The flying sword moved at incredible speed. In just a moment, it arrived above the seventh mountain peak.
Dense rows of houses covered the mountain, each ancient building grand and imposing. Yet, looking around, one could only see a few scattered figures, giving the place a desolate air.
The flying sword landed in a plaza. The moment it touched down, Lu Mingshi turned to Han Yu and said, “Han Yu, come with me in a moment. From today onward, you are my personal disciple! In the future, I will personally teach you the methods of cultivation.”
Hearing this, no matter how proud Han Yu usually was, delight immediately appeared on his face. He hurriedly said, “Thank you, Peak Master!”
“Hm? Peak Master?” Lu Mingshi’s brow twitched.
Han Yu dropped to his knees with a thud and hastily corrected himself, “Thank you, Master!”
“Mm! When we reach the main hall shortly, I will hold a formal ceremony for you to acknowledge me as your master.”
Only then did Lu Mingshi nod in satisfaction and turn to look at the others.
At this moment, aside from Su Twelve, the other three children all wore expressions of deep envy.
To be chosen as the peak master’s personal disciple was an immense honor! Unfortunately, they lacked Han Yu’s talent and could only look on with envy.
Having settled matters for Han Yu, Lu Mingshi looked at Xiao Yue. “Yue’er, I will leave the rest of them to you. Tomorrow, send them to the instructors to learn to read and write, as well as the sect rules. In three months, arrange for them to study cultivation methods under the teaching elders.”
“Understood! I will arrange for them to settle in first.”
Xiao Yue nodded with a warm smile. She turned her gaze to Su Twelve and the others, just about to speak, when a flurry of hurried footsteps approached.
“Peak Master, bad news! Junior Brother Chen Xi was bitten by a demon beast!”
Two Cloudsong Sect disciples came running over, carrying an injured fellow disciple on a stretcher.
The disciple on the stretcher was no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. He was unconscious from severe injuries, drenched in blood.
“A demon beast? The sect is protected by formations everywhere. Where could a demon beast have come from?” Lu Mingshi frowned as his gaze fell on the stretcher.
The leading disciple hurriedly replied, “Reporting to the Peak Master, the Waste Pill Room is in a remote location. Fierce beasts often roam that area, and there is no shortage of low-grade demon beasts among them.”
“Hmph, and you call yourselves cultivators! You cannot even handle a mere beast. Have all these years of cultivation been wasted?”
Lu Mingshi’s expression darkened as he gave a cold snort. He looked at the injured disciple and pulled out a pale green talisman.
He circulated the True Essence in his body to activate the talisman. It became a streak of green light and enveloped the youth on the stretcher.
A moment later, the green light dispersed, and the youth’s wounds stopped bleeding. But he had lost an arm and a leg, making him look exceptionally pitiful.
“All right, I used a Green Spirit Talisman to stabilize his injuries. But with an arm and a leg gone, it will be difficult for him to cultivate from now on. Send him down the mountain when the time comes.”
The two carrying the stretcher hastily nodded, but they did not leave. Instead, they cautiously asked, “Peak Master, what about the Waste Pill Room? Do we still need to find someone to guard it?”
“Hmph, waste pills may be useless, but counting them tracks the sect’s consumption of all medicinal materials. Do you think it is necessary?” Lu Mingshi snorted coldly, his tone filled with displeasure.
The sect provided the medicinal materials. By comparing the number of successful pills with the waste pills produced, it could track material usage and prevent embezzlement.
The Waste Pill Room was in a remote location, nearly at the outer edge of the Cloudsong Sect. Managing such a petty chore had nothing to do with Luofu Peak in the first place.
The problem was that, among the Cloudsong Sect’s seven peaks, Luofu Peak was the weakest. Naturally, the task fell to them.
Hearing Lu Mingshi say this, the two disciples carrying the stretcher could not help but shiver. They hastily asked, “Peak Master, then who should be sent? Our peak is a bit short on manpower right now!”
“Hm? No one available? That is fine. On this trip down the mountain, I brought back a few boys!” Lu Mingshi paused, muttered to himself, then swept his gaze over them until it landed on Zhu Hanwei.
Feeling Lu Mingshi’s gaze upon him, Zhu Hanwei’s legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
He had heard exactly what those two disciples said. From the name alone, he knew the Waste Pill Room was no good place. The person on the stretcher was a living example.
How could he possibly be willing to go?
At the mere thought, Zhu Hanwei’s face turned pale with fright. Before Lu Mingshi could speak, he hurriedly pulled a palm-sized wooden box from inside his clothes.
“Peak Master, my father had one more thing he wanted me to give you!”
“Hm?” Lu Mingshi was taken aback. He took the wooden box and glanced inside, his eyes instantly narrowing into slits.
Inside the box lay another small piece of Hundred-Year Cold Jade. This piece and the one he had received in Huilong Town were clearly originally part of the same block.
