Chapter 57
Chapter 57: Rong Shu Thinks She Is Very Brave
Just as Rong Shu was on her way to the Inner Peaks, the identity token at her waist gave a brief flash. She took it out for a look and found a new sect notice, which read: “To all disciples of Heaven’s Evolution Sect: the once-every-five-years sect secret-realm training will officially open next month. All personal disciples may enter the secret realm to train. Inner-sect and outer-sect disciples will be selected by recommendation from the sect elders. Within one month, any disciple who disagrees with the recommendation list may challenge a listed candidate one-on-one; the winner will receive the secret-realm training quota… The above is hereby announced to all disciples. Take note.”
There was a long list of names appended to the notice. Rong Shu did not read it carefully; the moment she spotted both her own name and Cheng Bu Fan’s, she closed it.
When she reached the Inner Peaks, Rong Shu keenly sensed that the atmosphere was different than usual, very likely because of the secret-realm announcement. The number of entrants each time was limited and could never satisfy everyone; if some could go in, then others could not. The sect was even openly urging the disciples to compete for the slots.
Rong Shu could already picture it: over the next month the dueling platforms on Spirit Nurturing Peak and Spirit Gathering Peak would be packed and noisy.
[Good thing personal disciples do not need to fight for a slot. With my cultivation at the second layer of Qi Refining, I might not even make it to the Inner Peaks before someone stopped me halfway.]
Thinking of this, Rong Shu once again, from the bottom of her heart, thanked the kind Senior Sister Yu: [Senior Sister Yu is truly a wonderful person~]
When Rong Shu arrived outside Lin Dao’s residence, she happened to meet Lin Dao just as he was about to head out. Lin Dao saw her, the tension at his brow eased a fraction, and he spoke first: “I am going out today and will return after a while.”
“Ah?” Rong Shu blinked, then nodded and adjusted quickly: “Oh, then I will find somewhere else to practice my blade.”
Surprised as she was, her mind immediately jumped to the next steps for training. Since she could not continue staying at Senior Brother Lin Dao’s place, should she take the daytime task in the back mountain as well and simply “live” there?
Lin Dao held out his identity token as he continued, tone steady: “This is my identity token. Keep it on you for now. If you need it, you can come use my courtyard to practice. The defensive array here can ward off any attack or scrying beneath the Nascent Soul Stage.”
[Ward off attacks and prying below the Nascent Soul Stage?] Rong Shu froze for a beat. She felt there was something pointed in Senior Brother Lin Dao’s words. Perhaps, after she had not returned to Limitless Peak for so many days, he had already noticed, so he gave her his token and explained how to use the array.
“Senior brother, without your identity token, when you come back…” she began, only for Lin Dao to lift a hand and press lightly on the top of her head, bringing her words to a halt. He softened his voice a shade as he said: “I have no need of it.”
Thinking of Lin Dao’s unfathomable strength and seeing the calm, rippleless expression on his face, Rong Shu felt reassured. “Oh…” she said, then, holding his token, she hesitated and ventured: “Senior brother, how about you set a time? I will take the identity token and wait for you outside the sect then. That would be a little safer.” She blinked up at him as she spoke.
Seeing this, Lin Dao gave a brief smile: “All right.”
After he gave her a few more reminders, Lin Dao left. Rong Shu stood there blankly for the space of a quarter hour. At last she glanced toward Lin Dao’s residence, tucked his identity token into her storage pouch, and turned away.
Even though she now had Lin Dao’s token and could, in theory, stay there in closed-door practice for a month, with Lin Dao himself absent she could not, in good conscience, spend her whole day inside. If someone with an agenda noticed that Rong Shu was carrying Lin Dao’s identity token while Lin Dao himself was nowhere to be seen, it could cause trouble for him.
If “Lin Dao” truly was Lin Dao, then there would be no real problem. At most his true cultivation would be exposed, and he could simply explain that he wished to keep a low profile and avoid unnecessary attention. But if Lin Dao’s identity was not what it seemed, then it would be a serious matter.
Rong Shu did not yet know who Lin Dao really was or why, with Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, he had remained in Heaven’s Evolution Sect or for what purpose. But she was certain of one thing: if she had to choose between Heaven’s Evolution Sect and Senior Brother Lin Dao, she would, without the slightest hesitation, choose the latter.
