Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Chapter 100 Meeting on the Lantern Festival in October

Lin Yuan originally wanted to ask the Taoist priest of the Discipline Hall for leave, but since the disciples who had asked for leave before him had all been reprimanded, he had to give up.

He had no choice but to arrange to meet Li Shi and the others in the front courtyard of the Taoist temple after class in the morning. Fortunately, Li Shi and the others understood.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Yuan briefly explained Qiu Bi's situation, which drew congratulations and enthusiastic praise from everyone.

Lin Yuan then asked about everyone's recent situation.

Zhou Dali continued to attend classes at the school outside the Li family mansion as usual, and worked as a scribe at the Carp Pavilion. His wedding was set for after the New Year. He was honest and obedient, and was praised by Li Shi.

I learned from Dali that Old Man Lin couldn't bear to leave his rice paddies in the countryside, so he went back to harvest rice. His older brother, sister-in-law, and aunt's family run a tea and snack shop together. Now that the docks are busy, the four of them can't handle the work, so they've hired some acquaintances to help.

As for Zhao Sheng, he hasn't changed much. Since reaching the late stage of Body Tempering, he has become lax in his martial arts practice and remains stuck in the past.

Hu Cai, however, happily reported the good news: "Junior Brother Lin, I passed the entrance-level martial arts master examination in the county town some time ago, and I am now an officially certified ninth-rank martial arts master."

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Hu. Was the assessment difficult?" Lin Yuan, who hadn't been able to participate, was a little curious.

"It's not difficult for those of us with real skills. As long as we give them some money, they won't make things difficult for us. If Junior Brother Lin were to go, he would definitely be able to take it by heart." Hu Cai said with pride, while also praising Lin Yuan.

Ever since he learned that Lin Yuan had become a disciple of the Immortal Temple, the gap between the two instantly widened to an immense one, to the point that he could no longer even dream of befriending him.

Then he suddenly realized that Zhao Sheng was right; Lin Yuan was exceptionally gifted, beyond the reach of ordinary people.

After he figured this out, he stopped being anxious and even felt proud, telling everyone he met how his junior brother was a disciple of the Immortal Temple.

Surprisingly, every time he mentions it to someone, he always manages to earn a sense of respect and curiosity.

"I became a bronze-level retainer at the Li family a few days ago, hehe—" Hu Cai said happily, then suddenly said embarrassedly, "My eldest brother and sister-in-law arranged a marriage for me."

Lin Yuan quickly offered his congratulations and asked, "Which family's daughter is she?"

Hu Cai was too embarrassed to say, but Li Shi spoke up for him: "It's my cousin, your sister-in-law arranged the marriage for him. The marriage is settled, but the wedding date is still being discussed."

"Then Senior Brother will become Senior Brother Hu's brother-in-law?" Lin Yuan immediately joked, then added, "Once the wedding date is set, you must send me a message; I definitely need to go back!"

"must."

Lin Yuan discovered that Li Shi had entangled all his fellow disciples in a complex web of relationships. Although they weren't exactly related by marriage, they were all related in some way.

This small team, centered around Li Shi, sticks together, sharing both prosperity and adversity.

Lin Yuan felt that his sister-in-law, Lady Zhao, had contributed the most to this situation. Coming from a merchant family, her demeanor and speech were...

Those who are good at management not only manage businesses, but also cultivate relationships.

Her shrewdness and Li Shi's roughness made them a good match.

Li Shi chuckled and patted Hu Cai on the shoulder affectionately: "This lad is not bad. It just so happens that the old pavilion supervisor is about to retire, and I plan to have him take over the post."

At this moment, Zhao Sheng was standing behind the two men, with most of his body obscured by them. He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders and sigh slightly.

"Congratulations in advance on Senior Brother Hu's promotion to Pavilion Assistant!" Lin Yuan said.

"It's all thanks to my senior brother's help—"

"Ha ha----"

Soon the conversation returned to Lin Yuan, and the group chatted for a while.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Li Shi explained his purpose: "Junior Brother Lin, I didn't intend to bother you this time, but I feel it's necessary to clarify what you said in your letter in person. What I sent you before was a congratulatory gift for your junior brother. What do you mean by not returning it? What do you take your senior brother for?"

