Chapter 142: Cauldron Recruitment; Meeting An Acquaintance
Fang Shu walked out of the Spirit Chamber. He had not yet reached the ground when the attendant from Treasure Hall was already waiting at the front of the stairs.
The attendant’s figure looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, it was the same person who had received the siblings earlier.
The other party sized up Fang Shu’s steps. Although due to Fang Shu restraining his aura and not having made a move, he could not discern whether Fang Shu was currently at Refining Essence or Refining Qi, a glint still flashed in the attendant’s eyes.
If no signs could be detected, that was the greatest sign.
The man promptly cupped his hands toward Fang Shu: “Congratulations, esteemed guest, on successfully passing the Tribulation and emerging from seclusion as a Refining Qi cultivator!”
Facing the man’s congratulations, Fang Shu showed a reserved smile on his face. He had no intention of hiding anything and frankly nodded, cupping his hands in return: “Fortuitously achieving success in cultivation, many thanks to your hall for this assistance.”
At the same time, Fang Shu sized up the man. He could discern from the aura the attendant subtly revealed that this person was surprisingly also a Refining Qi Immortal.
The Treasure Hall attendant quickly stepped aside and said, “This lowly attendant is surnamed Tong and named Cou. Esteemed guest, please follow me.”
Then, under the other’s guidance, Fang Shu once again arrived in the private room.
After the attendant Tong Cou said a basketful of pleasant words again, he spiritedly took out from his sleeve the contract previously signed with Fang Shu, and also produced several brand-new blank contracts.
“To be honest, esteemed guest, now that you have become a Refining Qi cultivator, you are a precious outer disciple of our Five Viscera Temple. Our Treasure Hall naturally has corresponding preferential treatment and is willing to continue forging a good relationship with you.
If esteemed guest still has skills at hand, you can obtain even more substantial financial support from our Treasure Hall.”
The attendant Tong Cou spoke eloquently and continued, “If Fellow Daoist is unwilling to accept financial support from our Jin Family, you can also simply reach a work contract with our Jin Family.
Whether talismans, pills, magic tools, or gu worms, spirit beasts, and so on, our Jin Family will acquire them at top prices. It’s just that in this case, the conditions would be rather basic.”
Fang Shu patiently listened for a while.
It turned out this fellow had pulled him aside to carry out so-called recruitment or binding tactics. However, compared to last time, the conditions spat out from the other’s mouth this time were indeed worlds apart.
But after listening to just a few sentences, Fang Shu decisively said:
“To be honest with you, I have just emerged from seclusion, have not yet taken a master, and have not reunited with family and friends. These matters can wait until I rest for a few days before discussing.”
Hearing this, the attendant Tong Cou’s face immediately showed regret.
However, he glanced at Fang Shu’s young face and recalled that Fang Shu seemed to have mastered Gu Technique, belonging to the type who studied the Nine Branches of Immortal Studies before even reaching Refining Qi.
Such a Refining Qi disciple, even if only with a false spiritual root, still had some immortal path ahead.
Thus, the man lowered his voice and suddenly reminded:
“Since Fellow Daoist is not in a hurry, Tong will not say more, lest it annoy you.
Speaking of which, since Fellow Daoist has now reached Refining Qi, there is theoretically no need for your senior sister to guarantee anymore. You can come to me to exchange the contract, to be borne by you alone. Of course, whether to exchange the contract or not is up to you.”
After saying a few words, the attendant Tong Cou shut his mouth and assumed a posture of eyes on nose and nose on heart, as if it had not been him speaking just now.
Fang Shu was pensive. He pondered for a moment and immediately cupped his hands: “Then I shall trouble Fellow Daoist Tong to replace my contract for me.”
“Certainly.” The envoy Tong Cou agreed and immediately took out the contract. After formally explaining a few things to Fang Shu, he crossed out the old contract and signed a new one with Fang Shu.
And this newly signed contract, although the guarantee conditions had not changed much—merely shifting the responsible party from the two siblings to Fang Shu alone—the principal he needed to repay was still 120 jin of substandard spirit stones.
But the annual interest growth on it dropped at once from seventy percent to fifty percent.
And although this thing was still compound interest, the maximum repayment amount was now limited to 1,200 jin of substandard spirit stones.
This amount was still enormous, ten times the “principal.” But compared to the contract signed during Fang Shu’s Refining Essence period, at least it now had an upper limit.
Note that the old contract had no upper limit and could keep rolling like a donkey cart until the debtor could no longer bear it, even unable to pay the interest.
Fang Shu thought to himself: “It seems that for Five Viscera Temple, Refining Qi disciples are at least considered disciples with some protection… though not much.”
In his view, the Jin Family could not possibly give up benefits for nothing. It must be that Five Viscera Temple, like a mortal world’s government, had rules regarding disciples’ debts.