…
Back mountain, Hundred Herb Garden.
When Rong Shu went to find the hunchbacked uncle again and told him she wanted to “tend” the flowers and plants in the Hundred Herb Garden during the day as well, the hunchbacked uncle looked both speechless and shocked as he said: “You really mean to live in the back mountain?”
“Heh heh…” Rong Shu blinked and looked at him pitifully as she wheedled: “Uncle, we are so familiar already, we are practically like that, please be generous and help me out~”
The hunchbacked uncle waved her off in disgust as he said: “Do you think jobs in the Hundred Herb Garden are like heads of cabbage? We already have enough people for the day shift. I cannot very well kick someone out just to open a back door for you.”
When there were no takers for a task or when staffing overflowed, he could sometimes help maneuver a little for Rong Shu, but beyond that, he could not. He neither had the authority nor the nerve.
“In that case, I will go take a look at the Spirit Beast Garden,” said Rong Shu. Since the Hundred Herb Garden really did not need more hands, she had no way to force the hunchbacked uncle to assign her something.
But when she reached the Spirit Beast Garden, she was told there were no tasks available there either. The burly woman in charge wore a troubled look as she said: “A large batch of spirit beasts has been requisitioned recently. At present, there are not many spirit beasts left in the garden, so we do not need many people to tend them.”
“Oh, all right…” Rong Shu felt disappointed, but she could only look for another solution.
With neither the Hundred Herb Garden nor the Spirit Beast Garden having extra work, Rong Shu could only head to the Task Pavilion to have a look. She hurried to the Task Pavilion on Spirit Gathering Peak and spent a long time picking through tasks, but found nothing that met her requirements:
1. The task should be five daytime hours long.
2. It should be an in-sect task with no danger, not requiring constant labor, with plenty of slack time; ideally one or two tasks would cover the full five daytime hours.
3. If it had to be two tasks, the locations should be close so she would not waste time hurrying back and forth.
After all, Rong Shu’s true aim in taking tasks was not the tasks themselves but to secure a quiet, deserted place to slack off and cultivate.
The steward disciple in charge of task registration noticed Rong Shu hesitating at the wall covered in task plaques and called out to her with a smile: “Junior Sister Rong, not finding anything suitable?”
This steward disciple was the same outer-sect senior brother who had “refused a tip” the first time Rong Shu came to the Task Pavilion for a back-mountain task. These days Rong Shu was quite “famous” in the outer sect. She took night tasks in the back mountain almost every day and often stopped by the Task Pavilion; among the new disciples who had just joined, she stood out and naturally interacted more with the pavilion staff. Over time, she had gotten familiar with this outer-sect senior brother and learned some basics about him.
His name was Song Wen Shu. He had been in the sect for ten years and cultivated at the eighth layer of Qi Refining. He had relatives in the inner sect serving as sect elders; with someone above to cover him, he had secured this stable posting at the Task Pavilion.
“Yes,” Rong Shu said with a sigh. Suddenly it occurred to her that since Song Wen Shu had been at the Task Pavilion so long, he would know the tasks better than she did, so she told him her selection criteria in full. Of course, she did not admit that she only wanted to slack off and cultivate.
Song Wen Shu, hearing her long list, simply assumed that this second-layer Qi Refining junior sister was short on Spirit Stones and contribution points and was hoping to find an easy job. Such a thought was hardly surprising. He did not suspect anything else and instead thought for a moment about which task might suit her.
“There is a task that fits your requirements pretty well. It is a daytime assignment…” he said, trailing off, his expression suddenly hesitant, as if he were debating whether to say more.
Hearing that, Rong Shu’s eyes lit up and she pressed him eagerly: “Where is it?”
“Not here, over at the Task Pavilion on Spirit Nurturing Peak,” said Song Wen Shu, pointing toward the door.
Spirit Nurturing Peak and Spirit Gathering Peak each had a Task Pavilion, issuing assignments to the inner-sect and outer-sect disciples respectively. Since Rong Shu had not even reached Foundation Establishment, she always came to the Spirit Gathering Peak pavilion for tasks and had subconsciously overlooked the Spirit Nurturing Peak pavilion.