After saying that, Li Shi pretended to be angry, and Hu Cai echoed, "Yes, Senior Brother Lin, we brothers are all on the same side."

"Then I'll accept your kind offer, Senior Brother and Senior Brother Hu." Lin Yuan accepted and bowed solemnly. "I remember when we drank together years ago, I said that if I became rich and powerful, I would not forget you."

"If we become rich and powerful, let us not forget each other." The two understood each other and returned the greeting.

Li Shi then pulled out a silver envelope from his pocket and forcibly stuffed it into Lin Yuan's hand: "Junior Brother Lin, you've just entered the Immortal Temple, so you need to make arrangements everywhere."

This is just a small token of my appreciation, a congratulatory gift. Please accept it; don't think it's too little!

Hu Cai didn't spend any money this time. He felt that spending too little would be embarrassing, and spending too much would leave him with nothing. He was preparing for his wedding, and these were times when he needed to spend money.

Lin Yuan didn't stand on ceremony; having too many debts was no burden, so he immediately accepted the money: "Senior Brother is so kind!"

"Don't be so polite—"

After saying this, the two looked at each other and smiled, and Hu Cai smiled along with them.

Zhou Dali felt honored and chuckled, then looked at Zhao Sheng with wide eyes.

Zhao Sheng didn't laugh; he seemed a little lost, as if he couldn't join the conversation.

After seeing everyone off, Lin Yuan bid them farewell and counted the silver notes: "Three hundred taels!"

Six hundred taels in total, that's quite a sum!

Lin Yuan replenished his health again, and for the time being, he no longer had to worry about the cost of martial arts training, allowing him to train in peace for a while longer.

A few days later.

Liang Yingxiao replied that he was busy listening to the immortal master's lectures and had no free time. He would ask him and Wu Yong to meet again when he had time.

As for the job that Lin Yuan and Wu Yong inquired about, Liang Yingxiao neither agreed nor disagreed, only telling them to wait until he finished his current tasks.

Lin Yuan and Wu Yong agreed that if Liang Yingxiao did not respond before the Taoist temple assigned tasks, the two of them would go to work in the exorcism squad together.

In the days that followed, Liang Feng stopped seeking him out for drinks and gradually reduced his interactions with him. Even Liang Zhe seemed to be intentionally avoiding him.

Lin Yuan didn't care and didn't want to get involved with them.

Time flies like water, and the days of studying and practicing martial arts have passed in the blink of an eye.

October 1st has arrived in the blink of an eye. Winter has just begun, and the temperature has dropped sharply.

The Taoist temple remained warm and cozy, just like springtime.

Lin Yuan finished his studies at the Law Enforcement Hall, but Liang Yingxiao did not respond. He had no choice but to follow Wu Yong to the Exorcism Hall to report for duty.

Early in the morning.

Lin Yuan and Wu Yong arrived at the Exorcism Hall to check in.

Master Qian sat at the head of the table, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance and detachment from worldly affairs.

"Master, everyone is here." After personally taking attendance, Master Gao announced, "Registered disciple Wu Yong, and attendant disciples Lin Yuan and Zheng Zhi, please come and report for duty. What are your arrangements?"

"You'll be in charge of training the disciples!" Master Qian replied casually, then smiled and beckoned to Wu Yong, "Wu Yong, come here, you'll be following me in cultivation from now on."

"Yes, Master." Wu Yong immediately stepped forward and bowed, then stood behind Master Qian, becoming his personal attendant.

"It's getting cold today, and winter is our busiest time. You should prepare in advance," Master Qian advised.

"Yes." The crowd obeyed.

"Let's disperse!" Master Qian waved his hand.

Lin Yuan was somewhat surprised that Zheng Zhi had also come here. The two smiled at each other and then followed Master Gao to the side room. Two servant disciples also came with them.

However, those two were clearly senior disciples, not fellow disciples of the same age as the other two.