Without showing any sign, Fang Shu immediately cupped his hands toward the attendant Tong Cou and said:
“I am Fang Shu, many thanks to Fellow Daoist Tong.”
Although he reckoned that with just a few more days mixing in Five Viscera Temple, he would learn about exchanging contracts. Worst case, Senior Sister Fang Lu would remind him.
But this action by the attendant Tong Cou was clearly a kind gesture.
Seeing Fang Shu specially state his name, Tong Cou smiled, his attitude even warmer.
After some more pleasantries, just as Fang Shu was about to leave, the attendant Tong Cou suddenly pulled a letter from his sleeve.
“Esteemed guest Fang, this is from your senior sister Fang Lu, entrusted to me to pass to you.”
Surprise flickered in Fang Shu’s eyes. He thanked him and put the letter into his sleeve without opening it on the spot.
He waited until walking out of Treasure Hall and picking an unoccupied corner before tearing off the seal on the talisman paper and unfolding the letter paper.
After carefully reading it, a look of relief appeared on his face.
It turned out Senior Sister Fang Lu only said in the letter that she was tied up these few days and could not come to receive Fang Shu, nor properly celebrate for him, so she asked Fang Shu to go to the hermitage to stay for a few days after emerging from seclusion.
The entry incantation for the hermitage had already been attached to the letter by Senior Sister Fang Lu.
As for what Senior Sister had been up to lately, she mentioned a few words between the lines.
It turned out there was an uncle master in the temple who was comprehending the wondrous method of controlling women and urgently needed cauldrons and such, with generous conditions.
Senior Sister Fang Lu had hurriedly prepared her body, closed her business, and gone to compete for that cauldron spot.
She also said this would be a big opening, enough to eat for three years, not to be missed.
Because many wanted to climb up to the uncle master, the competition was fierce, and there were many places needing kickbacks, so Fang Lu figured she might not return home for several days and left a letter for Fang Shu in advance.
Additionally, she mentioned in the letter that after successfully reaching Refining Qi, Fang Shu could exchange the contract with the Jin Family.
And just as Fang Shu had guessed, the reason the Jin Family lowered the conditions was only because Five Viscera Temple had rules, not because they had a change of heart.
After finishing the letter, Fang Shu immediately used true qi to shatter the letter paper into a pile of paper ash.
For some reason, even when he had just owed the Jin Family a huge sum of spirit stones earlier, his mood had not sunk, and the joy remained.
But now, learning of Senior Sister Fang Lu’s whereabouts, his mood suddenly sank, feeling somewhat listless.
After a few breaths, Fang Shu thought to himself: “Perhaps because there’s no one to share the joy with.”
He clapped his hands, shaking off the paper ash cleanly, and turned to walk toward a certain place.
The direction he was heading was not Senior Sister Fang Lu’s hermitage, but toward Toad Mudflat.
Since no one was in the hermitage, there was no need to rush there. He might as well first settle all the matters after successfully reaching Refining Qi, such as apprenticing and so on, to get on the proper cultivation track in Five Viscera Temple as soon as possible.
When the sky had dimmed somewhat, not far from nightfall, Fang Shu arrived on Toad Street.
Groups of menial laborers hurried past him, several of them with green faces, clearly immortal seeds who had come up the mountain from this year’s Spring Examination.
The 100-day limit had long passed. Those who could reach Refining Qi had done so, those willing to go down the mountain had gone. Immortal cultivators like Fang Shu who still had no settlement were extremely rare.
Though they had all come up the mountain in the same batch, each had their own circumstances.
After glancing around, Fang Shu withdrew his gaze from the menial laborers. He had successfully reached Refining Qi and escaped the mire of menial labor, no need to think more.
However, he had no intention of showing off and continued blending low-key into the crowd, arriving at the shop renting Quiet Rooms.
As soon as he entered, Fang Shu called out: “May I ask if Manager Sun is in?”
There was someone in the shop, but not the Utility Hall manager surnamed Sun; it was a female menial laborer waiting.
Hearing the voice, she swiftly looked over. Seeing it was Fang Shu, surprise appeared on her face.
A teasing voice came from her mouth: “Yo! It’s Fellow Daoist Fang, a rare guest indeed.”
Fang Shu’s brows slightly raised, and he immediately looked closely at the other party, discovering that the person behind the counter was an acquaintance—his roommate Hua Xiaqing.
Hua Xiaqing was holding her chest with one hand, leaning against the counter, leisurely cracking melon seeds, looking carefree as if stealing half a day of leisure.
Seeing this scene, Fang Shu immediately understood.
This woman was indeed as she had said: even without finding the opportunity to reach Refining Qi, she could rely on her social skills and fluttering skirts to secure an excellent menial laborer task, minding the shop here.
Hua Xiaqing was also sizing up Fang Shu.
When she saw Fang Shu enter empty-handed, dressed as shabbily as before, the smile on her face immediately faded somewhat, leaving only a forced grin.