“But that task has already talked many inner-sect disciples out of it. Most disciples who take it cannot last even three days before giving up,” he added. Seeing how interested Rong Shu looked, Song Wen Shu shot her a helpless glance, worried that she would charge in like a fearless calf, and hurried to clarify.
“Ah? Is it dangerous? I thought it was an in-sect task,” said Rong Shu, suddenly wavering. Dangerous tasks often came tied to danger to one’s life. She only wanted an assignment that would let her legitimately avoid returning to Limitless Peak; she had no intention of gambling with her little life.
Song Wen Shu shook his head slightly as he said: “No, it is indeed an in-sect task. There is no real danger to your life. It just… requires a bit of courage.”
“What exactly is the task?” asked Rong Shu, feeling confident again once danger was off the table.
“A feeding assignment,” said Song Wen Shu.
“Feeding? Like feeding spirit beasts at the Spirit Beast Garden?” Rong Shu asked, curiosity growing. Inwardly she kept guessing what kind of feeding could make so many disciples quit of their own accord.
Song Wen Shu, however, would not divulge more. He said only: “In short, I cannot disclose the details before you accept the assignment.”
He confirmed one last time: “Are you sure you want to take it? If you give up halfway, your contribution points or Spirit Stones will be deducted.”
Rong Shu nodded firmly as she said: “I am sure.” [It is only a feeding assignment. Since all those previous disciples came back bouncing with life, it probably is not life-threatening. As for courage? I am very brave. This feeding assignment cannot do without me!]
Seeing her mind was made up, Song Wen Shu did not try to dissuade her further and said: “Then go to the Task Pavilion on Spirit Nurturing Peak to accept it. I do not handle registrations for that assignment here.”
“All right. Thank you, Senior Brother Song,” said Rong Shu.
…
Spirit Nurturing Peak, Task Pavilion.
The moment she entered, Rong Shu went straight to the registration counter. Hooking both hands over the edge of the tabletop, she stretched on tiptoe. She had grown about the height of a fingernail lately, yet to the eye she still looked like a soft-cheeked little child.
“Senior brother, hello,” said Rong Shu, gazing up at the inner-sect disciple behind the counter, who stood several heads taller than she did, her expression properly well-behaved.
Catching sight of the small figure that suddenly popped up, the inner-sect disciple, who had been idly flipping through the registry, straightened at once and showed a gentler smile as he said: “Hello.”
Rong Shu wore an outer-sect disciple’s robe, and the inner-sect disciple thought nothing of it, assuming she was either a newcomer not yet half a year in and still muddleheaded, or a relative of some elder or disciple on the Inner Peaks who could come and go freely.
Rong Shu held up one finger as she said: “Senior brother, I want to take a task.”
“What task are you accepting?” asked the registrar, interest piqued. It was rare to see someone skip browsing entirely and come straight to accept.
When Rong Shu stated the content of the assignment, the registrar’s expression turned immediately strange. He asked uncertainly: “Are you sure you want to take this task?”
Rong Shu bobbed her head: “Yes.”
At that, the registrar could not help a flurry of private muttering. How rare. Had the sun risen in the west? For this task, any disciple who heard even a scrap of rumor ran as far as they could. The ones who accepted it were usually newest inner-sect entrants who had not caught the gossip and were easier to talk into it.
Questions aside, with a disciple like this volunteering herself, the registrar would not let the chance slip. He hurried to register Rong Shu’s information, worried this little girl would change her mind midstream. It was a continuous assignment and had to be taken without interruption; if no one took it for a long stretch, the registrar would be in a bind. In the past he had to coax people carefully, spending no small amount of tongue, to talk one or two into it.
Once she was registered and had received the task token, Rong Shu asked at once: “Senior brother, what does this task mainly involve?”
Hearing that disarmingly innocent question, the registrar froze for a heartbeat, then recovered. When he looked at Rong Shu again, there were two parts pity in his eyes. Inwardly he swore: which shameless bastard had tricked such a little junior sister into doing this life-draining, tormenting task?
Receiving that inexplicable look of sympathy, Rong Shu was dazed for a moment as she thought: [What is with this senior brother?]