Putting the wooden box away without betraying any emotion, Lu Mingshi sized up Zhu Hanwei. “Alright, why are you pulling a long face at such a young age? But you have no spirit roots, so cultivation would be a waste for you. How about this—my pill chamber still lacks a pill attendant. From now on, you will be my pill attendant!”
“Thank you, Peak Master!” Hearing that he did not have to go to the Waste Pill Room and would instead serve the Peak Master directly, Zhu Hanwei nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, his heart blooming with joy.
Lu Mingshi paid him no further attention. His gaze continued to sweep until it landed on Su Twelve.
“Alright, you will do! From today onward, you will guard the Waste Pill Room!”
Su Twelve’s thin, small frame trembled, and his face instantly turned snow-white.
If Zhu Hanwei could recognize the danger of the Waste Pill Room, he was certainly no exception.
But he had no idea how to refuse Lu Mingshi. Zhu Hanwei had money and could offer a gift; Su Twelve had nothing to give.
Off to the side, Xiao Yue’s gaze swept over Su Twelve and the others. She turned to Lu Mingshi, unable to hold back her words.
“Grandfather, they are still young, and they have only just joined the sect. No matter who you send to the Waste Pill Room, if they truly encounter a fierce beast, or even a low-grade demon beast, aren’t you just sending them to their deaths?”
Lu Mingshi kept his face stern, refusing to relent this time. “Sending them to their deaths? Yue’er, I have to ask: what do you think cultivation is, a child’s game?”
“This boy’s aptitude is already terrible beyond measure. If he cannot even overcome this small danger, what is the point of cultivating? We might as well send him straight back down the mountain.”
Deep down, Lu Mingshi had no faith in Su Twelve at all. With the worst kind of mixed spirit roots, letting him cultivate seemed like a waste of resources no matter how one looked at it. Find the original chapter at NovelPing.
The peak currently lacked usable manpower, so assigning Su Twelve to guard the Waste Pill Room was undoubtedly the best decision.
As for the danger, he did not consider it significant. Encounters with fierce beasts or demon beasts were highly improbable. Chen Xi was also a disciple with little aptitude, yet he had spent several years at the Waste Pill Room before running into trouble.
Xiao Yue’s expression darkened. Looking at Lu Mingshi, she wanted to persuade him further.
Before she could speak, Su Twelve suddenly said, “Senior Sister Xiao Yue, thank you! But the Peak Master is right. My aptitude was never good to begin with. If I cannot even overcome this small difficulty, how can I properly cultivate in the future?”
Su Twelve could sense Lu Mingshi’s resolve. He knew very well that he had no choice.
If he stayed, he would at least have a chance to cultivate.
But if he left, trying to touch the world of cultivators again would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Xiao Yue couldn’t bear it and was about to say more. “But…”
Lu Mingshi, however, nodded and said, “Fine. It is rare for you to have such courage. You two, take him to guard the Waste Pill Room.”
With that, Lu Mingshi turned to look at the two carrying the stretcher.
“Understood! Junior Brother, come with us!” The two nodded, looking at Su Twelve with faces full of pity.
The Peak Master was truly sending this kid to his death!
Junior Brother Chen Xi had at least cultivated for a few years, but the boy standing before them was only twelve years old!
Even if he went, in three to five days, if he did not die, he would surely be scared out of his wits!
It was not just them. Zhu Hanwei and the other children did not think much of Su Twelve’s chances either. In their eyes, what Su Twelve was doing was far too foolish. Cultivation was one thing, but if he lost his life, what point was there in cultivating at all?
Beside Lu Mingshi, Han Yu looked at Su Twelve’s thin, frail back and wanted to speak, but held back. Forget it. With his aptitude, once he encounters danger, he will naturally know to give up.
Su Twelve left with the two disciples. One of them carried the injured Chen Xi away on his back, while the other led Su Twelve toward the Waste Pill Room.
Perhaps because he assumed Su Twelve would not last long in the sect, the disciple guiding him showed no intention of speaking the entire way.
Su Twelve kept his head down and, sensing there was no point in starting a conversation, stayed quiet as well.
The two descended Luofu Peak and walked for another two hours before finally arriving at a small peak on the very edge of the sect.
Before them stood a simple structure made of wood and stone, set within its own courtyard. It contained several rooms: a living area and a storeroom for waste pills.
“This is the Waste Pill Room. The storehouse is for the waste pills. Every peak sends its waste pills here at the end of each month. Your job is to record how many each peak delivers, then submit the ledger to the deacon in charge of the records at the start of the next month.”
“This book will teach you how to identify waste pills from different medicines. Can you read? If not, that’s fine—there are pictures.”
The disciple led Su Twelve on a quick tour through the various rooms of the Waste Pill Room, tossed him an illustrated guide for identifying waste pills, and then hurriedly left.