When Master Gao entered the room, his two senior disciples immediately stepped forward to wipe the chairs and make tea. Zheng Zhi went to help, but found that he couldn't get involved.

Lin Yuan, being new to the place, observed silently, without deliberately vying for a chance to shine.

"Let's not make tea yet, let's just say a few words." Master Gao sat down, glanced at the four of them, and said, "Our exorcism team is a place where we do hard and tiring work, and we encounter all sorts of demons and monsters, but the good thing is that the people here are simple and uncomplicated. If you have connections, you can transfer away as soon as possible, I won't stop you. If you don't have connections, just stay here and do your job well every day, and I won't hold it against you."

"Yes." Lin Yuan and Zheng Zhi nodded in agreement, exchanged a glance, and thought to themselves that this Taoist priest was quite direct.

"Practice martial arts more often. Once you reach the late stage of the Bone Forging Realm, if you want to go out and gain experience, just tell me."

Don't always think about going out to make money. When you encounter demons and monsters, you won't think like that anymore. Every year, several young disciples die in our sect. Even the masters and nominal disciples have suffered casualties.

Of course, if you don't want to go out and gain experience, and just want to stay in the Taoist temple and do odd jobs, that's fine too. Anyway, there's little money to be made and a lot of miscellaneous work, but it's comfortable.

You should weigh the options carefully and let me know once you've made up your mind.

After the Taoist priest finished his instructions, everyone nodded in agreement.

"The Taoist priest instructed you to take stock of the exorcism ceremonial equipment—the altar—over the next few days."

"Yes."

"Alright," Master Gao instructed, pointing to the eldest young disciple, "Sun Hai, show them around and get to work!"

"Yes."

Lin Yuan followed Sun Hai and the others to the exorcism team's warehouse, where items needed for exorcisms were stored, including lamps, candles, incense, talismans, and altars.

Sun Hai explained, "These are all ordinary objects without any spiritual energy; they're just decorative items for outsiders to see. The ones with real spiritual energy aren't our responsibility to look after. We'll check them now according to the list, and if anything is missing or damaged, we'll report it to the storeroom so they can replace it promptly. Just make sure it doesn't delay the Daoist's use."

"Yes, senior brother." Lin Yuan nodded, understanding that this task was not difficult.

Sun Hai personally led everyone in taking inventory. The items were categorized in a rather varied and complex manner, and they would need some time to learn the criteria for evaluating whether something was damaged.

However, Lin Yuan didn't care. He would learn slowly. Fortunately, neither Master Gao nor Sun Hai were looking for trouble.

After working for most of the day, everyone finally finished counting.

"Alright, I'll report to Master Gao." Sun Hai said and left. Seeing Zheng Zhi and Lin Yuan following him, he smiled and said, "We don't have that many rules here. Just finish the work. You can all leave now. Don't be late for roll call tomorrow."

Over the next few days, Lin Yuan stayed in the exorcism class and found himself with nothing to do. He inquired and learned that the class was usually quite quiet, and they were only busy when they went out to exorcise evil spirits.

However, his martial arts level is a bit lacking; even if he wanted to leave, he wouldn't be able to meet the threshold.

He simply buried himself in martial arts training, continuing to take bone-strengthening pills to forge his body and toughen his muscles and bones.

Since working together with Zheng Zhi, the two have reminisced about their friendship during the autumn competition and gradually became acquainted.

Seeing that Lin Yuan practiced diligently every day, Zheng Zhi also followed him to the training ground to practice martial arts early in the morning.

Now that Liang Zhe has taken up a job at the Zhaifa Hall with Liang Feng, they have moved to another courtyard and their interactions have become less frequent.

When Zheng Zhi joined the martial arts training, Lin Yuan and Wu Yong didn't have much hope. In the past year or two, their fellow martial arts practitioners had changed, and none of them had been able to stick with it.

On this day, Lin Yuan received news that Liang Yingxiao had invited him and Wu Yong to meet on the fifteenth of October, the Lantern Festival, at the Immortal Temple on the inner island.

>