People Couldn't Be Kept for Nothing

Half a month later, the roof of Red Pine Courtyard finally stopped leaking.

More people had joined the courtyard, too.

What pleased Xu Sheng most was that Cen Zhao and Bai Ji had submitted their names and were willing to join the team officially.

One had a level seventeen Crimson Gold Chain Spear, the other a level fourteen Cloud Mist.

They weren't just two more mouths to feed. With the two of them on the field, the team gained several options it had been missing.

Once, Lu Song pushed forward behind his Black Armor Shield while Cen Zhao circled around to the side and cast out his chain spear, sending it past the shield's edge.

Xu Sheng had been about to fly over them, but his feet had barely left the ground when he saw that a length of chain had already blocked the place where he meant to land.

He had no choice but to change direction.

But when he did, Ren Yu's Green Jade Vine, hidden in the grass, came for him.

In the end, he still broke through the encirclement, but the spearhead scorched a corner off his trouser leg.

After Xu Sheng landed, he stared at the scorch mark, pained over it for quite a while.

When the others came over, he smiled again.

"That's how we fight!"

If they could force him into such a sorry state, anyone else could forget about having an easy time!

Bai Ji's smoke had given everyone a taste of hardship, too.

She first laid a thin rope along the ground, tying knots wherever it turned, then had Lu Song feel his way along it twice. Once she released the bewildering smoke, everyone else was still blundering around inside it when Lu Song followed the rope and shoved someone out of the ring with his shield.

Xu Sheng had been watching from the side.

When he saw that the person who came out was Wen Zhao, he nearly burst out laughing.

Wen Zhao's expression was rather sour.

"Again. This time I know how you get around."

"Sure." Bai Ji gathered up the smoke, bent down, and moved the rope to the other side. "Wait a moment."

Wen Zhao: "..."

There really wasn't a single peaceful day to be had in this place!

But Ji Juechen was in the courtyard every day, and fighting him did help Wen Zhao identify plenty of flaws he had never noticed before. Wen Zhao kept saying he would leave in a couple of days, yet he unpacked more and more of his bundle, even putting his spare shoes under the bed.

Xu Sheng didn't press him.

He had more pressing things to do.

He couldn't let his cultivation stop for a moment. After reaching two rings, Xu Sheng's control over his Soul Power had grown smoother than before. He trained during the day and recovered at night, and finally, on this morning, he broke through to level twenty-two.

When he opened his eyes, dawn had yet to break.

The wings behind him spread and gave a gentle beat, lifting him off the bed.

The next instant, there was a thunk above his head.

Xu Sheng dropped down, clutching his head.

Next door, Lu Song asked groggily, "Who's knocking?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

Xu Sheng sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his head as he looked at the roof beam.

If he'd known, he never should have patched the roof of Mo Yifan's old room so thoroughly!

The assignment from the Field Operations Office came two days later.

Xu Sheng had asked for it himself.

A few days earlier, when he went to check Cen Zhao and Bai Ji's names on the team roster, he had also looked through the work available at the Field Operations Office. Someone was already handling document deliveries in the city, while his current manpower was too thin to escort supplies over long distances. In the end, his eyes had fallen on assisting with ring hunts.

That was just right.

His people could practice working together, and those who needed rings could get what they came for. As long as the first trip went well, newcomers from another world looking for a way forward would most likely think of Red Pine Courtyard thereafter.

Xu Sheng had left his name on the spot.

On the way back, Wen Zhao had even asked him, "Weren't you going to focus on cultivating in the courtyard?"

"It's not like we'll be out all three hundred and sixty-five days of the year. We train when we have time and go out to earn what we need when we're short. That's how we get by."

Wen Zhao said, "I know someone waiting for a first ring."

"Put their name down too. The deacon can decide whether they're suitable."

After answering, Xu Sheng suddenly asked, "What are your two friends' Martial Souls?"

Wen Zhao turned to look at him.

"You're already thinking about people you haven't even met?"

"I'm just asking. It's not like I'll definitely take them in. Maybe they won't even think much of me."

Wen Zhao didn't believe him.

The man made it sound so casual, yet he had already spread out a blank roster in his hands.

The deacon in charge of this trip was Fang Zhan, a level thirty-eight with a Crimson Armor Turtle Martial Soul. He put on no airs when he arrived. Upon entering, he first asked Uncle Qiao for a bowl of water, then spread the route out on the table after he had finished drinking.

