the oxygen he had breathed before and could even cleanse the body and mind. Cultivators were able to cultivate entirely because they relied upon it.
The Hundred Herbs Garden was, in fact, a medicinal garden devoted to raising spiritual herbs for the Xu main family. The spiritual energy within it was therefore especially abundant, and Xu Ziqing, having stepped in directly from outside, naturally found the sensation immensely pleasant.
Unlike the grand yet refined arrangements found everywhere else, the garden had been laid out to look exceptionally natural. Every flower and blade of grass, every patch of earth and stone, seemed untouched by deliberate carving or construction.
After crossing a stretch of earthen path, they came to a clear stream running into the distance. Low stone borders enclosed many small plots of spiritual fields along both banks, like flower beds, each one filled with hazy green shadows and delicate grasses growing thickly.
Following the path onward, Xu Ziqing saw a row of thatched cottages. In front of several hung farm produce; others had tools laid out, or medicine racks holding large bamboo trays for drying herbs. All showed signs of habitation. Only one smaller cottage stood at the outermost edge with almost nothing outside it.
When they reached the row of cottages, Old He raised his pipe and pointed toward the smallest one. “You’ll live there. The bed and bedding are already inside.”
Xu Ziqing nodded. “Yes.”
Seeing how obedient he was, Old He turned around. “The spiritual herbs I grow here aren’t things a brat like you can touch however you please.” He ambled back into the house and emerged carrying several thick, hefty volumes, which he tossed toward the patiently waiting Xu Ziqing. “Read these first and memorize them thoroughly.”
Xu Ziqing caught them with some difficulty. His body was much healthier than in his previous life and he was not lacking in strength, yet the books were unexpectedly heavy. Even so, he nodded. “I understand, Steward He.”
Lowering his gaze to the covers, he saw that the top volume was titled Illustrated Guide to Spiritual Herbs. Presumably, it was meant to teach him how to identify spiritual herbs, something he certainly could not do without while working in the Hundred Herbs Garden. Steward He’s demands might be strict, but ultimately they were also for his benefit, so Xu Ziqing naturally felt grateful.
Seeing how compliant he was, Old He thought somewhat more highly of Xu Ziqing. He might have been notoriously eccentric, but he was not unreasonable. The disciples who had come before had been arrogant in their respective branch families, and when they saw his shabby clothes, they had shown contempt the moment they met him. That alone revealed poor character. Then, when he instructed them to first memorize the different kinds of spiritual herbs, they had all been reluctant, wanting him to teach them cultivation arts before anything else. How could he not become angry with people so lazy and unwilling to work diligently?
This new boy looked thin and frail and could barely hold several medicinal texts steady, but he was neither arrogant nor impatient and seemed willing to work seriously. In Old He’s eyes, that was enough to count as basically qualified. If the boy’s future actions proved that his attitude was sincere, Old He would naturally pass on a cultivation art to him. Only then could the newcomer truly become a permanent “menial worker” of the Hundred Herbs Garden.