"Three people need their First Soul Rings. We're going to the Soul Hunting Forest to the west. I'll lead the trip. You'll help hunt for one of them, and check the rendezvous points along the way."

Xu Sheng asked, "Which one is coming with us?"

"Him."

A young man in gray by the door stepped forward.

"Jiang Shi. Level ten, Ironwire Bamboo Bow."

His name was plain, but his Martial Soul was rather interesting.

The slender bow appeared in his palm, its bamboo joints gleaming iron-gray. Once the string was drawn taut, a faint springing force could be felt. He took an ordinary wooden arrow from his back and nocked it, and though he drew the bow only halfway, the shaft trembled slightly under the pressure.

Xu Sheng looked at his hand.

His knuckles were covered in old calluses.

"How long have you been practicing?"

"Since I got here. I was only level seven at first. I reached level ten not long ago."

"Why are you only going to hunt for a ring now?"

Jiang Shi looked a little uncomfortable.

"I found a team before. They said they'd take me. Halfway there, they said they didn't have enough people and told me to wait for two more. Once everyone was there, someone on their team needed a second ring, so they looked for one for him first."

After that, one person was injured, then another couldn't come at the last minute.

Jiang Shi waited and waited. He had replaced the arrows in the bag on his back twice, but there was still no sign of his First Soul Ring.

He had even considered charging in by himself and treating his death as a scouting trip.

But if he really died and went back, his Soul Power would drop to level nine, and he would have to train back up just to regain the qualifications to hunt for his first ring.

In the end, the Soul Master who had originally registered him helped sign him up for this trip.

Xu Sheng nodded after hearing him out.

"Can you follow instructions?"

"Yes."

"Then make sure you bring your arrows."

He made no string of promises. Instead, he turned to Fang Zhan and began checking the range of Soul Beasts.

Jiang Shi needed a First Soul Skill that could work with his bow and arrows. The Soul Master from Spirit Hall in charge of the matter had suggested several options, and in the end they had settled on an age-appropriate Mandala Snake for its potential compatibility in terms of speed and poison. The details would still depend on the individual they hunted down.

They weren't set on that one kind of Soul Beast for the trip, much less going to force a high-age one on him just because they happened to encounter it.

Xu Sheng put the paper away, then noticed another portrait beneath it.

The man in the portrait had rather high cheekbones, a short beard on his chin, and a small piece missing from his left ear.

"Who's this?"

"Luo Xiao, level thirty-four, Black Feather Crow. He's ambushed and killed two small Soul Hunting teams and stolen passage credentials from the Hall's field personnel. Someone recently said they saw him nearby."

Fang Zhan pointed to the Martial Soul characteristics below the portrait.

"He can hide his appearance, but his Martial Soul isn't easy to change. Stay alert when you see someone like this, but don't attack based on a bird Martial Soul alone."

Xu Sheng studied it carefully twice.

A Soul Elder who could travel through the sky.

If he set his sights on an ordinary one- or two-ring Soul Hunting team, they really would have a hard time.

After explaining how to make contact if they ran into danger along the way, Fang Zhan went to prepare things for the other team.

Xu Sheng stood up and shouted into the courtyard.

"We're heading out tomorrow! Pack your things tonight!"

Lu Song stuck his head out of his room. "For how many days?"

"Pack for a few days to start with. If we get back early, we can still eat what's left."

"Then I'll bring two extra flatbreads."

"Pack them yourself!"

Wen Zhao put away his Martial Soul and came over too.

"I'm going with Deacon Fang's group. I know one of the two people hunting for rings."

Xu Sheng nodded. "Good. We'll travel separately and look out for each other if anything happens on the road."

This assignment had come at just the right time.

Having a courtyard and a roster of slots wasn't enough to establish a foothold. Only after leading his people out and doing the job well could Xu Sheng straighten his back the next time someone came asking and say-

"Come to me, and things will get done!"

Meanwhile, Jiang Shi emptied his entire bag of arrows onto the ground and checked their fletching one by one.

Cen Zhao squatted beside him and watched for a while, then picked up a bent arrow and tossed it onto another pile.

"Don't bring this one."

"It's still usable. It'll be fine at close range."

"I have a few spares. Take them."

Jiang Shi opened his mouth, wanting to say he might not have many chances to shoot tomorrow. But then he saw that Cen Zhao had already gotten up to fetch them, so he slowly put the bent arrow down.

Before dark, his quiver was finally full again.

This time, he didn't go back to the channel to ask which team was short-handed.